“I will file charges against James Hemington for attempted fraud. Even if the punishment may be light since it was only an attempt.”

Jacqueline met Windsor’s unwavering gray-blue eyes. She once thought he must be a person of very strong character.

She was right. Windsor feared neither the rumors surrounding him nor the fame he would have to endure. He simply did what he believed was right.

Calmly and silently.

“……”

Jacqueline couldn’t speak hastily. Known as the ‘Penniless Lady’, she thought she had given up all her pride as a noble.

But it seems that wasn’t the case. The last bit of pride left tightly blocked her throat.

Thump, thump.

The sound of footsteps gradually getting closer was heard. It wasn’t just one person. The sound of several people rushing in.

James shouted with an urgent face.

“Lord Preston! There seems to be some misunderstanding! Through conversation… no, rather, I can compensate…”

He rambled on, sweating profusely. Jacqueline looked at James with an indescribable gaze.

The man who once sweet-talked her father was now pleading to Windsor with a frightened expression. It was both ridiculous and disheartening.

James Hemington was not a great man. He was just a lowly and cowardly con artist. A ruffian, strong against the weak and weak against the strong.

In the precarious silence, a knock was heard. The door slowly opened, and William appeared.

“Master, the officers have arrived. They say they have an appointment, what should we do?”

Behind him appeared detectives in plain clothes and officers in uniform. A man of short stature and sturdy build stepped forward.

“Pleased to meet you, Lord Preston. I’m Detective Inspector Gale Baldwin. I heard there was someone to report?”

Saying so, Gale looked around the room. His indifferent gaze stopped on James.

He had an intuition that this was a suspicious character. Among the composed people, he alone was sweating profusely with an ashen face.

Gale gave Windsor a questioning look. As if asking what James had done.

An indifferent voice leaked from between Windsor’s teeth.

“That man…”

“I was defrauded by that person.”

Windsor slowly turned his head. Jacqueline held her head high and glared at James. Gale looked at her.

“Did you say you were defrauded?”

“My father was defrauded by that man. He said he would sell the ancestral mine at a price below market value to raise money for his sick wife’s hospital bills. My father only realized he was a con artist after handing over the deposit. But by then, he had already disappeared. And now, here I am, meeting that man again, Inspector.”

“Is that so?”

Gale signaled to his subordinates behind him. The uniformed officers rushed towards James. James instinctively stepped back.

However, the officers skillfully subdued him and roughly handcuffed him.

“No, I… there’s some misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Lord Preston!”

James struggled and called out to Windsor. Windsor’s indifferent gaze turned towards him.

Gale looked at Jacqueline again and asked.

“You say your father was defrauded by this man. Excuse me, but could you tell me your father’s name, miss?”

“My father has passed away. His name was Baron Somerset. I am his daughter, Jacqueline Somerset.”

“Jacqueline Somer… Ah…”

Gale, who was unconsciously repeating her words, let out a meaningful exclamation. He too must have heard of the name Jacqueline Somerset.

‘The Penniless Lady.’

Perhaps even more famous than her name was her nickname.

While Gale hesitated, Windsor added in a calm tone.

“That man came to sell me the mine. Thanks to Miss Somerset here, I avoided being defrauded, but I intend to file charges against him for the sake of future innocent victims.”

“Here are the land documents and mineral resource reports that James Hemington brought. They are clearly forgeries at a glance. Let’s add a charge of forgery of private documents while we’re at it.”

Roman handed the documents to Gale. James wore a desperate expression at the sight of handing over evidence against himself. He covered his head with both hands.

Gale glanced at Windsor with just his eyes. Generally, nobles don’t report crimes they’ve suffered.

Even when officers ask for testimony after catching the culprit, they don’t allow it. No, what permission? They even get angry, saying they’ve never been victims of a crime.

This was a matter of their honor. So there were many cases where they had to release criminals who had already been caught. Each time, the officers had to feel the futility of their efforts going to waste.

―What’s the use of running around tirelessly to catch the bad guys? We have to watch them leave the police station with a smirk on their face. And then the higher-ups ask what the police are doing. It’s so frustrating, I want to quit.

He recalled what a subordinate had said once. Gale fully agreed with that opinion.

However, instead of nodding, he could only scold his subordinate, saying, “Stop that useless talk.”

Gale took off the hat he was wearing and greeted Windsor.

“It must not have been an easy decision, thank you. I pay my respects to Lord Preston’s decision.”

“You should pay your respects not to me, but to Miss Somerset.”

“Yes, of course. I sincerely pay my respects to Miss Somerset’s noble decision.”

“It’s nothing.”

Jacqueline replied haughtily, her lips tightly drawn. Gale, putting his hat back on, asked her carefully.

“If testimony is needed, would you be able to appear in court?”

“Of course, Inspector.”

“Thank you.”

Jacqueline slightly raised her chin and nodded gracefully. She bit her lower lip slightly as she watched James being dragged away by the officers.

At that moment, she heard something crumbling inside her. She couldn’t tell exactly what it was.

Whether it was her last bit of self-esteem, or her honor as a noble. Or perhaps her lingering attachment to her father.

But it was clear that her heart felt much lighter. Jacqueline quietly exhaled, relaxing her stiffened shoulders.

Windsor’s gaze fixed on her round forehead, but only one person noticed this fact: Roman.

***

“Hurry up, Emma!”

“Yes, madam!”

“What are you dawdling for, Betty!”

“Yes, I’m coming now!”

The Preston mansion was unusually noisy from the morning, unlike usual. But no one complained about the noise. Not even Windsor, who preferred quietness.

The commotion that had continued all day only disappeared without a trace when the first carriage arrived in front of the entrance at sunset.

Following that, carriages arrived one after another. Most bore familiar crests. Sometimes, shiny automobiles would take their place in one corner of the garden.

Jacqueline, who had been watching this scene, stepped back from the window with a light sigh.

“Well, shall I go too?”

Jacqueline left the room after checking her dress one last time. She had chosen a dress thinking it wouldn’t cause any trouble, but with fashion changing so frequently, she couldn’t be sure.

Her wardrobe had stopped three years ago, after all.

“I won’t attend the party, so it should be fine, right? I should at least greet Uncle Walter, I wonder if he can slip away for a moment.”

Jacqueline muttered to herself as she traced the path that had become so familiar she could find it with her eyes closed.

Knock knock.

“It’s me, Benjamin.”

“You may come in, Miss Somerset.”

She opened Benjamin’s door and entered. The child, who usually looked as if he had stepped out of a painting with his perfect attire, looked even more splendid today as he gazed at Jacqueline.

The jacket, short pants, and red bow tie indicated who the main character of today’s party was.

Seeing the fluffy hair neatly combed back with pomade, she was reminded of Windsor Preston.

Jacqueline looked at the child with a kinder gaze than ever before.

“Happy birthday, Benjamin.”

“Thank you.”

Benjamin bowed his head slightly with a shy expression. His fingers fidgeted slightly inside his sleeve, visible only to her.

“Ta-da!”

Jacqueline brought out the hands she had been hiding behind her back. For a moment, Benjamin’s eyes widened. His brown eyes, which had been moving busily, looked up at her.

“It’s a birthday present.”

“Ah…”

The child wore a rather perplexed expression. His slowly blinking eyelids trembled slightly.

Jacqueline spoke in a nonchalant tone.

“I told you about this once before. This is Colin. He’s been my best friend and family since my fifteenth birthday. From today, he’ll be your friend.”

Saying this, she gently shook the teddy bear she was holding.

Benjamin stared blankly at Colin, who wore a red ribbon around his neck just like him. He didn’t know what expression to make. He had never had a stuffed animal before.

The child was the heir to the Preston family and lived a perfect life with everything provided. But surprisingly, he didn’t have things that others had.

One of those things was stuffed animals. He thought they were for girls to play with. Or for weak children. Or for children from commoner families.

In any case, not for the heir of the Preston family.

When the child didn’t readily reach out his hand and just stared, Jacqueline smiled gently. She added calmly, as if she knew exactly what Benjamin was thinking.

“This isn’t just a stuffed animal.”

“Ah!”

Benjamin’s eyes sparkled as he finally remembered that she was a fairy. Come to think of it, Colin did look intelligent, as if he might speak at any moment.

“Whenever I had a hard time or felt lonely, I would tell Colin everything. Colin is a patient friend who listens to the end no matter how long and boring my stories are. And.”

She winked and smiled mischievously. Benjamin pricked up his ears, wondering what surprising thing she would say.

“He’s also a friend who’s as tight-lipped as I am. Now he says he wants to be friends with you.”

“Um… thank you, Miss Somerset.”

The child received the stuffed animal with a solemn expression. He was determined not to be surprised even if the stuffed animal suddenly started speaking.

“Oh?”

The soft texture felt unfamiliar. Benjamin, who had unconsciously hugged the teddy bear tightly, stared into its shiny black eyes as if mesmerized.