Benjamin smiled proudly as if boasting about himself. Jacqueline paused and looked at the child with suspicious eyes.

Noticing her gaze, Benjamin tilted his head with a puzzled expression. Jacqueline opened her mouth meaningfully.

“Did you perhaps tell Olivia about Fauvism?”

“Um… no.”

“Oh dear. If you didn’t say that, Olivia might have misunderstood my painting. Instead of this, we should have a discussion about the Fauvist style next time we meet. Art is not something that can be ranked, you know.”

“…Yes, Miss Somerset.”

Benjamin rolled his eyes, avoiding her gaze.

“Actually, when young lady Olivia saw Miss Somerset’s painting, she rolled on the floor…”

William, who was returning with tea, interjected into their conversation. Benjamin brought his index finger to his lips with a startled face.

“Olivia saw my painting?”

Jacqueline asked nonchalantly. “Ahem.” William cleared his throat unnecessarily, set down the tea, and turned away.

Benjamin quickly changed the subject.

“What kind of place is Southfield, teacher? I’m curious since I’ve never been there.”

“Southfield? It’s a quiet, leisurely place. Wherever you look, you’ll only see meadows and sheep in that rural village. Benjamin, do you like sheep?”

“I’ve never seen one in real life, so I’m not sure.”

Benjamin shook his head. Jacqueline smiled warmly, wondering when this once taciturn child had become so talkative.

“I’ll tell you about it, so listen while eating your cookies.”

Just sitting across from the child and having trivial conversations made her feel warmth seeping into her empty heart. Benjamin was her comfort and solace.

Jacqueline’s voice naturally took on an affectionate tone.

“When you go there, you can see so many sheep that you’ll get tired of them. Maybe even more than the ants in the mansion’s garden.”

“Really?”

Benjamin opened his eyes wide, as if wondering if that was possible. Jacqueline boasted, “Of course, certainly.”

“But you’ll smell sheep droppings wherever you go.”

Benjamin’s lips twitched as if trying not to laugh at the word ‘droppings’, and he added maturely.

“I’d like to go there someday.”

“Sure.”

Jacqueline looked at the child, her eyes curving gently.

At this moment, she made one resolution. Whatever decision she made, she would never make Benjamin sad.

If her decision were to make Benjamin cry, she would boldly give up whatever was on the other side of the scale.

“Let’s go together someday.”

“Yes, Miss Somerset.”

Benjamin dangled his legs and drank his lemonade. Jacqueline slowly turned her head to look out the window.

The leaves that were light green until recently had begun to turn a deep green. In the short time she had been away from the mansion, the foliage had grown a bit more lush, and the cicada sounds had grown a bit louder.

―Then I hope you make a wise decision.

As Parker O’Brien had said, she was in the midst of careful deliberation to make a wise decision.

A decision that wouldn’t require her to give up on Windsor, Benjamin, or her mother.

***

Jacqueline sat at the table, gazing at the quietly burning candle. If she lost focus for just a moment, her mother’s face, glaring at her coldly like a sheet of ice, would come to mind.

―If you’re not going to ruin my life, go find Mr. O’Brien as soon as you arrive in the capital, Jacqueline.

The sharp voice lingered in her ear. As vivid as if it were being heard right beside her.

But she still hadn’t gone to see the lawyer.

“Mother would faint if she knew.”

The candle flickered at Jacqueline’s muttering. The sight seemed like it was looking at herself. Her inner self was still weak enough to waver at the slightest breeze.

Three years ago, she had weathered all sorts of storms following her father’s accident. She experienced things that an ordinary person might encounter once in a lifetime, all at once.

So she believed she had become quite strong. She was arrogant enough to think she had become a wildflower resistant to adversity, not a greenhouse flower.

But that wasn’t the case. She was still like a helpless child. A child who wavers when faced with the question of choosing between mom and dad, and eventually bursts into tears.

―If we just resolve this matter well, His Majesty will summon us to the capital. He might even declare it in front of the nobles. He might introduce me as the one His Majesty trusts the most. Then we can make a dramatic return to high society, Jackie. Imagine how proud that would be. Everyone will look at us with envy.

“Mother, we are not the glorious Somerset family of the past.”

A low retort escaped from between her teeth. The mother in the candle flame glared fiercely. Seeing that, Jacqueline couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

―How did I raise you! If even you can’t understand me, what am I supposed to do! How can you, of all people, do this to me! You might as well tell me to die! If you really want me dead, I’ll do as you wish!

Jacqueline covered her ears with both hands, trying to escape the sharp voice. But her mother’s voice pierced through her even more loudly and clearly.

―If your father were here, he wouldn’t have just stood by and watched you! Or are you treating me like this because your father isn’t here?

“No, Mother. I’m just trying to face reality…”

At that moment, the dining room door opened. Jacqueline quickly lowered her hands and straightened her back. Then she turned her head with an elegant expression.

“You’re late, Lord Preston. It’s been 3 minutes past the meal time…”

But then she closed her mouth as she saw the person standing at the door. William pushed up his slipping glasses and looked at her.

“Lord Preston is dining in the guest dining room.”

“…”

Jacqueline couldn’t say anything. Seeing her blinking, at a loss for words, William instead put on an apologetic expression.

“He says he will dine alone from now on.”

“Lord Preston said that?”

Jacqueline asked with an incredulous face. Her eyes trembled as she stared at William’s face. A cold wind blew in her chest.

Suddenly, she remembered feeling a similar emotion sometime before.

Ah.

Jacqueline nodded unconsciously. On the day she was leaving for the capital to find a job, Jacqueline had hugged her mother affectionately as she left her aunt’s house.

Her mother was angry that Jacqueline was abandoning her and going to the capital alone, and Jacqueline had to soothe her.

―I need to find a job and earn money. We can’t keep relying on aunt forever. Since I don’t even have a place to stay right away, I’m thinking of looking for a governess position. I can’t take you with me because I’ll be staying at someone else’s house.

―What a good excuse. You’re just trying to leave me in this rural backwater and return to the capital alone! You find me annoying! A nuisance!

―That’s not it, Mother. I’ll save money quickly and find a room so I can bring you there.

Jacqueline gently took her hand. At that moment.

―Enough!

She coldly pushed Jacqueline’s hand away. Jacqueline looked down at her own hand blankly, her face expressionless.

The hand rejected by her mother wandered in the air, having lost its place.

Suddenly, she felt like crying. She felt hurt by her mother’s actions that didn’t understand her feelings, or maybe she was angry. Or perhaps she felt wounded.

Patience was always Jacqueline’s role. Sometimes even she found the current reality burdensome. Occasionally, she wanted to lean on her mother and receive comfort from her.

But this time too, patience fell to Jacqueline. She had to soothe her irritable mother. She had to caress the feelings of her angry mother.

Even if her own heart was bleeding in the meantime, her mother came first. Yet she had callously pushed Jacqueline’s hand away.

“Yes. That’s what he said.”

Jacqueline unconsciously lowered her gaze to look at her own hands resting on her thighs. The rejected hand, having lost its place, fell to the floor with a thud.

The next moment, she looked at William with a lightly smiling face. Fortunately, Jacqueline was used to enduring.

“I understand, William.”

“Yes, then.”

William left the dining room. Click, the door closed.

Jacqueline slowly turned her head. In the flickering candle flame, instead of her angry mother, there was Windsor with his expressionless face.

“Now that you don’t even sprinkle salt and pepper before meals, I have nothing to nag about.”

She muttered to herself as if speaking to herself, and stood up from her seat. Then she quietly clenched her fist.

Unlike her calm expression, incomprehensible emotions were wildly entangled and roughly swirling in her chest.

She swallowed once to suppress the rising emotions and slowly left the dining room. With her back straighter than ever.

As if otherwise, this time she might collapse.

***

“I’ve been waiting for your contact.”

Evan looked at Windsor and smiled refreshingly. Instead of answering, Windsor recalled what Roman had said yesterday afternoon.

―About Mr. Evan Knox.

Roman, who had gathered information faster than expected, continued with a subtly surprised voice.

―I checked through various routes, and surprisingly, he’s quite skilled. First, he graduated second in his class from law school. After that, he worked at Cloud, the kingdom’s top law firm. As you know, the law firm Cloud is owned by Baron Brandon Knox, Evan Knox’s father. Of course, it’s a given that Baron Knox is close to His Majesty the King.

Roman paused there and scratched his head, saying, “Things are all connected like this.” When he received no response from Windsor, he continued his report.

―He handled a few big cases there. Of course, not alone, but as part of a team with other lawyers. You’ve probably heard about the Clark Merchant Ship case, Lord Marquis. The law firm Cloud asserted the principle of lex loci, arguing that the goods loaded on the Clark Merchant Ship outside territorial waters were not Clark family property, and eventually they were excluded from the list of seized items. And the Clark family used those goods as seed money to successfully rebuild themselves.

―Isn’t it just that his name was put there because he’s the eldest son of Baron Knox?

―So I dug a bit deeper. From setting the direction of the defense to the actual pleading on the day, Mr. Evan Knox was in charge. While Baron Knox’s influence can’t be completely ruled out, it seems clear that his own abilities are also excellent. Perhaps because he’s Baron Knox’s son, he didn’t get caught in our net.

Roman inhaled with a “shhp” sound before spitting out his final words.