“…… Are you listening, Your Grace? Your Grace!”

“I’m sorry.”

There was a moment of silence. The faces of those whose laughter abruptly stopped were quite amusing.

“So eat your meal first.”

Cain pointed to an empty chair.

“Your Grace, have you lost your mind?”

Nathan stammered. Cain sighed deeply at the life-or-death question.

“Shut up and just eat.”

The mouth that was told to shut gaped even wider. Nathan nudged Norbert’s arm beside him.

“He’s crazy, right? Or am I the one who’s crazy?”

“Both of you are sane. Please sit down.”

Experience doesn’t accumulate in vain.

Norbert and Mary were the first to come to their senses and finished serving the meal.

The silence was quickly filled with laughter.

* * *

Jane, who had asked Cain for a day, immediately prepared to go out after finishing her meal. And she pushed Cain and Joseph into the carriage.

“Take us to Housten Street.”

“Yes, understood!”

The coachman replied vigorously and cracked the whip with all his might.

The carriage raced through the streets quickly and dropped the three people off at Housten Street.

“What are we doing here?”

Cain, who had been silently watching what Jane was doing, asked.

“We came to Housten Street to shop. What else would there be to do? I came to buy clothes for you and Joseph. Besides, Cain, won’t you escort me?”

As Cain offered his arm in a daze, Jane naturally linked arms with him. Jane, who was snugly pressed against him like an affectionate couple, spoke to Joseph.

“You should hold your father’s hand, Joseph. Always hold an adult’s hand in crowded places.”

“Uh, Mother’s hand……”

“Father’s hand.”

Joseph slightly pouted his lips and reached out to Cain. Cain gave his hand to Joseph, but all the child could grasp were Cain’s fingers.

Cain realized anew how small the child was.

“Cain, let’s go there.”

The place Jane pointed to was a boutique shop run by Ermis.

“My clothes are fine.”

Cain had no extra time to devote to tailoring his clothes, so he left everything to the designer. Instead, he visited the dressing room once a year to have his measurements taken.

“I want to buy them for you, so just go.”

Today, Jane was particularly forceful. Cain and Joseph inadvertently became like ducklings following Jane.

People glanced at the sight. The gazes that clung to the family outing never left for a moment.

Both outside and inside the store.

“Cain, come here. I’ll do it for you.”

Jane picked up a dark green cravat. The silk cravat was luxurious.

Cain, who was explaining to Joseph about the accessories a man should have, complied with Jane’s request.

Jane wrapped the cravat around his neck. Naturally, the distance between the two narrowed. No, it became unnecessarily close.

Jane’s breath touched Cain’s face. Her scent enveloped his body.

“Jane.”

Cain’s voice naturally lowered.

“Stay still.”

Jane firmly grasped the cravat so that Cain couldn’t back away.

“It’s not working well today.”

Then she raised her voice.

“If it’s difficult, I’ll do it.”

As her scent deepened, heat pooled in Cain’s lower region.

He tried to remove Jane’s hand to avoid the awkward situation, but she tightly held onto that hand instead.

“I’ll do it.”

The eyes in the curved eye lines were quite stern. Cain lowered his hand. Instead, he spread his legs wide so that she could tie the cravat more easily.

Gazes gathered again.

Cain knew his posture was ridiculous. And he anticipated what kind of rumors would circulate the next day.

‘I’ll be called henpecked.’

Cain’s lips drew a soft arc. What he was thinking was exactly what Jane intended.

* * *

“Did you see yesterday? The way Duke Hastings looked at the Duchess? He couldn’t take his eyes off the Duchess’s face.”

“On top of that, he melted so gently towards his son too? I thought they didn’t look alike at all, but seeing the three of them together, they’re exactly the same. Especially when they smile!”

“What if it turns out the two of them gave birth to him?”

“Regardless, I can tell that all the rumors circulating until now were lies.”

“What rumors?”

“There were many rumors, like the Hastings’ marriage being a political one, that he’s trying to use her, that it’s revenge. Things like that.”

“We were wrong. You can’t trust what people say. Especially sensational words, you have to be suspicious from the start.”

The day after the Hastings family outing, amusing stories circulated starting from Housten Street.

Naturally, that news reached Jane’s ears, Cain’s ears, Scarlett’s ears, and even the ears of Zexy, who was wandering the streets.

The reactions of the four people varied.

First, the Hastings.

“I’m sorry for putting you in the public eye.”

“Was it intentional?”

Cain was wearing the green cravat Jane had bought for him yesterday. He secretly hoped that Jane would personally tie it for him like yesterday, but she drew a line with Cain after returning home.

She was kind and affectionate, but he felt that she avoided his touch.

“Yes. It was planned.”

Cain finished tying his cravat and turned towards Jane. He saw Jane sitting on the sofa, sipping tea with her bottom slightly perched on the side table.

Jane set down her teacup.

“From what I heard about that woman Zexy, she doesn’t seem like the type to back down easily.”

“So?”

“I showed it to her and others. Our family is intact. It would be good if she quietly backs off knowing this. If not…”

“If not?”

“People believe what they see more than what they hear, so they won’t be easily swayed by Zexy’s claims. Whatever claims she makes.”

Cain stroked his chin. His lips drew a pretty arc as he pictured the expected events for a moment.

Yesterday, he and Joseph were used by Jane. However, both were satisfied, so there was no reason to find fault.

“It’s a good idea. So where should we go next?”

“Go where?”

“Do you think public opinion will be formed by showing a harmonious family just once? We need to show it often. That way, public opinion will be further strengthened.”

“That’s a very politician-like statement.”

“You didn’t know? I do politics.”

It just so happened that today was the day he entered the council. Cain attached the council chairman badge to his jacket.

Seeing the gold badge, Jane was reminded that Cain was the head of the aristocracy.

Her face darkened slightly.

For now, due to Zexy, she had covered up inquiring or investigating the incident from 7 years ago.

Her own matter was in the past, but depending on how Zexy acted, Joseph’s unhappiness could become a reality and future.

Fortunately, Zexy was a common enemy of Cain and Jane.

Even during war, when an external enemy appears, it’s common to end internal strife.

So this was a temporary compromise or cooperation.

Although she had made up her mind, whenever words that brought up the incident from 7 years ago were mentioned, her heart trembled.

“Jane?”

“Yes? Are you all ready to go? I’ll see you off. And let’s have the next outing in 3 days.”

Jane said as she saw him off, adding that she also needed to prepare for Joseph’s exam.

* * *

“What? The Duchess’s son? Those crazy bitches are spouting nonsense! If they have nothing to do, they should clean the house. Where do they attach someone else’s son? And the three of them look alike? Look alike my ass!”

Zexy, who had taken a seat at the bar in a shabby pub, muttered.

“Hey, alcohol! Bring more alcohol!”

Zexy slammed the empty glass. The bartender frowned fiercely.

“Drink in moderation.”

The bartender had been keeping an eye on Zexy, who was already drunk when she entered the pub.

Seeing her outdated dress, unkempt hair, wild and broken nails, and muttering to herself, the bartender judged Zexy as a dangerous person.

Either she would cause trouble here or go out and cause trouble.

“What are you saying? Are you interested in me?”

Zexy tilted her head and laughed, raising both eyebrows. She had a pretty face when you looked closely, despite thinking she was crazy.

“No, ma’am. Do you have any companions with you?”

The bartender’s expression turned serious, but Zexy’s misunderstanding only grew more solid.

“No, I’m alone. Want me to tell you where I’m staying?”

The bartender didn’t want to engage further, so he quickly filled the glass and stepped back.

Zexy finished her unspoken words to him as he distanced himself.

“Unfortunately, I’m a body that will become the Duchess, so it won’t work out.”

She swallowed the very dangerous remark as if gulping it down. Even Zexy had a grain of intelligence left in her.

It was a small voice that couldn’t be heard unless paid close attention to.

There was no one here who knew her. So Zexy drank comfortably. While occasionally continuing her lament in a mosquito-like small voice.

“Calling my kid the Duchess’s kid. Those bastards whose mouths should be torn apart.”

Zexy showed an enormous sense of possession towards Joseph.

“It would be nice if Joseph could put in a good word for me to His Grace.”

The empty bottles in front of Zexy kept increasing.

“I’m getting drunk. Ah, I’m drunk. If I fall asleep here, who will take me? If Arthur were here, he would have come to get me right away. Ah, Arthur, Joseph’s father, is the air up there good?”

Zexy laughed, snickering.

“Who am I thinking about now?”

Her vision grew increasingly blurry. Eventually, Zexy’s upper body collapsed onto the bar table. The bottles that her hand touched tumbled onto the table.

Startled by the sound, the bartender rushed over and cleaned up the bottles.

“Hey! You can’t sleep here! Don’t you have anyone you know? Nowhere to contact?”

In the end, what the bartender had been concerned about happened. The bartender clutched his hair, agonizing over whether to call the security force, when a man with a shaggy beard appeared.

“I know her.”

The bartender narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the man from top to bottom.

It was difficult to confirm the man’s appearance as he was wearing a hat. When the bartender leaned in to take a closer look, the man slyly lifted his hat to reveal his face.

Still, the face wasn’t clearly visible, but that small action instilled trust.

If he were up to no good, he would have pulled the hat down, not up.

“Take her and go, and the bill…”

The bartender scribbled the bill on a rough piece of paper and held it out.

“Oh my, this woman drank a lot.”

The man laughed awkwardly and rummaged through the woman’s bag.

“She came up from the countryside to see me, despite my strong objections.”

The man recounted a story the bartender had no interest in. After rummaging for a while, the man found a pouch containing money.

“Here it is.”

He naturally opened the pouch and paid as if it were his own.

“Wait a moment. I’ll give you the change.”

“No, it’s fine. You had a hard time dealing with this woman. It’s a tip, a tip.”

The bartender’s nostrils flared.

“I’ll help you carry her on your back.”

And he became extremely friendly.

The man, with Zexy on his back, came out to the street with the bartender’s help. Zexy’s buttocks kept slipping down, so he had to hoist her up several times as he walked through the night streets.

The man had many things he wanted to ask the drunken woman.

So he had to find a place where the woman could stay until she sobered up.

A man wandering the streets with an unconscious woman on his back – from a distance, he looked suspicious. Someone approached the man.

“Captain Augus? What are you doing here?”

“Hoshi?”

“Yes, it’s Hoshi.”

It was Hoshi, who worked at the printing house that produced leaflets for the Rose Faction. Augus grinned.

“Hoshi, good to see you. Get me a room at an inn. And don’t tell anyone you saw me. Understood?”

Hoshi looked at Augus with a doubtful gaze. He knew that Augus had embezzled the Rose Faction’s funds while gambling and was temporarily under disciplinary action from the organization because of it.

“That woman… She’s not related to the organization, right?”

“No, she’s not.”

Augus spoke with confidence.

She was Hastings’ mistress, so she wasn’t completely unrelated if you thought about it, but she wasn’t yet.

Because he didn’t know what the truth was.

Hoshi took Augus to a small inn with a dubious expression.

* * *

“A man took Zexy away?”

Scarlett met a man in disguise on the balcony. It was the monitor she had assigned to Zexy.

“What should I do if a dangerous situation arises? Should I rescue her?”

“No, don’t do that.”

If they got involved unnecessarily, it could be revealed that Scarlett had placed a monitor on Zexy.

There was no need to take risks to save a lowly woman.

“Then…”

“Only when her life is in danger, only then, intervene indirectly, not directly.”

A drunken woman taken away by a strange man, and an inn. An ugly crime scene was depicted, but Scarlett didn’t want to pay attention to such things.

“As long as they don’t kill her.”

Whether she breaks down or gets ruined, as long as she’s alive, it’s fine. It might even be easier to use her that way.

“Understood. If the target’s life is in danger, I will set the inn on fire.”

“Yes, that’s good.”

There’s nothing better than fire to startle, stop people, and make them run outside.

“Instead, stick close all night and watch and listen carefully to what happens. And report back immediately, got it?”

The man nodded and descended the balcony’s railing, grasping it. The sound of grass being stepped on rustled.

Tap, tap. Scarlett bit her nails.

Would the man who took Zexy become a variable?

Scarlett hoped not, but the man was a variable.

And a variable on the good side.