“Duke Hastings informed Her Majesty the Queen about our family’s disgrace. Her Majesty was extremely angry.”

“Father can handle a small disgrace, can’t he? Even if not, Her Majesty wouldn’t dismiss Father.”

Scarlet, unaware of the specific misdeeds Count Carelina was up to behind the scenes, sighed in exasperation.

‘You’re beating me for just this?’

Her resentment towards Count Carelina only grew stronger.

“What do you mean she won’t dismiss him? It’s because of your complacency that things have come to this. Her Majesty has ordered the relinquishment of our title.”

“What?”

Relinquishing a title was like telling a noble to die.

“Go to Duke Hastings. Go and beg. Lick his feet if you have to, crawl if necessary, even take off your clothes! Change his mind immediately!”

Count Carelina grabbed Scarlet’s wrist and dragged her. He paid no heed to the glass shards on the floor. The glass pieces pierced through her thin dress and into her delicate legs.

“Father, ah, Father, please wait.”

Scarlet’s body twisted in pain, but Count Carelina did not stop.

* * *

While Scarlet was being pushed around by Count Carelina, Jane was in Joseph and Cain’s room.

“Joseph, what did you study today?”

Jane arranged the flowers she had picked with Joseph in a vase on the bedside table next to Cain’s bed.

“Today, I studied thinking.”

“Oh, you studied philosophy.”

“Hmm, the teacher said it was thinking study…”

Joseph had started to trust his teacher’s words more than Jane’s for the past few days. It was a natural change in the growing process.

Jane was pleased that Joseph was forming trust relationships with others as well.

“I see. What did you do during thinking study time?”

Jane asked with a smile.

“We studied ‘What do people live for?'”

“My, you studied something difficult.”

Joseph said, tapping the flowers in the vase Jane had put down.

“It wasn’t difficult at all.”

“Really? I’m curious. How did Joseph answer?”

Jane brushed Cain’s tousled hair. Thanks to the careful care from those around him, his face shone even though he lay motionless, unable to lift a finger.

Feeling a bit annoyed by this, Jane gently pinched and wiggled the tip of Cain’s nose.

“Ah, Father’s nose hurts, Mother!”

Joseph jumped down from his chair to stop Jane. Jane realized her mistake.

“This is to help with blood circulation.”

Jane told a white lie to reassure Joseph.

“Really? Then I want to do it too.”

Joseph immediately clung to the bed. Jane quickly grabbed Joseph’s waist and sat him on her lap.

“I’ve done enough for today. Rather, I want to hear what answer Joseph gave to the teacher. Father would want to hear it too.”

Joseph, who had been struggling behind Cain, calmed down.

“We-well, first, food, clothes, and a nice house, and Mom and Dad.”

It was such a childlike answer. Jane buried her lips in Joseph’s crown and blew softly. Joseph squirmed, saying it tickled.

“Is that all you need, Joseph?”

“The-the teacher asked the same thing as Mother! How amazing!”

Joseph turned to look at Jane. Jane was reflected in his clear eyes.

“And then?”

“The-the teacher asked a lot of questions. So I, I found one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Lo-love!”

Jane raised her eyebrows at the unexpected answer from the child’s mouth. Pleased to have surprised Jane, Joseph’s eyes curved like crescent moons.

“What Mother and Father do! That’s needed to have children too.”

It was correct, but Jane found it difficult to agree readily. For one thing, what Jane and Cain did wasn’t love…

The corners of Jane’s eyes awkwardly curved. Young Joseph, unable to notice Jane’s subtle change in expression, chattered on.

“Love is beautiful and great, they say. The teacher said it’s good to know many love stories. I want to hear Mother and Father’s love story!”

Jane was momentarily flustered by the sudden request.

Joseph got down from Jane’s lap and ran to the opposite chair. The child sat with his knees together and placed his hands on them. Then he straightened his back and fixed his eyes on Jane.

It was the listening posture the teacher had taught him.

Jane, who had been thinking of refusing, gave up when she saw the child’s bright eyes.

Her gaze shifted to Cain lying between her and Joseph.

If he had been awake, she could have passed it on to him.

Jane, momentarily resenting Cain, opened her mouth.

“Cain and I…”

* * *

“Well, have you heard enough of the story? Let’s go out now so Father can rest comfortably.”

Jane’s long story came to an end.

“Wow, it’s so cool. Both Father and Mother.”

Joseph had listened so intently that his body was all heated up. Jane picked Joseph up in her arms.

“Our Joseph needs some fresh air. Let’s say goodbye to Father and go out.”

Joseph turned only his upper body in Jane’s arms to wave at Cain.

“Take care, Cain.”

Jane also gave a small greeting and turned around. At that moment, Cain’s eyebrows trembled slightly.

When Jane had started talking about her past with him, Cain was already awake.

However, wanting to hear more of Jane’s sweet voice and curious about what she would say, he kept his eyes tightly shut.

While listening to Jane’s story, Cain had to bite the inside of his mouth several times to control the overwhelming emotions.

If Jane and Joseph hadn’t been so absorbed in the story, they would have noticed he was awake.

Even now, his heart was pounding so hard he felt like he was going crazy. It wasn’t just Joseph who needed some fresh air.

After the door closed, Cain abruptly sat up. He threw the window wide open. The cold wind rushed in, but it wasn’t enough to cool his reddened ears and cheeks.

At this rate, Jane might mix in some fever reducer with the medicine she gives him in the evening.

Cain fanned himself vigorously before lying back down on the bed. And he quickly closed his eyes, not knowing who might come in and when.

Jane’s voice echoed in his mind once again.

Jane’s feelings were exactly the same as Cain’s.

Jane said she wanted to be like Cain. So she studied, worked hard at horseback riding, and started violin lessons she wasn’t interested in before.

Jane knew all about Cain’s efforts.

This was a fact Cain didn’t know. Cain realized anew that Jane’s love was far greater than he had imagined.

Jane’s story concluded with advice for Joseph.

With those words, the last bit of hope remaining in Cain’s heart turned to white ash and disappeared.

Cain was the person pulling Jane into darkness.

Just standing next to him made Jane smaller, shabbier, and sadder.

Cain’s heart, which had been pounding, gradually slowed down.

He wished he hadn’t heard those last words. He wanted to turn back time to when he hadn’t heard them.

But the water was already spilled, and Cain escaped into sleep to avoid the pain in his heart.

Once again, he was a coward.

* * *

Scarlet, who had been kicked out in tatters, hid in the maid’s room. She intended to stay here until Count Carelina’s anger subsided.

“Young lady, please have some dinner.”

The maid appeared with a small tray containing a stiff piece of bread and warm milk.

“You want me to eat this garbage?”

Scarlet shouted, her face grimy from unwashed sweat and tears.

“I’m sorry, young lady. But the master said not to bring you even a sip of water. Moreover, he’s in an uproar demanding we find you immediately.”

The maid subtly hinted that she was risking her life just by hiding Scarlet.

As that wasn’t entirely untrue and lacking the energy to argue, Scarlet glared at the maid for a while before picking up the bread. She made a face as she tore off a piece and put it in her mouth.

The bread was tough and hard. It was fortunate that there was at least warm milk.

Chewing the bread with difficulty, Scarlet pondered how to overcome the crisis she was facing.

No matter how much she racked her supposedly good brain, there was only one solution.

‘Let’s go to Her Majesty and confess everything.’

Whether it would be believed or not, there was only one way.

“Bring me some clothes. I need to go to the palace.”

Scarlet threw the half-eaten bread to the floor.