It was not easy to escape the gaze of the Hastings family. The eyes and ears of the Hastings were spread all over the continent. To leave the capital, she needed someone’s help.

Jane chose Lloyd as the person to help her. She felt uneasy about using him, but she wanted to live and had to live, so there was no other choice.

Lloyd readily agreed to help Jane.

Instead of leaving the capital right away, Jane stayed for several days at a place arranged by Lloyd to assess the situation.

She prepared for Cain to come after her immediately, but no one came looking for her.

There were no rumors about her disappearance either, so it seemed he had no intention of looking for her.

Perhaps he wanted her to disappear in the first place.

Jane hung her head. She thought she would feel relieved to leave the Hastings. She believed her only regret would be Joseph.

But why did her heart ache so much?

After confirming that Cain made no moves, Jane left the capital. Since he did not look for her, she moved about quite freely. Thanks to Lloyd, she had plenty of money.

〈Would you sell me something?〉

The night before leaving the capital, Lloyd came to see Jane and made a proposal.

〈I have nothing to sell.〉

〈Anything you have is fine. A notebook, a handkerchief, or a hair tie.〉

〈They are used items, so they are not clean…〉

〈Please.〉

Seeing Lloyd’s earnest eyes and remembering the help she received from him, it was difficult to refuse.

Although he never said it out loud, she knew with what heart he was helping her.

As Jane hesitated, Lloyd smiled brightly and said,

〈Think of it as a last lingering attachment.〉

How delightful it was to hear a confession of ending love.

Jane untied the ribbon in her hair and handed it to him.

Then Lloyd handed her a checkbook. It was a checkbook with his signature on it.

〈I may be lacking compared to the Duke of Hastings, but I’m not without money either.〉

Jane firmly refused. But Lloyd would not back down. After a long argument, the two agreed that Jane would take three checks.

And Jane came to the island as if on a trip. There was a time when she felt a strange gaze following her and had to pack her bags in a hurry, but it was only for a moment.

‘Cain is not looking for me.’

On the day she hurriedly left the inn and boarded the ship, Jane realized a big truth and let out a sigh of dismay.

She was the one who left him, yet she felt sad that he was not looking for her. She was afraid of losing herself more and more.

‘I need to find a place where I can be myself.’

A place where she could let go of resentment, disappointment, and even love, and live solely as herself.

She wanted to start anew. The place Jane found with that mindset was a very small island.

A place Cain could not find unless he searched with fire in his eyes. A place difficult for him to find even if he actively searched for it.

On that island, whenever a ship docked at the pier, Jane would look at the pier. With her hair blowing in the wind, she would gaze at the sea absentmindedly, looking as if she was waiting for someone from afar.

It was an act she was not even aware of herself.

* * *

Drunken men poured out of the gentlemen’s club.

“Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it? Have you prepared gifts?”

“Not yet. My head is killing me. I wonder what grand thing I’ll have to offer this year.”

“Do you have money?”

“I’ll have to sell my children if I must. What else can I do!”

“Hehe, the one without children sure talks well.”

The heavily drunk men raised their voices, not caring if others heard them.

These days, the biggest topic of interest in high society was the Queen’s birthday.

Every year on the Queen’s birthday, the nobles competitively prepared gifts. It was a golden opportunity to catch Helena’s attention.

Since the person who prepared a gift that pleased her took charge of a major national project and succeeded, people were eager to prepare for the birthday.

“I heard rumors that the gift list was prepared this time.”

Suddenly, the curly-haired man lowered his voice.

“What? Really? But why don’t we know?”

“They probably didn’t contact small fries like us. But I heard there’s a person on that list.”

“A person?”

The conversation between the two men continued. There was someone watching them from an alley.

“A gift list.”

Cain muttered to himself. He became curious about the list he had not received.

“Working hard even when out for fun.”

It was typical of someone who pursued self-interest day and night.

Cain became curious about the list. More precisely, about the names included in the list.

Considering Helena’s history with men, it would probably be a famous opera singer.

It was not something the ruler of a nation should be doing, so a sneer naturally escaped him.

But seeing that sight would soon come to an end.

Cain thought it was not a big deal and exited the alley to enter the gentlemen’s club.

“Welcome, Your Grace.”

Vincent ran out to greet him.

“The guest arrived early and is waiting.”

Cain headed to the basement.

“You’re late.”

The person waiting for him in the underground office was Cedric. He looked as tired as Cain.

“Vincent, prepare something appropriate to drink.”

Cain ordered, but Vincent objected, “It would be best to refrain from drinking alcohol.”

Deep wrinkles formed between Cain’s brows.

“Afraid I might collapse?”

Vincent closed his mouth. Cain let out a deep sigh.

“That won’t happen. Bring it.”

Vincent looked at Cedric as if seeking help. Cedric just shrugged his shoulders. In fact, he was also craving a drink.

Cain was not the only one who could not sleep without alcohol after Jane left.

Realizing there was no one to help him anywhere, Vincent went out.

A while later, he returned with a bucket full of ice and a drink that was said to cause less of a hangover, carefully selected.

Until then, Cain had his head thrown back with his eyes closed.

At the sound of the clinking ice, he opened his eyes.

“Is your resolve still unchanged?”

Cedric asked as he received the glass Cain had poured himself. The corner of Cain’s mouth curled up as he filled his own glass.

Everyone here and there didn’t trust him.

“I’m not the type to go back on a decision once made.”

Except when it came to Jane.

She was always the exception for Cain.

“Good. Then how do you plan to gather our organization members scattered across the country to the capital?”

The organization members Cedric referred to meant the Rose Faction. As Cain silently drank, Cedric’s eyes sharpened.

“Isn’t it a trap? To catch us all at once?”

Cain put down his glass.

“Who would risk their life to set a trap? I’ve risked not just my life, but everything.”

Cain’s momentum suddenly turned fierce. The staring contest between Cain and Cedric continued.

“Are you two at it again? Our goal is clear. The fall of the Queen. Cedric, calm down, and Your Grace, please quell your excitement.”

When the two said they would join forces, Vincent anticipated their conflict. But he did not expect that conflict to continue until now, on the eve of the operation.

“Don’t forget that what you’re losing was never given to us from the start. Don’t pretend to give up something great. Holding it in the first place was discrimination and privilege.”

Cedric’s words dug into Cain’s heart. To think the Hastings’ assets would become a sin. Cain felt wronged but accepted it.

However, Cedric’s one-sided criticism was hard to bear. Come to think of it, wasn’t he also privileged?

“And don’t forget the promise to leave the final decision to me.”

Cedric spoke as if hammering it in.

Cain struggled to suppress his rising anger.

“Don’t you remember?”

“How could I forget.”

Cain refilled his glass. Before the deep amber color faded, he emptied the glass.

When he announced his determination, Nathan and Norbert all said it was not something to decide on impulse. They also said it was crazy.

But it was never an easy decision.

It was also something he had to do even knowing it would be crazy.

His eyes became distant.

* * *

A few days after Jane left, Cain went to see Cedric.

At that time, Cain was prepared to kneel before Cedric if needed.

“The president’s schedule is fully booked.”

“I will wait in the reception room.”

Cedric tried to avoid meeting Cain. For the first time in his life, Cain experienced a wait with no end in the reception room.

After waiting about four hours, Cedric appeared with a face that looked fed up.

Cain straightforwardly told Cedric the reason for his visit.

“I want to join hands with the Rose Faction. I’ll do what the Rose Faction wants.”

Cedric was astonished.

“Are you crazy? Do you realize what you’re saying right now?”

For the Hastings, known as the Queen’s right-hand man, to point a knife at the royal family.

The implication of the Queen’s downfall caused by that was the dismantling of the nobility.

Did he know what would become of the Hastings once the title of duke disappeared?

Cain wore a relaxed smile.

“I know. I’ll lose everything. But I can protect one thing.”

“And what is that?”

“My family.”

Cedric did not ask who Cain’s family was. His wistful eyes and the letter Jane left for Cedric were enough to deduce.

Jane and Joseph.

“You can protect Jane without joining hands with the Rose Faction. You just need to not look for her.”

Cedric’s tone mentioning Jane was sharp. Cedric thought Jane left because of Cain.

If he had left her alone, if the two had not reunited in the first place.

That hypothesis could not be erased.

Cain smiled bitterly.

“To live in hiding for the rest of her life? She shouldn’t live like that. Light suits Jane.”

Cedric could not immediately refute. Because he agreed with Cain’s words.

“I will reclaim Jane’s place. So that she can live with confidence wherever she is.”

Jane left to protect Joseph. In any situation, only when Joseph was safe would Jane return.

The reason Joseph was in danger was because of his background.

Because he was the son of the spiritual leader of the Rose Faction.

Because his father rebelled against the Queen, and that act was deemed unjust.

Then, wouldn’t it be fine if he created a just world?

Not eliminating those who knew Joseph’s identity, but making the child’s birth righteous.

That was what Cain had to do.

Cain calmly persuaded Cedric. His resolute tone and firm gaze shook Cedric’s heart.

But Cain’s plan did not only put himself in danger. The Rose Faction became just as imperiled.

Cedric could not easily make a decision. However, Cain’s final words shook Cedric.

“I may die.”

“Living now is not really living anyway.”

Without Jane, he was already a dead man.