Cain’s eyes followed the two people.

He needed to quickly inform them that he had found Joseph, but his body wouldn’t move readily. His body had suddenly become lazy.

However, Cain’s eyes moved more busily than ever before.

From Jane’s relaxed face, to the bare feet occasionally revealed between the folds of her dress, to Joseph’s bright smile.

It was a sight he had never seen before.

Neither Jane’s relaxed expression, nor Joseph’s smile.

He realized anew how much the two of them disliked him.

They never showed him that carefree smile, even at their first meeting.

Since they dislike him anyway, they might as well keep disliking him.

“Are you having fun?”

“Ye-ye-yes, very much!”

Let me shatter that enjoyable time for you.

Cain stepped one foot out of the shadows.

“What are you doing here?”

Jane awkwardly turned her head. The smiles disappeared from Jane and Joseph’s faces.

The waltz was over. The peace was shattered.

“Ca-Cain.”

Had Joseph infected her with his stutter? Jane, who usually spoke so well, couldn’t even say his name properly.

Was his appearance so shocking that it made her stutter?

He felt like an intruder.

Why?

This is my house, and there’s nowhere I can’t go in my own house.

“Fa-Father, th-th-that’s…”

Joseph turned pale and trembled.

Why is he so terrified?

‘First an intruder, now a villain. That’s how they treat me.’

Cain clicked his tongue.

“Joseph, come down right now and go back to your room. The mansion has been turned upside down looking for you.”

“So-so-sorry. Pl-please put me down.”

Joseph squirmed in Jane’s arms. Jane looked back and forth between Cain and Joseph.

‘This child is Cain’s son?’

I’m sorry to say, but they don’t look alike at all. Joseph had neither Cain’s sun-melted golden hair nor his sea-blue eyes.

“Le-let me go, qu-quickly. Be-before Father gets an-angry…”

As Joseph struggled, he ended up kicking Jane hard in the side.

“Ugh!”

“Joseph! What are you doing?”

Cain approached like an enraged bull and snatched Joseph from Jane’s arms.

He put Joseph down on the ground and scolded him sternly.

“Apologize.”

“It’s fine, Cain. It didn’t hurt. The child did it by accident.”

Jane hurriedly blocked Joseph’s way.

“Joseph, listen carefully. You too, Jane.”

“…”

“There are no accidents for a Hastings. Both Joseph and you, if you’re going to live under the Hastings name, you’d better remember that clearly. Joseph?”

“Ye-yes! Yes, Father.”

Joseph came out from behind Jane and bowed.

“I-I’m so-sorry.”

“Joseph, apologies must be precise. You have to say what you did wrong and how you’ll behave in the future for it to be complete.”

Cain was very strict.

“Cain, I said it was fine.”

“Your feelings don’t matter. Joseph needs to take responsibility for his actions.”

Jane bit her lower lip hard.

Cain’s tone, expression, and gaze became like knives stabbing at the child.

“Um, I-I kicked you, so I’m so-sorry. I won’t do it a-again in the fu-future.”

The child managed to finish speaking without crying. Jane wanted to hug Joseph tightly, feeling so sorry for him.

But she wasn’t given time. Cain took out a whistle from his pocket and blew it, and Nathan came running.

“Take Joseph inside.”

Nathan assessed the atmosphere and picked up Joseph.

“Let’s go, young master.”

Jane stared blankly at where Joseph had disappeared. Now only Cain and Jane remained in the garden.

* * *

Jane realized why Joseph had come here alone, and the cause of his swollen eyes.

That fragile child was also a loner living in Somnium House.

It was like seeing herself.

You cruel person.

Jane quietly stared at Cain. It was a gaze tinged with reproach.

Jane could understand Cain treating her rudely.

The Whitney family, Jane, had caused him great harm. But the child was innocent, wasn’t he?

Of course, there could be circumstances she didn’t know about, but it couldn’t be the child’s fault.

He was even Cain’s son!

‘It wasn’t just a day or two of mistreatment.’

You could tell from the child’s behavior.

She recalled Joseph squirming like a loach sprinkled with salt at Cain’s every word.

When you dig into a child’s problematic behavior, you always find problematic parents.

She could understand why Joseph had caused trouble and been expelled from the academy.

A child so withdrawn like that couldn’t have lived vigorously at the academy.

Jane hadn’t attended the academy herself, but she learned how things worked there through interactions with tutors.

Among the tutors, there were some who had quit teaching at the academy.

Jane recalled Joseph’s fragile shoulders. It gave her courage.

“Don’t treat the child roughly, Cain.”

Jane said firmly.

“Child? You mean Joseph?”

Jane nodded. Cain’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you grow attached in that short time? Or are you already immersed in the role of mother?”

“I’m just saying this as an adult.”

“You were a tutor, and now you’re trying to teach me too?”

“Cain, the child is lonely…”

Jane’s words weren’t finished when Cain turned his back.

Then the bushes rustled and Norbert appeared.

“Huff, I’ve been, hah, looking everywhere, Your Excellency. Young Master Joseph…”

“I found him and sent him back to his room.”

“Thank goodness.”

Norbert sighed in relief.

“But what are you… Oh! Miss.”

Norbert, who belatedly noticed Jane, smiled brightly. Jane, whose eyes met his, nodded slightly.

“So you two were together.”

Norbert whispered so only Cain could hear. Cain raised an eyebrow and he elaborated.

“Young Master Joseph and Miss Jane.”

“Seems so.”

“If the two of them get along well, there couldn’t be a greater blessing.”

It wasn’t even worth responding to. Jane’s role was to guide the wayward child in the right direction.

‘Don’t treat the child roughly?’

Recalling Jane’s words, Cain smirked.

Jane was diligently earnest about such trivial matters.

Even though she had crumpled up and thrown away the duties and promises she should have earnestly fulfilled.

As Cain strode away, Norbert hurriedly followed.

Cain stopped walking. He roughly rubbed his face as if something was bothering him.

He had found Jane and Joseph, so he should just go back, but his feet wouldn’t move easily.

The waltz was the problem. No, as always, Jane was the problem.

Jane’s movements while dancing the waltz weren’t smooth. The order and posture of the movements were accurate. However, the flaw was that she limped once in between connecting the movements.

Each time, Jane’s face contorted. And Cain had seen it. Her feet that were briefly revealed between the folds of her dress.

She danced and held Joseph with feet like that?

“First her hands, now her feet. Does she want to receive pity?”

Cain muttered quietly.

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. Request some medicine for applying to wounds.”

“Your Excellency, are you injured somewhere?”

Norbert was startled.

“No, not me.”

Cain glanced behind him.

“Miss Jane is injured. I’ll prepare it and send it up.”

Cain nodded, almost imperceptibly.

“Are you leaving Miss Jane behind, Your Excellency?”

“She’ll find her way back to her room on her own.”

“It looks like it will rain soon.”

Cain looked up at the sky. Dark clouds had completely covered the sky above the mansion.

No wonder Jane and Joseph’s faces seemed particularly dark, it wasn’t because of their mood but because the day had actually become gloomy.

“Leave her be. She’s not so dim-witted that she can’t find her own room.”

Cain’s indifferent words reached Jane’s ears entirely.

The weather was just like Jane’s mood. Her clear mood while dancing with Joseph had darkened as soon as Cain appeared.

Jane stroked her chest as she watched the spot where Cain had left.

Her heart, which had felt open for a moment, became stuffy again.

Jane staggered over and sat on the bench.

Before long, rain began to fall drop by drop.

* * *

Jane was drenched in rain that day. And she fell terribly ill.

Amidst her delirious fever, she felt a hand on her forehead.

She took medicine without even being able to open her eyes.

She was very curious about who was taking such meticulous care of her, but Jane, who couldn’t even open her eyes, had no way to find out.

* * *

“Master!”

Before Cain could react to the knock, the door to his office opened. A woman with a warm impression rushed to Cain’s desk in one breath, ignoring Nathan.

“Mary, it’s been a while.”

Mary, the head maid of the Hastings household who had been on extended leave after her daughter gave birth, had returned.

Cain put down the cigar he was about to light.

“Do you know where I’ve just been?”

“You visited Lilian, didn’t you?”

Lilian was Mary’s daughter.

“No. Just before that.”

“Well.”

Cain shrugged. It wasn’t that he was avoiding answering, he really didn’t know.

No matter how capable Cain was, he couldn’t know everything the servants were doing. Nor did he need to.

“I’m on my way back from Miss Jane’s room.”

The warmth that had been lingering on Cain’s face disappeared in an instant.

“Do you know what condition Miss Jane is in?”

“The doctor came by. I received the report.”

High fever and malnutrition.

Malnutrition in this era of abundance, and for someone who wasn’t even living in the slums. Cain laughed in disbelief when he heard the diagnosis.

“That’s not all. Miss Jane’s feet…”

Mary squeezed her eyes shut as if it was too dreadful to even think about. Cain, who had been casually organizing documents, stopped his hands and turned his gaze to Mary.