Jane glanced at the stacked gift boxes and looked at Cain. Faced with her questioning gaze, Cain suddenly felt the urge to light a cigar.

“Are these… gifts?”

Jane asked hesitantly. Cain’s lips curled up into a smirk. Though it was just a sneer, even that slight smile was so rare that Jane found herself staring at him in a daze without realizing it.

When Cain’s face turned cold again, she pretended to shrug and averted her gaze.

She felt embarrassed for losing herself for a moment while looking at his face. She didn’t want to be caught.

“Do I have any reason to give you gifts?”

“If not, then why did you send those?”

“Because you’ll need them.”

“I don’t need them. They’re too much for me.”

Jane never let anything slide easily. That fueled Cain’s irritation.

“They may be too much for Jane Whitney. But they’re not enough for Jane Hastings.”

Jane’s composed face cracked.

“Didn’t you say you would shed your old self? That you’d completely transform into a member of the Hastings family?”

“…That’s right.”

Jane nodded. Seeing her meekly accept, Cain was about to turn and leave.

“But Cain, I don’t need this much.”

However, Jane managed to upset Cain one more time.

The amount wasn’t even enough to fill the guest room’s dressing room he had given her, yet she said it was too much?

Shouldn’t she just gratefully accept what was given?

Others had always done that. They liked whatever they were given and begged for more.

But Jane’s face remained unmoved no matter what she was given. She seemed burdened, if anything.

Giving alms would feel more gratifying and joyful than this.

“Why?”

Jane tilted her head.

“Tell me why you don’t want to accept them.”

“It’s not that I don’t want them. I just feel burdened.”

“Burdened?”

“They’re expensive items.”

Cain’s lips parted slightly. He had been wondering if she was modest or just stingy, and now he had his answer.

She was stingy.

What could have happened in those 7 years to make a person so dull-witted?

In the past, she knew how to accurately assess situations. He thought she would still have that level of social awareness, but he was completely wrong.

Did she still think she lived in a chicken coop-like shack?

Or did she still believe his wealth was insufficient?

She had dozens of buildings in her name, owned mines, and had trains running with her name on them, yet to Jane, did he look like an idiot who couldn’t even afford such trivial items?

His cravat felt like it was choking him. Cain hooked his finger on the cravat and tugged at it as he pointed to the gifts.

“Burdened? I send gifts like that even to women I’ve merely brushed past.”

Cain mentioned the false rumors as if what he had given her was nothing special.

He didn’t actually attach much meaning to gift-giving.

“Women you’ve brushed past…”

Jane muttered softly. The moment she heard those words, her heart sank.

Hearing confirmation from his own mouth about the rumors of him meeting quite a few women was more painful to Jane than being stabbed with a knife.

Jane’s lips quivered as if she wanted to say something. She felt like she had to say something, but unable to find the words, she closed her mouth again.

Watching her with a frosty gaze, Cain turned his body away.

Jane stared at his back as he left without any lingering attachment.

* * *

Cain’s words tormented her all night, and Jane spent the night wide awake.

Jane got up, rubbing her puffy eyelids. Mary, who had come in to wake her up, was startled.

“Are you already up? Or did you not sleep?”

Jane gave a faint smile. Mary furrowed her brows and went into the bathroom. Soon after, the sound of water filling the bathtub was heard.

“Your debutante ball is in 6 days, miss. From today, you need to eat well, sleep well, and rest well. Your face will glow when you’re in good condition.”

Mary took Jane’s hand and pulled her along. If she went back to sleep now, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, so it was better to relieve fatigue with a half-body bath.

Jane didn’t have to lift a finger. Mary undressed Jane for her. As Jane sat in the bathtub, Mary continuously poured warm water over her shoulders.

The muscles that had tensed up every time she thought of Cain relaxed languidly. Jane rested her neck on the edge of the tub and looked up at the ceiling.

“Are you worried?”

Realizing what the omitted subject was, Jane shook her head.

The debutante ball.

Mary dropped a few drops of fragrant oil into the bathtub. The scent of lilacs filled the bathroom.

Mary put Jane’s hand, which was out of the tub, back into the warm water and said,

“There’s no need to worry, miss. I guarantee you’ll be the prettiest one there.”

“I don’t think so, Mary. Maybe I’ll be the oldest among the debutantes, though.”

Comparing herself to those 19 to 20-year-old women, who were like freshly bloomed flowers, was too much.

Those women who exuded freshness just by standing there, versus Jane who had become dull from all kinds of hardships.

Anyone could see it was an overwhelming victory for the former.

“What does age matter! Miss, your beauty is the best in the Emblem Kingdom! I guarantee it!”

Mary was exceptionally generous with Jane. Knowing this but not disliking the compliments about her beauty, Jane giggled.

Then suddenly, she became curious.

“Um, Mary.”

As Jane drew out the beginning of her sentence, Mary’s hands stopped.

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

“Speak comfortably. I’ll tell you anything.”

Whatever question she was about to ask, Jane’s face, which had just relaxed, tensed up again.

“About Scarlet Carelina. What kind of person is she?”

Jane’s question, asked after much hesitation, pained Mary’s heart.

Scarlet Carelina was the woman that the previous Duke and Duchess of Hastings had their eye on as Cain’s match.

As the esteemed daughter of the Carelina Count family, who had the Queen’s full trust, when she debuted in society two years ago, the capital was in quite a stir.

Jane knew how beautiful she was too.

After all, her name often appeared in gossip columns alongside Cain’s.

It’s not that there were any unsavory rumors about her though.

The articles were mostly about trivial things like how some young nobleman had courted her and been rejected, or what dress she wore and what she ate.

Nevertheless, the frequent mention of her name was proof of her popularity.

Right now, Scarlet and Cain were undoubtedly the only ones called stars in Emblem’s high society.

That landscape hadn’t changed for two years.

“She’s a lovely young lady.”

Mary answered simply. That much could be inferred even from the contents seen in gossip columns.

Jane wanted to know more.

Whether she was also interested in Cain, what Cain thought of her. And whether she herself would appear shabby compared to her.

But she couldn’t voice these thoughts.

“I see.”

So Jane answered as if it wasn’t a big deal and submerged herself in the water up to the tips of her hair.

Plop, bubbles rose to the surface and burst.

“Miss, you’re much… with the Duke…”

Mary said something more, but it didn’t reach Jane’s ears.

At that moment, Jane was making a small resolution and gathering the courage to carry it out.

She truly wanted to look like a person of the Hastings family.

At least in front of Scarlet Carelina.

* * *

Cain’s days were busy, even if split and split again. In the midst of this busyness, he visited the gentlemen’s club.

To others, it might look like he was just a passionate man, but for Cain, visiting the gentlemen’s club was an extension of another job.

“Welcome, Your Excellency.”

As Cain stepped into the gentlemen’s club, the manager Vincent rushed over to greet him.

Cain handed his outer coat to Nathan and headed towards the corner that was practically his designated seat.

The area blocked off on all sides by feet was the only blind spot in the gentlemen’s club.

As he took his seat, Vincent brought out the whiskey he had kept for him and poured a drink.

Cain took the glass Vincent handed him and swirled it around. Today, the amber color of the liquid seemed even more vivid.

“It seems to be planting season. The gatherings have become more frequent.”

Reports about the Rose Faction were conveyed using plant-related terms.

The Rose Faction flowed at very low levels. They penetrated into the lives of struggling people and planted will and desire.

The Black Hawks called this planting. It was waiting for the seeds of ideology to be planted and grow within them.

The Rose Faction truly cared for their recruitment targets as if they were nurturing plants.

At the right time, they let them bask in the sun of comfort and support, and depending on the situation, left them to endure the rain of hardship or suffering.

Cain had to admit that their method of enchanting people was remarkable. Because he acknowledged their ability, this side had to respond even more thoroughly.

It seemed like annoying work would increase.

“Find where they get their seeds and eliminate them.”

Cain ordered to eliminate the printing houses that produced booklets and leaflets propagating the Rose Faction’s ideology.

“Understood. And Your Excellency.”

“Speak.”

“It’s about Miss Jane.”

The wrist that had been swirling stopped. Cain put the glass he had been holding to his lips. Seeing Cain’s eyebrows twitch, Vincent continued his report.

“There are rumors circulating about her sudden disappearance. They say she went to do shameful things for a noble lady to pay off debts.”

Cain emptied his glass. He put the glass down and pushed it towards Vincent. Vincent silently refilled the glass.

“The source of the rumor?”

“It’s the loan sharks who lent money to the Whitney family.”

They were people Cain had met before. Cain concentrated on trying to recall their faces. Deep wrinkles formed between his brows.

He could only vaguely remember their appearances, bodies fattened like lumps of oil. Cain couldn’t stand ugly things, and he easily forgot such things.

“Their names?”

“Victor and Hamberton.”

Still, he couldn’t remember. It was obvious they weren’t worth engraving in his memory, just cheap individuals.

The only things he could recall were the money he had given them and the words he had said.

Cain had clearly told them.

That Jane was the prospective Duchess.

And yet they spread false rumors? It wasn’t hard to guess the reason.

Either they were upset that Jane had escaped their grasp unscathed, or they wanted to extort money from the Hastings family.

Whatever the reason, they had made a foolish choice.

Cain took out the revolver from inside his coat. He opened the cylinder to check the number of bullets.

“Are you going to move personally?”

Cain closed the cylinder and checked his watch.

“I have some time left.”

Cain didn’t want to spend the long night amidst others’ panting sounds and false temptations.

He wanted to do something a bit more productive.

For example, catching the vermin that were insulting the Hastings family.

Nathan and Vincent looked at each other.

Cain’s night might end quickly, but it was certain that their night would be long, having to deal with the aftermath.

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.