Cain decided to buy Jane’s gift with money he earned himself.

Although allowance or money received for Hastings family work could be considered Cain’s money, it had a slightly different meaning.

Cain actively sought employment. Hiding the Hastings name and relying solely on his skills, the jobs he could do without revealing his identity were limited. And the pay was very low.

After persistent job hunting, Cain finally found suitable work. Translation, transcription, ghostwriting. He worked for a month, cutting back on sleep.

And he bought pearl earrings.

Compared to his usual birthday gifts, it was very modest, but Cain was extremely proud of the gift he had prepared with his own efforts.

Jane seemed to have cried when she found out about it later, but was that tears also fake?

Recalling that time made him feel more frustrated. At the same time, irritation welled up.

Why did she have to wear those earrings and make him feel so unsettled?

Everything about Jane bothered him.

The earrings, the dress, her smiling face with Lloyd.

“Damn it.”

Cain clicked his tongue and shook his head. It was to shake off thoughts of Jane.

His hands were cold. He had spent too much time on the balcony. The party probably wasn’t over yet, and he had something to say to Count Carelina about the Rose Faction.

Cain took a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions.

As he gradually regained his composure, he pulled back the balcony curtain and opened the door.

“It seems they met for revenge. The Hastings family suffered quite a bit because of Whitney.”

Someone near the balcony was talking about him and Jane.

It wasn’t a good time to leave.

“That can’t be. The Duke isn’t the type to act on personal vengeance. He must have made some kind of deal.”

“No, it’s not like that. I know a friend’s nephew who works at Heis Trading Company. I heard that woman Jane cried and begged. Asking him to keep their past engagement promise.”

“That makes sense. The Duke is someone who values promises very much. I understand him taking care of her out of a sense of responsibility.”

Sounds of agreement came from here and there.

It seemed like a good time to leave now.

However, Cain who had started to move had to stop again. Because of the conversation that followed.

“But, wasn’t there something subtle about their dance earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“When they were dancing. They never took their eyes off each other. The Duke was staring at Miss Whitney as if he wanted to devour her.”

“He must have disliked it.”

“No, that’s not it… You know, that thing between men and women…”

The woman’s voice grew softer.

Cain’s eyebrow twitched. The women’s speculation was way off the mark.

Cain had never seen Jane as a woman. To him, she was just emotional baggage, and a tool to bring about the purge of the Rose Faction, nothing more.

* * *

Two days had passed since Jane successfully completed her debutante.

In the end, she had left in a hurry, so Jane briefly wondered if it could be called ‘successful’, but she concluded that it was.

However, Mrs. Burnett did not think so.

Mrs. Burnett nitpicked and scolded Jane for each of her behaviors shown at the Carelina ball.

The contents of her nitpicking varied, but the final words she added were always the same.

〈You’ve splashed black ink on the Hastings family.〉

Jane couldn’t agree with those words. Rather, it was Cain who should have heard them.

That day, all of Jane’s mistakes stemmed from Cain.

But Jane didn’t make excuses. Excuses are only made when someone is willing to listen.

And she was busy too.

With the debutante over, preparations for the wedding began. Mary was in charge of the wedding preparations.

Mary created an endless long list and prepared each item one by one. Among them, there were quite a few things that Jane had to think about together.

“Miss, it would be good to make a guest list in advance. Since the wedding date is tight, we need to contact them early so the invited guests can make time.”

“People to invite?”

“Yes, your guests. We need to make separate seats for your guests.”

“I don’t have any.”

“Not even one person?”

Mary asked and then realized her mistake.

Jane smiled awkwardly. After the Whitney family’s downfall, her relationships were completely shattered.

After that, she couldn’t maintain deep relationships with the people she met.

Most of them were people who tried to take advantage of Jane or exploit her.

Mary imagined the wedding bustling with only Cain’s guests, and felt sorry for Jane.

On that day, a bride without family is bound to be lonely. It would be nice if there was even one person to cheer her on.

“They don’t have to be close friends. Someone you received help from, or have known for a long time…”

Hearing Mary’s words, Jane remembered someone.

* * *

“Four people.”

Cain looked at Jane’s wedding invitation list that Mary had brought.

They were all people he knew. Mrs. Merche who had hired Jane as a home tutor, El who was Jane’s former maid, Laura who was the head maid of the Whitney family, and lastly.

Cain stared at the last name written for a long time.

Cedric.

Cain’s face darkened.

“Your Grace.”

Cain raised his head at Mary’s call. His darkened face had already returned to its original color.

“It’s too few. She must have lived lonely without friends all this time.”

“That’s an overly sentimental opinion, Mary.”

“She must have been lonely.”

Mary spoke in a confident tone, even wiping away tears. Cain nodded half-heartedly.

“Invite them.”

“Yes, I understand. By the way, Your Grace, when do you plan to ask for a date? You need to let me know in advance so I can clear Miss Jane’s schedule.”

“A date?”

Seeing Cain ask back as if he didn’t know what she was talking about, Mary was shocked.

“You danced with her at the debutante! Did you forget that it’s customary to go on a date with the partner you had your first dance with? Your Grace, I must have taught you wrong, terribly wrong. When this old woman meets the late Duke and Duchess in heaven later, what am I supposed to say…”

“Mary, calm down.”

Mary took a deep breath and closed her mouth.

“There’s no need to apologize to my parents when you meet them. I just forgot for a moment.”

It was true. Cain had deliberately erased the day of Jane’s debutante from his memory. Because remembering that day irritated him.

As a result, he had completely forgotten that he had to ask for a date.

The fact that Cain didn’t take that ridiculous custom seriously was also one of the reasons he forgot.

“But do I really have to do it?”

Mary’s eyes turned triangular.

“Young master, I really, I have no face to meet the late Duchess and Duke…”

“Alright. I’ll go on the date.”

Mary asked with a refreshed face as if she had never sniffled.

“When shall we do it? How about tomorrow?”

“I have a prior engagement. I’ll let you know later.”

Mary wanted to set a date right away, but seeing Nathan who came in with a pile of documents, she backed off.

“Nathan, this is the wedding invitation list Jane wrote.”

Cain handed the note he received from Mary to Nathan. After putting down the documents and checking the note, the smile disappeared from Nathan’s face.

“Is this Cedric that Cedric?”

‘That’ Cedric Fiotio was the heir to Tuo Trading Company and was suspected of secretly working for the Rose Faction.

“The address to send the invitation is Tuo Trading Company, so it must be right. The person who sent a letter to Jane recently was Cedric, right?”

Nathan rubbed his head with a troubled expression.

“Yes, that’s right. You checked the letter at that time, Your Grace? What was written in it?”

“Nothing much.”

Cain averted his gaze.

Some time ago, Cain had opened an unsigned letter that came for Jane first. It was a simple letter asking about Jane’s well-being and the reason for her sudden marriage.

However, Cain did not give his letter to Jane.

It felt suspicious that it was sent unsigned. Although he revealed his identity in the letter, that made the relationship between the two seem even more suspicious.

That was the only reason.

After glancing at Cain, he hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Does Miss Jane really have anything to do with the Rose Faction?”

“What do you think?”

Cain threw the question back. Although he seemed to have already made up his mind, Nathan carefully gave his opinion.

“Based on the circumstances so far, we can’t say she’s contributing to the Rose Faction. There’s no evidence that Miss Jane actively did anything. But it seems she has some connections.”

Cain nodded. Then he turned his attention to the documents without saying anything more.

“Was it right to bring Miss Jane into the Hastings family, Your Grace?”

“It will be useful in rooting out the Rose Faction.”

That wasn’t what Nathan was asking about. It was about the well-being of the Hastings family.

The late Duke and Duchess of Hastings were killed by Rose Faction members associated with the Whitneys.

This time, would there be problems for Cain due to Rose Faction members related to Jane?

Nathan’s concern was quite rational. It was based on history, after all.

But since Cain didn’t seem to care much, he put his worries aside for now.

“Then, what should we do about the guest list?”

“Invite him.”

“Pardon? You know what Cedric might do? Do you trust Miss Jane?”

Nathan was surprised. Cain put down the documents. He rested his arms on the desk and clasped his hands together as he raised his head. Then he said with a deep smile on his lips:

“Trust? Who? Me, Jane?”

His tone suggested it was absurd. Cain soon turned serious.

“Since my parents passed away, I have never trusted her even once.”

And he regretted trusting her in the past. So.

“And I never will in the future.”

Cain said as if making a vow.

* * *

Although Cain’s inner thoughts were complicated with various matters like the date and Cedric, he couldn’t postpone the work piled up before him.

After working busily, it was evening. In the meantime, he had completely forgotten about the date.

He recalled that issue again when he was in the hallway returning to his bedroom.

He stopped and seemed to ponder for a moment before heading to the 4th floor.

After all, it was a date, so Jane’s opinion was important too.

The distance from the end of the 2nd floor to the end of the 4th floor was farther than he thought.

Perhaps because of that, he had rarely encountered Jane so far despite being in the same space.

Still, Cain knew everything Jane was doing. Because Sohr and Mary reported her movements morning and evening.

These days, Jane had breakfast with Joseph. She also had tea time with Mrs. Burnett and took walks from time to time.

Without realizing it, Cain was drawing her day. Before he knew it, he was in front of Jane’s room.

There were signs of movement inside, as if she hadn’t gone to sleep yet. Cain knocked on the door without hesitation, even though he knew it was late.

Soon Jane came out. She was wearing a thin nightgown with a robe over it.

“Were you waiting for someone? Opening the door without checking.”

Cain strode into Jane’s room.