Jane touched her forehead with trembling hands.

This was the full story of the quarrel that occurred between Wolfgang and Joseph.

The children in the reading club asked Wolfgang about Jane.

Wolfgang boasted about Jane, saying she was an amazing person and even a duchess, but some of the children cursed her, calling her a rebel monster.

Wolfgang said that was absolutely not true, but when many children raised their voices mentioning the incident from 7 years ago, he swung his fists.

Jane had no intention of blaming the children who spoke ill of her.

‘The problem is the adult who couldn’t distinguish what to say and not say in front of the kids.’

The children are not at fault. Jane also understood Wolfgang’s circumstances.

‘Even at the reading club, the reason he fought with the children was because of me.’

While taking my side.

Jane felt pathetic about her situation of being protected by a child.

And today, Wolfgang met Joseph and told him what he heard from the children.

He also gave some advice, they say.

“If you don’t want to lose your mom, you need to do well!”

Joseph burst into tears, surprised once at the word “monster” and twice at the assumption that he might lose Jane.

If you think about it, Wolfgang didn’t do anything wrong.

Jane chewed on her lower lip. Her existence was causing trouble in various places.

To Cain, to Joseph.

This wasn’t right.

It’s already been 7 years since then, it’s been proven that Jane is not guilty, and she’s been punished enough.

She was okay with being cursed at herself, but she didn’t want to see Joseph and Cain being insulted.

So Jane decided.

To clarify the misunderstanding about her connection to the Rose Faction.

For that, it was urgent to grasp how the situation was unfolding.

And she had to face what had happened to the Hastings family over the past 7 years.

‘Who knows well about the Hastings family? And who would give me information?’

The only people who came to mind were Norbert and Mary.

But asking those two was difficult because their affection for Jane was too great.

They were likely to refuse to answer out of concern for Jane’s wounds.

If not those two……

Jane thought of Cedric, then erased his name as well.

‘Cedric was in Rouen while I was in Rouen too.’

As she listed reasons why it wouldn’t work, finding someone to ask questions to was not easy.

Then, as someone’s face flashed like lightning, Jane frowned.

“……Scarlet.”

Someone who knows well about the Rose Faction and has no reason to lie for Jane’s sake.

She was perfect for Jane to get information from.

But why did it feel so reluctant?

‘Should I ask Cain?’

In the end, Jane thought of Cain last. There was no guarantee he would tell her honestly, but no other suitable alternative came to mind.

‘There’s been too little conversation between us as a married couple. I’ll ask Cain honestly. What happened to his parents? Was it really related to our parents…’

And if he’s having a lot of trouble because of her now. If so, what she could do to help.

Jane was determined to ask that.

* * *

“You’re back? Hmm, you drank a lot.”

“A little.”

Norbert supported Cain as he staggered in. Nathan rolled his freed shoulders.

“Where’s Jane?”

“She’s in the garden.”

Cain glanced back at the front door.

“My lord, can you go upstairs?”

“I’m not drunk.”

Cain subtly leaned his upper body back.

Norbert looked at Cain with doubtful eyes. Cain stood up straight and grinned as if to prove a point.

“He’s drunk.”

Norbert said to Nathan.

“Yes. He had some business to attend to.”

Nathan held back from saying more.

Ignoring the gaze boring into his back, Cain slowly climbed the stairs when he suddenly stopped as if remembering something.

“I think I’ll get some fresh air.”

“No, sir. It would be better for you to go in, wash up and sleep. Butler, do we have some cool honey water?”

Nathan followed Cain up and made the request.

Norbert turned towards the kitchen, saying he would prepare it right away, but Cain was faster in going down to the entrance.

“I’m not drunk, so it’s fine. Some cold air will make me feel even better. No one follow me.”

Cain quickly shook off Nathan and Norbert as if playing hide-and-seek and headed towards the garden where Jane was said to be.

Though no one told him where in the garden she was, Cain found her right away.

On the white bench that hadn’t been tidied up with the excuse of being busy, Jane was sitting there.

Cain slowed his pace from where Jane was visible and soon stopped walking.

And he gazed at Jane with pensive eyes.

There wasn’t a single light in the less frequented areas of the garden. The only light was the dim glow emitted by the half moon.

But it was enough to appreciate Jane’s appearance.

Jane was wearing only a thin negligee with just a shawl draped over it, as if she wasn’t cold.

‘What if you catch a cold again.’

Weak body, weak stamina that could make her lose consciousness if pushed a little at night, thin bones that her wrists were not even a handful…..

While Cain was defining Jane as someone who wouldn’t be strange to die tomorrow, Jane threw her gaze into empty space.

What on earth was she looking at?

Cain followed Jane’s gaze. Her gaze was fixed on the empty sky.

The moment he confirmed the empty sky, an inexplicable ominousness overtook Cain.

Wanting to turn Jane’s gaze to himself, Cain took off his jacket and approached her.

Startled by the sudden presence, Jane turned around with a jerk of her shoulders.

Cain swallowed a sigh of relief upon seeing Jane’s face.

He thought she was crying, but she wasn’t.

Cain wrapped his jacket around Jane’s shoulders as she looked at him with surprised eyes.

“Cain?”

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

Cain sat down next to Jane with his hands in his pockets. Jane’s eyes narrowed at his unusually disheveled posture.

“Did you drink?”

“No.”

“……I can smell it.”

“I just had a little.”

You drank a lot, Jane thought to herself.

Jane rested her cheek on her knee, which she had raised by putting her heel on the bench. And she quietly observed Cain.

The wall surrounding Cain in normal times seemed to have crumbled slightly. Just as much as his relaxed posture.

‘This might be my chance.’

A chance to dig out the information she wanted to know.

But before digging for information, there was something she wanted to confirm. About the perfume smell that had been bothering her.

“Did you drink at the gentlemen’s club?”

“No.”

“……”

“I just stopped by there briefly. I had someone to meet.”

Cain looked at Jane. Her atmosphere seemed to have cooled a bit…..

“I really worked.”

Cain was surprised at his own words.

Why am I explaining to Jane as if making excuses?

“Yes. I’m sure you did. Men call going to gentlemen’s clubs work. Whether they drink, play cards, or meet……”

Jane’s expression hardened.

“Women.”

Jane looked Cain up and down.

Indeed, there was no way smoke could come out when the fireplace wasn’t lit.

It seems the rumors about Cain meeting many women were true.

“I really worked.”

“What work did you do? Who did you meet?”

Cain hesitated and then closed his mouth.

It was a question he couldn’t answer, but more than that, he was taken aback by how welcome her pressing felt.

“Fine. You don’t have to force yourself to tell me.”

“Jane, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that I can’t. The person I met today is.”

Cain clenched his fist in frustration. He had met the Black Hawks tracking the Rose Faction.

It was a meeting to soothe and coax the Black Hawks, whose work had multiplied several times over with the additional order to separately root out the Rose Faction members spreading malicious rumors about Jane on top of their existing tracking.

He could have just said it was related to the Rose Faction in one word, but he was reluctant to mention the Rose Faction in front of Jane after the Delpion History bombing incident.

Not because he didn’t trust Jane, but…..

‘Because I trust her.’

Trust had come at some point, without him even realizing it.

“I understand. I won’t ask about difficult things. Instead, tell me something else.”

“What is it?”

“Promise you’ll tell me before hearing the question.”

“That would be difficult.”

“Do you not want to talk to me?”

One of Cain’s eyebrows raised. He almost snapped, asking what she meant by that.

But Jane’s bitter smile firmly shut Cain’s mouth.

What’s going on?

She looked unusually tired today.

“What do you want to know?”

In the end, Cain declared surrender.

It was an unexpected opportunity. Questions flooded and overflowed in Jane’s mind.

While she was choosing which question to ask first, Cain added.

“Just one question.”

A look of disappointment flashed across Jane’s face.

“You don’t like it?”

“No! One is fine.”

As Jane quickly shook her head, Cain let out a laugh. His relaxed, natural laugh was like a painting.

I wish time would stop right now.

Jane was startled by her sudden thought and quickly turned her head away.

And she chose and chose again which question to ask.

For a while, silence reigned. Cain felt the gentle breeze, appreciated the sound of insects, and waited for Jane’s question.

He usually hated when someone dragged out time saying they would speak, but this time wasn’t so bad. No, it was good.

Whether it was because of the alcohol or being intoxicated by the atmosphere, Cain’s eyelids closed.

But his peace was soon broken.

“Cain.”

Cain pushed up his eyelids.

Jane looked at her own reflection in his clear, transparent jewel-like eyes and slowly unraveled the question she had carefully chosen.

“Did the Duke and Duchess of Hastings die because of our parents? Is that why you married me for revenge?”

Cain’s eyes, which had been like a calm lake, shook aimlessly as if hit by a stone.