The opportunity to go to the royal palace came unexpectedly soon.

“We’re going to the zoo? Wow!”

Queen Helena had opened the zoo to the public for Children’s Day.

Since it was first-come-first-served, Jane immediately applied through Nathan, and today she heard they were selected.

Joseph was overjoyed, almost jumping up and down. His bottom was wriggling as if he would hop into a carriage right away.

Even watching him made one feel cheerful.

However, there was a hurdle to overcome before going to the royal palace.

“We need to get Father’s permission.”

“Oh, do you think Father won’t allow it?”

“Well, he might if Joseph asks directly?”

“M-me? Directly? Shouldn’t, shouldn’t Mother do it?”

Joseph’s face fell. The child’s shoulders slumped pitifully as he looked down at the zoo invitation from the royal palace.

Joseph stroked the picture of a long-necked giraffe with his finger.

“I don’t mind if I can’t go to the zoo. The one who really wants to go should ask.”

Joseph stared intently at the pictures of the giraffe and the lion with its luxurious mane, then looked up. A resolute determination could be felt from his tightly pressed lips.

“When, when will Father be home?”

Instead of answering, Jane looked up at Norbert.

“I’ll contact him.”

“Tell him Joseph has something urgent to discuss, so please come without fail.”

No matter how busy he is, he should be able to spare a day for his son’s request.

And that evening, as Jane expected, Cain returned home earlier than usual.

Jane went down to the entrance to greet him personally.

Cain was in the middle of taking off his gloves and jacket and handing them to Norbert.

It took courage to speak to him, as this was their first encounter since their drunken conversation last time.

“Cain, you’re back?”

Even if it was just a one-word greeting.

Their gazes met in mid-air. Though they hadn’t seen each other for just a few days, an awkward atmosphere flowed as if they were meeting after several months.

A tension-inducing silence continued.

“I hear you’ve been working a lot lately.”

Cain broke that silence on the way down to the dining room.

“Nathan praised you highly, saying you have many good ideas.”

“I hope I can be of help.”

Jane stroked her throat.

Cain stared at her slender neck and thin back of her hand until they reached the dining room.

“You don’t need to try so hard.”

“Pardon?”

Jane froze in the position of sitting down on the chair pulled out by the maid.

Cain, who had sat down first, casually drank some water.

“I mean, there are plenty of people who can work for the Hastings without you.”

Jane’s eyebrows twitched. She was now a member of the Hastings family. She had enough reason to dedicate herself to the family.

Yet Cain drew a line. How long would he continue to push her away?

Every time Jane faced this attitude of his, she felt like she was being pushed to the edge of a cliff. It was miserable and upsetting.

And it sparked a desire to do even better.

“I know. I just wanted to be of help to this family too.”

Cain raised one eyebrow. Jane pretended to be nonchalant, but seeing his expression, her heart quickly shrank.

The longer she spent time with him, the deeper his thorny words pierced her.

Her resolve to forget him proved futile as Cain within her grew larger and larger.

Jane honestly accepted her changing feelings.

She didn’t want to fight with herself when her relationship with him was already overwhelming.

“Jane, what I mean is…”

“Joseph!”

Just as Cain was about to open his mouth, someone most welcome to Jane popped into the dining room.

“Ah, Father, welcome home.”

Joseph, who had walked in with dignity, bowed deeply with a very nervous face.

Except for stuttering, it was a perfect greeting without any flaws.

Cain let out a slight nasal sound, “Hmm.”

Perhaps because it had been a while since he’d seen him, Joseph seemed to have grown quite a bit. Not in the sense that he had actually grown taller, but that the child had become more solid in many ways.

His chubby cheeks and skin glowing from sufficient nutrition were a testament to the child’s health.

And his eyes, which used to wander aimlessly not knowing where to look, were now focused on the person he was speaking to.

‘He’s grown a lot mentally too.’

He still stuttered, but it seemed more like a habit than being intimidated.

Something any child might do.

Cain’s concerns that there might be a big problem with the child had almost disappeared.

‘Well, he’s that bastard’s son, so he couldn’t be a half-wit.’

Cain recalled Joseph’s father. Suddenly his mouth turned bitter, and while he rinsed it with water, the table was filled with food.

“Sit down, Joseph.”

“Yes, Father.”

Joseph, who had answered bravely, sat across from Jane.

Norbert couldn’t hide his pleased smile as he looked at the three seated at the table.

With Cain at the head of the table, and Jane and Joseph on either side, it looked like a geometrically perfect triangle.

At first, when the three of them came down to the dining room to eat, it felt like walking on thin ice, but now the atmosphere had become much softer.

It couldn’t be said that spring had come, but it was no longer a biting wind, which was something.

‘Take it slowly, master.’

Norbert silently cheered for Cain.

“Pudica seems to have put in extra effort since you came after a long time. This is a dragon, right?”

As a dragon made of fried vegetables was placed on the table, Joseph’s mouth gaped wide open.

“It doesn’t seem like it was made for me to eat.”

Cain chuckled seeing Joseph’s wide-eyed look.

“Joseph has been into stories about warriors defeating dragons lately. But I don’t think it was made just for Joseph.”

As there was no need to hide the truth about this, Cain simply nodded.

Cain watched Jane and Joseph indifferently while cutting and putting meat in his mouth.

Jane giving advice on Joseph’s clumsy knife skills, Joseph managing to cut somewhat decently following Jane’s advice and beaming with a broad smile.

Laughter never ceased at the table. Suddenly, Cain realized that the headache that had been nagging at him for the past few days had disappeared.

With that, the flavor of the meat, which had felt like tough rubber, came alive. The conversation between Jane and Joseph, which had sounded distant, became clear.

He couldn’t help but think ‘This is nice.’ Then he let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

It was because the past few days had been so miserable for him that he found a mere comfortable dinner worthy of such appreciation.

Because of the Rose Faction, Helena, and Countess Calerina who was picking on Jane.

To silence them, Cain had been chasing the Rose Faction twice as hard as usual.

He had thwarted five terrorist attempts and caught over ten thieves impersonating the Rose Faction who had robbed nobles’ houses and fled.

Yet he failed to remove the name ‘Jane’ from the rumors.

“Cain, would you like a glass of wine?”

Just as his expression was about to darken again, Jane spoke to him. Cain tapped the empty wine glass beside him. The servant immediately poured wine.

Soon after, appetizers that went well with white wine came out from the kitchen in a line. They were things Joseph could eat too.

“Fill Joseph’s glass too. With grape juice.”

Jane made sure Joseph wasn’t left out.

Jane, who treated someone else’s child so well, how much better would she be to her own child?

Suddenly curious, Cain imagined that scene.

Jane standing holding a child that resembled her, the bright smile she would show that child.

If the tiny child in her arms opened its eyes…

“…!”

Cain’s hand gripping the wine glass tightened.

Jane and Joseph turned in surprise at his suddenly changed atmosphere.

“Cain, are you not feeling well?”

“I’m fine. I just remembered an urgent matter, so I’ll excuse myself first.”

Cain left the puzzled Jane and Joseph in the dining room and strode towards his bedroom.

Norbert, sensing the serious mood, followed him.

Cain, who had flung open the bedroom door and entered, searched his breast pocket and bit down on a cigar.

As Norbert lit the end of his cigar, Cain’s chest rose and fell greatly.

He closed his eyes and exhaled the smoke slowly.

“Go out and attend to your duties, Norbert.”

Cain found the worried gaze piercing his cheek unbearable.

“Shall I call for a doctor? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

Cain shook his head.

The reason for his poor complexion was his imagination.

The imagination of the child in Jane’s arms opening its eyes, and the shock from realizing that the child’s eyes in that imagination were neither Jane’s nor his.

From this baseless imagination, Cain felt the pain of his heart being torn to shreds.

And the absurd thought that he must not let Jane take a single step out of this house welled up.

Lastly, he tried to recall if there was anyone in the Hastings family with the same eye color as the child he had imagined.

If there was, and if that person appeared before him…

Cain’s eyes gleamed with madness.

He took a long drag on his cigar.

Until his cheeks hollowed, until the smoke deeply permeated his lungs. So that the acrid smoke would cover his chilling thoughts.

How long had he been smoking?

Even Norbert who had been by his side had left, and the smoke in the room felt stifling even to him who was smoking, when there was a knock on the door.

Coming to his senses, Cain flung the window wide open.

It must be Nathan or Norbert, or maybe Mary who had heard about his condition.

“Come in.”

So he easily granted entry, but the one who peeked his head through the slightly opened door was Joseph.

“Fa-Father, do you have a moment?”