“Did you love Joseph’s mother?”

Cain was very displeased.

‘Me, love that woman?’

Jane’s question was nonsense.

Cain disliked Joseph’s birth mother so much that just thinking about her made him feel nauseous.

The mere fact that his name was placed next to hers was enough to fill him with murderous intent.

Cain irritably threw off the blanket and got up.

Jane rose with him. The soft blanket slipped down, revealing her shoulders that Cain liked, but his eyes didn’t register them now.

“Don’t ever mention that woman again.”

“Why not?”

When Cain responded so sensitively, Jane became even more curious.

It was an unusual reaction for someone rumored to have dated many women and ended things cleanly.

What kind of relationship did that woman and Cain have? Did she coldly abandon Cain?

“She’s Joseph’s mother. Joseph might try to find his birth mother someday. And it could help in raising the child too.”

“What could? Knowing about that woman?”

“Yes.”

Setting aside her personal curiosity, it was good to know about Joseph’s birth mother.

The reasons were as she had stated.

Cain pulled up one corner of his mouth. Jane furrowed her brow at the clear mockery on his face.

“If Joseph looks for her, tell him she’s dead.”

“Cain!”

Jane cried out.

“You’re too loud, Jane.”

Cain shook his head roughly. Jane’s face hardened at his attitude of utter disgust.

“Let me be clear.”

Cain didn’t stop.

“Don’t try to find out about Joseph’s mother.”

“How can you say that? She’s Joseph’s mother.”

As Jane continued to insist, Cain sighed.

He could understand why she was looking for Joseph.

Jane’s expressions and tone conveyed her sincerity.

It was truly for Joseph’s sake. Because she wanted to understand Joseph better.

But even if Jane made an absurd misunderstanding, Cain couldn’t tell her.

If it became known what kind of person the child’s birth mother was, Joseph would lose his place in the Hastings family.

And his own honor would also be greatly tarnished. Unless he revealed Joseph’s birth father, that is.

But revealing Joseph’s birth father was an even bigger issue.

‘He…’

Cain felt conflicted as he thought of Joseph’s birth father. He was a good person, but someone who would be harmful to the Hastings family, so he had to be kept hidden.

“Jane, let’s stop talking about this.”

It was irritating that a similar situation was occurring again so soon after they had fought and reconciled just yesterday.

The fact that the cause of the fight was Joseph’s birth mother made it even worse.

He had been in a good mood earlier when Jane had climbed on top of him and let her hair fall like curtains.

Cain wanted to end it here. But Jane didn’t seem to agree, as she lowered her head then raised it again with resolute determination in her eyes.

“Joseph needs a mother.”

“He has you.”

Jane pressed her lips together.

“My contract only has 6 months left, Cain. After that, I’ll be gone.”

Jane calmly reminded him of the fact stated in the contract.

Though her insides were crumbling, the words flowed out nonchalantly.

She was becoming more skilled at hiding her emotions. Was that a good thing? Before she could decide, Cain abruptly got up and climbed out of bed.

He hurriedly gathered his shirt and pants that had fallen to the floor and put them on as if he had urgent business.

“Cain… We were in the middle of talking…”

“Don’t say another word.”

After pulling on his pants, he turned to look at Jane. Meeting her eyes, he let out a long breath as if enduring a terrible situation. His bare chest rose and fell deeply.

“I’m going to be busy for a while.”

He bit out the words and left the room.

Jane was momentarily stunned by Cain’s sudden anger directed at her. Only after the door slammed shut did she come back to her senses.

“What… did I do wrong?”

It seemed as if a cold frost had settled where he had been standing.

This time, she hadn’t done anything wrong at all. Though Jane usually gave in to him, she resolved not to apologize to Cain first for today’s incident.

“Who does he think he is, telling me not to talk?”

Jane vowed that she absolutely would not speak to him first.

* * *

Upon arriving at his office, Cain immediately looked for a cigar and put it in his mouth.

Glyn, who had hurriedly come to find him, lit the end of his cigar. Cain gave Glyn a glance and nodded. It was a dismissal.

“Please call me right away if you need anything.”

Cain turned his gaze to the window without even watching Glyn bow.

Judging by the sound of the door closing, he must have left.

Suddenly, a bitter laugh escaped through Cain’s teeth.

Even a servant he only briefly encountered understood his mood so well, yet Jane, with whom he had spent countless nights, didn’t understand at all.

That fact was both amusing and irritating.

Or was she pretending not to know?

Was she the type of person who only felt satisfied after turning his insides upside down like this?

It might be so.

Whenever their relationship seemed to improve even a little, Jane invariably ended up scratching at his insides.

“Oh? You were in here?”

It was Nathan.

As Cain turned around, Nathan awkwardly smiled with his hand on the doorknob.

“I heard you slept in the madam’s room last night, so I thought you’d be coming in late.”

“Why are you here so early then?”

“Didn’t you know? When I come to work at the duke’s residence, I arrive early and have breakfast here. Pudica’s cooking skills are good.”

Is that so.

Cain erased Nathan’s words, which he didn’t need to remember, and continued smoking his cigar.

“You should at least open the window while smoking.”

Nathan, who had put down the things in his hands on the desk, opened the window where Cain was standing.

As the smoke rushed out through the gap, Cain thought.

He had been so flustered that he couldn’t even think to open the window and had hurriedly looked for a cigar to smoke.

And that smoke trying to escape at the first opportunity was just like Jane.

The two thoughts seemed different, but were ultimately the same.

After all, Cain had been flustered because of Jane mentioning the day she would leave.

He inhaled the cigar deeply, making his cheeks hollow.

Yet his heightened senses refused to calm down.

Perhaps it was time to change cigars. The scent that had been quite pleasant was now unpleasant.

He stubbed out the cigar in the ashtray as if throwing it away and flung the window wide open.

A cool breeze blew in, but Cain’s insides still felt stuffy.

As if he had eaten something disagreeable.

‘But I haven’t eaten anything, can words cause indigestion?’

If so, there was only one statement that had caused his indigestion.

Cain slammed his fist on the window frame. Nathan, who was about to leave for breakfast, flinched.

“Um… Should I pay separately for breakfast…?”

“You shut up too.”

This guy and that guy, they’re all the same in turning my insides upside down.

Cain chased Nathan out as well and roughly mussed up his hair.

6 months from now…

At some point, Cain had stopped thinking about what would come after.

What would change after Jane left?

Like a sea shrouded in fog, nothing was visible.

Cain squeezed his eyes shut.

In doing so, Cain forgot even the question Jane had asked at first.

Joseph’s birth mother, she only came to mind the next day.

* * *

“A personal express letter has arrived. From Miratsa.”

“Miratsa?”

Cain, who had been reviewing spice import records, tilted his head.

Miratsa was a very remote countryside area that even Cain’s railroad didn’t reach. It was also a poor place without even a main road wide enough for two carriages to pass.

There was no one there with whom he had formed a special connection worth giving his personal express mailbox address to, either for business or political reasons.

“Yes. Since it’s your personal mailbox, sir, I didn’t check it in advance. Shall I open it?”

Cain shook his head and took the letter. He turned it over, checking for any peculiarities.

“No name, no return address. An interesting letter.”

I hope the contents are interesting too.

As he had been bored with work just then, Cain tore open the envelope.

Compared to the thick envelope, the contents were pathetically sparse. The handwriting was a mess too. Just like the sender of this letter.

Cain’s expression hardened as he read the letter. He crumpled it up and threw it in the trash.

“What’s wrong? Whose letter was it?”

“Joseph’s mother.”

“Ah… Should I burn it?”

Nathan’s mood soured almost as much as Cain’s. He bent over as if about to rummage through the trash.

“It’s fine. Just strengthen security around Somnium House and the company for a while.”

“Surely… she’s not coming? Not unless she’s crazy.”

“You know she’s a crazy woman.”

That was 100% true. At least as far as Nathan could see.

“That’s why I said we should ignore her.”

Just when the troublesome spice import business was going well for once, things kept happening to ruin Cain’s mood.

Nathan, grumbling, glanced at Cain. The corners of his eyes were slightly turned up.

“I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”

Guessing at Cain’s upset stomach, Nathan rattled around at the snack bar set up on one side.

“Make it strong.”

Cain picked up the report, but no matter how much he looked at it, nothing was sinking in. Finally, he put down the report and pen as if throwing them.

Jane had asked about Joseph’s birth mother just yesterday, and now he received this letter today. It gave him a strange feeling.

Was it a divine message telling him to tell Jane the truth?

But even if it meant going against God’s will, Cain had no intention of telling Jane about Joseph’s birth mother, Jexy.

To speak of her would mean revealing that Joseph was not his own son.

He could make up a story, but her life was a sewer that couldn’t be dressed up no matter how he tried.

Just as a mud hut remains a mud hut no matter how much money you pour into it or how many expensive decorations you add, Jexy’s life was the same.

Fraud, theft, arson, blackmail… All the crimes spoke of the kind of life she had lived so far.

It was a miracle that Joseph, whom she had briefly raised after giving birth, was so pure.

‘He only takes after his father. He’s pure and kind because he takes after him.’

Cain was so curious about how Joseph’s birth father had ended up spending a night with a woman like Jexy. If he could, he wanted to dig him up from his grave and ask.

Anyway, unlike what Jane thought, Jexy was nothing more than an obstacle in Joseph’s life, no more, no less.

So he wished Jane would back down first.

Cain recalled Jane averting her gaze when their eyes met this morning.

It had only been a day of not speaking and maintaining a cold atmosphere, but he felt uneasy.

But what could he do?

Cain didn’t want Jane meeting the queen under the pretext of going to the zoo, nor did he want her finding out about Jexy for Joseph’s sake.

So this time, Jane had to give up. Cain had come to that conclusion and wanted to shake it off, but he eventually had to give up.

At the time Cain received Jexy’s personal express mail, Jane received an invitation written by the queen herself.

Hearing that, Cain was very annoyed, but he couldn’t ignore the queen’s invitation.

Instead, he firmly instructed Jane.

Jane easily replied that she would comply. She thought the things Cain was worried about wouldn’t happen.

However, reality didn’t flow so smoothly.