Cain abruptly stood up from his seat.

“Get up.”

He said to Jane without even glancing at Helena. Jane remained seated, motionless like a statue.

Frustrated, Cain pulled her wrist to make her stand.

Helena continued eating her cake, indifferent to what the two were doing.

“The desserts in this house are quite good.”

She remarked offhandedly.

“Jane, get up. There’s no need for us to stay here.”

“But, Your Majesty is still speaking.”

Jane’s voice trembled. Her eyes were reddened as she tried to hold back tears.

Cain swallowed a sigh and turned to face Helena.

“Your Majesty, we’ll be taking our leave.”

His attitude was impeccably polite, but his blazing eyes were full of insolence.

At his announcement, Helena’s fork paused mid-slice through her dessert.

Cain and Helena stared at each other. The unyielding confrontation ended with Cain’s victory.

“It seems Lord Hastings has an urgent matter. You may go.”

After a long pause, the permission was granted, and Jane stood up. Though her body was drained of all strength, Jane managed to stand upright without falling.

“We shall take our leave now, Your Majesty.”

Jane curtsied.

Helena, looking at Cain who was glaring fiercely at her instead of Jane, said:

“Don’t be so offended by my question. I was merely curious. As I age, I find myself curious about all sorts of things.”

Although Jane had said earlier that it was fine for Helena to say anything, she couldn’t bring herself to agree now.

Straining the corners of her mouth to keep her expression from crumbling was the best Jane could do.

“Do put in a good word for me so that Lord Hastings doesn’t hate me too much.”

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. He’s not one to misunderstand Your Majesty’s intentions.”

“Is that so, Lord Hastings?”

Cain’s jaw tightened. Was the old raccoon trying to provoke Jane or himself?

“I’ll visit again next time.”

Cain judged that tending to the shocked Jane was the priority.

“Take care.”

Cain turned, supporting Jane’s shoulders as if to steady her.

“Wait.”

Helena stood up and approached Jane. She pushed away Cain’s hand and gripped Jane’s shoulder instead.

Then, with her hand adorned with numerous rings, Helena cupped Jane’s cheek. The cold metal against her cheek gave Jane an eerie sensation.

“There’s one more thing I’m curious about. Do you know who informed on your parents to me?”

Jane’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.

“It seems you don’t know. Well, that’s fine then.”

What’s fine?

Jane wanted to ask. But no words came out. In just half a day, her mind had been completely shattered.

It was Cain who took care of the disoriented Jane.

Cain quickly called for the Hastings carriage to take Jane, and personally went to fetch Joseph, who had finished his zoo visit.

On the return journey in the carriage, Joseph chattered incessantly about the animals he had seen that day.

Cain took it upon himself to respond to the child’s excited talk.

“…Mo-mother…”

“Shh, Joseph. Your mother isn’t feeling well today, so if you want to say something, tell me.”

Jane sat quietly with her eyes closed, her head resting against the carriage wall.

* * *

After returning from the palace, Jane was bedridden for two full days.

Thanks to the devoted care of the Hastings household, her fever broke after two days, but Jane’s condition didn’t improve.

She frequently lost focus. This didn’t mean she collapsed.

She would suddenly stop in the middle of her work. It felt as if only her body was present, while her mind had wandered elsewhere.

She would forget to chew while eating, often return to the first page while reading reports, and frequently ask “What were we talking about?” during conversations.

The only tasks she managed to focus on properly were those related to Joseph.

Jane hired a tutor for Joseph and observed their first lesson. She also pre-registered him for the Academy entrance exam to be held in four months.

Right after completing those tasks, Jane became completely absent-minded. She was unresponsive to questions or suggestions to do anything. Today, she hadn’t even left her room all day.

“What happened to her?”

Finally, late in the evening, Mary barged into Cain’s study upon his return.

Cain glanced at Mary and continued removing his jacket. Nathan took the jacket and hung it on the wall.

“I’m asking what happened to her, master.”

Cain remained silent. Mary sighed heavily, saying she was at her wit’s end. Norbert, who had entered belatedly, grabbed Mary’s hand and pulled her back.

Mary, whose mind was entirely focused on the ailing Jane, might not have noticed, but Cain too had been struggling since returning from the palace.

As he was the type to hide and endure pain well, most people didn’t notice, but Norbert and Nathan knew.

They knew that he had sought out headache medicine he had never taken before, and even went to see the family doctor for a consultation.

And that he had stayed up all night watching over the sleeping Jane.

“Leave her be.”

As Norbert tried to forcibly drag Mary away, Cain spoke. His voice was so hoarse that it was clearly not normal, and Mary immediately became worried about him.

“You’ve been drinking plenty of warm tea, haven’t you?”

Cain smiled faintly.

“Yes.”

“Young master, are you really not going to tell us what happened at the palace? Do you want to watch this old woman suffocate from frustration?”

Cain rubbed his brow.

“Mary, you’re not an old woman. You’re not even sixty yet.”

“If I have grandchildren, I’m old, aren’t I?”

Mary retorted grumpily. The atmosphere became a bit lighter. Only then did Norbert and Nathan, who had been tense, let out a sigh of relief.

Nathan prepared a cigar and offered it to Cain.

Mary glared at Nathan with narrowed eyes. Nathan was afraid of Mary’s scolding, but right now he was more worried that Cain might collapse.

Cain put the cigar in his mouth. He preferred not to smoke in front of Mary if possible, but without it, he couldn’t breathe properly.

“Nathan, the window.”

At Cain’s flick of the hand, Nathan quickly opened the window.

“Mary, just for today.”

Cain spoke as if making an excuse.

“Just for today.”

Despite everything, Mary had a soft spot for Cain. Especially when his handsome face was consumed by melancholy.

“What happened, young master?”

Mary asked soothingly. Cain turned his head towards the window and exhaled cigar smoke.

“What would you do if something you firmly believed turned out not to be true?”

“Is this a nonsense quiz?”

Nathan asked. Cain shook his head. At that, the faces of the three, except for Cain, became serious.

After quite a long deliberation, they opened their mouths.

“It depends on the situation. If you thought you were taking medicine but it turned out to be grass, what’s the problem? I’d immediately check if it’s true or not.”

Norbert said he would dismiss it as insignificant.

“What if it’s not like that?”

“It would be better if the question were more specific.”

Nathan requested a hint. As Cain seemed to be seeking advice, he too was eager to consider it seriously.

“Everything is built on top of that proposition. It’s like a cornerstone. What if it’s removed? Everything comes crashing down.”

“I would cover it up.”

Nathan answered immediately. Cain gestured with his chin for him to elaborate.

“You’re saying everything you’ve achieved so far would collapse? Even if it’s just for the sake of the effort it took to achieve it, I would pretend not to know. Especially if there’s a lot to protect.”

“A practical answer.”

“Do you need a romantic answer, young master?”

Mary was looking at Cain with compassionate eyes. It was the look of a mother gazing at her adolescent son grappling with his identity.

Cain put down his cigar and shook his head.

“Whatever it is, don’t worry too much. And do as you wish, young master. We’ll support whatever you decide to do.”

“Well, not exactly…”

As Nathan spoke tactlessly, Norbert patted his back. The sound wasn’t particularly loud, but Nathan’s upper body lurched forward.

“I believe in you.”

Ugh, ack, after making strange noises, a satisfactory answer for Norbert finally came out of Nathan’s mouth.

“Thank you.”

Even if it’s forced belief.

Cain chuckled and continued smoking his cigar. While smoking, he rhythmically tapped his fingers on the desk.

The three waited for the end of that sound, which was neither music nor anything else. They knew that after it ended, orders would surely be given.

Ta-dan, tak.

Finally, it ended.

Cain put down the cigar, which was more than half burned, and placed both hands on the table.

“I’m thinking of investigating the incident from 7 years ago.”

“The incident from 7 years ago, which one do you mean, sir?”

Norbert asked.

“The incident that led to the downfall of the Whitney earldom.”

“What? Suddenly? Hasn’t everything been concluded, and even the specific details all revealed?”

Nathan couldn’t understand Cain’s decision.

“What do you want to know? What should I do?”

On the other hand, Norbert accepted Cain’s order without question. He seemed like someone who had been waiting for this order all along.

“Do you think Earl and Countess Whitney were innocent?”

Cain remained silent at Nathan’s question. Nathan’s mouth fell open.

“Your Grace, that’s a dangerous thought. Don’t do it.”

“I don’t think they were completely innocent.”

Cain gave the answer Nathan wanted to hear, to calm him down.

“Then why…”

“I’m just curious.”

Like the queen, I too seem to have grown old and become curious about useless things, Cain thought to himself.

“So what exactly?”

“It was just a week.”

“Pardon?”

“Just a week after the tip-off that the Whitney earldom was supporting the Rose Faction, they were beheaded. The queen only said she received information from a reliable informant.”

“Y-yes, that’s right. So what? What’s the problem? The informant was reliable, and when they investigated, evidence was found.”

“But the identity of the informant was never revealed. The same goes for the evidence. The source isn’t clear.”

“…!”

A chill ran down Nathan’s spine. He shuddered and covered his ears.

“I don’t want to hear this. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

Ignoring his statement, Cain continued with his orders.

“I want you to investigate everyone involved in the incident from 7 years ago. Mary, you’re still in contact with some people from the Whitney household, right?”

“Yes. Not all of them, but I keep in touch with a few who worked for the Whitney family.”

“I’ll leave that part to you.”

Mary nodded.

“Nathan.”

Hearing his name called, Nathan reluctantly lowered his arms and gave a weak “Yes.”

“You’ll track down the Rose Faction from 7 years ago with me.”

“What should I do, Your Grace?”

Norbert asked.

Cain’s lips moved but then closed. Since returning from the palace, Cain had been mulling over the deaths of Earl and Countess Whitney from 7 years ago.

Suddenly, a scene came to mind.

Helena, who had secretly visited his house at that time.

With the deaths of Earl and Countess Whitney and the storm that violently swept through his own life, he had completely forgotten.

The fact that Helena had frequently, secretly visited the Hastings duchy in disguise.

Why did she do that?

He immediately became suspicious.

To find answers to his questions and properly investigate the incident from 7 years ago, he needed to thrust sharp blades in multiple directions.

One of those was…

“I want you to take charge of investigating the Hastings family from 7 years ago. The people my parents met, those who came and went from the Somnium mansion, and if possible, meet with those who worked there at the time. We need to know everything about the Hastings from that period.”

The Hastings, his parents.