After dinner, an urgent message came looking for Cain.

Jane, who was with him, naturally saw him off.

Just as he was about to board the carriage, he turned to look at Jane.

“Do you have something to say?”

Cain told the coachman to wait a moment, then stood in front of Jane.

“From now on, don’t worry about me and feel free to go out.”

Surprised by the unexpected words, Jane only blinked. Despite her flustered response, Cain patiently waited for her answer.

And finally she opened her mouth. It was something Cain hadn’t expected at all.

“Will you receive reports from Sor?”

Cain’s mouth fell open. He covered half his face with his hand to hide his bewilderment.

Jane chuckled.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? I’m not that oblivious.”

He gave a faint smile at Jane’s additional words.

“Well, it’s hard to agree with that statement.”

Though he added a comment, Cain didn’t take back the freedom he had given Jane.

A cool night breeze blew between the two. There were no words, but it wasn’t awkward. Rather, it felt more comfortable.

Just as Cain was thinking it would be nice to have a drink together like this,

“Your Excellency, you need to go.”

Nathan, who had gone home but was called back, urged Cain.

“Take care.”

Jane sent him off without lingering. For some reason it felt disappointing, and Cain turned away abruptly, unable to hide his irritated feelings.

Was he regretting not having that drink?

If so, he could just finish his work quickly and come back to drink.

Cain boarded the carriage. Just as Jane was about to return to Somnium House after seeing the carriage door close,

Suddenly the carriage window opened and Cain poked his head out.

“Sor is just a bodyguard.”

Those words sounded like a declaration that he would no longer be monitoring her, seemed like he was worried about hurting Jane’s feelings, and felt like an excuse for the surveillance up until now.

So Jane smiled despite her unsettled emotions.

“I understand. Have a safe trip.”

* * *

Since Jane was given freedom, a peaceful atmosphere flowed through the Somnium mansion.

She decided to uncover the truth about her parents’ deaths. As a result, she felt that the time spent dwelling on various thoughts was being wasted.

Jane pulled herself together. Then her daily life got back on track.

Both the duties of a duchess and Joseph’s exam preparations went smoothly.

While working, Jane thought about meeting Cedric from time to time, and also asked Mary and Norbert about the previous Duke and Duchess of Hastings.

“The previous Duke Hastings really adored me, you know.”

“I remember the Duchess gave me a ring before, do you remember what it was like, Mary?”

Mary and Norbert answered Jane’s questions very diligently. Perhaps because she couldn’t ask key questions related to the incident 7 years ago, there was no information that Jane found particularly meaningful.

During the day, Jane took care of the duke’s household, and at night she personally taught Joseph.

For Joseph, it was more like reading books and having conversations with Jane rather than studying, but the purpose was still exam preparation.

Jane involved Cain in Joseph’s education process.

It was to increase points of contact between Joseph and Cain in preparation for when she would eventually leave, and to show Joseph’s clever side to open Cain’s heart.

Knock knock.

Jane, who was choosing a book for Joseph in the study, turned around at the sound of knocking.

Cain, standing diagonally in the doorway, looked at Jane with a gaze as tilted as his posture.

“You’re home early?”

It was the first time she had seen Cain come home in the afternoon.

“You asked me to help with Joseph’s studies.”

Cain speaking as if he had come home early because of Jane’s request felt unfamiliar.

Looking back, this kind of behavior from him wasn’t just one or two instances.

The time he spent looking at Jane during meals or when they inevitably met had increased.

His gaze, which seemed quite complex, was neither cold nor sharp unlike before, but that made Jane even more on edge.

And he had notably increased his conversation time with Joseph. Whatever they were talking about, the father and son would clam up when Jane appeared.

The budget for projects Jane was pursuing suddenly increased significantly, he didn’t frequent gentleman’s clubs, and he even overlooked the incident at the palace which she had expected him to bring up at some point.

Questions arose about why he was suddenly being kind to her.

However, Jane accepted it quietly without asking.

His unfamiliar behavior became a breathing space for Jane. So she thought of Cedric more often.

‘I need to meet Cedric, when should I go.’

Jane couldn’t shake off that thought while studying with Joseph, during meals, or while taking walks.

So sometimes she would miss what Joseph or Cain was saying.

“What are you thinking about so much?”

Like just now.

Jane’s hazy eyes became clear. She showed Cain the book.

“I was thinking about the conversation I’ll have with Joseph after reading this book.”

“It’s Melmenher’s book.”

“Yes. When I looked at past Academy entrance exam questions, I saw that passages from this person’s book had been quoted.”

Both Jane who was speaking and Cain who was listening frowned.

“That’s nasty.”

Melmenher’s book was not at a level to be quoted in exam questions for 6-year-olds, 5-year-olds hailed as geniuses by those around them, or even 10-year-olds at most.

“It seems the esteemed scholars don’t want to teach children, but rather want already completed children.”

Cain agreed with Jane’s opinion. The class content wasn’t much different from the exams either.

They called it basic language, but then suddenly thrust a storybook at you and demanded you translate it, that was the level.

So children attending the Academy naturally had tutoring in the name of preview.

The cost was considerable, so commoners who entered the Academy solely on their own merit often dropped out midway.

Even if they covered the expensive Academy tuition with scholarships, they couldn’t keep up with the increasingly difficult classes.

It’s not like the Academy professors taught kindly and easily either.

The Academy was a problematic place in many ways.

The need for reform of the Academy was raised to achieve the original purpose of nurturing talent.

However, the queen and nobles refused reform, citing tradition as justification.

Rather, they protected the Academy’s management method that thoroughly strengthened the privileges of nobles.

“You don’t seem to like the Academy’s management method either?”

Jane narrowed her eyes as if surprised.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is it unexpected?”

“Well, you are…”

The person who best fits the title of noble in this kingdom, perhaps on the entire continent.

“I’d better not hear it. It doesn’t seem like a very nice thing to say.”

Cain cut Jane off mid-sentence. Jane also closed her mouth, not wanting to break the peace she was enjoying after a long time.

Cain and Jane headed side by side towards Joseph’s room.

“Neigh, the horse said. You rascal, I told you your nose will grow longer if you keep lying!”

Joseph was reading the book so energetically that they could hear his voice clearly even in the hallway.

“I’m sorry, grandfather. I won’t lie anymore. The moment I said that, my nose grew looong! Why? Why, why? Why did my nose grow? Letty, tell me.”

Joseph, who had been reading the book with great enjoyment, seemed to not understand the content of the fairy tale and bombarded Letty with questions.

“You must have lied, young master.”

“But I apologized?”

“Perhaps the apology wasn’t sincere.”

“H-how can an apology not be sincere? I was told apologies should be s-sincere.”

Joseph objected to Letty’s opinion. Jane chuckled. She could imagine what expression Letty would have even without seeing it.

There were many things in the world that couldn’t be explained in words to a young child.

And children showed more interest in things that couldn’t be explained in words than in things that were visible and clear.

So adults who have to answer questions often find themselves in difficult situations.

“Let’s go in quickly, Cain.”

Jane turned to look at Cain. Their eyes met as he had been staring at Jane intently from a step away.

The smile that had lingered on Jane’s lips slowly faded.

Cain looked just like someone lost and wandering in a maze. He also looked like someone who was missing something very important.

So Jane spoke up readily.

“Cain, if you have something urgent to do, you can go. I’m more than capable of handling Joseph’s education on my own.”

Did he hear what I said?

Cain had no reaction.

If Joseph’s chattering voice hadn’t been heard, it would have seemed like time had stopped, as he didn’t move at all.

Cain recalled the report he had received a few days ago.

“It appears that the previous Duke Hastings influenced the incident that befell the Whitney family 7 years ago.”

Nathan had reported.

“It’s also true that Her Majesty the Queen frequently visited Somnium House at that time, master. The reason we didn’t know was because Assistant Phil was solely in charge of matters related to Her Majesty.”

That was what Norbert had found out.

“So how did our parents influence things? That content seems important.”

Seeing Norbert and Nathan unable to answer, Cain sighed deeply.

“Find someone who remembers even a little about that time. Make sure to find them.”

Though he said that, Cain didn’t rush Norbert, Nathan, or Mary.

Besides investigating the incident from 7 years ago, he had many other duties. So because he was busy, Cain thought, but inwardly he scoffed at himself.