However, that’s where the problem began.

As it turned out, Asher’s wife, Louisa Winkler – no, Louisa Loraine – was in the early stages of pregnancy.

If Louisa and Asher’s child was a girl, it wouldn’t have mattered much. But Louisa gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.

The birth of Asher’s son complicated the succession plan for the Winkler family.

Cassel’s father, the previous Duke of Winkler, had firmly declared that Cassel Winkler would be the heir.

He had added that Cassel’s descendants would continue the family line after him.

The Loraine Marquis family also gave the twins the Loraine surname and raised them in the marquis household.

It is said that Louisa Loraine declared that she was no longer a member of the Winkler family, and since the children did not inherit the Winkler name, they should not interfere with the children.

“Father truly cut off relations with the Loraine Marquis family. I haven’t even properly seen my niece and nephew.”

“I see.”

Riena nodded.

She couldn’t understand the previous Duke of Winkler who didn’t even see his grandchildren due to interests, but there are many people in the world, so she accepted it as it was.

“Then do you plan to resume relations with the Loraine family and your niece and nephew now?”

“No.”

Cassel answered rather solemnly.

“I intend to bring my niece and nephew to Winkler.”

“To Winkler?”

“Yes. Putting aside the succession issue for now, I will raise the children safely here.”

There was something odd about his words.

‘Raise them safely?’

Does that mean the Loraine Marquis family is not safe? From the explanation I just heard, it seemed like the marquis family and Louisa Loraine cherished their children dearly.

Riena didn’t mind much if Cassel brought his niece and nephew.

She was going to leave anyway, and it was Cassel’s decision regarding family matters.

‘And even if we actually get married, it wouldn’t matter either.’

The fact that Cassel was acting this way meant he had his reasons. Riena wanted to respect his intentions.

However, there were still a few things she was curious about.

“But weren’t those children supposed to be raised in the marquis family?”

Riena asked casually, but quickly added while observing Cassel’s expression.

“I’m not against bringing the children. I actually like it. I’m very fond of children, you know.”

It wasn’t a lie to reassure Cassel; Riena really did like children.

When her half-brother Aaron was born, she spent all day watching him wiggle in his cradle, adoring him.

‘Of course, Aaron didn’t like me very much…’

If Aaron had followed Riena as much as he followed Bianca, she would have loved and cherished him even more.

“I was just wondering if things were settled with the marquis family. It doesn’t seem like they would send the children away so suddenly.”

“I’ll resolve that soon.”

“Does that mean the marquis family hasn’t given permission yet?”

“…”

I see, that’s what it means.

“Will the twins’ mother stay at the marquis house while only the children are sent away? If it were me, I wouldn’t want to be separated from my children.”

“I plan to resolve that as well.”

At his assertion, Riena decided not to ask any more questions about this topic. Instead, she asked something else.

“Is there a reason why you suddenly want to bring those children here? Even if I take care of them, it doesn’t seem like it would be better than their mother’s care.”

“When the children come, I’ll entrust them to a nanny. Then next spring, I plan to enroll them in the academy, so you won’t need to worry much about it, My Lady.”

Riena muttered without realizing it.

“You often say things I don’t understand, Duke.”

“…”

“That’s right. Even if we get married, we can’t really call ourselves a couple. I don’t intend to get involved much in your affairs either. Of course, I wouldn’t have the authority to do so anyway, but still.”

She looked straight into Cassel’s eyes as she spoke.

“But as long as we maintain this marriage, I intend to do my duty as your wife. I’ll take care of the Winkler family as its mistress.”

“…”

“If they’re your niece and nephew, they’re mine too for the time being. But you say I don’t need to worry about them. Even if I seem unreliable, I can take good care of children.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, My Lady.”

“Then what is it?”

Cassel hesitated before answering.

“This is something I decided on my own without consulting you. I didn’t explain any of this before bringing you here. Now, I don’t want to burden you with such a responsibility.”

“A burden?”

Riena smiled gently.

“I actually like it. I was feeling a bit lonely too.”

Cassel was 11 years old when he came to the Dyke mansion. His 9-year-old niece and nephew… Perhaps they might have some similarities to the Cass she remembers.

Because of that, she was looking forward to meeting the children.

“So what’s the reason for bringing those children here? I don’t think I’ve heard an answer to that yet.”

Cassel rubbed his face with a complicated expression.

“I’ll tell you about that later.”

It meant he wanted to keep it a secret. Riena also didn’t want to pry if Cassel didn’t want to talk about it.

“Alright. If you change your mind later, please tell me then.”

“I’ll go to the Loraine Marquis family alone tomorrow. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please arrange the rooms for the children?”

“It’s no trouble at all. Of course, it’s my duty.”

After finishing the conversation, Riena asked Sandra, the head maid, and Amy to prepare rooms for the children.

“Rooms for children?”

The two were surprised by the sudden request. Especially Amy, who opened her eyes wide like a rabbit, unconsciously looked at Riena’s lower abdomen.

“Um, so…”

Riena realized what misunderstanding she had made and quickly denied it.

“It’s not like that, so don’t be surprised.”

“Amy, how could you be so rude to the young lady.”

Sandra blocked Amy and calmly asked.

“Could you give us more details? To prepare the children’s rooms, we need to know how old they are, and it would be good to know which family they’re from as well.”

“They’re 9-year-old twins, a boy and a girl.”

“Boy and girl twins…”

Sandra’s smile faded slightly.

“Are you referring to the Loraine family’s twins?”

“That’s right. It seems the Duke wants to bring his niece and nephew back to the Winkler family.”

“Why so suddenly… No, never mind. I understand. We’ll prepare the rooms accordingly.”

Due to the sudden request, they couldn’t decorate the rooms extensively.

However, Sandra and the maids did their best to furnish the rooms with children’s items from the Winkler family’s storage.

Riena enjoyed watching the preparations and went to bed that night with a joyful heart.

Riena had a dream about Cassel after a long time. However, this dream took place in a completely different setting from before.

The air was so heavy it was suffocating. Tombstones were visible here and there, along with people dressed in black.

Looking down, Riena realized she was also wearing a black dress.

The drizzling rain made the atmosphere even more gloomy.

Ah, it’s a funeral. Riena thought as she moved her feet.

A man was kneeling in front of a tombstone decorated with a baby angel statue.

The marble tombstone looked new, white and spotlessly clean without a speck of dust.

Riena approached the man with an inexplicable chilling feeling.

The man was dressed all in black from head to toe and was crying. A sound like that of a beast emerged from deep in his throat.

Unable to say anything, Riena held an umbrella over his head as he was getting soaked in the rain.

She could feel one of her shoulders getting damp from the rain, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave the man’s side.

Eventually, as the mourners began to leave one by one, soon there were hardly any people left around.

Only then did the man speak with difficulty.