Riena quickly changed her clothes and headed to the living room. After looking at the door connected to the adjacent room, she came out into the hallway.

After some hesitation, she knocked on Cassel’s door, and he soon came out.

As Riena had expected, he was wearing a dress shirt instead of indoor clothes, seemingly preparing to go out.

Riena looked at his cuffs, which were still unbuttoned, and asked.

“Are you preparing to go to Marquis Loraine’s?”

Cassel, who had been puzzled by her visit, nodded as if he now understood.

“Yes.”

“I’ll go with you. If you wait a moment, I’ll get ready quickly and come out.”

“I can go by myself.”

“No, I’ll go with you. If they’re the Duke’s nephews, they’ll soon be my nephews too, right?”

Cassel hesitated for a moment. Riena watched his expression and asked.

“By the way, is your nephew’s name Noah?”

Cassel’s eyes flickered slightly.

“How did you know?”

This time, Riena was also surprised.

‘The nephew’s name is really Noah?’

If so, it meant that the man in her dream was really Cassel.

Until now, she was about 80% sure, but now it was 100% certain.

But how did the name of Cassel’s nephew, which she had never heard before, appear so clearly in her dream?

And what did it mean that the child died from abuse?

She had an ominous feeling. Riena was filled with a sense of mission that she must go along and check on the condition of the child named Noah.

“I think I heard it mentioned in passing at the mansion. Anyway, I really want to go with you, is that okay?”

It wasn’t ‘Would it be okay?’ but ‘It’s okay, right?’ It was a kind of notification.

As if understanding Riena’s firm resolve, Cassel, who had been contemplating, extended his hand to her.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”

Riena quickly prepared for the outing with Amy’s help. However, at Cassel’s suggestion to have breakfast first, they headed to the dining room.

Instead of eating, Cassel drank tea and read the newspaper. Riena finished eating quickly and stood up.

“Let’s go now.”

Cassel frowned slightly as he folded the newspaper.

“Are you sure you’re done? There’s still a lot left.”

“I’m not very hungry today. I don’t usually eat that much for breakfast anyway.”

Cassel still looked displeased but stood up obediently.

The carriage carrying the two of them quickly drove to Marquis Loraine’s residence.

“What brings you here without notice?”

As soon as Riena and Cassel got out of the carriage upon arriving at the mansion, a middle-aged man who rushed over asked.

The man, dressed in a neat suit, looked like the head butler, but he didn’t seem very pleased with the two’s visit.

He even gave off a nervous vibe. Riena carefully watched as the man rubbed his white-gloved hands like a fly.

“I came to see my nephews. Is there a problem?”

“If that’s the case, it would have been better if you had contacted us in advance. We could have prepared to welcome guests.”

“No need to think of us as guests. Winckler and Loraine are family, so just think of us as family.”

“How could we treat Winckler family like that? And by the way, the lady beside you…”

As the man’s gaze turned to Riena, Cassel briefly explained.

“She’s my fiancée, Lady Dyke. I thought I should introduce my nephews to my future wife, so she came along.”

“I see.”

Even though all the explanations on this side were over, the man showed no sign of guiding the two inside.

Of course, it was against etiquette for the two to visit without notice, but as Cassel said, if they thought of them as family, it wouldn’t be strange at all.

Finally, Cassel, who couldn’t wait any longer, spoke up.

“I’m fine, but as you can see, my fiancée doesn’t have very good stamina. It’s not right to keep a lady standing outside for so long.”

The man looked back at the mansion and let out a small sigh.

“I’ll guide you inside for now.”

The two were immediately guided to the reception room. Soon after, two maids came in with refreshments to serve tea, but they too had somewhat uncomfortable looks on their faces.

As one maid was about to pour black tea into a cup, Cassel raised his hand to stop her.

“I’ll do it. You may go.”

The two maids looked at each other hesitantly before retreating.

“I’ll do it.”

“I’ll do it.”

Riena watched as Cassel took the teapot himself and quietly murmured.

“It seems there hasn’t been much interaction with the Loraine family.”

It was like a whisper to herself, but Cassel immediately replied.

“We’ve hardly had any. My sister-in-law and the Loraine family didn’t want to.”

“…Why?”

Cassel’s hand flinched for a moment as he was pouring tea into Riena’s cup.

“I don’t know my sister-in-law’s mind, but it seems interacting with the Winckler family was a burden for her.”

It was an unusually acerbic choice of words for him.

Riena held the teacup with both hands and tried to understand the feelings of Marquis Loraine’s daughter a little.

“I think I might have done the same if I were her.”

“…?”

Cassel, who had poured black tea into his own cup as well, put down the teapot and looked at her quizzically.

“No, I mean, there’s no special reason. I just thought that constantly interacting with the Winckler family might remind her of her deceased husband.”

“Now that I hear it, it makes sense.”

“It’s just my personal opinion though.”

As Riena trailed off, about to open her mouth again to comfort him, the door burst open with a bang, and a platinum-blonde woman entered.

“Why have you come again? What are you here for this time, to torment me again!”

It was the woman who was once Louisa Winckler, but now Louisa Loraine again.

Cassel stood up and approached her.

“How have you been, sister-in-law?”

“Stop calling me sister-in-law! How many years has it been since I was driven out of that family!”

“Driven out? What do you mean…”

“As soon as Asher’s funeral was over, you sent me to the Loraine territory under the pretext of recuperation. If that’s not being driven out, what is it?”

Though she didn’t know exactly what had happened, it seemed there was a misunderstanding between Louisa Loraine and the Winckler family.

Should she intervene here or not? After a moment’s hesitation, Riena stood up and moved to Cassel’s side.

A strong smell of alcohol wafted from Louisa Loraine, who had come closer. It was so strong that one could get drunk just from smelling it.

Not only was there a smell, but Louisa looked haggard.

Her eyes were sunken, and her cheeks were hollow. The wrist exposed below her sleeve was so bony that the bones protruded.

It seemed she had become like this due to alcohol addiction.

As Riena involuntarily frowned slightly at the strong smell of alcohol, the Marchioness’s eyes sharpened.

“What? I must look like a bug to the future Duchess, right? I don’t know which family you’re from, but you’ve hit the jackpot, haven’t you? While some of us are withering away like this!”

“That’s not what I…”

“Sister-in-law.”

Cassel blocked Riena’s front.

“Your words are going too far.”

“Ha, too far?”

Louisa Loraine poked Cassel’s shoulder with her index finger.

“Did I say anything wrong? I was about the same age as that lady when I married Asher. I was pure and innocent then too. Do you remember what Winckler did to me?”

“Father hoped that you would make a new start…”

“Ha, so what? In the end, I couldn’t do anything! Because those damned children held me back!”

Cassel bit his lip slightly and said.

“We’ll talk about that later. Where are Chloe and Noah?”

“You never looked in on them after Asher died, and now you’re here for what?”

“I understood that was what you wanted. Am I wrong?”

“What did I…!”

Cassel grabbed Louisa’s wrist as she lunged at him.

He didn’t grip tightly, but Louisa, an alcoholic, was no match for Cassel’s strength.

“We didn’t come here to cause a disturbance.”

“If that were really the case, you wouldn’t have come in the first place!”

“We just came to see if Noah and Chloe are doing well. Once we confirm that, we’ll leave for now.”

Louisa Loraine latched onto Cassel’s words.

“You came to see if they’re doing well? That sounds like you’re implying those children aren’t doing well! Are you saying I’m starving my children?”

“You know very well that’s not what I’m saying.”

“If that’s not what you mean, then why did you come without notice and stir things up! And why did you bring that woman? Are you showing off that someone else has taken the Duchess position that I couldn’t have?”

“No, that’s…”

Riena couldn’t just leave it alone and tried to interject.

But Cassel stopped her.

“Step back.”

Worried that Cassel might get into trouble, Riena took a step back.

As the confrontation between Cassel and Louisa continued, the door burst open and a middle-aged man entered.

“Louisa! What on earth are you doing!”