All the letters exchanged with her mother Luise had been delivered through Anton, and there was no way that route could have reached Kailen. That left only one possibility. A background check.

It would have been better if he’d just asked her directly why she sold the jewelry. Embarrassing as it was, if he’d asked, she could have deflected the answer—at least she wouldn’t be this confused.

But a brief laugh crossed his lips when he received Adeline’s question. He was clearly finding this absurd.

“Well, someone watching you?”

Unlike Adeline, whose agitation showed, Kailen’s voice was strangely flat.

Of course, he had instructed Mrs. Lien to keep an eye on her. But that was a reasonable instruction to give to a head housekeeper. He hadn’t told her to monitor every single movement for surveillance purposes.

“Dear, don’t jump to conclusions. Think carefully. How many things happen in my household that I don’t know about?”

His pointed remark stung. She’d thought she’d hidden it well, but apparently she’d been in the palm of his hand all along.

A smile appeared at the corners of Adeline’s mouth.

…Right. Of course.

A smile tinged with self-mockery and resignation.

But somehow that smile didn’t sit well with Kailen, and his eyebrows twitched for a moment.

Adeline, who didn’t catch that expression, kept her gaze lowered with her hands on the boxes.

“But still.”

After catching her breath for a moment, she spoke quietly.

“You could have at least pretended not to know, even if you did.”

Her shoulders sagged slightly.

“I didn’t want to show you this… I really hate only showing you this side of myself.”

With those words, a brief silence settled over the study.

A short sigh—hah, hah—escaped from Kailen’s lips as he listened quietly.

He’d returned from processing the tedious pile of documents at the office and even finished showering, yet it was still early evening. With this rare bit of leisure, he’d been thinking of ending the day by pulling that soft body into his arms.

This situation was ridiculous.

“What’s the point now?”

Who knows where she got slapped and decided to take it out in the wrong place.

Ultimately, it was her mother who’d pressured her into selling her precious jewelry. And now she was showing this attitude to the husband who’d returned it to her?

This won’t do.

At first, he’d thought to find it endearing.

But gradually, her tantrum stopped looking so innocent.

“This isn’t the first time. Why are you overreacting?”

When she’d already sold herself out countless times.

From Kailen’s perspective, the jewelry he’d returned to her wasn’t particularly impressive. 

All of Adeline’s royal jewels had already been reclaimed, and what remained were just necklaces, earrings, brooches, and the like that she’d inherited from her birth mother or cherished since childhood.

They might hold her memories, but they weren’t particularly valuable on the market.

He stared at the items piled on his desk for a moment, then swept the velvet boxes away with the back of his hand like clearing away worthless objects.

Thud, crack!

The neatly stacked boxes tumbled down, and the jewels inside scattered across the table. A few rolled onto the floor.

Only then did Adeline, who had been quiet, lift her head.

She raised her eyes and looked directly at Kailen.

“Because… this isn’t the first time…”

At those words, Kailen snorted.

“Whatever…”

He continued dismissively.

“I just had them bought back because you seemed attached to these things. How hard could it be? It’s just a few coins. But seeing you return the favor like this.”

Kailen’s lips curled into a sneer.

“Don’t tell me noble people express gratitude this way? Someone like me who just plays with money can’t seem to understand this way of speaking.”

Adeline couldn’t say anything to his sharp, accusatory criticism.

“You, acting like this.”

Kailen’s gaze pierced through her.

“That’s an inferiority complex.”

Adeline’s lips trembled.

An inferiority complex…

Yes, it was an inferiority complex.

Separate from how his words cut through her heart like a blade, it was also true that these were jewels she’d been particularly attached to. These modest things felt far more familiar than the dazzling royal jewels that had always felt like someone else’s.

Adeline lowered her eyes briefly, then murmured softly.

“…Anyway, thank you for returning the jewels I treasured.”

She bent down and picked up the earrings that had fallen under the table one by one. She carefully placed the glittering items from her palm back into their boxes.

Her hands trembled slightly as she did so.

“But… whether it’s my inferiority complex or whatever… don’t do this again. When I really need something, I’ll definitely say so.”

Kailen merely looked down at her impassively.

“Making such a fuss over something so pathetic. Does it have to be this unpleasant?”

His gaze stopped on an excessively modest cameo brooch with pearl decorations. Considering that woman’s status, it was laughably modest.

“What difference does it make to say that now? Do you suddenly feel cleaner about yourself? Feel proud because you’re being upright?”

After already raking in his wealth, to make such a fuss over these few pennies’ worth of pocket change.

That woman standing there with her petty pride was starting to grate on him.

When someone gives, accept it gracefully.

Truly shameless bloodline. Pretending to be noble, such hypocrisy…

Actually, every time Kailen saw her wearing such things and calling them jewels, irritation surged through him. Though she was a woman he’d eventually discard anyway, for now she was a woman within his domain.

Moreover, Kailen wanted her to dress as lavishly as possible and enjoy luxury to the fullest while she was bound to him as his wife.

That way, when she lost everything later, the sense of loss would be greater.

Finally, Adeline, having picked up everything that had fallen, gathered the velvet boxes she’d set down into her arms again.

After hesitating briefly, she belatedly responded quietly to Kailen’s words.

“…Yes.”

In her green eyes, a rare hint of defiance lingered.

* * *

It was a leisurely afternoon.

Kailen had already left the estate for work, and Adeline settled into the rocking chair in her room with a book open. Sunlight filtered gently through the curtains, casting slow shadows on the floor.

But the text in the book wouldn’t quite register.

Last night’s argument wouldn’t easily settle in her mind. With each page turn, other thoughts overlapped the sentences. Eventually Adeline closed the book and stared blankly into space with her hand on the armrest.

Lost in thought like that, she dozed off before she knew it.

“Fire, fire!”

A sharp cry cut through the air.

Adeline’s eyes flew open in shock. Along with the sensation of her heart dropping, she heard urgent footsteps running from the corridor.

“My lady, my lady!”

The door burst open and Tanya rushed in. Her chest heaved, out of breath.

“What’s wrong? Fire?”

“Well, a fire broke out in the servants’ break room…”

Before she could finish, black smoke began seeping slowly through the window gap. Tanya hurried over and closed the window.

Adeline jumped up and approached the window. When she pulled back the curtain, she could see it filled with pitch-black smoke. That was all she could see for now—she couldn’t tell if flames were nearby.

But her mind went blank for a moment.

Adeline asked, half out of her wits.

“What happened…?”

Just then, the door opened again and Mrs. Lien entered. She bowed with a calm face.

“My apologies, my lady. You must be startled.”

Adeline’s voice trembled slightly.

“The fire… how big is it?”

“The fire started from the fireplace in the servants’ break room. The flames spread directly to the ceiling. Everyone is currently doing their best to extinguish it. Fortunately, where you are is relatively safe.”

Adeline looked out the window again.

“Right now, it looks like smoke is rising from the greenhouse area. Is that right?”

“Yes… it’s spreading to the greenhouse and the southwest corridor.”

The moment she heard those words, Adeline unconsciously stepped forward.

“I should go see.”

“You must not.”

Mrs. Lien shook her head firmly.

“It’s dangerous, my lady. The head butler is already directing operations on site. The fire will be under control soon.”

“…But.”

“If you were to get hurt, that would be the real disaster. So please stay somewhere safe. I’ll come report again soon.”

Mrs. Lien turned to Tanya.

“Tanya, stay by the lady’s side to make sure she doesn’t go outside.”

“Yes, yes. Head housekeeper.”

In the end, Adeline had no choice but to sit back down.