Chapter 115: Jealous?

"Mm..."

Kai watched with keen interest as his daughter held a square block in her tiny hands, tilting her head while examining the wooden chest in front of her.

The toy was designed to teach children to recognize shapes, with four openings of different designs on its sides.

Each opening corresponded to a particular block, allowing children to drop the pieces into the chest once they figured out where they belonged.

Unfortunately, the square-shaped opening was positioned near the bottom, completely out of Elara’s line of sight. All she could see were the other three holes, none of which seemed willing to accommodate the block she was holding.

"She won’t figure it out just because you keep staring at her," Jean remarked from beside him, a smile tugging at her lips as she scrolled through the latest news articles on her phone.

"Well, it’s a good sign that she’s at least trying," Kai replied, his attention never straying far from his daughter’s little hands.

He watched every movement with the same keen curiosity one might reserve for a fascinating experiment, almost as though he expected her to surprise him with some ingenious solution.

Now that Elara had fully recovered, her energy and liveliness had returned in full force. The little girl was once again crawling restlessly around the house whenever they let her down, exploring every corner she could reach.

She had developed a particular fascination with the curtains, often chasing their swaying ends and tugging at the fabric whenever she managed to catch hold of it. Once that amusement wore thin, she would simply crawl after her mother, determined to remain wherever Jean happened to be.

Recently, however, she had discovered a new source of entertainment.

The shape-sorting toy had captured her attention, and she had been at it for quite some time now, determined to make sense of the peculiar wooden chest and the blocks that came with it.

"Mhaa..."

Suddenly, Elara let out a frustrated groan before bringing the square block against the circular opening again and again, tapping it against the edges as though she could somehow reshape it through sheer persistence.

Kai pressed his lips together, fighting the urge to laugh.

Apparently, his daughter had already decided that the problem lay with the hole rather than the block.

"She apparently isn’t as smart as her father," Jean remarked, setting her phone aside.

The news had been filled with reports about the mysterious hunter who had saved the day before vanishing without a trace. Surprisingly, there had been no mention of Kai anywhere. The media had speculated endlessly about the identity of the person responsible, but none of the reports had connected the incident to him.

For Kai, that was something of a relief. The last thing he wanted was to draw even more attention to himself when he was already struggling to enjoy a little peace with his family.

"You were smart as well," Kai pointed out, turning to look over his shoulder.

Jean gave him a knowing look. "I was hardworking smart, while you were naturally smart. There’s a difference."

With that, she slowly rose from her seat and approached Elara, who was still glaring at the wooden chest as though it had personally offended her. Jean bent down, scooped the little girl into her arms, and settled her comfortably against her chest.

"Maybe she’ll grow up to be more like me," she said, adjusting Elara in her arms with a fond smile. "At least then she’ll have someone to blame when she can’t figure something out."

Before she could finish, Elara suddenly flung the square block away. Her thin brows drew together in clear displeasure, and she let out an irritated little sound, apparently having decided that the toy was no longer worth her attention.

Jean stared at her daughter for a moment before sighing and shaking her head.

"Well, she definitely got that temper from her grandfather."

Kai raised an eyebrow, but his amusement soon gave way to curiosity. He had noticed that Jean had become considerably more casual whenever her family came up in conversation lately. She no longer seemed as reluctant to mention them as she once had, even if certain memories still carried their share of bitterness.

"Did you attend family gatherings often in the past?" he asked, choosing his topic carefully.

Jean nodded. "Yes. As a member of the family, and as someone my father considered presentable enough to show off."

Kai’s eyebrows rose slightly at her choice of words.

"Well, you were definitely more than just presentable," he replied, giving her an appreciative look.

Jean rolled her eyes at his compliment, though the faint smile on her lips betrayed her amusement.

Kai, however, found himself thinking about the previous day’s events. Something had been on his mind since then, and with Jean seemingly more comfortable discussing her past, he decided it was a good opportunity to ask.

"Speaking of family gatherings, did you meet Adam around that time?"

Jean hummed thoughtfully before turning to look at him. "Yes... but why are you curious?"

Kai crossed his arms and shook his head. "No, I’m just asking. I was surprised to find out that you two knew each other, that’s all."

Jean’s eyebrows rose slightly. She studied his face for a moment before lowering her gaze, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"Kai..." she began in a quieter voice. "Are you perhaps jealous?"

"W-What? I’m jealous?" Kai stared at her in complete disbelief, caught off guard by the unexpected question.

Yet, as he thought about his reaction yesterday and the way he had brought up Adam again today, he couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility. He had never considered himself the sort of man who would become jealous over something so trivial, but apparently, his own feelings had other ideas.

"Haah..." He let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head, his expression turning somewhat awkward. "I mean... Adam is good-looking, and he seems like someone from a noble background. Unlike me."

Jean found the sight before her unexpectedly endearing. The way Kai had initially been so quick to deny his jealousy, only to admit a moment later that Adam’s familiarity with her had bothered him, was almost too cute to resist. For all his confidence in other matters, he could still be surprisingly insecure when it came to her.

She stepped closer and settled down beside him, her expression softening.

"True, he does have that kind of air about him," she admitted. "But he’s not the one I like."

Kai turned to look at her, searching her face for a moment before asking, "So... am I your type?"

Jean couldn’t help smiling at the question. Rather than answering immediately, she leaned her head against his shoulder, drawing closer until she could feel the warmth of his body beside hers.

"You’re far better than anything I ever wished for," she whispered. "So don’t overthink things."

The words settled the uneasiness in Kai’s heart. Whatever doubts had crept into his mind seemed rather foolish now, especially when the woman he loved was sitting right beside him, reassuring him without hesitation.

His lips slowly curved into a smile as he relaxed beside her.

"Understood."