“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Living up to his role as a wise advisor to his lord, Noah gave a textbook response. Putting a tail on a woman who wasn’t even engaged yet was clearly inappropriate.
“Yeah, I know. If Ines finds out, I can already imagine how she’d see me.”

Noah nodded and took a sip from the drink that Carson had poured for him.

“So we just do it secretly.”

“Ahem.”

Noah spat the drink he was sipping back out, coughing roughly due to his lord’s serious expression. However, he continued to verbalize his bad idea as if he didn’t care at all.

“What if we get caught? Then just say we did it for her safety. Which is also true, by the way.”

“Cough, cough, hack.”

“Just like today. Why the hell did she go to the mountain? A walk? Huh, can’t even get inside that little head of hers.”

Unable to glare at his lord, Noah settled for glaring at his innocent drink. The bottle was already empty.

Yes, that drink is the problem. A drink that’s not even potent but subtly intoxicating is just like Ines Swalden. That drink is the problem.

“However, do not interfere unless she’s in a very dangerous situation.”
“People… ahem, have you already decided to assign someone?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to assign a bodyguard instead?”

“There’s no justification for it. I’ll only assign someone until I wrap up my business.”

Carson’s words were also true. Even if there were rumors circulating about the two, in reality, they had no actual relationship.

“You can assign a bodyguard later. But Noah, is there a curse written on that bottle of liquor? Why are you glaring at it like you want to kill it?”

“No, sir.”

Noah took his eyes off the bottle and rose from his seat. It seemed that his advice hadn’t been particularly well received this time.

The next day, Ines and Carson sat side by side on the sofa in the reception room of her mansion.

There had been quite a commotion in the mansion last night. The child, who used to stay home and hardly ever go out, had recently been spending very little time in the mansion. To make matters worse, a situation had arisen where no one knew where she had gone.
Susan stood at some distance, glaring at Ines with resentful eyes. Her parents were completely flustered due to the sudden arrival of a high-ranking figure.

As tea and refreshments were prepared, the atmosphere seemed to calm slightly. Ines was pondering what to say, her eyes slightly downcast.

Her parents would have received a call from Carson late last night, so there was no reason for him to enter their home like this. Yet, he chose to sit beside Ines.

“I apologize for the inadequate preparations, given your sudden visit.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah, I didn’t mean to blame you…”

Her father, unusually, became flustered and trailed off. In the Kains Empire, the royal family seldom apologizes. Hearing an apology from him for something trivial was enough to disconcert him.

“How are your injuries?”

Upon Carson’s inquiry, her father hurriedly responded.
“Thanks to you, I’ve greatly improved. I wasn’t sure how to express my gratitude, so I couldn’t come to see you immediately.”

“There’s no need for you to come here. Your gratitude that day was more than enough. Just remain healthy from now on.”

Despite the reassurance, Andrew stood up from his seat and bowed deeply.

“Thank you once again for saving my life, my lord.”

“Saving the life of a subject is also the duty of a lord. So there’s no need for such excessive formality.”

“Yes, Father. The tea will get cold.”

At Ines’ intervention, Andrew sat back down.

“The agenda for the recent committee meeting was rejected, wasn’t it?”

Andrew nodded, as the question didn’t specify what the agenda was.

“Now there’s no more reason for you to attend committee meetings.”

“That’s true.”

“Then that settles it.”
Carson sat silently, holding his place after that. Excluding Carson, the other three people coughed awkwardly to fill the ensuing silence.

Tick, tick, the time was unbearable, to the point where even the ticking of the second hand seemed audible. Unable to stand the situation any longer, Ines slightly leaned towards him and spoke.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“I am.”

“Then maybe it’s time to leave…”

As he was staring at Ines, he fully leaned his upper body toward her.

“Is this enough?”

“What, what is…?”

Stammering, Ines was disconcerted by the man approaching too close in front of her parents. Her discomfort didn’t end there. He brought his lips right up to her ear. Everyone in the room took a sharp intake of breath.

“I mean, aren’t you going to get scolded by your parents now?”
Ines forcefully pushed him away from her chest and nodded vigorously. Then he neatly stood up from his seat.

“Don’t scold your daughter too much. This happened because she is doing very significant work for the estate.”

Although the world was said to be changing, Keynes remained a conservative country adhering to feudalism. Ines’s parents were so lost in thought about what the young lord’s current behavior meant that they couldn’t properly respond.

They hadn’t been entirely unaware of rumors concerning the young lord and their daughter. However, rumors were nothing more than passing winds.

Yet, witnessing it firsthand had a different level of impact.