How much time had passed?

“Aelfrie?”

“……!”

Startled by the voice before her, Aelfrie opened her eyes. Immediately, she saw Kyle’s rigid expression. More precisely, he was kneeling on one leg, looking at her face as she sat.

Before Aelfrie could say anything, he spoke again.

“What kind of trouble is this?”

For a moment, Aelfrie didn’t understand what he had said.

What she did know was that Kyle’s expression was incredibly intimidating, and his voice was chillingly cold.

Seeing Aelfrie’s bewildered expression, Kyle momentarily seemed as if he had made a mistake, then quickly recomposed his face.

In an instant, he returned to the slightly smiling, mournful look she had seen before.

Finally recognizing Kyle’s familiar face, Aelfrie exhaled. Only then did she realize she had been holding her breath in surprise at Calon’s appearance.

Noticing this, Calon cleared his throat before saying,

“I apologize. It seems like someone hit your face…”

“My face? Ah…”

Aelfrie spotted her fallen hat next to her chair.

How deeply had she slept that she hadn’t even noticed her hat falling off? Hastily putting her hat back on, she bowed her head and surveyed the surroundings.

Perhaps because she had chosen a corner seat from the beginning, fortunately, aside from one or two people far away, there was no one else in the waiting room.

“Let’s go up for now.”

At Calon’s words, Aelfrie nodded and immediately stood up.

Today had been a busy day since morning. There had been several scheduled meetings from the morning, and an unexpected accident in the warehouse had piled up, leaving absolutely no free time.

Calon, being an executive-level employee from the empire’s headquarters, would personally check on the council matters if time permitted. Therefore, he had consecutively attended three meetings since the morning.

Finally, a little after lunchtime, Ino pleaded, “Let’s live a bit and have lunch!” and clung on, allowing the meeting to conclude and them to exit.

Everyone, tired, took the bread and tea that had been prepared outside the conference room and returned to their offices.

Calon had entered the director’s office with Nisha and Ino.

“There’s a lot.”

Sitting down, Nisha sighed as she looked at the paperwork coming from various places.

She flipped through the papers while biting into her bread. Then, she noticed a few notes lying beside her desk.

“What’s this… ah? Aelfrie?”

The moment Nisha muttered, Calon, who had been quietly eating, abruptly rose from his seat.
Then Nisha ran over and snatched the note from her hand. After briefly reading the note, he set down the bread and straightened his disheveled clothes. Then he immediately went downstairs.

The note mentioned a woman named Aelfrie asking if she could still get a seat in the ancient language lecture, waiting in the first-floor waiting room.

Calon looked at the time written on the note.

9:30. It was now 1:00.

If Aelfrie was still waiting, she would have been waiting for over three hours.

‘Has she left?’

Lunchtime was almost over.

However, his steps going downstairs did not halt.

‘She’s likely still waiting.’

Though no one had told him, Calon was certain.

He had told her to seek help whenever she needed, but Aelfrie had not come since.

That she had appeared here after so long meant something major must have happened.

Calon, having descended, asked the receptionist at the entrance.

“Is Aelfrie still waiting?”

“Ah, that young lady went into the waiting room… I am not sure if she’s still waiting.”

The employee cautiously replied upon seeing Calon instead of Nisha. Calon headed toward the inner part of the waiting room before the employee finished speaking.

The waiting room was empty, likely because it was lunchtime and most people had left to eat.

Thanks to that, Calon found Aelfrie quickly.

She was sitting in a sunlit chair in the inner part of the waiting room.

Beside her, who sat as though bowing slightly, was a hat rolling around at its leisure.

‘Darn it.’

He could tell just by looking. She had fallen asleep waiting for a response.

Calon approached and picked up the fallen hat, placing it beside her. Until then, Aelfrie had not moved.

‘Sorry, but I have to wake you.’

Thinking so, he bent slightly and looked at her face. The moment he did, Calon froze.

Her face, slightly bowed, was marred. At first, he thought something had smeared on it, but upon closer examination, they were bruises.

Not just bruises. There were scratches as well. Calon’s gaze sharpened.

Her wheat-colored hair, ripe like grain under the sunlight, sparkled. Her long eyelashes, matching the hair color, trembled slightly with her breath.

Calon did not miss the moisture trapped in those eyelashes. Nor did he miss the strenuous sound of her breathing.

It was the kind of breathing typical of someone in pain.
The moment Calon checked Aelfrie’s condition, he gritted his teeth. What on earth had led to this state?

“Miss Aelfrie?”

Normally, he would have scrutinized the other person more closely, but he immediately called out to Aelfrie.