“That’s enough.”

“Stop it.”

Then, Calon and Nisha simultaneously slapped the back of Ino’s head.

“Ah, why?”
Ino glared at them as if wronged, yet discreetly slid a copy of the torture document in front of Aelfrie.

Smiling, Aelfrie thought of Ino’s intention to achieve his goal whether he was criticized or not.

Unaware of Calon’s gaze directed at her.

This was the first time she had seen Aelfrie smile so freely since they first met.

She had always been cautious, on guard against her surroundings. If not that, she was apologetic or shy.

Looking at Aelfrie, it felt as if something heavy continuously weighed her down.

So, he had never thought she would show such a smiling face…

Calon, who was looking at Aelfrie, suddenly became lost in thought.

Wondering what she would look like if her face weren’t so scarred, if her lips had more color, and if her face were unblemished.

Losing himself in the fantasy of a stranger’s future, Calon momentarily forgot even to speak.

What snapped him back was Aelfrie, who quickly turned her head as she noticed his gaze.

Once again, Aelfrie looked worried, as if she’d made a big mistake, and her face turned red.

As if someone had commanded her never to smile in her lifetime.

In the meantime, Ino tried to go get more papers while still disoriented. Calon grabbed him by the scruff of his neck to stop him.

Even though he plopped down on the sofa, Ino’s face was full of happy smiles.

“I survived anyway!”

Ino clenched both his fists and shivered all over.

“I can finally sleep happily with my quilt, no longer worried about knocking on the doors of the noble families or academies. Once this document is sorted out…”

Ino was reminded of the criticisms he received from Calon and Nisha for not finding someone proficient in ancient languages.

What are you doing for your bread? You couldn’t find even one such person? Are you feeding bread to someone else? If it were me, I would have crawled to work, and so on.

Half-joking as Calon and Nisha might have been, Ino could bet his salary that there was some truth to it.

“Anyway, Lady Aelfrie, thank you very much. You are an angel who came to save me!”

Saying that, Ino knelt beside Aelfrie, lowered his head as if swearing an oath, and raised his hand.

Then he shook her hand softly, as if urging her to return it quickly.
Aelfrie hesitated at his demeanor before unwittingly placing her hand on top of his.

The moment Ino tried to kiss the back of Aelfrie’s hand,

“Eeek!”

Ino let out a strange sound and rolled to the side. Just before he crashed into the wall, he stretched out his feet and stopped.

If someone skilled in martial arts had seen it, they would have applauded the clean stop.

Ino realized that he had been thrown with great force.

Naturally, there was only one person in the room capable of doing that.

Considering he was one of the top physical powers in Ash Trading Company, the only person who could effortlessly overpower him was his master who had taught him directly.

Ino leapt up and shouted at his master and employer, Calon.

“Ah, why!”

“Don’t do strange things to Miss Aelfrie.”

“Strange things? I’m saying I could even give my life for Miss Aelfrie.”

“Who asked for such a thing? Anyway, move away.”

Seeing the two men squabble, Aelfrie brushed off her momentarily startled heart.

For a brief moment, a cold atmosphere swirled, and she thought they were actually fighting, but it seemed both were joking.

Standing next to Aelfrie with that thought, Nisha couldn’t smile.

‘It seems like he was pretty serious just now.’