“Would you like to hold it more comfortably?”

Aelfrie took a deep breath and placed her hand on Kyle’s arm. Still, she couldn’t hide her tremors.

She found it ridiculous—herself, that is.

Long ago, albeit during her debut year, she had danced and placed her hand on her partner’s arm. Not just placed it; she had danced.

But placing her hand on Kyle’s arm gave her a tension as if she was touching the opposite sex for the first time in her life.

Was it because she felt nervous? He chuckled, making a faint sound like the wind.

Just when Aelfrie was about to feel a bit down, wondering if her nervousness was amusing to him, he grabbed her shoulder and swiftly pulled her into his embrace.

“……!”

Aelfrie, now leaning deeply into his arms, looked up at him, startled.

Then Kyle met her gaze unabashedly, as if to say, ‘what’s the big deal?’

Staring intently with his blue eyes, Aelfrie swallowed her dry saliva. Again, he was too close.

“Why, like this…”

“Is it unnecessarily close?”

He seemed to have read her mind? Speaking more boldly than his expression, Kyle whispered to Aelfrie.

“This way, your arm won’t tremble.”

Indeed, now touching his arm was no issue at all.

Time flew by quickly.

Nisha had told Aelfrie that she didn’t have to decipher the ancient documents while preparing for the visit to the count’s house.

She even offered a special bonus of a thousand gilders, on top of her current weekly pay of 250 gilders.

‘A thousand gilders.’

Initially, she thought it was a joke, but when she saw the changed figure in her account, Aelfrie tried to give it back, feeling that she couldn’t possibly accept so much.

But Nisha insisted that it was according to the company’s payment regulations and that this bonus would be given once more if the deal goes smoothly.

Hearing this, Aelfrie realized why people were so eager to join the Ash Company.

This was a place that promised definite rewards based on one’s capabilities and outcomes.

Nisha told her to focus more on preparing for the visit to the count’s house and that she could take a break from her duties related to the ancient documents.

However, Aelfrie continued to work on the documents as well.

‘To be honest, I have free time.’

She might be teaching Kyle the manners of Denertum, but he copied everything Aelfrie showed him exactly and memorized the old greetings she told him right away.

Whenever she praised his memory, he answered, seeming a bit embarrassed.

“It seems like something you’d hear more about yourself.”

Kyle looked at Aelfrie, who stiffened with every touch, and said more assertively, “From now on, I’ll do it properly. I’ll act like a real fiancé.”

Wondering what that meant, he immediately changed his tone of voice after saying it.

Kyle no longer called Aelfrie “Miss Aelfrie.” His attitude also changed.

Having kept a formal distance, he now stood naturally by Aelfrie’s side, enough to look much more personal than just a work colleague.

His voice and demeanor were tinged with a warmth that hadn’t been there before, and even affection seemed to show.

To a stranger, the two would appear to be a loving couple.

Naturally, Aelfrie was almost bewildered at first. She felt too awkward when touched, and now she couldn’t compose herself as he called her so casually.

〈Why are you sitting so far away? You should be next to me.〉

His nonchalant voice at that moment was so irritating.

But Aelfrie couldn’t say anything to his matter-of-fact attitude.

Fortunately, the visit to the count remained a secret to the public, so he didn’t act like this in front of other employees.

However, Aelfrie only spent time with other employees during breakfast and lunch.

Outside of those hours, Aelfrie had to endure the affectionate torment from Kyle.

‘I will never get used to this.’

Though she thought so.

Humans adapt to change more quickly than one might think.

Today, a week later, Aelfrie also started calling him Kyle without trembling.

“You can do it. Cheer up!”

As she climbed into the prepared carriage, Nisha waved and greeted her.

Normally, Nisha would have said not to worry too much even if things didn’t go well.

But today, she said to cheer up. In other words, failure was not an option today.

The pressure of a mission she had momentarily forgotten about while focusing on Kyle’s attitude for a week weighed down on her shoulders.

It was only momentary. The moment the carriage left the city walls, Aelfrie couldn’t take her eyes off the window.

“What’s the matter? It’s not like you’re seeing this scenery for the first time.”

“It is the first time.”

“……?”

“I just realized that this is my first time leaving the capital.”

It was true. When she was young, even stepping outside was difficult.

She only began to go outside when her family’s fortunes rapidly declined and they had to cut down on servants.
Aelfrie began to roam more freely once she started taking over the errands that the servants had been doing, although this was limited to within the capital.