Thanks to their brisk walk, Kyle and Calon arrived at the small forest sooner than expected.

As they ventured deeper into the forest along a secluded trail, a vast clearing came into view, revealing a house and the sea beyond.

“Such a place built to overlook the sea…”

The small house had claimed the vast expanse of the sea as its own yard.

“It seems to have been neglected for quite some time. The door has rotted and already fallen off.”

Climbing the stairs, Kyle moved the precarious door aside and examined the interior.

Though the exterior showed signs of wear from the sea breeze, with the paint peeling and stains aplenty, the inside was in better condition than they had anticipated.

After confirming there were no other hazards on the floor or the stairs, Calon finally called for Aelfrie, who had been continually admiring the sea.

Following him inside, Aelfrie explored the interior and then ascended to the second floor.

For such a small house, the second floor consisted only of a large room facing the sea and another smaller room that could serve as a storage area.

“It seems someone used to observe the sea from here.”

The large room facing the sea had a massive window through which sunlight poured in.

In front of the window was a spacious area where one could sit or lie down.

On the floor were old papers, discolored by time and frayed at the edges, scattered here and there.

Aelfrie picked up one of them. It wasn’t an important document, merely faint doodles were visible—a drawing of a whale emerging from the distant sea.

Soon, Aelfrie had collected all the fallen papers, neatly organized them, and placed them on the remaining old desk.

To be honest, even when generously evaluated, the house could be considered a ruin. Yet, it seemed as though it would be fine for one or two people to live in after some repairs.

Then, Aelfrie suddenly realized she was pondering where she would place a new desk and where she would insert the books and cushions.

Strangely enough, she felt like she had fallen in love with the house the moment she saw it.

Having been staring at the glistening sea beyond the window for quite a while, Aelfrie quietly posed a question to him, who had been watching her from behind.

“Do you plan on using this house for Ash Trading Company as well?”

“No, this place is only included in the land. We aren’t particularly concerned with it.”

“Then… any plans to sell this house?”

“You want to buy it?”

“Yes. Isn’t it wonderful? From here, it feels like the entire sea is in my embrace!”

To think she would find such a dilapidated house appealing.

Calon wondered if the room in her own home that he hadn’t seen was in a worse state than this.
Aelfrie asked again in a slightly subdued voice, interpreting his stern expression in another way.

“Could you tell me the price for this place?”

Calon, who was about to say that it’s fine to just take this house if she wanted it, pretended to ponder for a moment before responding, thinking Aelfrie would take his words lightly.

“This house would be grateful to have someone living in it. As you can see, houses quickly deteriorate without occupants. Hmm… Based on market standards, it would cost about 500 gelder.”

“500 gelder? Is that all?”

The price was much more reasonable than Aelfrie had anticipated, and her eyes lit up.

500 gelder. That’s an amount I could gather in just two weeks of work. I even received a special allowance of a thousand gelder for playing the role of the betrothed.

‘Then I can buy this place… and afford some repairs.’

Her heart began to race as if she already owned the house.

“Do you plan to live in this house?”

“I would like to, but…”

Her voice trailed off. Living here was but a fanciful dream.

If my father were to sell me off, I wouldn’t even be able to step foot on this land ever again.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend living here.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll end up with noisy neighbors.”

“Noisy neighbors? How do you know that?”

“Hmm… Would you like to come this way?”

Calon led Aelfrie to a small room on the opposite side from the sea. The moment she opened the door, she realized who these noisy neighbors were.

There was an enormous mansion beyond the hill, which had been out of sight on the way here. It looked as if a palace had been cut out and placed there.

She could see people bustling about, seemingly preparing something.

Aelfrie understood why Calon called them noisy neighbors. The distance between this small house and the mansion was closer than she had thought, close enough to hear sounds from across the way.

“What is that enormous mansion?”

“You’ve probably heard the name. That’s the Oltvea Mansion.”

“That place is…”

Calon whispered into Aelfrie’s startled ear.

“It’s the house where Calon Ash will live.”

Whether it was because of his breath brushing her ear, his whisper made Aelfrie feel as if every hair on her body was standing on end.