Having spent more time than expected at the house on the hill, the carriage carrying Aelfrie and Kyle arrived precisely on time at the Earl’s mansion.

First to disembark, Kyle extended his hand. Recalling her earlier experience on the hill, Aelfrie took his hand cautiously yet without shrinking back and stepped onto the ground.

The Earl’s mansion was a house where one could feel history and tradition.

To some, it might be too old a mansion to appreciate, but for Aelfrie, it was a beautiful mansion of an architectural style she had never seen in the capital.

Though it may not even cover one-tenth the size of the Oltbea mansion they had just visited, the dignified atmosphere and elegance built over time were in no way inferior to Oltbea’s grandiosity.

Just then, another carriage roared up to the Earl’s mansion at great speed.

A man and a woman hastily alighted from the roughly stopped carriage.

Upon seeing Aelfrie and Calon, their eyes narrowed. Without them even introducing themselves, Aelfrie recognized who they were.

‘The Gunter couple.’

Knowing it would be extremely rude to judge people by their appearance, Aelfrie instinctively felt the moment she saw the Gunters.

The absolute fact that she could never befriend these people.

As if to prove Aelfrie’s thoughts, the Gunter couple looked Aelfrie and Calon up and down and spoke as if instructing.

“Thought there would be someone noteworthy from Ash Trading, but there’s no one special.”

The Gunters internally shouted ‘hurrah’ as they looked at the people from Ash Trading.

They had expected high-ranking employees they recognized like Nishana Ino, but those standing before them were people they were seeing for the first time.

And although their attire was neat, it was by no means extravagant. At that, Fiel Gunter was certain of his victory.

‘These Ash Trading fools won’t know I’m a baronet as of today.’

Recalling the title deed he had received that morning, he held his head high.

Baronetcy, a non-hereditary title granted as a reward rather than money, remained from times when honors were the reciprocation for contributions.

It was a title that had long disappeared, only readable about in books for a time.

But as commoners started earning money, the title of baronet gained much attention.

Those who gained money yearned for honor. To them, a baronetcy was the highest honor they could attain.

The royal family quickly noticed the demand for baronetcies and began to sell them.
Of course, they didn’t outright demand money. They simply made the commoners and merchants contribute donations under the pretense of showing loyalty to the royal family.

Thanks to this, the royal family had recently acquired several new trading ships and had also been able to renovate and redecorate the old palace.

The nobles didn’t approve of the royal family’s behavior. To be exact, they frowned upon the commoners who now raised their heads and stepped into the social circle, claiming to be nobles themselves.

“But they’ve made it onto the noble roster, so what can they do?”

Even if they weren’t invited to the elegant parties of the nobles, they could attend the time-honored parties where invitations were extended to everyone listed in the noble roster.

That alone made the junior baronet title worth its weight.

“Count Hebredis will certainly favor me, a noble of Deneretum, over those commoners from the Ash Trading Company, who are foreigners.”

The Gunter couple also ordered an investigation into Count Hebredis.

However, there was little to no record other than him having severed ties with society a long time ago and having served as an academy dean.

“In that case, he must have been secluded in the countryside for decades. He’ll be utterly dazzled when he sees what’s in vogue these days.”

Junior Baron Gunter recalled the nobles he had met. Even if they feigned indifference, they all envied his wealth.

Of course, the scale of the Ash Trading Company was overwhelmingly larger, but the people who came today were mere employees.

“Besides, they’re foreigners. What would they know? Their level will reveal itself by dinner.”

The Count wanted both parties to dine here today.

Like other nobles, he probably intended to judge his counterparts through dinner conversations and manners.

So the Gunter couple were even more confident.

The two hastily paid a large sum to learn noble etiquette. The man who claimed to have taught many nobles appeared very elegant and polite in the eyes of the Gunter couple.

Moreover, he held an invitation in his hand written in ancient language, which the Gunter couple couldn’t read.

“You’ll see if you read this, the children of the Duke also received education from me.”

They couldn’t read it. No, they couldn’t read it.

But not wanting to look ignorant, the Gunter couple pretended to read the recommendation without any problem.

The new teacher demanded a large sum from them. Though they thought it excessive, they had to endure it if it meant being taught by someone who had educated a Duke’s children.