The countess standing beside him seemed to only pat him with the hand she had placed on his arm, as if to soothe her husband.

Count Gunter should have been more tactful, or at least his wife should have intervened.

“What are you doing! Bring the gift I’ve prepared for the countess as well!”

Rather, she was calling her maidservant, heaping more insult upon her husband’s indiscretion.

Moments later, the servants of the Gunter couple came carrying a wooden box as extravagant as the carriage they stepped out from.

“I have prepared gifts worthy of your lordship. They are the finest items distributed by my trade guild.”

“My husband and I took days to carefully select them. Open the box now!”

Lady Gunter issued the command as if she were in her own home, standing in front of the count.

The actions caused even the servants standing behind the count to be visibly uncomfortable, but the Gunter couple was too focused on presenting their gift to notice.

When the box opened, the gifts were indeed luxurious enough for the Gunters to take pride in.

Even Calon, who had been watching, thought they had put in quite the effort.

“Still, they can’t compare to the items that Nisha prepared from our trade guild.”

Calon couldn’t erase his worry after hearing the list of gifts Aelfrie had initially requested from Nisha.

So, just in case, he had prepared a gift himself.

But Eino had blurted out this fact to Aelfrie, who then approached him asking, “Are you not confident in my gift?”

How could he not worry? The gifts Aelfrie had prepared seemed far too modest to present to a count’s family.

Recognizing his ongoing apprehension, Aelfrie said, “Fine, prepare a gift that you think would suit the count, then.”

“But I doubt we’ll have to give it,” she confidently added.

And now, as Calon looked at the count’s expression while observing the gifts prepared by the Gunter couple, he was sure of it.

The count probably wouldn’t like the gift I prepared either.

“Although, the count seems to dislike the Gunter couple’s rudeness even more.”

The Gunter couple, who had been loudly discussing how valuable and precious the gifts they had brought were, gradually realized something was amiss as the count remained silent.

Their voices grew softer until they hurriedly concluded their explanation.

“P-please accept them.”

Count Gunter tried to maintain his composure but couldn’t hide the crack in his voice.
The Count ordered the servant standing behind him as the Gunters retreated.

“Clear it away.”

“Understood.”

Not even a ‘take it away,’ but a ‘clear it away,’ and that too in a cold voice.

The Gunters, who were elated at the new title of Viscount, could no longer ignore the fact that the Count was not friendly toward them.

They took a step back, bowed their waists, and turned their gaze to the side.

‘It’s not over yet.’

The opponent is at a much greater disadvantage.

As the Count and his wife approached, Aelfrie bent her knee slightly and bowed her head.

It was an old etiquette, usually a gesture of respect made by women to those of higher status.

Next to Aelfrie bowing, Calon also bowed his head as Aelfrie had taught him.

A moment later, the Count spoke.

“Feel free to look at me. The House of Hebrides welcomes you. I am Iain Hebrides, the 14th Count of Hebrides. And this is my wife, Helena Hebrides.”

Upon the Count’s introduction, Aelfrie and Calon took each other’s hands and once again respectfully bowed toward the Countess.

For the first time, a smile appeared on the Count’s face.

After the greeting was over, Calon spoke.

“It’s an honor to meet you like this. I am Kyle, and this is my… fiancée, Aelfrie.”

Aelfrie noticed that there was a slight pause in Kyle’s speech before he said ‘fiancée.’

The moment she realized this, she swallowed a bitter laugh. He acted so brazenly towards her at the market, yet he seemed nervous in front of the Count.

‘If it were genuine, he wouldn’t have hesitated.’

That thought made her feel a tightness in her chest. Now Aelfrie knew what this pain stemmed from.

After being offered the role of fiancée by Kyle and going into rehearsal, the emotion Aelfrie felt before falling asleep was not excitement.

She had asked Kyle in passing once.

“What will you do if your future spouse finds out about something like this? They won’t like it.”

“I have no intention of marrying. Not even a little.”

Kyle responded without any hesitation, as if trained to do so.

She couldn’t even ask why he was so determined.

One fact was clear. She wasn’t even a slight consideration to him.

‘Maybe he realized I like him and said it.’

That imagination made her feel like her heart was tightly squeezed. What she felt then was fear.
If they continued to work together and parted ways later, they would remember each other as good colleagues.

But if she showed even the smallest hint of her feelings, she would be the pathetic woman who was in love alone when the other party was uninterested.

She didn’t want to be in such a position.

“Aelfrie?”