“Mr. Kyle, I appreciate Ash Trading Company’s kindness, but… this seems a bit excessive.”

Ael sat in the carriage, looking at her side with an astonished expression.

Beside Ael, beautifully wrapped boxes were piled high. To anyone looking, it might seem that the carriage Ael was riding in was not for transporting people, but for delivering goods.

Kalon shook his head with a smile.

“Excessive? We can’t just let someone who has been of great help to our Ash Trading Company leave empty-handed. It’s one of our company’s principles to repay kindness tenfold.”

“Still, but…”

Isn’t this a bit too much?

Ael recalled the day Elize made her debut in high society.

She wasn’t sure exactly how many gifts had arrived at home the next day, but she clearly remembered that they had to be stacked in piles in the living room.

And now, the gifts piled up next to her were similar in quantity to what Elize had received then.

‘It’s not just about the number. These all look like luxury items.’

Not just the boxes, but even the ribbons wrapped around them all looked expensive.

She couldn’t bring herself to ask what was inside, but judging by the fragrant tea aroma filling the carriage, at least one of those boxes must contain an entire set of tea.

Ael knew well how expensive tea imported from the Empire was. Elize would always grumble that even the Viscount should have that level of tea available.

But even though the Viscount and his wife usually granted most of Elize’s requests, they rarely complied with that one.

‘To fill such a large box with that…’

Ael was starting to worry now.

“Even if Miss Nisha is the branch manager here, is it alright to give away so many of the company’s goods to others like this? What if you get reprimanded by the guild master later because of me?”

“The guild master? It’ll be fine.”

“How can you be so sure, Mr. Kyle? Do you know him well?”

At Ael’s words, Kalon fell silent for a moment. He couldn’t exactly say that he himself was the guild master.

“…That person, he’s quite generous.”

Kalon praised himself moderately like that.

When he was with people who didn’t know his identity, like now, he would often talk about ‘Kalon Ash’ as if it were nothing.

Depending on the situation, he would sometimes praise Kalon Ash, and other times speak as if he had many complaints about him.

As a result, he was very accustomed to talking about himself as if he were someone else, but strangely, today it wasn’t going well.

He felt that if Ael were to find out later that he was Kalon Ash, it would be very embarrassing.

‘Not that it will ever happen.’

He had come to Denertum for various purposes and intended to stay for quite a while. But he had no intention of revealing his identity.

Even now, only a handful of people at the Denertum branch, including Nisha, knew who he was. The rest of the employees just thought he was a new colleague from headquarters.

‘I’ll only stay for about a year.’

He predicted that by then, he would have finished what he needed to do. Once the work was done, this backwater country would no longer be of interest to him.

When his goal was achieved, he would return to the Empire. Or else, he might go to another country’s branch to deal with problems there.

For the sake of an uncertain future, it was better for Kalon Ash to remain a mysterious figure.

So he should be able to praise himself shamelessly, but…

Kalon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, realized that he was acting a bit strange today.

Even this task of escorting Ael home was unusual.

Originally, Nisha was supposed to take Ael home. Ael had adamantly refused, saying that providing a carriage was more than enough, but Nisha wouldn’t back down either.

Just as Nisha was about to board the carriage, a problem arose at the company, and Nisha had to go resolve it.

At that point, they could have just sent Ael home alone in the carriage, and that would have been the end of it.

‘…But I volunteered to take her.’

Even if he asked himself why he did it now, Kalon couldn’t explain the reason for his actions.

‘Was it because it was interesting?’

Kalon took in the sight of Ael, who was still overwhelmed and unsure of what to do, with his arms crossed.

This woman was certainly interesting. While others would have been busy stealing glances at him, she showed no interest in his face and seemed to just want to hurry back home, as if uncomfortable with people’s hospitality.

And yet, when the topic of economics books came up, she approached him as if she would devour him, begging for an explanation.

Kalon found that both amusing and somewhat regretful.

‘Regretful? Why?’

As he was asking himself this question for the umpteenth time today, the coachman spoke.

“We’ve arrived. Is this the right place?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Ael nodded as she looked at her house visible through the window. Then she hurriedly hugged the paper bag Kalon had first handed her and prepared to get off.

That’s when it happened.

“Lida, you!”

Before she could even get out of the carriage, Elize’s ear-piercing shout was heard. At that voice, Ael’s breath caught in her throat.

“Elize…”

As she poked her head out the window, Elize was glaring at Ael with her arms crossed, as if in disbelief.

“Are you crazy? How long has it been since you left, and you’re just coming back now!”

Just hearing the words, it sounded like she was worried about a family member who had gone out in the morning and hadn’t returned. But judging by the sharpness in her voice, she seemed ready to grab Ael by the hair and shake her.

Normally, Elize never left the house, let alone come outside.

For Elize, activities should always take place inside the house or other mansions, and wandering outside in situations other than those was an undignified and shameful act for a noble lady.

For someone with such thoughts to come out to the front door like this.

Ael unknowingly broke out in a cold sweat.

Lately, Elize had been particularly sharp about anything related to the Grand Duke.

Even the Viscountess was at a loss, irritated dozens of times a day by Elize, and it seemed that today, that irritation would properly spill over onto Ael.

Ael hurriedly got out of the carriage, approached Elize, and held out the bag she was carrying.

“I’m sorry! I went out and got hurt… Ah!”

Before she could finish speaking, she felt a pain in her head. Elize had grabbed Ael’s hair and pulled it.

Her body, already exhausted from the day’s events, staggered weakly. Her injured ankle throbbed, and her knees buckled.

Even in the moment when she was about to fall, Ael clung to the paper bag she was holding.

If she let go of this too, it wouldn’t end with just this level of abuse. So, at least this…

At that moment, her falling body stopped moving. Someone’s hand had grabbed Ael’s arm.

Ael looked at the hand that had caught her, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Just as he had done earlier in the day, Kyle was once again holding her to prevent her from falling.

“Who are you?”

Elize, startled by the unexpected interference, looked at him.

She had rushed at Ael as soon as she saw her, her pent-up irritation from waiting all day exploding, without even noticing who else was around.

In fact, she hadn’t intended to care. There was no way there would be anyone around Ael grand enough for her to pay attention to in the first place.

But the moment she looked at the man who had caught Ael, Elize forgot what she had been about to do and couldn’t take her eyes off him.

‘Who is he?’

One thing was certain: this was someone she had never seen before.

If she had seen a face like that even once, there was no way she wouldn’t remember who it was.

The man had such a handsome face that it made her momentarily forget about tormenting Ael.

Even the Grand Duke she was currently seeing was known for being handsome in social circles, but if he were placed next to this unfamiliar man, surely no one would give him a second glance.

It wasn’t just his handsome face. His tall stature, towering over her, and his sturdy body, easily imaginable even through his clothes.

He looked as if a mythological statue from the Royal Art Gallery had come to life and walked out.

And above all, he had an aura that intimidated others just by quietly looking at them.

‘Even the Grand Duke wasn’t like this…’

Instinctively sensing that he was far superior to her, Elize released Ael’s hair from her hand. Then she quickly tidied up her appearance.

“What’s going on!”

At that moment, the Viscount and his wife, who had heard Elize’s voice from inside the house, hurriedly came out. They too looked as enraged as Elize.

Usually, Ael would have quickly come and gone on her own. But for some reason, she hadn’t returned even until evening.

Normal parents would worry first, but the Viscount couple didn’t hide their irritation either.

They had to deal with Elize’s worsening temper all day due to Ael’s delay.