Riena was a woman who was often by the Duke’s side, as much as Elize.

More precisely, she was a woman who was more actively aiming for the position of Duchess than Elize.

For other matters, Elize wouldn’t have cared much about Riena. After all, no matter what anyone said, she was more beautiful than Riena.

But when it came to the position of Duchess, things were different.

‘I can’t ignore family background.’

While she was the daughter of a fallen viscount family, Riena was the daughter of a marquis family.

Moreover, Riena’s family not only owned the breadbasket region of Denertum but also had vast lands near the royal palace in the capital, making them one of the wealthiest families among the nobility.

That’s why Riena always wore the best things and bought new items without hesitation, often showing them off in front of Elize.

As if to say, how dare you, the daughter of a fallen noble family, think you can compete with me?

The Duke didn’t seem to show much interest in Riena. He treated her just like any other woman in social circles and didn’t keep her by his side like Elize.

‘The Duke favors me.’

Wasn’t she the woman whose hand he always held and called for in secret, away from people’s eyes?

‘But in terms of conditions, Riena is far more advantageous.’

She had to work harder to beat Riena.

It meant she had to pay more attention to her communication with the Duke, filling it with even more love than usual.

At the same time, she needed to confirm if he was really going down to his territory as Riena said, and if so, whether she would be going with him.

At such an important time…

‘Why hasn’t that foolish girl returned all day?’

The anger that had been directed at Riena suddenly changed its direction.

Unable to grab the hair of the marquis’s daughter, she wanted to vent her anxiety on someone she could.

But who would have thought Ael would return with someone else?

Elize belatedly thought of her own dignity and looked at the carriage Ael had arrived in. The emblem attached to the side of the carriage was not of a noble house, but of the Ash Company.

‘Even the carriage is different.’

It wasn’t the Denertum style full of elaborate decorations, but a clean form that prioritized practicality.

Yet, she couldn’t mock it because anyone could see that the carriage was made of high-quality wood that had been painted countless times to make it sturdy.

Though simple in form, anyone with eyes could tell it was precious.

In other words, the man who came with Ael in this carriage must have some position in the Ash Company.

‘But not a noble.’

Still, she couldn’t openly disrespect the Ash Company.

Hadn’t it been said recently that even the Duke was making efforts to draw them to his side?

Elize quickly composed her expression. While she didn’t care about commoners, if it was an important person from the Ash Company, there was no need to deliberately create a bad reputation for herself.

Besides, didn’t they say that the people of the company shared everything they saw and heard with the company?

If she continued to mistreat Ael, unfavorable rumors might spread.

‘You fool. You should have said in advance that someone was coming with you.’

Elize swallowed her regret. The one who was supposed to receive her anger in place of Riena had luckily managed to escape.

Elize quickly returned to her usual face when dealing with people.

A brilliant smile that could captivate anyone appeared on her face.

She knew well the power of her smile. Now, like others, that man would stop paying attention to Ael and only look at her.

Then she would send him away at the right moment.

“Thank you for bringing Lida back. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“Are you not hurt?”

But contrary to Elize’s thoughts, the man was only paying attention to Ael without even glancing at Elize.

Elize couldn’t help but be momentarily flustered at this sight.

It was the first time a man had ignored her and only paid attention to someone else.

Ael, who was being supported, was just embarrassed.

‘This is why I said to just drop me off nearby…’

Kyle had been kind and courteous to her all day.

Even though she introduced herself as a commoner without revealing her family name, his attitude remained unchanged.

Ael felt like she had been dreaming all day, experiencing kindness and courtesy from others for the first time in a long while. He even explained the meaning of the terms she had been so desperate to know.

Although she hadn’t completed her errand and had injured her leg, Ael thought today had been like a gift.

That’s why when he offered to take her home, she initially asked to be dropped off nearby.

That way, she could remain in his memory simply as Ael, a servant from a nearby noble house.

But in the end, she ended up in this situation.

“What’s this? Who are you!”

Belatedly, Viscount Aradis shouted at Kalon.

“I am Kyle, associated with the Ash Company. I sincerely apologize for bringing Ael-ssi of your household home so late, and I am grateful for the great help she provided to our company today.”

As the tall Kalon extended his arms forward and bowed politely, even Viscount Aradis, who was about to shout, took a few steps back and couldn’t say anything more.

He, like Elize, instinctively realized it. The man before him was someone he couldn’t treat carelessly.

“Help? What help did my daughter provide? And Lida, you! Are you saying you were with a strange man until this hour? Don’t you know any shame!”

Viscount Aradis made the same choice as Elize. He directed his anger towards the easy target, Ael.

“Daughter…?”

“Yes. I am Viscount Aradis, and that child is my daughter. So, remove your impolite hands now!”

The viscount spoke as if Kalon was grasping his property.

At the viscount’s words, Kalon finally let go of Ael’s hand. He looked around briefly.

Ael, with a reddened face, not knowing what to do.

Unlike Ael, a woman dressed lavishly, smiling but unable to hide her chilliness.

And a lady who looked very much like that woman, along with her husband.

Clearly, in the eyes of the viscount who called Ael his daughter, there was not even a hint of affection for her.

Seeing this, Kalon could easily guess what kind of relationship this family had.

It wasn’t an uncommon case where a child from a previous marriage, unloved after the father’s remarriage, was treated worse than the household servants.

Some might ask how they could discriminate against their own child like that, but there were more people who could treat their own child even worse because they were their own.

Many people think that when others do it, it’s violence, but when family does it, it’s discipline.

Kalon could easily imagine what kind of things Ael would go through after he left.

She would be criticized for not completing her assigned task properly, and for behaving in a manner unbecoming of a noble family’s daughter. Judging by the attitude Elize had when Ael arrived, violence would surely accompany it.

The moment he thought this, suddenly his insides grew hot with anger. It was an anger he couldn’t explain.

Honestly, while Ael had been interesting, to him she was just a unique person who had helped him, nothing more than that.

He had no intention of paying more attention than necessary to such a brief acquaintance.

But…

Kalon’s gaze lingered for a moment on the old viscount’s mansion with its peeling paint. And the unkempt, messy garden.

Just looking at that, it was obvious what this family’s financial situation was like. Well, he could tell just by looking at Ael’s clothes.

‘This is perfect.’

Kalon knew well how to deal with people like this.

After all, what they lacked most was what he had the most of.

“I see. Once again, I apologize for Ael-yang being late.”

Kalon bowed once more and then turned towards the carriage. Thinking he was about to leave, Viscount Aradis was about to call out to stop him.

Instead of turning to look at him, Kalon opened the door of the carriage he had ridden with Ael.

“Oh my!”

Maya, who had come out with the viscount couple, looked inside the carriage and exclaimed in surprise. No wonder, as the carriage was full of gift boxes.

“Move all of this into the mansion.”

“Yes, sir.”

The coachman, who had been strictly instructed by Nisha to serve well before leaving, quickly got down at Kalon’s order and began moving the gift boxes.

Forgetting even to be angry, the viscount couple and Elize could only stare blankly at the boxes that kept pouring out of the carriage as if overflowing.