At first, they did not have much conversation. Then the viscount, unable to bear the boredom, wanted to go hunting and got lost in the forest.

When the viscountess raised a fuss about finding her husband, the servants and the steward searched the entire forest and found the viscount going around in circles.

After that, the viscount often invited the steward to the annex, calling him his lifesaver.

Feeling guilty for putting them in such a boring forest, the grand duke was extremely generous with food and drink. Thanks to that, there was plenty of good alcohol in the annex.

The viscount and the steward drank back and forth. Then the topic of marriage came up.

“No matter how old I am, I’m still a junior viscount, so I can’t marry a commoner woman. So this fall season, I’m planning to go up to the capital to find a bride.”

“You’ll need to prepare quite a bit of gratitude money for that.”

“Of course. I’ve saved up enough money for that. Look at this. These gold rings and necklaces. When I go to the capital, I’ll exchange them all for nice women’s jewelry. I’ve saved up quite a bit of money too. Don’t you think 5,000 guilders would be enough to take a decent family’s woman as a wife?”

5,000 guilders?

The viscount’s eyes flashed at hearing that amount.

‘I was thinking of selling that for about 1,000 guilders.’

He remembered the pathetic thing left in the capital. The stupid thing that not only ruined Elize’s reputation but also sent a letter asking what to do because there was a fire while they were away after entrusting the house to them.

He had already decided with his wife that when they returned to the capital, they would send it away to someone living far away so that it would no longer interfere with Elize’s future…

“5,000 guilders is quite a sum you’ve saved. It must be hard to prepare all that in cash before the fall season?”

“I’ve already prepared it all in cash. As soon as I find a suitable woman, I’ll hand it over to her parents right away and take her to my hometown. As you can see, I’m getting on in years, so I’m in a hurry to have children. As soon as I take her home, I’ll have to get her pregnant right away.”

The viscount drank his alcohol while watching the steward talk about getting a wife as if he were bringing in an animal to breed.

And the next day, the viscount asked the steward how about his daughter.

Of course, he added a few lies. That she was not bad-looking and had a very obedient personality, knowing how to serve her husband.

That she was of age and also urgently needed to marry, praying every day to meet her future husband.

The steward was overjoyed as he listened to the viscount’s words, saying that such a woman was exactly what he had been looking for.

He already started calling the viscount, who wasn’t that much older than him, father-in-law and handed over part of the money and jewels, saying he would give the gratitude money early.

Of course, with the request to allow him to marry Ael as soon as he went up to the capital.

The viscount couple immediately agreed to the 3,000 guilders and jewelry placed before them.

“Since that’s settled, don’t worry too much. We’ll get rid of it cleanly before your marriage anyway.”

“Well, then I don’t mind.”

“More importantly, the steward heard something, do you know about the Oltbea mansion?”

“Oltbea mansion? I think I’ve heard of it, but where is it?”

“Why, it’s that big mansion in the northeast of the capital.”

“Ah.”

“I heard Ash Company bought it and perfectly redecorated the interior. They decorated it with all sorts of exotic things and plan to hold a banquet there in the fall.”

“A banquet… There must be a host, right? I heard the branch manager is a woman? Then it would be impossible.”

“Well, they say the owner of Ash Company, Kalon Ash, is coming. In fact, he’s already entered Denertum. The steward overheard a conversation between the grand duke and his vassals, so don’t go telling anyone.”

“Who would I tell here? There’s no one visiting and it’s all servants.”

“That’s true, but… Anyway, it seems the grand duke is also trying to meet this Kalon Ash. In any case, since he bought that big mansion and is staying in Denertum, if he happens to be an unmarried man, it will cause quite a stir.”

“Even so, he’s probably very old.”

“Child. What does age matter for a wealthy gentleman?”

“That’s true.”

Hearing her mother’s words, Elize thought about Kalon Ash.

Elize didn’t usually pay much attention to difficult things like business, but she knew well that Ash Company had amassed tremendous wealth.

‘They say with his fortune, he could buy several kingdoms like Denertum.’

She had heard that if he set his mind to it, it would be easy for him to ruin any country.

Elize indulged in her own imagination. What if this Kalon Ash was young and handsome on top of that?

At that moment, Elize recalled the man from Ash Company who had brought Ael.

Though she had only seen him briefly, his face had clearly remained in her mind.

Unlike the frail men of Denertum, his tall stature and firm body made one feel tense and swallow dry saliva.

Above all, that handsome face had a subtle charm.

The roughness that showed very briefly while appearing polite made her want to steal glances at him several times.

Elize unconsciously imagined substituting that man into the night’s events. That is, imagining that man on top of her instead of the grand duke.

‘It would be incredible.’

His long legs were wrapped in well-toned muscles like a wild horse. And those broad shoulders.

Such a man would have the stamina to move roughly until morning.

Thinking of the night, Elize bit her lip.

While she was satisfied with life here in every other way, if there was one thing she was not satisfied with, it was the nights with the grand duke.

He was unexpectedly weak. So he often got tired and panted before Elize was satisfied.

Perhaps that’s why. Instead of moving himself, he often made degrading demands and ordered Elize to serve him.

Of course, Elize quietly followed his orders. That’s what she had to do to become the grand duchess.

Elize tried hurriedly to erase thoughts of that man.

Yet she kept lingering on them. Thinking how much better it would have been if the grand duke was such a man.

‘What if Kalon Ash is such a man…’

Just imagining it was ecstatic. What would it feel like to have such a man? Young, handsome, with overwhelming wealth…

Then the image of Ael flashed through Elize’s mind.

How dare she return grinning on the first day, pretending to be a woman too.

‘Someone like that is well-matched with a man like the steward.’

Elize smiled as she thought of the old, ugly, and unpleasant steward. Yes, such a man was a good match for that thing.

9:50 AM. Ael sat in her place at Ash Company, looking outside.

On the desk were warm tea and crisp cookies. It was a snack she had picked up from the cafeteria before coming up to the workroom.

It had already been a week since Ael started working at Ash Company. Though it wasn’t a very long time, Ael had already become a perfect member of Ash Company in that period.

She usually arrived at the company around 8:30 AM and went straight down to the cafeteria.

Since Ash Company also prepared breakfast for employees, there were sandwiches or soups available for a simple meal when she went down.

After having a meal they liked, employees would take tea and snacks also prepared on wooden plates and cups to their seats.

At first, Ael felt awkward eating meals like that in the cafeteria.

For one, eating in a place full of strangers was unfamiliar. But she soon got used to it. Looking around, there were many people quietly eating alone like Ael.

After finishing the meal and coming up to the workroom before 9 AM, she would prepare the desk for work and wait for someone to bring her documents.

When she first heard the explanation, she was told that one of three people – Nisha, Kyle, or Ino – would come, but it seemed Kyle had essentially become dedicated to her.

‘Kyle has been bringing them all week.’

She didn’t dislike it. No, she rather liked it.

Though Nisha and Ino were nice too, Ael felt most comfortable with Kyle, perhaps because he was the first person she met.

Thinking of Kyle, Ael unconsciously touched the scar inside her forehead where he had touched.

The place he had touched.

The moment she thought that, her face suddenly flushed hot.

Ael fanned herself repeatedly as her face, ears, and neck turned red.

Heat rose to her skin under the tightly buttoned collar.

This wasn’t the first time. Usually she would forget about it, but at completely random moments, that warmth would suddenly come to mind.

When washing her face after waking up in the morning, when stretching her shoulders for a moment while working after lunch, when turning the page while reading a borrowed book before bed.

At meaningless moments throughout the day, that warmth would suddenly come alive in her memory, bringing a blush to Ael’s face.