“……That’s how it happened.”

Ael bowed her head at the sight of Kyle rubbing his reddened forehead.

The door she had missed just moments ago had struck his face directly.

When Ael opened the door again in surprise, Kyle was hunched over, holding his forehead.

It wasn’t just his forehead. Seeing that his nose had also turned red, Ael hurriedly led him into the room, sat him on the sofa, and examined his face.

Fortunately, it was just a little red, and he wasn’t seriously injured. But Ael felt nothing but sorry for the red mark that didn’t suit his handsome face.

Only after calming Ael, who apologized dozens of times, saying she was really sorry and looking like she might cry at any moment, did he explain his sudden words.

“So you were planning to negotiate slowly with the Hebrides Count’s family, but suddenly a rival appeared and now you have to hurry? But the Count thinks someone is only properly an adult after marriage, so he wants at least an engaged person as a conversation partner, right?”

“That’s right. I thought about pretending to be already married, but… I decided it would be better to pretend to be long-time fiancés, as that could cause more problems later. That way, there won’t be any issues if we break up later.”

“Who is this rival?”

“A person named Piel Gunter. You might have seen him on the way to the company, he’s the owner of Gunter Trading on the opposite corner.”

Ael remembered seeing him.

No matter how big Ash Trading was, it wasn’t the only company here in Denertum.

There were not only the existing trading companies that had guarded the port, but also new emerging companies that quickly targeted niche markets and grew.

Gunter was the owner of one such emerging company.

“I don’t know how he found out, but he seems to have noticed that we’re trying to buy that land. So he immediately requested a visit to the Hebrides Count’s family. We couldn’t fall behind, so we also requested a visit… and the Count invited us on the same day.”

“That means…”

“He intends to call both them and us together, judge, and then pass it to whichever side he likes.”

As he explained, he also told the reason why Ino had been kicked out of there before.

“We made the appointment urgently, but no matter how much we looked, we couldn’t find anyone to go there. At first, I thought about having Nisha and Ino pretend to be engaged, but… as you can see, that would be difficult. They would certainly look like mother and son. Moreover, their faces and names are quite well-known, so if the Hebrides Count’s family tries to find out even a little, it will be exposed immediately. So I, who have no official activities, ended up going.”

“But wouldn’t there be someone who could act as your fiancée better than me?”

Ael asked back in a worried voice. No matter how she thought about it, she didn’t have confidence in doing well.

It was an absurd idea from the start.

Ael had rarely lied in her life.

The few lies she had told were all to avoid getting beaten more by the Viscount couple.

Whether she told the truth or lied, she would get beaten anyway, so she didn’t even know if she was good at lying or not.

But now she was being asked not just to make one or two excuses, but to pretend to be Kyle’s fiancée the entire time they were together.

Her voice would surely tremble terribly. If he tried to hold her hand, she might pull away in surprise.

The other party would immediately realize their relationship was false from her actions. So she should refuse after all…

“Do you really think so?”

Just as she was about to say that she couldn’t do it after all, he spoke in a low voice.

“Miss Ael, you have all the qualifications to become my fiancée.”

“What…”

“You know the old etiquette of Denertum better than anyone else in Ash Trading, and you’re fluent in the ancient language that’s essential in that place.”

At Kyle’s continued words, Ael quickly pulled her foot out of the swamp of comfortable sensations.

Right, Mr. Kyle needs my abilities. Please stop having silly thoughts. Don’t accept his words as you wish.

She grabbed hold of her senses while mercilessly whipping herself in her mind.

Yes, this is work. As this is also a trading company, we must move quickly and surely for profitable matters. An employee’s ability is a good card for the company. It would be strange not to use it.

Even though she knew this well, why did a corner of her heart feel so desolate every time she reminded herself of it?

Ael was about to answer that she understood and would try her best to his gaze that seemed to be pleading, but instead she blurted out a different question.

“Are you… used to this kind of thing?”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘this kind of thing’?”

“Like this… lying to others… pretending to be someone’s marriage partner…”

At Ael’s question, the corners of his mouth curved gently.

You’ve done this a lot.

Ael bit her lip, feeling like she knew what his answer would be even before hearing it.

No wonder he proposed this to her so easily, he was someone used to such lies.

“Do I look like someone who would do such things?”

“Aren’t you?”

“No, you’re right. My job is to travel around various branches of Ash Trading and solve their problems. In that process, lying is essential, so I don’t feel particularly guilty about it. After all, an honest merchant is the same as a merchant about to go bankrupt.”

At his clean answer, a cool breeze brushed her heart again despite it being summer.

At that moment, he leaned in slightly and approached Ael, speaking in a small voice.

“But… this is my first time doing something like this.”

Could this be a lie too? Ael felt somewhat annoyed at him seeming so skillful unlike her trembling self.

Yes, if it’s all lies then…

“I’ll do it.”

Ael said firmly.

For him, who was used to these kinds of lies, this would be nothing. For him, this was work, so he would do it easily without giving it any particular meaning and quickly forget about it.

If that was the case, couldn’t she do it with a light heart like him too?

Ael decided to live a little more freely.

After all, everything would end when autumn came.

After Ael accepted his proposal, the first people to burst in were Nisha and Ino.

As soon as they entered, they kept bowing to Ael, saying they were really sorry, that they would definitely raise her weekly pay and give her a large special bonus for this job.

At the mention of a special bonus, Ael steeled her resolve.

This is work. It’s something I have to do as an employee of Ash Trading, even if temporary.

The Hebrides Count contacted them to come to their territory a week later.

“I know about Count Hebrides too.”

Although she couldn’t attend social gatherings, Ael was also well aware of his name.

He was the dean of the Academy long ago and the king’s teacher.

But he had no particular ambition for advancement or such skills, so he resigned after serving only the basic term.

Ael came to know about him when she came across the dusty, unread records of the Academy dean.

He wasn’t someone who had exerted great influence, and who would look for such records anyway?

It was just something the Academy made out of courtesy to the deans, not a book meant for anyone to read. Most people didn’t even know such books existed.

Ael wouldn’t have known about the book’s existence either if she hadn’t hidden deep in the library to avoid someone she had met before.

There was a writing by the Count expressing his honest feelings as he resigned from the Academy.

Ael read that writing with immersion. A writing that honestly described one’s surrounding situation and feelings without exaggeration tended to move people’s hearts more strongly than writings adorned with flowery rhetoric.

Recalling the contents of that writing, Ael quickly wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to Nisha.

“Nisha, could you get these for me?”

“Hm? I can get these right away, but… what are they for?”

“They’re gifts to take to the Count’s family. Please get the highest quality possible.”

“Gifts? These?”

Nisha looked at the paper as if she didn’t understand. Ino, who was standing next to her, also leaned in to look at the paper and wore a puzzled expression.

“I know Count Hebrides is frugal, but… isn’t this a bit much to call a gift?”

At Ino’s words, this time Kalon reached out to look at the paper.

He too made the same expression as Nisha and Ino. Ael burst into laughter at their faces that seemed to be saying, ‘How can these be gifts?’

“Don’t worry. They’ll make good gifts.”

“Hmm… I’ll still prepare some of the high-end company products we usually gift to noble clients separately. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Ael, but it makes me uneasy…”

Ael nodded in understanding at Nisha’s words. Still, the gifts Nisha prepared probably wouldn’t be necessary.

The four of them exchanged a bit more information about Count Hebrides before starting preparations.