Thanks to walking briskly, the two of them arrived at the small forest a bit faster than they had expected.

After passing through a trail that didn’t seem to be frequented by people, as they entered deeper into the forest, a wide open area along with a house and the sea came into view all at once.

“They said it was built to view the sea……”

This small house was constructed with the vast sea as its front yard.

“It seems to have been abandoned for a long time. Even the door has rotted and fallen off.”

Kalon climbed the stairs and moved the dangerous-looking door aside, examining the inside.

Though the exterior was covered in stains and peeling paint, likely due to the sea breeze, the interior was in better condition than expected.

After confirming there were no other hazards on the floor or stairs, Kalon finally checked for any insects crawling around before calling Ael, who was still marveling at the sea view.

Following him inside, Ael looked around the house and then went upstairs.

Being a small house, the second floor consisted only of a large room facing the sea and a small room that could be used as storage.

“It seems they observed the sea from here.”

The large room facing the sea had an enormous window that let in streams of sunlight.

In front of the window was a spacious area where one could sit or lie down.

On the floor, papers that the previous owner seemed to have left behind without cleaning up were scattered about, their edges decayed and discolored by time.

Ael picked up one of them. It wasn’t an important record, just a faint doodle remaining. It was a drawing of a whale breaching from the distant sea.

Before she knew it, Ael had gathered all the fallen papers, neatly arranged them, and placed them on the old desk that remained.

To be honest, even with the most generous assessment, it was appropriate to call this an abandoned house. Still, with some repairs, it seemed it would be fine for one or two people to stay in.

Then Ael realized she was already thinking about where to place a new desk in this room, where to put books, and where to place soft cushions.

Ridiculously, it seemed she had fallen in love with this house at first sight.

After gazing for a long while at the sea sparkling in the sunlight beyond the window, Ael asked him, who had been quietly watching her from behind.

“By any chance, does Ash Trading Company plan to use this house as well?”

“No. It’s just included with the land, but we’re not particularly concerned about it.”

“Then… is there any chance you might sell this house?”

“Do you want to buy it?”

“Yes. Isn’t it really wonderful here? From here, it feels like the entire sea is in my embrace!”

To think such a dilapidated house would appeal to her.

Kalon wondered if her room at the birch estate that he hadn’t been able to see was in an even worse state than this.

Perhaps misinterpreting his hardened expression, Ael asked again in a slightly quieter voice.

“How much do you think this place might cost…?”

Kalon was about to answer that she could just take a house like this if she wanted, but thinking she might consider it just a casual remark, he pretended to ponder for a moment before replying.

“A house like this, we’d be grateful if someone lived in it. As you can see, houses quickly fall apart if no one lives in them. Hmm… if the company were to sell it, I suppose 500 gilders would do.”

“500 gilders? That’s all it costs?”

Ael’s eyes sparkled at the price, which was much lower than she had expected.

500 gilders? That’s an amount I could save up in just two weeks of work. Moreover, I even received a thousand gilders as a special allowance for performing as a fiancée this time.

‘Then I could buy this place… and do some repairs too.’

Her heart was already racing as if this house had become hers.

“Are you thinking of living in this house?”

“I’d like to, but……”

Her words trailed off. In reality, even the idea of living in this house was an unrealistic fantasy.

If her father sold her off, she wouldn’t be able to live here, let alone ever set foot on this land again.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend living here.”

“Why not?”

“Because there will be noisy neighbors living nearby.”

“Noisy neighbors? How do you know that?”

“Hmm… would you like to come this way?”

Kalon led Ael to the small room on the opposite side from the sea. The moment he opened the door there, Ael realized who the noisy neighbors he mentioned were.

Beyond the hill that wasn’t visible from the path they had walked, there was an enormous mansion that looked as if a piece of the royal palace had been cut out and placed there.

People could be seen busily coming and going inside, as if preparing for something.

Ael understood why Kalon had called them noisy neighbors. The distance between this small house and the mansion was closer than she had thought. Close enough that sounds from across the way could be faintly heard.

“What is that incredible mansion?”

“You’ve probably heard the name before. That’s the Oltbea Mansion.”

“That place is……”

Kalon whispered in Ael’s ear as she stood in shock.

“That’s the house where Kalon Ash will live.”

Was it because of his breath touching her ear? At his whisper, Ael felt as if every hair on her body was standing on end.

It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. Just that her breath caught and she felt dizzy. Fortunately, she was able to hide her weakening legs by leaning against the wall.

“Don’t you like it there?”

At his continued whisper, Ael gazed as if mesmerized at the huge mansion visible in the distance.

The mansion, stretching out in a straight line, was a stone building made of cream-colored stone under a deep navy blue roof. In front of the mansion stretched a stone path where dozens of carriages could easily park, along with an expansive garden.

In the garden, flowers with large buds and vibrant colors incomparable to the wildflowers they had seen on the way up the hill were planted in a regular pattern, and Ael could tell at a glance that it was a well-maintained garden.

Though she had never seen other nobles’ country houses, Ael was certain.

That Oltbea Mansion would surely become the most beautiful mansion in this country.

Then Ael belatedly recalled what Kalon had said.

“Will Kalon Ash really come to live in Denertum?”

“From the way you ask, it seems you already knew.”

“A servant at our house mentioned it once. That the Oltbea Mansion was looking for servants to work there. So everyone could easily guess what it meant that the mansion would soon be welcoming its owner.”

Kalon gave a bitter smile at Ael’s answer.

“So, do you not like it there?”

“What does it matter whether I like it or not? That place is Kalon Ash’s house, and my opinion wouldn’t have any influence. No, if my words did have an influence, that would be more of a problem.”

“Still. I’m curious how that mansion looks in Ael’s eyes.”

Ael felt that he was strangely insistent on demanding an evaluation of the mansion.

As if he was someone deeply connected to that mansion.

‘I suppose Kalon is related too.’

Occasionally, he would go somewhere to do ‘work ordered by headquarters’.

It seemed that work was managing the Oltbea Mansion. If so, she could understand why he was concerned about the evaluation of the mansion.

“Are you worried that when Kalon Ash arrives, he might not like that mansion?”

“…Let’s say that’s the case.”

It was an ambiguous answer, but Ael didn’t notice.

Her eyes still couldn’t fully take in the immense and beautiful mansion.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Is that all?”

Ael smiled slightly and said:

“Is anything more needed? The Oltbea Mansion will inspire many people in Denertum and remain a page in history. Some may complain that a foreigner has taken that place of glory, but they won’t be able to say anything to diminish the value of that mansion. Anyone with eyes wouldn’t dare deny its beauty. Every time they try to disparage the mansion’s value, they’d only be devaluing their own aesthetic sense as well.”

Ael shrugged her shoulders as she finished speaking.

“Is that enough?”

“Perfect. If Kalon Ash were here, he would have applauded.”

“It’s a shame I couldn’t say this in front of Kalon. If I had spoken directly to him, I might have been able to negotiate a lower price for this house.”

“You were praising the Oltbea Mansion just now, but in the end, you still want this house. If it were someone else, they would say they want that place.”

At his words, Ael shook her head.

“I don’t know. Living in a mansion like that… it’s something I couldn’t even dream of. Rather than such a beautiful and unrealistic dream, a slightly more achievable dream is better.”

Of course, buying and living in this house is also an unrealistic dream. But at least this much I can dream of, can’t I?

Then Kalon said:

“But it’s good to have big dreams. Why not dream of having that whole mansion too?”

At those truly impossible words, Ael burst out laughing.

It was fortunate. That she could laugh instead of feeling depressed at the fact that even owning this house was just a dream for her.

Ael turned around to look at the sea one more time before going downstairs.

In the distant sea visible from where the two had descended, dark clouds were gathering.