The Count explained the ancestral portraits hanging in the hallway, or described the sculptures, or spoke of historical moments that had occurred in the mansion.

At first, the Gunter couple nodded vigorously or made sounds like “I see!” in agreement, but soon they felt bored and had to force smiles on their faces.

Watching this, Kalon saw Ael resting her hand on his arm, her eyes shining.

‘We have nothing to worry about on our side.’

Ael’s face now was similar to when she had listened to his economics explanation long ago.

It was that expression of not knowing what to do with the joy of encountering new knowledge.

“So the 7th Count Hebridis received this mansion from His Majesty the King at the time and created the forest behind it. I thought the trees there were growing unusually diverse and regularly compared to other forests.”

“You’ve already seen the forest? My ancestor was the only one at that time who showed interest in various tree species. That’s why trees that have now disappeared from many regions of Denertum while making furniture still remain in our forest. This furniture here is also made from that wood…”

The conversation between Ael and the Count was like that of a granddaughter who had begun to take interest in the family history and her grandfather.

Ael continued the conversation with the Count very naturally.

The conversation that flowed on, with her appropriately marveling at or agreeing with his words without going overboard, was very affectionate.

Perhaps feeling threatened by that conversation, Viscount Gunter tried to interject several times, but whenever he did, the conversation would soon peter out.

Watching this, Kalon felt that his judgment in choosing her as his fake fiancée had not been wrong.

It’s not that he had suddenly asked Ael to be his fiancée out of nowhere.

No matter how well-qualified she was, Ael was still a noblewoman of Denertum after all.

Asking such a woman to pretend to be his fiancée. He had worried that Ael might get upset and ask how he could make such a proposal.

It would have been better if she had gotten angry. He had thought she might feel it was insulting but accept it reluctantly since she had received help from Aesh Trading Company.

But Ael worked harder than anyone to make this deal successful.

‘If it weren’t for Ael…’

Would he be able to stand here in such a harmonious atmosphere now?

Of course, Viscount Gunter was utterly incompetent, but he was still a person of Denertum and now had a title.

From the Count’s perspective, he was still far better than a foreigner.

“Dinner preparations are complete.”

As the Count was about to excitedly go up another floor, the butler approached to announce that dinner preparations were finished.

As everyone went down to the dining room together, a long, wide table with plates and utensils neatly arranged was waiting for the guests.

The Count and Countess sat at the head of the table, with Ael and Kalon, and the Gunter couple sitting facing each other on either side.

The butler brought wine and filled the glasses, and dinner began once again with the Count’s words of welcome. As the food came out in order, the conversation continued.

“I suppose it’s about time to get to the main point of why we’ve gathered here today.”

The Count spoke as he set down his wine glass.

“The estate I’m trying to sell to you isn’t very fertile, so it’s used by the surrounding villagers to graze their sheep. But like my ancestors, I’ve lived feeling great fulfillment in protecting and nurturing my territory. Even such land has the history of the Hebridis earldom embedded in it.”

At the Count’s words, Viscount Gunter bit his lip.

‘Damn old man. He intends to sell a worthless piece of land at an inflated price.’

The initial expected price was around 500,000 gilders. But now the estimated price had become over 2 million gilders.

‘Those guys must be trying to expand Oltbear Manor. Then they’ll definitely need that adjoining land.’

So if he could somehow win the Count’s favor and get the land, he could then deal with Aesh Trading Company afterwards. That was his plan.

In the process, he had intended to have the commoner Aesh Trading Company from the Empire drop out early, and then give only a modest price to the Count.

Afterwards, he planned to tell the Count he had paid a good price with special consideration and build connections with the Count’s family.

‘I didn’t expect those guys to be this persistent.’

He had been relieved it wasn’t well-known employees like Nisha or Ino, but it turned out an even stronger opponent had appeared.

‘That woman too. For an Imperial, her accent is too natural, and she seems skilled in Denertum noble etiquette. Is she really from Aesh Trading Company?’

Gunter’s gaze, looking suspiciously at Ael, swept down from her face to her neck. He licked his lips at her clean white neck.

‘Looking at her like this, she’s quite…’

When standing, he had thought unpleasantly that she seemed to be as tall or taller than him, but seeing her seated figure, she gave off a more seductive aura than he’d thought.

Her slender white neck and wrists made him want to grab them, and seeing the soft curves of her body here and there, he thought if this wasn’t such an occasion, he would have immediately tried to make a move on her.

Women with this kind of aura had a certain appeal when they cried and begged, after all.

Just then, the Viscount felt a stinging gaze and turned his head.

How long had he been watching?

Kalon was glaring at him as if he would throw the knife beside him at any moment.

“…!”

The Viscount hurriedly averted his gaze.

Beside him, his wife lightly kicked his foot under the table as if to say what nonsense are you thinking.

The Viscount came to his senses and focused on the Count’s words.

A woman was just a woman, and for now he needed to successfully complete this deal.

“…So, tell me. What did you think after seeing my territory?”

At the Count’s question, the Viscount quickly opened his mouth.

“I thought I must definitely buy this land!”

“Why is that?”

As the Count gave him a chance to speak, the Viscount began to rattle off the words he had prepared in advance.

“…So we plan to build a new warehouse on that land. With the recent increase in trade volume in the capital…”

The Viscount continued talking about what he would build on the land and how he would develop it.

The Hebridis earldom is still a place with no particular industrial facilities other than traditional agriculture.

‘So if commercial facilities are introduced, the Count will welcome it.’

Who wouldn’t like their territory becoming more prosperous?

Viscount Gunter went on talking for quite some time after that. Meanwhile, the butler refilled the empty wine glasses of the others several times.

“…These are roughly the plans we have.”

The Viscount, who had seemed like he would never stop talking, finally finished speaking. After listening to the Viscount’s words, the Count was lost in thought for a long while.

Silence fell over the table for a moment.

“I see… Then what did Aesh Trading Company think after seeing the territory?”

“We…”

“We…”

Kalon, who was about to answer, looked at Ael who had spoken at the same time as him.

Before coming here, it had of course been decided that Kalon would answer questions about the territory.

After all, Ael had no decision-making power regarding the price or how the place would be used in the future.

Remembering this fact, Ael flinched at her own impulsive action and looked at him. It was a sign for him to speak first.

But Kalon smiled and shook his head.

“I think it would be better for you to share your impressions from today, not me.”

“Did you visit the territory today?”

“Of course. I’ve seen it several times on company business, but it’s a beautiful place no matter how many times I see it. We shouldn’t miss another opportunity to see it. My fiancée saw it for the first time today, but she had the exact same impression as me.”

At Kalon’s words, Ael was flustered.

If he had asked how they planned to use the territory in the future, she wouldn’t have opened her mouth.

But because the Count asked what they thought, she had unconsciously started to speak.

Of course, the moment she spoke simultaneously with Kalon, she realized her mistake and smiled at him, gesturing for him to speak first.

She thought Kalon would speak then.

But not only did he not speak first, he suddenly gently took her hand. Then he said she had the same thoughts as him and told her to share her impressions.

‘Is it really okay to do this?’

Viscount Gunter had spoken at length about how he would use the land if he bought it.

Unlike him, she only had her first impressions in her mind, and knew nothing at all about future plans.

She didn’t know how Aesh Trading Company intended to use that land, but Ael hoped the estate would retain its current appearance.

But Aesh Trading Company would surely intend to use that land…

‘But he says we have the same impression.’