At that moment, the Countess, who had been looking outside with a worried expression, approached.

“I think it would be best for everyone to stay here tonight. It looks like heavy rain will fall soon.”

Upon hearing his wife’s words, the Count approached with a serious face and took her arm.

“Are you in much pain?”

“Yes. From the tingling I feel, it seems like it will rain heavily.”

The Countess had been experiencing pain in her injured area on days with bad weather ever since she was hurt while horseback riding a few years ago.

The Count gently massaged the injured area of his wife, his expression turning worried.

The Viscount wondered if the Countess had gone senile.

The weather had been clear throughout their journey. Even when they entered the Count’s residence, there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, so how could it rain heavily?

“Rain? We did hear some thunder, but…”

At that moment, a pitter-patter sound was heard as a few droplets hit the ground, quickly turning into heavy rain.

Those who had come out to the entrance were surprised by the downpour, which made it difficult to see even a step ahead through the lamplight.

As the carriage outside moved under the entrance roof, the horses, now soaked from the sudden rain, shook their bodies.

The Viscount boarded the carriage first, without even thinking of escorting his wife.

“We’ll be leaving now.”

“It might be dangerous.”

“It’s fine. The horses are sturdy, and the carriage is new. Well then, goodbye.”

As if he couldn’t bear to stay a moment longer, he closed the door as soon as his wife struggled to board the carriage and ordered the coachman to depart.

The coachman, troubled by the heavy rain, apologized to the Count’s servants and borrowed a few more lamps to hang under the carriage roof.

The horses were reluctant to move, but after a few cracks of the whip, they began to plod along as if they had no choice.

They hadn’t gone far when the lamplight grew dim and soon disappeared into the darkness.

“What will you two do?”

The Count turned and asked the two people.

‘It seems dangerous.’

Ael recalled the road from the capital to the Count’s estate.

While the roads in the village and around the Count’s residence were paved with stone, all the paths in between were dirt roads.

Sometimes those paths became quite narrow in places.

Of course, if they had to go, they could make it. The Imperial-style carriage of Ash Trading Company had easily passed through several puddles on the way. Moreover…

‘Shouldn’t Kyle return?’

Nisha and Ino always sought out Kyle for important matters.

Recently, besides preparing for this visit to the Count’s estate, it seemed they had some other pressing business, as the three often gathered to discuss matters with serious expressions.

‘I think I heard something about problems with the company’s communication network…’

Because of that, it was said that managing ships and warehouses had become difficult due to delays in contacting headquarters.

‘Anyway, he said he would return tonight.’

Before departing, Nisha had approached Kyle to ask about his return time.

When she heard that he would be back at night, Nisha replied that she would wait at the company.

It seemed there were more things to be done depending on today’s results.

As Ael was about to call for their coachman, thinking they should prepare their carriage as well, an arm blocked her path as if to stop her.

Turning her head, she saw Kyle shaking his head.

“What will you two do?”

When the Count asked, Kyle approached Ael’s side, placed his hand on her shoulder, and said,

“I apologize, but we request to stay here for the night. Nothing is more important than my fiancée’s safety.”

“…!”

Ael flinched in surprise when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Was this really necessary?

But seeing the Count and Countess beaming with bright smiles at his words, she understood why he had made such an excessively close contact.

From their first meeting until now, the Count and Countess had shown an exceptionally affectionate relationship compared to other noble couples.

They didn’t use overly sweet words or excessively dote on each other.

The Count always held his wife’s hand and walked in step with her.

If she showed even the slightest sign of fatigue, he immediately called for servants to let her rest comfortably.

From this, Ael could tell that the Count was always mindful of his wife’s condition, even if he didn’t openly show it.

‘That’s why they’re satisfied with Kyle’s behavior.’

Pleased with his prioritizing his fiancée’s safety over his own time, the Count and Countess called for the butler.

“Our guests will be staying overnight, so make the necessary preparations. Guide the coachman to the stable separately and ensure he can rest comfortably as well.”

“Understood.”

“Then let’s chat a bit until the rooms are ready. I’d also like to show you the records of the scholar who lived in that place I mentioned during dinner.”

The Count gently rubbed his wife’s arm and led the two to the study.

Click.

Ael entered the room provided by the Count and Countess. Having just bathed in warm water in the bathroom, her entire body still seemed enveloped in a cozy warmth.

Ael buttoned up the guest nightgown to the top and looked around the room.

The wallpaper had delicate patterns, and paintings of various parts of the mansion hung on the walls.

It was arranged so that guests could appreciate the beauty of this mansion and the surrounding estate even while resting in their room.

Ael examined each painting one by one. The interior of the mansion, the garden, and even scenes of the daily lives of the previous owners of this mansion.

Though they seemed to be painted by different artists, each painting conveyed a deep affection for the Hebrides County.

Ael was smiling at a painting of a little girl playing with a ball alongside a puppy when her gaze shifted to the side.

“This is…”

In a small frame in the corner was a painting of a place Ael knew well. It was the house on the hill she had visited with Kyle.

Perhaps it was from when the scholar studying the sea lived there, as someone was depicted outside the house, looking at the sea and writing something.

Although it only showed the house and someone’s back, the peacefulness of that moment was conveyed so well that Ael couldn’t take her eyes off the painting for a while.

Reluctantly turning away, Ael walked around the room she was staying in.

With all of today’s events finished and now just needing to sleep quietly, her heart still wouldn’t stop pounding.

‘It all ended well.’

The conversation that resumed in the study continued even after moving to the reception room.

The discussion, accompanied by fine wine, cheese, and fruit, gave Ael an incredibly happy time.

Looking at the walnut tree seedling Ael had brought, the Count talked about his time as the Academy’s dean.

In the middle of it, he suddenly asked Ael if she had ever been to the Empire’s Academy, catching her off guard.

Fortunately, Kyle quickly interjected, saying that Ael had traveled to many countries and thus didn’t have many memories of the Empire, and instead told the Count about the Empire’s Academy as he had seen it.

Ael listened to his stories alongside the Count and Countess.

Each of his experiences was nothing short of amazing.

The enormous library of the Empire’s Academy. The Imperial Palace, said to be so tall it nearly touched the sky.

The port of the Empire’s capital, which could arguably dock all the ships in the world.

But that wasn’t all.

He talked about the countries he had traveled to and his experiences there.

It was more interesting, enjoyable, and thrilling than any travelogue Ael had ever read.

Even the Countess, when Kyle told the story of encountering pirates and fighting them, clasped her hands tightly and urged, “What happened next?”

As a result, the four of them couldn’t leave the living room until very late at night, enjoying pleasant conversation.

Only when the Countess expressed her fatigue and said she would regrettably retire did the conversation end.

“Let’s continue the story tomorrow. It’s been so long since I’ve heard such fascinating tales!”

The Countess, unable to hide her flushed cheeks, turned to leave at the Count’s reminder that they should let Ael and Kyle retire as well.

Perhaps due to the Count’s firm instructions, or having seen how warmly they treated their employers, the servants of the Count’s mansion treated the two with great respect.

While the Count’s residence wasn’t enormous, it was certainly a place that could always prepare rooms for two guests.

‘Kyle’s room was next door.’

Fortunately, they weren’t given the same room just because they were engaged. However, their rooms were adjacent.

When first guided to this room, Ael’s heart had pounded. It was the first time in her life she would sleep somewhere other than the Viscount’s residence.

Her first time outside the capital. And her first overnight stay away from home.

That alone was the biggest adventure of her life. Even if she had been sleeping in a forest or by the roadside tonight, her heart would have raced, let alone staying as a guest in such a splendid room in this magnificent mansion.