While Ael was pleasantly warming herself by the fire, wine and glasses were placed beside her.

“Wine?”

“Yes. It’s a gift from the Count. It’s such a fine wine that I was tempted to keep it for myself, but today’s success was all thanks to Ael, so I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Thus, I must present it to its rightful owner.”

He handed the wine bottle to Ael. But Ael immediately returned it to him.

“We worked together, didn’t we?”

“If we’re talking about merit, yours overwhelmingly outweighs mine.”

“Even so. Unless we share it, I can’t accept it alone.”

At the suggestion of sharing, he thought for a moment and then proposed to Ael.

“Then shall we just drink it?”

“…Alright.”

When Ael didn’t refuse, he went to the cabinet to fetch a corkscrew and wine glasses.

The seal was quite tight, but in his hand, it came out with a single ‘pop!’ sound. Holding glasses filled with wine, the two lightly clinked them together.

Before drinking, Ael slowly swirled the glass to enjoy the aroma.

In truth, Ael had rarely drunk wine before. The only experience she had was when she debuted, drinking without tasting or smelling due to extreme nervousness.

Originally, wine was a luxury item, so it wasn’t allowed for her.

But while preparing for this event, when she mentioned that she had hardly ever drunk wine and might have trouble teaching this part of etiquette, Nisha, Ino, and Kyle immediately went out and soon returned with all the good wines the company dealt with.

Thanks to that, Ael was able to taste all the good wines. Of course, not enough to get drunk.

“Don’t drink too much. We shouldn’t let on that we drank it right away after receiving it.”

“Do you think I’d get drunk from this little bit?”

“Well, I forgot that I shouldn’t boast about alcohol in front of Ael.”

As he bowed his head as if apologizing, Ael smiled confidently.

‘I just found out that I have a high alcohol tolerance.’

Thinking it was delicious, she drank a bottle like it was a soft drink. Yet she didn’t feel dizzy or have shaky hands.

Seeing this, Ino muttered, “You’re a born drinker.”

“But what do we need to discuss?”

“Well… When we were parting, the Count mentioned that his lady wanted to hear more about our love story. So there are some details we need to align.”

Who knew there’d be such an issue.

Ael sipped her wine and listened to his words.

A few more detailed stories were exchanged on top of what they had agreed upon before coming.

He explained as if such things had really happened between them, and thanks to that, Ael gained vivid memories of events she had never experienced.

Meanwhile, the rain continued to pour. The warm air, the smell of burning wood, the delicious wine, and his pleasant voice.

The tension eased and her head felt fuzzy. Approaching drowsiness slowly numbed Ael’s reason.

His story had somehow moved on to the Oltvea mansion.

“Once this is over, I plan to focus on the affairs of the Oltvea mansion for a while.”

“Ah, because Kalon Ash is coming…”

Mumbling and trailing off, Ael inadvertently blurted out her thoughts.

“I wish he wouldn’t come.”

“Why is that?”

“Everyone gets too busy… and it seems they’ll go to the Oltvea mansion and not come back… then it’ll be hard to meet…”

Mumbling, Ael hung her head low. Even as she thought she shouldn’t fall asleep here, her consciousness was being pulled into a deep place.

In a space where everything felt good.

After waiting for Ael’s next words for a while, Kalon realized a moment later that Ael had fallen asleep.

“Oh my.”

He carefully removed the wine glass from Ael’s hand. Fortunately, she had already finished it, so there was no worry about spills.

‘I’ve cleared the glass, but…’

Now what should he do?

He sat down in front of Ael, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hand. Looking up from below, he could clearly see her face, which had been hidden as she bowed her head.

At first, he thought to gently wake her and send her back to her room.

But her sleeping face now looked so comfortable. It was as if the word ‘peaceful’ had taken form.

So Kalon couldn’t bring himself to wake her.

He didn’t want to disturb that peace. And…

He wanted to look at her more.

He knew it was rude to stare at a sleeping face without permission, especially the face of someone of the opposite sex, but he didn’t avert his gaze.

In fact, rudeness meant nothing to Kalon.

To someone who had mainly dealt with illegal and forbidden things, social etiquette truly held no meaning.

He recalled Ael’s last words.

‘She hopes Kalon Ash won’t come.’

What to do. He had already arrived and was right in front of her.

He wondered what expression Ael would make if she knew he was Kalon Ash.

Her already large eyes would probably become perfectly round. She might part her lips slightly without making a sound, maybe even stagger.

But unlike others, she wouldn’t worry about whether she had spoken ill of Kalon Ash before.

‘She doesn’t even speak ill of her own parents.’

Perhaps the worst thing Ael had said about ‘Kalon Ash’ was just now, hoping he wouldn’t come.

She’s not the type to harbor ill will towards someone she’s never even seen.

Kalon liked that about Ael’s nature.

Not judging something she hasn’t directly seen or experienced.

It’s a natural thing, but something most people fail to do.

Kalon recalled the reactions of the few people he had revealed his identity to so far.

Everyone was surprised. Some didn’t believe it. Some immediately changed their attitude.

‘Ael would be surprised too.’

For a moment, she might think it’s a joke. But that surprise would be brief, and Ael would soon treat him the same as before.

Before that, she might ask trivial questions like ‘Should I call you Mr. Kalon now? Or Guild Master?’

Kalon let out a long sigh. The sound of rain hitting the window grew louder. Like the murmuring in his heart.

This trip to Denertum had been quite a rare break for him.

A job where he didn’t have to kill anyone and wouldn’t be killed. That’s why he had let his guard down so much.

Enough to take interest in someone.

Just then, as if uncomfortable with her head bowed, Ael made a small sound and shifted. Her body began to slowly collapse.

He quickly rose and caught Ael’s shoulder as she was about to fall sideways. Even so, Ael showed no signs of waking.

Holding her shoulder, Kalon pondered for a moment before sitting down close beside Ael. Then he slowly released his hand from her shoulder.

A pleasant weight was felt on his shoulder. Her breathing, audible through his thin shirt, conveyed Ael’s warmth.

Kalon clenched his fist. If he didn’t, he felt he couldn’t endure the tingling sensation in his palm.

‘I made a mistake.’

He had underestimated her too easily.

It couldn’t be helped. When they first met, she was just a passing person who helped him.

Then she was the pitiful daughter of a fallen noble who had been abused. And then she became an employee of Ash Company.

That person is now his fiancée for tonight.

Kalon knew. If it wasn’t Ael, he wouldn’t have bothered with this engagement act.

‘If worst comes to worst… I could just get rid of Viscount Gunter.’

Until now, his way of handling things had been closer to that approach. If this were the Southern Island Federation instead of Denertum, he would have certainly chosen that method.

If the Emperor knew about how he handled this job, he’d ask if Kalon had gone mad, and Lasis would be rolling on the floor laughing.

Then they’d both say the same thing.

Why are you doing something so unlike you?

Kalon knew too. This kind of act was unlike him.

But since coming to Denertum, and after playing the role of Kyle, an employee of Ash Company, he had been acting completely different from his usual self.

The problem was that he quite liked living as Kyle now.

He had used many names before. Each time, Kalon created a slightly different person.

Sometimes a taciturn person who spoke at most one sentence a day, sometimes a person with vulgar speech who was considered frivolous by everyone he met.

When operating within the Empire or in countries close to it, he often changed his appearance with Lasis’s help.

Although he changed his appearance and personality, there was one common rule: never form relationships beyond what was necessary.

That rule was now crumbling here.