Her still-damp hair flowed down onto his arm.

Kalon gently grasped Ael’s hair, which had become a slightly darker shade than usual.

Unlike before, her hair now had a pleasant silky texture that tickled his palm. Enjoying the ticklish sensation, Kalon held onto Ael’s hair for quite some time, unable to let go.

Then, when a low rumble of thunder was heard and Ael let out a soft moan, he quickly released her hair as if caught doing something wrong.

Though it was just hair that had disappeared, Kalon felt a deep sense of loss.

To the point where he wanted to grasp it again.

After staring at his empty hand for a while, he looked at Ael still leaning against him and thought.

‘I need to come to my senses now.’

This is a woman who has ventured outside the capital for the first time today.

A woman who preferred the quiet hilltop house to the Oltbea mansion.

She is someone who must live a completely different life from his own, which involves constantly traveling and returning to danger.

But there is an even bigger reason.

Kalon recalled why he was so desperately building up the Ash Company and traveling around.

There is someone who lost their life because of him.

Someone who has finally regained their life and happiness after going through a terrible time.

He had decided to dedicate the rest of his life to living for that person.

Bringing someone else into such a future would only create another unhappy person.

Kalon let Ael lean on him more comfortably.

‘Just for today.’

Tomorrow, when he leaves this mansion and returns to the capital, he plans to go back to being the persona he had in mind when he first came here.

As Kyle, a staff member with a reasonably pleasant personality.

And Kalon Ash would come and go from this place secretly, never revealing his true identity to people.

The next morning.

Ael opened her eyes to the clear chirping of birds.

Confused by the unfamiliar feeling of the air and bedding different from her room at home, Ael recalled where she had fallen asleep the night before.

She definitely heard a knock while drying her wet hair as rain poured down. Then she opened the door and went to Kyle’s room, where they drank wine and…

“…!”

The moment her thoughts reached that point, Ael sat up abruptly as if jumping. No way, no way…!

As she opened her eyes, bright sunlight stung them. Ael closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them and scanned the room with a blurry gaze.

“Ah…”

A sigh of relief escaped her as she confirmed the bed she was lying on and the room. She had woken up in her own room.

‘What happened? I’m sure I fell asleep while talking.’

Ael got out of bed and approached the wall with the tapestry.

When she lifted it slightly, a wooden door was revealed. A door that was firmly closed, making it hard to believe it had been opened last night.

It was natural for this door to be closed, but strangely, Ael felt a sense of disappointment.

Quietly lowering the tapestry, Ael asked a maid outside to help her wash her face in the bathroom, then returned to her room to change clothes.

Then, she went to the balcony and opened the door.

A cool morning breeze filled with the scent of rain blew in.

The leaves and ground were still wet, but the sky had already cleared. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, but Ael’s face wasn’t bright.

‘I hope I didn’t make any mistakes yesterday.’

She remembered falling asleep in his room, but her last memories of what she had said to him were hazy.

‘I think I talked about the Oltbea mansion, but I can’t remember clearly.’

It seemed that the last glass of wine she drank yesterday had effectively cut off her memories.

She regretted not having abstained, knowing this would happen, but it was already in the past. Ael spent a long time on the balcony, holding her head and cursing herself.

‘I must have been drunk yesterday.’

That’s why she scurried into his room when called, and even drank wine there!

Ael fanned her flushed face with her hand. Then her hand stopped.

‘But still…’

She recalled the moment she entered his room. Kyle, who seemed a bit different from usual. And the room filled with his scent.

‘I wonder if his lodgings at the company are similar?’

The moment she thought that, Ael fanned herself even more rapidly than before. What am I thinking!

Although she told herself several times to stop thinking about Kyle, Ael had to remain standing on the balcony until a maid came to call her.

The plan to return to the company right after breakfast was delayed by the Count’s invitation to talk a little more before leaving.

After breakfast, the conversation they hadn’t finished yesterday continued, and in the end, Ael and Kyle left the Count’s mansion after having lunch and tea.

“I’m sorry my husband kept you for so long. But it’s been such a long time since he’s had someone to have this kind of discussion with.”

“But it can’t be helped since people who really know about the Kinen theory are rare.”

The Count raised his voice as if feeling wronged at the Countess’s apology.

“Not at all. It was truly a valuable time for us. As you both saw, there was someone on this side who wanted to talk about it too.”

At Kyle’s words, Ael cleared her throat softly and averted her gaze. After all, she was the one who had been too excited talking with the Count.

“And this is a gift I’m giving to Miss Ael.”

In front of the entrance, the Countess called the butler and handed a box to Ael.

“It’s nothing special, so I hope you’ll accept it. Open it on your way back.”

Ael, who was about to refuse, couldn’t bring herself to say she couldn’t accept it when the Countess even held her hands tightly while asking.

The two got into the carriage and soon it departed. The Count and Countess waved goodbye until they were out of sight.

When the carriage had completely left the mansion, Ael placed the box she had kept beside her on her lap.

“I’ll open it.”

When she untied the ribbon and opened the box, inside was a gift Ael had never expected.

“This is…”

In the soft cotton was a small frame laid on its side.

The frame’s border somehow looked familiar. Where have I seen this frame before?

Ael tried hard to search her memory. Then, when she remembered,

“Ah!”

Ael let out a short cry and hurriedly turned the frame over. The painting inside the frame was revealed to both of them.

Kalon’s eyes widened as he looked across at what kind of gift it was.

Ael took the frame out of the box with trembling hands.

The painting in the frame was one of the paintings hanging in the room last night, the one Ael had gazed at for a long time.

A house on a hill overlooking the sea.

After staring at the painting for a while, Ael discovered an envelope inside the box.

When she opened the elegant envelope with the Count’s family crest attached, there was a short letter inside.

“That’s…”

“It’s a letter written by the Countess.”

Ael handed him the letter, which he was curious about. When Ael passed him the letter without even reading it herself, Kalon looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you showing it to me?”

“I heard that at Ash Company, all gifts received from others during work must be reported.”

“That’s because sometimes people use the company’s name to gain personal benefits from business partners.”

“I could have done that too, you know.”

“You…?”

At Ael’s words, Kalon looked at her for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Although he didn’t say it, his laughter clearly showed that he thought she would never do such a thing.

While she was grateful that he trusted her, Ael somehow felt annoyed at his continued laughter. So she unconsciously spoke in a sulky voice.

“Don’t laugh like that. You don’t know how greedy I am.”

If you can’t even guess what I want.

Swallowing the words she couldn’t bring herself to say, Ael read through the letter.

The letter was written by the Countess.

The Countess wrote that the visit of the two was very enjoyable and pleasant, and she even confessed that she was glad the downpour had kept their feet at the Count’s mansion for one more day.

…Thanks to you, we had a long and pleasant conversation after a long time. My husband was so impressed with Miss Ael’s knowledge that he even said he wanted to visit the academy after a long time before going to sleep.

It’s been so long since I’ve seen this person so enthusiastic. Then we thought we wanted to repay Miss Ael’s meaningful gift.

Then I remembered how Miss Ael talked about and admired the house on the hill several times. And how she seemed regretful that she wouldn’t be able to visit there often.

So I’m giving this painting to Miss Ael as a gift. If you remember the beauty of our territory anytime, anywhere, and tell many people about it, we would be very happy.

The Countess ended the letter by asking Ael to show this painting when explaining it to others.

Ael caressed the frame along with the letter.

She had stood in front of this painting for a long time last night too. A painting that, though roughly drawn, captured the beauty and atmosphere of that house to overflowing.

She thought that with this painting, she could easily recall the image of that place anytime, but to receive it as a gift.