As her eyes were about to redden with gratitude towards the Countess, Ael remembered the precautions she had to follow when first working at Ash Trading Company.

‘All gifts received while working must be reported… and they become the property of Ash Trading Company.’

If so, this painting would also belong to Ash Trading Company, not her.

Ael hurriedly said to Kalon:

“Please sell this to me!”

“Pardon?”

“Anything received while working becomes the company’s property, right? But Ash Trading Company probably doesn’t really need this, so couldn’t you just sell it to me?”

Ael hugged the painting tightly to her chest, as if he might take it away at any moment.

Kalon looked at her with amusement.

“I thought you’d learned a lot while working at our company, but I guess not.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Didn’t Nisha or Ino teach you? When making a deal, you should never show that you want something.”

“They did, but…”

Before going to the Count’s residence, Ael had received some advice from Nisha. One of them was about negotiation posture.

She said to be mindful of one’s posture and voice.

People unknowingly lean in closer and speak faster when something they truly want appears.

And above all, never ask first how much they’ll sell for.

She had vowed to remember it well then, but…

“That’s for dealing with others, it’s different with you, Kalon.”

“How is it different?”

“Well, we work together… we’re close… and most importantly…”

“…Most importantly?”

“You wouldn’t try to take advantage of me.”

Ael’s voice grew stronger.

While she trusted Nisha and Ino as well, Kalon was the person she trusted and followed most at Ash Trading Company.

From their first meeting until now, Ael had a firm belief in him. A belief that this person would never harm her.

If someone asked why she thought so, she couldn’t give a reason. She just felt that way.

Ael waited for his response. But the answer that came was different from what she expected.

“Do you really think that?”

The smile that had been there moments ago was now gone without a trace. He sometimes became expressionless when lost in thought, but this was different.

“That I wouldn’t try to take advantage of you?”

He slowly raised himself up in the carriage. Then he placed one hand on the seat beside where Ael was sitting.

In an instant, his face came close to Ael’s.

At the suddenly shortened distance, Ael couldn’t even breathe as she stared at the flashing blue eyes in front of her.

She didn’t even know what was happening right now.

She just knew that his gaze on her was so much scarier and fiercer than usual. It was like the eyes of a predator about to pounce.

The eyes that had been slightly higher moved lower. Their breaths mingled as they drew even closer.

“You’re wrong, Ael.”

His voice, lower than she had ever heard before, tickled her ear.

Goosebumps rose all over her body. An unfamiliar dizziness ran down her spine, draining all strength from her body.

If she had been standing, she surely would have collapsed.

Ael remained still like a trapped animal, unable to even exhale. She instinctively knew there was no escaping this situation no matter how she moved.

She couldn’t understand why Kalon was suddenly acting so scary, why he had come so close.

The problem was… rather than wanting to push him away, she wanted to stay still like this.

If she stayed still, she was curious just how far he would go. And she wanted to know.

Just as their breaths drew even closer:

“Ael! Kalon!”

A familiar voice called from outside. It was Nisha’s voice.

At that moment, Kalon, who had been right in front of her, withdrew. The fierce look in his eyes that seemed about to bite her throat also disappeared.

The tense atmosphere that had filled the carriage vanished, and in an instant, only the usual calm Kalon remained.

“Ah…”

A sigh of relief or regret escaped Ael’s lips.

What just happened? Why did Kalon so scarily… come so close…

But Ael couldn’t ask him why he had acted that way just now. There was no trace of it left in his appearance.

The carriage stopped and soon Nisha approached.

“Are you both alright? My goodness, who knew such a downpour would suddenly start. On the way, I met Viscount Gunter. It seems he got injured driving his carriage recklessly at night and it slid off the road. Judging by how he was yelling for help at the top of his lungs when he saw us, his mouth doesn’t seem to be injured at all.”

“We, we’re fine. We stayed at the Count’s residence yesterday.”

“Is that so? Then it seems you made a satisfactory deal for the Count to offer you a room. We’ll hear about that later… Kalon, a moment.”

Nisha called him out of the carriage.

While the two of them went to talk a little distance away, Ael sat quietly, hugging the frame.

You’re wrong, Ael.

His low whisper kept echoing in her ears.

‘I’m wrong?’

What on earth was wrong?

As she had said, he hadn’t sought any profit from her.

Rather, from their first meeting until now, he had continuously shown excessive kindness.

The gift on the first day, the help promised on the second day, even the money given on the third day.

He had always given everything in abundance.

That’s why she trusted him, so why did he say she was wrong? As if he was going to take back what he had given.

Just then, the sound of footsteps returning to the carriage was heard, the conversation apparently over. Soon, through the window, Kalon could be seen mounting his horse, accompanied by the sound of neighing.

“…?”

Why wasn’t he getting back in the carriage?

As Ael was looking on with a puzzled expression, Kalon slightly bowed his head and said:

“It’s over now.”

Over.

Even though he didn’t say what was over, at those words Ael felt her heart sink.

“It’s been fun.”

“Wait. Why suddenly…”

As Ael grabbed the door to get out of the carriage, as if telling her not to, Kalon came close and closed the carriage door again. Then he said:

“Farewell, Miss Ael.”

Miss Ael. He who had been calling her Ael for the past few days now called her Miss Ael again, like when they first met.

With that farewell, Kalon turned and left. In a different direction from where the carriage was heading.

“Kalon!”

Ael leaned out the window and called out to him. But although he must have heard her voice, he continued riding away without looking back even once.

As Kalon’s receding figure disappeared from view, Ael realized what he meant when he said it was over.

The false engagement of one night had ended.

The house felt unfamiliar to Ael when she returned after two days.

As she entered listlessly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from below, and soon Jena appeared at the bottom of the stairs, out of breath.

“My lady, you’re back?”

“Sorry. Were you very worried?”

“Of course! This is the first time you’ve been away like this! But Ash Trading Company contacted us last night saying you might be delayed because of the heavy rain where you went, and that they would send someone to check as soon as the rain stopped.”

Nisha was so thoughtful.

Thinking she should thank her again when she returned to the company tomorrow, Ael followed Jena down to the kitchen.

“By the way, my lady. What’s that?”

“Oh, this. It’s a gift I received.”

“A gift? Did Kalon give it to you?”

When Jena naturally mentioned Kalon’s name, Ael’s face stiffened slightly.

“Why are you suddenly bringing up Kalon?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Kalon was always the one giving gifts.”

“Always? What did Kalon…”

Ael trailed off mid-sentence.

Come to think of it, Kalon always brought something every time he came.

He’d leave new snacks saying she should try them, and some days he’d bring fruits not found in Denertum, even explaining how to eat them.

It wasn’t just food. Sometimes what he handed over was a new book, or a pen or notebook.

Thanks to that, Ael always had something in her hands when she came home.

Ael looked around the kitchen.

Among the now abundant food ingredients, several glass bottles with foreign language labels could be seen. Those too were products handled by the company that Kalon had given her to taste.

‘I really received a lot.’