“Then we should also consider the possibility that it might not be a child……”

“Kill me.”

Ino made a gesture of strangling his own neck.

It was difficult enough to find and verify one child, but now they want us to check the entire capital’s population?

“I have no intention of giving such an absurd order.”

Kalon closed the documents.

“Instead, plant someone at the Denertum Academy. If anyone comes to verify the Golden Rule, we need to approach them as well.”

“Understood.”

“Also, find out if there’s anyone who claims to have seen light around the port that day. The Golden Rule only shows light to the caster’s eyes when its power is used.”

“Yes. I’ll spread the word around. And about the Island Alliance matter……”

“That’s enough. Let’s stop here for today.”

“What? But……”

Kalon usually demands extremely detailed explanations. But to stop here?

As Nisha looked at him suspiciously, wondering if this was really their guild master, Kalon slowly turned his neck.

Crack. The sound of stiff joints popping was clearly audible.

“I’m a bit tired today. You two can go back now. Or check your rooms if you’d like.”

“Really? Then I’ll go check out my room!”

Ino darted out like the wind. Nisha clicked her tongue at Ino’s behavior, but her feet were also sneakily slipping out of Kalon’s room.

The room, which the two people who had been overworked for a while left as if escaping, was quiet.

“Hah……”

Kalon, who had been sitting blankly, went to the sofa and flopped down.

Though he continued talking about work, mentioning the Golden Rule and such, he felt his mind was completely elsewhere.

He covered his face with both hands. He could feel his face burning hot under his hands.

On the day he returned from the Count’s residence, met Nisha, and headed to Oltbea. He heard Ael’s voice calling his name from behind.

He could have turned around and said a final goodbye, but he didn’t turn back until the end.

He thought that was the right thing to do.

Thinking about what happened in the carriage, Kalon was too embarrassed to lift his head.

Embarrassed? Except for when he was very young, he had never felt such an emotion in his life.

Their breaths were so close they intertwined. If he had moved just a little more, their lips would have surely touched.

Even now, that moment was so vividly remembered.

Brown eyes that seemed not to understand the situation stared at him. But he thought the gradually widening eyes were quite cute. So he wanted to surprise them a little more.

It was the first time he had such feelings for another person. A precarious fondness beyond friendship or camaraderie.

At that moment, Kalon cleanly admitted to himself that he had a romantic interest in Ael.

So he found himself ridiculous.

His job was to travel all over the continent, and naturally, half of his colleagues were women.

Moreover, his physical attributes were quite attractive to the opposite sex, so even when he just stood still, there were always many women around him.

From long-time acquaintances at the guild, to princesses of some kingdoms, noble ladies, to the youngest academy dean.

They were people lacking nothing in terms of time spent together, intelligence, and appearance. Nevertheless, Kalon didn’t have any feelings beyond friendship for them.

While he had vowed not to create a family, he was originally not the type to have romantic interest in others.

The primary criterion for Kalon when judging others was whether they were beneficial to him or not.

Someone who liked him yet despised him told him such words like a curse.

Perhaps it wasn’t just ‘like a curse’ but an actual curse. After all, she was revered as the voice of God in her country.

Of course, he didn’t particularly care about those words.

‘It’s a curse with little effect on me.’

That was Kalon’s honest feeling when he first heard those words.

As she said, he constantly calculates in his mind while dealing with people. And someday, that relationship might break.

But regret? That was a word that didn’t exist in Kalon’s life.

Kalon had never greatly regretted anything in his life.

Being human, there were moments when he thought he could have achieved better results if he had chosen differently at that time.

However, in the end, he always managed to achieve results beyond what he had planned, so such regrets didn’t last more than a few minutes.

So he had completely forgotten about her curse, but just before he was about to get closer to Ael, those words suddenly came to mind.

The words that said the scale would tip over and he would regret for a long time.

He desperately stopped and continued to look at Ael.

He didn’t know. Why had he come to like this woman? If it was about appearance, he had often met those whose names were widely known throughout the continent. Compared to them, Ael was…

‘She’s not ugly.’

A voice from deep inside his heart murmured.

He admitted that those women were beautiful by objective standards. But if asked whether Ael was ugly, that wasn’t the case.

Hair and eyes the color of an autumn wheat field that occasionally made his gaze linger. White skin now clean without scars or bruises. Long arms and legs and a slender neck.

And above all, round eyes that gently curved the moment they saw him.

It wasn’t a beauty that everyone admired, but there was a comfort that didn’t tire even after looking at it continuously.

‘Was that why?’

Kalon, lying down, rationally thought about why he had come to like Ael.

He was like a ship floating on the sea.

He never stayed in one place, always drifting, and had to live in constant tension due to storms and attacks.

Then, for the first time in his life, this trip to Denertum became a time he could call a rest.

Staying in one place for over a year, all he had to do was prepare for the ‘then’ of the future while developing and strengthening the guild.

It was no different from someone who had been sailing on a ship until yesterday suddenly starting to farm.

Naturally, everything felt awkward.

The guild’s work was always similar, so there wasn’t much of a problem, but except for working hours, even breathing felt unfamiliar.

To think that knives don’t fly at him when he’s still, that he doesn’t have to personally check the documents of hundreds of ships coming and going every day, that there are no constant calls from the Emperor and Lasis.

When he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, Ael came to the guild.

Thanks to her, Kalon decided where and how to use his excess time.

Yes, with the mindset of becoming a farmer, he decided to nurture. That was his initial attitude towards Ael.

Honestly, he didn’t have high expectations. He was just glad to have something to alleviate this unfamiliar boredom.

But before he knew it, he found himself not just using his spare time, but making time to seek out Ael.

During that time, Kalon stopped thinking of peace as something tedious.

“…Get a grip.”

He wiped his face with his hands and sat up.

He kept thinking of the words about the scale tipping over. That probably referred to the smuggling he had suggested Ael try.

Excessive intervention beyond what’s necessary ultimately ruins everything.

‘If I had forcefully pushed thinking she was hesitating, it could have been disastrous.’

He remembered what Nisha had said.

After hearing Nisha’s explanation, Kalon didn’t ask further about what kind of person Ael’s partner was.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested, but that he didn’t want to hear it.

‘I acted presumptuously.’

He thought he had a better eye for people than Nisha, but now he realized it was an arrogant misconception.

He arbitrarily felt sorry for someone who had already decided their future, and even thought he could save her. Someone who already had a trustworthy partner.

‘It’s for the best.’

He couldn’t take responsibility for someone until the end anyway. Then it’s right to support her future of meeting a good partner and living happily.

He thought about sending a gift in the name of the guild, but when he considered that the other party might feel uncomfortable or that Ael might not want to be found out, all motivation disappeared.

‘This is the end.’

Kalon returned to his desk and picked up the documents Nisha and Ino had left behind.

He had let his guard down too much in this quiet country.

He should stay quietly, finish his work as quickly as possible, and return.

The rightful owner of this beautiful mansion would never officially stay here. After all, Kalon Ash had no reason to reveal his identity in this place.