The baron called Ael separately and went to the study.
It was a study he had never invited her into before. But now the baron even urged her to sit down.
‘Since he can’t sell Elize, now he’s trying to sell me off well.’
The baron’s intentions were so obvious that Ael couldn’t even bring herself to laugh bitterly.
“Aelfrida, did you perhaps hear about your marriage from Elize?”
“…Yes.”
The baron clicked his tongue.
The baron also knew Elize’s temperament well.
Having returned after suffering that insult from the Grand Duke and Riena, she must have vented all her frustrations on Ael. And she would have undoubtedly said all sorts of nasty things about the marriage partner.
“I don’t know what Elize said, but don’t worry too much about it. I observed his character well during his stay at the villa. Though he is a bit older, he is that much wiser and knows the value of a wife in the home. He also greatly desires children and is very family-oriented. He will be a good match for you who mostly stays at home.”
“…”
“You’re not young yourself anyway. Your marriageable age has long passed, so he’s willing to overlook that point and even put up with your insolent personality. From now on, prepare your heart to follow him sincerely and become a virtuous wife.”
“…”
“And the wedding… he says he’ll have it after going down to the estate, but while staying in the capital he wants to stay at our house continuously to get close to you. It would be even better to become intimate before going to the estate.”
Ael did not respond to the baron’s chatter.
She wondered if this was something a father should be saying. Anyone listening would think he was saying they should share a bed before marriage… and he’s even welcoming him by offering the house.
Ael nodded as if she understood.
Seemingly satisfied with just that, the baron went on with useless sermons for quite a while longer before telling Ael she could leave.
Returning to her room, Ael collapsed onto the bed.
Words she had listened to without any thought before now disgusted her with every syllable.
‘I’m glad I didn’t make that proposal to father after all.’
If she had said she would pay 5,000 guilders to break off the marriage talk, he was the type of person who would have immediately asked where that money was and taken it away.
‘That man called the manager seems to be a similar person…’
The manager.
Her father had spoken about the marriage without even telling her the man’s name. But he seemed so blinded by money that he didn’t even realize that fact.
Ael sat up.
‘Should I run away after all?’
She considered running away with help from somewhere other than Ash Company.
But it was difficult to find someone to help with such a thing, and even if she ran away like that, only innocent Ash Company would suffer hardship.
‘Then the remaining option is to marry someone else…’
Getting married to avoid marriage. Even if one escapes hell, there’s no guarantee that place won’t be hell too.
Unable to come to a decision, Ael spent the night wide awake until dawn.
[This is the timeline separator]A few days later, word came that Ash Company was looking for Ael.
Fortunately, the letter arrived while the baron, his wife, and Elize were asleep, so Ael was able to receive it without being caught by them.
‘What could it be?’
She had wrapped things up neatly when she left, so could there be some problem?
Though worried, Ael absently stroked the envelope, happy to see Ash Company’s seal written on it.
Opening the envelope, inside was a short letter written in Nisha’s familiar handwriting.
The book you ordered from the Empire has arrived. Come get it. I’ll be waiting!
“It’s here.”
She had hoped it would arrive while she was working, but it hadn’t come in for so long that she ended up finishing work without receiving it.
Ael rummaged through her drawer and pulled out the library access card she had received as an Ash Company employee.
When she tried to return it after quitting, Nisha told her to just keep it as a memento.
If it had been anything else, she would have insisted on returning it to the end, but Ael immediately said thank you and accepted just this.
Ael set the access card aside and headed to Ash Company early the next morning.
‘I’ll have to hurry back.’
It was fortunate that the baron, his wife, and Elize still woke up late in the afternoon. Otherwise, they would have surely asked where she was going.
If they knew she was still on close terms with Ash Company…
‘They would have immediately made a fuss about bringing an invitation to Oltbea Mansion.’
The capital was now buzzing about the event at Oltbea Mansion. Word had spread that the mansion, which had been in preparation for a long time, was finally opening its doors and holding its first official event.
It was said that Ash Company employees and wealthy commoners who did business with Ash Company were invited to the first event. Along with that, rumors circulated that ‘Kalon Ash’ might attend.
People who wanted to start doing business with Ash Company somehow were desperate to get invitations.
Elize was one of those people.
It was good that she had lied about being fired.
Her words that they would rather dislike it if she went seemed to have worked, as Elize no longer pestered Ael. Instead, she tried to find wealthy commoners who had obtained invitations.
But that too didn’t seem to be going well.
Ael blended in with the people heading towards the harbor as she made her way to Ash Company. It felt like a dream that until recently, she had walked this road happily every morning.
[This is the timeline separator]When Ael arrived at Ash Company, Ino, who happened to be on the first floor, recognized her and waved happily.
“Miss Ael!”
“Ino, have you been well?”
“I’m always healthy. I heard from the branch manager. You came to pick up a book, right? Just a moment, I’ll bring it.”
Ino darted inside and soon returned carrying a large paper package.
Ael sat down at a nearby table with Ino and unwrapped the package. As she checked the books that had arrived one by one, Ael’s eyes widened.
“Huh? This is…”
There was a book in the package that Ael hadn’t ordered. However, it was also a book Ael knew.
The Heirs of the Golden Rule
Why was this book she had seen in the library long ago and considered borrowing here?
“What’s wrong?”
“This… isn’t a book I ordered.”
“Eh? That can’t be. Just a moment. I’ll check.”
Ino went inside and came back a while later with an order list.
“It really isn’t a book you ordered, Miss Ael. But it’s not one ordered by another employee either. I looked at the list several times, but no one ordered this book. Want to take a look? Maybe it’s just not visible to my eyes?”
Ael examined the list Ino handed her. She checked several times, but there really was no one who had ordered the Golden Rule book.
“I guess there was a mistake on the sender’s end. It happens sometimes.”
“I see.”
Ael held out the book to Ino as if to return it.
“Hm? Why are you giving this back?”
“Why? I can’t take a book that was sent by mistake.”
“It’s fine. Take it. It costs more to send it back, and no one at our company is likely to read it anyway, so it’s better if you take it.”
“Still…”
“Really. Want to see?”
Ino grabbed a passing employee. Then he showed the book title and asked:
“Want to read this?”
“Ugh, just looking at it makes me sleepy. Can this be counted as workplace injury?”
As soon as Ino opened the book, that employee covered his eyes and groaned as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, then waved his hand.
He made a few more frivolous jokes before going back inside, and Ino shrugged as if to say ‘See?’
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“…”
Does this book really look that uninteresting?
Ino kept Ael there chatting for quite a while longer.
Though she thought she should hurry back, Ael couldn’t bring herself to leave.
He told her all the interesting things that had happened at the company in the meantime, and lastly, he even told her about the response from headquarters regarding the cipher she had solved.
“They were in an uproar saying to hold onto you at this branch no matter what. It’s a shame I can’t show you those documents now since they’ve gone to Oltbea. Not only the headquarters’ opinion, but also the opinions of Imperial Academy professors were all written there. Everyone was so excited that their handwriting was flying all over the place!”
Ael’s body fidgeted at Ino’s explanation.
‘I want to see it.’
She was curious about how others had evaluated her results. And they had even praised her.
__________
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
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