Chapter 11. Are You Crazy?

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“Kyle, I appreciate the Ash Merchant Guild’s generosity, but… this seems a bit excessive.”

Ael sat inside the carriage, looking at the pile of beautifully wrapped boxes beside her with a bewildered expression.

Anyone would mistake the carriage Ael was riding in as a delivery vehicle rather than one for transporting people, considering how full it was with gifts.

Callon shook his head with a smile.

“Excessive? We can’t just let someone who has helped our Ash Merchant Guild so much leave empty-handed. One of our guild’s principles is to repay kindness tenfold.”

“Still, but…”

Isn’t this a bit too much?

Ael recalled the day Elise first debuted in the social scene.

She couldn’t remember exactly how many gifts arrived the next day, but she distinctly remembered that they had to stack them up in the living room.

And the gifts piled beside her now were similar in quantity to the ones Elise received back then.

‘It’s not the number that’s the issue. These all seem like luxury items.’

Even the ribbons wrapping the boxes looked expensive.

She couldn’t bring herself to ask what was inside, but the fragrant tea aroma filling the carriage suggested that at least one of the boxes contained an entire set of tea.

Ael knew well how expensive tea imported from the Empire was. Elise often grumbled about needing to procure such tea even to the Viscount.

But even the Viscount couple, who usually granted most of Elise’s requests, rarely fulfilled that one.

‘To fill such a large box with it…’

Ael began to worry.

“No matter how much Nisha is the branch manager here, is it okay to give away the guild’s goods so freely to others? What if you get reprimanded by the Master because of me?”

“The Master? I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“How can you be so sure, Kyle? Do you know them well?”

Callon paused at Ael’s words. He couldn’t exactly say that he was the Master.

“That person is quite generous.”

Callon modestly complimented himself.

When he was with people who didn’t know his true identity, he often talked about ‘Callon Ash’ as if he were someone else.

Sometimes he praised Callon Ash, and other times he spoke as if he had many complaints about him.

He was quite used to speaking of himself as if he were another person, but for some reason, it wasn’t working well today.

If Ael were to find out later that he was Callon Ash, it would be incredibly embarrassing.

‘But that’s not going to happen.’

He had come to Denertum for various purposes and planned to stay for quite some time. But he had no intention of revealing his identity.

Even now, at the Denertum branch, only a select few, including Nisha, knew who he was. The rest of the staff just thought of him as a new colleague from the headquarters.

‘I plan to stay for about a year.’

He predicted that the tasks he needed to complete would be finished by then. Once completed, this remote country would no longer be of interest to him.

Once his objectives were achieved, he would return to the Empire, or perhaps move on to another country’s branch to resolve issues there.

For the uncertain future, it was best for Callon Ash to remain a mysterious figure.

So he could shamelessly praise himself as much as he wanted…

Callon, who had been lost in thought, realized that he was acting strangely today.

Even taking Ael home was unusual.

Originally, Nisha was supposed to take Ael home. Ael had insisted that just lending a carriage was enough, but Nisha was equally adamant.

When Nisha was about to board the carriage, a problem arose at the guild that required her attention.

In that case, he could have just sent Ael home alone in the carriage.

‘…But I volunteered to take her.’

Even if Callon asked himself why, he couldn’t explain his actions.

‘Was it because she was interesting?’

Callon watched Ael, who still seemed burdened and unsure of what to do.

Indeed, this woman was interesting. While others would have been busy stealing glances at him, she seemed more bothered by people’s hospitality and just wanted to return quickly.

Yet when the topic of economics books came up, she approached him eagerly, begging for an explanation.

Callon found it amusing and somewhat regrettable.

‘Regrettable? Why?’

As he pondered this question he had already asked himself several times today, the coachman spoke.

“We’ve arrived. Is this the place?”

“Yes, it is.”

Ael nodded, seeing her house through the window. She hurriedly clutched the paper bag Callon had given her earlier and prepared to disembark.

It was then.

“Rida, you!”

Before she could even step out of the carriage, Elise’s ear-piercing shout reached her. Ael felt her breath catch.

“Elise…”

When she poked her head out the window, Elise was standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at Ael incredulously.

“Are you crazy? You went out ages ago, and you’re only coming back now!”

From her words, it sounded like she was a worried family member concerned about someone who went out in the morning and hadn’t returned. But her tone carried such sharpness that it seemed she was ready to grab Ael by the hair and shake her.

Normally, Elise never left the house.

For Elise, activities always took place within the house or other estates, and wandering outside those places was considered undignified for a lady.

For someone with such beliefs to be standing at the door…

Ael broke out in a cold sweat without realizing it.

Lately, Elise had been even more on edge, especially regarding matters related to the Grand Duke.

Even the Viscountess was at her wit’s end, struggling to handle Elise’s temper, which flared up dozens of times a day. It seemed today, the brunt of it would fall squarely on Ael.

Ael hurriedly got out of the carriage and approached Elise, offering the paper bag she held.

“I’m sorry! I got hurt while I was out… Ah!”

Before she could finish her sentence, pain shot through her head. Elise had grabbed Ael’s hair and yanked it.

Her already exhausted body staggered. Her injured ankle throbbed, and her knees buckled.

Even on the verge of falling, Ael clung to the paper bag she held.

If she let go of this, the repercussions would be far worse than a mere tantrum. So at least this…

At that moment, her falling body stopped moving. Someone had caught her arm.

Ael looked at the hand that held her, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Just like earlier in the day, Kyle was supporting her to prevent her from falling.

“Who are you?”

Elise, surprised by the unexpected interference, looked at him.

The irritation she had been building up all day had exploded the moment she saw Ael, so she hadn’t noticed anyone else around her.

In fact, she hadn’t even thought to care. After all, there was no one around Ael worth her attention.

But when she saw the man who had caught Ael, Elise momentarily forgot what she was doing and couldn’t take her eyes off him.

‘Who is he?’

One thing was certain: she was seeing him for the first time.

And for good reason—if she had seen such a face even once, she wouldn’t have forgotten who he was.

The man had a strikingly handsome face that could make anyone forget about troubling Ael, even if just for a moment.

The Grand Duke she was currently involved with was considered quite handsome in the social scene, but standing next to this stranger, no one would spare him a glance.

It wasn’t just his handsome face. He was tall enough to look down on her, and his muscular build was evident even through his clothes.

He looked like a statue of a mythological figure from the Royal Art Museum had come to life.

And most importantly, he had an aura that exuded an imposing presence just by quietly observing.

‘Even the Grand Duke wasn’t like this…’

Instinctively sensing that he was someone far superior, Elise released her grip on Ael’s hair. She quickly adjusted her appearance.

“What’s going on here!”

At that moment, the Viscount couple, who had heard Elise’s voice from inside the house, hurried out. They, too, wore expressions of anger, just like Elise.

Normally, Ael would have quickly returned on her own. But for some reason, she hadn’t come back until evening.

Typically, parents would be worried first, but the Viscount couple also couldn’t hide their irritation.

Ael’s delay meant they had to endure Elise’s increasingly frequent tantrums all day.