Chapter 14. The First Gift in Her Life  

It was truly a day that passed by without knowing how. Who would have thought that a day that started with just running an errand would become so eventful?

Ael opened one of the boxes she brought with Jenna. Although the Viscount ordered that most of the boxes be moved to his study for further inspection, he allowed the food to be taken to the underground kitchen.

“Jenna, I have something for you.”

“Yes? What is it?”

Jenna leaned in, wondering if there was something else amazing. Ael smiled and picked something from the box, handing it to Jenna.

“This is an imperial pastry. I really wanted to give it to you…”

“Wow! Oh my! Look how pretty this is! It smells so good!”

Jenna took the pastry from Ael and jumped up and down, then held it carefully, afraid it might break, and looked at it with wonder.

Jenna’s excitement continued after that.

Ael could understand her feelings. The box was not only filled with tea and pastries but also fruits she had never seen before.

But there was something else that made Ael happier than all those gifts.

Ael’s gaze turned to her bag on the worktable. Inside was a book she could now fully understand. The one she spent the entire afternoon getting explanations for…

To receive the knowledge she longed for so desperately like this.

Ael took a pastry from the box and put it in her mouth. The scent of butter and just the right amount of sweetness and savoriness spread throughout her mouth.

With a face of utmost happiness, Ael thought.

Today, truly, she had been gifted a perfect day.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the tumultuous day.

For the first few days, the mansion was enveloped in an unfamiliar atmosphere. It was the first time Ael had received attention in this mansion.

Whenever more than two servants gathered, they talked about the incredible gifts they saw that day.

When Jenna joined that group, the chatter became even more heated, temporarily forgetting their tasks.

The Viscount couple would loudly scold those servants whenever they saw them and ordered them back to their duties.

However, when everyone disappeared and he was left alone, the Viscount couldn’t hide the smile creeping up his face.

It was because he had taken most of the luxury items, except for the food, from the gifts Ael received.

The items from the boxes were incredibly diverse, as if they had emptied out a branch of the Ash Merchant Guild. The moment he saw the luxury fountain pen, Viscount Aradis naturally took it for himself.

If the Viscount was like that, the Viscountess was no different.

She casually picked up a small handbag, laughing that it was just as well since she was planning to buy something like it anyway.

Thus, the intricately embroidered handbag became the Viscountess’s.

Naturally, Elise took the women’s items for herself.

She indirectly said that to heal her wounded heart for Ael being late, she should show sincerity by giving her these gifts.

Thus, the gifts from the Ash Merchant Guild were torn apart and ended up in the hands of others.

Ael was neither surprised nor saddened. She had already expected it to happen.

More than half of the tea generously provided by the Ash Merchant Guild was used as gifts when Elise was invited to tea parties at other houses.

The pastries, too, mostly ended up with the Viscount couple and Elise, under the guise of advice disguised as threats, saying wouldn’t it be a virtue to share with the people around her since they couldn’t be stored for long?

Despite having most of it taken away, there were still enough pastries left for Ael and Jenna to get through a few tough afternoons.

Ael was satisfied with just that.

The one who was truly angry was Jenna.

She couldn’t hide her anger, exclaiming, “Those were all yours! They were gifts for you!”

Of course, she only raised her voice in the kitchen, but Ael was already content knowing someone cared for her.

The gifts from the Ash Merchant Guild also had another impact on the mansion.

Elise became slightly more generous towards Ael.

On the day of the commotion, after Callon left, Ael handed Elise the paper envelope she was holding. Inside, it was filled with high-quality stationery that Nisha had carefully prepared.

From the moment she opened the envelope, the subtle scent of lily of the valley wafted up.

When Elise took them out, they were neatly organized by type in smaller envelopes with beautiful and elaborate patterns.

From fine colors to subtly engraved patterns.

Even Elise, who had used fairly luxurious items, hadn’t often touched such things.

When she immediately wrote a letter on it and sent it to the Grand Duke, a reply came back faster than usual.

Of course, the content wasn’t much longer than before, but among the short content was a compliment on Elise’s taste for choosing beautiful stationery.

Although she had exchanged letters with the Grand Duke several times, it was the first time he had praised her in this way, making Elise feel as if she could soar to the sky.

Elise was already wary of Riena, the Marquis’s daughter.

Every day, she was tormented by the imagination that unlike her, Riena, a daughter from a wealthy and prestigious family, might capture the Grand Duke’s attention with her wealth and discernment.

In the midst of this, when the Grand Duke sent a letter complimenting her taste, she finally felt at ease, thinking he acknowledged her.

The satisfaction brought Elise composure and generosity.

Thus, Elise was able to let go of all the irritation and anger she had been holding onto all day when Ael was late.

Moreover, the tea that her maid had taken also played a significant role in enhancing Elise’s reputation.

Initially, she took it as a gift at a tea party of an acquaintance she didn’t particularly like, thinking it was a tea she had never heard of.

But at that place, as soon as the name was seen, the acquaintance became greatly excited.

“This is the new imperial tea from the catalog that arrived yesterday. How did you get it first? They said it wouldn’t be delivered until next month at the earliest!”

To that question, Elise replied with a smile as if it was nothing.

“The Ash Merchant Guild owed a favor to our family, so they gave it as a gift in return.”

It wasn’t a lie. Indeed, Aelfrieda had exchanged help with them.

However, Elise’s words provided room for various interpretations by people.

What kind of help could the fallen noble family of the Viscount of Aradis have provided to obtain an item that even the royal family or great nobility had yet to acquire?

As most people do, those who heard Elise’s response began to believe the most dramatic thing they could imagine as if they had seen it firsthand.

In no time, word spread that the Viscount family was a great benefactor to the Ash Merchant Guild and had even saved their lives.

Elise said it was a lady’s duty not to mention that matter any further and conspicuously distributed the tea as gifts here and there.

Thanks to that, even families who usually ignored Elise began inviting her, if only to obtain the tea first.

Among them were wealthy and formal families who usually looked down on Elise.

After receiving their invitations, Elise was convinced that her position had risen significantly.

It was because she encountered Riena from the Marquis’s family, who looked at her with an unkind expression.

Unaware of these events, Ael simply thought Elise was in a good mood because she took the gifts.

However, not everything left for Ael was worthless.

Ael thought of the space under her bed. The place where old blankets and sometimes borrowed books were hidden. Now that space was filled with boxes from the Ash Merchant Guild.

There were so many boxes she received that day that even after Elise and the Viscount couple took what they wanted, countless boxes used to package the Ash Merchant Guild’s goods remained.

Ael gave some of them to those who wanted them and brought the rest to her room. Then she organized her few belongings into them.

The storage boxes in Ael’s room until then were old, with gaps or starting to rot and turn black.

After clearing those away and neatly arranging the bright-colored boxes to organize her belongings, the room seemed brighter just from that.

Then Ael made a large flower-shaped decoration with the ribbon that wrapped the boxes and hung it beside her bed. It became the only item in Ael’s room with a purpose other than function.

Ael looked at the decoration by her bedside every time she went to sleep. She still couldn’t believe the events of that day.

The day she received a gift for the first time in her life.

Ael didn’t doubt that it would be the most surprising and enjoyable day in her life.

As the tumult of that day gradually faded away, Ael returned to her usual life.