The promised day dawned.

The carriage carrying Klen arrived at the front gate of the Elder family residence precisely on time. The antique door representing a long history opened, and the magnificent carriage crossed the garden road to reach the entrance.

“It’s larger than I expected.”

Amelia, who was riding in the carriage with him, remarked with admiration.

“While I’m inside, take a good look around the estate. It won’t hurt to know if this land has any value.”

“Understood. Have a good visit.”

After this brief exchange inside, Klen stepped out of the carriage. His slender legs touched the ground first, and then he stood fully under the cloudy sky that threatened rain again.

At his appearance, Count Elder strode forward and greeted him first.

“Welcome, Baron.”

“Thank you for the invitation.”

“I should thank you for accepting it. Let me first introduce my family. This is my wife, Lilian.”

“Pleased to meet you. I am Klen von Leschel.”

“Welcome. Please come in.”

Klen introduced himself with perfect gentlemanly manners and bowed his head.

Chelino, inwardly surprised by Klen’s unexpectedly polished appearance and mastery of etiquette, continued the introductions.

“This is my daughter, Lavian.”

“I am Klen von Leschel.”

Lavian was startled by the ‘young’ man greeting her.

She blinked at his pleasant baritone voice and raised her head to look at him.

‘Ah……’

Her breath caught. Had today been this bright all along?

The light was so dazzling she could barely open her eyes. Everything around her faded, and only he remained vivid.

Lavian stared at him, blinking several times, wondering if she was seeing things wrong. Despite knowing it was rude, she simply couldn’t look away.

‘No wrinkles. Why is he young? And even handsome… Is this a dream? Why would someone like him want someone like me?’

Completely surprised by the appearance of someone so different from her expectations, Lavian’s thoughts froze, repeating only foolish observations.

“Pleased to meet you, Lady.”

“Ah, pleased to meet you. I am Lavian Adelaide von Elder. This is our first meeting.”

Noticing her staring, Klen swallowed his amusement and greeted her. Lavian regained her senses at the sound of his voice again and performed a proper curtsy, gently lifting the hem of her dress.

It was an impeccably neat greeting, as if she had never been dazed at all.

“You must be tired from your long journey, Baron.”

After Klen and Lavian exchanged greetings, Count Elder skipped introducing his second daughter Lena and gestured for them to enter. Though Lena was displeased, such treatment wasn’t unusual, so she merely wrinkled her nose.

Klen likewise showed no interest in anyone but Lavian. If they weren’t introducing her, there must be a reason.

He followed the count’s lead without sparing Lena a single glance.

“You must be hungry. Let’s have dinner first.”

Chelino skillfully led Klen and his family members. Though Lavian followed her father, she was still in a daze.

“Sister, was the person coming today Baron von Leschel?”

Lena sidled up to the absentminded Lavian and whispered. Her voice was very quiet but couldn’t hide her excitement.

Lena repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands, not knowing what to do with herself.

“I wonder if his standards are high?”

“……”

“Ah, he’s so dazzling even on this cloudy day—what would he look like under sunshine? Don’t you think so, sister?”

“What?”

Lavian, who had been quiet until now, flinched and looked up at the sky.

‘I thought it was because sunshine was pouring down… but the day is cloudy?’

“It’s been cloudy all day—where has your mind been? Anyway, if Father plays this right, he might have found an incredible source of money.”

Lena continued chattering while Lavian remained bewildered.

But soon she had to close her mouth. No matter how quiet her voice, Lena’s impertinent words reached Lilian’s ears. Walking right behind her husband, Lilian glared at Lena with a terrifying gaze.

“I’m sorry.”

Lena obediently bowed her head, though thinking, ‘They usually treat me like I don’t exist, why are they acting like this today?’ After that, no one except the two men opened their mouths.

Soon everyone arrived at the dining room, took their seats, and the meal began.

‘This isn’t a dream. He’s still young.’

Lavian could only think this foolish thought, even while sitting across from him at the dining table.

Why was he young?

In a normal marriage, it would make sense to marry someone of similar age, but normalcy and ordinariness were quite distant concepts for Lavian.

‘Strange.’

His face without a single wrinkle was so unfamiliar that she couldn’t look at him. Surely there was more to it than just that, but still.

Never having imagined he would be around her age, she felt her throat parching. Lavian kept swallowing water. That’s when she met his cobalt blue eyes.

‘Too…’

Intense.

Lavian smiled faintly and avoided his gaze.

But Klen stared at her persistently.

‘She seems oddly familiar… Have I seen too many newspapers?’

Regardless of the painter’s poor skills, Klen couldn’t take his eyes off Lavian for even a moment due to the sense of déjà vu he’d felt since first seeing her.

He moved his hands leisurely, like a predator eyeing its prey.

Unable to discern the intention behind Klen’s gaze, Lavian felt her face heating up. Then the shame that had been temporarily buried by the simple fact that he was young surfaced again.

‘Whether young or old, what does age matter? The intention and purpose of this marriage are obvious.’

As reality loomed, Lavian clenched her molars. Her cheeks, which had nearly flushed, cooled down.

As Lavian put down her water glass and tried to continue eating, Lena’s elbow struck her.

“Ah.”

A short, small exclamation burst out.

By the time the sound flowing from her slightly parted lips reached the person sitting across from her, the fork in Lavian’s hand had fallen to the floor.

Feeling as if Lena had deliberately elbowed her, Lavian turned her gaze. Lena caught Lavian’s glance with feigned innocence and giggled.

“Hahaha. My sister always acts so uptight, but she has these clumsy moments. She’s such a klutz, a real klutz. Even Seian wouldn’t do that.”

Lena made a big deal out of nothing, seizing on it to chatter away.

Regardless of what her sister was doing, Lavian neatly folded her hands on her lap and lowered her head.

“I apologize. I’m sorry, Baron von Leschel.”

“Hoho. My daughter must be nervous, Baron.”

The usual Chelino would have glared with blazing eyes, but today he was not just calm but even gentle. The count revealed a sly smile toward Klen, looking quite satisfied.

Klen lowered his eyes as he lifted his wine glass to his lips with an indifferent expression.

“…It seems neither your family nor mine is particularly strict about table manners.”

“What……”

“It appears the count’s family isn’t especially strict about dining etiquette either.”

Still wearing an indifferent face, he put down his glass and continued cutting his food.

“She’s just nervous today. Otherwise, Lavian has the modest and elegant dignity befitting a count’s daughter. Lena is still young, so we’ve raised her indulgently, and she’s a bit wild.”

“Father……”

“Miss.”

Lena tried to interject with a rebuttal, but missed her chance when a maid brought a new fork.

Lavian thanked the maid with her eyes and picked up the fork, then put it down again.

‘At first he forbade Lena from attending, but then suddenly changed his stance—there was a reason for that.’

Finally understanding her father’s intention, Lavian found the meal, which was already unappetizing, becoming even more uncomfortable.

‘It’s maddening enough to face this situation again so soon, but to use Lena to elevate me… Really…’

Lavian felt nauseated from the embarrassment of this situation. She couldn’t face their guest. He must have his own motives, but were they any different from hers?

Yet she couldn’t show her feelings in front of a complete stranger.

She picked up her fork again and forced herself to swallow the finely cut meat.

Klen observed her with sharp eyes.

‘She doesn’t seem to have the slightest intention of refusing.’

Klen was quite displeased with this nobly raised young lady who showed no will to escape from such a situation.

For someone who had carved out his own path in life, this was utterly incomprehensible.

‘A marriage with that woman who asked me to k*ll her would be more interesting.’

At the sudden image of the veiled woman, Klen slightly raised one corner of his mouth and picked up his glass again.

“What do you like most, Baron? And what do you dislike?”

Lena, who had been sulking, completely changed her expression and asked cheerfully while gazing at Klen with sparkling eyes.

Klen raised his eyebrows, annoyed by her shrill voice, then wiped his mouth with a napkin and answered slowly.

“Nothing in particular.”

“But you must have some preferences.”

“Unlike the count’s family, which overflows with precious ingredients, where I lived wasn’t so fortunate, so I wasn’t in a position to be picky like some people.”

For the first time, his gaze, which had been fixed on Lavian until now, landed on Lena.

More precisely, on her plate full of evidence of picky eating, but still.

“Ah……”

Lena’s lips pursed meanly as she nodded her head.

She suddenly recalled his background, which she hadn’t considered due to his striking appearance.

While Lena didn’t know what to do, Klen didn’t seem particularly interested. He was only observing Lavian, who seemed either kind or simply deficient.

“Baron. Regarding the trade with Ibtan this time……”

Count Elder, judging that Lena’s unnecessary behavior had gone far enough, began to set the stage for the real conversation of today’s meeting.

He continued the conversation, mixing in appropriate flattery to lift Klen’s spirits first.

All while inwardly thinking, ‘That base, vulgar man without proper lineage.’

“This is delicious.”

The meal was nearing its end.

Lena, who had been moving her lips in small pouts, was delighted with the dessert and eyed Lavian’s plate.

“Kyaak!”

Just as Lena was about to touch Lavian’s dessert.

Lavian spilled her dessert wine.

The sweet wine not only soaked the tablecloth but also stained Lavian’s dress.

Lena instinctively pulled her body back to avoid getting wet. This caused an unpleasant sound from her chair.

“Sister, what’s wrong with you today?! Do you have some problem with me?”

“I’m sorry. As Father said, I must be nervous. Please excuse me for a moment.”

Lavian calmly bowed her head, placed her napkin on the chair, and left the dining room. Klen, who had been watching her departing figure while pretending not to, took a sip of wine and smirked.

‘A noble fox? Perhaps closer to a haughty cat. If that’s all she can manage, even her anger is quite elegant.’

“So this is what the great count’s family is like. It was worth my expectations. Someone like me couldn’t even imitate this.”