As if unaware of her gaze, Noel was looking into the display case with a rather serious expression.

Yvette watched him for a moment before letting out a short sigh.

‘…Still, thanks to Noel, I do feel a bit better.’

Although she had been pretending to be fine until now, in truth, she hadn’t been feeling very good since leaving the Baron’s house.

There was no guarantee that Baron Larishi wouldn’t attack her again in the future.

During the carriage ride, that worry had been constantly on her mind.

However, since entering the jewelry store, she hadn’t thought about Baron Larishi once, being too preoccupied with Noel.

‘Surely, he didn’t bring me here on purpose because he knew I was feeling down?’

Yvette glanced sideways at Noel.

Just by looking at his expression, there was no way to tell what he was thinking.

“…I already have a mountain of debt to repay you, so please refrain from giving me such expensive gifts.”

Yvette approached Noel’s side and spoke up.

Noel glanced at her, raising the corner of his mouth slightly.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Finally, as if he had found a ring he liked, he pointed to one of the boxes displayed in the case.

“I think this would suit you well too. What do you think?”

Inside the box was a ring with a blue flower-shaped gem set in it.

It was the simplest design among all she had seen so far, so Yvette nodded without hesitation.

“This one is nice. The design is clean and not too flashy.”

As soon as she gave her approval, Noel immediately called a staff member.

While the staff was taking the ring out of the display case, Yvette looked around the store with a newfound feeling.

Just as she was having the idle thought, ‘If you combined all the jewels here, couldn’t you buy a country?’

Noel, who had approached her side without her noticing, suddenly held out a box to her.

“Huh? Did you already pay for it?”

Yvette looked at him with wide eyes.

“Open it first.”

Noel answered lightly as he placed the jewelry box in her hand.

Although puzzled, Yvette opened the jewelry box as he instructed.

Inside, along with the ring Noel had chosen earlier, a pair of earrings was revealed.

“…!”

As if they were a set, the earrings had the same blue gems set in the center as the ring.

The hexagonally cut gems sparkled brilliantly each time they caught the light.

Yvette, who had been staring blankly at the earrings, opened her mouth.

“…I can’t accept these.”

As Yvette tried to hand back the jewelry box, Noel calmly said,

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to throw them away.”

As he reached out as if he was really going to throw them away, Yvette clutched the jewelry box to her chest in panic.

“Are you crazy? Why would you throw away something so expensive!”

Just selling the earrings alone would probably cover a year’s living expenses.

As expected of a high nobleman, even the scale of discarding things was different.

“If you don’t want to throw them away, then keep them yourself.”

Noel shrugged, indicating she should do as she pleased.

He seemed to know from the start that Yvette wouldn’t be able to throw them away.

Yvette pressed her lips together and looked down at the jewelry box.

Looking at it, she felt a complex mix of gratitude and guilt.

“…Alright. Then, I’ll accept these, but that’s it.”

Yvette muttered, hugging the jewelry box tightly.

In truth, although she didn’t show it, she really liked the earrings too.

“From now on, no more gifts until I give you one. Understood?”

Noel chuckled at Yvette’s playful warning.

“Now you’re smiling properly.”

Yvette paused at his low murmur.

She rubbed the corner of her mouth gently and gave an awkward smile.

Somehow, it felt embarrassing.

‘I hope I don’t look like too much of a materialistic person.’

She was a bit worried, but fortunately, Noel didn’t seem to mind much.

“Shall we head out?”

As Noel prepared to leave first, Yvette hurriedly gathered her things.

They decided to have the box sent directly to the mansion, as carrying it around might risk theft.

After leaving the jewelry store, the two had a meal at a nearby restaurant before returning to the carriage.

On the way back to Wheatley, having finished all their business.

The sunset light streaming through the window gently illuminated their faces.

The sky was turning reddish, indicating that the sun had begun to set.

“…Thank you for helping me today, Noel.”

When Yvette suddenly spoke up, Noel, who had been staring out the window, slowly turned his head.

His calm gaze fell on her face.

“What are you thanking me for?”

“Just, everything. The matter with my uncle, and the gift earlier.”

Yvette smiled as she met Noel’s eyes.

It was a bit embarrassing to say such things, but gratitude was gratitude after all.

“If it weren’t for you, today would have been really tough.”

Noel made a strange expression at her sincere thanks.

As if on cue, a shadow fell across his face.

“…You seem to have a lot to be thankful for.”

Noel murmured lowly as he brushed his hair back.

His usually relaxed lips tightened for a moment, then returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

“They say knowing how to be grateful makes a person happier. I want to be happier in the future.”

Yvette said this with a faint smile.

At the same time, the shadow covering the window disappeared, and warm sunset light spread across Yvette’s face.

Noel, who had been staring at her intently, couldn’t take his eyes off that sight for a while.

***

A few days later.

News that would turn the Empire upside down spread through high society.

It was the news of Noel Averon and Yvette Blanche’s engagement.

The news of their engagement caused a huge stir in the social circles that had been quiet for a while.

When it was also announced that Yvette had officially become Countess Blanche, the two became the center of attention.

How did two people who had no previous interaction end up engaged?

That was all anyone talked about whenever they met.

Moreover, when rumors spread that it wasn’t an arranged engagement between families, but one born out of mutual love, the nobles’ interest grew even more.

Perhaps because of this, less than a week after announcing their engagement, Yvette received a flood of letters.

With letters piling up not just on her desk but overflowing onto the floor, it could only be described as a bombardment.

Despite not having announced it separately, everyone seemed to know her address.

Yvette, looking around at the letters, sighed as if the ground would swallow her.

“It’s good that we hired more people. Otherwise, Herbert alone would never have been able to handle this.”

Although Herbert said it was fine, Yvette had been constantly worried about him managing the mansion alone.

So, she recently hired a maid to help Herbert manage the mansion.

Originally, she had planned to hire more, but Herbert insisted that one was enough, so they settled on one.

‘Well, Eden is helping Herbert in his own way too.’

Yvette smiled faintly, recalling when she first met Eden.

After being scolded harshly by her, Eden had avoided her for a while with a gloomy face.

Feeling sorry for him, Yvette bought him sweet snacks and toys a few times.

Then, at some point, Eden started following her around like a puppy.

‘I feel like a bad adult luring a child with candy, but.’

She kept taking care of him because his sparkling eyes as he followed her were quite adorable.