Chapter 26
Knock, knock. As soon as I knocked, the door opened, as if he already knew I was coming.
When I went inside, Kaylen, who had been sitting at his desk, lifted his head and looked at his unexpected visitor. His desk had just as many documents piled up as mine.
“What is it?”
Kaylen immediately returned his gaze to the papers and asked.
Straight to the point?
“Good morning.”
Even if I was in a hurry, I should still greet him.
I shook my head lightly and greeted him first. Kaylen’s hands, which were flipping through the papers, suddenly stopped.
“Good… morning? No, not really. The weather is awful.”
Very Kaylen-like.
I gave a small awkward smile at his indifference and put the paper I brought on top of the messy documents on his desk.
“This is the financial summary for Winterford Castle.”
Kaylen lifted the paper I handed him. He skimmed through it casually at first, then slowly began focusing on it.
While he stared holes into the few pages I had brought, I walked over to the sofa and sat down.
This was only the second time I had visited his office—the first time was when Benjamin had shown me around right after I arrived at Winterford.
Kaylen shared the office with Dylan.
Besides their desks, the old but clean sofa, and two bookshelves, the room was rather plain.
As I looked around the office, someone knocked.
Kaylen didn’t seem to hear it, his brows furrowed as he continued reading the report I gave him.
“Yes, come in,” I answered instead.
The heavy door opened. Dylan came in, pulling a trolley with teacups and a teapot.
“Dylan, long time no… no, it has been a long time.”
Dylan flinched when he saw me. Realizing I had greeted him, he bowed his head. He clearly hadn’t expected I would be here.
“Milady… ah, no. Your Grace, shall I prepare tea for you as well?”
The title “Your Grace” still didn’t seem natural to him, and he stuttered in a way that was unusual for Dylan. I nodded, and he set out another teacup, opening the container that held the tea.
At that moment, a familiar and dearly missed scent faintly entered my nose.
“…Coffee?”
I shot up from the sofa. Dylan, who had been pouring tea, and Kaylen, who had been reading the documents, both turned to look at me.
“T-This… this is coffee!”
The thing I had missed the most since coming to this world—coffee—had appeared.
Training for the knights was halted that morning due to the biting wind. If this kept happening throughout winter, it would cause problems. A place was needed where they could train even during bad weather.
Winterford Castle was ridiculously large; if used well, an indoor training hall could be created. While staring at a map of the castle and thinking about it, Eliana came to see him.
Kaylen was confused when she suddenly handed him a report, saying she had organized Winterford Castle’s financial status.
He glanced toward Eliana, who was sitting on the office sofa and looking around, then read the papers she brought over and over.
They were excellent.
Some parts were even clearer and better organized than Dylan’s work.
When he had investigated her in the past, she was said to be no different from other young noble ladies. She was sickly, debuted late in society, and perhaps because of her humble family—or maybe it was simply her personality—she was quiet and barely noticeable in social circles.
Of course, rumors and social reputation weren’t reliable.
There were reports that her personality had changed a little after she nearly died, but considering she had survived death, no one thought much of it.
But the documents she brought were flawless. He almost wondered if he had overlooked something in her past when he investigated her.
A genius?
Kaylen quickly pushed that idea away. From what he had seen of her so far, that didn’t quite fit.
According to Eliana’s report, the castle’s financial situation was the worst. Kaylen, who had just been thinking about renovating part of the castle into an indoor training hall, felt a headache.
Then Eliana suddenly let out a loud squeak.
Cof… what?
Completely excited, she ran toward Dylan, who was holding the tea container. Dylan flinched as she snatched it from him, and then she stuck her nose into it.
Sniff sniff.
Was there something wrong with the tea gifted by the Tetra Tribe?
Eliana sniffed deeply, then walked toward Kaylen with the container.
“This coffee! Where did you get it?”
“Co… ffee?”
“Yes! Coffee!”
Kaylen put down the papers he had been holding and looked up at Eliana.
“Is there some problem with it?”
“What problem? I’m just too happy!”
Eliana hugged the container to her chest, her expression overflowing with emotion. Her light brown eyes were even shimmering.
“The Tetra Tribe gave it to us. They said its name was…”
“It didn’t have a name. They just called it the gift of the gods.”
Dylan, who stood behind her, added. Eliana nodded vigorously at Dylan’s words.
“Exactly. Coffee is a gift from the gods.”
She again pressed her nose against the container, sniffing it, then asked Dylan for a mortar and a cloth. While waiting, she looked at the beans under a lantern, put one in her mouth, and even asked if this was all that remained.
Once the mortar and cloth were brought, she ground the beans and poured hot water through the cloth.
Soon the entire office was filled with a fragrant aroma.
After giving Kaylen and Dylan each a cup, Eliana brought her cup to her lips with a solemn expression. After taking one sip, she immediately put the cup down and pressed her face into her palms.
“Y-Your Grace?”
Dylan panicked, pacing around, but Eliana suddenly lifted her head.
“Long live caffeine!”
Kaylen wondered if she might be sick, since she had been saying strange things all morning. Then she grabbed her cup and headed toward the door.
“I’ll freeze some ice and be right back!”
Pointing at herself with her index finger, she left behind the strange words “ice addict,” and rushed out of the office.
I got too excited after finding coffee. It truly felt like receiving a gift from the gods.
With a clean bowl of water placed outside the window to freeze, I hummed while imagining drinking iced Americano, when a strange thought suddenly hit me.
“Oh. Right.”
I had completely forgotten the reason I came to Kaylen’s office.
I hurried back, and found he was alone.
“Is the ice already frozen?”
“No. Even if Winterford is cold, it wouldn’t freeze that quickly. There’s something I didn’t get to say earlier…”
Kaylen raised an eyebrow at my sudden return, then nodded and got up from his chair. Holding the documents I had given him, he sat on the sofa and gestured for me to sit across from him.
“You organized this very well.”
Of course I did. I had written reports for years—from college to my internship and one full year of work afterwards.
I shrugged proudly. He then set the papers on the table and crossed his long legs.
“As far as I know, you’ve never done work like this before…”
Oh, shoot.
I stiffened at Kaylen’s suspicious expression.
Maybe I had shown too much ability.
A noble lady barely twenty next year doing something like this wasn’t natural.
Especially since I was the daughter of a humble baron’s family, too sickly to even debut in society on time, much less receive heir training.
I quickly searched my mind for a believable excuse.
“In a countryside estate, there isn’t much to do. Since I was sick, I couldn’t go out and play, so I just spent all my time reading books. Naturally, I learned things…”
Would he buy it? I glanced at him, but Kaylen’s unreadable expression made me nervous. Then a bold thought crossed my mind.
If he doesn’t believe it—so what?
I decided to act shamelessly.
“Anyway, my actual business is…”
I straightened my posture and looked him directly in the eyes.
“My dowry. Please give it to me.”
Kaylen immediately frowned. I expected that, so it didn’t hurt.
My dowry probably wasn’t much. The baron’s household finances were obviously poor. It would be a tiny amount.
But right now, I desperately needed that tiny amount. There were many things required to get the rusted gears turning again—but I had no money to prepare anything.
There wasn’t even a small opening for income.
Winterford Castle needed to function properly before the territory could.
“I showed you Winterford’s financial state today because you need to face reality to see the solution. It’s easier to understand when it’s organized like this.”
I kept talking to convince him.
“There are so many things the castle needs. The servants’ wages are overdue. If you give me the dowry, I will use it only where absolutely necessary! If you want, I can immediately prepare a list of urgent needs and the estimated costs.”
While explaining in detail why I needed that small amount of money, I felt a bit hurt.
It wasn’t even for myself—yet I had to speak so desperately. Then I suddenly remembered the jewelry inside my vanity drawer.
Should I just sell the imperial wedding ring?
Even after I finished speaking, Kaylen’s green eyes remained unreadable. I slumped my shoulders.
While wondering where I could sell the emperor’s gifted wedding ring, Kaylen slowly stood up.
