Renard was guided to a lavish reception room. As he walked, he looked around with clear appreciation for the opulent surroundings.
’Wow, the Grace family is definitely wealthy! I’m glad I ca here. Looks like I’ll be able to secure substantial funding for my investnts.’
Gia’s Castle was beautifully adorned with expensive materials—completely unlike the rough and rugged fortress of Taira, where every last coin was poured into strengthening the walls against the Great Green Forest.
Renard was told to wait in the room alone as the knights who had guided him departed.
’She’s late. Considering what I said, I thought she would co running to question , but it seems like she’s thinking carefully about this.’
He was served tea, so he stopped complaining about the wait. Even so, Eleanor took her own sweet ti to appear.
After he finished his tea, he continued waiting, eventually growing bored. But thankfully, the door to the reception room opened and a woman entered.
Bright red hair cascaded gracefully over her shoulders. Her slightly lowered eyes and raised chin gave off an impression of aristocratic coldness.
This was Renard’s fiancée, Eleanor Grace!
She was three years older than him, but it was normal among the nobles to marry older won, so there really wasn’t a problem with their age difference.
A small creature was perched on her shoulder—what appeared to be a black cat, the kind often considered a bad on by superstitious people. But it wasn’t actually a cat at all. It was a spirit!
And much like its contractor, the spirit excluded an air of elegance and pride with every step Eleanor took.
"It’s been a while, Eleanor. Did you miss ? Oh, and how are you... what was your spirit’s na again?" he said, looking at the cat-like spirit while greeting Eleanor.
But Eleanor only raised an eyebrow, not bothering to reply.
’Who does he think he is? Calling by my first na? Missing him? This fool must have lost his mind!’
When Eleanor first heard that Renard had arrived, she had scoffed and told the guards to send him away. There was no need to et soone who had co unannounced, especially soone as disappointing as Renard.
She had absolutely no intention of seeing him. However, after hearing the ssage Renard had sent, she had no choice but to let him into the castle.
’What exactly does he know?’
The fact that Eleanor was building a rchant guild was a tightly guarded secret. This wasn’t a matter of starting a simple trading company—it was far more significant than that.
Unaware of her thoughts, Renard flashed a bright smile and continued speaking.
"Here, I picked up a gift on my way!" He handed over the bouquet of flowers he had brought.
Eleanor looked at Renard from head to toe, noting how he was covered in dust. ’Did he really bring this as a gift to ?’
In all her life, she had never received a present so worthless. No one had ever dared to offer her sothing so cheap. Although she wasn’t the type to care about the monetary value of gifts, the fact that Renard had presented such a thing was unbearable.
"Nyaang!" Even the spirit, whose na Renard still didn’t rember, let out a displeased sound as if to express its shared disappointnt.
Despite her thoughts, Eleanor walked gracefully and took the bouquet from Renard’s hand.
"Thank you. It’s a lovely bouquet. However, flowers like these wilt so quickly—there’s no need for to keep them, is there?"
She then tossed the bouquet into a corner of the reception room.
It was an act designed to humiliate the giver. For mbers of House Grim, who valued their honor above all else, such behavior would be considered unacceptable under normal circumstances.
She had done so openly to provoke Renard into an emotional response, hoping to make him act rashly.
However, instead of getting angry, Renard rely shrugged and leaned back on the sofa without a care in the world.
"Well, I don’t have much money on , so that’s all I could afford! But hey, it’s the thought that counts! The thought!"
With an unwavering expression, Renard played innocent, and Eleanor blinked as if she had seen a ghost.
’Has he gone completely mad?’
Then a cold smirk appeared on her face.
"Even if you are poor, that’s not sothing to be proud of, is it? Don’t you feel ashad? If you want to express your feelings, the gift’s value matters too. You can’t express sincerity with garbage."
Eleanor spat out harsh words, aiming to provoke him again. It was behavior unimaginable for her, given her usually reserved nature and the fact that she never bothered engaging with soone like this.
But she needed to shake him up to gauge what he knew and how much he knew about her secrets.
"Being poor isn’t sothing to be ashad of. There’s a quote I heard once: ’Being born poor is not a sin, but dying poor is.’ I don’t plan to die anyti soon, and I’ll be filthy rich by that ti, so don’t worry."
He said, "There’s no sha in having empty pockets. In fact, the ones who should be ashad are those who are dishonest. Don’t you think so?"
His words carried a deeper aning, and Eleanor’s face stiffened.
Renard’s tone and behavior suggested he was boldly declaring that he knew sothing significant.
’He’s different from before. He’s never shown such confidence—what happened to him?’
She had heard that he had faced nurous assassination attempts. People did say that individuals changed when faced with death, but could the transformation be this drastic?
Until recently, he had practically been trying to woo her in every way whenever he stood before her, but she couldn’t sense any such feelings from him now. Instead, it seed like he didn’t even care about her opinion.
The sudden change made her more wary of him.
"Fine. What’s the reason you wanted to et? I’d appreciate it if you got straight to the point."
"I like how direct you are. I need so money. I’m in a bit of a tough spot right now."
Renard winked and made a circle with his fingers in a gesture indicating money.
Eleanor’s face briefly froze at the unexpected request.
Who in the world would ask for money so boldly and shalessly!
"Ha! Is that why you ca to see ? Asking your fiancée for money—do you have no pride, my lord?"
Renard smiled awkwardly and waved his hand dismissively.
"No, no, you misunderstood. I’m not asking to borrow money."
"Then what?"
Renard leaned in slightly, bringing his face closer to Eleanor’s, and whispered conspiratorially.
"I’m asking you to just give it to . Between us, you could do at least that much, right?"
"..."
Eleanor stared at him in complete silence, her mind reeling from the sheer audacity of his request.
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