Benjamin came to the duke's residence two days after meeting at the Garden Fair.
With the Earl of Isles and his wife.
"Nice to meet you. This is Montes Isles."
The elderly gentleman bowed his head politely towards us. The neat lady who was with me also said hello.
"Sir, and Angelina-sama, it is a pleasure to see you again."
Benjamin, who was standing next to the Countess of Isles, bowed politely when it was my turn.
A delightful smile flowed from his serene look.
Edwin just shook his head without saying anything.
"My name is Angelina. Nice to meet you."
"I was looking forward to seeing you when I heard from Benjamin, so thank you for inviting me like this."
The Countess of Isles smiled softly and gave her a gentle gaze.
"Sit down for now."
Edwin had an annoyed expression on his face as to whether he was unwilling to have strangers visit the mansion.
Because of that, the Counts and the couple looked at Edwin.
As the Counts and Benjamin sat across from us, hot tea and tea foods were served on the table.
After each of them shook their heads moderately, Earl Isles spoke first.
"Thank you for saving Benjamin. I will never forget this grace even in death."
He bowed his head deeply towards us.
"Thank you so much. On the day the demon attacked him, he was shocked to learn that he had lost Benjamin... ... ."
The Countess, unable to speak, wiped her tears with her handkerchief.
"Say thanks to my bride. Because it was my bride who asked to save the little boy."
Edwin said arrogantly, raising his chin.
"I heard a lot from Benjamin. thank you."
The Countess, along with the Earl of Isles, bowed her head to me.
"I was lucky to be nearby at the time of the accident. If we were far away, we wouldn't have been able to save them."
"That's it. I think it was the help of heaven that I met the two of them at the beach."
said the Countess, sweeping her chest.
"More than anything else, I was able to hold his hand because Benjamin had the courage to run to him that day."
Benjamin looked down as if embarrassed by my compliment.
The Earl of Isles and the couple burst into laughter as they watched the tips of Benjamin's ears glow red.
"I was hooked again."
Edwin grunted next to what he was dissatisfied with.
"I think Benjamin is more confident than his peers."
"I like him very much, so he wants to be like him. So I think so."
Benjamin smiled brightly as the Countess stroked her hair with affection.
"The reason my family went to Keitan was to go on vacation. Caleb and I had some work left to finish, so my wife and Benjamin had to leave first."
Earl Isles began to calmly explain the situation at that time.
"I got the news that it had definitely arrived, but the next day there was a sudden news that Benjamin didn't come back... ... ."
The Count caught his breath for a moment as his emotions surged.
Instead of the count, who could not speak, the countess continued the story.
"At that time, I was resting at a villa because I was not feeling well from a long journey."
His tone was calm, but there was a tremor in his voice.
"You don't know how much I regretted letting only Benjamin go. Because of the monster, I couldn't go out right away, and it was a hellish time."
Water formed around her eyes again.
Before Benjamin's return, he felt desperately how hellish the family must have been.
After a while, the Count, who had lost his emotions, bowed his head again.
"Thank you again. What would have happened to Benjamin if it wasn't for the two of you? ... . I will never forget this grace even if I die."
The weight of the life I had saved touched my skin once again at the heartbreaking thank you.
I turned my head to the hand that gently embraced my shoulder, and my blue eyes, darker than usual, turned towards me.
I suddenly wondered.
Has Edwin ever been thanked for saving someone? How do you feel now?
He quietly looked into his blue eyes, but unlike usual, where his feelings were clearly revealed, it was difficult to find out what was inside.
In the end, I gave up on reading his mind and said what I wanted to say.
"It's thanks to you. thanks."
Benjamin wouldn't be here if Edwin hadn't done my request back then.
A small whisper in my ear, Edwin sighed and leaned over to me.
"If you say it so beautifully, you can't even get angry."
grumbling? What were you trying to do?
I looked at him bewildered, and Edwin smiled and tapped the back of my nose and touched it.
At that moment, a small sigh was heard from the other side.
When we turned to the place where the sound was coming from, the countess and the couple looked at us with bewildered faces.
Edwin to be exact.
Of the three, only Benjamin was calm.
Benjamin was accepting Edwin's behavior naturally, but that was more embarrassing.
Fortunately, thanks to Edwin's diversion, he was able to quickly calm his burning face.
"A gift?"
"I am ready."
As if waiting for this moment, Benjamin jumped up and brought the box he had in his arms to me.
"I hope you like it."
Benjamin smiled shyly and handed me a box made of rosewood.
The box the size of a palm was beautifully tied with a pink ribbon.
"Benjamin hand-picked it. Please take a good look."
The Countess stepped forward to assist Benjamin.
When the ribbon was untied and the box was opened, a leaf-shaped headdress was revealed.
The platinum ornaments were covered with dazzling pearls on each delicately extended leaf vein.
It was an elegant yet sophisticated decoration.
"Do you like it?"
Benjamin asked, blinking his big eyes.
"Yeah, she's so pretty I can't take my eyes off her. thanks."
At that moment, Benjamin's nervous face brightened.
"Can I try it now?"
"of course."
The Countess nodded her head broadly.
"I'll do it for you."
Edwin gently took the headdress from my hand.
I lightly brushed my hair with my hands and then put a decoration on the left side of my hair.
He then instructed Sarah to cover the mirror.
After a while, looking through the hand mirror, the hair ornament suited the blonde hair very well.
"It's beautiful. matches well."
Edwin also rolled his eyes to see if he liked it.
"Oh, I didn't know you were so kind."
The Countess smiled slightly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief.
"honey."
The Count looked at Edwin and scolded the Countess.
The Countess didn't say any more, but she couldn't hide her happy smile.
"Because she is my bride."
He gently wrapped his arms around my shoulder, and Edwin said it was natural.
At the proud remark, the Earl of Isles and his wife widened their eyes at the same time.
"Am I going to pass then?"
It was Benjamin who evoked the awkward atmosphere.
"Baby, what does that mean?"
"Your Excellency said that the present I prepared must be pleasing to Angelina-sama. Otherwise, he told me that I would have to repay the favor with something else."
How can you explain Edwin's threats in such a blissful way?
Did the boy's pure innocence cause the self-purification?
Or did she show off the wit of the dignified Aira?
Whatever it was, I quickly opened my mouth, thinking that I would have to settle the matter before the Counts asked.
"Ed, you passed, right?"
He smiled brightly on purpose, because Edwin shouldn't say nonsense that he's going to beat Benjamin.
To show that you are really satisfied.
"Well, my bride liked it, so I'll admit it."
Benjamin smiled as if he was happy with Edwin's approval.
"Thank you for the delightful acceptance of the gift."
"It is a gift from Benjamin that I just placed, and we also prepared a present for ourselves."
Count Isles took a box out of his chest and handed it to Edwin.
"Enough for my bridal gift."
Edwin glanced at the gift and said sarcastically.
"This is a gift for both of you."
"Ed, open it."
Edwin thought he wouldn't even touch the gift if he stayed like this, so he secretly urged him.
"I'm curious?"
After a small nod, Edwin moved slowly and opened the box.
It contained a golden plaque engraved with a bear, the coat of arms of the Earl of Isles.
"This plaque is for the benefactor of the family. If you need help, present this tile and you will be able to get help from our top level anytime, anywhere."
The Isles family owned the top five in the Empire.
It was also the Isles family that distributed and sold gems mined from the mines owned by Peyton.
My mouth fell open at the priceless gift.
Edwin, on the other hand, looked at the golden plaque without much inspiration.
"You paid a lot of attention. I'll take it."
Fortunately, he did not refuse.
The Earl was also nervous about being rejected, so he was relieved when Edwin took the golden plaque.
"thank you. for accepting it."
"Then, let's go see."
It was a sudden congratulatory order, but the Count was not greatly embarrassed.
The purpose of today's visit was accomplished, and he seemed to be happy that he gave even this much time.
Me and Edwin went up to the carriage and saw them off.
"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule. I hope to see you again next time."
Before getting into the carriage, Earl Isles came out and greeted Edwin.
"Angelina-sama, please come to the East to play. The scenery is different from the West, so you will have fun traveling."
The Countess took my hand and said,
"I haven't been to the East yet."
"Oh, is it? Then I will invite you to our mansion, so please come visit us sometime."
"Thank you. I will definitely stop by when I go to the East."
Anyway, because of Sephiroth's sword, I was planning to go to Peyton's estate, so I gladly accepted the invitation.
After talking with the Countess, he turned to greet Benjamin and saw Edwin conversing with Benjamin.
'What are you two talking about?'
In the meantime, Benjamin ran to me to see if the conversation was over.
"Angelina, thank you for inviting me today. See you next time."
Benjamin greeted him politely with perfect etiquette.
"Good bye. See you again."
Benjamin smiled happily as he responded to the greeting.
Benjamin continued to wave at us even after the carriage had left.
I shook it face to face, but suddenly my hand grabbed my chin.
"Stop it. Don't shake your arm painfully."
It wouldn't hurt my arm this much, but I didn't object.
Edwin looks pretty unhappy.
"What did you talk about with Benjamin a while ago?"
"I asked if he was keeping the promise he made at Keitan."
"Ah, that promise."
Edwin told me too.
He told Benjamin to keep it a secret that the wizard healed him.
It was a request that could be made because all those who were escorting Benjamin at that time were dead.
Benjamin was worried that Edwin would not have spoken softly due to Edwin's nature, but he didn't criticize me because it was a measure to protect me.
"Looks like Benjamin kept his promise."
Neither Caleb nor the Earl of Isles seemed to know that Benjamin was seriously injured.
We just knew that we had found Benjamin early and protected him from monsters.
"Yeah, it seemed like that. The little one is pretty good."
Edwin smiled and led me into the mansion.
"Oh. I sent you a letter from Payton asking you to visit."
I called for joy inwardly at the call I had been waiting for.
"when?"
"This morning."
"What are you going to do?"
I was afraid that Edwin would turn down Benjamin's visit because he didn't like it.
I was thinking of trying the persuasion methods I had prepared in advance one by one if I refused.
"What do you want to do?"
Unexpectedly, he asked my doctor first.
"It was Lina who gave the present to the princess, not me."
"I want to meet you. In fact, when I was studying Seth and the noble family, I was curious about who the princess was."
He brought out the reasons he had prepared to convince Edwin one by one.
"Did you?"
"Yes. She was told that it is rare for a woman to become the heir of her family. But she thought it was cool to see her being recognized as the successor."
"Well, it's rare."
"Wouldn't such a person be able to look at me without prejudice?"
Edwin stopped walking and lowered his head to make eye contact with me.