CH 68

“Her Majesty the Queen recognized the Countess of Brierton’s ability with a keen eye.”

“….”

“I am very fortunate to be able to show off the Count’s abilities to the fullest through this exchange.” 

Being able to speak without wavering was also a talent.

In the first place, the reason Ines couldn’t showcase her talent as a painter was because Ryan stole her identity.

Moreover, there were too many hostile people who wouldn’t accept women artists in the society.

Even so, Ines was in a position to reduce friction as much as possible as the management team of the exchange exhibition.

‘He knows he’s in trouble so he talks to me on purpose.’

Ines narrowed her brow.

Ryan spoke in a soft tone.

“Come to think of it, thank you so much for accepting the gift I sent you a while ago.”

“…”

For a moment, Ines’ eyes went cold.

Although Ryan was saying thank you out loud, Ines could see through his intention.

When she didn’t turn down the gift, it meant that she wasn’t completely done with Ryan.

As evidence of that, the surrounding nobles looked a little surprised and curious.

“Did you accept the present?”

“But aren’t you two already divorced?”

“Why do you give your ex-wife a present…?”

At the same time, Ines smiled brightly.

“Oh, I should have told you in advance, but I was so busy that I forgot.”

“Tell me what?”

Ryan’s face hardened slightly.

Smooth words followed.

“Would you mind waiting a moment?”

Ines apologized and beckoned to a nearby servant.

“I have a document I left in the locker, will you bring it to me?”

“Yes, Countess.”

The servant answered politely.

People looked at the back of the servant, who was moving away, with eyes full of curiosity.

Ryan asked with suspicion.

“…a document?”

“You’ll see when you see it.”

As soon as he heard those words, Ryan felt his chest inflate like a balloon with anticipation.

‘Are you trying to loosen up a little bit of Gott’s financial line?’

In fact, what kind of documents would Ryan receive from Ines officially?

‘After all, Ines must have not completely given up on me!’

He tried to straighten his expression, but Ryan’s lips were already grinning.

Ines looked at Ryan pathetically.

After that,

In the hand of the servant who returned, he held a fairly luxurious envelope.

Ines took it from him and handed it to Ryan.

“No, what is all this………”

Ryan, who took the envelope with a happy and excited face, immediately hardened. It was because the document was completely different from what he expected.

“……This?”

The name of a place he had never thought of was clearly engraved on top of the luxury envelope.

‘Turner Orphanage.’

Ines’s smile grew a little darker.

“Open it.”

People’s eyes were already focused on this.

Unable to overcome the pressure of those gazes, Ryan hesitated and pulled out the document. The document with the seal of the orphanage was revealed.

<I express my great gratitude to Viscount Gott, and the amount donated this time will be used only for the children.>

“…A donation certificate?”

Ryan looked down at the deed with a puzzled face.

Ines’s smile grew deeper.

“Yes. In the name of Viscount Gott, I donated the same amount of the gift you gave me.”

“…..”

Ryan was taken aback.

He glared at Ines with bloody eyes.

Whether he was angry or not, Ines simply continued to speak.

“As Young Master said, the Gott family sent me a present the other day.”

“At that time, you took it well, then why suddenly…!”

“The gift came in so suddenly, so I had no time to refuse it.”

Ines cut Ryan’s words in the middle, and continued talking again.

“Thinking about it, I don’t think we are in a relationship to exchange gifts.”

“Countess Brierton!”

“However, if I sent the gift back, I was worried that Viscount Gott, who was standing outside my house, would lose his face.”

That was true too.

Wasn’t that a public announcement to the outside that the families have such a bad relationship with each other?

Ines shrugged lightly.

“So I took the gift as it is, but donated the amount of the gift in the name of Viscount Gott.”

“What!”

Ryan’s face contorted horribly.

Ines sneered inwardly.

‘I knew he was going to make it messy.’

So from the beginning she decided to donate it to an orphanage.

It was one of the ways if the nobles politely refused something.

When you receive an uncomfortable gift, use that amount of money to help someone in need.

However, since it was such an old-fashioned method, it was extremely rare to refuse gifts in that way these days.

So Ryan wouldn’t have expected it…

“I just got the certificate today. So I was thinking of sending it to the Gott’s residence, but I brought it with me because I thought I would see Viscount Gott today.”

Ines added a lively statement.

“I am very glad to be able to give you this certificate.”

“No, who wants to donate………!”

Ryan, who was about to raise his voice reflexively, stopped for a moment.

It was because the nobles who watched the situation secretly leaned towards Ines.

“Actually, it’s not that bad of a rejection method, is it?”

“A lot of things happened between Countess of Brierton and Young Master Gott, so I guess it would be an amicable response.”

“I think so. Why did he send an unwanted gift in the first place?”

Ryan quickly sharpened his teeth.

‘Damn it!’

He was at an advantage.

Ines whispered quietly.

“I heard that the Gott family’s donation has decreased recently?”

“What the hell is that…… … !”

Ryan was furious, but Ines didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

“As nobles in the kingdom, I think we should set an example for others. I can’t always take care of you, right?”

Ines only spoke up to that point, but people did not find it difficult to read the lines between them. The fact that the donation had decreased since Ines divorced Ryan meant that the Gott family’s finances were tight.

Rumors abound that the Brierton had recouped the investment they had invested in the Gott family.

Those words Ines added “I can’t always take care of you” made it clearer.

“So even before the divorce, the Countess took care of the donations for the Gott family?”

“No matter if you were married, the Countess must have suffered a lot taking care of your in-laws’ family.”

A faint contempt passed over the faces of the nobles.

It was the kingdom’s tacit practice for high-ranking nobles to donate even a small amount once or twice a year.

Of course, it was not an obligation, but they tend to donate a good amount for the sake of the family’s face. But even that donation would have been passed on to the Countess of Brierton! 

Ryan had a history of enjoying the benefits of the title of Count of Brierton through his marriage to Ines. To have all the benefits but he talked about the smallest gift he gave to the Countess…

‘Okay, at this point, the atmosphere seems to be well established.’

Now it was a perfect time to leave Ryan out of the conversation.

With that judgment, Ines looked around the nobles again.

Then she smiled with a sorry face.

“I’m sorry, my personal story was too long. So, what we want to focus on in this exchange exhibition is…”

So the topic naturally moved on to the exchange exhibition and art in general.

And Ryan bit his mouth as if it was glued shut.

To be honest, he couldn’t interfere with the topic because he knew nothing of art.

‘You chose such a topic on purpose!’

Shame and anger were smeared on Ryan’s face.

Knowing that Ryan had a shallow knowledge of art, to deliberately alienate him from the conversation! In the first place, he barely mastered what ordinary nobles learned through culture, and there was no way he could keep up with the conversation between the envoys and Ines.

Perhaps noticing Ryan’s ferocious gaze, Ines looked at Ryan with a squint. When their eyes met, she smiled brightly.

‘What’s wrong?’ Her eyes seemed to ask.

Eventually, Ryan was completely alienated by the end of the conversation.

‘Damn it!’

He felt like an invisible human.

Ryan’s face turned red from embarrassment.