As he spoke, a certain color appeared in the eyes of Count Delance.

"The only thing I hope for now is that Anna can live happily, because I know I will go before Anna, as will Delice, we have reached an age where it is not surprising when we die any day, but the only thing I can't rest assured about is Anna. Once I leave, my adversaries will definitely not let Anna off, they will not only try to seize the wealth I left for Anna, but they may also put Anna in a dangerous situation. No, they will definitely do that, cut off all means of retreat, that's the most basic principle."

"Indeed..."

"So, I hope Anna can find someone she can trust, someone who can protect her, someone who won't deceive her. I have been searching, and now, I finally found one."

"Is that so..."

"Ah, that person is you, young Amagi."

"Huh...? Me?"

Ryuto pointed at himself in confusion.

"Yes, I have seen everything Anna has done for you today, whether it is specially cooking dishes she has never made contact with before, or speaking out to prevent you from feeling uncomfortable, or even telling you things she has never told anyone, like about her mother. I have seen all of it."

"No, that was just because I saved her, and she was just thanking me, and..."

"That may be so, but no matter the reason, at least I know one thing, that is, Anna trusts you deeply. Perhaps other actions can be seen as gratitude towards you, but telling you about her mother, that makes me think differently. If she didn't trust you, consider you a true friend, she would never have said that, like I said just now, after all, this is not something worth mentioning, and even let you call her by her name directly, she must be very concerned, after all, young Amagi is..."

"Is that so..."

Although there are many places to criticize, Ryuto can only respond with a bitter smile for now. Of course, Ryuto understood the meaning behind the last sentence that Count Delance left unsaid.

"Well, that's why I deliberately wanted to see you today. I already knew that Anna trusts you a lot before you came, so I invited you to meet you, or rather, to assess you."

"Assess?"

"Yes, I have only heard things about you, rumors may not be true, so I need to see it with my own eyes, to see what kind of person Anna trusts, to see if she really deserves Anna's trust, to see if you are just deceiving Anna. That is the main reason, because I don't want Anna to be deceived. Anna's character is very innocent, very easily deceived by cunning people, so I am acting as a gatekeeper, after all, when it comes to cunning, I won't lose."

"Is that so..."

Good to have that self-awareness, you detestable rich and handsome guy.

"Although I had various speculations about you based on the information I heard beforehand, unfortunately, none of them were accurate, I could only say you are average, even more average than I imagined."

"..."

To this, Ryuto had no words.

Quite a brutally honest evaluation indeed.

"It's not like what I thought, that you would be a very handsome young man, or a very well-mannered young man, but rather an extremely average young man."

"Is that so..."

Being both ugly and rude, sorry to disappoint you, you damned rich and handsome guy.