Gurgle. Kisa blushed at the embarrassing sound that came from her stomach.
Looking back, she’d had to get up from the table barely touching her lunch due to the princess’s sudden arrival.
But did the sound need to be so clear? Surely Seyard must have heard it too.
“Oh, this…..”
As Kisa averted her gaze in embarrassment, Seyard’s smile deepened.
“Come on, shall we go back? The food must be cold by now, so we’ll need to ask for it to be reheated.”
Kisa stared blankly at the hand he extended as he spoke.
“Won’t you take it?”
“Pardon?”
In truth, the two of them had never touched palms before.
Such gestures were typically reserved for romantic couples, but Kisa and Seyard weren’t lovers, were they?
“We’re engaged, so wouldn’t it be good to show some affection occasionally?”
He said with a slightly awkward expression.
“Actually, Gilliam mentioned that some of the staff are suspicious that we’re not very close. He says we always walk rather far apart even when strolling in the garden.”
“Really? I had no idea.”
Thinking about it, she hadn’t realized that lovers typically stayed physically close to each other.
Moreover, people would naturally be more relaxed in their own garden, but Kisa and Seyard seemed to have displayed only a dry demeanor.
After what happened on their engagement day, they were already supposedly in a passionate relationship, so showing no signs of affection would be enough to raise suspicions.
That won’t do. Kisa quickly placed her hand on Seyard’s.
“Let’s go then.”
She thought that while other intimate acts might be too much, they should at least hold hands from time to time.
So Kisa headed toward the dining room holding Seyard’s hand.
His hand was large and warm, with some calluses.
The feeling of his large hand enveloping her delicate one was quite distracting, but she tried her best not to be conscious of it.
Because once she became aware of it, her embarrassment would grow uncontrollably.
That wouldn’t do. The two of them planned to continue holding hands, and she couldn’t be embarrassed every time.
“The princess was too harsh. I understand she’s sensitive because of Gabriel, but to openly treat someone as a villain with two-faced intentions.”
Sitting back at the table that day, Kisa did her best to comfort Seyard.
Who was it that told Kisa she wasn’t stupid and took the lead in playing a decisive role in the broken engagement?
It was inevitable to feel indignant when such a kind-hearted Seyard was attacked over moral issues.
“Just erase any advice or counsel you received from the princess. It’s wrong to say about a person…”
‘Huh?’
Suddenly Kisa’s words stopped. She realized there was one particularly concerning statement among what the princess had said.
[Like true twins, the brothers even have identical taste in women, what a mess.]
If Kisa hadn’t misheard, Princess Arta had definitely said this just now.
Unable to understand what that meant, Kisa had to tilt her head in confusion.
By twin brothers, she must have been referring to Seyard and his older brother, Vischer Hillan.
‘But having identical taste in women?’
The princess believed that Seyard deeply loved his fiancée, Kisa.
Therefore, it was natural to assume that the “woman” in the princess’s statement about taste in women referred to Kisa.
That is, the deceased Vischer Hillan also had feelings for Kisa…
‘No, that can’t be right.’
Upon reaching that thought, she shook her head at the absurdity rising within her.
Kisa and Vischer Hillan had barely exchanged greetings; they were practically strangers with almost no connection.
There was no conceivable opportunity for Vischer to have developed any kind of attraction to Kisa.
After all, feelings develop when people meet.
After their first meeting, Kisa had consciously and unconsciously avoided the man because she felt uncomfortable around him.
It was questionable whether he had even properly recognized her existence.
Then why did the princess say such a thing? After pondering briefly, Kisa found an answer.
Having identical taste in women didn’t necessarily mean liking the same woman.
Perhaps in his lifetime, Vischer Hillan had been close to a woman with characteristics similar to Kisa’s.
If his fiancée, Princess Arta, could have Gabriel as a separate lover, there was no reason Vischer couldn’t have done the same.
Kisa glanced across at Seyard, who was eating his meal.
Honestly, she wanted to ask him about his twin brother, but she didn’t have the courage to do so.
‘It wouldn’t be polite to bring up a deceased family member out of mere curiosity, and…’
The expression he wore when the princess mentioned Vischer’s name earlier was clear in her mind.
It seemed that, as the princess had said, he didn’t particularly like his twin brother.
Given his unique upbringing, it might actually be more strange if he did like him.
Simply for being born a little earlier, Vischer had everything that Seyard didn’t, didn’t he?
‘Let’s not say anything unnecessary.’
For Kisa, Seyard’s feelings were several times more important than determining the exact meaning of the princess’s casual remark.
“Is something wrong?”
Seyard, feeling Kisa’s gaze, tilted his head to the side.
Kisa looked at him for a moment, then replied in a deliberately cheerful voice.
“It’s nothing. The food is really delicious.”
****
In the carriage returning to the palace, Arta Derbon Sorbi glared into empty space.
The person currently occupying her mind was the woman she had faced until just now, Kisa Vansfelt.
Kisa. Arta silently repeated the name in her mouth.
When she was young, she was one of the girls her mother had casually selected as potential friends for her youngest daughter.
She recalled the day she first saw Kisa.
Delicate features, deep blue eyes, and long, thick eyelashes.
When Arta first saw Kisa, she thought the child looked like a fairy from a storybook.
Kisa’s appearance was that striking.
But at least until then, Arta had merely recognized it as an objective fact, without feeling any particular emotion because of it.
Kisa was somewhat frustrating due to her excessive timidity and gentleness, but apart from that, she had no notably bad qualities and was just one of many friends who looked up to Arta.
Then one day, an event occurred that brought about a massive change in Arta’s perception.
The young princess actually had a pure liking for a certain family’s heir, whose face she could barely remember now.
His large eyes and seemingly gentle personality had captured the princess’s heart.
Arta, while pretending otherwise, would linger around the boy whenever she had a chance to meet him at social events.
That’s when she happened to overhear it. The immature conversation of boys discussing which girl among their peers was the prettiest.
The heir answering “Kisa Vansfelt” in a shy voice to his friend’s persistent questioning.
Arta felt a shock similar to having the world turned upside down.
Looking back now, it seemed ridiculous, but at the time, Arta had no doubt that she was the prettiest and cutest person in the world.
That’s what everyone around the princess had told her.
Especially her father and mother, who couldn’t contain their adoration whenever they saw their late-born daughter, often saying, “Our daughter, the most lovable in the world.”
On such occasions, everyone around would unanimously agree with the royal couple and praise Arta’s cuteness.
Naturally, Arta expected her name to come from the boys’ lips, including the heir.
But the person they all unanimously praised as pretty was Kisa.
The very child whom Arta had inwardly looked down upon for having a personality that didn’t match her appearance.
Feeling an inferiority she never expected to experience toward someone like Kisa, Arta went crying to her mother.
[Oh my, my precious daughter. Who dared to make you cry?]
The queen was startled and embraced her youngest daughter.
But after hearing Arta’s story, she chuckled and stroked her daughter’s hair.
[My darling daughter, you’re feeling unnecessary sorrow. What does it matter if the boys pick Count Vansfelt’s daughter as the prettiest? So what if the count’s daughter is prettier than you?]
[If it bothered you so much, how about trying this.]
The queen whispered in her daughter’s ear.
Her mother’s instruction was simple. The next time, unlike before, have the boys have the same conversation in front of Arta.
Arta followed her mother’s advice.
With many friends like Melissa volunteering to speak on the princess’s behalf, Arta didn’t need to ask directly.
This time, the boys’ answer was different from before.
[Of course it’s the princess! Princess Arta is the cutest and prettiest!]
Arta took their answer back to her mother.
The queen smiled as if to say “you see?” and explained:
[Who is actually prettier, what those boys truly feel inside—such things aren’t very important, my daughter.]
What truly mattered was having the power to make your name come from their lips, regardless of who was actually prettier or what the boys really thought.
[And you were born with that power. Unlike Kisa Vansfelt. Always remember that.]
It was a moment when her mother’s new teaching became an absolute compass in the princess’s life.
After that, Arta no longer felt any inferiority toward Kisa.
Appearance wasn’t particularly important.
People would glance at Kisa but ultimately praise Arta.
Except for one man, Vischer Hillan.
