Kisa looked at Seyard. Previously, when he first visited the Vansfelt mansion, she had only caught a glimpse of his surprised face.
Ah, so this was the expression he made when encountering something unexpected.
The fact that she had evoked such an emotion from the great Seyard made a strange sense of pride bloom like a wildflower in Kisa’s heart.
“Kisa!”
However, there were too many people here besides the two of them to simply stand there admiring his face.
“My goodness, to see you in a place like this.”
The princess exclaimed with delight as she grabbed both of Kisa’s hands.
“Are you alright? Is it okay for you to be out like this?”
Kisa met the princess’s eyes and nodded.
“Yes, it’s all thanks to your concern, Princess.”
“Not at all. I hardly did anything. Anyway, you must have gone through such a difficult time, but thank you for coming back, Kisa.”
Arta spread her arms and embraced Kisa. The scent of her favorite perfume tickled Kisa’s nose. Despite feeling slightly awkward, Kisa hugged her back.
“Princess, you must have had it much harder than I did….Thank you so much for welcoming me so warmly.”
The body in her embrace had gained some weight since their last meeting, but was still rather thin.
It was just a few days ago that the princess had begun to return to social activities after withdrawing from society due to her fiancé’s sudden death.
At that time, Kisa had entered into seclusion due to her broken engagement, as if taking turns with the princess, and had only congratulated Arta’s return through letters.
In any case, people praised the princess’s silk-like tenderness for worrying about her friend first, despite having experienced an even greater tragedy herself.
“Oh, that’s our princess.”
“How can she be so kind?”
“She truly can’t ignore people in difficulty.”
“Her honesty with her emotions is so charming.”
To Kisa, it seemed half sincere and half flattery.
Kisa suddenly wondered how this gentle warmth embracing her, these warm gazes, would change later. Would they turn into cold daggers after her engagement to Seyard was announced?
A while later, the two women faced each other again. Even after their affectionate embrace ended, Princess Arta gave her friend a tender look and said:
“I have so much I want to talk about with Kisa.”
“As do I.”
“But right now, I need to greet others…”
“I’ll visit you separately another time. We can’t keep all these people waiting.”
Behind Kisa, many people were eagerly waiting for a chance to exchange even a single word with the precious princess.
Moreover, her companion was Duke Hillan. Having the chance to greet the two most prominent figures at this party was well worth the wait.
For a moment, Kisa wondered how she should react if Arta introduced Seyard to her. Should she pretend it was their first meeting since this was a public place, or…
However, it turned out to be a needless worry. The princess showed no intention of introducing Kisa and Seyard to each other.
Hmm. After pondering briefly, she pointed her index finger somewhere in the banquet hall.
“Instead, let’s talk in the lounge over there. After the party starts and Count Habertz finishes his opening speech, meet me in the lounge right away.”
“Yes, understood.”
At Kisa’s response, the princess smiled brightly and stroked her friend’s soft cheek with her hand.
“Anyway, I’m so glad to see you like this. I was worried, but you look healthier than I expected. My lovely Kisa.”
“…I’m glad too, Princess. And I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Not at all. Well then, see you in a bit.”
Thus ended the conversation between the two. After making way for those behind her, Kisa slipped away from the crowd that had gathered to greet the princess.
“……”
“……”
During this time, she felt as though her eyes met Seyard’s for just a fraction of a moment.
However, it was only for the blink of an eye, and his figure quickly disappeared from Kisa’s view, hidden by the crowd.
“Miss, did you have a good conversation with the princess?”
Richard asked when Kisa returned to her original spot. Come to think of it, the moment she saw the princess and Seyard, she had left to greet them without paying any attention to Richard, her partner.
Feeling embarrassed about this fact, Kisa apologized.
“I’m sorry, Richard. I should have gone with you. I could have introduced you to the Princess…”
Richard waved his hands in alarm.
“Are you joking? How could someone like me possibly… with the Princess. If you had really done that, I might have died from my heart pounding.”
“But Richard is my partner.”
“Well, even though it’s proper etiquette to introduce your partner at such occasions, that only applies when the ranks match.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. So you don’t need to introduce me to anyone. In fact, it’s better that way.”
Suddenly, her gaze drifted to Arta in the distance, who was still greeting people.
Though she was too far away to see her expression, the princess was pointing to Seyard, who stood beside her, while having a lengthy conversation with some noblewoman.
Following this, Seyard and the noblewoman exchanged greetings.
Because there were so many people wanting to greet Princess Arta and Duke Hillan, the charity party started about 10 minutes later than scheduled.
Of course, no one would blame the princess and duke for this, and Count Habertz rather delivered his opening speech with a delighted expression.
“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has joined us today…”
What greater honor could there be for a party host than having the noble princess and Duke Hillan, currently the kingdom’s most talked-about figure, personally attend and grace the occasion?
The fact that many guests were desperate to greet them seemed to elevate the count’s pride even further.
As soon as the opening speech ended, Kisa headed to the lounge the princess had indicated.
“I’ll wait here.”
“Yes, see you later.”
After parting with Richard at the entrance, she entered the lounge and met eyes with two middle-aged noblewomen.
Perhaps because the party had just begun, there were only two people in the fairly spacious lounge.
“Oh, Lady Vansfelt.”
“Hello, both of you.”
“Yes, how are you, Lady?”
“I’m well, thank you.”
Since they were only slightly acquainted, the conversation died after exchanging these perfunctory greetings.
Feeling somewhat awkward, Kisa sat in one of the lined-up chairs to wait for Arta, while the two noblewomen whispered in voices only they could hear.
Though they weren’t particularly glancing this way, they were probably talking about Kisa. Perhaps they were clicking their tongues at her brazenness for calmly attending a party hosted by her former fiancé’s relative.
While Kisa was lost in such thoughts, the door swung open and Arta entered the lounge.
“Kisa, did you wait long?”
At the princess’s sudden appearance, the two noblewomen, unlike before, hurriedly rose from their seats.
“Welcome, Princess.”
“Oh my, Lady Vansfelt was waiting for the Princess.”
Since both had already made their presence known before the party began, no lengthy greetings were exchanged.
“Oh, you two were here. But I’m sorry…”
Arta said with an expression that didn’t look particularly sorry.
“I have something I’d like to discuss privately with my friend Kisa. Could you give us some space?”
“What? Oh, yes! Of course we should!”
“Please have a comfortable conversation with your friend.”
Though their expressions suggested they were internally curious about what conversation the princess and Kisa would have, the two noblewomen hurriedly left the lounge.
Once only the two remained in the room, the princess approached Kisa and made her sit back down in her chair.
“Kisa, I have so many things I want to ask.”
She must have many questions indeed. In fact, even in her letters, she hadn’t hidden her desire to know how Kisa’s engagement had been broken off.
Kisa had avoided answering by making excuses that she didn’t know much since her father had handled the engagement matter entirely.
Since it was true that the count had handled everything, she planned to dodge the question in the same way if the princess asked again.
“Yes, you may ask anything.”
But the princess didn’t repeat her previous questions.
“Is it true that you might become the queen of Chamal?”
“……”
Melissa’s face came to mind. She was the only one who could have passed this false information to the princess.
To be honest, there was nothing new to be disappointed about with Melissa at this point.
She was just a bit stunned by the boldness of spreading unconfirmed information even to a princess of the country.
Of course, even if Melissa had done so, Kisa couldn’t also spread incorrect information.
“No, Princess. There’s no such thing.”
“Really?”
“Of course. How could I dare lie?”
Arta stared intently into Kisa’s eyes, as if trying to gauge whether what she had just heard was really true.
“It’s really not true?”
“Yes, I can swear to it.”
How much time had passed? The princess finally withdrew her gaze and spoke in a cheerful voice.
“Alright. I’ll believe you, Kisa. That’s a relief. I was worried because I heard strange things from Melissa.”
As expected, the culprit was the person she had suspected.
“For some reason, it seems Melissa had a strange misunderstanding. She came to ask me before too, and I clearly told her it wasn’t true, but…”
“Oh my, I wonder how such a misunderstanding arose?”
The princess tilted her head briefly, then grabbed the doorknob.
“Anyway, I should go now. There are unnecessarily many people looking for me. Let’s talk again next time.”
After saying this, Arta left the lounge.
As the tension released, Kisa sighed. Then she felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
She had a feeling she had forgotten something, but what was it?
****
Achoo!
At that time, a man standing absently in the Habertz family’s garden sneezed.
“Kisa…”
It had been forty minutes since he started waiting here. There was still no sign of the person he was waiting for.
