“Hello, Lady Welf.”
Kisa first greeted the person who had addressed her and then turned her gaze to the person standing beside her.
“And Lady Clifford. I didn’t know both of you would be here today.”
Lady Welf, still wearing what seemed like a mocking smile, answered.
“Indeed. I also didn’t expect to see Lady Vansfelt in a place like this.”
Was it my imagination, or did she put particular emphasis on the words “in a place like this”?
Well, these two, including Melissa, were among the members of the tea party who followed the princess more enthusiastically than others.
Even though they had all been laughing and chatting together the last time they met, it was natural for them to harbor resentment toward Kisa now.
To them, Kisa was a traitor who had stolen the man who was to become the fiancé of the princess they so admired.
This had become annoying. Their raised eyebrows suggested they had been bottling up their feelings for quite some time.
Kisa glanced around, but couldn’t see the hosts of the concert, the Duke and Duchess of Darion.
It seemed they were greeting guests in the reception hall rather than at the entrance of the mansion.
‘If the Duke and his wife had been nearby, I could have used greeting them as an excuse to escape this situation…’
That was impossible in a situation where only the servants of the Duke’s household were guiding guests to the reception hall.
There was no choice. Although the conversation didn’t seem to be over, she had to force her way through.
“Anyway, it was nice to see you both. I hope you both enjoy yourselves. See you next time.”
Just as Kisa quickly bade farewell and tried to pass by the two women—
“Just a moment, Lady Vansfelt.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Let’s finish our conversation.”
They joined forces to block Kisa’s path.
Strictly speaking, it was against etiquette, but since they and Kisa were, at least nominally, friends who had grown up together, it was difficult to be strict about it.
“But the concert will start soon.”
“Don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time. Enough to share the stories we haven’t been able to tell.”
Lady Welf snickered as she took out her pendant pocket watch to confirm the time.
Damn, if she had known this would happen, she should have spent more time with Seyard in the garden before coming in.
It was a moment when she regretted her past self for being unnecessarily sensitive about time appointments and politely declining Seyard’s suggestion to stroll a bit more.
“Why didn’t you come last time?”
Kisa’s eyes widened at Lady Clifford’s question.
“What do you mean, didn’t come?”
“When we all visited the palace a few days ago to check on the princess’s health.”
Health check? Princess Arta had once been bedridden because of her fiancé’s death, but from the context, it didn’t seem like they were referring to that time.
Moreover, there had been no instance then when the members of the tea party had gathered to visit her together.
“Is the princess ill?”
“My goodness! Lady Vansfelt, you didn’t know?”
Lady Welf raised a fuss, placing her hand over her mouth.
“She took to her sickbed again not long after resuming her social activities. I suppose it’s only natural, given that she experienced another shocking event after already having gone through such hardship.”
Kisa didn’t need to hear what that shocking event was to understand. What else could it be but the announcement of Kisa and Seyard’s engagement?
“Ah, poor soul. Why does misfortune keep befalling the princess?”
“Indeed. Such a kind and caring person.”
Faced with the two who acted as if they might burst into tears at any moment, Kisa was at a loss for words.
“I hate to say this, but Lady Vansfelt, you have quite a cold-hearted side.”
The arrow was going to fly this way even if she didn’t speak first.
Lady Welf asked in a somewhat sharp tone.
“How could you not visit the princess even once? That’s too much.”
“I didn’t know. Neither that the princess was ill, nor that all of you went to check on her together.”
There hadn’t been any such rumors circulating, nor had she received any special notification.
Moreover, she still hadn’t received a reply to the greeting she had previously sent to the princess.
However, Lady Clifford tilted her head as if that couldn’t be true.
“That’s strange. Lady Dos definitely said she conveyed the message to Lady Vansfelt. She also urged you to come along to check on her.”
“No. I never received such a contact.”
As for Melissa’s letters, they came in such mountains that it was overwhelming, but in the end, she had opened and skimmed through all of them.
However, most of them were excuses for her own wrongdoing and inquiries about how on earth Kisa had become involved with Duke Hillan.
If there had been words like “princess” or “health check,” Kisa wouldn’t have failed to remember.
There was, however, one thing that bothered her.
Due to Melissa sending so many unwelcome letters, Kisa had decided to reject any future letters from her.
“I returned some of Lady Dos’s letters, so perhaps it was in one of those.”
Kisa considered for a moment before admitting this fact.
After all, if the other ladies of the gathering had met once during that time, they would know that the relationship between Kisa and Melissa had soured.
As expected, the two didn’t show any surprise upon hearing that Kisa had returned Melissa’s letters.
Lady Welf merely shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, we only heard from Lady Dos that she contacted you but was ignored.”
“Did Lady Dos really say that?”
“Yes, something to that effect, I believe.”
If that was true, it felt nothing but malicious.
Even if the letters were returned, Melissa had plenty of other means to deliver urgent news to Kisa.
Couldn’t she just send someone to convey a message?
But Melissa didn’t do that, and besides, it seemed she had left these people to misunderstand as they pleased.
“Speaking of which, is it true that you severed your relationship with Lady Dos over this engagement issue?”
“Pardon?”
“When we asked why the two of you had fallen out, Lady Dos said there were differences of opinion regarding the princess.”
By this point, it was so absurd it was laughable.
“No. The reason Lady Dos and I drifted apart has nothing to do with the engagement.”
“Really? Then what about the story related to the princess?”
Certainly, one of the things that had disappointed Kisa about Melissa was how she had blabbed to the princess about Kisa and Daniel on her own accord.
But the fundamental reason was something else.
Melissa knew about Daniel’s intimate relationship with Hazel but concealed that fact from Kisa.
Moreover, even after being caught in her wrongdoing, she never once offered a genuine apology.
Kisa conveyed her thoughts exactly as they were.
“The princess has little to do with it. Regardless of her, we were destined to end up like this sooner or later. I considered Lady Dos a true friend, but she didn’t feel the same way.”
Lady Welf rolled her eyes.
“Are you saying it’s Lady Dos’s fault?”
“I won’t deny it.”
“…Lady Vansfelt, I’ve misjudged you greatly. I thought you would at least be too ashamed to face us.”
Lady Clifford chimed in.
“How can you be so brazen? Do you truly have no sense of remorse towards the princess?”
As their voices grew louder, the attention of guests still heading towards the reception hall turned to them.
In fact, many had already been glancing at Kisa, who had become a celebrity alongside Seyard, but now they openly stopped to watch the three ladies.
‘This is exactly why I wanted to avoid this…’
Faced with those loudly condemning her, Kisa had to swallow a sigh of perplexity.
Generally, it was considered embarrassing for nobles to openly quarrel in front of others.
But these two had the justification of acting for the princess—that is, loyalty to the royal family.
Even if it was excessive loyalty, it could still be viewed as a virtue.
The two seemed upset that Kisa, whom they probably expected would offer little rebuttal, was denying each accusation one by one, but she couldn’t just silently listen to what they were saying either.
If she had, Kisa would have become a shameless person who knew the princess was ill but didn’t visit her, and who abandoned her friend because she was blinded by a man.
It was truly a dilemma. As she spoke, she regretted not pretending to be ill to avoid the conversation altogether, after finding herself responding to each absurd statement.
Although she had resolved not to avoid problematic situations after the incident with Daniel, this wasn’t just a matter of her own honor.
As someone engaged to the Duke of Hillan, if Kisa’s reputation was tarnished, it would negatively affect Seyard as well.
Moreover, hadn’t she come here with him?
“Listen, everyone. The concert will be starting soon—”
Just as Kisa was trying to calm them down, a familiar voice came from behind.
“Excuse me, ladies.”
Seyard, who had somehow approached them, put his arm around Kisa’s waist.
“May I have my fiancée back now?”
While Kisa stiffened at the sudden contact, Seyard naturally led her towards the reception hall.
“Come, let’s go. We’ll be late at this rate.”
It was before he could even hear a response from those he had just asked for understanding.
“Just a moment, Your Grace!”
But Lady Welf called out, and Seyard only slightly turned his head to gaze at her.
She seemed a bit nervous, but bravely blurted out what she wanted to say.
“Isn’t there someone else you should be concerned about right now?”
Her tone was desperate, as if hoping that the princess’s foolish match would finally come to his senses.
Kisa had no idea how he would respond to this startling question.
Would he ignore it? Show his displeasure? Or calmly refute it with logical words?
However, Seyard Hillan was someone who made all such expectations futile.
“Well…”
He lowered his head to drop his lips on Kisa’s hair and said in a sweet voice:
“Being born a man, could there be anyone in this world I should care about more than the woman I love beyond measure?”
It was a moment when Kisa’s body became even more rigid.
