In the blink of an eye, the day Kisa had to attend the princess’s tea party arrived.
During that time, Kisa spent her days either exposing her affectionate relationship with Seyard to numerous people while dating or preparing for the upcoming engagement ceremony.
Daniel had sent several letters claiming he would arrange for her to meet a witness who knew about Seyard’s past, but she merely skimmed through them and ignored them all.
She would trust the Seyard she had come to know. That was Kisa’s conclusion.
“You look lovely today, Kisa.”
Those were the first words Seyard uttered when he visited the Vansfelt townhouse on a sunny afternoon.
As Marsha blushed at the romantic gesture beside her, Kisa deliberately lowered her gaze and murmured.
“Oh, Seyard…”
After the concert held at the Darion mansion, he occasionally blurted out words he had used that day to escape troublesome questions.
He claimed it was for a more perfect performance, but judging by his smile that seemed to deepen whenever Kisa showed embarrassment, it was clearly meant to tease her.
This revealed another fact about Seyard Hillan. He had quite a mischievous personality.
“Have a good day, miss!”
“Yes, see you later.”
After saying goodbye to Marsha, Kisa left the mansion with Seyard.
While walking to the gate where the Duke Hillan’s carriage was parked, Seyard lowered his voice and asked.
“Are you very nervous?”
Kisa answered weakly.
“Honestly, I can’t say I’m not. I wonder how the princess will react…”
The two ladies she had met at the recent concert had been so hostile to Kisa for the princess’s sake, so she couldn’t even imagine how the princess herself would be.
Moreover, Melissa, with whom her relationship had soured, would also be at the tea party, and the other ladies would surely side with the princess, not Kisa.
The thought of sitting around a table with several people who held animosity toward her and having to eat refreshments made her wonder if everything would get stuck in her throat.
Above all, she felt uneasy thinking about the sense of loss Princess Arta must be feeling.
Although she had exposed Kisa and Daniel’s affair on her own, her affection for her deceased fiancé seemed genuine.
Hadn’t she secluded herself in the palace, ceasing all social activities after Vischer Hillan’s death?
‘She’s also lost weight.’
Perhaps the princess had tried to comfort her grief by marrying Seyard, who greatly resembled her fiancé.
Of course, even though they were twins, they were clearly different people, so it couldn’t be said to be the right method, but it might have been desperate for her.
Apart from not regretting accepting Seyard’s contract marriage proposal, Kisa was inwardly concerned about this aspect of the princess.
Would it be selfish to wish that she could break free from the past and find new love?
“Here, Kisa.”
At that moment, Seyard, who had reached the carriage, extended his hand to escort her.
However, when Kisa took his hand, he gazed at her intently.
Looking at the puzzled Kisa, Seyard applied just enough pressure on her hand not to hurt her.
“Don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”
Facing his gentle smile, she recalled when he had said the same words before.
It was what he had told her just before they parted ways on the day she first learned about Seyard’s identity.
Those words had given courage to Kisa when she was trying to escape from Daniel, who had angrily visited the Vansfelt mansion after their engagement was broken.
It was because of that gentle encouragement that she had been able to say what she wanted to say.
And now too, somehow, she felt that everything would be fine as he said.
Although it was just a vague feeling without any clear basis, she felt that way.
“You’re right. Everything will be fine.”
So Kisa replied with the answer she couldn’t give then, raising the corners of her mouth.
In the carriage heading to the palace, Seyard, sitting opposite Kisa, suggested an extremely simple solution.
“Just hand over the invitation and leave immediately.”
“No, that’s a bit…”
Saying so, Kisa fidgeted with the handbag placed on her lap.
The invitation he mentioned was inside this bag. It was the invitation to their engagement ceremony.
For reference, other invitations for guests selected by Kisa and Seyard were being delivered collectively by the Hillan ducal house.
But this one card that Kisa had specially brought out, she wanted to hand to the princess personally.
If it had to be given anyway, it seemed more courteous to give it by her own hand while inviting her.
Despite the uncomfortable circumstances involved, it would be inappropriate not to invite a direct royal family member to the engagement ceremony of someone as significant as the Duke of Hillan.
It was proper to extend the invitation even if the princess chose not to attend.
Facing Kisa, who had a determined look, Seyard advised.
“Staying there longer will only make it harder for you. It’s better to just accomplish your purpose quickly and leave.”
While it wasn’t wrong, how could she abruptly leave a tea party she was invited to by the princess without permission?
“You can feign illness. Or say that an urgent matter has come up.”
As if reading Kisa’s thoughts, Seyard made improper suggestions with a calm face.
“Ah, or it wouldn’t be bad to say that I called for you.”
“That’s also…”
“Kisa, just leave the aftermath to me. I’ll take care of everything.”
It was an incredibly attractive proposal, just like his smiling face.
However, Kisa firmly shook her head.
“No. I can’t always depend on Seyard.”
After all, she couldn’t live comfortably under his shadow forever.
Although it might be far in the future, Kisa needed to think about life after parting with Seyard.
Their relationship was fundamentally established based on a contract with a set ending.
Of course, a significant amount of human connection had built up between them, but he was a man carrying the burden of a great family and would eventually need to marry and have heirs.
Kisa’s role was to faithfully perform the duties of a wife until he found a woman he liked, and then quietly disappear to live her own life.
‘Seyard told me I could leave first if I ever wanted a different life, but how could I do that after all the kindness he’s shown me?’
When Kisa disappeared, he would immediately face marriage pressure from those around him, and leaving the position of duchess vacant would be troublesome in many ways.
At least until he found someone to fill the duchess position as if taking turns…
For some reason, she suddenly felt pain in her solar plexus.
After briefly searching for the reason, Kisa concluded it was due to imagining a future that seemed so bleak.
That was because parting with Seyard meant facing the world alone.
Count Vansfelt would never forgive a daughter who divorced at her own whim, and Kisa had no intention whatsoever of returning to the Vansfelt family.
She would live freely in a new life.
To achieve that grand dream, she needed to diligently prepare to stand on her own.
‘When I marry Seyard, I’ll try to learn various things.’
Currently, with her father’s watchful eye, it was difficult to do anything frivolous, but Seyard had promised to provide Kisa with freedom. He said he wouldn’t interfere with her private life as long as she fulfilled her role as duchess.
So she planned to figure out means to support herself while staying at the Hillan ducal house.
Her top priority was to develop the ability to take care of herself before the contract period ended.
‘If I can do that…’
She would be able to live a life of her own, not possessed by either Count Vansfelt or Daniel.
Kisa tried to suppress her inner anxiety by deliberately envisioning a positive future.
Soon after, her tense solar plexus returned to its normal state.
“……”
“……”
But then her eyes met those of the man who had been observing her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Thinking he might have something to say, she asked, and Seyard shrugged.
“Nothing special, just that you often get lost in thought like now, and I was wondering what might be in that small head of yours during those times.”
“Oh, I’m sorry if it bothered you. I’ve been told many times that I get lost in my own thoughts too often.”
“Is that necessarily wrong? Besides, I enjoy watching your face when you’re deep in thought.”
“…Do I make funny expressions?”
“Not at all. I meant it’s interesting to see your expressions change little by little from moment to moment.”
Whether that was truly interesting or not, she figured it must be if Seyard said so.
‘But it’s going to make me self-conscious from now on…’
The thought of someone watching her face closely made her nervous. It would be difficult to get lost in thought in front of him from now on.
Meanwhile, the carriage arrived at the palace.
Seyard, who escorted Kisa when getting off just as he had when getting on, spoke in a regretful voice.
“I need to go this way.”
In an awkward coincidence, he also had business at the palace on the same day as Kisa.
The king had summoned him again. Although Kisa hadn’t heard the exact number from Seyard, this wasn’t the first time he had been called to the palace.
After all, it wasn’t only the princess who was upset by Seyard’s sudden engagement announcement.
The king had been bothering Seyard with all sorts of reasons that he would have normally overlooked.
Even if he was at the pinnacle of a country, he had no right to force the marriage of the Duke of Hillan, so it was a kind of venting.
“Good luck!”
“You too. And remember. Just quickly hand over the invitation and come back.”
After parting with Seyard, who repeated the same advice as before, Kisa headed to the princess’s palace.
Soon after, as she entered the reception room, several cold gazes fixed on her.
The women who had been chattering until then all closed their mouths at once and stared at Kisa.
