IYWHM Chapter 53

The princess’s face showed shock comparable to when she first learned about Kisa and Seyard’s engagement news, or perhaps even greater.

Soon, others noticed the princess’s unusual behavior and hesitantly approached her.

“Princess?”

“What’s wrong?”

Eventually, laughter spilled from the lips of the person everyone was focusing on.

“No, I was just surprised that the engagement ceremony seems to be much grander than I expected. The Duke must really cherish Kisa.”

The princess spoke while awkwardly squinting her eyes as if trying to force a smile.

‘Grand?’

Kisa was only perplexed.

Of course, Duke Hillan’s engagement ceremony couldn’t be held modestly, so the duke’s household had paid as much attention to it as possible.

But it wasn’t a scale that would surprise the princess who had only lived surrounded by luxury, and moreover, since the preparation period was short, there were inevitably limitations.

“Ah. Suddenly, I have a migraine coming on.”

Arta abruptly touched her forehead and groaned.

“Oh my, are you in much pain?”

“I’ll send for a physician immediately.”

The ladies asked in alarm, but the princess shook her head, saying it wasn’t necessary.

“There’s no need for that. But I’m afraid we’ll have to end the tea party here. I need to go rest a bit.”

“Of course! Please rest well!”

“You’ve only recently recovered, you must have overdone it.”

“Indeed. How great your distress must be today.”

The last remark came from Lady Welf, who glanced sideways at Kisa sitting next to her.

“Well then, everyone. Please return now. As I said earlier, thank you for coming.”

“If you’re feeling unwell, please feel free to retire first.”

When one lady said this, Arta frowned, perhaps due to her headache, but waved her hand dismissively.

“As the host of this gathering, I couldn’t possibly do that. I’d like to at least watch everyone leave.”

Naturally, everyone hurriedly rose from their seats.

Though the reason wasn’t clear, it was welcome news that they could escape this uncomfortable place without any actions that might be criticized.

Kisa left the reception room following the ladies.

But in the corridor, there was a group that stopped Kisa.

“Just a moment, look here.”

It was a group of five or six women, led by Lady Welf, who were particularly loyal to the princess. Among them was also Melissa.

“Lady Vansfelt, I didn’t realize you were such a brazen person.”

“What do you mean?”

Kisa calmly asked Lady Welf, who was being quite sarcastic.

She hadn’t been particularly afraid before, but having just dealt with Princess Arta who had been tormenting her with a smile, Lady Welf seemed like a small yapping puppy.

“What? Did you really not feel anything seeing the princess crying—”

At that moment, Melissa, who was behind Lady Welf, stopped her.

“Lady, may I speak with her first?”

Karinne Welf glanced at her and readily yielded her turn.

“Fine. Perhaps she’ll listen more carefully to someone she was once close with.”

Melissa thanked her and then stood in front of Kisa.

“Kisa, if you have even a shred of conscience and remember the favors you’ve received from the princess, why don’t you cancel the engagement now?”

While Kisa was speechless at this baseless demand, Melissa confidently presented her argument.

“Duke Hillan seems to love you dearly, but how long do you think that love will last?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Love that blooms like a flame tends to fade like a flame. He fell for you just by seeing your appearance at the opera house.”

“So you’re saying it will soon disappear?”

“This is sincere advice for your own good, Kisa. Right now, the position of a duchess might seem very tempting. But you need to think about the future. Especially with the princess’s situation, how could the royal family possibly look kindly upon you? Your standing in society will be limited. It’s not too late. Return everything to how it was and apologize to the princess—”

“Enough.”

She couldn’t bear to listen anymore and cut off Melissa mid-sentence.

“I’ll handle my own affairs. You worry about yours. That’s my advice to you.”

At those words, Melissa let out a sound as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“After someone tries to give you advice out of concern, can’t you at least pretend to listen?”

“Out of concern for me? You always say that. But I don’t understand. How can you claim to care about me when you kept quiet about Daniel Lowens being intimate with another woman?”

“W-why is that suddenly being brought up here?”

Seeing Melissa visibly flustered, Kisa deliberately raised her voice.

“Actually, I was really surprised today. I didn’t know you were such a loyal person. If only you had shown me even a fraction of that loyalty.”

As this seemed to be news to them, the gathered ladies looked at Melissa with eyes full of interest.

Their gazes seemed to ask, ‘What? Weren’t they arguing over the Duke Hillan issue?’

According to what Kisa had heard from the two ladies at the Darion mansion, they believed that Melissa had fallen out with her friend while trying to stop Kisa from betraying the princess.

“Ah, but I am grateful to you in one way regarding that matter.”

“Stop it.”

“If you had told me about Daniel and that woman before their relationship deepened, we probably wouldn’t have broken off our engagement. Then Seyard wouldn’t have proposed to me, would he?”

“What?”

“Thank you. In a way, you’re the benefactor who brought me and him together.”

“Kisa!”

Kisa tried to smile as she watched Melissa fuming as if she had heard a terrible insult.

She now knew well that sometimes a bright smile can infuriate others more than an angry expression or a fierce glare. She had learned this from Daniel.

“Well, I must go now. I’m supposed to meet Seyard.”

That was half a lie. Seyard had told Kisa to go ahead if she wanted, as his business might run late, though he would have liked to return together.

“Excuse me, Lady Vansfelt.”

At that moment, Lady Welf blocked Kisa, who was about to pass through Melissa’s group.

Unlike the others who were distracted by the conversation Kisa had brought up, she hadn’t forgotten their original purpose.

“Whatever reason you two are fighting for has nothing to do with us. What’s important is that you’re currently hurting our poor princess.”

“I too am sorry about the princess’s sadness. But I’m not sure if that’s a valid reason for Lady Welf to harass me.”

“W-what did you say?”

“How long has it been since the princess asked everyone to withdraw, yet you continue to detain me? Is this truly an action taken for the princess’s sake?”

The words flowed surprisingly smoothly even to Kisa. She wondered if she had picked up some of Daniel’s smooth-talking skills from dealing with him.

“If that’s the case, the princess’s quarters are nearby and she’s suffering from a headache, so why do you keep creating situations that inevitably result in loud voices?”

“How dare you, acting so…”

Lady Welf seethed with an angry face, but she seemed unable to come up with an immediate rebuttal.

Furthermore, after hearing the conversation, she seemed to realize she might be committing an impropriety in the royal palace, as she anxiously glanced around.

“Fine, I understand.”

In the end, she was the one who decided to back down first. Lady Welf said, grinding her teeth:

“We’ll see about this later. I’ll be watching to see how well you fare after making the princess cry.”

Soon after, she led the other women away with determined strides.

Melissa, seeming reluctant to leave, looked back until the last moment before finally disappearing with the group.

Phew, left alone, Kisa sighed.

She had worried she might face humiliation surrounded by many people again, but somehow that crisis was averted.

She should wait a little longer before leaving to avoid running into those who had departed earlier. Just as Kisa was standing there absentmindedly with that thought in mind:

“Excuse me, Lady Vansfelt.”

A palace servant who had somehow approached Kisa said with proper etiquette.

“The princess wishes to meet with you privately.”

****

A moment later, Kisa was alone with the princess in the reception room where she had been with others just a short while ago.

She hadn’t expected that the princess would still be here.

Moreover, while Kisa was delayed arguing with the others in the corridor, the princess had been waiting here the entire time.

She couldn’t even guess what had made the haughty princess do such a thing.

Bang! Suddenly, the princess struck the table hard.

On it lay the engagement ceremony invitation that Kisa had given her earlier.

“What are you plotting?”

Bewildered by the princess’s informal speech that she had never heard before, Kisa was glared at as the princess muttered ominously.

“I asked what you’re plotting. What was your intention in giving me this invitation?”

“Pardon? Plotting?”

“You can say that after giving me this?”

With a fierce look, Kisa hurriedly examined the invitation on the table.

But no matter how many times she looked at it, it was the same invitation she knew, except for slightly crumpled corners, perhaps due to the princess’s actions.

It contained only basic information about the engagement ceremony, including Kisa and Seyard’s profiles, the date, venue, and so on.

She couldn’t even guess which part had made the princess so angry.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand.”

At Kisa’s best possible answer, Arta brought her face close and examined Kisa’s eyes, as if trying to read her hidden intentions.

“……”

“……”

A suffocating time passed. After a silence that might have been seconds or minutes, the princess spoke.

“So, you’re saying you don’t know.”

She changed her attitude instantly.

“Very well. You may go now, Kisa.”

She was the usual princess that Kisa knew.

Somewhat dumbfounded, Kisa left the reception room.

Although Seyard wasn’t there, his carriage took her home.

And the next day, a letter arrived.

It was a letter announcing that the youngest princess would attend their engagement ceremony.