Anyway, Kisa answered his question.
“Well, I was a bit surprised, but I’m fine. You did mention that the person you have feelings for is a noble. I never imagined they would be a guest invited to my engagement ceremony.”
In all likelihood, Gabriel had expected that by providing limited information, Kisa would naturally assume that person was just one of the many guests, which is why he opened up about his feelings.
‘I’ll just pretend I don’t know for now.’
Unless Gabriel himself decided to tell her, Kisa showing that she knew would just be meddling.
Actually, what concerned her more was what she had just learned from their conversation. Gabriel was leaving this country for good.
“What do you mean by not coming back? Are you planning to settle in Octava?”
Gabriel nodded without hesitation.
“I’ll live there pursuing music for the rest of my life, just as I’ve always dreamed. There’s no better place for that than the capital of Octava.”
His light-colored eyes revealed his determination to bury his unrequited love in his heart forever.
The young genius had apparently made a firm decision to choose his dream over love.
‘Yes, that might be better.’
From what she had observed before, Seyard didn’t seem to have that kind of interest in Gabriel at all.
Leaving to pursue his dreams was a much wiser choice than continuing to hold onto a hopeless love.
There’s a saying that distance creates emotional distance too.
Just as Kisa had put an end to her decade-long unrequited love for Daniel, Gabriel too would someday be able to move beyond Seyard’s shadow.
Of course, since Seyard was such a good person—almost unfair to compare with Daniel—it would take much longer.
In any case, as a third party, all Kisa could do was hope that Gabriel would soon find closure.
“Oh my… I just realized how absurd this must sound to Lady Vansfelt. At such an important occasion for both of you, I’m saying I’ll perform with my personal feelings!”
At that moment, perhaps misinterpreting Kisa’s silence, Gabriel’s face turned pale.
“I’m truly sorry. I’ve been so distracted that I’ve committed a terrible impropriety. The Duke is a benefactor who has shown me kindness I could never repay in a lifetime, and yet I dare to…”
“No! I’m fine with it. And Seyard probably wouldn’t mind such things either.”
Kisa quickly calmed the man whose thoughts seemed prone to extreme directions.
“Whatever your feelings are, just doing your best is what matters. It’s your performance after all, and I really enjoy Gabriel Williams’ playing.”
“…Thank you for saying that.”
His eyes seemed to shimmer slightly at those sincere words.
“Still, I’ll try to restrain my emotions as much as possible for this performance.”
“Come on, your emotionally rich performances are quite wonderful too.”
“That’s too generous, but these are feelings I’ll have to abandon eventually. I might as well practice doing so.”
His profile as he gazed at the entrance of the reception hall, still empty of guests, looked infinitely lonely.
May he continue to share his beautiful music with many people, even from far away.
With that wish, Kisa left Gabriel’s side.
Contrary to Seyard’s concerns, the engagement ceremony preparations proceeded smoothly thanks to the servants. Fortunately, there were no exceptional situations requiring Kisa’s intervention.
About an hour before the engagement ceremony, the final preparations were completed, and guests began arriving at the Hillan mansion one by one.
Except for Princess Arta who had arrived abnormally early, the first guest to reach the reception hall was Count Vansfelt.
Well, as a family member of one of the parties involved, perhaps he couldn’t be considered a pure guest.
“Congratulations. However, don’t let your guard down and be careful with your behavior. Those who don’t look kindly upon you are desperate to find even the smallest fault.”
Yet, as soon as he saw Kisa, he offered words too austere for a father whose daughter was getting engaged. His warnings were much longer than his congratulations.
‘Well, that’s very fatherly of him.’
Even if he had suddenly shown warm words or affectionate glances now, Kisa would have found it uncomfortable rather than touching.
For reference, Kisa’s younger brother, Julian Vansfelt, who was studying in another region, was not scheduled to attend from the beginning.
Since Kisa and Seyard were planning to marry within half a year at the latest, they would see him soon enough, and Count Vansfelt didn’t particularly welcome his son coming to the capital.
The reason was that with many entertainment options in the capital, it wasn’t a good environment for his son who lacked self-control.
While Julian had inherited his father’s rigid personality, he hadn’t inherited his iron will.
In simple terms, he was somewhat like the Count but with a weaker sense of self.
That’s not to say he engaged in dissolute behavior, and his tendency to be distracted was similar to others his age.
However, he couldn’t meet the Count’s high standards, so the Count had sent Julian to a place with little entertainment. As an extra measure, he had assigned a servant to watch over him.
Anyway, Kisa didn’t feel particularly sad about his absence, as their relationship wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t especially good either.
“Where is Duke Hillan?”
Having said all he needed to say to his daughter, the Count looked around for Seyard, who wasn’t in the reception hall.
“Princess Arta arrived before the reception hall preparations were complete, so we escorted her to the drawing room. The Duke went to see the Princess…”
Still, it was about time he returned to greet the guests together.
As the master of the mansion, it would be too much for Kisa to handle the guests alone.
“Oh, here he comes with the Princess.”
Just then, Seyard and the Princess entered the reception hall side by side.
Kisa approached them to greet the Princess.
“Princess, it’s an honor to have you here. I hope you will be comfortable today.”
Though she maintained outward courtesy and appeared genuinely pleased, her shoulders naturally shrank as she recalled the humiliation she had experienced at the previous tea party.
She was even more afraid because she still didn’t know why the Princess had chosen to attend.
Had she come to ruin Kisa’s mood with sharp words or subtle mockery?
Kisa looked at her with tense eyes.
“Ah, yes. Congratulations on your engagement, Kisa.”
But Arta’s response to Kisa’s greeting was strangely perfunctory.
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
“The weather is nice, and it looks like it will be a wonderful engagement ceremony.”
What’s going on? It didn’t seem like she was pretending to be indifferent to express displeasure.
Though clearly conversing with Kisa, her eyes busily scanned the reception hall, as if she had no interest in Kisa.
“Princess, is there anything you need?”
“No, I’m fine. But the interior decoration is quite impressive. May I look around on my own?”
Since it wasn’t really a question seeking permission, the Princess moved away before Kisa could answer.
Soon, she began wandering around the reception hall.
Other guests who had arrived recognized the Princess’s presence and greeted her, but she seemed to barely acknowledge them.
Kisa went to Seyard, who had been dealing with the Princess until just now, and asked about the reason, but he shrugged as if he didn’t know either.
“I wonder. Perhaps she lost something?”
Kisa wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but his voice sounded slightly amused.
After a while, the Princess, who had stopped her unexpected movements, came back to where Kisa and Seyard were.
“You two…”
Unlike before, her face now clearly showed that she was displeased.
“Yes, Princess. Please speak.”
Seyard’s manner of dealing with the Princess, without the slightest sign of intimidation and even with a faint smile, impressed Kisa.
The hall became somewhat noisy with murmurs.
The guests, who were already surprised by the fact that none other than Princess Arta had come, focused their attention on the three people gathered in one place.
Perhaps aware of their interest, Arta, who seemed to have something to say, deliberately relaxed her tense expression.
“Congratulations on your engagement again. Wow, I wish the engagement ceremony would start soon. I’m looking forward to it.”
The Princess, who had clearly uttered sarcasm instead of what she truly wanted to say, then turned around abruptly and headed to her designated seat.
For Kisa, she couldn’t grasp what was happening at all since earlier.
Why was the Princess behaving strangely? What could have captured her attention?
With these questions lingering in her mind, Kisa examined every corner of the reception hall in between greeting other guests.
It felt like doing so might help her guess the Princess’s true feelings.
But no matter how many times she looked around, not a single plausible guess came to mind.
Instead, she noticed something completely unrelated.
‘Huh? Where did Gabriel go?’
Gabriel, who had been there until Kisa was talking with Count Vansfelt, was now nowhere to be seen.
Wondering if Seyard might know, she asked him, and he told her Gabriel’s whereabouts.
“He’s waiting in a separate space. Rather than the bustling reception hall busy with engagement preparations, wouldn’t it be better for concentration to be alone in a quiet place?”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
Also, to avoid any guests bothering Gabriel, who had recently gained fame, he was scheduled to move to another location when the guests started arriving.
‘Even with all the engagement preparations, he still thinks of such details.’
As Kisa was once again impressed by Seyard’s thoughtfulness, Lily came to the reception hall and announced:
“Miss, it’s time to change into your dress.”
The time for the engagement ceremony to begin had already arrived.
