IYWHM Chapter 99

“…….”

Although it was a situation where she should respond to the Duke’s apology, strangely, Kisa couldn’t say anything.

She couldn’t utter words to accept his apology or express regret about her soiled dress.

When she met the reddish-brown eyes behind those glasses, she couldn’t move at all, like a small animal captured by a predator.

Her hand, tightly gripping the reddened hem of her dress, trembled slightly. For some reason, she was certain.

That this was absolutely not an accident.

It wasn’t simply that the Duke’s face didn’t look apologetic at all. He was famous for showing minimal facial expressions anyway.

Rather, it was a more fundamental issue.

Although it was just a fleeting moment, Kisa felt a certain emotion in the Duke’s eyes as he looked down at her disheveled state.

Something like satisfaction.

“Oh my goodness!”

Just then, a sudden shout brought Kisa out of her thoughts.

“Lady Vansfelt! Are you alright?”

The young lady who had been conversing with her earlier approached Kisa and asked if she was hurt.

Kisa replied with a somewhat dazed expression that she was fine. The dress, completely soaked with wine spilled by Duke Hillan, was not so fortunate.

The young lady looked at Kisa’s dress and put her hand to her own cheek as if she felt the regret herself.

“What a terrible thing.”

Kisa also looked at her dress with despairing eyes.

Since it was originally a light-colored dress, there was little chance that the intense red stains would completely disappear even with the best cleaning.

As the daughter of a noble family, she couldn’t possibly go around dressed like that, so this dress would at best be relegated to the wardrobe.

Thinking about it made her eyes sting.

‘And I wore it for the first time today…’

The precious dress that Daniel had personally selected and sent as a gift was now ruined.

And with a color resembling this man’s hair, no less.

“It was entirely my fault, so I will certainly compensate you.”

Duke Hillan, who had clearly spilled the wine deliberately, expressed his intention to make amends with his customary precise and polite manner.

“If the lady wishes, I will procure an identical dress by whatever means necessary.”

What nonsense about an identical dress. Even if the same tailor made an exact replica with completely identical materials, it wouldn’t be the one Daniel had gifted her.

That dress which had made Kisa infinitely happy was gone forever.

However, it was not in Kisa’s current position to reveal even a hint of her uncomfortable feelings.

How could she say anything disagreeable when the great Duke of Hillan was apologizing and even offering compensation?

No, even if he hadn’t been the Duke of Hillan, Kisa wouldn’t have dared to protest.

Because she was afraid. The inexplicable revulsion she felt toward this man was greater than her resentment toward the culprit who had ruined the precious gift from her fiancé.

Was she such a coward? Or was her love for Daniel only worth this much?

With rising self-loathing, Kisa kept her gaze fixed on the floor and managed to speak.

“N-no, Duke.”

Just as she was about to reply that it was nothing and he shouldn’t worry about it, a familiar voice was heard.

“What happened?”

The onlookers who had been watching the unexpected incident at the party with interested eyes parted to the sides. They were making way for the Princess.

“Vischer, Kisa.”

Princess Arta, who had appeared leading other young ladies including Melissa, looked alternately at her fiancé and Kisa who was standing nearby.

“What is this……”

“I apologize, Princess.”

Before she could finish speaking, the Duke explained the situation.

“I was about to drink some wine but ended up disrespecting your friend. I am deeply ashamed for causing such a disturbance.”

Looking at Kisa’s wine-stained dress was enough to understand the situation without further explanation.

As she approached them slowly, the Princess asked.

“…It was your mistake, Vischer?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“That’s not like you.”

“Even I make mistakes sometimes. I am human after all.”

Afterward, the Princess remained silent for a moment.

Though it wasn’t a long silence, Kisa somehow got the impression that the Princess seemed displeased.

Was it because the occasion meant to introduce her fiancé to her friends had become noisy?

“Princess! I’m fine!”

Growing anxious, Kisa blurted out words she didn’t really mean.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t her fault, but Kisa inherently detested being the cause of conflicts.

She preferred to endure if everyone else could be happy by her doing so; it was easier on her mind.

“See? Nothing happened except my dress getting a little stained.”

The Princess’s gaze then turned to Kisa.

“Kisa…”

She looked at Kisa with a somewhat complicated expression before clapping her hands.

“Hey, is anyone there?”

“Yes, I’m coming, Princess!”

As soon as she called, a palace servant appeared from somewhere with a wet cloth in hand.

While he wiped the wine from the floor with nimble movements, the Princess looked around at the people gathered nearby and said in a slightly louder voice.

“We had a small unexpected accident. But it’s nothing serious, so please continue enjoying the party. Despite appearances, my fiancé, Duke Hillan, is surprisingly shy, so please don’t stare too much.”

A few people laughed at the youngest princess’s usual cheerful and witty demeanor.

Not stopping there, Princess Arta ordered another palace servant to change the music.

Soon following her instructions, the court band stopped the piece they had been playing and began performing another with prominent violin melodies.

It was a piece the Princess had recommended to the members of the tea party group not long ago, which she apparently liked very much.

People responded to the Princess’s intention to change the atmosphere and turned their attention back to the party.

“Um, Princess.”

Kisa carefully called out to Arta.

It was obvious that she was not in a state to enjoy the party at present.

Although palace servants had roughly dried the moisture with towels, the state of her dress, more than 30% stained with wine, was disastrous.

‘I suppose the Princess will offer to lend me one of her dresses to change into…’

A gloomy prediction crossed her mind.

Considering Princess Arta’s character as Kisa had known her so far, she was someone who would readily extend such kindness to a friend, and more.

Normally, Kisa would have been pleased by her kindness, but not today.

She wanted to escape from this place quickly.

The shock of losing her dress was one thing, but she didn’t want to clash with Duke Hillan anymore.

Moreover, perhaps because she had expended no small amount of mental energy, her physical condition seemed to have worsened since earlier.

She desperately wanted to collapse somewhere and rest.

She missed her bed in her bedroom so intensely at that moment.

But what was this? The words that came out of the Princess’s mouth were the opposite of Kisa’s expectation.

“Kisa, I think it would be best for you to go home now.”

After silently observing Duke Hillan for a moment, she turned to Kisa and said.

“You were startled by what just happened, weren’t you?”

“What? Oh, a little.”

“My goodness, looking at you now, your complexion isn’t good at all. Your face is so pale.”

Just then, Melissa, who had been sticking close to the Princess’s side, whispered to her as if she had been waiting for this moment.

She was probably telling the Princess that Kisa hadn’t slept well the night before.

She might also have added that Kisa must be greatly distressed because the dress gifted by Daniel was ruined.

In any case, after hearing Melissa’s whisper, the Princess urged Kisa to leave with an even stronger tone.

Perhaps this was what people meant by a blessing in disguise.

“Then I shall take my leave now.”

Kisa didn’t refuse the Princess’s suggestion and headed for the exit.

Trying as much as possible not to look at the red-haired man who had been next to her.

Fortunately, he didn’t say anything to Kisa as she left the small reception hall.

Only the man’s scent, reminiscent of freshly washed laundry, tickled Kisa’s nostrils.

****

Finishing her recollection, Kisa carefully examined the face of the man in the massive portrait.

Except for wearing glasses and his bangs neatly swept back, he had the exact same appearance as Seyard.

“Yes, this is what he looked like.”

Why was it that although the incident happened only two or three years ago, she felt as if she was retrieving an old, dusty memory long forgotten?

The reason was obvious. Because she had wanted to forget.

For Kisa, it was difficult to fully accept the sense of loss regarding the dress along with the fact that she received such clear hatred from another person.

She still wondered why Vischer Hillan disliked her so much.

Of course, Kisa didn’t particularly like him either, but certainly not enough to deliberately spill wine on him to embarrass him at a gathering hosted by the Princess.

Moreover, Kisa had another opportunity to feel Vischer’s dislike for her after that day.

Not long after the party, a dress sent from the Hillan family along with excessive compensation money was proof of that.

That dress, supposedly a gift of apology, was completely different from what Daniel had given her.

As if mocking her, it was red in color. The very color that had stained her precious dress.

The enclosed message, written in elegant handwriting, stated that he was sorry but couldn’t find the original tailor, so he had commissioned the most famous tailor in Jacques to make a new one.

In other words, the only commonality between the two dresses was that they were made in the same country.

In the end, Kisa shoved that dress into her wardrobe and never wore it or looked at it again.

“…Perhaps it bothered him that someone like me avoided him.”

Just as Kisa let out a small sigh, an unexpected voice reached her ears.

“Who did you avoid?”

Someone was standing at the doorway.

The moment she saw him, Kisa was startled.

“Kisa?”

While Seyard, with his eyes wide open, approached her, she barely managed to calm her surprised heart.

Perhaps it was because she had been reminiscing about the past until just now.

She had thought it was the dead Vischer Hillan.