Chapter 120
“It’s truly admirable to see such bravery and boldness.” Ian’s gaze turned towards Sophia.
He also read in Madame Chanelia’s tabloid that Sophia had defeated the beast.
The article, which even included interviews with eyewitnesses, was truly sensational.
Sheldrion, the beast that Sophia supposedly defeated, was captured for the Empire’s event, a large species of monster that required several knights to handle.
Because it was a demonic beast brought from the north, where there were many large demonic beasts, even the knights of the capitals found it difficult to deal with it.
But Sophia defeated such a monster in one go?
The article was so unbelievable that even Chanelle’s wife received requests for corrections from various sources.
Sophia couldn’t have done that.
Estelle, who was standing beside him, or Kilian, would have been the ones to catch it.
At first, Ian didn’t believe the article either. Not until he returned home and saw Rubisella’s proud face.
“Just the day before, I read about that beast in a book. I guess I was lucky.”
Sophia scratched her cheek and laughed.
“I owe a lot to the ladies.”
“Oh no, Your Majesty. For the Empress Mother of the Empire, it’s only natural to do so,” Sophia said, sweetening her words.
Kilian chuckled secretly behind the Empress’s back.
As suspected for a long time, the acting skills of the fiancée were quite good.
“And it seems like you two have become quite close?” The Empress pointedly commented while looking at Kilian and Sophia.
“Despite claiming not to be interested in Sophia, you seem to take good care of each other. I heard that Sophia often visits the Grand Duke’s residence.”
The Empress said it casually, bringing the teacup to her lips. Under her long eyelashes, her eyes were fixed on Kilian.
As if she could see through his insincerity, despite pretending not to care.
“We’ve grown closer because of that incident,” Sophia said, referring to the time they almost got hurt by the beast, “we’ve opened up to each other a lot since then.”
And then she glanced at Kilian sneakily.
“Are you okay? After all, we’ve been caught anyway.”
With a helpless look, Kilian nodded his head.
There was no point in hiding anymore.
Kilian no longer had the confidence to hide his feelings for Sophia. Even if he pretended to be indifferent, his lips would curl up involuntarily whenever he saw her.
However, he only hoped that she wouldn’t become his weakness, so that she wouldn’t be targeted.
“It’s all thanks to Her Majesty the Empress. Thanks to Her Majesty, Your Excellency and I could become this close…”
Sophia said with a bright smile to the Empress.
Watching Sophia, who was enjoying herself, Ian swallowed his tea in one gulp.
Seeing Kilian smiling and making eye contact with her, and Sophia enjoying herself, twisted Ian’s stomach.
He tried to suppress the nagging sensation by pressing hard on his chest, but the discomfort didn’t go away.
Was it because of the pumpkin soup he had this morning that made him feel nauseous?
‘Why am I so irritated and angry?’
There had been times when Ian thought Sophia’s smile looked nice, but not today.
And then he realised.
‘It’s because Sophia is not Fraus,’ he thought.
It was uncomfortable because he felt like he was lying.
If Sophia wasn’t Fraus, neither the Empress nor Kilian would have become close to her in the first place.
There would have been no laughing, talking, or joking between Sophia and Kilian.
But only Ian knew the truth.
So, it was because he felt like he was deceiving everyone. He was inexperienced in hiding and pretending.
Because it bothered him, Ian kept looking at Sophia throughout the tea party.
Sophia alternated between looking at Estelle and the Empress, then making eye contact with Kilian, engaging in silent conversations with him.
Her expressions changed frequently, suddenly becoming serious, then surprised, then bursting into a wide smile, checking on others, eating untouched pastries, laughing contentedly, and encouraging Kilian to try the food she enjoyed.
And then, when she met Ian’s gaze again, she looked surprised.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
Sophia asked Ian, who had been looking at her since earlier.
“Is it delicious?” Ian asked.
It was an odd tone, as if he was provoking her or genuinely asking.
“This?” Sophia held up the custard pudding she had been spooning.
Ian nodded.
“Of course, it’s delicious. It must have been made by the royal pastry chef. Want to try some?”
Sophia wondered if Ian was not eating because it was placed too far from him, so she directly served the pudding onto his plate.
Ian looked at the yellow pudding on his plate.
Normally, it was a food he wouldn’t even touch. He generally disliked sweet foods, especially custard pudding with its mushy and gooey texture.
But today, watching Sophia eat made it seem quite appetising.
It was hard to look away as she scooped the pudding with her spoon and ate it with her lips.
“Eat.”
Sophia urged Ian again.
Under her short insistence, Ian reluctantly took a bite of the pudding.
The creamy, smooth, and sweet taste touched his palate.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah,” Ian nodded.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure if it was good or not. But one thing was certain: it was more palatable than before.
Maybe it was different when it was made by the royal pastry chef.
“You have such an unappetizing reaction,” Sophia remarked, disappointed by his response, shaking her head.
Then, she accidentally tapped her fork against the frilled sleeve of her dress.
As the fork was about to fall under the table, Kilian, who had been focused on the conversation with the Empress and Estelle, reached out and caught it.
“Oh, thank you, Your Excellency,” Sophia said, embarrassed and surprised.
She thought he wasn’t paying attention, but was he watching her from behind?
With a bewildered expression on Sophia’s face, Kilian smiled slightly. At the same time, Ian felt extremely uncomfortable.
As Kilian’s attention shifted towards Sophia, naturally, Beatrice and Estelle also turned their focus in that direction again.
“Have you two been engaged for quite a while now?” Beatrice asked, noticing the closeness between Kilian and Sophia.
In fact, it had been almost seven months since the two had become engaged.
“Now might be a good time to start seriously considering marriage. Your relationship seems to have deepened,” she suggested.
While there was no set rule on when to marry after engagement, if there was no reason to delay, it was typical to begin discussing marriage soon after.
“Since Kilian now has some free time, perhaps it’s worth considering it seriously?”
Sophia glanced at Kilian, surprised by the sudden topic of marriage.
While marrying him would be ideal, was it the right time for them to discuss marriage?
Moreover, Sophia wondered what prompted Beatrice to bring up the topic of marriage.
Just then, a response came from another direction.
“Marriage…”
Ian set down his teacup abruptly.
“Shouldn’t we discuss it further with Her Majesty and your parents?”
Ian glanced coldly at Sophia.
Marriage alliances were matters between families. Therefore, regardless of what the two individuals wanted, the final decision rested with the families.
“Yes, that’s right. It might be a good idea to bring Count and Countess Fraus in for a discussion. I wouldn’t mind seeing you two married soon,” Beatrice added.
Upon hearing this, Ian glared sternly at Sophia.
Sophia furrowed her brow in confusion. Why was he picking a fight with her?
Ian had seemed unusually tense since earlier. And it felt like he was directing all his frustration towards Sophia.
As Sophia engaged in a silent battle of wills with Ian, a new guest arrived at the tea party.
“Your Majesty.”
Two faint shadows cast over the table.
Seeing the new guests, Kilian lost his composure and subtly revealed his emotions on his face.
“Nicholas, and Commander Zenon of Ruchtainer!”
As the Empress rose to greet the guests, everyone else at the table followed suit.
Nicholas seemed to have been personally invited by the Empress, while Zenon appeared to have dropped by briefly for business reasons after being with Nicholas.
“My apologies for the delay, Your Majesty.”
After greeting the Empress, Nicholas scanned the people gathered around the table.
Then, he met eyes with Kilian.
“It seems Your Excellency is also in attendance…”
“It’s been a while, Nicholas.”
Kilian’s words made Nicholas flinch slightly.
Perhaps it felt awkward for Nicholas to be addressed formally when Kilian usually called him ‘Nick’?
“Have you fully recovered?”
“Not quite as good as before.”
The conversation, which would have been casual under normal circumstances, felt strangely unfamiliar.
Meanwhile, the Empress turned to Zenon.
“Sir Zenon, would you mind joining us for a moment if you have the time?”
“If it’s only for a moment, of course.”
“Oh, by the way, both Sir Zenon and Ian are here at this gathering.”
The Empress clapped her hands in approval.
“Estelle, how about showcasing your skills this time?”
Beatrice smiled and turned to Estelle.
“Now?”
“Yeah. Ruchtainer regularly recruits new knights in the fall, but they also occasionally hire exceptional talents outside of that schedule.”
“Showing off to Sir Zenon and Ian might give you such an opportunity,” Beatrice said.
“But I’m not prepared, and I’m not sure if my attire is appropriate to showcase properly today.”
Estelle lifted the hem of her long dress.
It was not suitable attire to showcase swordsmanship or archery. It might tear, like last time at the ball.
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TRANSLATOR:
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