“I prepared this with sincerity, though it may be lacking. Please enjoy your meal.”
The meal was held in a spacious banquet hall. Those paired by the auction sat at separate tables inside the hall, spaced apart, while the rest were seated at long tables near the entrance.
Is it going well? Diana glanced nervously toward Antar throughout the meal.
Antar, visibly tense, was having a conversation with Fiona. He seemed so engrossed in the conversation that he barely noticed what he was eating. At one point, he missed his water glass and spilled water on his lap. Fiona, startled, handed him a handkerchief.
I hope he doesn’t cut himself with a knife… Diana, unable to bear watching any longer, shook her head and looked away.
Across the long table, Cedric Haieren kept an eye on Fiona while chatting with others. Each time Fiona spoke to or tended to Antar, he gripped his utensils tightly, pretending not to notice.
Good. Satisfied, Diana smiled quietly. Despite her worries, her plan seemed to be working.
Meanwhile, as Diana kept glancing at Antar during the meal and even smiled at him, Kayden narrowed his eyes. Why does she keep looking over there?
Diana didn’t even glance at Kayden, who was sitting next to her. Feeling annoyed by this, Kayden began placing small, neatly cut pieces of food onto Diana’s plate each time she looked at Antar.
Diana, out of habit, used her fork and knife to eat while observing Antar. However, as time passed, she noticed the food on her plate wasn’t decreasing and turned to Kayden, puzzled.
“Why?”
But Kayden, now pretending to focus on his meal, smiled innocently.
Diana furrowed her brows in confusion. “Kayden.”
“Yes, Diana.”
“I think there’s a magical item mixed in with these plates. No matter how much I eat, the food doesn’t decrease.”
“Ha.” Kayden lowered his head to stifle his laughter at Diana’s serious response. However, he couldn’t stop his shoulders from shaking.
“Kayden, did you—”
Just as Diana began to suspect, Kayden regained his composure and reached out to gently pat her head, smiling warmly.
“Seeing you eat well makes me happy. Want some more?”
“…No, it’s fine.” Any suspicions she had evaporated like a breeze at his smile and actions.
Feeling oddly embarrassed at being praised for eating, Diana glanced away. At that moment, Antar, who had turned to look at Diana, happened to witness the scene.
“…”
He unknowingly stopped moving his utensils and stared at Diana’s back in a daze.
“…Sir.”
“…”
“Sir Antar!”
“Ah.”
Antar snapped back to reality, feeling as if he had just emerged from underwater, and turned his head.
Fiona, who was sitting across from him and eating, tilted her head in confusion. She looked behind her and asked, “What were you looking at?”
“What were you looking at?”
“I-It’s nothing. What were you saying?”
Antar quickly changed the subject to prevent Fiona from noticing where his gaze had been. Fiona squinted at him for a moment but then shrugged indifferently, seemingly willing to let it go.
Thank goodness. Relieved, Antar sighed inwardly.
Fiona, with a playful smile, spoke again. “Normally, I wouldn’t repeat myself, but somehow, you feel like an old friend, so I’ll say it again. I’m actually a bit envious of you, Sir.”
“…Pardon?”
Briefly relieved, Antar was surprised by her words and widened his eyes. After all, Fiona was the sole heir of Duke Yelling. What reason would she have to envy a commoner knight? But Fiona began speaking again, slicing her steak with a bitter expression.
“You are an accomplished earth attribute elementalist with mid-level skills.”
“Not quite…”
“But despite being the heir to a family of the first earth attribute elementalist, I failed to even make a contract with a low-level spirit.” Though her tone was light, the weight of her words was heavy.
Antar remained silent, unsure how to respond. Fiona, not expecting a reply, continued. Feeling it was easier to speak openly to someone she would soon part ways with, she revealed her thoughts. Despite the serious topic, she shrugged and raised her lips into a smile.
Sometimes, she seemed like an astonishingly young lady and other times, she acted like someone much older.
“That’s why many people think I shouldn’t inherit the title. Well, it’s only natural. The head of the family couldn’t even handle a low-level spirit. Even I would laugh at that…”
“No.”
Antar’s firm voice cut through Fiona’s self-deprecation. Startled, Fiona stopped speaking.
Antar placed his utensils down and looked at Fiona seriously. His usually dull blue eyes shone brightly, showing his sincerity at that moment.
“My time in the imperial palace hasn’t been long.”
“…”
“Even so, I’ve heard many stories about you, Lady Fiona. Everyone knows how intelligent you are.”
Despite her inability to handle spirits, Fiona had won people’s hearts with her extraordinary intellect and eloquence. That was truly remarkable.
Antar’s words were straightforward, without the formalities, making them sound more like the truth. His deep voice stirred Fiona’s heart.
“And, I don’t know if I should say this, but there’s no law in the empire that states a non-elementalist cannot become the head of a family. I’ve never heard of such a rule.”
“Well… that’s true. It’s just something everyone has implicitly believed.”
“So, Lady, please inherit the title of the duke. It would give hope to future heirs who might not be elementalists.”
Fiona looked dazed for a moment. Antar, fearing he might have overstepped or offended her, fell silent with a pale face.
After a few tense minutes, a smile slowly spread across Fiona’s face. She finally let out a small laugh and rested her chin on her hand, looking at Antar. She studied him for a moment and then blurted out. “In fact, your appearance is quite close to my ideal type.”
“…Pardon?”
“Ah, don’t get me wrong. It’s just amusing that, despite that, I don’t feel any romantic attraction. Anyway, what I want to say is…”
Antar was so shocked he nearly spat out his water. Fiona, preventing another mishap with his pants, smiled and pointed at the bouquet on the table.
“Do you like flowers?”
“…I do.” Despite the sudden question, Antar answered earnestly.
Though Diana had chosen the auction item, his answer was genuine. Even during his difficult times in Vitas, he would smile at the sight of small wildflowers on his way home.
Hearing his response, Fiona’s face lit up with a flower-like smile. “Perfect!”
“Yes?”
“Let’s be friends now. Got it?”
“Uh, yes?”
“From now on, greet me when we see each other. Ah, should I talk more casually? How old are you?”
Antar, now pale, shook his head in disbelief. But eventually, he agreed to be friends, addressing each other by name, albeit without dropping formalities.
Friend… Rolling the word in his mouth, he felt a strange warmth in his heart. Though initially meeting her with an ulterior motive, he found her to be an unexpectedly good person.
That’s why Antar genuinely wanted to prevent her death.
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