TNM CH 85

Chapter 85

The voice that came out of my mouth resonated throughout the huge banquet hall as if some kind of amplification magic had been cast upon it.

People stood frozen, unsure if they’d heard me right.

Bellieta, right in front of me, and Gilard, watching from the side, were just as stunned.

The only one managing to keep a calm smile was Aden.

As I rustled the blessing scroll in my hand, the silence shattered, and the noise around us flooded back in.

“…Did I hear that wrong?”

“Did she say she blesses them?”

“Sounds like the opposite, right?”

The murmurs grew louder.

Gilard and Bellieta, who had been frozen in shock, finally snapped back to reality.

Gilard, wide-eyed, was about to charge at me, but Bellieta stopped him, her face serious as she said, “What do you mean, Sierra? You’re not blessing us? I must have misheard.”

“No, you heard right.”

Bellieta’s eyes, usually steady, were shaking for once. She was always in control, so this was a rare moment for her.

She bit her lip and stared at me intently.

Not knowing what kind of reaction she wanted, I smiled slightly, prompting her to glance at the blessing scroll again.

“Get her out of here, now.”

I heard Gilard’s low voice beside me.

Knights approached me at his command.

But it was Bellieta who stopped them, not Aden.

“Continue.”

“Bellieta!”

“The blessing scroll was my request. So I have to hear whatever it says.”

Bellieta nodded, stopping Gilard and the knights.

As Gilard watched his daughter with a frustrated look, my mouth opened again.

“I do not bless your engagement, Bellieta.”

As my voice rang out again, gasps filled the room.

I enjoyed their shocked reactions and continued.

“You’ve always been a precious friend to me. We’ve been together since childhood and will be in the future too. But if you get engaged and married, we won’t see each other often, and our friendship will fade. So I do not bless your engagement.”

Gradually, the reactions around me began to settle. Some seemed to understand what I was saying and nodded along.

“But because I know you won’t be able to be with me for life, and because this engagement is important to you, I’ll push aside my desire not to bless you and do it anyway.”

“Sierra…”

Bellieta wore a mask of fake emotion over her face.

Fortunately, Gilard sighed in relief, as the engagement ceremony hadn’t spiraled into chaos.

He relaxed, moving away from the knights.

Bellieta put her hand over her mouth, pretending to be deeply moved, but her eyes betrayed her.

It was obvious why.

As I met her gaze, which seemed to hold deeper meaning, I finished reciting what I had started.

“Everyone says you’re perfect, but that’s not true. Is there really such a thing as a perfect person in this world?”

Laughter erupted around us.

While most took it as a friend’s joke, cracks started to form on Bellieta’s face.

“People say you’re kind, but you can be harsh too. They say you don’t know how to get angry, but we’ve fought a lot. You say you’re not greedy, but you coveted my toys when we were kids. They say you’re mature, but you’re the most childlike person I know.”

Others laughed, thinking it was something friends might say, but for Bellieta and me, it was different.

These weren’t things you’d point out during a blessing ceremony.

There was no need to highlight flaws in a moment meant for celebrating and saying good things.

“Sometimes you can be selfish, hot-tempered, and throw tantrums like a little kid. Other times, you can be arrogant.”

“Sierra…”

“Because all of that is you, I bless everything about you, your strengths and weaknesses. Congratulations on your engagement, Bellieta. From your only friend who loves you, Sierra.”

I folded the blessing scroll and smiled brightly, and the reactions around me were a mix of confusion and surprise.

Well, I had said I bless her, so it technically was a blessing, but they seemed unsure how to react.

It felt like I was both praising and insulting her at the same time, and everyone was trying to gauge the situation.

As I met Bellieta’s sharp gaze with a smile in the silence, it seemed the quiet would last a while, but it was only for a moment.

Aden broke the silence with applause.

Clap, clap, clap—his short, sharp applause rang out, prompting the others to awkwardly join in.

Before long, the banquet hall was filled with clapping sounds.

I turned my gaze to Aden and gave him a brief smile before turning away.

The applause didn’t stop until I made my way back to my seat.

Bellieta had to endure the sound of clapping directed at me, who had just insulted her in my blessing scroll.

Watching Sierra’s retreating figure, Bellieta’s eyes trembled slightly.

She never thought someone who knew her well would humiliate her like that in front of so many people.

Sure, if it were someone else, maybe, but the Sierra she knew was always cautious and sensitive to how others perceived her.

Yet here she was, taking a risk and throwing caution to the wind.

People who didn’t know the situation might brush it off as a little controversy or a joke.

But for Bellieta, it felt like a shard of broken glass piercing her insides.

“Are you okay, Bellieta?”

Gilard asked, concern etched on his face, and she smiled back at him before glancing up at Aden.

Bellieta’s voice was heavy as she directed it at Aden, who had clapped first.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“It seems the princess wasn’t that entertained.”

“No, I found it amusing. I really felt that the Sierra I knew was gone.”

“Only realizing that now? You must be a bit slow.”

His expression was dry, laced with sarcasm.

Bellieta struggled to maintain her composure, which felt like it was about to crumble.

As the two of them continued their conversation, the congratulatory remarks kept coming in.

Taking a deep breath, Bellieta looked at the people bowing before her.

“Nothing has changed.”

Aden’s gaze rolled to meet hers.

With a mask of a gentle smile firmly in place, Bellieta’s lips twisted into a feigned shape.

“Do you think I wouldn’t know? What plans might Sierra be concocting with you?”

“Is that so?”

Aden’s nonchalant response twisted the corners of Bellieta’s mouth.

“She probably wants to ruin this engagement. But remember, it’s impossible.”

“…”

“You’re a wise man. I know you’re not someone who would recklessly put the lives of the millions of Rippleton citizens in danger with a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

Aden’s face slowly hardened as he looked down at Bellieta.

As she smiled at the nobleman offering his congratulations, she looked up at Aden with that same cheerful expression.

The sweet smile on her face was nothing less than that of a princess deeply in love.

“Just remember, Sierra can’t save you or Rippleton. The only one who can save Rippleton is the powerful Bozbourne.”

“…That’s quite the confidence.”

“Because it’s Bozbourne.”

To those unaware of the underlying tensions, the looks exchanged between the two seemed affectionate.

The term “political marriage” felt completely out of place.

Aden quietly turned his gaze away from the unwavering Bellieta and stared in the direction where Sierra had disappeared.

Though Sierra was no longer visible, her footprints were unmistakably left behind.

Those footprints hinted at answers.

But those answers came with far too many sacrifices.

Could he bear it?

Could he endure the resentment?

Would he have no regrets?

As Aden’s thoughts tangled up, a hand reached into his line of sight.

“This is the last time.”

Bellieta took hold of Aden’s still hand and gently pulled him forward.

Their steps, under the watchful eyes of countless nobles, halted in front of the royalty who had come to the engagement.

Princess Lydia, the eldest daughter of the Bertos Empire and a strong contender for the next heir, greeted the two of them.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Princess Bozbourne. And Duke of Rippleton.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. I’m already grateful that you came to my engagement, and now you’re offering your congratulations too; I’m truly moved.”

Bellieta bowed her head with a bright smile.

Lydia chuckled to herself at how easily that once-proud neck of hers bent like that, a neck that had never once bowed to her.

How much had Bozbourne manipulated and mocked the imperial family just to push Palieva aside?

As Lydia glanced at the Bozbourne princess, who thought so little of the nobility, she turned her head away.

“Duke of Rippleton. It’s been a while. Is this the first time since your coming-of-age ceremony?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Time really flies, doesn’t it? It’s hard to believe that the young duke I once knew has grown into such a handsome man. We’re the same age, after all.”

Lydia smiled at the two of them before nodding calmly.

She turned to the maid and received the engagement rings for the couple.

“With this ring, today’s engagement ceremony will come to an end. Before we proceed, do you have anything to say to me?”

Lydia spoke to both of them, but her gaze was fixed on Bellieta.

She seemed to hope that the arrogant princess would bow her head once more, but Bellieta only slightly raised the corners of her mouth, as if to say she wasn’t going to.

Lydia let out a small sigh internally before slipping the ring off and extending it toward Bellieta first.

“May the blessing of the black hawk and the red birch be with you.”

After placing the ring on Bellieta’s finger, she took Aden’s ring next.

Lydia gestured for Aden to offer his hand.

But Aden’s arm, which was hanging down, didn’t move.

Lydia looked up in confusion and met Aden’s gaze.

His golden eyes were steady, quietly focused on Lydia.

A murmur rippled through the crowd at Aden’s unexpected behavior, and Lydia felt flustered.

Bellieta also urged Aden to raise his hand.

Aden took a long, deep breath.