The nanny wanted to know what had happened between Kisa and Daniel, but Kisa only repeated that she would tell her soon.

Anyway, perhaps because a great worry had been lifted, the nanny sorted through the items that had spilled out of the bundle with a much brighter attitude.

“Oh my, this is such a shame. It’s new, just received recently. Do we really have to throw it away?”

“…”

“Young miss?”

Kisa responded a bit late, as she had been staring blankly at the teddy bear that had been crushed by Daniel’s kick. The nanny’s gaze turned to the teddy bear.

“This was a doll you really treasured, wasn’t it? When you were little, you used to talk to it every day. Come to think of it, didn’t you even give it a name? Let me see. What was it again-”

“That’s all in the past. It’s fine, just throw it away.”

“Ah, yes.”

When Kisa picked up the ball of cotton from the floor and handed it to the nanny, she took it with a bewildered expression.

Kisa glanced at it once more before leaving the reception room.

She bit her lip, trying to forget the pain she inexplicably felt in her chest. But the dull ache lingered for a long time, tormenting her.

The next day, as if taking turns with his son, Marquis Lowens personally visited the Barnspelt townhouse. However, he was a guest of the Count, and since he didn’t particularly ask to see Kisa, there was no occasion for Kisa to face the Marquis.

According to information from the servants, Marquis Lowens stayed for quite a while, conversing with the Count before leaving.

He probably tried to change his friend’s mind through words but ultimately failed and left. Still, compared to his son, he seemed to maintain some decorum, as no shouting was heard from outside the room.

The cancellation of the engagement was an inconvenient situation for the Lowens family as well. It would be troublesome to find another suitable match for Daniel at this point, and above all, the responsibility for the broken engagement lay with Daniel, who had been caught with another woman.

Knowing his friend’s calculating nature, Marquis Lowens probably didn’t fully believe the reason given by this side, but that was how it appeared on the surface.

Therefore, Lowens refused to accept the engagement cancellation notice until the end, but regardless, news of the broken engagement spread to the world from the next day.

The method the Count used was simple. He just quietly tipped off a few social butterflies who were usually close to Barnspelt, and within four days, the story of Kisa and Daniel was on everyone’s lips.

The two instantly rose to become the kingdom’s hottest topic, surpassing even the new Duke of Hillan or the King of Chamal.

Whenever people in high society gathered, they whispered about the reason for the broken engagement. The reason given by the Barnspelt side was Daniel’s inappropriate conduct, and there was no other apparent cause.

However, for those who knew what kind of person the Count was, it was a reason difficult to accept at face value. Since when had he become such a humane figure?

Countless curious people offered various speculations, and some even sent letters directly to the parties involved to find out.

That was how mountains of letters came to arrive for Kisa, who was now confined to her residence, having completely cut off her already reduced social activities. Kisa sighed weakly after checking the contents of a few letters.

Not long ago, right after Daniel’s article was published in a gossip magazine, a flood of letters had come, but now it was about three times that amount.

Even then, she had struggled to reply to everyone except Melissa, but how long would it take this time…

“Hmm, that’s enough.”

After pondering for a moment, Kisa put down the pen she was holding. She was currently supposed to be in a state of great distress due to the broken engagement, so there was no need to reply to each one. Let’s just send short replies to those who can’t be ignored, like Princess Arta.

Certainly, last time, she had played dumb to their subtle questions, pretending not to have heard Daniel’s gossip yet.

It would have been strange for someone living under the control of a strict father to know the contents of a gossip magazine published just a few days ago.

However, now, it would be extremely awkward to continue pretending not to know after the fact of the broken engagement had been clearly revealed to the world.

Let’s act like someone trying to appear calm but unable to hide signs of being shocked. Play the role of a pitiful woman struggling with the betrayal of her fiancé, which she has now learned about in more detail, and the fact that it has been exposed to the whole world.

Having thought that far, Kisa got up from her desk and headed to her dressing table.

It seemed better to start acting properly from inside the house, not just in letters.

Her hand opened a drawer, searching for the powder she had received as a gift from an acquaintance long ago. She remembered putting it away here because it made her look as pale as a sick person when applied to her face.

“It should be around here somewhere…”

But then, an object caught her eye. It was a flat metal container with an elegant floral label attached.

The label bore the logo of a famous foreign cosmetics brand, and when opened, it was filled with fine particles of light pink.

“…”

Kisa held it in her hand blankly. The blush that Daniel had been holding when he returned from his studies abroad. The gift he had personally given her after meeting again after several years.

Her treasure that she had placed here because it was too precious to use, afraid that if she saw it, her hand might unconsciously reach for it.

“So this was still here.”

Since it was recently received and barely used, even the nanny must have overlooked it when packing. I should dispose of it quickly, like the other gifts that were thrown away in bundles. Thinking this, Kisa nonetheless picked up the brush used for applying makeup as if entranced.

Tap tap, the brush dabbed a few times on the pink particles and brushed against her porcelain-like cheeks. Suddenly, a woman with flushed cheeks appeared in the mirror.

She stared at the woman for a while, then suddenly came to her senses.

“What am I doing right now?”

What was she trying to accomplish by dressing up cheerfully? And with makeup given by that man, no less.

Now was the time to quickly act immersed in sorrow. Kisa hurriedly tried to put down the brush but stopped abruptly.

‘… Acting immersed in sorrow, huh.’

Is it really acting? She asked herself, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Isn’t she truly sad? Is she really relishing the relief from the broken engagement?

Frustratingly, the answer is ‘no’. It’s incomprehensible. Even though she had achieved the broken engagement she had so desired and had seen plenty of Daniel’s distorted expression that she had resented, her heart was in a surprisingly sunken state.

It’s not as joyful as expected. For some reason, she feels empty, and on the other hand, a corner of her heart feels clogged up as if blocked. Even though letters inquiring about the reason for the broken engagement are flooding in, it strangely doesn’t feel real.

“No, I’m happy. I’m happy.”

Kisa, who had consciously muttered this, glared at herself in the mirror. She needed to quickly erase the unsettling pink tinge from her cheeks.

“Young miss! The Count wants you to come out!”

However, at that moment, the nanny burst into the room without warning. And urged her in a hurried voice.

“It seems urgent, you should go right away!”

“What? Now?”

“Yes, right now!”

“Why?”

“Well, I’m not sure, but according to Marsha, a guest has arrived?”

An important guest? At such a sensitive time, there was only one person who came to mind who would visit the Barnspelt townhouse and specifically need to meet Kisa.

Kisa approached the window as if jumping and looked towards the direction of the main gate far away. As expected, there was a familiar carriage. A black carriage with no crest painted on it.

Seyerd had come. Why? No, surely to discuss their engagement.

However, Kisa hadn’t heard that he was visiting today. Unless asked first, the Count rarely informed her of such detailed schedules.

“Nanny! Can you bring me some water to wash my face?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I need to redo my makeup! Right now, my condition is a bit-”

“Where’s the time for that? You’re already pretty enough, so don’t worry. Come on, let’s go. They’re currently in the pavilion in the back garden, I hear.”

Unable to resist the nanny’s insistence, Kisa ended up leaving the room. Oh well, never mind. Since she felt bad about keeping Seyerd waiting for too long, Kisa reluctantly headed towards the back garden.

But it was hard to forget the sense of discomfort she felt on her face.

“Father.”

Upon reaching the back garden, she encountered Count Barnspelt approaching from the direction of the mansion. He glanced at his daughter and then gestured towards the pavilion with his eyes.

“He said he particularly wanted to hear your opinion. What an odd fellow.”

After leaving those words, he continued on his way, and Kisa approached the pavilion with slightly slower steps. Seyerd, who had already stood up, pulled out a chair for Kisa.

“It’s good to see you, Kisa.”

“Those are my words, Your Grace.”

“Seyerd.”

“Ah, yes. Seyerd.”

Kisa felt shy at his unchanged casual attitude as she sat down. On the table under the pavilion, a teacup was already prepared for her.

“Ah, let me do that!”

But Seyerd was personally pouring tea into that cup. Seeing Kisa at a loss, he smiled gently.

“It’s alright.”

“But how can I let Your Grace-”

“It’s just the person who stood up first pouring the tea.”

What can I say? As I’ve felt before, Seyerd Hillan was a groundbreaking person in many ways. Is it because he spent more than half of his life in a monastery that he’s not bound by formalities?

“Have you been well in the meantime?”

As Seyerd, now seated, asked, Kisa answered with an awkward expression.

“Well, nothing much except for the broken engagement.”

“Ah, come to think of it, I forgot. I should have said this first.”

“Pardon?”

“Congratulations on your broken engagement.”

Kisa just blinked for a moment. It was the first time she had been congratulated on a broken engagement. To begin with, a broken engagement wasn’t something to be congratulated on by others.

But he congratulated her. As if it were the most natural thing.

“… Yes, thank you.”

After answering in an awkward voice, she couldn’t continue speaking for quite a while. For some reason, her throat felt tight and words wouldn’t come out.

“Kisa.”

Seyerd quietly called her name.

“Is something wrong?”

It was a gaze that seemed to see through everything.