A shock comparable to, or perhaps even greater than, when the princess first learned of Kisa and Seiard’s engagement colored her face.

Soon, others noticed the princess’s unusual behavior and hesitantly spoke up.

“Princess?”

“What’s wrong?”

Eventually, laughter flowed from the lips of the person everyone was focusing on.

“No, I was just a bit surprised because the engagement ceremony seems to be much grander than I expected. The Duke must really cherish Kisa.”

The princess said this while awkwardly scrunching her eyes as if trying to smile.

‘Grand?’

Kisa was simply perplexed.

Of course, Duke Hillan’s engagement ceremony couldn’t be held modestly, so the Duke’s family had put in their utmost effort.

However, it wasn’t a scale that would surprise a princess who had only experienced the finest things in life, and there were limitations due to the short preparation time.

“Ah. Suddenly, a headache is coming on.”

Suddenly touching her forehead, Arta let out a groan.

“Oh my, are you in a lot of pain?”

“I’ll call for a physician right away.”

The young ladies asked in surprise, but the princess shook her head, saying it wasn’t necessary.

“There’s no need for that. But I’m afraid we’ll have to end the tea party here. I need to go rest a bit.”

“Of course! Get some rest!”

“It seems you’ve overdone it, having just recovered recently.”

“Indeed. You must have been so distressed today.”

The last comment was uttered by Lady Welph, glancing sideways at Kisa who was sitting next to her.

“Well then, everyone. Please head back now. As I said earlier, thank you for coming.”

“You must be tired, please feel free to go in first.”

At one young lady’s words, Arta frowned, perhaps due to her headache, but waved her hand in dismissal.

“As the host of this gathering, I can’t do that. I’d like to at least watch you all leave.”

Naturally, everyone hurriedly rose from their seats.

Although the reason was unclear, it was welcome news that they could escape this uncomfortable situation without any actions to be criticized for.

Kisa left the reception room following the young ladies.

However, there was a group that stopped Kisa in the corridor.

“Wait a moment, look here.”

It was a group of five or six women, led by Lady Welph, who were particularly loyal to the princess. Among them was Melissa as well.

“Lady Vansfeld, I didn’t know you were such a brazen person.”

“What did I do?”

Kisa calmly asked towards Lady Welph, who was thoroughly sneering.

She hadn’t found her particularly frightening before, but having just dealt with Princess Arta who had been smiling while tormenting Kisa, Lady Welph now felt like a small, yapping puppy.

“What? Did you really not feel anything even after seeing the princess cry-”

At that moment, Melissa, who was behind Lady Welph, stopped her.

“My lady, may I speak with her first?”

Karinne Welph glanced at her and willingly yielded her turn.

“Fine. She might listen more carefully to you, her former friend.”

Melissa thanked her and then stood in front of Kisa.

“Kisa, if you have even a shred of conscience and remember the grace you’ve received from the princess, why don’t you call off the engagement now?”

While Kisa was at a loss for words at this baseless demand, Melissa boldly presented her argument.

“Duke Hillan seems to love you dearly, but how long do you think that love will last?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Love that blooms like a flame is bound to fade like one. He fell for you just by seeing your appearance at the opera house, didn’t he?”

“So it will disappear soon?”

“This is sincere advice for your sake, Kisa. The position of a duchess might seem tempting right now. But you need to think about the future. Moreover, with the princess’s situation, how do you think the royal family will view you kindly? Your standing in social circles will be limited. It’s not too late. Reverse everything and apologize to the princess-”

“Enough.”

Unable to listen any further, Kisa cut her off mid-sentence.

“I’ll handle my own affairs. You worry about yourself. That’s my advice to you.”

At those words, Melissa let out an exasperated sound.

“Can’t you at least pretend to listen when someone is thinking of you and giving you advice?”

“Thinking of me? You always say that. But I don’t understand. How can you think of me and still hide the fact that Daniel Lowens was intimate with another woman?”

“W-why is that topic suddenly coming up here?”

Seeing Melissa visibly flustered, Kisa deliberately raised her voice and said,

“Actually, I was really surprised today. I didn’t know you were such a loyal person. It would have been nice if you had shown even a fraction of that loyalty to me.”

As this was new information to them, the gathered young ladies looked at Melissa with interest in their eyes.

Their gazes seemed to ask, ‘What? Wasn’t their fight about Duke Hillan?’

According to what Kisa had heard from two young ladies at the Darion mansion before, they seemed to believe that Melissa had fallen out with her friend while trying to stop Kisa from betraying the princess.

“Ah, but I am grateful to you for that matter.”

“Stop it.”

“If you had told me about Daniel and that woman before their relationship deepened, we probably wouldn’t have gone as far as breaking off the engagement. Then Seiard wouldn’t have proposed to me, right?”

“What?”

“Thank you. In a way, you’re the benefactor who brought that person and me together.”

“Kisa!”

Kisa tried to smile as she watched Melissa, who was seething as if she had just heard a terrible insult.

She now knew well that sometimes a bright smile could provoke others’ anger more than an angry expression or a fierce glare. She had learned this from Daniel.

“Well, I’ll be going now. I have a meeting with Seiard.”

It was half a lie. Seiard had said that he would like to return together if possible, but since his business might run late, he told Kisa to go ahead.

“Hey, Lady Vansfeld.”

At that moment, Lady Welph blocked Kisa as she was about to pass by Melissa’s group.

Unlike the others who were distracted by the story Kisa had brought up, she hadn’t forgotten their original purpose.

“Whatever reason you two fought for doesn’t matter to us. What’s important is that you’re currently hurting our poor princess.”

“I also feel sorry for the princess’s sadness. But I’m not sure if that’s a valid reason for Lady Welph to harass me.”

“W-what did you say?”

“How long has it been since the princess told everyone to retire? Yet you keep holding me here. Is this really an action for the princess’s sake?”

The words flowed surprisingly smoothly even to Kisa’s own ears. She wondered if she had picked up the smooth-talking skills from dealing with Daniel.

“If that’s the case, why do you keep creating situations that inevitably lead to loud voices near the quarters of someone suffering from a headache?”

“How dare you, acting so…”

Lady Welph seethed with an angry face, but for now, she seemed unable to come up with a rebuttal.

Moreover, as she listened to the conversation, she seemed to realize that she might have committed a breach of etiquette in the royal palace, and nervously looked around.

“Fine, I got it.”

In the end, Lady Welph was the one who decided to back down first. Grinding her teeth, she said,

“Just you wait. We’ll see how well you live after making the princess cry.”

Finally, she strode away, leading the other women.

Melissa, seeming to have some lingering thoughts, looked back until the very end before belatedly following the group and disappearing.

Left alone, Kisa let out a sigh.

She had thought she might have to endure humiliation surrounded by many people again, but somehow she had managed to avoid it.

She should wait a bit longer before leaving to avoid running into those who had left earlier. As Kisa was standing still lost in thought, it happened.

“Excuse me, Lady Vansfeld.”

A court official who had approached Kisa’s side at some point bowed and said,

“The princess wishes to meet with you separately.”

A moment later, Kisa was alone with the princess in the reception room where she had been with others until just recently.

She hadn’t expected that the princess would still be here.

Moreover, while Kisa was delayed arguing with others in the corridor, the princess had been waiting here the whole time.

She couldn’t even guess what had made the haughty princess do such a thing.

Thump! Suddenly, the princess struck the table forcefully.

On it lay the engagement invitation that Kisa had handed over earlier.

“What are you plotting?”

Glaring at the bewildered Kisa, who was hearing the princess speak informally for the first time, the princess muttered ominously.

“I asked what you’re plotting. What was your intention in handing me this invitation?”

“Pardon? What do you mean by plotting?”

“You say that after giving me this?”

At her fierce demeanor, Kisa hurriedly examined the invitation placed on the table.

But no matter how many times she looked, it was the same invitation Kisa knew, except that the corners were slightly crumpled, perhaps due to the princess’s actions.

It contained all the basic information about the engagement ceremony, including Kisa and Seiard’s profiles, as well as the date and location.

Kisa couldn’t even begin to guess which part had made the princess so angry.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand.”

At Kisa’s best possible answer, Arta brought her face close and examined Kisa’s eyes. As if trying to read her hidden intentions.

“…”

“…”

A suffocating time passed. After a silence that could have been seconds or minutes, the princess opened her mouth.

“I see, so you don’t know.”

She changed her attitude in an instant.

“I understand. You may go now, Kisa.”

She was the princess Kisa knew from usual times.

Somewhat dumbfounded, Kisa left the reception room.

Although Seiard wasn’t there, his carriage took her home.

And the next day, a letter arrived.

It was a letter informing them that the youngest princess would attend their engagement ceremony.