In any case, Kisa answered his question.

“Well, I was a bit surprised, but it’s fine. You did say the person you had in mind was a noble. Who would have thought they’d be a guest invited to my engagement party.”

Most likely, Gabriel had confided in her expecting that Kisa would naturally assume that person was just one of the many guests if he only provided limited information.

‘I’ll just pretend to be fooled here.’

Unless Gabriel spoke of it himself first, it would be presumptuous for Kisa to act like she knew.

In fact, she was more concerned about the new information she had learned from their conversation just now. Gabriel was leaving this country for good.

“But what do you mean you’re not coming back? Don’t tell me you’re planning to settle in Octava?”

Gabriel nodded readily.

“I’m going to live there for the rest of my life making music, just as I’ve always dreamed. There’s no better place for that than the capital of Octava.”

His light-colored eyes revealed his determination to bury an unrequited love in his heart for life.

The young genius seemed to have firmly decided to pursue his dream over love.

‘Yes, that might be for the best.’

From what she had gathered before, Seyad didn’t seem to harbor that kind of affection for Gabriel at all.

It was a much wiser choice to leave for his dream rather than cling to a hopeless love.

Isn’t there a saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder?

Just as Kisa had given up on her decade-long unrequited love for Daniel, he too would be able to break free from Seyad’s shadow someday.

Of course, since Seyad was such a good person that it felt unfair to compare him to Daniel, it would take much longer.

Anyway, all Kisa could do as a third party was to hope that Gabriel would sort out his feelings soon.

“Oh dear… come to think of it, this must sound ridiculous to Lady Vanspelt. To say I’ll perform with personal feelings at such an important occasion for both of you!”

At that moment, perhaps misunderstanding Kisa’s silence, Gabriel’s face turned pale.

“I’m truly sorry. I was so preoccupied with inappropriate thoughts that I ended up committing a terrible discourtesy. The Duke has shown me kindness that I could never repay in a lifetime, yet I dared to…”

“No! I’m fine with it. And I’m sure Seyad won’t mind such things either.”

Kisa hurriedly tried to calm the man whose thoughts seemed prone to quickly jump to extremes.

“Whatever feelings you have, it’s fine as long as you do your best. After all, it’s your performance, and I really like Gabriel Williams’ playing.”

“…Thank you for saying that.”

His eyes seemed to waver slightly at those sincere words.

“Still, I’ll try to restrain my emotions as much as possible in this performance.”

“Come on, even your emotionally overflowing performances are plenty amazing.”

“That’s too generous an assessment, but these are feelings I’ll have to discard sooner or later anyway. I’ll consider it practice.”

His profile, gazing at the entrance of the banquet hall where guests had not yet arrived, looked infinitely lonely.

May he continue to give wonderful performances to many people even in faraway places.

Kisa left Gabriel’s side with that wish.

Contrary to Seyad’s concerns, the engagement party preparations proceeded smoothly in the hands of the servants. Fortunately, there were no exceptional situations that required Kisa to step in.

About an hour before the engagement ceremony, the final preparations were completed and guests began to arrive one by one at the Hilan mansion.

Excluding abnormally early arrivals like Princess Arta, the first guest to reach the banquet hall was Count Vanspelt.

Or rather, as family of one of the parties involved, it might be a stretch to call him a mere guest.

“Congratulations. However, don’t let your guard down and mind your behavior. Those who don’t look kindly upon you will be desperate to find even the slightest fault.”

But as soon as he saw Kisa, he spoke words too bleak for a father whose daughter was getting engaged. The advice was much longer than the congratulations.

‘Well, how fatherly of him.’

Even if he were to show warm words or a sorrowful gaze now, it would be extremely uncomfortable rather than touching.

For reference, Kisa’s younger brother Julian Vanspelt, who was studying in another region, was not supposed to attend in the first place.

Since Kisa and Seyad were planning to marry within half a year at the latest, they would see him soon enough even if not today, and Count Vanspelt was not very keen on his son coming to the capital.

The reason was that the capital’s many entertainment venues made for an unfavorable environment for his son who lacked self-control.

Julian had inherited his father’s rigid temperament, but not his iron will.

In short, he could be described as a count with somewhat weak self-assertion.

That’s not to say he indulged in debauchery, and his tendency to be distracted was similar to others his age.

However, it was too much to meet his father’s high standards, so the count sent Julian to a place with little entertainment to speak of. As an added measure, he attached a servant to act as a watchdog.

In any case, Kisa, whose relationship with her brother was neither particularly bad nor good, felt no real regret at his absence.

“By the way, where is Duke Hilan?”

Having said all he needed to his daughter, the count looked around for Seyad, who was not in the banquet hall.

“Princess Arta arrived before the banquet hall preparations were complete, so we ushered her to the reception room. He went to greet the princess, but…”

Still, it was about time he returned to greet guests together.

As the owner of this mansion, it would be too much for Kisa to handle them alone.

“Oh, here he comes with the princess.”

Just then, Seyad and the princess entered the banquet hall side by side.

Kisa approached them to greet the princess.

“Princess, it is an honor to have you here. I hope you will be comfortable and enjoy yourself today.”

Though she outwardly showed sincere joy and paid her respects, her shoulders naturally hunched as she recalled the humiliation she suffered at the last tea party.

She was even more afraid because she still didn’t know why the princess had attended this event.

Had she come to ruin Kisa’s mood with sharp words or subtle sarcasm?

Kisa looked at her with tense eyes.

“Ah, yes. Congratulations on your engagement, Kisa.”

However, Arta’s response to Kisa’s greeting was strangely perfunctory.

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

“The weather is nice, it looks like it will be a wonderful engagement ceremony.”

What’s going on? It didn’t seem like she was pretending to be indifferent in order to express displeasure.

Though she was clearly conversing with Kisa, her eyes busily scanned the banquet hall. As if she had no interest in Kisa.

“Princess, is there anything you need?”

“No, I’m fine. But the interior decorations are quite nice. Would it be alright if I look around on my own?”

Since it wasn’t really a question seeking permission, the princess moved elsewhere before hearing Kisa’s answer.

Soon, she began to wander around the banquet hall.

Other guests who had arrived one after another noticed the princess’s presence and paid their respects, but somehow she seemed to be barely acknowledging them.

Kisa went to Seyad, who had been dealing with the princess until just now, to ask the reason, but he shrugged as if he didn’t know either.

“I wonder. Perhaps she’s lost something?”

It might have been her imagination, but to Kisa’s ears, his voice sounded a bit amused.

After a while, the princess stopped her sudden movements and came back to where Kisa and Seyad were.

“You two…”

Unlike before, this time her face clearly showed displeasure.

“Yes, Princess. Please speak.”

Kisa inwardly found it impressive how Seyad faced the princess without the slightest hint of intimidation, even wearing a faint smile.

There was a murmur. The hall became a bit noisy.

The guests, who were already unable to hide their surprise at the fact that none other than Princess Arta had come, focused their attention on the three people gathered in one place.

Perhaps aware of their interest, Arta, who seemed to have something to say, tried hard to smooth out her deeply furrowed expression.

“Congratulations on your engagement once again. Wow, I hope the engagement ceremony starts soon. I’m looking forward to it.”

The princess, who had clearly uttered sarcasm instead of what she truly wanted to say, then turned on her heel and headed to her designated seat.

Kisa had been completely unable to grasp how things were unfolding since earlier.

Why had the princess shown such strange behavior? What on earth had captured her attention?

Because such questions lingered in her mind, Kisa looked around the banquet hall in detail in between greeting other guests.

It felt like she might be able to guess the princess’s inner thoughts if she did so.

But no matter how many times she looked around, not a single plausible guess came to mind.

Instead, she noticed something completely unrelated to that.

‘Huh? Where did Gabriel go?’

She couldn’t see Gabriel, who had been there until just before she spoke with Count Vanspelt.

Wondering if perhaps Seyad knew, she asked him, and he informed her of Gabriel’s whereabouts.

“That fellow is waiting in a separate space. After all, wouldn’t a quiet place where he can be alone be better for concentration than the bustling banquet hall busy with engagement preparations?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

Also, he said that Gabriel was originally scheduled to move elsewhere when it was time for guests to arrive, in case some guests might bother him due to his recent fame.

‘To pay attention to even such things when he must be busy with engagement preparations.’

As Kisa was once again impressed by Seyad’s thoughtfulness, Lily, who had come to the banquet hall, announced:

“Miss, it’s time for you to go change into your dress.”

It was already time for the engagement ceremony to begin.