Kisa readily agreed with his answer.

“I suppose that’s right.”

It was purely coincidental that Seiard had recruited Gabriel for their engagement ceremony.

He had discovered Gabriel while attending a quartet concert held at the Darion mansion, and the recruitment followed because Kisa was deeply impressed by his performance.

It seemed that Princess Arta, who had become sensitive about Gabriel’s situation, had misdirected her anger towards Seiard, whom she had harbored resentment against from the beginning.

“I just asked in case. Ah! Now I understand. When I gave the invitation to the princess, that’s why she reacted so strangely.”

Seiard quickly understood Kisa’s words.

“I see. Come to think of it, Gabriel’s name was written on the invitation.”

The up-and-coming musician Gabriel Williams will add to the richness of the banquet. They had roughly included such a phrase as a way of introducing the banquet.

Kisa and Seiard clearly remembered it because they had put their heads together to decide on it.

“It’s no wonder the princess was surprised.”

At the back of the annex, the princess had spoken as if Gabriel had been in her grasp and then escaped to the Hillan mansion.

Considering the fact that Gabriel, who had nowhere to go, was already staying at the mansion on Seiard’s offer…

“From her perspective, she suddenly saw the name of her escaped lover on my engagement invitation.”

It was understandable why the princess had summoned Kisa separately and demanded to know the intention behind giving her the invitation.

She had suspected that Kisa had deliberately recruited Gabriel and then handed over the invitation with the intention of taunting her.

It was clear that the situation had become quite awkward.

‘But really, this is making an innocent person…’

Suddenly, a certain scene flashed through Kisa’s mind.

“Just leave the invitation and come out right away.”

“And don’t forget. Just quickly hand over the invitation and return.”

On the day she went to deliver the invitation to the princess, Seiard had said that to Kisa.

‘Huh?’

Kisa couldn’t understand why this memory was bothering her.

It was her own will to decide to personally hand over the invitation to the princess.

Seiard had simply advised her to leave the tea party quickly out of concern for her.

Of course, after encountering the princess’s sharp reaction, she had asked him if he might know something, but he had definitely answered that he didn’t know.

But what if, just what if, Kisa had handed over that invitation to the princess as soon as the tea party started, as Seiard had said?

The princess would probably have been flustered and stopped the tea party like she did then, and Kisa could have left without having to make any excuses…

“Anyway, Gabriel, that guy should make up his mind quickly too.”

“Pardon?”

Kisa’s thoughts scattered at Seiard’s sudden words.

“If he gives up on studying abroad because his heart is swayed by the princess’s demands, wouldn’t that be a waste of his talent?”

Hearing this, Kisa’s heart clouded over as it seemed it could really happen.

She liked his performance and wanted him to succeed as a performer, but somehow it didn’t feel like someone else’s business and it was hard to leave Gabriel alone.

Although she hadn’t experienced such intense verbal and physical abuse, Kisa too had lived a life where her life was determined by the will of others.

And the fact that she had once sincerely loved and craved affection from her oppressor was also similar.

In her case, Count Vanspelt and Daniel were such oppressors.

“But surely he wouldn’t, would he? From what I saw earlier, he was being treated so badly that this might be the chance for him to definitively cut ties with the princess.”

“Well, I hope so, but love is such a strange emotion.”

Seiard lowered his gaze and tapped the wooden armrest of the sofa with his index finger.

“It’s hard to predict how Gabriel will react. At least his feelings for the princess seem sincere, but whether he can give up that love…”

“…”

Kisa could empathize with those words to some extent.

Although it was relatively quick with Daniel, it took her quite a long time to give up on being loved by her father.

No, perhaps even now it might be too much to say she’s completely given up.

On the rare days when she receives the count’s frugal praise, doesn’t her mood improve all day?

“What does Seiard think of doing? If he really says he’ll give up studying abroad as per the princess’s order?”

“It would be regrettable, but there’s nothing to be done. If he doesn’t want to, I can’t force him to go.”

It was such an obvious statement, but if it really happened, Kisa’s heart would likely be uneasy for a while.

“I hope Gabriel pushes through till the end.”

As Kisa murmured weakly, Seiard reassured her in a gentle voice.

“It’ll be alright. Let’s believe in him.”

“…Yes.”

After that, the two spent some time in silence.

Perhaps because the tension in their minds and bodies had eased, they felt very languid. They didn’t want to lift a finger.

Although it was said to be regularly cleaned, it was basically an unused building, so visible dust was rolling around, but they wanted to stay there a little longer.

“Seiard.”

Suppressing a yawn as drowsiness washed over her, Kisa voiced a thought that suddenly occurred to her.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t fallen for Gabriel.”

He then gave her a slightly surprised look.

“Earlier when you kept asking me why I came here, it was because you thought I might have developed feelings for him, right?”

The answer came after a slight delay.

“That’s correct.”

“It’s not like that at all. Gabriel is an attractive person, but he’s not my type.”

“Then what is your type?”

“I prefer someone more manly than Gabriel… No, that’s not what I meant to say.”

Shaking her head, Kisa returned to the original topic.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Thinking about it, I can see how you might have misunderstood from your perspective. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Gabriel over the past few days. It was all born out of embarrassing misconceptions.”

Seiard listened quietly without interrupting her words.

“We’re looking at different sides of the same object, so misunderstandings are bound to happen. Moreover, I abandoned the reception, so this is a breach of contract. Even though it’s a contract marriage, we agreed to fulfill our respective roles… It’s right for you to question me out of anger.”

Seiard opened his mouth at Kisa’s self-reproach.

“That’s not the case. I’m not angry, and it’s not a breach of contract. After all, I left the reception behind as well.”

“Seiard…”

As warmth began to settle in Kisa’s chest at the gentle consolation, a word that had been mentioned in the conversation earlier strangely pricked at her nerves.

Reception. Reception?

In an instant, sleep fled from Kisa as she jumped to her feet and shouted.

“Come to think of it, the reception isn’t over yet!”

Seiard, looking out at the completely darkened scenery beyond the window, calmly replied.

“By this time, it should be over. We can’t keep the guests waiting forever.”

“Even without the hosts?”

“Since you’re here, I suppose Gilliam took charge of the banquet? He’s a capable person, so he would have ended the banquet well on his own.”

“But what will people think? Both of the engaged parties disappeared in the middle!”

“Well. That we’re very passionate?”

After taking a few seconds to understand the meaning, Kisa slapped the man’s arm repeatedly.

Having just witnessed the intense kiss between the princess and Gabriel earlier, even more vivid imaginations came to her mind, causing her face to turn red.

“That’s too much. This is not the time for such jokes.”

Seeing his fiancée on the verge of tears, Seiard grabbed her thin arm that was hitting him.

“Calm down, Kisa. What can we do about what’s already happened? The best we can do is enjoy this moment.”

He said this with an easy smile, but Kisa couldn’t laugh at all.

Just thinking about what rumors would circulate in high society from tomorrow made her dizzy.

That day, by the time the two returned to the banquet hall, Gilliam had already wrapped up the reception, just as Seiard had guessed.

The elderly secretary greeted the two without any particular reaction and then reported roughly how the reception had ended.

Naturally, the guests had questioned the sudden disappearance of Duke Hillan and the duke’s fiancée who had left to change her dress but never returned.

Moreover, for some reason, even Princess Arta was nowhere to be seen, so the hall was in quite a stir. At that moment, the missing princess returned.

The princess, with a hardened face for some reason, said she would be leaving, and Gilliam took that opportunity to guide the conversation towards ending the gathering.

By the way, since they couldn’t not give any excuse, for Seiard and Kisa who hadn’t returned until then, it was said that they had a minor health issue.

In other words, the two were said to have gotten an upset stomach because the food they ate together had gone bad.

Needless to say, hardly anyone believed those words at face value.

Should they be happy about this or not?

Seiard’s prediction hit the mark once again, and from the next day, word spread in high society that the relationship between Duke Hillan and his fiancée was so special it was almost sickening to see.

So much so that they couldn’t bear it and left together in the middle of the reception…

Kisa felt like she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.

Anyway, that’s how the two’s engagement ceremony ended, and it was time for those who had stayed for the engagement ceremony to leave.

The day had come for Gabriel to set off for his studies abroad.

“Um, I have something to say to both of you.”

Two days before the promised departure date, Gabriel painfully opened his mouth at a dinner table shared with Kisa and Seiard, which also served as a farewell party.