The moment the princess uttered those words, Kisa focused on the expression of the person closest to her before understanding the meaning of the words.

Then she was completely captivated by the unbelievable sight before her eyes.

It was just for a split second, but she saw it clearly.

The very deep and blatant displeasure that appeared on Seyad’s face.

For someone who usually had a smiling face, who at most would only blink expressionlessly or slightly furrow his brow when expressing negative emotions.

Kisa was considerably surprised by the fact that Seyad was showing his discomfort so clearly.

However, that expression disappeared before Kisa could feel anything other than surprise.

When she blinked once and opened her eyes, Seyad had his usual expressionless face mixed with awkwardness and annoyance.

“My goodness, to think you’d be similar even in that aspect, it’s absurd.”

The princess’s demeanor showed no change, as if she hadn’t witnessed that expression. It seemed she had been glancing at Kisa just then.

“Princess.”

Seyad opened his mouth in a surprisingly calm voice.

“Let’s stop talking about the deceased now.”

One of the princess’s eyebrows curved.

“Why? Unlike you, are you resentful of your brother who was born with everything? Is that why you don’t even want to hear about him?”

“It’s not like that. You’ve been too excited since earlier. Please calm down a little.”

“If you want to calm me down, tell me where Gabriel Williams is. Hasn’t everything gone according to the duke’s wishes? If you don’t answer, I’ll make sure to keep bothering the duke in the future.”

“…”

A slightly tired sigh escaped from Seyad’s lips.

Kisa was anxious, wondering if he would really tell the princess where Gabriel had gone.

It was true that he highly valued the young musician’s talent, but he didn’t seem to have much personal fondness for him.

Rationally speaking, it would be more beneficial for Seyad to just hand Gabriel over to her rather than continuing to clash with the princess.

‘But if that happens…’

Wouldn’t Gabriel, who had escaped once and been caught again, be treated even more harshly than before?

Thinking about it, Kisa felt her heart ache with pity for him.

But then, Kisa and Seyad’s gazes intertwined in mid-air.

Was it just her imagination, or did those reddish-brown eyes seem to be telling Kisa not to worry?

“I really don’t know, Princess. Gabriel Williams, whether he’s foolishly kind or not, refused my help and left this place.”

“What did you say?”

“Regrettably, that’s all I can tell you.”

The princess gritted her teeth.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I don’t understand why you’re making things complicated when you’re not even close to Gabriel. Or do you find my warning so funny?”

“Funny? How could that be? However, Princess, I just want you to understand this.”

He stated politely yet firmly.

“Even if you are the princess, coming to my private residence without notice, rummaging around inside, and making unreasonable demands is clearly an overstepping of authority.”

As if it was unexpected, the princess’s eyes widened for a moment, then she let out a deflated “Huh.”

“And so?”

“This one time, I’ll overlook it out of consideration for the princess’s grief over losing her fiancé, my brother. But I sincerely ask that this never happen again.”

“What if I refuse? What will you do if I say no?”

“Well, I wonder what I’d do.”

Seyad smiled gently.

“I’m sure the wise and generous princess will do her best for the sake of harmony between the royal family and the Hillan family.”

It was a sharp warning that even the head of the Hillan family would rarely use.

The princess glared at Seyad with fierce eyes, as if she had much to say.

Kisa saw with her own eyes that the princess clenched both her fists.

But even after more than a minute passed, the princess only stared at Seyad without bursting into anger. Then suddenly, she spoke.

“Do as you please. Even if you don’t tell me, I will definitely find out Gabriel’s whereabouts, so I hope the Hillan side won’t interfere in the meantime.”

“How could we? I wish you the best of luck.”

The princess’s brow furrowed, as if that answer was quite irritating.

“I misjudged you. I thought you were a decent person compared to your brother, but it turns out you’re even worse than him.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Without replying, she turned her head abruptly. Then, as if about to leave, she took a step but stopped in front of Kisa.

“Ah, Kisa. You were here.”

One corner of the princess’s mouth turned upward.

“Even though we’ve ended up in this awkward relationship, we’ve known each other for quite a long time.”

Kisa nodded nervously, not knowing what she was going to say.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’ll be honest. I haven’t liked you much since we were young.”

Suddenly, the princess lifted Kisa’s chin with her hand.

“What’s so great about this mere beauty.”

In her piercing gaze at Kisa, fragments of long-held emotions could be felt.

“But well, you haven’t done anything particularly wrong yourself, and considering our past relationship, I’ll give you one piece of advice.”

The princess removed her hand from Kisa’s chin and glanced at Seyad behind her.

“Be careful of your fiancé. He might be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or even something worse.”

It was a warning aimed more at Seyad than Kisa, and the man who had just received such blatant criticism simply watched the two women’s conversation quietly.

“Just because he’s treating you well now, just because he has an extremely kind and sweet face, if you trust him completely, naive Kisa might be devoured whole. By then, it’ll be too late for regrets, you know?”

“…”

Kisa took a deep breath for a moment, gathering her courage.

To be honest, Kisa quite respected and liked the princess, so Arta’s words about disliking her since long ago stung her heart.

But regardless of that, she had to say what needed to be said.

“Princess, that’s a misunderstanding.”

Kisa moved her lips slowly, articulating her thoughts clearly.

“He invited Gabriel to our engagement party before the incident where you called me to the tea party and… put me in that difficult situation.”

It was hard to stand by and watch Seyad being falsely accused.

“Therefore, the speculation that he used Gabriel to get revenge for my sake doesn’t add up. Also, the reason he invited Gabriel was because I happened to attend a concert at the Darion Duke’s mansion and was deeply impressed by his performance-”

Hahahahaha. Kisa’s words were cut off by the princess’s sudden burst of laughter.

“Oh, Kisa. Sweet, naive Kisa.”

Arta, with her eyes gently narrowed, stroked Kisa’s shoulders with a soft touch.

“It’s because you blindly trust the duke like this that I’m worried.”

“Pardon?”

“The order of events is not important at all. Unless one is a fool, it’s easy to predict that I would hold a grudge against you for your engagement to the duke. It’s also easy to guess that I would call you out to torment you someday. In other words, he could have approached Gabriel in advance.”

Her words didn’t end there.

“And what else is there? Ah, you say it was a coincidence that he invited him? Let me ask you one thing. Was it your own will to go to the Darion Duke’s concert? Didn’t someone suggest going together first?”

“That’s…”

“The fact that your hobby is violin playing is information anyone can find out if they try. How likely is it that you, with such a hobby, wouldn’t like the performance of Gabriel, who has innate talent?”

Unable to find words to refute, Kisa unconsciously looked down at her own feet.

The princess smiled like a victory smile and finally removed her hands from Kisa’s shoulders.

“Then I hope you’ll think about it carefully, Kisa.”

“Are you finished with what you wanted to say?”

Seyad, who had been silently watching the two of them until now, moved.

“I’ll escort you to the gate. Shall we go?”

His face was thoroughly devoid of emotion. He didn’t seem particularly flustered by the princess’s words, nor did he seem angry.

“No need. I can find my way out.”

The princess answered curtly, as if irritated by his demeanor, and left the two without any proper farewell.

She truly was like a storm, both in coming and going.

“Kisa.”

Seyad called out softly to Kisa, who was blankly staring after the princess’s retreating figure.

“Are you alright?”

He gazed at his fiancée with worried eyes.

“I’m fine.”

Kisa quickly answered to reassure Seyad.

“The princess seems very angry about losing Gabriel. Especially since this was the last place he was seen, it seems she wants to blame everything on Seyad.”

Looking back, it was indeed Seyad who had suggested attending the Darion Duke’s concert together, as the princess had said.

The timing of Gabriel’s invitation might not be that important either.

However, there was one critical flaw in her speculation.

“Seyad wouldn’t go that far for me.”

“…”

Unless they were truly in a passionate romantic relationship as rumored, using a hidden lover to get back at the princess for the sake of Kisa, his contract marriage partner?

It was impossible. Even if Seyad had that kind of fondness for Kisa, the princess’s speculation was too extreme.

It’s not like Kisa was called by the princess and slapped or anything, would he use such drastic measures to get revenge for a little embarrassment?

“Don’t you think so?”

At Kisa’s question, Seyad smiled faintly.

“I suppose so.”