CH 19

Ignis liked Arpeon quite a bit.

He went out early in the morning through the window, flew around the garden, and didn’t come back until night came.

Thanks to this, Isabella had enjoyed the trip in comfort.

“Isabella! This place is so nice!”

“Right? Shall we stay here for a while?”

“Yes! It’s good! I’m so excited!”

Ignis might have considered it difficult to stay in Duke Kyar’s villa with them earlier, but now, he admitted he liked to be here as he flapped his wings excitedly.

Seeing Ignis happy after a long time made her feel better.

“I have to go to the party today, Ignis. I might come, so come and sleep first.”

She wanted to stop by the medicine shop to examine the herbs sold there, but unfortunately, the party preparations for the evening will start in the morning.

That morning, a famous woman named Madame Mayren visited the villa to make her beautiful.

Someone had scheduled a reservation for the madame earlier than Isabella, but Duke Kyar canceled the other person’s reservation by giving him a massive amount of money.

Indeed, it is true that money is everything in any part of the world.

Isabella didn’t know how much money Madame Mayren had received, but she made a lot of effort to arrange Isabella’s silver hair and put her make-up on.

Madame Mayren had changed her hairstyle multiple times.

After enough contemplation, she finally chose an elegantly braided updo.

Yet, this wasn’t the end.

“Your skin is so clear and white, so I decided to put light makeup on you.”

It took quite a long time for the madame to apply colorful shadows on her eyelids.

Isabella struggled to keep herself awake while wearing the makeup and promised herself not to attend a party ever again.

At that moment, Isabella struggled to suppress a yawn, thinking it would be much better to read a book about herbs.

Her preparations for the party started in the morning and ended until the evening.

She wondered why it took so long, and she finally understood the instant she looked into the mirror.

The reflection she saw in the mirror was fantastic.

She considered Isabella’s face to be pretty, but her beauty shone a hundred times more after dressing up.

“Do you like it, my lady? If there’s a thing that you don’t like—-”

“I like it. Thank you for everything.”

Isabella interrupted Madame Meyren and thanked her wholeheartedly, but she heard a knock on the door.

“Sister, do you still need more time?”

“I’m ready.”

Isabella replied and went outside to meet Kyle, with Madame Mayren following her.

As soon as the two men, standing by the door, found her, their eyes widened simultaneously.

“Wow, sister. You’re so pretty.”

Dressed in a crisp suit, Kyle said in admiration as he hovered around her.

“Really? Isn’t it awkward?”

The dresses, hair, and makeup made Isabella feel awkward since she wasn’t used to all these things.

“No, you look like a fairy.”

Isabella smiled pleasantly at his compliment, and Kyle’s dark eyes shone in appreciation.

Prince Kyar stared at her face quietly and frowned all of a sudden.

What’s wrong with him?

“What do you think, Your Highness?”

Madame Mayren asked cautiously, watching every nuance of his expression.

“It’s bad.”

Madam Mayren and Isabella were embarrassed by the unexpected statement.

Both didn’t understand what on earth made him feel like it was terrible.

“I feel bad that other people besides me can witness the beauty that is in front of me right now.” Duke Kyar said grimly, and Isabella suppressed a sigh.

“Do you have any veil?” Kyar asked Madame Mayren and caressed his sleek jawline.

“What?”

“So that no other man can see her—”

“Your Highness, please stop. We are going to be late to the party if you keep this up.”

Isabella cut him off.

Fortunately, he didn’t say anything more when he held out a pocket full of gold coins to Madame Mayren.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Madame Mayron greeted Duke Kyar with utmost grace before moving away from the three.

“Let’s go, shall we?” Kyle said as he stood between Duke Kyar and Isabella and grabbed their arms.

However, Duke Kyar couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Isabella’s face, and he appeared to be disgruntled.

“I expect you to wear a veil—-”

“If you keep doing that, I won’t go to the party.”

Duke Kyar frowned when he noticed that the threat he made seemed to irritate Isabella, so he shut his mouth.

He couldn’t make Isabella exhausted before she even got to the party.

**

Prince Victor’s palace was beautiful and elegant compared to Duke Kyar’s magnificent but desolate castle.

The fortress surrounding the castle made it look circular and perfectly matched Arpeon’s beautiful scenery.

Their carriage passed through blooming gardens, and it stopped in front of an arched door.

As the guards checked the invitation letter, they saw Archduke Kyar’s name on it and nervously held the door wide open for them.

With two men as her escort, Isabella entered the banquet hall slowly.

She had seen a lot of party scenarios in movies and novels, but it was much more colorful in person.

However, she noticed that there were not as many people as she thought.

Women in luxurious gowns littered the large banquet hall.

Once Duke Kyar entered, all the women’s eyes were on him.

Some women got nervous in his presence that they couldn’t even raise their heads to look at him.

Maybe, they recognized him as the Archduke of the North,  Duke Kyar.

The rest of the women glanced at his handsome face and blushed hard.

Yet, something at this party was strange.

It seemed like only women were in the banquet hall.

Except for Archduke Kyar and Kyle, none of the men were in sight.

“This didn’t seem like a party.”

Kyle muttered.

Isabella wondered if the boy could also detect that something was weird.

“Prince Victor had tricked me. I’ll find out and come back, so wait here.”

With that said, Archduke Kyar left with his jaws clenched.

“May I bring something to eat?”

Kyle cheerfully asked Isabella, who stood there in puzzlement.

She glanced at him, and she shook her head.

Kyle appeared like he was more mature for his age, maybe because she was dressed up in a softer aesthetic.

“I’ll bring it.”

“No. I learned that men are supposed to do that for the ladies during parties.”

Who did they learn that from?

Kyle seemed to have good manners, and that knowledge made a soft smile spread across her lips.

He wasn’t like his uncle, Archduke Kyar.

The child will become a famous man when he turns into an adult.

Feeling grateful, Isabella stared at Kyle’s back as he went to the tables to get food.

When the child was gone, some women approached her.

“My name is Arianne Victor.”

“I’m Lilia Casas.”

“I’m Luna Lipetto.”

Isabella looked at them nervously as they introduced their names one after another.

She finds them difficult to memorize.

“You’re here with Your Highness, right?”

These ladies seemed curious about her.

“Yes, I’m Isabella.”

When she said her name, the women’s faces hardened at once.

“Why don’t you tell us where you live? Is that a secret?”

These ladies seemed to think that she was impolite for not revealing her family.

“You must be a daughter of a famous noble family if you are seen together with Your Highness, Duke Kyar. I’m sorry, but I think like I had never seen you before.”

The woman asked gently as she held a wine goblet in one hand.

Nevertheless, her gentle tone was the exact opposite of her sharp gaze.

“I’m sorry, but I have no family to reveal. Because I’m not from a noble family.”

In response to Isabella’s honest answer, the women stared at her in astonishment.

“I thought you had a vulgar feel to it.”

“Your Highness, Duke Kyar, is too much. I can’t believe he brought such a woman to the Your Highness, Prince Victor’s, banquet.”

“I’m sure that face shook him.”

The women openly ignored Isabella when they found out that she wasn’t an aristocrat.

It wasn’t just that.

The woman, who introduced herself as Arin, poured the wine she had unto Isabella’s shoes.

“Oh no, I’m sorry. What should I do? Wipe it off with this.”

Arin handed her a handkerchief with a face that showed she wasn’t apologetic at all.

Not wanting to incite chaos at the party, Isabella held back her anger.

As soon as she bowed down to wipe the wine off her shoes, the banquet hall was filled with laughter.

“You look more used to bending your back.”

“I know. It goes well with how vulgar she was.”

At that moment, the women’s bodies who laughed at Isabella turned into ice except for their faces.

The frozen women shouted in panicked unison.

When Isabella looked over her shoulder, she was surprised to see Duke Kyar’s cold countenance as he approached them.

“Your Highness?”

Isabella called out to him in bewilderment.

This was the first time she had ever seen him wear such an angry face.

The cold air Duke Kyar exhaled caused the colorful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the bowls filled with well-prepared food, and the wide round plates containing expensive wine and cocktails to shatter loudly.

It ruined the atmosphere in the banquet hall.

Isabella and Kyle were the only people who could move around in this banquet hall.