To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 101

People’s attention was now focused on the Parden who had just entered. The Parden family was quite influential, so it wasn’t strange for them to attract attention. But this time, their presence drew more attention than usual and at the center of it was Aisha.

“You’re Miss Aisha, right? I was confused today. You look different from usual.”

“Exactly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like that before”

Since her debutante, Aisha had always appeared at balls wearing modest dresses with a quiet expression. For years, people had seen her behave passively, usually standing behind her older brothers or parents with her head down.

But today, she was different. Entering with a bright smile, Aisha stood next to her eldest brother and greeted people confidently. Though she didn’t speak loudly or laugh, her lively energy was new, and people couldn’t help but watch her.

“Are the rumors true? About Miss Aisha being abandoned or whatever? She doesn’t look like that at all.”

“Then why didn’t she come with the Marquis? Maybe she’s just pretending to be fine.”

“I’m not so sure Look over there.”

The voices of the noble ladies gossiping about Aisha reached Helen’s ears. Unconsciously, she turned her head toward the direction one of them pointed.

‘Ian.’

At some point, Ian had arrived. He was standing near a pillar with his younger sister, Sophia. Helen bit her lower lip as she watched Ian looking at Aisha.

There was no need for explanation. Ian, completely ignoring Sophia’s touch and other people’s eyes, was staring only at Aisha. His clear blue eyes burned so intensely that people began to doubt the growing rumors.

“See? Rumors are just rumors.”

“I never believed them. There were always talks about Miss Helen and the Marquis, but in the end”

Hearing all the whispers, Helen wanted to run straight to Ian and shout: “Soon, my father will make me a princess. I will be by your side, so stop looking at that lowly girl and look at me!”

But even under Helen’s intense gaze, Ian didn’t glance her way. Instead, Sophia noticed and met Helen’s eyes.

‘Helen!’

Sophia happily waved at Helen without hiding her joy. But Helen, already in a bad mood, quickly turned away and ignored her.

‘So what if she’s his sister? She’s useless. And how long must I, who will soon become a princess, keep being nice to a girl with no parents?’

With the Emperor backing her and followers gathering around, Helen no longer saw Sophia as valuable. She stopped acting friendly and polite with her.

‘Huh?’

Sophia widened her eyes at Helen’s cold behavior and slowly lowered her hand. She looked embarrassed and even trembled slightly from the awkwardness.

‘She didn’t see me. She must not have seen me.’

Clenching both hands to stop the shaking, Sophia lightly shook her head, trying to convince herself that Helen hadn’t seen her. Other than her brothers, Sophia considered only her grandmother, Helen, and Arthur as truly close. So Helen’s coldness deeply scared her.

‘She must still think we’re on the same level.’

Helen, still glancing sideways at Sophia, snorted with superiority. She enjoyed watching others panic and struggle around her.

But her pride didn’t last long. As she kept watching Sophia, her eyes naturally shifted to Ian standing beside her. He still hadn’t noticed her at all his gaze was fixed on one place.

“Everyone, your attention, please.”

Just as Helen looked back at Aisha and bit her nail, following Ian’s line of sight, a steward clapped once and loudly announced:

“Prince Iskan al Hamar of the Kingdom of Astar and the Astar royal delegation are entering!”

The delegation, the stars of the ball, entered, followed by the imperial royals. People’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as soon as they appeared.

“Oh my, look at that hair. I heard it was white, so I thought it would look odd but it’s charming.”

“Right? The way it shines in the light it looks like platinum. Very cool.”

Their skin was darker than the empire’s people, and although they weren’t old, their white hair fascinated young nobles who had never met foreigners. Many stared at the delegation without even hiding it. Especially Prince Iskan, standing at the front with striking red eyes, instantly captured the attention of the young ladies.

“Look at Their Majesties. I guess the rumors are true, right?”

“Seems like it. I hoped it wasn’t until I saw them”

But the older, more experienced nobles both men and women focused not on the delegation, but on the Emperor and Empress. Something felt strange about them. Though they usually exchanged glances openly even in formal events, this time they didn’t look at each other at all. As soon as they stepped onto the platform, they dropped hands, as if waiting for the moment. The chill between them made noblewomen whisper behind fans, asking if it was true that Helen caused their relationship to fall apart.

Even in whispers, many voices together become loud. The Emperor, noticing the murmurs, frowned and glanced at the Empress. She remained emotionless, staring straight ahead. The Emperor called his steward and said grumpily:

“Begin.”

The steward bowed more deeply than usual to the grumpy Emperor and stepped forward to address the crowd. In a clear voice, he announced the start of the ball, and Crown Prince William took center stage. Normally, the Emperor or Empress would give the welcome speech, but today they left it to their eldest son.

Seeing this, the Astar delegation’s faces stiffened slightly. In previous foreign delegations, the Emperor always gave the speech. But now, the Crown Prince? They felt their kingdom was being looked down on.

Unlike his upset aides, Prince Iskan’s face remained calm. Smiling gently, he looked around the hall and soon spotted Aisha. Without hiding it, he kept his eyes on her. His intense gaze drew others’ attention away from the Crown Prince and toward the two of them.

Even those who hadn’t noticed Aisha before now looked her way. Naturally, this made the expressions of two other men who were also focused on her twist in jealousy. Ian and Jared. The moment they saw Iskan’s gaze, both scowled. Ian even ground his teeth loudly enough to surprise his sister Sophia.

As Ian looked like he might rush toward Aisha at any moment, luckily, William brushed back his red hair and began speaking:

“Thank you all for coming here today.”

His speech, short and to the point, was unexpectedly excellent. With a calm and respectful tone, he spoke of friendship between the two nations. Even the Astar delegation, who had felt slighted earlier, began to soften their expressions.

“May both countries continue to prosper together, under the blessings of the goddess.”

The speech ended at the perfect length, keeping everyone’s attention. Citizens of the Empire looked at William with admiration, and the Astar delegation looked at him with growing warmth. When they applauded loudly, William confidently raised his hand and gave a command:

“What are you waiting for on such a joyful day? Play the music!”

At the Crown Prince’s order, the musicians began playing cheerful tunes. Many eager couples walked to the center of the hall to dance. William looked around the now-lively hall and turned away.

“Well done. That was an impressive speech.”

“You’re too kind.”

“No, really. Just like Father said it was excellent.”

The Emperor and Empress looked at their eldest son with pride, their stern faces softening a bit. But only briefly. The Emperor’s eyes twitched as he noticed a middle-aged man in foreign clothes standing in a corner. The Empress, who had been watching her husband, slowly rose from her seat.

“I don’t feel well. I’ll excuse myself now.”

“Do as you please. When did you ever need my permission anyway?”

The Emperor’s cold response made the Empress turn away without a word. Princess Catherine gave her father a brief look of disapproval before following her mother.

“Your Majesty… I’ll go with Her Majesty.”

“Take care of her. I should go too, but if I leave now”

“It would insult the Kingdom of Astar. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

As the Crown Princess hurried after her mother, William sighed quietly. For weeks now, the imperial family supposed to be the model household of the Empire had been falling apart because of their father’s affair with a bastard daughter.

When the royal women left with the Empress, people who had been focused on dancing and the speech started whispering again while looking at the platform. William glanced at Helen, standing with a proud look, and gave her a cold smile. Then he turned to Jared, who stood next to their father without moving an inch, wearing a serious face.

“Ugh!”

“Our family’s a mess because of you, and all you care about is some girl. Tsk!”

William quickly stepped on his younger brother’s foot. Jared, who had been staring at Aisha and didn’t notice his brother coming, finally snapped out of it from the pain and let out a groan.

“A love triangle between three men over one woman What a cheap, cliché story.”

Unlike Jared, who looked away, William kept his eyes on Aisha and muttered in disbelief. From the stage, it was easy to see how a few men were completely ignoring everything else just to stare at one woman.

“Is now the time to be glaring? Look there. Seems like Prince Iskan’s making the first move toward your Aisha.”

When William pointed toward Iskan with his chin, Jared frowned and looked toward the delegation. Iskan was still staring at Aisha and had just begun rising from his seat.

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