To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 56

“This place is so beautiful I would’ve felt disappointed if Miss Aisha hadn’t invited me.”

“Haha. I’m saying this because I was invited, but my younger sisters were so jealous they could’ve died.”

“Same here. My older sister suddenly showed up and begged me to take her with me.”

Since it was an engagement ceremony, there weren’t many guests. Excluding family, there were maybe about twenty people. That’s why those who were invited walked with pride, feeling a strange sense of importance, thinking they were close to today’s couple.

“Oh, it looks like we’ve arrived.”

Walking along the winding garden path, the group arrived at the engagement venue. A white stage stood on a wide patch of grass, surrounded by round tables covered in white cloth and guest seats decorated with white ribbons and flowers. Unlike a wedding, this simple engagement ceremony would be followed by a lunch right after the short event.

“This is my seat and Miss Viola, you’re over here. Miss Evelyn is”

“Miss Vanessa. I think we can all read our own names, you know.”

Before the attendants could guide them, the impatient Vanessa from the Melbourne family pointed out each person’s seat with her finger. The group laughed and lightly scolded her as the attendants looked flustered.

“I must be too excited.”

Vanessa awkwardly smiled and stepped back, then gave a nod to the attendant. Only then did the attendants politely pull out chairs for each guest.

“Miss Pamela said she’s coming with her fiancé, right?”

“Yes. They should be here soon.”

After sitting down, the group began chatting while nibbling on the snacks prepared on the table. Then their attention shifted to another table.

“I guess those people must be close to the Marquis.”

“Count Paulsen’s family, Sir Patrick, and Lord Trevor from the Marquis of Skal’s family… We shouldn’t even glance in that direction. They’re all old noble faction people.”

“But at least they’re not the extreme ones. Besides, Miss Aisha is from the Parden family. Those kinds of people wouldn’t have come even if they were invited.”

“You’re right. It would’ve just made the atmosphere uncomfortable.”

Viola sighed with a gloomy expression. It couldn’t be helped, but it still felt bitter that the divisions between noble factions cast shadows even on such a joyful occasion.

“Still, Miss Aisha is amazing. Even with a childhood connection, choosing a husband who goes against her father’s beliefs that must be difficult.”

“So what? It’s not that rare. Even here, some of us have family members tied to the old noble faction.”

“But this is the Marquis of Lloyd and the Count of Parden we’re talking about. If it were lesser families, it wouldn’t be so worrying. But these two have such great influence If there’s ever a political clash, the consequences could be huge.”

“Vanessa is right. A few years ago, the Marquis wouldn’t have been as concerning but my father said he’s become more hardline with the old nobles recently. And at the noble council meetings, he always seems to oppose the Count of Parden.”

“Then why would the Count allow the Marquis and Miss Aisha to get engaged?”

“Let’s think positively. Maybe there’s more to the story. Even if they disagree politically, maybe they still want to keep their family bond.”

“True. Let’s not talk about this on the day of the engagement. Besides, everyone looks so lovely today!”

As the conversation grew darker, Evelyn quickly changed the subject. The others nodded and followed her lead. But just as they were moving on, a woman appeared who stole all their attention.

“What is she doing here?”

“My goodness. Are my eyes working right? That’s Miss Helen!”

Seeing her flaming red hair, the group let out small gasps. As Aisha’s close friends, they looked at Helen’s appearance with shock. But Helen, the woman in question, walked in calmly and sat down gracefully at the seat the attendant showed her.

“Most of our guests have arrived.”

James handed Ian the guest list as he gave an update on the situation outside. Ian, dressed in a dark navy ceremonial uniform, took the list and nodded.

“Hey! Are you insane? Why is she invited?!”

Just as Ian was reading Helen Fitz’s name, Daniel stormed in, breathing heavily, his hair neatly slicked back.

“She wasn’t invited. She came as the Earl of Melbro’s partner.”

“You still should’ve done something! She’s on your side of the guest list you should’ve handled it!”

“We agreed to handle our own guests. I didn’t think I needed to interfere with someone’s choice of a partner.”

Ian replied calmly, his face emotionless. Daniel, now even angrier at Ian’s indifferent expression, grabbed him by the collar.

“You bastard! Be honest are you trying to ruin this engagement?! You think Aisha will be okay seeing that woman? Huh?!”

“You’re the one yelling and making a scene, Daniel. Is this how you want to behave at your sister’s engagement?”

Ian’s words made Daniel glance around. Nearby attendants were watching them with anxious expressions.

“You damn One day, I swear I’ll beat the crap out of you before I die. Got it?”

Daniel growled in a low, strained voice and turned away sharply. Unable to hold back his anger, he kicked a stone pillar nearby. Ian silently watched him go, then turned back to the list.

Seeing Helen’s name brought back a memory from the day someone from the palace visited. A middle-aged man, who didn’t shrink back even in front of Ian, had come and delivered a message disguised as a favor.

“His Highness hopes the Marquis can support Miss Helen. Not in a personal way, of course. Just help her settle into the empire’s noble society, like you have been doing.”

“It’s not a bad offer, Your Excellency. You’ve already drawn the Crown Prince’s ire because of Miss Helen, haven’t you? Even your lumber business in the east was affected. But my great master will stop that from happening.”

Right after he agreed, the stalled business project moved forward thanks to the Crown Prince stepping back. From that alone, Ian knew he couldn’t cut ties with Helen just yet. But to be clear, he hadn’t invited her to the engagement. She had come as another guest’s partner after not receiving an invitation directly from Ian. He could have blocked her attendance, but he hadn’t seen the need.

“Are you okay?”

After Daniel disappeared, James, who had been nervously standing nearby, stepped forward and straightened Ian’s clothes.

“I’m fine. More importantly, her seat is it far from the center?”

“Yes.”

But even Ian felt uneasy. He had ordered Helen and her partner to be seated as far from the main table as possible.

When James confirmed, Ian returned the guest list and looked up. At that moment, he noticed a stack of boxes nearby. He frowned at the unorganized pile.

“Oh, those are gifts for you and the young lady. We haven’t finished sorting them yet… I’ll take care of it right away.”

Noticing Ian’s displeasure, James quickly moved the list of engagement gifts up to the top. As Ian nodded, one name caught his eye—and annoyed him.

He held out his hand.

“Give me that list.”

James looked confused but handed it over. Ian’s eyes locked onto the top name:

• Jared Caesar

His displeasure was obvious. The paper crumpled slightly in his grip as he stared at the name. Ignoring James’s concerned look, Ian walked over to the gift pile.

“Which one is the Second Prince’s gift?”

“Pardon?”

“I said, which gift came from His Highness the Second Prince?”

With his voice low and sharp, James hurriedly brought over a small, heavy box, wrapped in expensive paper and sealed with a red wax stamp.

Ian took it. Though small, it was heavier than it looked. He gave it a slight shake, making James jump in alarm.

“Set this one aside.”

After a moment of thought, Ian ordered James to keep the gift separate. James hesitated.

“Sir? But this gift is addressed to the young lady. If it’s missing, the Parden family might take issue with it.”

“If they ask, tell them I took it. I’ll explain it to Aisha myself.”

With Ian’s firm tone, James had no choice but to nod. When Ian gestured for him to go, James left holding Jared’s gift.

Even after James left, Ian stared at the rest of the gift boxes. It still felt strange—so many people congratulating him and Aisha on their engagement.

“So this is how it ends. But nothing really changes just because we’re engaged. If I use it right… maybe I can end things even more tragically.”

He remembered how he had once shaken his head, saying an engagement was impossible. To push away the sinking feeling, Ian closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Ian.”

Then, suddenly, a familiar voice called from behind with a light touch.

He opened his eyes and turned around.

“There you are.”

Of course, the voice belonged to Aisha. But the moment he saw her, Ian froze without realizing it.

“I was looking for you. It’s almost time and I couldn’t see you anywhere.”

She was wearing a light blue dress with deep navy ribbons and lace to match Ian’s uniform. Her light brown hair was loosely braided, and the soft, layered fabric of her gown made her look like a water fairy.

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