# Chapter 25
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When I looked at him with a confused expression on my face, he looked even more embarrassed than I did.
At that moment, a servant passed by carrying glasses of champagne, and Nezar took two of them and placed one in his left hand and the other in mine, which had been lost.
Then he opened his mouth as if nothing had happened.
"Follow me, Kate.
"Don't get lost in the crowd."
Nezar turns his back and walks away from me.
At the same time, an unprecedented feeling of disappointment washed over me like a wave.
You just rejected my hand, right?
My heart was sinking because I couldn't figure out why.
Nezar didn't know my speed and walked with long steps.
After walking a little, he turned around and made a slight gesture to see that I was standing still.
...
...
What did they say about it?
There are cases when you suddenly become awkward with your cousin, with whom you have played well since childhood, as you grow older.
If I think about it, even in my previous life, the intensity of embarrassment was particularly strong in my mid-teens.
Normally, relationships calm down in your mid-twenties, but I lost my life when I turned seventeen, so it all ended without me getting over my weird relationship with my cousin.
No matter how much I thought about it, the atmosphere between Nezar and I now was very similar to the awkwardness I felt with my cousin back then.
If I were the only one who thought that way, I would have tried to pretend that I didn't think that way, but Nezar couldn't hide his uncomfortable feelings either.
Until then, you treated me well as if you were my little brother, but just because it had been 5 years since you last met, I even shook the hand you held out of habit.
Even how to chase bugs!
As I tried to answer each question one by one, I was so disappointed that I even became angry.
I felt so stupid for spending days worrying about my dress and my skin.
Of course, it was funny to see myself complaining as if I was waiting.
After reversing the engagement, I still expect your consideration as if it were a given.
"Your Majesty Nezar!"
Of course, there was one more reason I was so angry and disappointed.
"haha!
We will reduce your victory.
"I thought that the Northern Expedition led by Your Majesty would definitely achieve a great cause."
"That's high praise, Count Colanto."
"That's high praise!
"Your Majesty and your empire's achievements should be engraved on the walls of this gigantic Cassandra Hall so they can be known from generation to generation!"
How many times was that, three? four?
The drink that filled half the champagne glass was already gone.
I handed the empty glass to the waiter and got a new glass.
It's been ten minutes since Nezar asked us to leave the hall.
However, the momentum that carried me forward with confidence was in vain, and I had to be caught by the nobles who were cornered like a wandering ghost.
I couldn't take it anymore, so I took three or four steps away and ate the salmon salad in silence.
I felt like my stomach was a little full, but I had to chew it well to avoid getting sick.
I didn't have the confidence to stand by his side as his bride.
It was because I didn't want to embarrass Nezar by saying something insensitive.
Nezar turned his head to me every now and then and gave me an apologetic look.
I snorted and turned away, pretending not to notice.
"And this is the second daughter, Medea. media?
"I would like to greet Your Majesty."
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness Nezar.
My name is Media Colanto.
"Please call me Medea."
"You can't be rude on your first meeting.
Ms.
Colanto, nice to meet you.
"You are as beautiful as I heard."
I knew it was just idle talk, but I couldn't help but feel the tension in my eyes.
When Nezar lightly kissed the back of her hand, the face of the woman staring at him turned red.
are you well.
The more women are interested in Nezar, the easier it will be for him to find a woman.
Therefore, there was no reason to feel envy or jealousy.
"Ah, the largest opera theater in the empire will open in Colanto next month.
If you don't mind, be sure to watch the theater's opening ceremony...
...
."
"Ah, if I have time, I will visit.
"But I don't think I can tell you for sure because my schedule is busy."
"haha!
I really appreciate your words.
I see His Majesty the Crown Prince is very busy lately...
...
."
Has that pot-bellied, bald count lost his mind in Colanto?
No, it might have been that they shamelessly placed the iron plate while pretending not to know.
It's so obvious that even a passing fly knows that Nezar is a popular person at this party.
Even though they didn't notice my presence, I can't believe how many nobles were nearby, worried and holding on until the end.
He was such a nasty man that he deserved applause.
"Ah!
In fact, today is Medea's debutante.
Isn't that true, Medea?
"yes.
"It's an honor to be able to welcome my debutante to such a significant party."
The woman's eyes, speaking with a mumble, never left Nezar's face.
It was truly the look of a woman in love.
Okay, it's okay.
If the two could at least agree, that would have been the best ending.
Count Colanto looked at Nezar expectantly, as if there was some answer waiting for him.
However, Nezar just smiled softly and said nothing, and the count, who briefly suppressed his laughter, spoke first.
"Your Highness Nezar, if it's okay with you, could you be Medea's first dance partner?"
"...
...
"You mean me?"
Sometimes instinct overrides reason.
Coincidentally, this is who I am now.
To achieve the goal you have been aiming for for a long time, you have to stay quiet here, or coldly turn your back and say that you can't wait any longer.
But now, instead of my thought circuit functioning perfectly, it was completely paralyzed.
I swallowed the salmon I was chewing and walked towards them.
"Ah, my father too!
Your Majesty has a fiancé...
...
."
I stood next to Nezar as the woman covered her mouth and laughed.
At the same time, all three eyes turned to me.
Among them, the eyes of Media Colanto, who was in front, were the widest.
"Who are you..." ...
."
I smiled broadly at the father and daughter who couldn't understand the matter.
"What do you eat and are you so rude?"
Medea's face hardened.
Then, with a somewhat dazed expression, he slowly lowered his hand covering his mouth.
I observed the reactions of the count and the count's daughter and said with a wide smile.
“How rude and shameless you are, how could you have thought that some lowly bastard would hit His Highness Nezar?”
"The young lady is very talkative.
What kind of nonsense is this when you suddenly come up to me?
Haha, it's really absurd...
...
.
How dare you invade a conversation between adults!
"What kind of family are you from?"
"I was the one who promised to marry His Highness Nezar."
When I lifted my chin and spoke confidently, the count closed his mouth.
In a way, it was natural that they didn't know my face.
I can only count on two fingers the number of times I've attended ballroom parties, so except for a few people, it was the first time I'd seen them.
"Do you want to be your first dance partner with a man who has a bride by his side?
"What country culture is this?"
Medea's skin turned blue.
In the Empire, adults are recognized from the age of eighteen, and noble women make their debutante as soon as they become adults.
My barbed tone was enough to embarrass her, who was barely an adult.
The count looked around with a look of despair on his face and spoke in a low whisper.
“Well, first of all, let me apologize, young lady.
I've never heard of Your Highness having a fiancé...
...
."
There was no way I wouldn't know.
I think they were trying to use Nezar by pretending not to know.
Wow, telling such an obvious lie!
I let out an evil laugh as if I wanted to show off.
"You're very confident in saying you didn't know.
If you didn't know, you should have asked, Count.
It has been five years since I signed my engagement vow with His Highness Nezar.
It's been 5 years.
"I take it you took a trip abroad during that long period?"
The big-bellied count spoke nonsense in front of me and then disappeared, taking his daughter with him.
The excuse he gave was so bad that he couldn't even remember what he had said.
I was amazed and gulped down the remaining champagne and threw it on a nearby table.
That's right.
Nezar doesn't need that kind of family and wife.
It was that moment.
I heard a small chuckle coming from the top of my head.
"Do you speak very well?" "I thought he had become a little more polite, but his temper hasn't gone anywhere."
"Do you have a temper?
That old count is now treating me as if I didn't exist.
"Of course I'll be angry!"
When I turned around, I saw Nezar looking at me with a kind and gentle smile on his face, just like when he was dealing with the noble.
It was such an impressive expression that not only the media, but many noble women in the empire fell in love with it.
"Yes, Kate.
You're 100% right.
I'll have to say something to you the next time I see you.
"Thanks to you, I think I've had enough trouble, so let's run away now."
Still, the last sentence was romantic, like something out of a fairy tale.
I nodded anxiously and followed Nezar out of Cassandra Hall.
The nights of drinking and dancing at Hwangseong Castle are beautiful.
The inside, which was bright enough to make my eyes hurt, and the outside, where the night was pitch black, had conflicting atmospheres.
Unlike before, when I walked ahead with big steps, Nezar calmly waited for my slow pace.
Even though my height had clearly grown in proportion to the passage of time, it seemed like the distance between Nezar and me hadn't decreased at all.
Nezhar turned onto the path and entered the garden that connected Cassandra Hall and Victoria Castle.
The scent of flowers, which became more intense as silence approached, filled the air everywhere.
What flower is this?
No matter how I looked at it, it was the first time I had seen it, but the smell it gave off was quite familiar.
"Come here, Nezar.
I've never seen such beautiful flowers in my life.
Is it an invasive species?
"The petals are colored like a peony, but the scent is similar to musk."
I stopped in front of a flowering bush and looked more closely at the leaves.
It was a large and beautiful musk rose that could be used for interior decoration.
"Ah, that's a musk rose.
This is the role that Lord Pansion received from the Kamaudra Kingdom.
"They said they didn't take it to Entera, but gave it to the imperial castle, and then planted it here."
"Did you receive it?"
Nezar nodded curtly.
"The king of Kamaudra gave up the war against the empire for the sake of his subjects.
Once we advanced, Kamaudra accepted that they were vassals of the Kabal Empire and offered Princess Theresia as the princess.
"The gift the princess gave to Lord Pansion was this musk rose."
I also remembered the Kamaudra Kingdom.
I had already heard the news late last year that four princesses from each country, including Princess Theresia, had been offered up as princesses.
"Why does Princess Theresia give Lord Pansion a gift?
"The princess is now Her Majesty's person."
To be exact, it is not a person, but a tribute.
Nezar reached out and plucked the most blooming musk rose.
The petals were so heavy that the stem, unable to support the weight, fell to the side.
"Well, it is not a very pleasant story to be told carelessly.
What is certain is that the roses were planted here, and not in Entera."
He brought his nose close, swallowed the scent and threw the flower beyond the bushes.
"Is there anything else you're curious about?"
The sky was dark, but Nezar's face was bright.
The moonlight, which fell hazily like early morning mist, shone on his forehead.
The low beat of my heart couldn't have been more pleasant.
For some reason I felt unbearably shy, and in the end I cleared my throat a little and looked away.