The banquet that Enoch had prepared was grand and splendid. It was no exaggeration to say that all the nobles of the East had gathered.
Their gazes were all directed at Kael. Since there was little chance of actually seeing the ‘Ruler of the North’, whom they had only heard about, they couldn’t hide their staring gaze.

“It is an honor for you to visit the East, Your Grace. I’m Count Leona.”
“Count Delevan greets you. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.”

Greetings continued to pour. Knowing how huge the mines Kael possessed in the north were, and how the trading under him affected the empire’s market, they all tried to impress him.
The usual Kael would have never dealt with them, but here, he was invited as a guest. In addition, he had come to reveal his union with the East, so he couldn’t ignore the Eastern nobility.

“Your Grace. Let me talk to you for a moment.”

While he was fidgeting with the constantly approaching crowd, Leo approached Kael and asked for a chat.
Kael gave a slight nod at the crowd in front of him and immediately moved to Leo’s side.

“I thought you were going to lose your mind soon, so I rescued you.”

Leo said, smiling playfully.

“Thank you. I was just about to lose it.”
“Normally, my brother would have helped you, but as you can see, he is also really busy right now. I was the only one who could help. As a fellow knight, I showed my loyalty.”

Kael smirked at Leo’s unique insidious tone.

“Adeline doesn’t seem to have a chance to care about Your Grace either.”

Leo said as he looked at Adeline. Kael’s gaze turned straight to her.
Adeline, who looked dazzlingly beautiful, was attracting the attention of everyone at the banquet. Everyone glanced at Kael, amazed, but after seeing Adeline, they could hardly take their eyes off her.

It was natural. Adeline looked really beautiful today.
She looked like the reincarnation of a goddess, or an elegant fairy in a legend. She was sparkling and elegant, as if she had transcended human beauty.
There were also people swarming around Adeline. Not only women with whom she was acquainted, but also young men.

“Dear heavens! Liam! How long has it been?”

Adeline greeted one of them very happily. Kael’s expression hardened slightly at the sight of Adeline greeting the blonde man with a kiss on the cheek.

“You know what, Your Grace?”

Not missing that moment, Leo grinned and spoke to Kael.

“There won’t be a single man of her age who doesn’t think of Adeline as their first love.”
“…”
“No. I should be more precise. There will be no young man here who hasn’t admired Adeline.”

It was a fully convincing story. Adeline tended to strangely underestimate herself, but anyone could see that she was a beauty.
Blonde hair like the sunshine in the east, white and clean skin, beautiful lips that expressed a refreshing smile, and even mesmerizing, mysterious, light green eyes. There was nothing in her that wasn’t beautiful.
In addition, since she was very smart and pleasant, there were a lot of people who couldn’t break away from her charm once they had a conversation with Adeline.

“Who knows? Even if Adeline showed up with Your Grace wearing her wedding ring, there might still be a man who hasn’t forgotten her.”

His intentions for teasing him were clear. Kael immediately glanced at Leo.
However, Leo laughed as if it was funny and raised his shoulders with open arms.

“You should be nervous, Your Grace. I’m warning you.”

Leo whispered with a mischievous face and quickly walked away. Kael, who was left alone in an instant, glared at the disappearing Leo.

“…”

After shaking his head a little, Kael soon turned his eyes back to Adeline.
She was still having a pleasant conversation with the blonde man whom she had exchanged a kiss with. Adeline’s smile was brighter today. Thinking that the blonde man was facing that smile directly, Kael clenched his fists without realizing it.
In the end, Kael strode towards Adeline. In fact, he didn’t even realize that he was moving. When he came to his senses, he was walking towards her.
By the time he realized how childish it was, he was already standing in front of Adeline.

“That’s great. Then, Olivia…”

As Kael approached, Adeline stopped talking. Adeline, the blonde man, and the people around her all looked at Kael.

“Adeline. Give me a moment.”

Kael immediately reached out to Adeline.

“Ah, yes.”

Adeline, who was looking at Kael with a little surprise, frantically grabbed the hand he held out.

***

Kael brought Adeline out to the terrace. Unlike the crowded hall, Kael and Adeline were the only two people on the terrace with a view of the moon.

“Kael, what’s wrong? Did something urgent happen?”

Adeline asked Kael with a gaze and tone of voice that showed her worry. Kael, who was taking her outside, seemed quite urgent, so she felt anxious about whether something had happened in the north or the capital.

“Ahem.”

But when Adeline asked, Kael didn’t answer. He couldn’t even make eye contact with Adeline. He just cleared his throat, looking somewhat nervous.

“Could it be that the curse is…”
“No. That’s not it. At all.”

Kael’s curse crossed her mind as she thought about what it was. When Adeline, who had become stiff in an instant, brought up the story of the curse, Kael urgently said that it wasn’t it.

“Then why…”
“It’s nothing. Just because…”
“Just because?”

Just because. A sentence that didn’t suit Kael the most. Adeline looked at Kael, not understanding.

“It bothered me. I took you outside because it bothered me.”
“What do you mean it bothered you? What did?”
“It bothered me that you were talking to another man.”

In the end, Kael confessed why. His ears turned red.

“Ah…”

The same was true of Adeline, who faced an unexpected reason. Her white cheeks turned red in an instant.

“The Commander of the Fidel Knights said this. That there would be no young man in the East that doesn’t think of you as their first love.”
“Brother Leo is joking around again… It’s a lie. That’s absolutely not the case. I’ve never been very popular.”
“I think you’re the one who’s lying.”
“Please believe me. I’m serious.”
“That’s impossible. It’s just something you didn’t notice.”

Kael didn’t believe Adeline, saying it wasn’t possible. Adeline was dumbfounded by his reaction. It was absurd that he didn’t believe it when the person concerned was telling him that it wasn’t like that.

“I’ve never received a so-called confession. Brother Leo was just playing a mischievous joke. Why is he getting more mischievous the older he is?”

But Kael was right. Adeline just didn’t notice it as the person concerned, but Leo’s words didn’t contain a single lie.
The reason for not receiving any confessions was only because their brothers were blocking everything around her, but there were numerous letters of sincere confessions with Adeline as the recipient, enough to fill the eastern sea.

“I don’t believe you. It’s because you didn’t notice.”
“I’m telling you something about me, so how can you not believe it?”
“There is no one in the world who can not like you. There was no way you weren’t popular.”

Kael’s bold words tickled Adeline’s heart again. It was always like this. He said it calmly, as if he were stating that the sun rises in the east, but the content was very embarrassing.

“It really… wasn’t like that.”

Adeline, who had lowered her gaze in shame, muttered in a barely audible voice.
She always thought she shouldn’t be shaken by Kael, but when she faced him like this, she was always caught up in the whirlpool he created.

“Your Grace. Ma’am. I apologize for interrupting. The dance will start soon, so I have come to inform you.”

When a strange silence fell, one of Enoch’s secretaries came out to the terrace and informed Kael and Adeline that the dance would begin.
It was a banquet held for Kael and Adeline. The first dance was for the two of them.

“Shall we go?”

Kael asked softly, and Adeline nodded and linked arms with him.
When they went back into the hall, many people were already positioned to watch them dance.

“May I ask you to have the first dance?”
“Of course.”

Enoch asked politely with a smile, and Kael also answered politely.
Naturally, the center of the hall emptied, the music changed, and Kael and Adeline moved to the center.

“I’m nervous because people are staring at us too much. What if I step on your feet while dancing?”
“I’ll hide it so they don’t notice it.”
“How painful it would be to be stepped on! Besides, my heels are higher than usual today.”
“That much is nothing.”

It wasn’t bluff; it was genuine. It was something he said thoughtlessly, but it was like a trace of having endured extreme pain for a long time, so Adeline’s heart ached.

“How can it be nothing? If it hurts, it hurts. So, we have to live while avoiding it. Even a little pain is a pain. Please don’t talk as if it’s nothing.”

Kael laughed at her nagging disguised as worry. He couldn’t help but smile because he could feel her worrying about him.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to lead well so that I don’t get stepped on.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the rhythm of the music changed, and the dance began. Kael’s hand wrapped around Adeline’s waist, and their gazes met under the splendid chandelier.
All the people gathered in the hall were enthralled and watched Kael and Adeline dance. Big and small exclamations poured out everywhere.
It was that beautiful. Both their eyes, filled with affection, as well as the movements of their bodies, matching each other’s.

–