Chapter – 16
“I can hear all of you.”
I was standing in the waiting room, breathing in and out slowly.
In… out… in… out…
“Are you very nervous?”
Ian was standing beside me.
Dressed in a deep blue formal suit.
He was already handsome to begin with, but now that he was fully dressed up, it honestly felt like his very existence was glowing.
I have to hold hands with someone like this and walk out in front of all those people?
The guests who came here were probably dying of curiosity about me.
There were definitely plenty who wanted to find faults too.
I was already nervous, and on top of that, my fiancé was so ridiculously handsome that it made all the effort I put into wearing this ten-million-mars dress feel pointless.
Anyone would look like a squid standing next to someone like him!
“Are you so nervous you can’t even answer?”
Ian approached me with a puzzled look.
As his overwhelming beauty got closer, I unconsciously spoke bluntly.
“Please step back. Your face is not helping right now.”
“Why are you being so timid? You’re completely different from the person who was provoking me in the carriage yesterday.”
Ian slowly leaned toward me.
“Where did the lady go who boldly declared she needed to get used to me quickly for our wedding night?”
That’s cheating, bringing that up now.
I glared at him slightly.
…Not openly. Just a little.
“Of course I’m nervous. If anyone finds even the smallest flaw in me, they’ll tear me apart. Saying things like my skin isn’t great or my hair looks dry…”
“Who would dare pick faults with you?”
“Well, of course they wouldn’t do it openly since I’m your fiancée. But behind my back they definitely—”
“No. Look in the mirror.”
Ian held my shoulders and turned me toward the mirror.
In the reflection stood a woman wearing a gorgeous dress, but with a stiff, frozen expression that didn’t match it.
“I don’t see anything to criticize.”
Ian’s voice flowed from behind me to my ear.
W-what? I froze.
This guy could say things like that too?
I guess that’s his way of encouraging me…
The problem was that because of his ridiculous looks, even at this very moment the me in the mirror was turning into a squid in real time.
Well… whatever.
I gave up and switched into a que sera sera mindset.
Let them gossip a hundred times that he’s too good for me. Honestly, it’d be harder to find someone who wouldn’t seem lacking next to Ian.
As confidence returned to my expression, Ian seemed to notice and gave a small smile.
“Are you ready?”
He lowered his head slightly and whispered near my ear.
A tingling sensation shot from my ear all the way down to my toes, raising goosebumps.
“The moment we step through that door, you become the person I love more than anything.”
I clenched both fists and nodded quietly.
Ian smiled faintly, straightened up, and signaled to the knights guarding the door.
They opened the doors on both sides.
The real performance was about to begin.
“That lady is…”
“So she’s the one engaged to Ian.”
The moment the doors opened and today’s main couple entered—
The previously silent hall began to stir with whispers.
Everyone’s attention focused on the lady holding Ian’s hand.
“I’ve definitely never seen her in the capital.”
“She’s cute.”
“Wait, isn’t that dress by Merci?”
“Oh! I saw it displayed in the shop recently. But… my goodness. How many jewels did she add to it?”
“Even noble ladies can hardly afford Merci’s dresses, and she added even more luxury? She must be from an incredibly wealthy family.”
“Maybe the hidden daughter of a major merchant guild?”
Whispers flew everywhere.
Ignoring them, the couple walked forward.
Soon, standing before the bishop, Ian gently held his fiancée’s hand.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked down at her.
“Is Ian… smiling right now?”
“Ah, it’s dazzling.”
“That smile was so rare, and now so easily… He really must be in love.”
“What could possibly be so special about that lady to make Ian fall this hard?”
People examined Irene closely.
She had a pretty and likable face, but she wasn’t the kind of breathtaking beauty that could topple nations.
It was well known that Ian had rejected the advances of Princess Viole of a neighboring kingdom—called the miracle of the continent for her beauty.
Those who remembered that found this scene even harder to believe.
Even Princess Viole couldn’t get even a fragment of Ian’s smile!
Yet this lady who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere was not only involved in a scandal with him in a cathedral, but was now even promising marriage before a bishop.
What kind of irresistible charm did she have?
“Have you heard the rumor? They say that young lady is actually the Saintess who was summoned this time.”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
At one woman’s quiet remark, everyone turned toward her in shock.
In truth, she was someone Ian had planted among the guests—but nobody here knew that.
“I don’t know the full details either. Bishop Kenen, who oversees the Saintess verification process, is currently away, right? And tradition says she can’t be officially recognized before the examination… so it’s only a rumor. But apparently she’s the new Saintess who appeared after fifteen years.”
“My goodness.”
“Then the commander of the Holy Knights and the Saintess…?”
The shocking information made everyone’s eyes light up.
“I heard there’s actually a reason they were found in Ian’s bedroom in… ahem… that kind of situation. Though we’d have to hear it directly from them.”
“What kind of reason?”
“Wait—Saintesses usually appear somewhere inside the cathedral when summoned, right? Could it be she appeared in Ian’s bedroom?”
“Oh my.”
People began spinning their imaginations excitedly.
Irene, still looking up at Ian, smiled slightly as she listened to the faint whispers.
It’s going according to plan.
Planting people among the guests was Ian’s idea, but the plan itself was something they created together.
At first, people only thought of their relationship as a scandal.
Now, they were beginning to see it as a love story.
Irene opened her lips slightly and whispered so only Ian could hear:
“Smile more deeply.”
Even his current faint smile was dangerous to the heart.
But it wasn’t enough.
To fuel people’s imagination, they needed something more romantic.
Ian hesitated briefly, then lifted the corners of his mouth.
On his usually icy face, an unfamiliar smile spread like spring sunlight.
“Is this enough?”
Ian whispered quietly.
Irene couldn’t answer immediately and just moved her lips silently.
“…Yes. I think so.”
She finally answered a few seconds later.
Thinking how she could never get used to that face no matter how many times she saw it.
I’m starting to get tired.
I secretly sighed.
The engagement ceremony was mostly finished.
We had promised marriage before the bishop and even set a wedding date.
But the real event of today was just beginning.
This country had a tradition.
After engagements or weddings, the men held an after-party among themselves, and the women held theirs separately.
And now I was standing in front of the salon where that gathering would take place.
“Are you really going to be okay? By yourself?”
Ian asked again.
Of course, he wasn’t worried about me.
He was worried whether I’d cause trouble if left alone.
“I told you I’ll be fine.”
“We could still cancel the gathering.”
“That would be strange. It’s a tradition everyone follows. If we don’t, people will think it’s weird.”
I shook my head.
I wasn’t completely fearless about throwing myself alone into high society.
But today was only the beginning.
If I got scared now, I wouldn’t survive the coming year.
“Trust me, Ian. I’ll be fine.”
I lightly patted my chest and moved to open the door.
Then I noticed a group of noble ladies approaching from the other side.
I quickly turned back to Ian.
“A goodbye kiss on the cheek! Hurry!”
“…What?”
“They’re watching! Quick!”
We were supposed to be passionately in love.
A couple who couldn’t bear even a brief separation.
A goodbye kiss was only natural.
“…Understood.”
Ian lowered his eyes and stepped closer.
Without realizing it, I squeezed my eyes shut.
A soft touch pressed lightly against my cheek.
Warm.
Soft.
Like being brushed with a feather.
Then—
“I’m sorry we’re late— Kyaa!”
The salon door suddenly opened.
A noble lady who saw us gasped and stumbled backward.
“S-sorry!”
Her face turned bright red as she fanned herself and stepped aside.
At the same time, I could feel the gazes of countless noble ladies inside the salon focusing on us.
“Oh my.”
“How passionate…”
Ian sighed quietly and whispered:
“I’ll be waiting.”
“See you later.”
The conversation itself was completely businesslike.
But the noble ladies, who couldn’t hear the content, blushed even more.
They probably thought we had exchanged something much more intense.
After sending Ian off, I closed the door and looked around the salon.
It was time for the real social battle to begin.
Curious gazes poured toward me.
The tension of who would speak first filled the room.
Then I heard the clear sound of approaching heels.
