On the contrary, Kalcion’s admission was what left Selena speechless.
“Why would you go crazy all of a sudden-”
The scariest thing in the world was not an angry person, but a crazy person. This was because it was impossible to predict the direction of the person’s mind. Now, Kalcion looked seriously mad. It was more of a paranoia than overprotectiveness. Selena was quite surprised to find Kalcion behaving so irrationally – not trusting the escorts he sent and rushing to Selena directly by himself. He almost forgot the original contract he had with Selena and even started a quarrel with the Crown Prince. It was not normal unless you were crazy.
‘As expected, stress can drive a person to extreme lengths….’
Selena’s stress was also severe, but there must have been a lot of pressure that Kalcion had to deal with in the process. He could have gone crazy.
“You wouldn’t have gone mad if you knew the reason.”
“That’s true.”
“Ha…. I don’t know. I can’t think of anything in my head, and I can’t make a rational judgment.”
“Oh, my…. I did become important to the Duke. But I’m not that weak. I can survive well on my own. Look, there’s already been a series of situations, but they’re fine.”
Kalcion looked at Selena with narrowed eyes. Selena was really fine.
“…But to feel at ease-”
“Yes, I see. Go, go. Go and make sure the party is safe.”
One shouldn’t try to deal with a crazy person with logic. Selena gently took Kalcion’s hand.
“Oh, my!” Viorela shouted in surprise when she spotted the two of them. Additionally, she drew the attention of others who sat together and were busy chatting at once.
“You’re here with His Excellency?”
“Yes, it seems he was wondering what kind of gathering we were having. He asked to escort me inside. He’ll be leaving now.”
Right? Selena looked back, but there was no answer from Kalcion. Instead, he was busy scanning the party venue with cold eyes.
Marquis Royle’s garden was not as large as Count Hice’s, because it was closer to the center of the city. Almost all the tables and chairs in the yard were occupied. The party was pretty big. And the guests included both men and women. Kalcion’s eyes narrowed.
“Though I wasn’t invited, could you give me a seat?” Kalcion asked Viorela, growling as if he had just met a thousand years old enemy. Even if he was the Duke of Renbird, it was a disrespect to barge in without an invitation. But Viorela was an open-minded person who liked to have fun with many people.
“It will be an honor for you to be interested in my tea party. Of course, I’ll make room for you. Over there, may I show you to the gentlemen’s table?”
Viorela responded calmly to the unexpected request.
“A seat next to Selena would suffice.”
The tables were gender-specific, though the party was mixed. Men and women sat at their respective tables. There were no liquor bottles on a table, but a bar table was prepared on one side of the garden like the party at the Foundation Festival. It was a structure where you could naturally talk to other people on your way to get alcohol or on your way back with alcohol.
Kalcion had to sit at the women’s table to sit next to Selena. It was a bold attempt that an average man would not even think about.
“….That is, if you don’t mind. I’ll get it ready.”
For the unexpected fun of the uninvited guest, Viorela had a hard time shoving in her laughter.
A chair was added to the table for Selena at the behest of Viorela. It was also a table where Viorela sat.
“Everyone, we have an unexpected guest. But I’m sure you’ll all welcome him. As you all know with no introduction, he’s the Duke of Renbird. And this is Lady Selena, whom I had invited.”
This gathering was half-pleasant without such high expectations, so she accepted Kalcion’s stubbornness.
“Hello, I didn’t have time to chat for that long the last time we met because I was so out of the box.”
Surprisingly, people rushed to Selena, not Kalcion, with more interest. Her treatment was completely different from what she received at Lirel’s tea party, which had only been coy in the distance.
“I’ve never felt so welcomed.”
People burst into laughter at Selena’s bewildered response.
“Maybe others don’t know, Lady Selena was a rookie when we met.”
Her first impression at the dry international party seemed to have remained as strong for them. It wasn’t that it was out of politeness, but it was overflowing with sincerity. They conversed naturally in a friendly atmosphere.
Selena was always at the center of the conversation. As a result, people at other tables who wanted to talk to Selena had to come and talk to her in person.
“Lady Selena? Oh, it’s an honor to see you again. You were so popular, that I couldn’t even get close. May I ask for a toast?”
“Nice to meet you. Of course, I-”
“That toast, do it with me.”
Selena’s words, trying to respond to a lightly proposed toast by a man approaching, were cut off. Kalcion raised his glass, revealing his white teeth like a pair of scissors.
“As you all know, the Duke of Renbird has an enemy everywhere. You can’t help but be careful when you meet someone for the first time. Since we don’t know what’s in the glass, let me make a toast instead, because I’m resistant to poison.”
Kalcion, who turned into a human to kill not only Viorela, the host of the party, but also the person who offered the toast, raised his glass calmly. He alone froze the friendly atmosphere. But what could they do? When he was the owner of the cold air and winter itself.
People raised their glasses with their arms stiffened by the cold. But fortunately, the alcohol melted the cold away. One or two drinks after, the bottles were emptied, and in the meantime, people’s vigilance was dissolved. Kalcion was still holding out like a huge ice wall.
“No, I thought Selena was good at holding liquor…. but Your Excellency’s drinking capacity must be incredible!”
“That’s right. I didn’t expect the Duke to drink that so well,” Selena lightly bumped her glass against the glass that Kalcion had put down before she took a sip. The only person Selena could hit her glass with here was Kalcion. It was inevitable because of Kalcion’s awareness.
Selena did not protest and followed Kalcion’s stubbornness. This party didn’t need the appeal of a favorite woman of the Duke. These people were more interested in Selena, not Kalcion’s woman. But there was no reason to stop them if they came forward and showed their affection and obsession. Kalcion naturally lifted the glass and emptied it.
“Are you saying you’re good at drinking when you don’t know what it’s like to be drunk?”
It was the same for Selena. If one drank too much, they might feel full or tired, but she didn’t know what it felt like to be drunk. Actually, she had no one to drink with, and she didn’t think she wanted to drink until she was alone.
“I don’t know if I’m a good drinker, but people say it.”
“I see.”
“By the way, if one doesn’t drink like that, then it’s not fun to drink.”
It was a drunken man who was particularly curious.
“That’s right.”
“Then you wouldn’t have been interested in the drinking party. Oh, how did you do this? To be able to bring Duke Renbird to this tea party!”
The main topics of the table included Selena’s special drinking capacity, a war of nerves at a dry international party, the appearance of the Crown Prince, and the number of invitations she received afterward. But there was a separate topic that people really wanted to ask about.
The burning love affair of the Duke of North whom no one could melt. There was no more interesting story in the world. Kalcion answered calmly, drawing curious glittering eyes from people.
“This party allows both men and women, and I was reluctant to leave Selena alone at a drinking party.”
That was a great answer. It didn’t sound very obsessed, and it felt like a lover’s concern. When did he grow up so well? Selena once again admired his outstanding progress.
“Oh dear, you must really love her. I mean, how! I heard it hasn’t been that long since you two met! Your Excellency was famous for being as hard and cold as the glaciers of the Sigand Mountains in the north! How is it that you became as hot and mushy as the desert sand in the south!”
Selena stopped nodding.
Why were the questions flowing like that? As usual, once you give a chance to people, they won’t let go until they get the answer they want.
“I’m very curious how you, who’s busy and complicated, were so moved!”
“….What moved me was….,” Kalcion smirked and drank casually. What the hell would come out of his mouth? Selena waited nervously for his answer. Like relatives who watched the announcement of the will of a rich man without children, everyone kept silent and paid attention.
“Well, her prettiness?”
In response to his answer, people swallowed their breaths instead of snacks.
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