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Chapter : 34
He, intoxicated by his first real “cider” of life, held Eani tightly.
There were so many emotions he was feeling for the first time while being with her.
“Thanks to this, lately, my instinctual attraction to Eani feels less like a curse and more like a blessing…”
The vow he had made to keep his distance from her had now completely faded.
The more time he spent with Eani, the more he wanted to be close to her without limits.
“If my past self saw me now, he’d probably laugh at how foolish I am.”
But he could be sure of one thing:
Even his past self, if holding the current Eani in his arms, would quickly change just like he had.
While Harton was basking in this happiness, Eani looked at Fabatia with a bright smile.
“Mother, instead of chatting, why don’t you finish preparing for the engagement ceremony? I believe Father doesn’t have much time left before bringing the guests to this island.”
At Eani’s words, Fabatia’s eyes widened.
Harton, expecting his embarrassing mother to spout some nonsense, tried to cover Eani’s ears.
But unlike his expectations—
“…What?! Can’t anyone move faster?!”
Whoosh!
Fabatia frowned deeply, spun around roughly, and disappeared in the other direction.
She, who had never held back her words in her life, had retreated first.
“This is really strange.”
Since arriving on this island, Fabatia had shown an unusually weak side to Eani.
She had always been the type who couldn’t look down on Eani, but now she couldn’t even argue properly and was doing everything she was told.
This bizarre sight stirred the rationality within Harton.
“Why has the relationship changed like this?”
It was as if Fabatia had somehow acquired a weakness that she could not resist against Eani…
Just as Harton’s brow twitched in thought, Eani spoke.
“Harton~ Shall we go see the outfits for the engagement ceremony? The designer said they’ve crafted a special couple’s outfit with utmost care~”
“Couple’s outfit…?”
Harton had never really cared about clothing.
But if it was a couple’s outfit with Eani, that was an entirely different story!
In his mind, he could see Eani laughing and twirling in an outfit perfectly matched to his own.
Even imagining it made him feel like he was walking on clouds.
“Let’s go quickly.”
“This way~”
Guided by Eani’s gentle hand, Harton headed toward the dressroom, humming happily.
Naturally, the rationality that had just stirred in him melted away like sugar in his mouth.
The Duchess had brought countless staff to the island to lead preparations for the engagement ceremony, while the Duke remained in the capital, handling Harton’s work as well as managing invited guests.
And what had I and Harton been doing all this time?
“Just relaxing and enjoying paradise~”
Of course, occasionally exploring Tadivna and finding places suitable for sightseeing, but even that was part of the fun—truly a win-win situation.
“Among the staff the Duchess hurriedly brought, I even drafted contracts for some skilled workers so they could continue working at the resort.”
The slightly boring villa was remodeled beautifully, new staff were hired…
So even the preparations for the engagement ceremony were already yielding multiple benefits.
“But the real thrill I want comes from today.”
Today was the engagement day, carefully planned down to the last detail!
“Please, you may now enter.”
Following the steward’s cue, I, escorted by Harton, walked toward the garden where the guests were gathered.
As we entered, the music of the orchestra and elegant applause reached our ears.
I quickly scanned the invited guests and slowly walked toward the front.
“As expected, not too many people.”
Indeed, the engagement had been arranged hastily, and the location was too remote to invite many guests.
But it didn’t matter.
“After all, the top priority of this engagement is to give Harton a sense of stability.”
Most importantly, all the key figures I had in mind were present.
Thanks to skipping all the ceremonial pomp, the engagement progressed quickly.
As we walked to the front of the garden, the Duke and Duchess of Saind, who had been waiting, approached us.
“Even though this schedule was arranged hastily, we thank everyone for attending.”
The Duke of Saind spoke loudly beside us.
“Here, we formally introduce the new member who will join the Saind family.”
With those words, the Duke pointed to me standing beside him.
“The youngest daughter of the promising Nasel Baron family, and the fiancée of Harton Saind, the heir of the great Saind family: Eani Nasel!”
I bowed politely according to proper etiquette.
Polite applause followed my gesture.
“Moreover, the reason we chose to hold the engagement ceremony on this distant Tadivna Island is that we wanted to show you something special!”
The Duke smoothly continued his speech, just as I had scripted.
Unlike Harton, who was poor with words and rather blunt, he looked exceptionally eloquent.
“Perhaps thanks to his lifelong experience in central politics?”
Harton had some talent in business, but not in politics.
However, even this veteran Duke seemed at a loss in the next part.
“The beautiful nature of Tadivna Island… my… my… ugh…”
The usually smooth-speaking Duke hesitated suddenly, muttering softly.
It was as if he didn’t want to say the next words no matter what.
Knowing his next line by heart, I glanced at him.
“Is his pride part of his experience?”
I silently reached out and gave a small poke to his back.
The Duke glanced at me slightly, and I subtly pointed somewhere with my eyes.
There, I saw…
“Why did the Duke suddenly stop speaking?”
“Perhaps he bit his tongue or something.”
The Crown Princess was gently stroking her protruding belly, and the Crown Prince was looking at her affectionately.
The Duke’s face turned pale upon seeing the Crown Prince.
“Of course, the arrogant Duke of Saind used honorifics from the start because someone of higher status was present.”
Perhaps noticing my gaze, the Duke cleared his throat and regained composure.
He quickly placed a hand on my shoulder.
“On Tadivna Island, my beautiful and proud ‘new daughter’ is starting a new business!”
Beside him, the Duchess also hurriedly smiled and read her line.
“Our lovely ‘new daughter’ wants to introduce her business to you first, so please look forward to it!”
Seeing them move as I instructed, I smiled quietly with satisfaction.
“Yes, that’s exactly how you should act.”
I needed to appear as the daughter-in-law who received the full love and praise of the Saind family.
That way, my future business would proceed more smoothly.
Soon, I would need to bring in investors outside the Saind family, so this perception was essential.
“Other daughters-in-law may not know how to win over their in-laws, but I have my own way~”
Backed by the Duke and Duchess’s praise, I stepped forward and politely addressed the high-ranking imperial officials invited to the ceremony.
“Please enjoy your time on this island.”
As I gave my greeting, I could hear Harton and the Saind couple muttering.
“Don’t keep your hand on Eani’s shoulder for too long; it’s heavy.”
“What a hopeless child.”
“Already volunteering to be a pushover.”
Regardless of their parents’ complaints, Harton stepped forward and stood beside me.
He carefully held my chin and swallowed nervously.
“Harton?”
I blinked at his unexpected action, not in the script.
Then—peck.
A soft touch landed on my cheek and vanished.
“…Huh?”
Among the observing guests, a small gasp escaped.
I widened my eyes and turned to him.
Harton, his face bright red, fumbled as he spoke.
“You… said I had to show myself looking as pretty as possible… so… I tried.”
Did he… feel embarrassed?
Harton, nervously like a boy fumbling around his first love, asked.
I took a moment to look at him, then smiled softly.
“No, it’s perfect.”
Whispering that, I naturally leaned into his arms.
Harton, radiating happiness, wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Please give a round of applause for the new fiancée and fiancé!”
The Duke hurriedly calmed the murmuring crowd.
All around, applause and congratulations poured toward us.
“Amazing.”
Through the magic-enhanced hearing, I caught a small whisper.
