Raising my Fiancè with Money

Chapter 94: Popularity

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Turning her head, Lilia stepped completely inside the banquet hall.
Count Bloden and Heinley, who entered first, stood next to Lilia.
As this was the first time the Bloden family had gathered together in a long time, everyone was busy looking at them.

There were three bright blonde heads that sparkled like the sun, so their eyes were dazzled.
On top of that, everything from head to toe was of the highest quality.
In terms of conversion, they entered with the wealth of a castle [1] on their backs.
The nobles’ jaws dropped at the wealth that they saw.

They were startled when they saw Karhan standing next to Lilia.
The murmur seemed to be heard all the way there.
Lilia spoke quietly to her family, who were clinging to her.

“Why don’t you go about doing your own business?”

“Never mind us.”

“You’re bothering me.”

At the stern words, the family left with a face of disappointment.

“Call me if you need anything.”

Lilia waved instead of answering.
The Bloden couple, with their arms crossed, headed to a gathering of aristocrats of similar age.
Heinley found a co-worker and walked over there.

With only two left, Lilia looked up at Karhan.
He looked nervous, but he still looked fine.

Lilia felt a piercing look on her cheek.
Everyone looked anxious to talk to her.
But they couldn’t bring themselves to approach her knowing that it was Karhan next to her.

“The person next to her is Lord Evantheon, right?”

“Why did the two enter together?”

“I’d like to speak to Lady Bloden, but I’m afraid of the Lord…….”

“But doesn’t the atmosphere seem to have softened a lot compared to before?”

“That’s true.
But the rumors…….”

The whispers of the people could be heard faintly.
As far as Lilia knew, Karhan’s reputation was the worst.
After rolling on the battlefield for a long time, he barely showed his face after returning to the capital.
Rather, she heard that every time he went to a meeting, he only created more bad rumors and came back.

Everyone just stared at them and couldn’t come forward, but a nobleman came up to them with curiosity.

“Hello, Lady Bloden.
I’ve greeted you before, do you remember?”

Lilia looked at the man silently.
He was not a person on Richards’ side, and the memory of greeting him at gatherings a few times came to her mind.

“Of course.
It’s been a while, right?”

Lilia smiled kindly and accepted the greeting.
The Lord, who received her smile with laughter, slowly turned his head.
And he looked up at Karhan with a little nervousness on his face.

The pressure was great because their eye level was different.
Still, his complexion had brightened up, so he wasn’t as scary as before.
He took courage and greeted Karhan.

“I’ve only seen you from afar… It’s my first time greeting you.”

As he revealed his name, Karhan nodded slowly.
The fiercely raised eyes subsided a little.
Karhan answered, opening his mouth,

“Nice to meet you.
I’m Karhan Evantheon.”

It was a short greeting.
However, everyone was shocked to find that Karhan had accepted a normal greeting.
The nobleman’s face, which had thought he would be fortunate not to receive swear words as a reply, also brightened up.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.
I really wanted to talk to you at least once.”

He continued the conversation with moderate courtesy.
Likewise, the nervous Karhan’s expression became a little softer.

“!”

As if the sharp wind had stopped and a calm breeze was now blowing, people who were watching approached and talked to him in a clearly changed atmosphere.

“I’m greeting you for the first time.
Ever since……”

“Lord Evantheon, I’m……”

Lord Evantheon, who was called the impregnable.
Everyone was excited about the man with a terrible rumor, that your neck would be cut just by making eye contact.

Karhan panicked when suddenly so many people greeted him.
His facial expression was not controlled and he was getting stiff, and Lilia put a little force on his arms.
As Karhan turned his head, and Lilia mouthed,

‘Puppy.’

It was their own code to imagine himself running around in the field with a puppy.
His arm, which had been tense, loosened up.
A faint but sure smile appeared on the corner of Karhan’s lips.
The people who saw the smile paused for a moment

They looked at Karhan’s face without blinking.
Everyone has been instinctively avoiding looking at his face because they had been overwhelmed by the atmosphere and pressure of being murdered.
However, the fierce energy was lifted and he was now smiling normally, he was a handsome man, enough to make their heart tremble.

The aristocrats, who were gazing at them, were very excited and poured out questions.
People who were wandering nearby also flocked to form a crowd.
Anyone could tell that the main character of the banquet now was Karhan.

Of course, Lilia was no exception, so she had to be bombarded with questions for a while.
Lilia was next to him, controlling the flow of the conversation from the sidelines.
The conversation flowed in a line where Karhan would not be burdened.

“But… are you two dating?”

When someone asked a question softly, everyone looked curious.
Instead of answering, Lilia grinned and clasped Karhan’s arm firmly.
Then Karhan’s earlobes turned a little red.

Aah, the people nodded.
Fortunately, no one brought up the story of Richard unknowingly.

‘I succeeded in stamping this image in their eyes…….’

Lilia looked around lightly.
The nobles looked sympathetic for avoiding Karhan.
Karhan was the best opponent to socialize, just because of the rumours.
He’s the duke’s heir, he’s got a good body, he’s got a good face.….

After thinking for a moment, Lilia shook her head.
She wondered if she should move away from Karhan now.
If she continued to stay together the whole time, he couldn’t continue his conversation with the other scholars.
He was still a little nervous, but it was good to learn how to talk alone.

While looking around, Lilia made eye contact with Stella again.
Stella turned her head in surprise as if she had been caught looking at her this whole time.

‘What is it?’

If you’re going to pretend you don’t know, you might as well turn off your attention.
Are you wary of  me spreading rumors? Lilia sighed, thinking it was plausible for some reason.

Lilia loosened her arms.
As Karhan caught on reflexively, Lilia whispered quietly,

“Karhan, I’m going to greet some other people.”

Karhan’s expression subsided in an instant.
He looked at Lilia with a very sad face.
Feeling some sort of remorse, she tapped Karhan’s arm with her fingers.

“It’s a chance to make friends.”

He also needed to build rapport with others.
Young scholars and nobles in particular will empower his reputation and power.
Karhan reluctantly loosened his hands.
She could see that his eyebrows were drooping down.

‘Are you very anxious?’

She was shaken for a moment, but she said firmly again,

“I’ll see you later.”

Lilia waved her hand and left.
Once she was a little further away from there, Lilia turned around.
Karhan’s surroundings were bustling with people with no space to step in.
Still, he would be easy to find later.
Standing tall alone among all those people.

‘Where should I go now?’

She didn’t want to go to her parents or Heinley.
Families also needed to spend their time separately.
Lilia thought hard and headed to the place where the young nobles were gathered.

Until now, she had been avoiding relationships with people on purpose because she was tired.
However, she couldn’t build a wall from people for the rest of her life, so she thought she should build a little friendship from now on.
Wouldn’t it be shameful if she remains the same while asking Karhan to change?

As she was walking inside, Lilia made eye contact with Stella again.
While talking to other people, her eyes were on Lilia.
Unable to erase the feeling of being watched, Lilia frowned.

Lilia, who could no longer turn away, looked directly at Stella.
Stella, whose eyes met hers, flinched and avoided eye contact.
Then, as if she realized that Lilia kept staring at her, she approached her alone.
She certainly looked better than before.

“Why are you alone? You don’t have any friends?”

She started to quarrel from the beginning.
Lilia, who ignored Stella’s words, said what she wanted to say.

“You’ve been staring at me.
Do you have anything to say to me?”

“……What do you mean?”

Stella frowned.

“Don’t get me wrong about the accidental eye contact.”

Stella shot back with displeasure.
But unlike before, her tone was spiteful.
Every time she met her, she was busy criticizing Lilia sharply…….

Come to think of it, Stella seems to have changed a little.
Lilia looked around and whispered as low as she could.

“I won’t tell anyone about it then, so you don’t have to keep an eye on me.”

“Eye….”

Stella panicked as if she had heard something unexpected.

“You were watching me because you were afraid I’d spread the word to others.”

“You said you wouldn’t spread the word.
I won’t keep an eye on you!”

Rather, Lilia blinked at the return answer.

“Of course not.”

The misunderstanding was resolved, and Lilia and Stella quarreled for a long time.
It was an instinctive verbal fight because they were always busy picking fights when they met before.
Both of them had such different personalities that they clashed whenever they said something.
However, it was not a malicious argument.

As the conversation dragged on, people around them looked at them.
They seemed to think they were fighting.
In particular, it was misunderstood because they were famous for their bad relationship.

Lilia relaxedly responded to Stella’s words, and a lady approached her.
Apparently it one of Stella’s followers.

“Lady Bloden, what are you doing now?”

Stella and Lilia stopped talking and looked at her.
The woman stepped forward a little bit, protecting Stella.

“Isn’t it too shameful to shout at Lady Dellota?”

The surrounding eyes gathered to them.
She raised her voice as if to be heard by others.

“You stole someone else’s man.”

There was a brief silence.
Those who overheard the conversation also stopped moving their fans.
Lilia glanced at Stella at the woman’s remark.
Stella looked very embarrassed, perhaps not knowing she would suddenly bring it up.

Lilia had wondered if Stella made a scene on purpose to make things worse, but it didn’t seem like it.
As Lilia scanned Stella, the woman proudly continued,

“There’s no way you didn’t know that Lord Evantheon was the fiance of Lady Dellota.”

It was only then that Lilia realized who the woman was.
It was the Countess, whom she had previously seen at a meeting hosted by Stella.

***

[1] the word ‘castle’ here is a metaphor meaning wealth on their backs.

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