Unlike the engagement ceremony, the crown prince and his wife appeared at a wedding reception. Several high-ranking nobles rushed to greet them, and powerful local nobles followed suit with congratulations to the crown prince and his wife.
Count Adelia also stood by the Crown Prince and his wife, along with some royal relatives.
The crown prince soon thought that he wanted to be alone with his wife, leaving the reception to Count Adelia and two of his royal relatives, and disappeared with Rowena.
Damon glanced at Count Adelia. It wasnât because he had an idea of Liliana or Kian in his head.
For the crown princess to be from a family that was entangled in this wayâŚ
He wondered if the nobles would remember, but bad memories were bound to last long.
His family was the Duke of Kallios, whom Paul used to go on summer vacations to buy favours with.
It was now forgotten in many peopleâs memories as time had passed, but Damon Kallios had met Theo. Matthias and Rowena too.
Little Louis was a baby, so he only remembered him being in his nannyâs arms.
At the time, his father, Duke Kallios, had called Paulâs wife a foolish lady when he heard that she had died in an inn.
Duke Kallios invited Paul in passing, but he didnât really mean for him to come. He just asked,
How about spending the summer here, too?
Naturally, the Duke of Kalliosâ summer house didnât have a residence for the Adelia family, and inevitably they should have stayed at the inn.
Paul was exasperated at the humiliation but externally bowed to the Duke of Kallios. The Duke of Kallios found Paul irritating.
In fact, it had nothing to do with the Duke of Kallios, but perhaps because Paul refused to stay at the dukeâs summer house, public opinion in the area had gone to the wrong side.
It was said that the Duke had been cold-hearted toward Countess Adelia who had fallen ill and died. His father, the Duke of Kallios, was furious, but he couldnât remain ignorant.
It was summer and her body was easily decomposed, so there was no choice but to use a tomb near it. While burying his wifeâs body with the help of the Duke of Kallios, Paul struggled to form a relationship with the Duke.
It was natural for Duke Kallios to despise Paul.
Damon was about the same age as Theo, so Paul always showed up with Matthias and Theo in case the children would help close the bonds.
But the Duke never let Damon mingle with the two.
âYou donât hang out with such trashy people! Damon, do you understand me?â
The Dukeâs stern rebuke seemed to have been overheard by one of the two boys. Damon didnât know if it was Theo or Matthias because he only saw his back running away.
Do they remember?
His last memory of them was at the funeral. Paul returned to the capital with his family.
Two boys holding the hand of a servant and a little girl crying holding the skirt of a nanny that held the baby.
Damon shook his head as he recalled his childhood memories.
Donât tell me you still remember that.
It was when he was really young. Damon only remembered the past with the name Adelia later, but he couldnât remember it right away.
Perhaps because he kept looking at him, he met Theoâs eyes with a champagne glass. Theo just turned his head with a mysterious expression. Damon felt uneasy for no reason, though his eyes were indifferent.
For now, the current crown prince was a man of exceptional ability but fierce disposition. He heard that this engagement and marriage had eased his temper.
If it was the current crown princess who made the crown prince hide his claws, it would be the crown princess who could make him show his claws again.
âŚI might have to lay low for a while.
Fortunately, he was the current duke, not his father. The former Duke of Kallios was in remission after his illness worsened and he handed over the dukedom to his son.
* * *
âCount.â
âCount, try this, too.â
Theo seemed embarrassed and moderately distanced himself from the young ladies. It wasnât that he wasnât very popular before, but it was rare for a young lady to actively show him interest.
He himself thought there was nothing to fall for him, so he took it for granted.
He didnât know what those young ladies saw in him. It is difficult to chase a duke or marquis, but those who chased him had the possibility to rise to a relatively higher social status. Besides, as a count, he wasnât a very bad marriage partner.
However, Theo hadnât yet made up his mind.
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