Chapter 3

Evelyn's POV

Seventeen days until the engagement.

After that banquet, I packed all my painting supplies into a cabinet.

Lucien asked me once why I had stopped painting.

I told him the engagement was approaching and I didn't have time.

He didn't press further.

After that day, I spoke up less and less.

Before, when I dined with Lucien, I would tell him amusing stories from the human world or talk about what I wanted to paint next.

Now, before I opened my mouth, I would rehearse every sentence in my head, making sure I wouldn't sound foolish or say anything that would irritate him.

More often than not, by the time I found an opening, Selene had already moved him on to the next topic.

They had grown up together, familiar with each other's habits, well-versed in every relationship between the vampire families.

This was supposed to be my wedding with Lucien, yet nearly every decision was made between him and Selene.

They spoke quickly, never needing to stop and explain.

I would often still be processing the previous sentence when they had already jumped to something else entirely.

Sometimes Lucien would notice I hadn't made a sound and ask offhandedly, "Couldn't keep up again?"

Eventually, he stopped asking altogether.

The Princess asked us to discuss the engagement banquet arrangements together.

I had prepared many ideas in advance, but I sat there in awkward silence for a long time, never finding the right moment to speak.

Lucien and Selene first settled on the guest list, then began arranging the seating.

By the time the seating chart reached me, it took me a while to find my parents' names.

They had been placed in the farthest corner of the banquet hall, far from the Prince and Princess, surrounded by lower-ranking distant relatives and attendants.

I assumed the person in charge of the chart had made a mistake.

"Are my parents' seats wrong?"

Lucien glanced up.

"No."

"But they're my parents."

"I know."

He looked back down at the list in his hand.

I held the seating chart, my voice dropping involuntarily.

"On the day of the engagement, I'd like them to sit closer to me."

The room went quiet for a moment.

Lucien finally looked up at me.

"Seating at a vampire banquet is arranged by status."

"They're nobility in the human world."

"That's the human world."

His tone was matter-of-fact, as though this wasn't even worth discussing.

"Everyone attending will be from vampire families. Allowing them into the main hall at all is already more than generous."

I thought for a long time before I gathered the courage to say, "But this is my engagement banquet, too."

Lucien frowned.

"Evelyn, don't be unreasonable about this."

"I just want them to sit where I can see them."

Selene, seated nearby, spoke up gently.

"Your parents won't mind."

"Being able to watch their daughter marry into the Blackwood family with their own eyes should already make them very happy."

She paused, her gaze settling on my face with her usual gentle pity.

"A human life is so short. Attending the Prince's heir's engagement is a rare honor for them."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

If I kept pushing, I would look ungrateful and difficult.

When Lucien saw I had gone quiet, he let the matter drop.

The next topic was my engagement gown.

I had originally chosen a light-colored dress.

The cut was simple, the hem didn't trail too long, and the waist had minimal embellishment.

It was the kind of dress human noblewomen typically wore for engagements, and my mother had picked it out for me.

Lucien took one look at the sketch.

"It looks cheap."

My fingers tightened.

"Mother said this one suits me."

"You're getting engaged to the Prince's heir."

He set the sketch aside.

"Wearing something like this will only make people think the Blackwood family couldn't even provide you with a proper gown."

"But I love it."

This was the second time today I had voiced my own opinion, the second time I had mustered the courage to speak up.

Lucien already seemed impatient.

"All you've ever been exposed to are human noble gowns. You don't understand what this kind of occasion requires."

He looked at Selene.

"You choose for her."

Selene quickly selected a dark gown from the sketches that had been sent over.

The collar was high, the skirt heavy, covered in gemstones that symbolized vampire status.

After my maid helped me put it on, I could barely walk naturally.

I stood before Lucien and said quietly, "This one is too heavy."

He looked me up and down.

"On the day of the engagement, all you need to do is stand beside me."

"But I can barely walk."

Selene came up behind me and adjusted the high collar.

"It's perfectly normal to feel uncomfortable wearing a gown like this for the first time."

Her movements were gentle, her tone patient.

"Human tastes tend to be simple. Once you've been at Lucien's side long enough, you'll come to understand what suits a princess."

Lucien looked at the gown and finally showed a satisfied expression.

"You always know best about these things."

Then he turned to me and said, "From now on, ask Selene first before making these kinds of decisions on your own."

I stood there, the heavy skirt pressing down on my feet, the bodice squeezing the air from my lungs.

This was my engagement banquet.

My parents couldn't sit beside me, and I couldn't even wear what I wanted.

But Lucien and Selene had already moved on to discussing the decorations, and neither of them asked me another word.

I listened as they quickly settled on the colors, the music, and the schedule, and it suddenly struck me that nothing about that engagement banquet belonged to me.

I wanted to go back to my room, but I was afraid that leaving would make me seem inconsiderate.

So I just stood there.

They discussed for a long time.

Several times I almost spoke up, and each time I swallowed the words.

When they were nearly finished, I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"At least let my parents change seats."

Lucien didn't answer.

He was looking at another list Selene had handed him.

I thought he hadn't heard me, so I said it again.

"Lucien, please. I just want them closer to me."

He finally turned his head.

"This has already been decided."

"Don't bring it up again."

With that, he went back to confirming other guests' seats with Selene.

Selene picked up the conversation seamlessly.

As they talked, they sat close together without even noticing, completely unaware that I had been shut out. They moved on to the next matter almost immediately.

My objection hadn't sparked a fight. It hadn't changed anyone's mind.

It was simply set aside.

Along with me.

I returned to my room alone and asked my maid to help me out of the gown.

She saw the redness in my eyes and asked carefully, "Miss, are you feeling unwell?"

I shook my head.

"The gown is heavy. I'm a bit tired."

I said nothing more.

Even if I did, who would think I had been wronged?

Here, everyone believed it was perfectly natural for my parents to sit in the corner. Everyone believed I had no right to decide what I wore.

All I had to do was stand quietly beside Lucien on the day of the engagement.

That evening, my mother sent a letter.

She said Father had already prepared his outfit for the engagement banquet, and he was worried about whether his unfamiliarity with vampire customs might cause problems for me.

Mother also said she couldn't wait to see me in the light-colored dress.

I held the letter for a long time, unable to put pen to paper.

I couldn't bring myself to tell them they would be seated in the most overlooked corner at their own daughter's engagement.

I couldn't say that the dress had already been dismissed by Lucien as worthless.

In the end, I wrote a single line.

"Mother, Father, everything is fine here. Please don't worry."

After I finished, I folded the letter and sat alone until dawn.

Lucien didn't come to see me that night.

He probably hadn't even noticed when I left.