At last, the day of our engagement announcement party arrived.
The event was being held at our estate as a standing buffet reception, with approximately one hundred guests in attendance.
In my first life, Lord Oliver and I had also held an engagement announcement party.
That one had taken place in an enormous hall with more than five hundred guests, as far as I could remember.
The preparations had been exhausting, and by the time the event itself began, I was already completely worn out.
I also remembered how disheartened I had felt upon learning that Lord Oliver had barely remained in the ballroom, choosing instead to spend most of his time in the smoking room and gaming room.
Because Carlene’s marriage to Lord Oliver had been arranged so suddenly in this life, it seemed they had never held such a gathering.
Father had apparently invited both Carlene and Lord Oliver today.
I could only hope she would not say anything troublesome.
I put on the dress Lord Hartwig had chosen and purchased for me the previous day.
It was an elegant gown in a deep shade of blue.
With the help of the maids and attendants, I carefully dressed.
The gown required no corset, making it remarkably comfortable to wear.
After all, there would likely be no maids or attendants in the Limburg Margraviate to help me prepare my appearance.
The guests had already begun gathering in the grand hall of the Altenburg estate.
Among them were Lord Oliver and Carlene.
I had thought I would never have to see them again…
Once the preparations were complete, I made my way toward the ballroom.
Just as I was about to enter, someone called out from behind me.
“There you are! Aurelia, sorry to keep you waiting!”
Lord Hartwig hurried toward me.
“I went to your room, but they told me you’d already left!”
Since this was our engagement announcement party, we were naturally supposed to enter together.
In my first life, I had entered alone, so the thought had completely slipped my mind.
“That dress suits you beautifully.”
“Thank you.”
I was rarely given such compliments, so I could not help feeling a little embarrassed.
“Your attire looks wonderful as well, Lord Hartwig.”
“Thank you! This is the one you picked out for me yesterday. I’m glad!”
Come to think of it, we had chosen each other’s clothing.
Both outfits were in similar shades of blue, making us appear as though we had coordinated them.
“Aurelia, shall we?”
“Yes.”
Lord Hartwig gently extended his hand toward me.
I softly rested my fingertips against his palm.
The moment we entered the hall, the guests welcomed us with applause.
We were quickly surrounded by people offering their congratulations.
Lord Hartwig remained beside me the entire time, gracefully answering their greetings and questions.
So this was what an engagement announcement party was supposed to feel like.
The thought filled me with quiet wonder.
The final person to approach us was Carlene.
I had expected her to come with Lord Oliver, but she was alone.
Carlene glanced between Lord Hartwig and me before letting out a small laugh.
“My goodness. The two leftovers certainly suit each other.”
Her words were dripping with contempt.
I was already accustomed to remarks like that.
When I said nothing in response, Lord Hartwig answered her instead.
“Are you not here with your husband?”
“Lord Oliver is here.”
“Where is he?”
“How should I know?”
Lord Oliver was probably in the smoking room or gaming room.
Carlene, however, did not seem to know where he had gone.
Lord Hartwig looked at her with pity.
“How unfortunate… You must be lonely all by yourself.”
“W-What did you just say?!”
Lord Hartwig’s casual remark seemed to strike Carlene harder than expected.
“At gatherings like this, married couples usually remain together. Did the two of you have an argument?”
“W-We did not! Mind your own business!”
“I’m sorry.”
Without realizing it, Lord Hartwig continued inflicting one emotional blow after another.
I almost wanted to applaud him.
“I don’t want some country bumpkin lecturing me!”
“Carlene, that was uncalled for.”
She could say whatever she liked about me.
But I would not allow her to insult Lord Hartwig.
I reprimanded her firmly.
“W-What’s with you, suddenly acting like my older sister?!”
“Is there something wrong with behaving like your older sister?”
I looked directly into her eyes as I asked.
Unable to find an answer, Carlene spun around.
“I’m leaving!”
With that, she stormed away.
“She’s like a passing storm.”
Needless to say, I nodded deeply in agreement with Lord Hartwig’s assessment.
Afterward, the engagement announcement party continued peacefully.
Surrounded by the blessings of so many people, I was able to spend a truly wonderful evening.
