Guided by the maid, they moved through the large hallway once again until they stopped in front of a large door. They could hear a lot of sounds coming from behind that door.

The sounds of people speaking, the sound of someone laughing, the sound of hushed whispers. Despite the door being completely shut, the noises entered clearly into their ears.

It seemed as if beyond this gate was a large hall filled with many people.

Her father reached his hand out toward the door, as if to push it open, but his hand was stopped and pulled back by her mother as she spoke in a somewhat hushed tone.

"Wait, it doesn’t seem like the Ravenshades have entered yet. If we go alone, then it would be a headache to deal with all the nobles present inside."

He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Most of them should be vassals of House Ravenshade, so I doubt they’ll behave in a way that can offend us, since that would mean offending the Ravenshades indirectly. Still, I get your point. We should wait for the Ravenshades and enter with them."

He then turned to Evangeline, giving her a small smile.

"Besides, Evangel has never attended something like this, so she must be nervous."

Well, he wasn’t wrong; she was indeed feeling quite nervous. She hadn’t attended any sort of gathering with a lot of people, so she was feeling quite overwhelmed.

Her mother added in a hushed whisper.

"I’ve heard that the boy she is getting engaged to–the first son of Ravenshade–has never appeared in public either. It must also be his first time in such a gathering, so he must be feeling overwhelmed as well."

Her mother turned to her and smiled.

"Sweetie, if you stay close to him, both of you would feel less nervous, don’t you think?"

Evangeline readily nodded.

’She’s right.’

She was feeling overwhelmed, even though she was much older mentally. How overwhelmed must a ten-year-old boy feel?

But her thoughts were cut short as they all felt a sudden change in their surroundings. It felt as if the air had suddenly gotten a bit heavier, which made the simple act of breathing slightly harder. It was as if an invisible pressure was pressing down on her shoulders.

Although it was almost negligible, it was still enough to be noticed clearly.

Then, she heard the muffled sound of footsteps getting closer with each passing moment. She turned to look behind, and her parents followed.

A woman wearing a beautiful black dress was walking toward them. Golden hair flowed down her back like a waterfall of liquid gold, and her glass-like green eyes remained focused ahead as she walked with dignity and grace.

Evangeline turned her gaze to the figure walking beside the woman.

It was a young boy, appearing around ten. His deep, jet-black hair reached to his neck, and his piercing grey eyes remained focused in front. He wore a luxurious black attire with heavy golden and silver embroidery.

His face was a mask of perfect calm, without a hint of anything. It was completely and utterly expressionless, which was a stark contrast to the golden-haired boy she had seen through the window.

But the most noticeable part about him was his presence.

He had... none.

There was no bluish aura surrounding his figure, no energy swirling around him. Which was abnormal, to say the least.

Evangeline had gotten used to seeing the bluish aura around living things. When she had first gotten the ability to see it, it felt strange. But as time passed, it became normal in her eyes. Apparently, it was common sense in this world that all living things had that bluish aura surrounding them.

Which was why the absolute lack of that aura around the boy’s figure, coupled with his expressionless face, made him look like a human-like doll instead of an actual person.

She was so taken aback after seeing him that she became completely still and continued staring absentmindedly. The moment she looked at him, only one thing came to her mind.

’Black Dragon.’

In the last novel she had read, the description of the black dragon’s human form was still clear in her mind. Hair as dark as the night sky, eyes that seemed to pierce through reality with their sharpness, a face that displayed no emotion or vulnerability.

And... a presence so distinct, it set him apart even if the dragon stood in the middle of a crowd.

As the woman approached closer, she smiled softly and addressed her parents.

"Ah, it seems that you were just about to enter. Or is it that you were waiting for us?"

For a moment, neither of her parents responded. But her father soon shook his head and spoke politely.

"The engagement is a union of both families; we simply found it more appropriate to enter alongside you."

"I see. Then let us enter."

Saying those words, she gestured lightly with her hand, and two maids approached and pushed open the door.

A massive hallway appeared in her view, bright from the countless lamps attached to the walls at intervals. From the ceiling hung a large crystal chandelier that shone brightly as it reflected the bright lights of the lamps.

The hall was filled with people dressed in elegant and beautiful attire. As they entered, everyone suddenly turned in her direction.

The weight of their collective gaze pulled her out of her reverie as she walked down the hallway alongside the others.

The place had become too quiet too quickly, which made her nervousness grow. Suddenly, she remembered her mother’s words. The boy beside her must also be feeling nervous, maybe much more than she was.

She raised her gaze and turned to him, intending to hold his hand and provide comfort, but furrowed her brows instead.

His expression–or the lack of it–was still the same. She couldn’t spot even a hint of discomfort in his gait. He walked forward as if ignoring everything around him.

Then, as if sensing her gaze, his eyes turned to her, making her instinctively shift her gaze away.

’Wait, why did I turn away like that?’

They reached an elevated platform, like a stage, which was where the exchange of rings was probably going to happen.

The golden-haired woman turned to her, as well as a boy standing beside her.

"There is some time before the exchange of rings, so why don’t you two sit there and talk to each other for a bit?"

While Evangeline hesitated, the boy instantly turned around and went to sit where the woman had pointed, without hesitation or pause, as if he were a robot following her instructions.

’Ugh, now I look like a fool for hesitating.’

She also swiftly turned around and sat beside him.

But moments later, she started feeling awkward. With the collective gaze of everyone focused on the two of them, as well as the boy’s complete lack of reaction to it, it made her feel like she was being too self-conscious.

And besides...

’He’s still staring.’

The boy still had his gaze locked onto her; it had been that way since he turned to her after noticing her staring at him. He didn’t speak or react in any way; he simply continued staring.

’Maybe I should say something.’

Hesitantly, she opened her mouth.

"Um... It’s—"

But her words were cut off by his voice.

"What is your real name?"

Evangeline paused. It took her a few moments to process what he had suddenly asked.

’What’s my... real name? What does he mean by that?’

Maybe he simply wanted to know her name and had mistakenly added the ’real’ part to his question. But one glance at his face told her that wasn’t the case.

She furrowed her brows.

’Real name? Does he think I’m an undercover agent or something? Wait, does this world even have undercover agents?’

Maybe a spy would be the right word. But why would the boy think she was a spy? Did he find her suspicious? But why?

Maybe, he thought she was suspicious after noticing her staring at him.

’Ugh! I can’t figure it out; it’s too confusing.’

So instead of thinking too deeply, she decided to answer straightforwardly.

"Um, I’m not sure what you mean. My real name is Evangeline. Is there some misunderstanding?"

The boy narrowed his eyes. Even though his face was still expressionless, she could feel that he was dissatisfied with her answer.

The gaze he directed at her seemed to become even more intense, as if trying to pierce through her.

’Well, looks like that didn’t work.’

Well, she did try at least.

Just then, the two of them were called to the stage in front of them. The boy stood up and walked up to the stage as she followed behind.

A man in pure white clothing was standing there, holding a book in his hand. Although she hadn’t seen one since opening her eyes in this world, she had a strong feeling that he was a priest.

As they stood on the stage facing each other, the priest began reciting something—but she was too overwhelmed by the stares directed at her to listen to what he was saying.

Soon, two maids approached them and held out two small cases that contained a ring. Evangeline once again hesitated, even though she knew what she needed to do.

But the boy didn’t. He took the ring out of the case, gently held her hand, and slid it onto her finger in one fluid motion. It all happened so fast that she couldn’t process it properly.

She slowly raised her hand and blankly looked at the ring that was now on her ring finger. It was made of glittery silver metal with a black gem in the middle. Although it was initially too large for her tiny fingers, it suddenly grew smaller, fitting her perfectly.

On her hand, that ring looked very pretty.