An engagement banquet entered its celebratory phase amid the joy of the host family and the utter devastation of most of the guest families.
After receiving everyone's blessings (?), Shien and Roxie needed only to walk hand in hand around the entire venue and greet everyone in attendance.
Frankly speaking, this was Shien's least favorite part.
Making him wear a fake smile and greet those so-called dignitaries he did not know at all?
That was undoubtedly near the top of Shien's personal list of troublesome things.
The only fun part was probably seeing smiles even uglier than his own on the faces of certain young nobles, along with their aggrieved expressions when shaking hands, as though they wanted nothing more than to crush his palm yet did not dare use any force.
It had to be said that sight amused Shien for quite a while. In the end, he even found some enjoyment in it, constantly leading Roxie around in front of those young nobles, greeting them with a beaming smile while humbly saying, "Please continue supporting us as a married couple from now on," then watching those young nobles suffer so badly they practically coughed up blood. It gave him an immense sense of pride.
In a single sentence—
"I just love seeing you look like you want to beat me to death but don't dare make a move."
That was exactly it.
Even Roxie unusually kept a smile on her face the entire time, linking her arm through Shien's as she followed him step by step around the venue, greeting those dignitaries.
Her charmingly beautiful appearance, something one would never normally see, made people both envious and heartsick.
Because the more they looked, the more those young nobles realized that the number one Princess in the world was