Harvis George

The sound of the music in the room sounded faintly in Riana's ears, she stepped very carefully, this could be said to be her first dance. Her light body lifted easily into the air when the music was about to end.

"Thank you." Riana said, her worries about causing problems while dancing did not happen, she was relieved.

"It was nice to dance with you, Lady."

They sat back on the edge of the fountain, their gaze stopped when they saw the balcony of the second floor of the party hall, a woman with shiny black hair was looking at them. Riana was even more surprised when her eyes moved to meet Vilda, who knows how long Vilda had been outside.

"I have to go back soon, thank you for your help." Riana hurriedly said goodbye while bowing her body as a sign of respect and greeting. She rushed to meet Vilda with a guilty expression.

"So?" One word uttered by Vilda made Riana feel guilty for leaving secretly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have left without telling you." Riana said.

"That's not what I meant. Don't you want to explain it to me?"

"What do I need to explain?" Riana was confused by Vilda's question, didn't she apologize for leaving without telling her first?

Vilda took a breath, she looked a little annoyed. "After Victor, it turns out you also annoyed me, Riana."

"Sorry, I really don't know what you mean." Riana panicked, she didn't want to make her best friend angry.

"So tell me, why did you dance with him?"

"Ahh, okay. I went out because I was avoiding him."

"Avoiding?"

Riana nodded. "I avoided people who were going to ask me to dance."

"Then, you danced with that western knight?"

"Western knight?" Riana frowned, who was the western knight that Vilda meant, was it the man who danced with her earlier?

"Ah, sorry, I should have said that you were dancing with your lover."

Riana increasingly did not understand what Vilda said. "What do you mean?"

"Never mind, I was a little upset with you, but not anymore. Even though I was very surprised by the facts I got, I will still support you, so why didn't you tell me that Mr. Harvis George is really back?"

"Back? What do you mean...."

Vilda cut Riana off quickly, "I understand, you must be having a hard time with the rumors circulating."

Riana was really confused by what Vilda said, who did she mean by the western knight, lover, and also Harvis George. Did it have something to do with the man earlier?

The sound of conversation among the guests suddenly slowly faded, only the sound of the accompanying music was still heard magnificently, all eyes were on the figure of the sturdy man with charming black eyes. Riana could hear the whispers of the women nearby, if her hearing was not mistaken, she heard that the man was the son of Count George who ran away and disappeared for seven years, he was Harvis George who was rumored to have run away not wanting to be matched with Jeanna Walterz, the daughter of Duke Walterz.

"I didn't think your lover would show up, you really surprised me." Vilda whispered.

Riana was really surprised by what she had just heard from the conversations of the women around her and she became even more confused by Vilda's attitude which made her wonder.

"Who do you mean by my lover?"

"Who else if not the western knight, Harvis George."

Is Harvis George a western knight? If so, he must know Ivander, right? Riana was even more surprised by this fact, did he come with Ivander?

The party atmosphere seemed still quiet, especially when Harvis George met Duke Walterz's family to politely congratulate the birth of the new successor, he also approached a woman who was not far from there, the woman was the woman she saw on the second floor balcony of the hall.

"I'm confused about how to act towards Lady Jeanna." Vilda said weakly.

Hearing those words made Riana even more struck by the sharp fact, the woman on the balcony who saw her was Jeanna Walterz, especially the man who asked her to dance was Harvis George who was rumored to be with Jeanna Walterz but he ran away during her seventeenth birthday celebration, and he turned out to be a western knight.

"I think I have to go home soon, suddenly I don't feel well." Riana said weakly, she seemed to be running out of energy.

"Are you sick?" Vilda panicked when she saw Riana's face suddenly look pale.

Riana just nodded, she was too shocked by all the news that came suddenly that now she couldn't think clearly. Vilda then led her slowly, they walked out of the room and asked one of the servants to call the Loren family's carriage driver.

"Sorry, I can't take you home, you should rest right away." Vilda said before letting Riana go.

"Thank you very much, you've helped me, I'll rest soon. Have fun there."

Vilda smiled in response to Riana's words, after the Loren family's carriage left, she immediately returned to the party. Now she was mingling with her friends, the room was noisy again, the women were now gossiping about Harvis George's arrival.

****

When Vilda found out that Victor had come to the banquet, she immediately approached him and scolded him, how could he not greet his twin after he had been away to study for months. Vilda also did not forget to ask about Victor's relationship with Bella Montena, instead of getting an answer Victor made her even more annoyed.

"What have you done to Lady Montena behind my back?" Vilda asked.

"You better ask her, I feel like I haven't done anything wrong to her." Victor replied.

"Liar! If you didn't do anything wrong, Lady Montena wouldn't be upset with you."

"Maybe she likes me."

Hearing Victor's words made Vilda hit Victor's shoulder. "Watch your words, Victor!"

"I did nothing wrong, she should thank me."

"Thank you? What actually happened to you guys?"

"Don't ask me, just ask the arrogant lady over there." Victor's gaze was directed at Bella Montena who was gracefully sipping a glass of wine-based drink.

Vilda did not get an answer about Victor's relationship with Lady Montena, but she got surprising news, Harvis George, son of Count George, had returned. She even got information that all this time Harvis had been one of the western knights of the kingdom. Hearing the news, she immediately left to tell Riana this news, but Riana was no longer there.

Vilda looked for her whereabouts, she did not find her figure in the party hall, Vilda then looked for her outside. As she walked around, her blue eyes caught the figure of a woman in a green dress like the dress Riana was wearing dancing with a man near the fountain. As she stepped closer, something surprised her, Riana had just danced with Harvis George.

Her brain was spinning fast, a few days ago Riana told about a man she helped and the man was a western knight, it could be concluded that the man Riana helped at that time was Harvis George. The surprising news made her forget a little of her annoyance at Victor, her twin.

"Do you know, I know a fact that I can't just tell you." Vilda said in a whisper to some of the noblewomen who were gossiping.

"Is it about Mr. Harvis George who disappeared?"

Vilda nodded. "It seems more than that."

"Do you know something?"

"I even just saw it with my own eyes, but I can't just talk about it. If you want to know I can invite you to my tea party." Vilda said with a smile, this time she felt superior to the other noblewomen who liked to gossip, because what she knew was a fact that would shake the social world.

"I can't wait for it, it's an honor if you invite me, Lady Vilda."

Vilda responded with a wide smile, she had long wanted to hold a tea party at her residence, but it was difficult for her to do if she didn't have any news worth discussing, therefore she attended tea parties more often. Would the tea party at her house be the tea party that the noblewomen had been waiting for?

****

All day long Ivander couldn't find Riana in the mansion, he was even almost caught by the guards. It seemed like Riana wasn't there, he had to look for her around the village or even the city.

"I shouldn't have come here." Ivander leaned his back against the wooden wall of the place where he was staying. He looked like someone else, not even himself, he couldn't even spy, if his friends found out about this, he would definitely be made fun of.

"Should I forget it?" Disappointment and despair continued to come to him, he gave up.

The orange glow indicated that it was already evening, Riana's search would be done the next day and it would be her last search before she returned to her hometown, the westernmost city of the kingdom, Tapire City.

****