Night had completely settled over the Sterling estate.
Stars glittered across the deep blue sky, while a bright moon hung half-hidden behind thin clouds.
Whenever the night breeze stirred, pale moonlight slipped through for a moment before disappearing again.
By now, most of the guests invited to the banquet had arrived.
The garden had been prepared well in advance.
Long tables and chairs were arranged among the flowers and greenery, with elegant lamps placed throughout the grounds.
Maids moved between the guests, guiding each of them to their assigned seats.
Conversation drifted through the garden from every direction.
The place that had been quiet only a short while ago gradually came alive as more people arrived.
The moment Evelyn Sterling entered the garden, her gaze swept expertly across the seating area.
It did not take her long to find what she wanted.
A corner.
The most inconspicuous corner she could possibly find.
It was tucked beside a thick bed of flowers, far enough from the center of attention that few people would bother looking over.
Better yet, if she decided to slip away later, there was a good chance no one would notice.
Ever since she was young, she had almost always chosen a place like this whenever she was forced to attend a banquet.
Unnoticeable.
No one bothered her.
And when she wanted to leave, she could disappear without anyone caring.
Perfect.
Satisfied with her choice, Evelyn sat down.
She had assumed she would at least get a little peace before the banquet officially began.
Unfortunately, the moment she settled into her seat, Lucian Ravenholt and Felix Ravenholt followed her over and sat down naturally on either side of her.
Evelyn fell silent.
Before she could even say anything, an even bigger problem appeared.
Several of the Sterling young ladies who had originally been sitting elsewhere noticed the Ravenholt brothers and immediately changed their minds.
One after another, they made their way over.
Within moments, the quiet little corner Evelyn had chosen was crowded.
Lucian and Felix already drew attention wherever they went because of their status.
Now that several Sterling ladies had gathered around them as well, more and more guests began glancing in their direction.
The most inconspicuous corner in the entire garden had somehow become one of the most noticeable places at the banquet.
Evelyn’s expression darkened little by little.
She looked at Lucian on her left.
Then at Felix on her right.
She endured it for several seconds before forcing herself to swallow the words already sitting on the tip of her tongue.
Were these two here to accompany her to the banquet, or had they come specifically to ruin a habit she had spent years perfecting?
She had finally found a seat where she could sneak away whenever she wanted!
Evelyn took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.
Then she leaned slightly to the right and lowered her voice.
“Parrot.”
Felix had been looking at the pastries on the table.
At the nickname, he turned toward her.
“What?”
Evelyn forced what she considered a reasonably friendly smile.
“Can you sit somewhere else?”
Felix looked at her, then glanced at the Sterling ladies nearby who kept stealing looks in their direction.
Understanding immediately dawned on his face.
The confusion from a moment ago vanished, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
“No.”
He deliberately drew the word out, his satisfaction obvious.
Evelyn felt her temple twitch.
“You…”
There was no need to think about it.
This parrot was absolutely getting revenge for the way she had annoyed him earlier.
Fine.
If he refused to move, she would ask the other one.
After shooting Felix a glare, Evelyn leaned to the left.
Lucian noticed her moving closer and obligingly lowered his head a little.
Evelyn kept her voice down.
“Hawk.”
Hawk?
When had he acquired that name?
Still, considering Felix had already been reduced to “Parrot,” Lucian suddenly felt that his own nickname was not too bad.
He did not correct her.
Instead, he asked with a faint smile, “What is it, Lady Evelyn?”
“Can you sit somewhere else?”
Lucian glanced around.
“Why?”
His tone was perfectly natural, as though he genuinely had no idea what the problem was.
“Is there something wrong with us sitting here?”
Evelyn went quiet.
For a moment, she genuinely wanted to find a wall and hit her head against it.
No.
Better yet, she should drag both brothers over and make them hit their heads against it with her.
What did he mean, was there something wrong?
Everything was wrong!
Evelyn took another breath and forced an obviously fake smile onto her face.
“Of course there is.”
She looked at Lucian first, then quickly glanced toward her younger sisters before immediately looking away again.
“Have you seriously not noticed that all of my sisters followed you two over here?”
Lucian followed the direction of her earlier glance.
Sure enough, the Sterling ladies appeared to be talking among themselves, but their attention kept drifting toward this side of the garden.
Especially toward Lucian and Felix.
Their interest was so obvious that it was becoming difficult to hide.
As for the occasional looks directed at Evelyn, those were considerably less friendly.
Lucian had noticed all of this long ago.
He simply found Evelyn’s expression amusing.
She was clearly annoyed beyond measure, yet she was still trying to complain quietly without attracting attention.
So he deliberately put on a puzzled expression.
“Are you worried they’ll eat you alive?”
Evelyn immediately rolled her eyes at him.
“Me? Afraid of them?”
She shook her head without hesitation.
“Of course not.”
Evelyn Sterling did not like going out of her way to cause trouble, but that did not mean she was afraid of it.
If those younger sisters of hers truly wanted to cause problems for her, they were welcome to come over.
She certainly wasn’t going to hide from them.
“I just don’t like the way they’re looking at me.”
Evelyn pursed her lips and lowered her voice even further.
“It’s not like I asked either of you to come sit here. So why am I the one who’s going to suffer for it?”
The more she thought about it, the more unfair it seemed.
Those women’s eyes were practically glued to Lucian.
It was that obvious.
Could he seriously not see it?
Evelyn gave him another suspicious look.
Was he actually blind?
Lucian, naturally, had no idea that she had already begun questioning his eyesight.
Instead, his attention settled on her last sentence.
“So from the sound of it, you’re expecting something to happen tonight?”
“Who knows?”
Evelyn leaned back in her chair and glanced toward her younger sisters again.
A faint, unreadable smile slowly appeared on her lips.
“But judging by the way they’re looking at me, tonight will probably be quite lively.”
She knew those looks far too well.
It was not the first time she had seen them.
Back when Cedric had given her an extremely valuable gift, those younger sisters of hers had looked at her in almost exactly the same way.
That night, she had nearly lost her life.
If White and the silver dragon had not stayed close to her, and if Cedric had not arrived in time, even Evelyn herself did not know whether she would have made it through the night unharmed.
As for why those younger sisters dared to cause trouble for her again and again, the reason was not difficult to guess.
Lillian had always spoiled her daughters and rarely refused them anything.
She had also brought up Evelyn often enough in front of them that, over time, whenever they were unhappy about something, they somehow always managed to trace the reason back to Evelyn.
That was also why the traps around Evelyn’s courtyard had gradually increased over the years.
She could not spend every hour of every day guarding her door, nor could she constantly watch for someone trying to sneak into her courtyard.
So she had taken the simpler approach.
She filled the place with traps.
Anyone who dared sneak inside could deal with the consequences themselves.
Later, she had indeed given those younger sisters a particularly unforgettable “lesson.”
After that, they had not dared to provoke her again for nearly a year.
Unfortunately, the peace had not lasted forever.
As enough time passed, they apparently forgot how badly things had gone for them before and occasionally started causing trouble again.
Evelyn had never minded returning the favor.
Then, as she thought about it, her previously relaxed expression suddenly stiffened.
Wait.
The traps.
Hadn’t the servants who cleaned her courtyard today already ruined most of them?
Evelyn’s expression changed immediately.
If someone really decided to sneak into her courtyard tonight while she wasn’t paying attention, she could still reset the traps in time.
That was not the problem.
The problem was—
She silently looked at Lucian sitting on her left.
Then at Felix on her right.
After that, she glanced around at all the guests who kept looking over because of the Ravenholt brothers.
With this many eyes watching her, how exactly was she supposed to slip away?
A headache immediately began to form.
Whenever she attended banquets in the past, no one paid attention to her when she sat in this corner.
She could leave whenever she pleased without anyone noticing.
But now?
The two most noticeable men at the banquet were sitting on either side of her.
Forget sneaking away.
At this point, if she simply stood up to get a glass of water, someone would probably notice.
Lucian had been watching her expression the entire time.
Seeing her go from thoughtful to visibly troubled, he asked again, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Evelyn sounded rather gloomy.
“I was just thinking that I might actually be very busy tonight.”
“Busy?”
Lucian raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what she meant when a familiar, cheerful voice suddenly came from nearby.
“Well, if it isn’t Lucian.”
They all turned toward the voice.
A tall, handsome man was walking toward them.
The moment Evelyn saw who it was, she froze.
“Uncle Cedric?”
The newcomer was Cedric Sterling.
But his sudden appearance was not what shocked Evelyn.
It was what he was wearing.
Cedric was dressed from head to toe in an extraordinarily vivid red formal suit.
Under the surrounding lights, the color was so striking that it was almost impossible not to look at him.
Cedric himself, however, seemed completely unaware that there was anything unusual about his outfit.
He wore the same easygoing smile he always did as he walked toward them without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
Evelyn stared at him for several seconds.
So red.
He was really, really red.
Her gaze traveled from Cedric’s collar all the way down to the hem of his coat, then slowly returned to his face.
Only one question remained in her mind.
Had her uncle come here tonight to attend a banquet…
Or to get married?