“Shall I tell you since it’s the end? Do you know what was the most horrible thing for me? It’s that I actually liked you.”
Even though the voice was low, it pierced through the thunder and reached my ears vividly.
Rain seeped between our skin where our hands were pressed together. Our hands, which were never close to begin with, were now desperate to push each other away.
If I let go, I die. If I hold on, I die. There is no way for both of us to get down from here alive.
“You lived longer. So you die first. That’s fair.”
The yellow light of the lightning passed by, illuminating eyes filled with madness. My face was reflected in the pupils of those blue eyes.
While the hand trying to let go and the hand refusing to do so were clawing at each other, lightning flashed. With a loud roar, the ancient tree beside us toppled over.
Did you see the carriage parked under the tree get crushed… as you fell?
* * *
“They say the body was a mess.”
“Poor thing. She was such a good person. I met her once at the New Year’s Festival.”
“Ah, I met her too. She was a truly beautiful person. And kind. It would be hard to find someone as gentle as her. Her sister must have been very shocked, right? I heard they were together.”
“Shocked? She was so severely injured that she had to recuperate for nearly three months. They say she couldn’t even attend the funeral.”
“But… that rumor. Could it really be true? You know, why the sister would kill the sis—.”
“Shh. They say the Kalasi Family is also attending the party today. Watch your mouth.”
It was too late to watch their mouths. Claisey had already heard every word the people were whispering.
She placed her coffee cup onto the tray of a passing waiter and checked the watch dangling like a bracelet on her wrist.
It had been three hours since she entered the party. Considering her loyalty to Florence, she had endured long enough.
Claisey decided to head back so she wouldn’t have to hear any more people gossiping about her.
Besides, if she stayed any later, her nephew, Merran, might realize she had come to the party alone.
‘He’ll throw a fit.’
Thinking of Merran’s stubbornness, Claisey looked for a route to slip out, avoiding Florence’s gaze.
Fortunately, Florence was preoccupied with talking to her husband near the stairs.
Claisey walked quietly along the wall.
“Excuse me, Lady.”
However, just as she was passing about twenty steps from the door, a young man suddenly ran up and called out to her.
Claisey didn’t think he was calling her and tried to keep walking, but the man stepped directly in front of her.
Claisey stopped in surprise.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
The young man nodded, bit his lip, let go, and rubbed his curly blonde hair.
Claisey noticed that the young man’s cheeks were a bit flushed. He looked shy.
*Why is he acting like that?* As she watched him in silence, the young man clasped his hands together and asked.
“Um… are you here alone by any chance?”
“Me?”
Claisey repeated the question.
“Yes.”
The young man seemed to gain more courage; he nodded heroically and pointed toward the curtains where Claisey had been standing earlier.
“I… I kept watching you. But you were always alone.”
“You kept watching me?”
“I-it’s not for any strange reason. It’s just, you were just so beautiful… I wanted to talk to you, but you were so beautiful… and it looked like you were about to leave, so I gathered my courage…”
The young man, who was rambling, suddenly gave a shy smile and rubbed his hair again.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
Claisey stared at the man blankly before realizing it belatedly. *This person, he approached me because he has a crush on me, right?*
His shyness was too obvious to pretend otherwise.
Claisey almost screamed. *Oh my god. There’s a man who approached me because he likes me!*
But no matter what she felt inside, Claisey’s outward appearance remained calm.
When Claisey didn’t respond, the young man lost his courage and asked,
“Are you offended that I spoke to you? I wanted an introduction, but no one knew who you were… You didn’t seem to be from around here, so I gathered my courage. But if you’re offended, I will leave.”
In fact, the man had already turned halfway around.
“Offended? Not at all!”
Claisey snapped out of it and grabbed the young man’s arm.
When his arm was gripped tightly by Claisey, the young man’s eyes widened as he looked into hers.
Claisey realized her mistake, quickly let go of his arm, and put on the smile she had been diligently practicing for years.
Receiving her smile, the young man seemed to regain his courage and turned back toward her.
“I’m not offended. It’s just that this is my first time, so I was a bit… surprised.”
Claisey tried not to get too excited and spoke as gently as possible. But without realizing it, her gaze drifted toward Florence.
Florence had tried her absolute best over the past few years to throw suitable husband candidates at Claisey. Since the result was about to happen now, it was only natural for her gaze to drift there.
Coincidentally, Florence was also watching Claisey.
Florence smiled until her mouth seemed like it would split, and when she met Claisey’s eyes, she hurriedly waved her hands, signaling: *Why are you looking at me? Talk to the man who just fell into your lap!*
Claisey understood the signal immediately and quickly gazed intently at the young man.
When he met her eyes, the young man’s face turned even redder, and he asked in disbelief.
“This is your first time? That’s impossible. A person as beautiful as you…”
“Am I beautiful?”
“Yes. I have never seen anyone like you, Lady. As soon as I saw you, it felt like lightning struck my head.”
“But it really is my first time.”
When Claisey intentionally used a soulful voice, the young man became like hay set on fire and muttered.
“If that’s the case, it must be because you are too beautiful. Everyone else must be afraid to gather the courage. I, too, am using up all the courage of my life right now.”
Claisey almost told the young man, ‘In that case, let’s set a wedding date right now.’
Fortunately, she didn’t make such a mistake, but in her head, she already saw herself whisking this cute blonde young man off to the wedding hall.
*Thank you, Florence. Thank you for bringing me to the party. You really are the best friend.*
Claisey held back her tears and looked up at the ceiling.
‘Finally, I can get married too. I can inherit my property. Damned imperial law. Why must one be married to inherit property?’
“Excuse me… may I know your name?”
However, Claisey’s delusion, which had already reached the wedding hall, was pulled back to reality by the young man’s question.
Claisey swallowed hard in nervousness.
*Name.* Of course, she should tell him. To get married, she had to give her name and her family name.
Claisey reflexively looked toward the nobles who had been whispering about her earlier. Her heart, which had soared, crawled back to the floor, and her courage vanished in an instant.
Claisey grew gloomy and studied the young man’s innocent-looking face carefully.
*Does this young man know the rumors about me? Does he even know my name? What if he runs away as soon as I tell him my name, saying he apologizes for the inconvenience?*
“Um… Lady?”
“I am Claisey.”
Claisey gathered her courage and replied briefly. If the young man ran away here, she intended to consider it a failure and go home. She was used to it anyway, so it was fine.
Regardless, whoever she took as a husband, it was something she had to go through at least once.
“That’s a beautiful name, too.”
However, the young man knew nothing about Claisey. Upon hearing her name, he smiled happily and introduced himself.
“I am Count Albert. I am also a relative of the Hiard family.”
Claisey’s hope, which had rolled onto the floor, soared high again. Her move to the capital to avoid the rumors was paying off.
Moreover, the man’s status was also to her liking. A Count’s family, just like her own. How perfect—neither too high nor too low!
However, the moment Claisey Kalasi broke into a wide smile,
“Aunt!”
A familiar voice rang out loudly from behind. It was her nephew, Merran Omal.
Claisey almost turned around by reflex. She managed to stop herself, but her heart hammered against her ribs.
*‘Why is Merran’s voice here? I clearly left him behind!’*
No, that wasn’t what was important right now. Claisey hurriedly grabbed the young man’s arm, gestured toward the back door with her eyes, and asked,
“It’s a bit noisy here. Shall we go over there and continue our conversation?”
The young man nodded with a bewitched expression.
Claisey pulled the young man along. She couldn’t let him meet Merran before she had truly ensnared him.
But no sooner had she taken two steps than Merran tapped her on the back.
“Aunt! Oh, seriously, how many times do I have to call you before you acknowledge me?”
It was Merran. Even though she had deliberately not turned her head, this blasted nephew had recognized her from behind and approached her.
Claisey realized her plan had failed. The man, who had been following her with a mesmerized expression, had already come to his senses.
He looked back and forth between Merran and Claisey, murmuring, “Aunt?”
Meanwhile, Merran hooked his arm into Claisey’s, as if to prevent her from running away, and asked,
“Aunt, who is this dashing gentleman? Is this why you were ignoring me?”
The young man murmured, “Aunt…” again as he looked between Claisey and Merran.
A moment passed. The young man seemed to reach a conclusion, and with an awkward laugh, he muttered,
“Ah. You are this lady’s aunt. Your aunt looks very young. I almost made a mistake.”
The young man naturally pulled his arm out of Claisey’s grasp. It seemed the initial enchantment he felt due to Claisey’s beauty had cooled.
Claisey almost cursed under her breath. Another failure. That wicked Merran. That wicked nephew of hers.
Claisey knew exactly what the man was thinking based on her accumulated experience.
Merran looked to be about twenty, and he was, in fact, that age.
Since such a Merran had called Claisey “Aunt,” the young man must be assuming that Claisey was much older than she appeared.
Since he and Merran were peers, he would surely think Claisey was significantly older than himself.
Of course, one could date and marry even with a large age gap. But that was only possible when one didn’t have a nephew as grown as Merran—who looked to be the same age as the suitor—clinging to their side.
“Aunt, who is this gentleman? Won’t you introduce him to me? I haven’t been in the Capital long, so I don’t know anyone. Don’t just go around hanging out with men by yourself; introduce some to me, too. Won’t you?”
Even though he surely knew the situation, Merran pretended not to, grabbing Claisey’s arm and nagging her adorably.
However, having lived with him for nearly ten years, Claisey could not possibly miss the playful, competitive spirit firmly rooted in his large eyes.
In Merran’s blue eyes, the resolve that said, ‘I will thwart your courtship attempts again today,’ was clearly visible.