‘Kishin. Kishin Hiard… The owner of that ID card!’
As soon as Claisey heard Kishin’s name, she recalled the black-and-white photograph on the ID card.
Claisey cursed inwardly. She had suspected as much, but the ID card indeed did not belong to that silver-haired man!
Furthermore, the photo in the ID card didn’t even do the real-life Kishin Hiard justice. It was an ID card that had no reason to exist.
No, this was no time for such useless thoughts.
“I do have the ID card. But I didn’t take it on purpose. That man gave it to me while hijacking my carriage.”
Though a beat late, Claisey hurriedly explained, pointing at the silver-haired man.
“I borrowed the carriage. And Miss, I didn’t tell you to leave with the ID. I told you to wait because I was coming back.”
The silver-haired man retorted, giving the sole of Claisey’s slipper a light smack.
Claisey wanted to swing her foot and kick the silver-haired man in the face, but her legs still wouldn’t move properly.
“In that situation, who would wait in a dark forest for a carriage jacker to return?”
Claisey retorted, grinding her teeth.
The silver-haired man was a thief, but Kishin Hiard was a genuine member of the Palace Guards. She didn’t want to be framed as the person who stole his ID card.
“I would like my ID card back.”
Fortunately, Kishin seemed more concerned with the safety of the ID card than the circumstances of how Claisey came to have it.
“I’ll bring it to you.”
Claisey whispered in a small voice.
“This young lady, why does her voice change when she talks to you compared to when she talks to me?”
Even in this situation, the silver-haired man continued to act annoying.
“I will go with you.”
Ignoring the silver-haired man, Kishin replied and set Claisey down.
He did so slowly, but since Claisey still didn’t have any strength in her legs, she swayed the moment Kishin let go of her and pulled his arms away.
Kishin and the silver-haired man simultaneously grabbed each of her arms.
With both arms held by strange men—and very handsome ones at that—Claisey felt as if a bomb had exploded in her face. She turned bright red and froze.
“You could have explained it like that from the beginning. Why were you climbing the line?”
It was only after hearing the silver-haired man mutter that Claisey regained her senses.
She couldn’t tell the Palace Guards that she had fallen because she was checking to see if they were on the first floor, so she made up a random excuse.
“I injured my legs badly when I was young. They’re fine usually, but sometimes they don’t move or they sway on their own, so I lose my balance easily. I was trying to go down to the first floor to explain the situation, but I fell.”
“…….”
Since Kishin had also worked as an investigator, he immediately found the loophole in Claisey’s story.
If Claisey had really come down to the central staircase in the main hall intending to speak with them, she wouldn’t have fallen out of a window even if she had tumbled down the stairs.
But Kishin didn’t go out of his way to point it out and embarrass her. Instead, he asked bluntly, “Are your legs still not moving well?”
“Yes. For now.”
“Then, may I carry you, Lady?”
*Should I, an unmarried woman, be carried by a strange man?* Claisey hesitated. *Should I call for Anna?*
But looking at Kishin’s handsome face, she decided that since she was a patient, it might be acceptable to be carried by a stranger.
Claisey nodded shyly.
When Claisey appeared at the front door in Kishin’s arms, the maid Anna widened her eyes and covered her mouth with both hands.
Anna looked like she wanted to run over, but Claisey slightly shook her head to signal her to stay back.
Anna looked bewildered, but after getting a good look at Kishin’s face, she understood everything. Actually, Anna had seen Kishin earlier, but due to the urgent situation, she hadn’t noticed his appearance at all.
Confirming that Anna was staying put, Claisey whispered to Kishin, “We need to go up those central stairs.”
Once they climbed the stairs, Claisey pointed toward her room. “My room is that way.”
The silver-haired man walked ahead and opened the door, and Kishin entered skillfully while holding Claisey.
“There is a spare cane in the wardrobe. If you bring it to me, I’ll get the ID card for you.”
Claisey asked, pointing to the wardrobe.
“Why don’t you tell me where the ID is, too? Why let me rummage through your wardrobe but insist on getting the ID yourself?”
The silver-haired man teased her as he found the spare cane. This man seemed the type to get thorns in his mouth if he said even one kind word.
“The ID is in my secret box.” Claisey replied sharply.
“Kishin, look at that. I told you her voice changes when she talks to me versus when she talks to you.”
The silver-haired man grumbled, but he brought her the cane anyway.
“Claisey. So your name is Claisey. Is it Claisey Kalasi? That’s an unusual name.”
In the meantime, he had even checked the name engraved on the tip of the cane.
Claisey ignored him and took only the cane.
Kishin set her down again. Claisey leaned on the cane and entered the small room connected to her bedroom.
Since noblewomen usually kept undergarments or secret journals in rooms like this, neither Kishin nor Dernic followed her. A room used for such purposes was essentially a closet, with nowhere to run.
However, no matter how long they waited, Claisey did not come out.
“Did the arms dealer run away?”
After nearly 20 minutes had passed, Dernic muttered with raised eyebrows.
“Don’t call a lady an arms dealer.”
“I can’t call her a handbag, can I?”
“Call her Miss Claisey.”
Kishin scolded Dernic. But he, too, seemed concerned, so he walked to the door and knocked.
“Miss Claisey. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine! Just a moment!”
Fortunately, a reply came immediately. It was a somewhat hurried, urgent voice.
About 30 seconds later, the door swung open, and Claisey emerged with her face flushed red. It was a rather suspicious sight.
“Here it is.”
However, Claisey handed over Kishin’s black wallet properly.
Kishin opened the wallet. His ID was firmly attached to one side. He folded the wallet back up, put it in his coat pocket, and offered a greeting.
“That’s correct. Thank you for returning it.”
“It wasn’t intentional, but I was the one who took it…….”
Claisey muttered, her face turning even redder.
Dernic looked at her forehead, which was glistening with cold sweat, and asked something he had been curious about from the start.
“Miss Arms Dealer, how old are you?”
There was no malice. It was just curiosity, as Claisey looked to be around their age, despite having a niece who looked to be twenty.
Before Claisey could get angry, Kishin sent him back and said his farewells.
“We will be taking our leave. Miss Meren will return soon.”
Kishin left without a second thought. As the guards followed them out, the house instantly became quiet.
Claisey stood on the stairs for a moment, then sat down because her legs hurt.
Anna, who had closed the front door, quickly approached her. “Miss, who on earth were those men? Did you have something they were looking for?”
Claisey told her about the incident on the day she returned from the party.
“Oh my goodness! Why are you only telling me this now?”
Anna paled when she heard about the carriage hijacking.
“I told you because I knew you’d be shocked. It was resolved well, so there was no need to worry you.”
“Still, please let me know about things like that in advance in the future. You don’t know how shocked I was today. If I had heard about it beforehand, Miss Meren wouldn’t have been called away either…”
Claisey took Anna’s hand and stood up. Seeing that Claisey’s stray hairs were damp with sweat, Anna clicked her tongue.
“Please, go inside. I’ll bring some warm water and help you wash up. You’ve had a hard time because of those men, haven’t you?”
“I didn’t have that hard of a time. Besides, they didn’t follow me into my secret room.”
Claisey’s secret room was filled with things she didn’t even want Merran to see—things like the letters she had exchanged with her first love.
Kishin’s wallet had even been sitting right on top of that pile of letters.
If those two men had followed her into the secret room and happened to see those… Claisey might have faked a faint out of pure shame.
* * *
Meanwhile, Dernic and Kishin boarded the Palace Guards’ carriage.
Dernic, still fascinated, asked, “Just how old could the arms dealer be?”
“What does it matter if you find out?”
“It’s intriguing. Miss Merran is twenty, after all.”
Kishin didn’t find it intriguing at all. He had forgotten about Merran, who had been brought in by mistake, long ago, and he was about to forget about Claisey as well. He had no interest in social life.
“Ah, right. I should have gotten closer to the arms dealer.”
On the contrary, Dernic regretted not treating Claisey with more courtesy. Come to think of it, hadn’t they said Merran was living at the arms dealer’s place?
Even if he wanted to meet and talk with Merran, it would be difficult if the guardian, the arms dealer, interfered. Furthermore, he had questions about Marie’s keepsakes, and the arms dealer or Merran might know something.
However, as he was busy making various calculations, he caught sight of Kishin taking out his black wallet and opening it. Kishin was staring at the inside with a subtle expression.
“What’s wrong? Did you lose some money?”
Dernic asked, shifting his position.
Kishin pulled a meticulously folded light pink letter from inside the wallet.
“What is that?”
Dernic straightened his posture and leaned in. Soon, the corners of his mouth curled up wide.
“So that’s what Miss Claisey was doing in that room by herself. Did she write you a letter? How cute. What does it say? Can I see it?”
Kishin pushed Dernic’s forehead away and unfolded the letter.