While traveling by carriage, Florence tried hard to figure out what kind of relationship existed between Claisey and Dernic.
She probed from every angle. She used every conversational tactic available, from beating around the bush to asking point-blank.
Claisey remained stubbornly silent. Occasionally, she would mumble, “No, it’s not like that.”
As for Dernic, he acted exactly as he always did. Since he was a man who spoke his mind, he didn’t flinch, no matter how clever the tactics the other person used.
When they arrived at Florence’s house, the butler greeted the three of them. The butler led Dernic to the guest room for men, while Claisey went with Florence to the guest room for women.
Florence’s maids helped Claisey change her clothes.
Once she sat down in a bathtub filled with warm water, Florence pressed her with such intensity she might as well have been trying to push Claisey under the water.
“What exactly is your relationship with that man?”
“I told you, there is no relationship. I told you earlier. He’s just someone I got to know while coming and going from the guard station because things got a bit complicated.”
“Is he a guard?”
“No. I don’t think so. His friend is a guard. I don’t even know his surname, Florence. I don’t know what family he belongs to, nor do I know what he does for a living.”
“Then you should have found out!”
Florence poured soap suds onto the top of Claisey’s head. Claisey pushed Florence’s legs away in protest.
“I’m not interested in that man. What does it matter which family he’s from? I have no interest in him.”
“That man seemed to be interested in you.”
“Don’t even bring that up.”
Claisey pretended to vomit. Florence messed up Claisey’s hair wildly.
“He seems like a decent guy, why are you like this?”
Claisey shuddered.
“He seems like a decent guy? In what way?”
“His face.”
“…”
“He’s the most handsome man you’ve ever been linked with. Besides, he keeps helping you, so his personality seems fine, too. Above all, the look in his eyes when he watches you is very tender, isn’t it?”
Claisey kicked Florence out of the bathroom. She splashed water after her fleeing friend; Florence shrieked and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Claisey rubbed her still-motionless legs, pouting her lips.
‘Tender look, my foot.’
* * *
After finishing her bath, changing, and drying her damp hair, a maid came to tell her they were invited to the dining room. Claisey used her cane to walk down the stairs.
In the dining room, Florence was already in the middle of performing a background check on Dernic. Claisey glared as she entered, but Florence acted completely unbothered.
Dernic watched the whole scene with a bright, smiling face. Once the food was served and the maids had withdrawn, he spoke in a pleasant tone.
“They say good deeds are rewarded. It’s true. I helped Miss Claisey, and now I’m being treated so well in such a fine house.”
“Does our house look good to you?”
Florence probed Dernic once again. Claisey tapped the hem of Florence’s dress with the tip of her cane, signaling her to stop.
Fortunately, once the meal began, Florence didn’t pry any further. Claisey was relieved that Florence had finally set aside her curiosity.
“We’ve run out of pickled radishes. Wait a moment. I’ll go get some fresh ones.”
However, in the middle of the meal, Florence suddenly stood up and said this.
“Call a maid.”
Claisey said, bewildered. There were five maids standing by just to serve the meal. There was no reason for Florence to go to the kitchen herself.
But Florence added a string of nonsensical excuses and left the room, carrying a small bowl.
Left alone with Dernic in an instant, Claisey was flabbergasted, staring blankly at the arched doorway leading to the hallway for quite some time.
Only after an uncomfortable silence dragged on did Claisey realize that Florence had deliberately left her alone with Dernic.
Claisey realized her mistake and looked at Dernic, who was sitting across from her. Since when? Dernic was resting his chin on his hand, looking at Claisey with a smile.
-‘He’s the most handsome man.’
Florence’s excited voice suddenly echoed in her head for some reason. Claisey gave an awkward smile, picked up her fork, and lowered her eyes.
She knew why Florence was acting this way. But that man was the man Merran liked. Claisey had no intention of getting involved with a man whom Merran had a crush on.
Of course, even before Merran liked him, she had no intention of getting involved with Dernic.
‘If I tell Florence this, she’ll probably try to push Dernic onto me even more. She’d tell me to pay him back for what Merran did for years. But Merran’s goal was just to block my marriage; she never actually dated the men she snatched away.’
Claisey sighed and poked at the salad that was still half-full.
“Why are you sighing?”
Had he been observing her all along? Dernic spoke up.
“I think Florence misunderstood something.”
Claisey made up an excuse and took her fork out of the salad. Poking at food was not good dining etiquette.
“What misunderstanding?”
Dernic asked again. But his expression was full of mischief. He acted as if he knew exactly what Florence was thinking.
Since it seemed useless to make up excuses, Claisey confessed honestly.
“She seems to think that Sir Dernic and I are more than friends. I’ve told her several times that it isn’t true, but she won’t believe me. Even if Florence acts strangely, please just let it slide.”
That should do it. Claisey thought to herself and ate some of the half-cooled soup.
“The Countess of Imal June has a keen eye, doesn’t she?”
However, Dernic said this out of the blue. Claisey froze with the spoon in her mouth and only looked up. Dernic was still resting his chin on his hand, smiling.
“Pardon?”
When Claisey asked back, Dernic lowered his hand and repeated himself clearly.
“The Countess of Imal June has a keen eye. She caught right away that I am interested in Miss Claisey.”
In a situation like this, should she finish the soup she was eating, or should she put the spoon back down? Claisey kept the spoon in her mouth, unable to do either.
It was as if Dernic had kicked the beehive in her head. That man… is interested in me? That man?
Claisey thought of Merran. Merran had said she and Dernic were doing very well. She had been happy, saying marriage had been mentioned.
Claisey wiped her lips elegantly with a handkerchief and glared at Dernic. She had suspected it, but surely not. Is that guy really a playboy?
“Oh, Miss Claisey.”
When Claisey stared at him sharply, Dernic folded both hands over his chest, pretending to be surprised.
“You are the first person to glare at me when I say I like them.”
His attitude made him seem even more like a playboy. Claisey frowned and said firmly.
“I don’t like this kind of joke. I know you like to play jokes. But please don’t make jokes like this. It’s just unpleasant.”
Then Dernic lowered his hands from his chest and said with a more serious demeanor.
“It is not a joke. I am genuinely interested in Miss Claisey. I feel like Miss Claisey and I would be a good match.”
Claisey gripped her water glass to calm the heat rising inside her. Until a moment ago, she only had the desire to clear up Florence’s misunderstanding.
But now that Dernic was coming out like this, she felt even more flustered. Aside from Merran, didn’t Dernic know that Claisey had asked Kishin for a date?
“Miss Claisey. Do you have any interest in dating me?”
When Dernic asked, Claisey couldn’t help but ask back.
“You know I asked Sir Kishin for a date, right?”
“Of course. I know.”
“And you’re still saying this?”
“You were rejected, weren’t you? Then that’s that. I heard from Kishin. He said Miss Claisey gives up on her feelings immediately once she decides it’s not going to work. I’m the same. I dislike clingy affection. We will be a good match.”
Claisey’s jaw dropped. However, Dernic had a look on his face that suggested he truly believed it.
Claisey felt her heart ache. She couldn’t understand either Kishin or Dernic.
‘Lord Kishin blamed me for letting go of my feelings so quickly after he was the one who dumped me. And this guy asks me out on a date the moment I get dumped by Lord Kishin? What kind of twisted friendship is this?’
Regardless, Claisey had no interest in Dernic, just as she had none in Kishin or Merran.
Claisey pondered. Should she refuse by saying she couldn’t be with him because Merran liked him?
However, since Merran hadn’t revealed his feelings yet, she felt it would be rude to disclose them on his behalf behind his back.
After much deliberation, Claisey finally decided to be half-honest.
“I think you’ve misunderstood. I have no interest in love or romance. I’m not interested in clingy affection nor lighthearted flirtations.”
Dernic’s eyebrows shot up.
“That doesn’t sound right, considering how proactively you courted Kishin.”
“Our country’s law requires us to marry with our parents’ permission to inherit the family estate. That is why I was looking for someone to marry.”
Was she being too honest? Heat rose to Claisey’s cheeks as she spoke. But there were countless young nobles who worried about this very issue.
Though, usually, their worries stemmed from the fact that the person they loved was different from the person their parents wanted them to marry.
‘Forget it. Lord Kishin and I are over anyway. What’s the point of trying to save face?’
The first step was the hardest; once she started talking, her grievances flowed out easily. Claisey thickened her skin and laid it all out.
“You know our inheritance laws. The later I marry, the more my share of the inheritance shrinks. Not counting my late eldest sister, I have three siblings above me, and all three of them are married.”
Typically, the assets a noble child would inherit were divided into two categories. One was the legacy left by the parents, and the other was the inheritance set aside by the family in advance.
For instance, Claisey and her siblings secured an inheritance of 100 before they were even born. If one were an only child, they would inherit the 100 alone; if two were born, the inheritance was split into 50 each.
Since Claisey was one of five siblings, she had secured 20 in inheritance the moment she was born. This property could be taken when she married and became independent.
Then, here was the question: if Claisey’s eldest sister, Marie Calacy, took her share of 20 upon marriage, did the remaining siblings keep 80?
No. Variables arise thereafter. If Marie gives birth to a child before the other siblings marry, the remaining siblings must share the remaining 80 inheritance with the new niece or nephew.
Of course, the inheritance ratio for grandchildren was lower, but in any case, the structure was such that the assets remaining siblings could take upon independence would decrease compared to what the firstborn had taken.
The assets Claisey was originally meant to receive had already been drastically reduced with the births of her nephew Merran, her second sister’s twins, her eldest brother’s son, and her younger brother’s daughter.
Moreover, her second sister was currently pregnant, and her brothers were at an age where they could have as many more children as they wanted.
Whenever Claisey complained while checking her shrinking inheritance, her second sister would mock her:
-We all went through the same thing when you were suddenly born.
In any case, Claisey did not want her inheritance to be whittled down any further.
Dernic couldn’t keep his mouth shut after Claisey’s long-winded yet realistic explanation finished.
Claisey fiddled with her ears, which were hot with embarrassment, and muttered, “I know it looks calculated, but I can’t help it. If I don’t marry, my siblings will take whatever is left of my share anyway.”
But what kind of twist of fate was this? As soon as Claisey finished speaking, Dernic smiled even more brightly and opened his arms.
“Miss Claisey, our values are exactly the same. I feel the same way. Though, as an only child, I don’t have to worry to that extent.”
“Pardon?”
“I, too, want to make sure I inherit my family’s wealth! But I don’t want to marry someone my parents introduce to me. Miss Claisey, since it’s come to this, why don’t we enter into a contract marriage? With your qualifications, I think my parents would approve.”