Kishin was reviewing the list of actors from the Sapphire Rose theater troupe. Lately, his superiors had been showing an unusually strong curiosity about this matter, which was causing him quite a headache.
The rumor that a spy might have infiltrated a famous troupe seemed to hold great appeal for those with too much time on their hands. Or perhaps…
‘If there’s another reason for this, that would be a headache in its own right.’
Just as he was deep in thought, he noticed a subordinate who was becoming an eyesore. The man was holding two boxes, one in each hand, with an incredibly awkward expression on his face.
When their eyes met, the subordinate approached quickly, looking as if he’d just been rescued.
“Thank goodness. You’re finally looking at me. I kept calling your name, but since you didn’t answer, I didn’t know what to do.”
The subordinate placed the two boxes side-by-side on the edge of Kishin’s desk.
Kishin’s smooth forehead furrowed even further.
“What is this?”
“It’s a gift from Miss Claisey.”
At the mention of Claisey’s name, Kishin’s forehead didn’t just furrow—it crumpled entirely. The subordinate recoiled for no reason.
“I apologize. She asked me to simply deliver them. If it were anyone else’s request, I would have declined or left them in the storage room, but for her, I….”
The subordinate hesitated before adding cautiously:
“She is the person you like, isn’t she, Deputy Platoon Leader?”
Kishin’s forehead was already as crumpled as it could possibly be; it couldn’t wrinkle any further. If it had been able to, the subordinate would have realized his slip of the tongue and fled immediately.
Kishin held his breath, stared at the subordinate, and then pinched the bridge of his nose.
‘I’ve been completely misunderstood.’
In the past, Dernic had sent a bouquet to Merran, and Merran had returned it to Kishin. At the time, Merran had mixed up the names of Dernic and Kishin, leading Kishin to mistakenly believe the bouquet from the ‘Kalasi Family’ had been sent by Claisey.
After a few incidents, Dernic and Kishin had cleared up the misunderstanding. However, it seemed his subordinates had yet to move on from it.
The guards still believed that Kishin had sent Claisey a bouquet twice, and that she had returned it twice.
Since Claisey had even come to Kishin’s office a few days ago, the misunderstanding had only deepened. However, this complex story was difficult to explain.
Being a man of few words, Kishin couldn’t be bothered to explain the whole affair to his subordinate, so he simply replied:
“I see.”
That response only deepened the subordinate’s misunderstanding further. *The Deputy Platoon Leader didn’t deny it! He must really like her!*
Kishin, busy alternating his gaze between the two boxes, failed to notice the change in the subordinate’s expression.
“But why are there two boxes?”
Kishin asked, examining the two identical packages. The subordinate replied with a hint of excitement.
“She said one is for you, Deputy Platoon Leader, and one is for Sir Dernic.”
“Dernic?”
“Yes. It seems she prepared two because you are close with Sir Dernic. Oh! She also said she was sorry to you, Deputy Platoon Leader. She mentioned the one with the silver ribbon is yours, and the one with no pattern is for Sir Dernic.”
This is the trouble with receiving messages through a middleman. Kishin looked up at the subordinate with cold eyes.
“Did you leave anything out?”
He and Claisey were already on bad terms. They had shared a brief moment where the atmosphere was pleasant, but that had ended when Claisey attempted to play both sides—or perhaps three.
In any case, since Claisey had done something for which she should be sorry, sending a gift as an apology made sense. But why send one to Dernic? He couldn’t understand it.
The subordinate looked bewildered and replied.
“No, sir. There was nothing else.”
Kishin asked directly.
“Was there no message to pass on to Dernic?”
“No, sir. There wasn’t.”
“Understood. You may go.”
As soon as the subordinate left, Kishin opened both boxes himself.
They weren’t sealed in a way that prevented them from being opened; he just had to lift the lids.
Kishin was still suspicious of the subordinate. There was no reason for Claisey to entrust him with a gift for Dernic without cause.
Inside the boxes was a cake that was currently trending among high-ranking nobles.
Both cakes were identical in design and type. However, in one place—inside Dernic’s box, which had no ribbon—there was a letter.
“…….”
Even after finding the letter, Kishin hesitated, thinking that as a gentleman, he shouldn’t read a lady’s correspondence.
But he was curious. Extremely curious.
After a long moment of contemplation, he adopted the persona of an investigator. Kishin took out the letter and unfolded it.
*- Sir Dernic, would you like to come to my house on December 20th and have a meal together?*
Kishin subconsciously tore the letter apart.
He realized it too late, but the letter was already in two pieces, one half in his right hand and the other in his left.
* * *
By December 19th, there had been no answer from Dernic regarding whether he would accept the invitation.
“It seems Sir Dernic is busy. He might not be able to come tomorrow.”
Claisey muttered, disheartened, during dinner.
She could only leave the mansion alone by leaving Merran behind if Dernic came. With Dernic not coming, it became even harder to slip out of the mansion.
Claisey thought of Florence. What if she went to Florence’s house, prepared to go out from there, and then headed to the Grand Duke’s residence?
But wasn’t Florence a newlywed? If she just barged in and prepared to go out, it would certainly be impolite.
‘Should I send someone quietly in advance to ask if she can help?’
Claisey glanced at Merran. Unexpectedly, Merran was smiling.
Claisey’s heart sank. *Did she figure out my intentions?*
“If he couldn’t come, he would have sent someone to say so. He hasn’t said anything because he intends to come.”
Merran replied confidently. Fortunately, Merran hadn’t figured out Claisey’s plan.
However, Claisey found it difficult to agree with Merran’s optimism.
“That’s not necessarily true. There are people who don’t reply when they are refusing.”
Claisey informed her, thinking of Kishin.
Merran retorted bluntly.
“Then that person is the one without manners.”
“But—.”
Claisey tried to say something else just in case, but Merran suddenly felt offended and snapped back.
“I know you don’t like Sir Dernic, Aunt. But don’t keep speaking badly of him to me. If you keep doing that, I’ll get angry.”
“What did I say that was bad?”
“You’re painting Sir Dernic out to be an ill-mannered person.”
Claisey forced a smile.
“There’s been no answer from Sir Dernic. I’m just worried that you’ll be hurt if you believe he’ll come tomorrow and he doesn’t. Wouldn’t it be better to make other plans in advance?”
Merran set her fork down with a sharp *clatter* and replied curtly.
“Sir Dernic isn’t like that. He’s not that kind of person.”
*Fine. Do whatever you want.* The urge to warn Merran out of good intentions completely vanished from Claisey.
If Dernic showed up tomorrow, as Merran’s confident attitude suggested, it would be good for Claisey, too. Even if Dernic didn’t show up, Claisey would have already left the mansion before then, so it didn’t matter.
Claisey continued her meal in silence, not wanting to have any more sharp conversations with Merran.
* * *
December 20th.
Claisey woke up early and started preparing to go out. Merran didn’t pester her. That was because she, too, was busy preparing to welcome Dernic.
When they entered the dining room for a simple breakfast of bread, butter, and jam, Claisey and Merran discovered each other half-dressed.
Merran wore a noticeably annoyed expression.
“Aunt, you were so adamant that Sir Dernic wouldn’t come. Why are you getting ready so diligently?”
She seemed to misunderstand that Claisey was dressing up to look good for Dernic.
Claisey thought Merran’s reaction was a bit strange. In the past, Merran hadn’t paid much attention to how Claisey dressed.
‘Why is she suddenly so annoyed?’
In truth, this was because Merran had learned Dernic’s age while talking to him.
Although Claisey expressed that there was “only a five-year” age gap between her and Merran, Merran had always thought of it as a significant distance.
As it happened, Dernic’s age fell right in between Claisey and Merran. He was three years older than Merran and two years younger than Claisey.
Once she realized that fact, Merran grew to despise the way Claisey acted like a young noble lady in front of Dernic.
Merran wished that when Claisey was with her, she would behave not like a marriage-seeking lady, but like a proper noblewoman. Like her friends’ aunts—grown-up, elegant, and kind; the image of a protector.
Since Claisey did not know about these circumstances, she simply felt offended by her niece’s inexplicable irritability.
‘Why are you taking your temper out on me just because Dernic hasn’t answered?’
“Whether he comes or not, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. If nothing else, we can just head out to play.”
Merran did not answer. Claisey did not press the matter further, finished stuffing the rest of the bread into her mouth, and headed up to her room.
Then, when the time for the outing arrived, Claisey left alone, leaving Merran behind.
Merran, who had been reading a book by the window, saw her leave.
The nanny, Karen, asked worriedly, “She is always beautiful, but Miss Claisey looks even more stunning today. Where could she be going, dressed up like that all by herself? Miss, shouldn’t you follow her?”
Under normal circumstances, if Claisey went out dressed in such a flashy manner, Merran would have chased after her immediately. She knew that Claisey went out to scout for potential marriage partners.
“Forget it.”
But today, rather than following Claisey, Merran wanted to wait for Dernic.
Karen was still concerned.
“To go out in such an outfit… she must be going to a party. Miss, what if Miss Claisey actually finds a marriage partner while she’s out like that?”
“What good would it do if she did? Marriage is decided by our guardians anyway. Even if she finds one, I can just spread rumors about Aunt in the other family’s circle, and they’ll reject her on their own.”
Merran replied indifferently, then suddenly jumped up, having spotted something. A carriage was entering through the main gate. Merran’s expression brightened.
“It’s Sir Dernic!”