Claisey approached Kishin until their faces were nearly touching before asking, a little belatedly, “Just the two of us?”
Dernic’s lips twisted as he watched Claisey’s reaction, which was always quicker than her words. Moreover, the tone of her voice was distinctly different when she spoke to Claisey compared to when she spoke to Kishin.
Feeling inexplicably irritated, Dernic cut in. “Kishin, are you planning to abandon me?”
Kishin kept his gaze fixed on Claisey as he replied, “The Archduke was looking for you.”
“Are you going to use my father as an excuse to ditch me?”
“It’s about Princess Sage.”
“!”
What on earth could it be? As soon as he heard those words, Dernic’s expression hardened, and he left the spot without even a farewell.
His expression had been so cold and sharp in that moment that even Claisey, who had been completely focused on Kishin, was snapped back to reality.
Claisey watched Dernic’s retreating back with concern, feeling uneasy for no apparent reason, and asked, “Are you all right? Lord Dernic’s expression didn’t look very good.”
“There are some complicated circumstances.”
“With the Princess?”
Claisey was startled. Princess Sage was a person entangled in various complex matters; she was not someone to be brought up in casual conversation.
Since she didn’t have much interest in Dernic anyway, and she suspected that prying further would only put Kishin in a difficult position, Claisey quickly changed the subject. “Why did you ask to speak with only the two of us earlier?”
Fortunately, it seemed Kishin didn’t want to talk about Dernic and Princess Sage either. He immediately responded to the change in topic. “The more people who intrude on our conversation, the more misunderstandings arise. I simply wanted to talk to you directly.”
Claisey pouted and muttered, “Most of those misunderstandings were caused by you, Lord Kishin.”
“I cannot deny that.”
Even while admitting it, Kishin didn’t look apologetic. Claisey felt a sudden surge of irritation, turned away, and said coldly, “If anyone else had behaved like Lord Kishin, I would have been too angry to even look at their face.”
“Do you wish to keep looking at my face?”
“Only because you’re handsome. I’m giving you special treatment.”
What part of that statement pleased him? Kishin burst into a low laugh. “I’m not sure whether I should be thanking my parents or Miss Claisey.”
The atmosphere softened instantly as he joked. Claisey, who had been angry for a moment, burst into laughter along with him and turned to face Kishin again.
Dernic’s serious expression had already vanished from her mind, leaving no trace. At that moment, Claisey felt a strange gaze—it felt as if someone was staring intently at them.
Claisey quickly turned her head in the direction from which she felt the gaze.
* * *
“Dernic doesn’t seem to be around. Surely he hasn’t run off again, has he?”
Archduchess Siwil, who was surrounded by people and laughing, suddenly muttered as she looked around. Those who had gathered as if worshipping her also turned their heads, searching for the young noble. However, just as the Archduchess said, not even the hem of Dernic’s cloak was visible.
Marchioness Gosville sighed and muttered, “I don’t see Kishin, either. I wonder if the two of them went off to play again.”
Archduchess Siwil patted the Marchioness’s skirt and said, as if it were a ridiculous notion, “Why, it would be perfectly fine if he went off to play with Kishin. Dernic causes less trouble when he has someone as reliable and steady as Kishin by his side. I’m not worried about Dernic going off with Kishin.”
The Marchioness thought to herself that this was true. It wasn’t just because Kishin was her son that she defended him; in reality, Kishin’s character was far more composed than Dernic’s, beyond comparison.
Though Kishin was only one year older, his demeanor made it seem as if there were a hundred-year gap between them. Even that troublemaker Dernic became noticeably well-behaved whenever Kishin was around.
However, how could she dare to say such a thing openly? The Marchioness replied with words she didn’t mean. “Kishin isn’t steady; he’s just old-fashioned and reticent. For young men of that age, it’s better to be active and sociable like Dernic.”
Archduchess Siwil smiled pleasantly, knowing full well that the Marchioness was just being polite. But just as the two were continuing their conversation about their sons, a noblewoman who had been listening quietly interjected perfectly.
“Come to think of it, I saw Lord Dernic go somewhere with a very beautiful young lady earlier. They looked quite affectionate.”
The corners of Archduchess Siwil’s mouth, which had been chatting happily, stiffened.
The noblewoman asked her friend sitting next to her, “Right? That young lady who looked so elegant and refined.”
“Oh, I remember. The young lady who made that offhand slip of the tongue? She was quite cute. It was my first time seeing her face. I don’t know which family she belongs to.”
As the two noblewomen burst into laughter, Archduchess Siwil’s expression became all the more clouded. Marchioness Gosville, who was talking with her, immediately noticed the change in the Archduchess and silently drank her tea.
The two oblivious noblewomen finally realized the Archduchess’s expression had soured and fell silent. Outside of palace banquets, the Archduchess was almost always the protagonist of every gathering. The silence of the Archduchess alone was enough to make all the nearby nobles somber.
How long had they been like that? The Archduchess, who had left everyone breathless, set her coffee cup down on the side and stood up, pulling Marchioness Gosville along. “Let’s take a walk for a moment.”
The Marchioness immediately guessed what the Archduchess was thinking and rose obediently. To avoid embarrassing the Archduchess, she even gestured to the noblewoman who had been blathering about Dernic’s whereabouts earlier.
Receiving the signal, the noblewoman gestured toward the direction in which Dernic had disappeared. The Marchioness approached the Archduchess, took her arm, and naturally led her in the direction Dernic had gone.
“Let’s head that way, Your Excellency.”
* * *
Archduchess Siwil kept her mouth shut the entire time they were walking. Marchioness Gosville also tactfully avoided speaking to her. She knew very well what a troublemaker son meant to Archduchess Siwil, whose life was otherwise perfect.
Marchioness Gosville thought it was fortunate that her own son was different from Dernic. Kishin would never cause her such heartache.
Her sense of relief was broken when the Archduchess muttered, “Kishin?”
“Yes?” The Marchioness, distracted by other thoughts, belatedly came to her senses.
The Archduchess pointed her chin toward an archway in front of them. “That man leaning against the corridor over there, talking to a young lady. Isn’t that Kishin?”
The Marchioness looked in that direction, and her eyes widened.
Kishin Hiard. Her pride and joy was standing face-to-face with a woman she didn’t know. And he was wearing a tender smile on his lips that he hadn’t easily shown even to his family since he was seven.
The Marchioness rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the young man conversing shyly with the beautiful young lady was definitely her son. The same son who had drawn a sharp line, saying he had no intention of marrying and would live his life working, so he should leave talk of marriage, descendants, or inheritance to his younger sister, Janette.
The Archduchess glanced at the Marchioness’s stunned expression, then asked with a much more comfortable smile, “It seems Lord Kishin is courting someone.”
“……”
“But I have no idea who the partner is. She isn’t someone I invited. However, since she must have shown an invitation to enter, it shouldn’t be hard to find out. Shall I have someone check?”
* * *
While Claisey was spending a heart-fluttering time clearing up the misunderstanding with Kishin, Merran was pacing anxiously inside the house, having checked every single clock at least a dozen times.
Karen, worried, had set aside all her tasks to trail after Merran. It was nearing three hours since Claisey had left. Finally, Karen couldn’t take it anymore and stopped her.
“Miss, it won’t be any use waiting like this. Someone came by earlier and said that Lord Dernic wouldn’t be able to make it.”
“How can we be sure that person was actually sent by Lord Dernic? When I asked who they belonged to, they wouldn’t even say; they just told me Lord Dernic couldn’t come and left. It was a strange person.”
“That is true.”
While Karen nodded in agreement, the grumpy tone in her voice didn’t fade. Merran, exhausted from waiting, waved her hand dismissively. “Forget it. I need to sit down now. My legs are aching.”
“Of course, Miss. I’ll go bring you some warm coffee.”
“I wonder when Aunt is finally coming back. It’s been ages.”
Merran headed up to her room. Karen went to the kitchen to prepare refreshments. On the way, she ran into Anna and tried to fish for information about where exactly Claisey had gone off to. However, she failed to find out the intended destination and ended up wasting fifteen minutes getting swept up by the cheerful Anna.
It was only after the butler called for Anna that Karen managed to slip away. As she was climbing the stairs, she faintly heard the sound of a carriage from outside the house.
‘Miss Claisey must have arrived.’
Karen thought to herself as she entered Merran’s room. She intended to tell Merran that Claisey seemed to have arrived, but Merran was already standing by the window, frowning as she peered outside.
Karen set the plate down on the low table and held out the coffee cup, speaking up. “Is that the carriage Miss Claisey was riding in? I heard the sound, too.”
Merran did not answer. She didn’t even reach out to take the coffee. She just stared fixedly ahead. Karen noticed that Merran’s profile looked quite serious.
“What’s the matter?”
“I found out where Aunt went off to by herself.”
Karen stepped toward the side window and pulled back the curtain. Claisey was just stepping out of the carriage, holding someone’s hand.
The man assisting Claisey was a handsome gentleman in fine attire. There was an uncanny charm overflowing from his appearance—he possessed flamboyant red hair, yet carried a cold, detached air about him.
Karen’s eyes widened as she muttered, “Did Miss Claisey go on a date with that handsome man?”