Claisey’s heart felt like it was going to burst, so she nodded hurriedly.
“Yes. Yes! I’m so happy!”
Claisey reached out to hug Kishin, but the fur coat she was wearing was so bulky that it was difficult to move. Instead of hugging him, she nearly dropped the ring box, so she pulled her arms back with a stumble.
A light smile touched the corners of Kishin’s lips.
“Dressed like that, you look like a bear.”
“Am I cute?”
“Very.”
Kishin lifted Claisey’s hand and brought the ring toward her fingertips once more.
However, the moment the cold sensation of the winter ring touched her skin, Merran came running, flapping her coat tails, and slapped their hands away.
The force of the sudden movement made Claisey stagger, and Kishin hurriedly caught her. But the ring bounced off to the side and rolled into the dirt on the roadside.
Seeing the ring she had almost grasped disappear, fury welled up inside Claisey.
“What are you doing?”
Claisey, forgetting to be reserved in front of Kishin, protested to Merran.
“What are you doing, Auntie? Don’t make us lose face.”
But Merran answered proudly, then glared at Kishin and pressed him.
“Sir Kishin, you really have no manners at all. A proposal isn’t something you make, Sir Kishin; it’s something your parents do. Your parents and our grandparents should be having a formal discussion. Why are you offering our aunt such a cheap ring on the side of the road? Stop thinking you can play with her just because she’s naive.”
Claisey felt the urge to throw Merran back into the carriage. The words, *“What business is it of yours?”* rose to her throat.
“Merran, stop it.”
“Auntie, you stop it instead. I’m truly embarrassed when you act like this. What are you doing in the middle of the road!”
“I’m the one being proposed to, and I’m the one accepting, so why are you embarrassed? Besides, it’s not the middle of the road. This isn’t a main street, nor is it inside the city.”
“Even if there’s no one watching, you should still maintain your dignity!”
After scolding Claisey, Merran glared at Kishin once more.
Because Merran was pretending to look after Claisey, Claisey felt dumbfounded and her blood boiled. She knew that if Merran feigned care while interfering like this, it would be difficult for Kishin to deal with.
However, Kishin didn’t respond to Merran at all; instead, he asked Claisey once again.
“I’ve proposed. Are you still going to Greengall City?”
Merran’s jaw dropped.
“Auntie, Auntie. Look at what Sir Kishin is saying. He’s telling you not to even go to your hometown!”
Before Merran could scream again, Claisey answered quickly.
“No. We have to prepare for the wedding.”
Merran turned around, looking at Claisey as if she were crazy, and hit her arm.
“Auntie! Wake up! What are you doing right now! Are you going to abandon your hometown for a man?”
“You’re the one who should stop exaggerating when you don’t know the circumstances. When did I say I was abandoning my hometown? I didn’t even bring that up.”
“That means the same thing!”
“How is that the same thing? That’s just your interpretation. Besides, I told Sir Kishin about this a few days ago. I said that once we are engaged, I wouldn’t go to my hometown this time.”
The look Merran gave Claisey was truly that of a woman looking at a traitor to the family.
Claisey felt like crying. Sir Kishin had thought about it for days and finally changed his mind to come and find her. To have to fight with Merran even at this touching moment…
At this moment, she even regretted the vow she had made to her eldest sister.
Merran’s eyes welled up with tears, and like a child, she grabbed Claisey’s arm and asked, “I don’t mind not going to my hometown. But I set out on this difficult journey on purpose because I was worried you’d have a hard time, Auntie. I decided to come with you, wasting three months, just to stay by your side. But are you going to act like this because of one man?”
As tears pooled in her large eyes, Merran looked like a pitiful deer.
Claisey opened her mouth with a slightly softened attitude.
But one step ahead, Kishin said, “That’s right. By the way, have you two run into Dernic?”
Claisey looked at Kishin, wondering what he meant.
“Sir Dernic? Why are you talking about Sir Dernic all of a sudden?”
Merran also examined Kishin with a bewildered expression.
Kishin replied with his usual expression, “Dernic also left for Greengall City today. It seems you didn’t cross paths.”
Claisey didn’t understand why Kishin was bringing this up now.
But whatever the reason, Merran’s mood had turned cold. A moment ago, she had been clinging to Claisey as if she never wanted to leave her, but now she was wiping her tears and looking off into the distance.
Just then, Kishin winked at Claisey very quickly.
By the time Claisey was startled, Kishin was already standing there with his usual cool facade.
*‘Did he just wink at me?’*
Claisey stared intently at Kishin’s face, but his shift in expression had already vanished.
Instead, the now-quiet Merran asked, “Auntie. Did you tell Sir Kishin that I like Sir Dernic?!”
“No.”
“Then why did Sir Kishin suddenly say that? Isn’t that him telling me to go chase after Sir Dernic to Greengall because he wants to be left alone with you, Auntie?”
As Merran snapped at them like an excited calf, the emotionless Kishin smiled lightly. As if he could no longer ignore Merran, he said in a much kinder voice, “You are sharp, Miss Merran. You would make a fine junior investigator.”
*‘Junior…’*
Merran glared alternately at Kishin and Claisey. Claisey felt aggrieved.
“I really didn’t say anything.”
Claisey, too, was curious. How on earth did Kishin figure out Merran’s feelings?
Regardless, Kishin’s move had been perfectly effective.
“Since you and your fiancé are so desperate to get rid of your niece, I suppose I should leave quickly. You two have a good time.”
Merran said coldly and turned away, but she went off calling Kishin “Uncle.” Reminded that Dernic and Kishin were best friends, she must have been trying to score points with him.
After that, a great commotion ensued. The servants took Claisey’s luggage out, separating it from the freight wagon and the four-wheeled carriage.
Claisey and Merran also had to check carefully so their belongings wouldn’t get mixed up.
After loading Claisey’s luggage into one carriage, one coachman remained, and the rest of the party left with Merran.
Perhaps her anger had subsided, as Merran waved at Claisey from the window when she left.
While the coachman was organizing the luggage, Claisey and Kishin began searching for the ring they had dropped by the roadside.
Whenever blood rushed to her face as she bent over to examine the ground, Claisey would lift her upper body and pat her waist.
Then, Kishin would straighten his back too and lightly pat Claisey’s back.
His touch had a sense of weight to it that felt refreshing, but after he patted her back a couple of times, Claisey would run off ahead in embarrassment.
Fortunately, Kishin found the ring in a pile of mud. He looked down at the band, which had lost its clean shine, and muttered, “I will put it on you properly later. I need to wash it before then.”
Instead of answering, Claisey slipped her finger into the ring he was holding.
When she looked at Kishin, watching for his reaction, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Claisey held her ring-wearing hand close like a precious treasure and urged, “No backing out now. It’s mine. Even if you’re angry or annoyed with me, you can never take it back. Even if you ask for it back, I won’t give it to you. If you ask, I’ll swallow it.”
“Yes, I will never ask for it back as long as I live.”
“No, ‘as long as I live’ is unnecessary; just three years after we marry…”
Three years after marriage, she could retain her status as an heir even after a divorce.
So, she was about to say that it would be fine to divorce after three years, but as Kishin’s eyes turned cold rapidly, Claisey hurriedly changed her words.
“For life, for life. It’s mine for life.”
* * *
Because the Grand Duchess Siwil had visited without notice, the entire Gosville Marquess estate was in an uproar. Although the two were close, the Grand Duchess rarely visited without a word.
“Your Excellency…”
“Ha, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
The Marchioness, who had been resting comfortably, quickly changed her clothes to receive the Grand Duchess.
The Grand Duchess took off her hat, handed it to a maid, and said, looking quite apologetic.
“I’m sorry for dropping by so suddenly. But the information I found out was so shocking that I felt I had to tell you right away.”
“The information you found?”
“You know, at the banquet held at my house before, Kishin was getting along quite well with a certain woman. You know, the one who was exceptionally beautiful but had a face we’d never seen before. I promised to find out who she was. Don’t you remember?”
The Marchioness dismissed the people around them. Hearing the Grand Duchess describe it as ‘such shocking information,’ she felt that something unusual was afoot.
She sat opposite the Grand Duchess and looked at her with a tense expression.
“What kind of woman was she?”