“Ma’am, Sir. Shouldn’t you two be playing hard to get, too? You should have said, ‘We’ll consider it regarding Sir Kishin,’ and then left. Why are we all acting like we’ve given Sir Kishin our unconditional approval?”
As Anna joked, the group standing nearby burst into laughter. Everyone looked happy—everyone except Claisey.
It seemed everyone took it for granted that Merran would be supportive of Claisey.
*‘No, I’ve told them so many times that Merran keeps interfering with my courtship. I guess they really didn’t believe me.’*
Unable to join in the lighthearted atmosphere, Claisey retreated to her bedroom.
She had assumed things would go smoothly once Merran left, but Merran was exerting influence here even from afar.
Claisey leaned her forehead against the window and sighed. When she opened her eyes, the glass was fogged from her breath, obscuring the view outside.
* * *
When Claisey had planned her trip home, the schedule was set for about three months. She had allotted two months for travel and intended to stay by her second sister’s side for one month.
However, Claisey had no way of knowing what Merran’s schedule would be. The travel time alone would take about two months, but everything else depended on Merran.
If Merran had fun back home, she might stay for a long time; if she got bored because Claisey wasn’t there, she might return after only a few days.
To Claisey, it was a problem whether Merran returned early or late.
*‘She’ll probably come back early, right?’*
Regardless, Claisey expected Merran to return after only a few days in her hometown. After all, the girl had a strained relationship with her stepmother, Alice, and her half-siblings, and she usually tagged along everywhere just to get in Claisey’s way.
However, Claisey’s prediction was wrong. Merran didn’t return even after two months had passed.
Merran returned later than Claisey’s planned schedule, arriving more than three months and a few days after she left.
Her parents, who had waited to see Merran before departing, had already left for work abroad.
It was late March, the weather had warmed significantly, and flowers were starting to bloom here and there—a time that seemed to be breathing new life into the garden.
The sound of a carriage approached, but Claisey didn’t think it was Merran.
It was only after the carriage passed through the gate and Merran waved from the window that Claisey realized, with a start, who it was.
“Merran?”
“Aunt! I’m back!”
Perhaps because she had enjoyed herself back home, Merran looked more refreshed than when she had left.
As soon as she jumped out of the carriage, Merran danced over to Claisey and hugged her.
“You missed me, right? I missed you, too, Aunt.”
“I was worried because you were so late.”
“Since it had been a while since I was home, there were so many people to see and so many places I wanted to go—anyway, I was busy with this and that. That’s why I’m later than planned.”
As the servants moved her luggage, Merran took Claisey’s arm and asked as they walked toward the garden.
“I saw Lije Aunt’s third baby, too. Aren’t you curious about what they look like?”
“They’ll either look like Lije or the second brother-in-law, one or the other.”
As if she weren’t even tired, Merran chatted away for a long time, dragging Claisey around the garden several times.
By the time they had completed three laps, Claisey realized the real reason for Merran’s late return.
“So I invited Sir Dernic to our house, and oh my, he said he’d come right away. You should have seen how twisted Malia’s expression became when she saw Sir Dernic. I wish you could have seen their reactions, Aunt!”
The reason Merran was late was because of Dernic. Claisey had a rough idea of his schedule, too.
*‘I suppose he returned around the same time.’*
The thought left her feeling a little dazed.
She had always hoped that Merran would marry a good man and leave her alone. It was a little sad to realize that the tomboy who used to chase after her was now showing more interest in someone else.
Of course, that didn’t mean she wanted Merran to go back to chasing her instead of Dernic.
To shake off this strange feeling, Claisey humored her.
“You must have enjoyed yourself.”
“I did. I felt even better seeing Alice’s reaction.”
“Why? What did she say?”
“Since Sir Dernic only wanted to be with me, Alice deliberately brought her two daughters and acted all sweet, saying that since their big sister had been away so long, I should spend time with them. Isn’t it funny? I usually can’t even enter the house properly because of them, but suddenly she was all over me.”
Claisey sympathized with Merran this time as well.
Natalie was the child born to the eldest sister and the stepmother Alice, born shortly after the eldest sister passed away.
The protagonist of the ‘my husband has a mistress and seems to be pregnant’ comment that the eldest sister had once made to Claisey was Natalie.
And Malia was the daughter Alice brought with her when she married, only a few months younger than Merran.
Her face resembled Natalie’s a lot, and the eldest brother-in-law treated this stepdaughter with more care than he did Natalie.
Because of these circumstances, everyone was convinced that Malia was also the eldest brother-in-law’s biological daughter—the one born while the eldest sister was still pregnant with Merran.
*‘What if she really is his biological daughter? Since she was born when his wife was someone else, she can’t shake the label of being an illegitimate child. She can’t be registered in the Omal Marquis family tree, so she won’t be able to inherit any property, either. I suppose the Marquis of Omal pities that, which is why he dotes on her more than Natalie, right?’*
People whispered about Malia like this.
Claisey, not wanting to hear about people she disliked, hurriedly changed the subject.
“Oh, that’s right. What about the mementos? You said Dernic was looking for something among them. Did you find it?”
“No. I took him to both the Kalasi mansion and the main house to show him the eldest sister’s mementos, but he searched them carefully and said it wasn’t there. When I asked if there were any others, he said there weren’t, and he was disappointed. He thought perhaps it had been torn up and lost.”
“The memento must be a piece of paper. Some kind of document?”
Merran glanced at the ring of Kishin on Claisey’s finger and answered calmly.
“Who knows?”
Now that Claisey was in a certain relationship with Kishin, the wariness she had kept regarding Dernic seemed to have finally vanished.
Since the question was asked to change the subject rather than out of genuine curiosity, Claisey didn’t press further and moved on to the topic of her second sister.
“Lije sister was very angry, right?”
“It was a complete mess. She was jumping up and down, saying what normal man would want to marry a sister, and that he was surely a conman eyeing the property. She said she absolutely opposed it. She told my sister to keep her head straight.”
“How ridiculous.”
“That’s what I told her, too. Who is she to oppose? It was our mom who raised my aunt, and I’m the one living with my aunt, so it’s just hilarious.”
With that, Merran started bragging again about how friendly and affectionate she and Dernic had been in Greengall City.
It seemed they had spent time on what were essentially dates, visiting the eldest sister’s grave, showing each other around the neighborhood, and hanging out downtown.
*‘They spent more quality time together than I did with Sir Kishin. Sir Kishin can’t spare much time because of work.’*
Afterward, when they gathered in the dining room for a meal, Merran talked about Dernic the whole time, looking radiant.
Eventually, Anna was so overwhelmed that she exclaimed,
“Oh my, Miss, I’ve heard the same thing ten times already.”
However, Claisey listened attentively to those stories starting with ‘Our Sir Dernic’ without showing any sign of annoyance.
It was because of the Marchioness of Gosville.
* * *
The next morning.
Perhaps because Merran had been away for so long, the chef prepared breakfast with all his heart.
Merran, perhaps still buzzing from the excitement of ‘Our Sir Dernic,’ ate while chatting with flushed cheeks.
“It’s good to have Miss Merran here. The house is much more lively.”
Anna dropped comments like this every time she passed by.
Only after the meal was over and lemon cream cheesecake was served for dessert did Merran finally stop talking for a moment.
Claisey, who had been waiting since yesterday, took this opportunity to bring it up.
“You know, Merran. When you were gone… my parents visited.”
“Really? No wonder. I was wondering why they didn’t go back to their hometown for the New Year. So they came here.”
“Yes, and while they were here, they met with the Marquis and Marchioness of Gosville, too.”
Merran stopped mid-motion, a forkful of food halfway to her mouth.
“Really?”
After Claisey told her about the meeting between her parents and the Marquis and Marchioness, she made a request, hoping Merran wouldn’t act out.
“So, Merran. If the Marchioness happens to call you and ask about me, could you speak well of me?”
Contrary to her worries, Merran thought for a brief moment before replying.
“Alright. I will.”
“Really?”
Claisey asked, surprised.
*‘Has she become kinder because of Dernic? Why is she being so cooperative all of a sudden?’*
It had been Merran’s life goal to interfere with Claisey’s marriage. No matter how well she behaved otherwise, whenever that subject came up, she would be impossibly difficult.
Since Claisey had prepared herself for a harsh scolding, this sudden compliance left her feeling rather bewildered.
“Yes, really.”
Merran said it firmly, then wrinkled her nose as she added a request of her own.
“But later, when Aunt is also doing well with Sir Kishin, you absolutely must help me out. Got it?”
“That’s fine. But what about asking your eldest brother-in-law to put in a good word for a marriage proposal to the Siwil Grand Duchy? Have you done that?”
“I’ve been stuck with Sir Dernic the whole time, so how could I bring that up? But since we’ve all had meals together several times, I’m sure Father knows that Sir Dernic and I are close.”
After answering cleverly, Merran wore a dreamy expression for a moment, then muttered with a flushed face.
“Maybe Sir Dernic might even propose first…”
***
Three days later, hearing that Merran had returned home, the Marchioness of Gosville sent someone to invite her.
Claisey stayed by her side for an hour, helping Merran get dressed.
“Ugh, honestly. Try being like this all the time. You usually only care about your own clothes; you’re too much.”
Merran grumbled that it was bothersome, but she didn’t seem to dislike the attention.
Once Merran left in the carriage, Claisey, just as she had waited for her parents, curled up on the sofa and waited for Merran again.
***
The carriage Merran rode in passed through Valowal Road and continued straight to 3rd Street in Taywood.
As the carriage entered the Gosville estate, Karen, who had accompanied her, looked at the house through the window and gave a blunt assessment.
“It’s not quite as grand as our Omal Marquisate, but it’s a rather nice house.”
After stepping out of the carriage, a butler waiting in advance guided Merran to the drawing room.
While Merran waited, sipping tea on the sofa, an elegant-looking noblewoman with her hair styled up appeared a short while later.
She could see a hint of Sir Kishin’s features in her, but unlike him, she was a woman without a single trace of coldness.
Brief greetings and introductions were exchanged, followed by small talk about high society.
Merran thought the Marchioness of Gosville was a gifted conversationalist. Starting from high-society topics, the conversation flowed naturally under the Marchioness’s lead toward talk of family.
“Miss Merran, you and Miss Claisey live together, don’t you? To move from your hometown all the way to here, just the two of you, you must be closer than other family members?”
When the Marchioness of Gosville finally brought up the real purpose of this meeting, Karen, who was standing behind her, flinched in tension.
Merran looked down at her gold-trimmed teacup and gave a sad smile.
“We have to be.”
The Marchioness of Gosville and her maid exchanged a curious look.
The Marchioness sat up straighter and asked again.
“What do you mean by that? Is there some sort of circumstance?”