No matter how surprised the guards were, it wasn’t nearly as much as Kishin.
When Claisey entered the room clutching the ruined bouquet, Kishin was already waiting for her, standing between his desk and the door.
He wore an expression as if he were bracing himself for something, but when he saw Claisey walk in, his gaze faltered. His eyes fell directly upon the shredded bouquet.
“You seem very angry.”
Kishin muttered in an ambiguous tone.
Good heavens! Realizing her mistake, Claisey pulled the bouquet even tighter against her chest.
*’How foolish. I was so preoccupied with getting Merran off my back that I forgot the bouquet was in this state!’*
Claisey almost blurted out that her nephew was responsible, but she managed to hold her tongue in her confusion.
“I had a little accident on my way here in a hurry.”
However, Claisey did not tattle. Tattling only worked if the other party believed you; if they didn’t, your words were likely to be dismissed as a lie.
“I see. So it was an accident.”
Kishin raised the corners of his mouth elegantly, as if he thought Claisey was joking. He clearly suspected she had ruined the bouquet on purpose and was simply dressing it up as an accident.
Yet, he didn’t seem offended; rather, he appeared to find such behavior amusing. Claisey’s cheeks turned bright red at once.
*’Does he see me as that kind of person?’*
Well, he must have, given the absurd misunderstanding that had led him to insult her in the first place.
Recalling that insult, Claisey suddenly regretted coming here. Perhaps she should have returned the bouquet as it was, just as Merran had said and Kishin had suggested.
As she tried to soothe her burning cheeks, Kishin asked, “Are you planning on causing another ‘accident’ here?”
He was asking, in a roundabout way, if she intended to cause a scene just as she had ruined the bouquet.
Suppressing her fluttering heart, Claisey stated her original purpose.
“I like the bouquet.”
Kishin, who had been smiling quietly as if bracing himself, dropped the corners of his mouth. He seemed unable to grasp what she was getting at.
Claisey hugged the tattered flowers closer and spoke with emphasis.
“You said you wanted to apologize to me. You don’t have to be rejected in public. I just… I want to go on one more date without any misunderstandings.”
“!”
Kishin looked truly surprised. He was so flustered he couldn’t even answer right away.
Claisey lowered her head and muttered in a small, muffled voice, “Not a date meant to torment me on purpose. A real date.”
“Don’t young ladies of the nobility value their honor?”
*I’m more desperate for marriage than honor!* Claisey shouted internally, but outwardly, she shook her head shyly.
“There is honor that is truly important, and honor that can be magnanimously overlooked. The moment you apologized for insulting me due to a misunderstanding, it became something I could overlook. I don’t want to keep clinging to the past and insult you in return.”
As soon as Claisey finished speaking, as if by fate, half of the flowers that had been precariously hanging on fell to the floor in a heap. The petals, scattered like fallen leaves, lay in a mess.
*Why is it like this?* Claisey looked down in distress, then tilted her head up when she heard Kishin laughing.
When their eyes met, Kishin joked, “I’m glad I sent a friend to take the brunt of your anger instead of me. You’ve become much more generous after venting your frustrations.”
*I told you it was Merran!* Claisey swallowed her resentment and forced a smile.
“I told you, this was an accident.”
Kishin looked at the wall clock. Claisey followed his gaze.
It was already nine o’clock in the evening. At this hour, she would usually be sitting in her rocking chair in comfortable pajamas, reading a book.
Kishin said, “My shift ends at ten tonight. That is when I swap with my colleague.”
Claisey reacted vacantly. “Ah. I see.”
She had expected Kishin to say it was too late and suggest another day, or perhaps refuse the date entirely. Hearing only that he finished at ten, she found it difficult to grasp his meaning.
Kishin continued, “There is a cafe I stop by on the nights I work late.”
“Yes?”
“I plan to stop by on my way back tonight. Would you like to join me?”
Claisey almost jumped for joy. A night date! Instead of postponing, he wanted to go on a date in just an hour!
She had come here because his face had been on her mind, but she hadn’t expected to achieve this much.
However, once she heard his words, she felt that dating tonight was the best course of action. If she made an appointment for tomorrow, Merran would undoubtedly make a fuss about coming along.
“Yes, yes. Yes. I would love to.”
Claisey answered repeatedly, afraid he might change his mind.
* * *
Kishin began his paperwork again. But perhaps because his flow had been interrupted, his mind kept drifting away from the documents toward the sofa.
Claisey sat alone on the three-seater sofa, clutching the tattered bouquet. She seemed warm enough, as her thick fur cloak was folded and set aside.
Whenever Claisey shifted, Kishin reflexively glanced in her direction. Every time he looked at her, the first thing he noticed were her lowered eyelashes.
Even while maintaining an expressionless face, her eyelashes were in constant motion. It was clear her eyes were darting around incessantly beneath her lids.
At that clumsy pretense of calm, Kishin found himself smiling.
He thought Claisey was a rather odd woman. Many women had shown interest in him before, and even after he rejected them, they continued to pursue him.
But because those women had strong noble pride, once rejected, they would convey their interest indirectly—mobilizing family, feigning coincidence, or sending letters. Some even sought revenge simply because he had rejected their feelings.
That was why Kishin saw Claisey in a new light. A precious young lady of a Count’s family, undeterred and headstrong, making a second courtship despite having her pride wounded.
Then, he locked eyes with Claisey. While lost in thought, he had been staring too intently.
Claisey, perhaps not expecting to make eye contact, had her eyes suddenly go round like buttons. The sight reminded him of a startled rabbit, and Kishin couldn’t help but laugh again.
Claisey quickly lowered her gaze, but only for a moment. Wondering what she was thinking, she raised her head again and gave him a smile that was clearly well-practiced.
*What is that stiff smile? Is she trying to draw a portrait?* Kishin chuckled.
He had been laughing so often tonight that his family would have been horrified had they seen him.
* * *
*Indeed, practice is important for everything.* It seemed the effect of practicing a beautiful smile in front of the mirror was paying off.
Seeing that Kishin seemed to like her smile, Claisey felt both excited and embarrassed, so she pulled the cloak she had left beside her and fiddled with it.
The positive momentum that had taken root in a corner of her mind began to roll forward forcefully. Now that she had secured a second date, she became curious about Kishin’s family background.
Claisey’s standards had lowered significantly. Now, it was enough for her marriage partner to be a fellow noble.
Then, she would be recognized as having a formal marriage, be acknowledged as a full adult, and inherit her fortune. Whether or not she would get along well with Kishin in the future was a matter for later.
*’But will Kishin’s parents allow our marriage?’*
If Kishin had known the worries in her mind, he would have been flabbergasted. He would have smiled. Although he had begun to feel a faint affection for Claisey Kalasi, he had not yet even considered marriage.
Fortunately, Kishin Hiard did not possess the talent to read other people’s minds.
And so, lost in their own respective thoughts, neither Claisey nor Kishin noticed someone staring at them through the hallway window.
The person watching them was Dernic.
‘How strange.’
Dernic pressed his forehead against the glass. The Palace Guard who had escorted him was tapping his feet impatiently, but Dernic did not stop his surveillance.
‘He isn’t the type to work with an outsider by his side.’
Having grown up like a brother with Kishin, Dernic knew him well. Kishin was arrogant and thorough; he was a man who strictly separated his personal and professional life.
There had been women who showed interest in him and visited the Palace Guards before, but Kishin had never met any of them. No, he hadn’t even let them inside in the first place.
This Claisey Kalasi was the first woman he had allowed inside, let alone let her stay in his office. And that was without them even dating or being engaged.
Dernic grew curious. Had his stone-cold friend finally become interested in romance? Or perhaps… was there another reason?
“How long has he been like that?”
When Dernic asked, the Palace Guard member replied sullenly, “Not long, sir.”
“Why did that lady come here?”
“I don’t know. Sir Kishin simply told me to let her in, so I did.”
Dernic alternated his gaze between Kishin, who was working with a posture even stiffer than usual, and Claisey, who kept glancing at him. Eventually, unable to suppress his curiosity, he stepped directly into the office.
“Oh? Miss Claisey, fancy seeing you here again?”