Translator: Nox

Chapter 20

The locking of their gazes was far from accidental. It wasn’t the casual nod of an acquaintance, either. Kishin was staring at Classie with unmistakable focus.

The sheer weight and unrelenting nature of his stare felt so invasive that Classie, overwhelmed by a sudden wave of awkwardness, swiftly looked away.

She couldn’t help but feel confused. He was the one who had shot down her invitation to go out. He had explicitly requested that she stop pursuing him. Given that, she wondered why he was looking at her with the wounded expression of a man who had been cast aside.

Classie ducked her head, her fingers nervously smoothing her hair, which prompted the young man beside her to glance back.

He let out a soft, weary breath after spotting the target of Classie’s distraction. He noted that they appeared to be members of the palace guard, referring to them as the Emperor’s loyal hounds.

Classie’s hand froze in her hair as she snapped her head up. The harshness of his words caught her off guard; he had seemed so gentle until that moment.

She felt a flicker of anxiety. They were in the heart of the capital, after all. She questioned the wisdom of insulting the ruler’s elite forces so carelessly in public.

She thought back to the rumors shared by her friends who traveled frequently between the city and her family estate. It seemed they were right about the simmering resentment many city nobles held toward the Emperor and the late Empress.

Noticing her shock, the young man offered a strained, apologetic grin. He explained that his family had been harassed by those men and an inspection group a few months prior. They had ransacked the entire residence under the pretense of searching for forbidden dark magic.

Classie found the excuse of dark magic to be utterly transparent and absurd. As she finished the last of her drink, a single thought dominated her mind: she had to distance herself from this man immediately.

Her desperation for a quick marriage was rooted in her desire to secure her inheritance. Her goal was a life of quiet luxury and independence, free from the burden of family politics. Getting entangled in treasonous sentiments or complicated scandals was the last thing she wanted.

The young man, having regained his composure, noted that she was a newcomer to the area. However, Classie had already checked out of the conversation.

She lied, claiming she had spotted a friend in the distance. Without giving him a chance to respond, she gestured vaguely and made a hasty retreat.

As she hurried down the steps, putting distance between herself and the young man, she was reminded of how suffocatingly close the Emperor’s influence felt in this city.

Upon reaching the refreshment stall on the ground floor, she was met with a massive queue. It was clear that the break would end long before she ever reached the front.

Deflated, she looked down at her empty glass. Returning home wasn’t an option yet, as Merran was likely still occupied with Dernick. She considered taking a solitary stroll through the plaza, noting that the weather was at least clear of snow.

Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice spoke her name from behind.

Classie spun around, startled. Kishin stood there, looming over her like a grim monument. She hadn’t heard him approach, yet his expression remained as frigid as it had been earlier.

That icy look sparked a sense of indignation in her. She didn’t understand why he looked so betrayed, as if she had stood him up, when he was the one who had rejected her.

Choosing to avoid a scene, she put on a polite mask and offered a breezy greeting, asking if he was there on official business.

Kishin ignored the pleasantry, asking instead if she was on a date with the man he had seen her with.

Classie felt a surge of spite; she wanted to snap at him that she was. Since he had turned her down only hours ago, she wanted him to know she wasn’t lacking for company.

However, the memory of the young man’s dangerous political views gave her pause. She quickly corrected the record, stating she had only just met the man today.

Kishin pointed out that they seemed remarkably close for strangers. Classie explained that the man had claimed it was love at sight, and she had merely been curious enough to talk to him.

She gripped her empty bottle, her eyes darting around. Being near Kishin felt suffocating. Even though she was telling the truth, she worried he was drawing the wrong conclusions, and the thought annoyed her.

She eventually announced her departure and turned her back on him. She decided the plaza was her best bet for peace.

To her surprise, Kishin trailed after her.

At first, she assumed they were simply walking the same path by chance. There was no logical reason for him to follow her. But when she began taking nonsensical, winding turns and he stayed right on her heels, her suspicion turned to certainty.

She stopped abruptly and wheeled around to face him, demanding to know why he was stalking her.

Kishin claimed he had been trying to get her attention the whole time. Classie countered that if she wasn’t responding, he should have taken the hint and let her go. She asked why he was so determined to follow her and if it was really worth getting so worked up over.

She pointed out that his presence in full uniform was drawing unwanted attention, making people look at her as if she were a criminal.

A small, fleeting twitch appeared at the corner of Kishin’s mouth, which only fueled Classie’s anger. She asked if he found it amusing that she might be mistaken for a thief.

He remarked that people likely assumed she was something more significant than a common pickpocket, noting that the royal guard didn’t bother with such minor crimes.

His words felt like a backhanded compliment, which only irritated her further. Kishin cleared his throat, shifting the focus. He admitted he had followed her because he was troubled by a specific question.

Classie looked away, her tone cool as she prompted him to continue.

The trace of a smile vanished from his face. He confessed that seeing her had made him wonder about something. When she pressed him, he finally asked if her feelings for him had ever been genuine.

Classie nearly choked on her own breath. She had been prepared for a serious or professional inquiry, not something so personal. She was relieved her drink was already gone, or she might have made a mess.

She stared at him, completely stunned.

Kishin laid out his confusion, reciting a timeline of her claiming to love him, bringing him flowers in the middle of the night, then claiming to love someone else, then asking him out, and finally being seen flirting with a stranger.

To Classie, his summary made her sound like a flighty woman with no loyalty. Kishin sighed, asking once more if she had truly liked him.

She confirmed that she had indeed had a crush on him. When he began to ask “then why,” she cut him off. She argued that there was nothing wrong with a temporary infatuation. She didn’t believe that liking someone once meant she was barred from ever being interested in anyone else.

Her blunt logic seemed to hit Kishin like a physical blow. He looked genuinely stunned. After a moment of silence, he asked in a quiet voice if it wasn’t a bit too fast to move on to someone else in a matter of hours.

Classie pointed out that since he had no interest in her, she needed to move on. She saw no point in wasting time pining for a year over something that was never going to happen.

Kishin looked even more shell-shocked by this second rebuttal. Classie found his reaction baffling. Since they had never actually been a couple, she couldn’t understand why his ego was so bruised by her moving on.

Kishin eventually murmured that he understood, though his face suggested he was more confused than ever. He turned and walked away without another word.

Classie watched him go, feeling a lingering sense of unease. His dramatic departure weighed on her. She reviewed their conversation in her head, feeling her logic was sound.

It wasn’t until she was back at her carriage that a nagging detail surfaced. She wondered if he had mentioned her liking another man, or if she had imagined that part of his list.

While the two of them were lost in their own misunderstandings, Dernick and Merran were having a much more pleasant time.

Dernick had arrived at the estate with two gift baskets filled with sweets—one for Classie and one for Merran. He presented them to Anna with a warm smile, explaining they were for the ladies of the house.

Anna took only one, promising to give it to Classie later. She encouraged Dernick to give the other to Merran personally, as the girl would be down shortly.

Dernick was surprised to hear Classie wasn’t home, as he had assumed they would both be there. He had even gone to the trouble of including custom cookies shaped like umbrellas and perfume bottles specifically for her.

Anna noted his surprise and asked if he had also made arrangements to see Classie, remembering how insistent Merran had been that her aunt be away during his visit.