HBTF 51

Chapter: 51

My Fiancé’s Friend Changed His Attitude

Even after entering the dining hall, the uncomfortable atmosphere lingered.

Thinking that if they continued eating like this she would get indigestion, Classie finally made up an excuse and took Merran to the side room.

Since it had been briefly used while her parents were staying, the side room was more furnished than before.

Closing the door, Classie lowered her voice and asked,

“Why is Sir Dernick acting like that? Do you know anything?”

Merran shrugged.

“I don’t know either.”

“But you were laughing earlier. Do you really not know?”

When Classie kept pressing, Merran pouted.

“I really don’t. But Sir Dernick was like that even in front of Alice and those daughters of that woman. At first I was surprised too, but after watching closely, he does it often. I guess that’s just how he acts around people he doesn’t like. Well, no wonder people say he has a bad personality.”

“He wasn’t like that with me.”

“Exactly. I don’t know why he suddenly started acting like this. But it is kind of funny that he’s like that toward Aunt. Didn’t he used to be somewhat kind to her before?”

The question ‘Did you say something bad about me in Greengal City?’ rose up to the tip of Classie’s tongue.

But there are always certain things one must never touch upon in relationships between people, and for Classie and Merran, this was one of them.

“…Alright.”

Instead of asking further, Classie just returned to the dining hall with Merran.

But as they neared the hall, they heard two men’s voices lowered in an argument.

“Do you really think that’s something you can say right now?”

“I don’t understand why you’re acting this way.”

After Classie had taken Merran out, Kishin and Dernick, left behind, also seemed to be quarreling.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Classie hurried to step in and stop them, but Merran grabbed her arm from behind.

When she turned around, Merran signaled shh and whispered, making a gesture that they should listen first.

“Let’s hear them out. Maybe we’ll find out why Sir Dernick suddenly turned cold toward Aunt.”

Although she thought she shouldn’t, Classie gave in. The two pressed themselves against the wall, holding their breath.

“I’ve been your friend all my life. Don’t I have the right to give my opinion on this much?”

“You’re my friend, not my parent. Dernick, why are you opposing a marriage that my parents themselves approved of? That feels like a blatant overstep.”

Classie’s eyes widened.

So right now… was Kishin angry because Dernick told him ‘Don’t marry Lady Classie’?

“Wouldn’t you stop me too if I were trying to marry some strange woman?”

“Don’t talk about my fiancée like that.”

“Kishin, if you were marrying some other strange woman, I’d try to stop you a few times and that’d be it. But with Lady Classie—it can never be. And when it comes to Lady Classie, you must listen to me.”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask? That woman is the one who made me—”

“No way, Dernick! Are you about to bring up the time you proposed a political marriage to me and I rejected you?!’

Conscious of Merran standing behind her, Classie deliberately smacked the wall. Almost at the same time, Dernick, who had been about to say something, suddenly stopped.

“That person’s protection—”

But the moment she made the noise, Classie regretted it. What Dernick had been about to say wasn’t about the marriage proposal. It was something else, something far more intriguing.

Merran, apparently just as curious about the rest, smacked Classie’s back in frustration.

But the hit was stronger than expected. Classie lost her balance and stumbled forward.

“Are you alright?”

Had Kishin not quickly caught her, she would have fallen clumsily right in front of him and Dernick.

“I’m fine…”

Classie whispered, her face turning red.

Kishin’s gaze shifted immediately behind her. Frowning, he asked,

“Lady Merran, was it you who pushed her?”

The bluntness of the question startled Classie, but Merran passed by with a perfectly calm expression, answering,

“Of course not. Aunt’s legs have always been weak—she falls over on her own all the time.”

“Yes, Kishin. That woman’s always tripping and tumbling about, isn’t she?”

Dernick also chimed in rudely, backing Merran up.

What a perfect pair of maggots. With both of them acting that way at once, Classie’s anger flared fourfold.

For a fleeting moment, she even worried—if Dernick and Merran ever got married, wouldn’t that mean not freedom from Merran, but instead being tormented four times as much?

* * *

After that brief commotion passed, the waiting maids and servants brought out the food, filling the table before departing.

Each dish carried rich, savory, and spicy aromas, while the wide-open windows let in the sweet spring breeze.

As the wind swept through the dining hall, the gold-ribboned decorations at the walls and corners swayed lightly.

It looked like a charming, flawless party on the surface, but the atmosphere kept sinking lower and lower.

Kishin stayed silent, exuding a colder air than usual.

Classie too found it exhausting, as hostess, to continue entertaining, so she simply ate in silence.

Meanwhile, Dernick and Merran, sitting side by side opposite them, looked like a pair of lovebirds dripping with sweetness.

“Lady Mary’s daughter, try this.”

“How long are you going to keep calling me Lady Mary’s daughter? Call me by my name.”

“You’re not going to eat this? Then I’ll eat it.”

“Oh, stop teasing me.”

When Merran playfully swayed her body, Dernick beamed at her as if gazing at the most adorable creature alive.

“Lady Mary must feel full already, with such a cute daughter by her side.”

At that, Classie finally understood why Merran’s expression had always soured whenever she and Kishin got along well together.

Seeing the two like this made her stomach churn. It was unbearable to watch.

Even when she lowered her head to avoid the sight, their voices filled her ears, vividly bringing the scene to life until her insides twisted in nausea.

The atmosphere remained that way for the rest of the party. By the time Kishin and Dernick were finally leaving, Classie felt relief.

The only consolation was that Kishin, who had said he’d just drop by briefly because of work, surprisingly stayed until the end of the party.

If he had left early and she’d been left alone with just Dernick and Merran, Classie wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

“Thank you for today.”

Classie gave her farewell greetings, sincerely addressing Kishin.

* * *

On the way back, the atmosphere inside the carriage was even more silent than during the party.

Kishin was usually a man of few words, but even Dernick, for once, did not easily open his mouth.

The only sound was the rattling of the wheels when the carriage passed over winding paths.

It was only halfway through the journey that Dernick, as he often did, spoke first.

“I’ll say this now. Kishin, if you truly go through with marrying Lady Classie, be prepared to never see my face again.”

It was nearly a threat of breaking off their friendship, but Kishin answered without hesitation,

“So be it.”

The reply came so quickly that Dernick, who had said the words, felt even angrier himself.

“You… You’d throw away friendship for the sake of love? Was Kishin Hayward always that kind of man? Huh? Huh?”

At last, Kishin turned his gaze from the window to Dernick.

When Dernick leaned in, almost ready to butt heads, Kishin raised a hand to block his forehead and sighed.

“Even if I marry Lady Classie, I’ll still see you. But you’re the one saying you won’t see me. Then the one abandoning me, the one throwing away friendship—is you. Isn’t that so?”

“What?”

“The one throwing away friendship for the sake of love is you. That’s too much.”

Kishin pressed Dernick’s forehead back, and Dernick yielded easily, pushed away.

Slumping against the far end of the carriage, Dernick sat there a moment, struggling to process Kishin’s words. Only after quite a while did he reluctantly concede,

“You’re right.”

Once he admitted it, Kishin asked,

“Weren’t you originally on friendly terms with Lady Classie? Why the sudden change in attitude?”

Crossing his legs and slouching, Dernick sneered.

“Why? You’re determined to go through with the marriage no matter what I say. So why should it matter to you why my attitude changed?”

“You stayed with Lady Merran in Greengal City for over a month. Did she perhaps say something bad to you about Lady Classie?”

Dernick gave a derisive snort and turned his face toward the window.

“I won’t tell you. If I did, you’d just go tattling everything to Lady Classie, wouldn’t you?”

“If there’s something about Lady Classie that displeases you, shouldn’t she also know about it?”

“There’s no need. It’s not her personality or some flaw that bothers me. It’s the fact that she’s alive that I can’t stand.”

“!”

* * *

The next day. As usual, just before breakfast ended, a letter arrived from Kishin.

Opening the envelope, Classie glanced at Merran—but she looked perfectly cheerful, with no hint of picking a fight, which made Classie relax as she began reading.

At the very end of the letter, however, was a note, he wished to have lunch together.

Classie calmly slipped the letter back into the envelope and finished her meal as though nothing was amiss. She had to act natural, in case Merran tried to interfere.

Only after drinking coffee together with Merran did Classie hurry back to her room, quickly change clothes, and prepare to go out.

She was eager to see Kishin anyway, since she wanted to ask him about yesterday’s events.

“You two really do look like you’ll be married soon.”

Anna beamed warmly as she sent Classie off on her date.

When Classie reached the guardhouse, Kishin was already waiting at the gate for her today.

Since he couldn’t be away for long, the two went to Rose Bird, Kishin’s favorite nearby café.

“Ah, Lady Classie came today as well!”

Having visited a few times with Kishin, the owner now recognized her face too.

Once seated, a server brought them water.

While waiting for their food, Classie asked the question that had been burning in her mind all night.

“Yesterday, what was Sir Dernick about to say? He said, ‘That woman made me this way—the person who protected—’ Remember?”

“That’s why I asked to see you today.”

* * *