Chapter 41: Her Name is Classie, and There’s a Bad Rumor About Her
“Her name is Classie, the youngest daughter of Count Kalashi. She’s the fifth child. The family is quite reputable. They’re well-established in Greengall City, in Heshin. They have Maakei lineage, and the Count and Countess Kalashi have been working as diplomats for several decades now.”
The Marchioness of Gosville sighed in relief at the far better background than she had expected.
“If she’s the youngest daughter, then she must have grown up receiving a lot of love. I like young ladies like that—they tend to have a warm way of seeing the world.”
“……”
The Grand Duchess’s expression turned odd. She didn’t look like she agreed, so the Marchioness quickly corrected herself.
“Of course, personalities can vary, of course.”
The Grand Duchess shook her head.
“You say you want a warm daughter-in-law… but I don’t know what to say. According to rumors, she’s anything but warm.”
“!”
The blatant ‘You’re in trouble now’ expression made the Marchioness’s eyelids tremble.
“What kind of rumors? I’ve never heard any.”
“Lady Classie moved to the capital about four months ago. She brought a niece with her. Before that, the whole family lived only in Greengall City, so it’s no surprise you hadn’t heard anything.”
The Marchioness felt a lump rise in her throat. What on earth was she getting at? If she was going to say something, she wished she’d just spit it out already.
“What kind of rumor is it?”
“They say Lady Classie killed her eldest sister.”
“What? Why? Surely not… Was it for the title? But if she’s the youngest, wouldn’t the inheritance order still be far off even if the eldest sister died?”
“Things like that don’t always happen purely out of ambition. Maybe it happened in the heat of a fight. They were on a carriage trip together when she supposedly pushed her off a cliff.”
The Marchioness of Gosville covered her mouth with her hand and was left speechless for a moment.
She recalled the beautiful woman she had seen from afar. Now that she thought about it, her impression had been a bit cold and sharp. But then again, so was her son’s, so she had thought they suited each other well.
“Maybe the rumor’s false.”
She murmured the words, half in hope.
What causes the deepest rift between parents and children? Love, dreams, and money. She didn’t want a murderer for a daughter-in-law, nor did she want her peaceful family to be torn apart.
The Grand Duchess simply shrugged her shoulders.
“Of course, that’s possible. They say she’s an old friend of Madam Heimer, and they’re close. If her reputation were truly awful, Madam Heimer wouldn’t keep her around.”
The Marchioness of Gosville let out a small sigh of relief.
“I know that young lady too. Her husband works at the palace as a noble administrator. She’s capable and speaks and acts properly. She didn’t seem like the type to associate with strange friends.”
* * *
Even after the Grand Duchess of Siwil delivered a few more pieces of news and left, the Marchioness of Gosville couldn’t collect herself.
The head maid, who had heard the story, looked concerned but couldn’t bring herself to offer comfort.
“Madam… should we tell the Marquis?”
Only after a long pause did the Marchioness shake her head.
“It might just be a baseless rumor. If it is, there’s no point in spreading it, especially since it’s not a pleasant story.”
“But it’s a really serious rumor.”
“For now… I’ll have to check the truth of it with that niece she brought and Madam Heimer.”
* * *
After accepting that the terrible rumor about her wasn’t going away anytime soon— After witnessing countless times how people in society smiled politely in front of her but whispered behind her back— Classie began to realistically plan her future.
As long as the man belonged to a family her parents would approve of, it didn’t matter who he was. Her goal wasn’t a happy marriage—it was securing an inheritance she could live off of for the rest of her life.
Even if the man she married turned out to be terrible, she could just divorce him after three years.
Since inherited property couldn’t be touched even between spouses, as long as she held on for three years, Classie could live the rest of her life in comfort on what she had inherited.
But even that modest goal was disrupted by Merran. Things took a strange turn— And she ended up marrying a stunningly handsome man.
And somehow, it seemed she might even love him a little.
Was this a dream?
Classie walked toward the Department of Magic in a daze.
Normally, she would have sent a letter or used a carrier bird instead of paying for an expensive magic message. But right now, she wanted to inform her parents abroad as soon as possible.
That way, they could return quickly and start preparing for her wedding.
‘They won’t object. Not when they’re about to get such a handsome son-in-law like Sir Kishin. They’d never object.’
The Department of Magic was quiet. Three customers were scattered about, frowning at their papers.
When Classie approached an empty desk, the staff handed her a paper and pen.
“One magicgram is 1 gold coin and allows up to 20 words. If you go over, you’ll need to purchase an additional message.”
– Youngest daughter scored a great son-in-law come quickly or you’ll miss him
Classie carefully fit her message, fitting within 20 words, placed a gold coin on top, and handed it over.
The staff took the money and paper, but after reading the note, blinked rapidly.
“There’s a reason for that.”
Classie muttered awkwardly.
* * *
As soon as Classie returned home, Anna threw off her apron and ran up to her.
“Anna, you’ll trip!”
Classie shouted in alarm, but Anna didn’t stop. She rushed over, her face flushed bright red, and asked breathlessly:
“Earlier, Ledon came back with the carriage that had your luggage. I was shocked! You had barely left, and now your things were back already—but you weren’t anywhere to be seen! So I grilled Ledon about what happened, and he said… he said you were proposed to by a very, very handsome red-haired guard! Is it true?!”
Anna was so excited that she was speaking twice as fast as usual. As she rattled off her long question without even taking a breath, the other maids and even the butler began gathering around, drawn by curiosity.
Classie smiled proudly and held out the back of her hand.
The butler, who had rushed over, looked at the fourth finger of her hand and exclaimed in a deeply moved voice:
“You’ve done it, my lady!”
“Done it?!”
Anna urgently jabbed his side, and the maids who had gathered burst into laughter.
Classie, still smiling, held her hand out for everyone to see.
“Sir Kishin proposed to me. So I came back right away to start preparing for the wedding. Ledon arrived ahead of me because I stopped by the Department of Magic to send an urgent message to my parents.”
“The ring is absolutely beautiful!”
* * *
“There’s a faint glow coming from the ring, my lady.”
“It looks simple, but it doesn’t seem like an ordinary ring, does it?”
Classie smiled proudly. Whether or not the ring was anything special, she didn’t know. What mattered to her wasn’t the price or rarity—it was that she had successfully caught Kishin.
“Oh my, our lady just can’t stop smiling!”
When Anna shouted, the maids burst into laughter again.
Classie laughed with them. She had gone through too much to be shy about a proposal. Now, she just wanted to be happy.
After that, Classie waited desperately for a reply from her parents. She sent a messenger to the Department of Magic three times a day and even wandered around the front of the house, hoping someone from the department would show up, despite it being midwinter.
But no matter how long she waited, the reply never came.
On the last day of the year, as the sky turned red with the setting sun, Classie was still crouched on the front steps waiting.
“Oh, my lady. You’ll catch a cold like this. You’re not even that strong.”
Anna brought her a steaming cup of black tea and scolded her, but Classie didn’t want to go back inside.
“It’s not like I have anything to do anyway. Florence went to the palace ball for the New Year’s Festival, and Sir Kishin is there too… and I wasn’t even invited.”
Anna gave her a knowing smile.
“You miss Lady Merran, don’t you?”
“Merran’s probably still on the road.”
“You should’ve just brought her with you. Just thinking about her stuck in a carriage during the holidays without rest makes me feel bad.”
“As if she’d listen to me.”
And besides, Merran’s on her way to see Dernick right now. There’s no way she’d come just because Ckassie asked.
Classie held the warm teacup in both hands and gently blew on the rising steam.
“By next year or the year after, Sir Kishin will probably be here with you, right?”
Trying to comfort her, Anna offered a hopeful comment. Classie smiled faintly and whispered,
“I hope so.”
She blew on the steam again, and through the drifting vapor, she saw the front gate begin to open. Classie lowered the teacup she was holding.
As her vision cleared from the steam, she could see the gate truly was half-open. Someone was coming in—it was a staff member from the Department of Magic.
Did her parents finally send a reply? Classie, delighted, started to rise to her feet— Then froze in shock.
The employee wasn’t alone. Beside him stood someone completely unexpected.
* * *