Chapter 29: Dernick’s Identity
Since it had been less than four months since she moved in, Classie had almost no acquaintances among the nobles of the capital.
The few small parties she had attended were all arranged by Florence, and she had only gone along with her. Even then, she always had to leave early because Meren would interfere every time.
But now, all of a sudden, she was attending a party hosted by a high-ranking noble—without Florence. Classie, both excited and nervous, fidgeted with her gloves.
To nobles like Classie, people like the Emperor and Grand Duke Siwil felt like they existed in a different world. Like people beyond the clouds.
‘I mustn’t make a mistake.’
Worry crept in, and Classie rubbed her forehead several times.
“We’ve arrived.”
Because she was so tense, the travel time felt shorter than usual. When the coachman announced their arrival from outside, Classie took out a small mirror to check her appearance once more before opening the carriage door.
The moment she opened the door, Classie nearly let out a small scream. A man in a neat uniform was standing right in front of her.
“Allow me to assist you.”
The man kindly extended a hand. Seeing that similarly dressed men were stationed at other carriages as well, she figured he must belong to the Grand Duke’s household.
“Thank you.”
Classie smiled softly and accepted his help. In that brief moment, another man approached her coachman and told him where to park the carriage.
The coachman looked at Classie with some concern. The uniformed man, attentive as ever, spoke first to reassure him.
“When it’s time to return, the young lady will send someone to fetch you.”
Though the words seemed directed at the coachman, they were really meant as a discreet tip for Classie. Once the coachman left, the man turned to her.
“Are you accompanied by anyone?”
“No. I came alone.”
Classie awkwardly handed him the invitation. The man briefly glanced over it and returned it before asking,
“Would it be alright if I guided you to the hall?”
“Thank you.”
Classie once again marveled at the grandeur of the Siwil Grand Ducal House.
At other noble households’ parties or balls, guests were expected to know and follow the rules and etiquette on their own. Anyone who failed to do so would simply embarrass themselves. Nobles trained their children from an early age to learn the complex etiquette in preparation for such events.
But at the Siwil Grand Ducal House, they treated ensuring no guest was left behind as their responsibility, deploying dozens of attendants to guide and care for every visitor.
‘They say he’s the most powerful among the Emperor’s siblings. Truly remarkable. To have so many excellent attendants at his command…’
The doors to the hall were wide open. The man guiding Classie pointed to various places within the hall and explained in a low voice.
“You may already know, but over there is a lounge for the ladies. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call someone and let them know.”
The man stepped away. In the meantime, a couple brushed past Classie and entered the hall.
Classie followed them in, keeping a bit of distance, but when they spotted a familiar face and moved toward it, she quietly turned away in a different direction.
She walked along the wall until about the middle of the hall. Fortunately, a few long benches were placed there, so she could rest.
Classie sat on the edge of one of the benches and absentmindedly watched the people.
‘Does everyone know each other?’
It didn’t seem like there was a single person who, like her, had hurriedly received an invitation. Everyone appeared to recognize someone and was exchanging greetings all over the place.
In the midst of the cheerful atmosphere, Classie started to feel awkward. If she’d known at least one person, she could’ve been introduced to others and expanded her connections. That was how it usually worked.
But how was she supposed to blend in somewhere full of strangers? Would they dislike it if an outsider suddenly tried to strike up a conversation?
Just then, a commotion began to rise from one corner. In a space filled with relatively even background noise, the sudden surge in sound from one side naturally drew everyone’s attention in that direction.
Classie, curious, looked toward the source of the noise.
‘There’s quite a crowd gathering over there.’
It didn’t take long to figure out the reason. A lot of people were gathered in that spot, seemingly surrounding someone.
But from her isolated seat, she couldn’t see who they were gathered around.
Classie guessed that whoever was at the center of the crowd must be from the Siwil ducal family.
“The Duchess must have arrived.”
“We should go greet her too.”
“But even if we go now, we won’t be able to speak with her.”
Judging by the murmured conversation nearby, her guess seemed to be correct. Classie relaxed her posture and leaned back on the bench.
‘I probably won’t get a chance to greet the Duchess today anyway. It’s fine. I didn’t come here to get close to her.’
Classie gave up early on the ambition of making connections with the ducal family. Instead, she turned her attention to scanning the young men around her, aiming for a more realistic goal.
But strangely enough, the commotion seemed to be drawing closer to her.
No, not just seemed—it really was getting closer.
‘Is the Duchess coming this way?’
Classie turned her head away from the group of young men and looked toward the source. Then she saw it—the person surrounded by the crowd was someone she recognized.
“Sir Dernick?”
It seemed Dernick had recognized Classie and had headed straight toward her. He approached without any sign of surprise and covered his mouth with one hand, smiling with his eyes.
“Oh? What’s Miss Classie doing here?”
Dernick was calm, even teasing.
On the other hand, Classie was completely shocked.
“Sir Dernick… is the Duchess?”
Her voice, thick with disbelief, slipped out before she could stop it. Though she’d spoken softly, a few people seemed to have heard and turned their heads sharply, like pufferfish squirting water.
Even Dernick, who had been grinning moments ago, froze with that same smile still on his face for some reason.
Classie blinked in confusion.
Even Derinick, who had been smiling slyly, suddenly froze with that expression still on his face. Classie blinked in confusion.
A moment later, Derinick burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
“Oh my goodness, Miss Classie!”
As he laughed loudly and exclaimed, curious eyes quickly turned toward Classie. Still, she had no grasp of the situation.
A lady standing behind Classie whispered softly in her ear.
“That man is Lord Derinick, the only son of Grand Duke Siwil.”
‘Oh my god!’
Classie’s face turned crimson in an instant. The shame quickly drowned out the shock of Derinick’s identity. Her lips opened and closed like a fish before she hastily turned away.
Without even knowing where she was going, Classie just walked straight ahead. The cold air brushed past her, and the railing she touched felt like ice, finally making her stop.
She was in some corridor. Light snow fell like torn cotton beside her. As she exhaled a sigh, she noticed a large shadow and quickly turned around.
Derinick stood there, still smiling brightly, raising a hand to his stomach as he spoke.
“What exactly were you thinking, Miss Weapons Dealer?”
No, it was mockery disguised as a greeting.
If she had a handbag in hand, Classie might’ve smacked his chin with an upward swing. Annoyed, she protested.
“I had my reasons.”
“What kind of reasons?”
“People were looking your way and saying, ‘The Duchess is arriving.’ Then you appeared. I didn’t know who you were. So I naturally misunderstood.”
Dernick looked down at Classie’s tightly clenched fist and smirked.
“Thanks for telling me. But that’s not what I was talking about.”
Classie quickly unclenched her fist.
“Then what?”
Leaning against the corridor wall, Derinick waved his hand as if trying to catch the falling snow.
“Miss Weapons Dealer, didn’t you invite me to your house? And yet you came here yourself.”
“!”
“What were you thinking? From the way you slipped up earlier, I guess you didn’t know who I was and weren’t pulling some prank. So, why’d you invite me to an empty house?”
Classie inwardly cursed her past self from two days ago, when she hatched her scheme using Derinick.
She had suspected he might be of royal blood, but she never imagined such a frivolous and unruly man could be Duke Siwil’s only son.
“It wasn’t empty. Merran was there.”
She muttered petulantly, then snapped again.
“Fine. I’m sorry for inviting you to a house where only Merran was home. But are you really in a position to be self-righteous? You ignored my invitation, too!”
Derinick shamelessly replied,
“You rejected my proposal. So why should I have accepted your invitation?”
“!”
“I told you. I change my mind easily, just like you. I don’t cling to one person.”
He tilted his head slightly and smiled, as if asking if that answered her question. Classie bit her lip and admitted her mistake.
She had been so focused on Derinick’s connection with Meron that she had completely forgotten about that incident. This was clearly her fault.
Besides, Classie had never taken that so-called proposal seriously — she saw it merely as a business offer.
Derinick added,
“At first, I wasn’t going to respond at all, Miss Weapons Dealer. But later, I changed my mind and sent someone to properly decline the invitation.”
“!”
“That was about 20 minutes ago. But after sending the person off and coming downstairs, what do I find? Miss Classie, right here. Can you imagine how shocked I was?”
“…Yes. This time, it’s my fault.”
Classie admitted it honestly. She was angry, but this time, she had no right to blame Derinick.
Classie gave a polite bow and turned away. One way or another, things had gone awry. The invitation Florence had gone through the trouble of obtaining ended up being useless once again. And today, Meron hadn’t even gotten in the way.
“Miss Classie. Miss Classie.”
But in the blink of an eye, Derinick stepped in front of her and held out a small snowman he had just hastily made, asking,
“Now that you know I’m not some suspicious person… can I propose to you again?”
* * *
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