How is it that an enum derives from System.Enum and is an integer at the same time?

Question

Edit: Comments at bottom. Also, this.

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Here\'s what\'s kind of confusing me. My understanding is that if I have an enum like this...

Answer 1

Partition I, 8.5.2 states that enums are "an alternate name for an existing type" but "[f]or the purposes of matching signatures, an enum shall not be the same as the underlying type."

Partition II, 14.3 expounds: "For all other purposes, including verification and execution of code, an unboxed enum freely interconverts with its underlying type. Enums can be boxed to a corresponding boxed instance type, but this type is not the same as the boxed type of the underlying type, so boxing does not lose the original type of the enum."

Partition III, 4.32 explains the unboxing behavior: "The type of value type contained within obj must be assignment compatible with valuetype. [Note: This effects the behavior with enum types, see Partition II.14.3. end note]"