♡ TL: Khadija SK
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“Oh, my goodness, how did that slip my mind?”
Theodore suddenly drew a troubled expression across his face, as though he’d just recalled something.
When Hazel narrowed her eyes, he pulled out his pocket watch and opened it gently.
“I forgot I have an appointment. Miss Hazel, if you walk a little further ahead, you’ll meet a servant who’ll give you the items you left with me.”
He meant the clothes and shoes Hazel would wear.
“Enjoy your time, and we’ll meet again next time.”
Theodore hastened off the hill, as if truly late for an appointment—or perhaps to escape her.
“D-Duke!”
Hazel called after him belatedly, but he was already far off. She let out a deep sigh.
She’d been on the verge of revealing the secret of her origins to him, before he could paint his future with her more vividly.
Even if her confession might shatter their relationship forever, she had no other choice.
Wasn’t it better to dismantle an incomplete bond before it fully formed?
That would be far easier than trying to mend it.
And somehow, Hazel felt as though she were deceiving him.
“It is deception.”
Silence, too, was a form of deceit.
He assumed her to be a noble lady born into the Easton family.
Her true origins were a secret she needed to disclose to him at the earliest opportunity. Thus, Hazel had been mentally preparing herself to confess whenever the chance arose.
But neither she nor Theodore had expected that chance to come today.
“Another opportunity will come.”
Hazel stared in bewilderment at the spot where Theodore had fled, then turned around.
Someone was waiting for her.
***
The moment the printshop door cracked open, Hazel darted inside like a swift mouse.
Nick grabbed her arm to assist her, even if just by a single step.
With the force of her run and his pull, Hazel’s body lifted slightly into the air.
She landed with both feet together, and Nick beamed at her with a radiant glint.
“Hazel! Why are you so late?”
“Sorry. There were circumstances. And I might not be able to come in the future.”
“Why? Has your hesitation to come here been discovered?”
“Not that, but some circumstances have arisen.”
Nick’s face fell. Seeing his expression laden with disappointment, Hazel quickly added:
“It’s not that I won’t come at all, but it seems I’ll need to be cautious for a while.”
Hazel couldn’t guarantee how long Theodore would continue summoning her under Viola’s name.
Her parents might also notice midway.
There were too many risks to keep going out on Fridays.
“I’ll come whenever I can.”
“Fine. And you won’t tell me about those circumstances this time either, will you?”
Hazel laughed, and Nick lightly nudged her arm before stepping forward.
“Your admirers are waiting. Let’s hurry.”
Goosebumps prickled Hazel’s skin at the word “admirers.”
Today, Hazel was to meet her readers. Her heart pounded fiercely.
She recalled the moment Nick handed her the first payment, saying it was from the sales of her writings.
It had felt different from receiving translation fees.
A sensation that her world had expanded one step, that she’d connected by a slender thread to countless unknowns.
A delicate yet sturdy bond, a sympathy spreading through black letters on gray paper—it had stirred an overwhelming euphoria within her.
Readers sent their support through a purely material means like money, but she knew what they truly offered was warm empathy. That was what Hazel genuinely craved.
The thought of facing that feeling directly made her heart race so hard she nearly gasped.
Was meeting someone supposed to be this thrilling?
Hazel suddenly remembered feeling something similar, though less intense.
Who had that been?
Before she could find the answer, Nick spoke:
“Hazel, are you ready?”
The place where she’d meet her readers was Nick’s cramped room.
There were no conditions or resources to secure another venue.
Faint murmurs drifted from inside.
Youthful voices brimming with anticipation spilled through the narrow door crack.
Hazel tensed her back muscles firmly.
Her eyes met Nick’s.
At her signal of readiness, Nick flung the door open with enthusiasm.
“The writer has arrived!”
Writer?
Hazel had always considered herself someone who wrote, but she’d never imagined that word attaching to her.
She rubbed her goosebumped arm and stepped inside with a confident stride.
“Wowww~!”
Three schoolgirls sat in the room.
They wore white blouses with dark blue sashes and matching skirts, welcoming Hazel with fervent applause.
“Hello! I’ve really been dying to meet you. I’m Angela, that guy’s sister!”
A pretty girl with short, curly hair pointed at Nick.
She was the mastermind who’d made this meeting possible.
According to Nick, Angela was Hazel’s first admirer.
Thanks to her zealous promotion, sales had risen too.
The introductions continued.
The other girls were Angela’s friends, all bright and pure.
“Hello. I’m Hazel.”
“Hazel! So the pseudonym ‘H’ was the first letter of your name!”
Angela clapped both hands repeatedly, as if she’d uncovered something grand. She was a child bursting with vitality.
The cramped room soon grew warm.
“Come on, settle down. Hazel, sit there.”
Nick had arranged the tight space into a reading room in his own way.
The bed against the wall was for the girls, and he’d placed a small table and chair opposite. That was Hazel’s seat.
On the table, he’d set a drink for her and some issues of the critical magazines published so far.
After calming the girls, Nick stood beside Hazel.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, then spoke like a program host:
“Now, we’ll begin the session of Writer H meeting her readers.”
“Brother, why are you acting like that?”
Angela chided him, though she was the most enthusiastic in responding.
“Writer Hazel, could you read one piece for us?”
Hazel’s eyebrows shot up sharply.
She’d planned for light conversation, but it seemed Nick wanted a genuine reading session.
“Nick, you didn’t mention this beforehand.”
“The readers want it, our writer.”
“Liar, you’re the one who wants it most!”
Angela interjected.
Nick snapped his head toward her.
They locked eyes for a moment, then Angela puffed her cheeks and stuck out her tongue.
The scene reminded Hazel of Charlotte and Andre, so she laughed like a blooming camellia, making Nick flush.
“Should I read anything?”
“Huh? Oh, y-yes.”
Nick stammered as if just waking, then stepped back two paces.
Angela and the girls burst into laughter again.
A serious reading session seemed impossible.
The girls, Nick, and even Hazel were all swept into a strange euphoria.
“Instead of reading, I’d like to talk. What do you think? I want to hear school stories.”
The girls’ faces lit up at Hazel’s suggestion.
Conversation was certainly the answer over reading.
Hazel was curious about the girls’ women’s school.
She’d attended school too, but it was for nobles, so it surely differed from theirs.
Was it freer?
Were there fewer teachers speaking stifled words?
Not at all.
Angela’s story, opened with “At our school,” began in a somber tone.
***
Theodore climbed into the Bernier carriage after leaving Hazel.
“You’re back early?”
Umberto looked up from reviewing papers spread across his lap.
His face was etched with confusion.
“You always stayed late when meeting Miss Hazel.”
“What’s this sudden talk of ‘always’?”
“Should I list the times you’ve been late?”
The appointments Theodore canceled on days he met Hazel weren’t just one or two.
So, for some time now, Umberto had begun clearing Theodore’s schedule entirely on those days.
“I have an appointment.”
“There’s still plenty of time until it starts.”
Umberto said after checking his pocket watch.
Theodore, finding no reply, turned his head indifferently to gaze out the window.
He did have an appointment.
But his hasty exit from the hill wasn’t due to lateness—it was fear of the words about to spill from Hazel’s mouth.
Having already heard her suggest ending the contract, he didn’t want to hear more.
He was certain whatever she’d say next wouldn’t favor him.
He’d always thought fleeing from problems was a coward’s act.
But today, Theodore chose cowardice.
‘What a disgrace.’
How could he reveal these feelings to Umberto?
“It’s an important appointment. Better to be there early.”
It was just an excuse.
Theodore had a meeting with a publisher who’d released a translated book on the banned list.
There was only one reason Theodore would meet this publisher himself.
“He said he’d never reveal the translator’s identity, didn’t he?”
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