LI Chapter 25

‌⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

✧✧✧✧✧

 

Theodore had never lived a day preoccupied with others’ perceptions.

 

This meant he neither noticed his own behavior nor acted with it in mind. He’d never needed to consider it.

 

“I truly don’t know. Macason, it seems our conversation is growing dull. Should we end it here and have my lawyer visit your home? Defamation, or if not that, we could pin some other charge on you.”

 

“You! You’d sue me over a simple bet?”

 

Theodore raised his eyebrows calmly. Macason’s face flushed.

 

It was obvious Theodore was teasing, but as the guilty party, Macason couldn’t help but bristle.

 

Sighing, Macason said:

 

“You didn’t dance with anyone. You stayed by Miss Hazel’s side against the wall the whole time. You, always the center of parties and dances!”

 

Hearing Macason’s words, Theodore began recalling the ball he’d attended with Hazel.

 

“Did I do that?”

 

Since he didn’t remember dancing with anyone, it was likely true.

 

It wasn’t something he’d ever intended, but as Macason said, he’d always been the focal point at parties and dances.

 

People flocked to him—men and women alike.

 

Yet that day, everyone left him alone.

 

Of course, Theodore had declined several dance requests, but even so, the number of people around him was unusually scant.

 

“No one spoke to me.”

 

“Didn’t you show it with your whole being? That you wanted to be alone with Miss Hazel.”

 

“Me?”

 

“No, me!!”

 

Theodore’s face twisted in bewilderment.

 

That day, Oscar’s appearance had irked him. But staying by Hazel’s side had oddly eased his nerves.

 

So, it was true he’d lingered beside her.

 

He’d also been curious about the view Hazel saw from that dim corner of the ball.

 

But if asked whether he’d wanted to be alone with her?

 

‘Perhaps I did.’

 

Theodore was astonished that someone else had discerned a desire he himself hadn’t fully grasped.

 

He also found it strange that he—who never showed possessiveness or exclusivity toward people or things—acted differently with Hazel.

 

It seemed Hazel truly was special to him.

 

Theodore’s thoughts paused there. He drank the water Jack had brought and rose from his seat.

 

“You just got here and you’re leaving?”

 

Macason’s regretful gaze followed him.

 

“Go home and rest. You’re a mess.”

 

Theodore glanced at him briefly and handed money to Jack. Jack waved it off.

 

“That’s too much, Your Grace.”

 

“Consider it the cost of handling an annoying friend. Get him a cup with plenty of honey.”

 

Wither he likes it or not, Macason was Theodore’s friend. And Theodore valued friendship.

 

—

 

Theodore didn’t stop elsewhere, alighting at the hill’s entrance where he’d agreed to meet Hazel.

 

“There’s still plenty of time until the meeting.”

 

The driver worried for Theodore, who’d disembarked swiftly.

 

“Why not rest in the carriage?”

 

Theodore brushed off his wrinkled jacket.

 

“Sitting too long isn’t good for the body. You rest. Let’s see—I’ve got about an hour. Go take a break wherever you like.”

 

After checking the time, Theodore told the driver to nap and vanished into the hill without giving him a chance to reply.

 

The modest hill, nestled between Westside Park, Essent Street, and the road exiting the capital’s outskirts, was a relatively dense forest offering a taste of nature amid the city.

 

Theodore strolled slowly along the narrow woodland path. He glimpsed a humble chair at a bend but gave it a fleeting look and turned away.

 

His shoes weren’t comfortable, but the quiet walk wasn’t unpleasant.

 

As he wandered calmly, breathing fresh air, the fatigue amassed in his body seemed to melt away.

 

How long had he walked like this?

 

Then, Theodore heard faint voices conversing from a distance.

 

“…in… I’ll go…”

 

“Wait… glad… you…”

 

Due to the distance or the trees’ density, the voices weren’t clear, but one was familiar.

 

“Hazel?”

 

Theodore checked his watch. About thirty minutes remained until their meeting time.

 

“Good thing I’m not late.”

 

With a surge of joy, Theodore’s steps quickened gradually. At the same time, questions cascaded through his mind.

 

Who was she with? Had she been with them all this time?

 

There was a man’s voice—had Hazel spent time with another man? What did he look like? From what family? How old? How tall? How wealthy?

 

Theodore was so lost in questions he didn’t notice Hazel was right before him.

 

“Your Grace!”

 

Hazel greeted him cheerfully.

 

She smiled innocently, like one finding an oasis in a desert, and for a moment, Theodore was speechless, gazing at her in awe.

 

The tranquil forest and Hazel’s beauty were like a natural painting.

 

Theodore felt as if part of his body was being drawn toward her, stepping back two or three paces involuntarily.

 

Hazel halted at his unusual reaction.

 

For a moment, they exchanged silent glances.

 

Sunlight slipped through the trees’ gaps, enveloping them gently.

 

Both felt the surrounding air was denser than usual. The forest’s scent was especially potent.

 

Everything was vivid and alive.

 

The leaves swaying lightly in the breeze, the drifting clouds, the ants on the ground.

 

And clearest of all was each other.

 

Theodore’s face and its shadows reflected in Hazel’s eyes with a piercing intensity.

 

In Theodore’s eyes were etched her sapphire-like gaze and elegant, rounded face.

 

Then, without knowing who started, they stepped toward each other at the same instant.

 

One step, then another, stopping at a distance where they could reach out and touch.

 

“The person you were with…”

 

“You were waiting here the whole…”

 

As if linked by telepathy, they spoke simultaneously, then shut their mouths in unison.

 

While silently yielding the chance to speak, Hazel laughed in frustration and asked first:

 

“You were waiting here the whole time?”

 

The moment her words broke free, the strange tension dissolved, and they reverted to the usual Hazel and Theodore.

 

“No. I stopped elsewhere for a bit. But don’t worry—no rumors will spread that we were apart.”

 

Theodore didn’t just meet Hazel’s exaggerated requests; he took precautions for any contingency.

 

Hazel felt warmth in her heart at his thoughtfulness and kindness.

 

“Thank you. I didn’t expect you’d care this much.”

 

“It’s my duty as your admirer. I must look good in your eyes. Did I earn some points?”

 

“A lot.”

 

“Enough to seriously consider marriage?”

 

Hazel’s relaxed face stiffened.

 

She’d grown so at ease with him that she sometimes forgot her situation—and that Theodore was earnestly courting her despite her inability to marry him.

 

“Looks like the answer’s no. I’ll try harder.”

 

Normally, Hazel would’ve teased, “Try harder,” but this time she smiled bitterly.

 

“What were you going to ask me earlier?”

 

She shifted the topic smoothly.

 

“You weren’t alone. Was it a friend?”

 

Hazel flinched, her eyes darting anxiously.

 

Had Theodore seen Nick? Or just heard his voice?

 

She deduced the latter. They’d met past the path’s bend, so unless he had superhuman sight, he couldn’t have seen Nick.

 

“Just someone I know.”

 

“You seemed awfully friendly.”

 

Theodore hadn’t heard the conversation clearly, but he distinctly felt Hazel’s voice sparkling like dewdrops.

 

Suddenly, a black lump formed in Theodore’s chest. Before he could process it, the conversation pressed on.

 

“I told you, just someone I know.”

 

“Will you keep meeting this person? It’s a man, isn’t it?”

 

“Does gender matter?”

 

“Well, if it’s a man…”

 

Theodore nearly bit his tongue.

 

If it’s a man, then what?

 

Was he about to say there’s no friendship between a man and a woman?

 

After living surrounded by rumors and slander from those who didn’t believe in cross-gender friendship?

 

Hazel asked with narrowed eyes:

 

“Your Grace, what exactly are you trying to say?”

 

✧✧✧✧✧