LI Chapter 40

‌⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

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Exactly thirty minutes later, Theodore’s carriage door was flung open with force.

 

Hazel stood outside, supporting Charlotte, her face as pale as death.

 

She paused for a moment, as if she hadn’t expected the person inside, then spoke urgently:

 

“Your Grace! Please, help me. Charlotte’s suffering from severe colic. Can you take her to the Easton residence?”

 

Theodore extended his hand immediately in alarm.

 

“Miss Charlotte, where does it hurt? Get in. We’ll go to a doctor right away.”

 

“No need for that.”

 

Charlotte said with a smile.

 

“Only my sister will ride.”

 

Charlotte straightened up, having clung tightly to Hazel’s arm, and spoke in a clear, natural voice.

 

“Charlotte?”

 

Hazel turned to her in shock.

 

Charlotte wiped the water she’d splashed on her forehead and pushed Hazel’s back.

 

“I’ll take the hired carriage behind us and follow you.”

 

“Charlotte, are you sure you’re okay?”

 

Hazel grasped Charlotte’s hands with both of hers.

 

She rubbed them repeatedly while inspecting her face—Charlotte’s hands were warmer than hers.

 

“Yes, I’m really fine. The colic was an act.”

 

Hazel’s brow furrowed deeply.

 

Before her eyes could blaze with fury, Charlotte darted toward the hired carriage.

 

“The duke will explain the rest, Sister! See you at home!”

 

“Charlotte!”

 

Hazel called after her in a hushed voice several times, wary of drawing attention, but Charlotte didn’t look back.

 

Hazel placed a hand on her hip.

 

Her anger was evident.

 

“Miss Hazel, shouldn’t we head home first?”

 

Theodore offered his hand again.

 

The driver of the hired carriage was watching them. Likely, Charlotte had instructed him to move with Bernier’s carriage.

 

“I’m the one who requested it. Please don’t scold Miss Charlotte. Scold me instead.”

 

“Did you tell her to pretend to be sick?”

 

Hazel stared at Theodore in disbelief, coldness radiating from her raised eyes.

 

“I didn’t suggest that method specifically. But I did ask her to arrange for me to meet you.”

 

Hazel clutched the side of her head with one hand and sighed.

 

She’d clearly told him on the balcony not to use Charlotte as a spy!

 

“I’ll apologize properly inside the carriage.”

 

Theodore requested again.

 

Eyes were gradually turning toward them. Reluctantly, Hazel climbed in.

 

Theodore immediately yielded the front seat to her and sat opposite.

 

“If you’re going to talk about what happened on the balcony, I don’t want to hear it.”

 

The moment the carriage moved, Hazel silenced Theodore.

 

“It’s an internal conversation with myself, so there’s no need for you to listen.”

 

Hazel closed her eyes and reopened them at Theodore’s determination to speak somehow.

 

“You’re so stubborn.”

 

“I learned that from you, Miss Hazel.”

 

Speechless, Hazel propped her chin on her hand, gazing out the window.

 

With half-hearted permission to speak, Theodore cleared his throat to begin.

 

“It’s my first time.”

 

Hazel tried not to listen, but his voice made ignoring it impossible.

 

Her eyes remained fixed on the window, though her upper body leaned slightly forward.

 

“You were the first to make me want to kiss a woman, Miss Hazel. Had that kiss happened, it would’ve been my first.”

 

Hazel blinked unconsciously several times.

 

She couldn’t believe a handsome man like Theodore, at twenty-nine, had never kissed anyone.

 

For women, virtue lay in preserving chastity, but it was different for men.

 

Society taught men not to suppress their desires but to indulge them.

 

It was customary for a male relative, not much older, to take a teenage nephew to places of bought pleasure as a duty.

 

In a society that prized prowess over virtue, Theodore’s lack of experience might be seen as a flaw.

 

“Are you disappointed in me?”

 

Theodore asked, then quickly added:

 

“There’s nothing wrong with me physically. If you need proof, I can demonstrate here in any way—”

 

“No!”

 

Hazel cried out in panic.

 

Their eyes met.

 

Seeing the faint smile on Theodore’s lips, Hazel relaxed her shoulders.

 

“You finally looked at me. It’s enough that you listen, so please don’t turn your eyes away.”

 

“Were you teasing me? Did you lie?”

 

“Everything’s true. I swear on my grandfather’s grave.”

 

Hazel stared at Theodore, at a loss for words.

 

How could an incomplete kiss summon the late Grand Duke from his grave?

 

He must be that serious, and Hazel could no longer dismiss it.

 

“I want to apologize. For my haste. But if I went back to that moment, I’d do the same again.”

 

“Your Grace.”

 

“Don’t think it was a mistake, and don’t deny your heart. In that moment, we felt the same thing. Or am I wrong?”

 

Hazel bit the tender skin inside her mouth.

 

What had she felt in that moment, dancing on the balcony?

 

Truthfully, she didn’t know exactly. But one thing was certain: she hadn’t wanted to avoid Theodore as he drew closer.

 

It wasn’t something she could brush off as a mistake, an accident, or a misjudgment.

 

Hazel admitted it. Suddenly, her vision darkened.

 

She couldn’t marry Theodore. Nor did she want to marry any man but him.

 

So why had she tried to kiss him? Her mind grew muddled.

 

“You can forget everything, Miss Hazel. I’ll remember it for you. Just please, don’t push me away because of this.”

 

Theodore was more earnest than when he’d first proposed marriage.

 

Hazel stammered, unable to find a reply; the clever words that usually flowed effortlessly from her mouth had vanished somewhere.

 

“Have you said all you wanted to?”

 

Theodore closed his mouth at Hazel’s question.

 

In truth, he hadn’t even said a quarter of what he wanted.

 

Unlike Hazel, whose mind had emptied, Theodore’s was brimming with words.

 

But he couldn’t string them together smoothly.

 

Choosing which truth to convey from among them was arduous.

 

Still, he’d clarified what needed to be addressed today, so Theodore settled for that.

 

“Yes.”

 

At his brief reply, Hazel turned her head.

 

Her response to his plea would be heard in front of the Easton residence.

 

“See you later, Your Grace.”

 

It was a promise to meet again.

 

Theodore flashed a radiant smile.

 

Hazel returned a smile too.

 

Only then did the subtle tension lingering between them dissipate.

 

“I’d have liked to escort you, but someone might see us, so I’ll bid you farewell here.”

 

Theodore bowed inside the carriage.

 

Hazel stepped out quickly without adjusting her long skirt, fearing being seen, and shut the door in haste.

 

The carriage moved off without delay.

 

Hazel waited until it vanished from sight, then turned.

 

“Sister!”

 

Charlotte leapt out from behind a pillar where she’d been hiding.

 

She’d planned to tail Bernier’s carriage to the end, but at a fork, she’d veered toward the Easton residence, trusting Theodore wouldn’t harm Hazel.

 

So she’d arrived ten minutes earlier and waited.

 

“You’re sure you don’t have colic?”

 

Hazel first checked on Charlotte’s health.

 

“I told you I’m fine.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Hazel let out a long hum and shot Charlotte a glance.

 

Charlotte clasped her palms together and raised them to her forehead in surrender.

 

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

 

Since Theodore had said it was his responsibility, and Charlotte seemed remorseful, Hazel decided to let it go.

 

“Let’s go in. We need to wash up and sleep before Mother and Father return.”

 

Charlotte pushed Hazel’s back.

 

“Alright, Charlotte. Don’t push me.”

 

Hazel laughed lightly and took a step.

 

“Sister, wait a moment!”

 

Charlotte called, following her.

 

Hazel turned. Charlotte picked something up from the ground.

 

“Is this yours?”

 

“What is it?”

 

Hazel extended her hand.

 

Charlotte handed her a bundle of papers casually. They were clearly documents.

 

“It looks like they fell from the duke’s carriage.”

 

Hazel flipped through them nonchalantly, then froze.

 

Her demeanor shifted instantly.

 

She stared at the documents with a grave expression.

 

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

 

Charlotte peeked over curiously.

 

“A list of banned books…”

 

“It’s nothing, Charlotte. I’ll keep them and return them to the duke later. Let’s get inside quick.”

 

Before Charlotte could read them, Hazel hid the documents behind her back and dashed into the mansion.

 

Her steps, like someone caught stealing food, brimmed with tension.

 

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