♡ TL: Khadija SK
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Theodore let out a soft laugh.
“I didn’t mean for my question to be funny.”
When Hazel pointed out his lack of seriousness, Theodore immediately stifled his laughter.
But it was only the sound that ceased. His face still radiated with delight.
“If you felt offended, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to ask so directly. I thought you’d wonder, of course, but…”
“So, what’s the reason?”
“I fell in love with you at first sight.”
Hazel frowned.
“…That’s a very shallow answer.”
“But it’s the truth?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel truthful to me.”
“Hmm, that’s a bit troubling. I’ve never fallen in love at first sight before, so I don’t know how to prove it.”
The man wiped the smile from his face, and his aura suddenly shifted from the playful demeanor he had while laughing.
Now, he exuded a clear aristocratic gravitas.
“Sorry, but there’s no need to prove it. I’ll decline the proposal anyway.”
Theodore tilted his head in confusion.
“It seems it’s my turn to ask now. What’s the reason for your refusal?”
“First, we don’t know each other.”
“We can get to know each other.”
The man interrupted her immediately. Hazel ignored his response and continued.
“Second, I have no intention of marrying.”
“Hmm,” Theodore let out a long hum, stroking his chin.
He seemed utterly unprepared for her answer. Then he asked with noticeable seriousness:
“If it’s not too forward, may I ask why you don’t consider marriage?”
Theodore inwardly scoffed at his own question. It sounded as though he thought not marrying was strange, even though he himself hadn’t considered marriage until recently.
“Because it brings me no benefit.”
Unlike Theodore, whose aversion to marriage was vague, Hazel answered instantly, as if she had thought about it extensively.
“Benefit… I think marrying me would be different. It might sound like boasting, which is why I hesitate to say it, but I’m wealthy. And I’m a duke. In other words, marrying me means you’d have everything. You’d lack for nothing, perhaps except the privileges of a queen.”
Unlike his conversations with friends, Theodore felt embarrassed listing these facts, so he took a deep breath to steady himself.
“I know. You’re an excellent marriage prospect. But those conditions aren’t enticing to me.”
“But you were clearly friendly when I entered the drawing room?”
Theodore remembered it vividly.
The moment he walked into the room, Hazel’s faint smile as she looked at him.
He hadn’t forgotten that smile for a second.
In that moment, he fell for her.
“Because I thought you were going to propose to Charlotte.”
Theodore closed his mouth.
He nearly blurted out “Why?” instinctively.
Theodore was sharp and intuitive, but today he had disappointed himself several times.
He couldn’t fully grasp Hazel’s words.
He hadn’t told anyone he came to meet Charlotte—and upon reflection, he hadn’t mentioned either of the Misses Easton by name in his letter about the visit—so why did they always associate him with Charlotte?
Even when Lady Easton asked a question implying his proposal was misguided, he nearly frowned.
Charlotte and him?
The mere thought of it—no, he couldn’t even imagine it—felt utterly incongruous.
The question circled in his mind several times.
He wanted to ignore it, but his curious nature, unable to leave things unanswered, won out in the end.
“I feel embarrassed to repeat the same question, but why?”
“Because Charlotte is beautiful.”
“If that’s the only reason, then you’re beautiful too, Miss Hazel.”
“Ugh,” was the word that crossed Theodore’s mind when he saw Hazel’s expression. She stared at him as if she’d bitten into a sour lemon.
Hazel faced him with honest eyes devoid of pretense, trying to recall what Charlotte had said about him.
‘Did Charlotte say he was a womanizer…?’
Hazel sifted through everything she’d heard about Theodore from Charlotte, but she found no such description.
All she’d been told was that he was kind to everyone. Perhaps his compliment to her was an extension of that kindness.
At any rate, since Hazel had no intention of marrying, she needed to convince him to consider her sister.
“Charlotte has all the qualities to be an excellent lady of the house, unlike me. She has an aesthetic sense that would allow her to decorate a home beautifully, and she’d get along easily with the servants.”
“Those aren’t essential qualities for a duchess. We have an excellent housekeeper and head butler in our family. Even if the duchess didn’t care about decorating the house or was cold to the servants, the ducal estate would run without issue.”
With each interruption, Hazel felt stubbornness rising within her.
“Charlotte would be a wonderful mother. She plays the piano skillfully, sings well, and knows plenty of stories.”
“Have you really thought that far? Even about our children?”
Hazel opened her mouth in shock, then closed it. Theodore drew a playful smile with his lips.
“It’s far too early to make plans for our children, but since you, Miss Hazel, brought it up, let me share my thoughts…”
“No, I won’t listen.”
Hazel was firm.
Perhaps from the confusion, her voice came out sharp and loud, and she realized belatedly that she’d cut him off.
“I was rude. I apologize.”
“I accept your apology.”
Theodore crossed his legs and leaned back comfortably against the sofa, anticipating a lengthy conversation, so he adjusted his posture for ease.
This was the opposite of Hazel’s desire to end the discussion immediately.
Calming herself, Hazel spoke softly:
“What I mean to say is that I’ll treat the proposal as if it never happened. That would be better for you, too, rather than me rejecting you outright.”
“That’s puzzling. I’ve already proposed, and all the members of the Viscount Easton family heard it. How can we pretend it didn’t happen?”
Theodore’s words were unexpectedly serious on this point.
Hazel let out a faint sigh.
Suddenly, Theodore looked at her with a grave expression.
“I’m sorry, Miss Hazel, but I have no intention of treating this proposal as if it didn’t happen or retracting it. So I ask that you consider it seriously.”
“Your Grace…”
“I know it’s a big surprise for you today. To be honest, I didn’t expect to propose immediately either.”
Hazel didn’t believe his words.
If he hadn’t intended to propose, then why did he bring a ring?
She looked at him skeptically, prompting Theodore to stand and raise both hands beside his face, as if surrendering to a guard and declaring he carried no weapon.
He even flashed a smile that seemed utterly innocent.
Innocence and a man nearing thirty who had traveled most of the continent?
Those were two words that absolutely didn’t go together.
Hazel quickly dismissed the thought and stood as well.
Etiquette demanded she escort him out, so she followed as he strode forward with confident steps befitting his powerful background.
Her eyes instinctively settled on his elegant back.
His appearance from behind was no less impressive than from the front.
In every way, this man was suitable for the Easton family.
How she wished he’d become Charlotte’s husband.
With these thoughts, a question surfaced in Hazel’s mind.
“Wait a moment, please.”
The thought crossed her mind that the question might not be necessary, but she knew she’d ask it eventually.
Her curious nature, unable to leave anything unquestioned, had always been criticized by her boarding school teachers.
Hazel had received such criticism over a hundred times, but she could never change her nature.
Theodore stopped and turned to her.
By chance, he stood in a spot where sunlight streamed in, causing his face to glow with a soft brilliance.
Women typically clutched their hearts and held their breaths at such a sight, but Hazel only frowned because the light irritated her eyes.
“Is there something else you’d like to say? I hope it’s ‘Let’s meet again later.’ And I’d be delighted if it were ‘I’ll seriously consider the proposal.’”
Nonsense.
What piqued Hazel’s curiosity was something else entirely.
“Why the Eastons? Is there a reason you want to marry into the Easton family? Oh, let me clarify beforehand: the answer ‘I fell in love with you at first sight’ won’t do. Whether you fell in love or not, you came here with the intention of proposing to one of the Easton girls. There’s no connection between the ducal family and the Easton family. So What exactly are you planning?”
After posing the question, Hazel realized with clarity why she felt so cautious despite the apparent sincerity of his words.
A man who returned to the capital after two years, didn’t attend this year’s ball, didn’t participate in social season events, and had never met Charlotte or Hazel before, yet came straight to the Easton family with the intent to propose.
From the man’s words, it seemed he hadn’t specified a particular person when he arrived here initially.
To him, as long as it was an Easton, whether Charlotte or Hazel, it didn’t matter.
It was only natural that this would spark her curiosity about his intentions.
“A plan…”
The man’s eyes widened slightly, then softened. After a moment, Theodore spoke in a refreshing tone:
“There’s no such thing.”
That was the first lie Theodore told Hazel.
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T.N: The first lie? So there’s more? 🤨
