♡ TL: Khadija SK
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“How did it go?”
Waiting for Theodore after Hazel’s firm rejection was his secretary, Umberto, his face brimming with expectation.
“A failure.”
Umberto’s expression immediately turned to disappointment.
“What? A failure? Are you sure you spoke to her properly? You didn’t say something like proposing a business deal instead of marriage, did you?”
“Yes.”
Umberto was as shocked by Theodore’s failed proposal as Theodore himself.
“Did you reveal your identity as a duke?”
“Of course. I introduced myself from the start, and I even arrived in this lavish carriage so they’d know my status.”
Theodore climbed into the carriage and knocked firmly on its wall. The coachman took it as a signal to depart, cracking the whip on the horses’ reins before Umberto could close the door.
Umberto hurriedly shut the door and adjusted his seat, still reeling from the surprise.
“She really rejected you? Which of the Misses Easton?”
“Hazel.”
“Then why didn’t you propose to Miss Charlotte instead?”
A proposal isn’t like offering ice cream, where if one refuses, you can simply offer it to another.
“Umb, what did you learn ethics? Who was your teacher? I need to ask him what he’s teaching children.”
Umberto looked at Theodore with embarrassment.
Theodore, accustomed to being welcomed by everyone regardless of age or gender, seemed affected by Hazel’s rejection, his expression far from pleasant.
“I know my words might sound ethically strange, but does that matter now? There’s nothing legally preventing it, right? Besides, we’re in a hurry, and this marriage isn’t about love in the first place. Isn’t it enough that the girl is an Easton, whichever one it is? Or am I mistaken?”
“You’re right. But close your mouth for a bit. Let me sort out my thoughts.”
Theodore recalled Hazel’s final question.
The reason why he, someone who cared little for marriage, was compelled to marry into the Easton family…
‘Because of my grandfather.’
Theodore was referring to the former Duke of Bernier, who had led the family before him.
The man who raised Theodore after he lost his parents early—though it couldn’t be said he did so with overwhelming tenderness—and who bequeathed him the title of Duke of Bernier along with immense wealth.
‘Or perhaps I should say the man who almost bequeathed it to me.’
The former Duke of Bernier, Williams, was known in his lifetime as an eccentric man.
His temper was volatile, his speech blunt, and his imposing physique and stubbornness only added to his severity.
He harbored a deep hatred for behavior unbecoming of nobles—those who harmed women and children, chased money through dishonorable means, or acted without noble morals.
Williams never overlooked such behavior.
Whether there were witnesses or not, whether the person was an important business partner, a friend, or a stranger, he reprimanded them harshly.
No one enjoys being scolded in front of others, especially as an adult, even if the words are gentle.
But Williams’ reprimands were far from gentle.
He’d say things like, “You’re a disgrace to nobility,” or “You reek of filth…”
Harsh words—who would want to hear them?
Thus, his final years were lonely.
His only conversationalists were Theodore, who visited occasionally, and a mysterious pen pal whose identity remained unknown.
Theodore was deeply grateful to this pen pal he had never met.
Without them, his grandfather’s mood would have soured even further. But corresponding with that friend seemed to soften him, if only slightly.
‘If I ever find out who they are, I must reward them.’
Theodore intended to properly reward the person who alleviated his grandfather’s loneliness in his later years. But Williams never revealed the identity of his pen pal to Theodore, not even on his deathbed, despite Theodore’s polite request as he lay dying.
“Are you thinking about the former duke?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“When he passed away.”
Williams’ death, dubbed a “peaceful passing,” was tranquil.
Williams remained active even in his old age. But in his eighties, he caught a cold in winter.
Unlike usual, he stayed in bed for a long time, and when he sensed his end was near, he summoned Theodore, who had just finished his military service and was preparing to travel.
That was two years ago, at the end of winter.
Williams patted Theodore’s grieving hand and said:
“Cry for one day only.”
And what did Theodore reply?
“I won’t even cry.”
Williams chuckled softly, seeing Theodore, a grown man, holding back tears while speaking brusquely.
He showed Theodore a tender smile he never displayed to anyone else.
Just as Theodore became a child again in front of his grandfather despite his age, Williams treated him as one, too.
“Mourn for two days. From the third day, live your life. Don’t cancel your travels, either. Your crying or canceling your trip won’t reach me, nor will I know about it.”
It was strange for the dying to console the living, so Theodore wiped his tears and replied confidently:
“Even if you beg me in my dreams to return, I won’t come back until I’ve seen the whole world, you old man.”
“That’s enough for me.”
With those words, Williams drifted off.
Theodore stayed by his side all night, watching his breathing quietly without sleeping or dozing.
Williams had lived his life fully and enjoyed it to the utmost, so there was no regret in his passing.
Theodore honored his will.
“I thought that was all that old man wanted.”
“Indeed. After the former duke’s passing, once you inherited the title, you traveled immediately, receiving plenty of criticism without people knowing it was his will to begin with.”
“That’s true. I’m truly a dutiful grandson, aren’t I?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“So when I received my grandfather’s will, it felt like a blow to the head.”
Theodore returned after two years.
It wasn’t by his own choice; his grandfather’s lawyer summoned him.
He was told it was time to reveal his grandfather’s will.
Theodore felt puzzled upon receiving this notice.
He had never heard of a separate will before, and revealing it after two years was a strange act befitting his grandfather’s nature, so he couldn’t ignore it.
Wasn’t that just like his grandfather?
Setting it at two years was a consideration for Theodore from his grandfather.
He had played enough; now it was time to return and fulfill his duties.
Theodore felt some regret, but he wrapped up his travels smoothly and returned to the kingdom.
He waited with his aunt, Michelle, for the lawyer who would bring his grandfather’s will.
Conflicting emotions swirled within him.
Anticipation and anxiety about what his eccentric grandfather might have left, as well as whether he was brave enough to face those memories after so long…
But all of that shattered when the will was revealed:
[Theodore Caron Bernier, you must marry the daughter of the Easton family. If you do not produce an heir with her before the age of thirty-one, the title and all wealth will pass to Oscar Sterling Bernier.]
The will was so bizarre that the word “strange” didn’t suffice to describe it; even the impudent phrase “that old man” nearly escaped Theodore’s lips.
Lady Michelle was horrified, repeatedly confirming whether the will truly came from Williams.
The lawyer affirmed multiple times: “This is the will of the former Duke Williams Caron Bernier.”
The handwriting was Williams’ own, which Theodore recognized, and the royal seal was stamped on the will.
That eccentric old man had drafted a seemingly nonsensical will and used the king as a witness to it. Doubting it would be tantamount to challenging the royal family.
Theodore obediently accepted his grandfather’s will.
He had a secret project he’d built unbeknownst to his grandfather, so he could live luxuriously without the ducal fortune, but he couldn’t bear the thought of someone else inheriting his grandfather’s wealth.
All of Theodore’s relatives despised his grandfather and treated him poorly, so the mere thought of the triumphant looks on their faces as they meddled with everything his grandfather had worked to build filled him with rage.
Oscar Sterling Bernier, a very distant cousin.
The grandson of Williams’ eldest nephew, he had always looked at Theodore with envious glares at every encounter. Theodore ignored his petty jealousy, but it only made Oscar act more despicably and vilely.
In any case, Theodore wouldn’t give him even a single piece of the ducal fortune.
“What do you intend to do?”
Lady Michelle asked, sighing sadly.
“I’ll go to the Easton family.”
This was the context behind why he told Macason he intended to do something like marriage.
Theodore viewed marriage as rooted in love, but his marriage stemmed from Williams’ will.
Williams’ will was also the answer to Hazel’s question.
It was the reason the girl had to specifically be an Easton.
‘Because my grandfather said it had to be an Easton.’
It irked him somewhat, but after meeting Hazel, all his irritation dissipated.
He also began to vaguely understand why his grandfather insisted the girl must be from the Easton family.
Hazel was intelligent.
A brief conversation with her was enough to realize that.
She didn’t waver in the face of temptations and possessed a steadfast will. She also carried a lofty, elegant beauty.
Theodore recognized it the moment he saw her.
The “Easton daughter” Williams spoke of was undoubtedly Hazel.
He had no clear or objective proof, but his instincts led him to that conclusion.
And even if it wasn’t true, he chose to believe it.
The dead old man couldn’t rise from his grave to deny it, after all.
“So, what do you plan to do now? You said Miss Easton rejected you. Are you going to give up the ducal family and its fortune just like that?”
Theodore frowned at Umberto’s question, as if he’d tasted something unbearable.
Unlike Hazel, Theodore wasn’t adept at freely controlling his facial expressions.
“Didn’t I tell you I’m a dutiful grandson? Would I give up on something because of a single rejection? Of course…”
“Of course what?”
“I’ll seduce her.”
Theodore lifted the corner of his mouth with a captivating smile.
It was the smile said to have once made a princess in a foreign land cling to his trousers, begging him not to leave after catching a fleeting glimpse of it.
A charming, radiant smile.
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