Chapter 182
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 182
“I’m so overwhelmed by your warm welcome, I hardly know what to do with myself. Honestly, I thought you might object…”
“Hmm. To be frank, I’m in no position to have a say in Cedric’s relationships or marriage. I have no right. Besides, I trust his judgment.”
“B-but I have nothing to my name, and there have been some… unpleasant incidents…”
“At one point, I also intended to test you, Miss Harriet. If you had gone around boasting about your connection with Her Majesty the Empress, I would have been deeply disappointed.”
I wondered why the Empress was suddenly brought up, but as I racked my brain, I remembered Anastasia had once protected me. Jeremia’s influence must have been at play behind the scenes.
I thought she helped me just because she heard Cedric’s side of the story, but she was actually watching me…?
A shiver ran down my spine. What if I had tried to exploit that good fortune instead of simply using it to overcome the crisis?
“Her Majesty the Empress also thinks highly of you. There are many who try to grasp at any imperial connection they can find, but you are truly humble and wise, Miss Harriet.”
“I just… I still can’t believe I was even invited that day…”
“You seem so timid now, yet I hear you’re quite daring out in the world. Cedric said he fell for that side of you. Hohoho!”
Jeremia seemed thrilled to have her prospective daughter-in-law before her, but Harriet didn’t know how to react, so she simply offered a strained laugh.
Meanwhile, Jeremia moved things along at her own brisk pace.
“Do you have a dress designer in mind?”
“No, I don’t.”
She had only just heard about the marriage today; there was no way she could have thought about a wedding dress.
“Then how about having it made at Servijou? Since they cater to the Imperial Family, they are arguably the finest in the Empire. Actually, I saw a dress there yesterday that I thought would suit you perfectly.”
“Ah…”
“Am I being too meddlesome? Of course, you must have a dream wedding or a specific dress in mind. I’m sorry.”
Indeed, looking at her again, the Grand Duchess seemed quite excited. Her flushed cheeks and the constant smile on her face were clear signs of her joy.
It pained Harriet to disappoint Jeremia’s expectations, but she had no choice. All she could do for now was play along.
“Oh, no, not at all! Servijou sounds wonderful!”
“Really? If you’re only agreeing because of me, please don’t hesitate to say so. Or perhaps we should look at other boutiques together?”
Harriet shook her head, assuring her repeatedly that she truly liked the suggestion. After that, a string of famous jewelry stores followed.
“Lundberg, where Cedric bought your earrings, is excellent. Dicapo and Angelas are also very popular. I’ll have the jewelers come to the mansion soon, so you can look at their pieces and choose whatever you like.”
“Ha, haha… I’m truly at a loss for words.”
Just how long would this charade continue? Once the dress was fitted and a deposit placed on the jewelry, the financial losses would be staggering.
“I think… I’ll have to talk to Cedric first, Madam.”
“Haa… I like that. A young lady calling Cedric by his name. Do you have any other nicknames for him?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, not yet…”
“When you want to tease him, try calling him ‘Sedi.’ You’ll see quite an amusing sight.”
Jeremia whispered with a mischievous glint in her eyes. While Harriet was still flustered by the suggestion, the Grand Duchess returned to the topic of wedding preparations.
“Anyway, regarding the jewelry and the dress, let’s do this: instead of consulting Cedric, I’ll pay for whatever you choose.”
“Madam…”
“You can call me ‘Mother’ now. Hohoho!”
In the face of Jeremia’s delight, Harriet felt as though time were crawling. The guilt of deceiving someone so genuinely happy about her son’s romance was becoming unbearable; she just wanted to escape.
Finally, after receiving permission to leave with a promise to “see her again soon,” Harriet set out to find Cedric.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long on the boulevard leading to the Imperial Palace before she spotted his carriage. She immediately ran into the road, stopped the horses, and jumped inside.
“What kind of dangerous stunt was that, Harriet! You could have been hurt…!”
“That’s not what’s important, Cedric! It’s a disaster. A total disaster!”
Harriet grabbed his sleeve and shook him vigorously.
“Why did you declare we were getting married without telling me? I was summoned by the Grand Duchess today!”
“Mother summoned you? What happened?”
“She said she’s going to buy me a wedding dress and a jewelry set! For the wedding!”
Cold sweat broke out on her skin as she explained the situation.
“What do we do? The Madam said there’s no time to waste and wants to move as quickly as possible. If we sign a contract and then cancel… that’s actual fraud!”
“So, she didn’t say anything unpleasant, but rather discussed the wedding? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Exactly! She truly believes we’re getting married!”
Harriet felt like she was burning up with anxiety, but Cedric’s expression remained perfectly composed.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How can I not worry! She wants me to get a dress from Servijou! And she’s summoning jewelers of Lundberg’s caliber! Ugh, just thinking about the cost, I… I feel like I can’t breathe.”
When Harriet’s face turned truly pale, Cedric finally reached out and gently rubbed her back.
“There’s no need to panic. Choose carefully, picking what you truly like, just like a bride preparing for a real wedding. I’ll handle the aftermath, so don’t worry.”
“How are you going to cover those cancellation fees…! No, of course you have the money, but this is just throwing it away!”
“Our plan is currently working perfectly. That is more important to me. Those who approached me under the guise of matchmaking have all disappeared, and the opposition, who tried to paint me as an irresponsible patriarch uninterested in an heir, are losing their footing.”
“Is… that so?”
He smiled faintly and lowered his voice.
“And this period, where I appear preoccupied with wedding preparations, will seem like a golden opportunity to them. They’ll rush to attack me without being fully prepared, and such plans are always bound to have flaws.”
“Ah…”
“So, don’t worry about cancellation fees. Simply act the part of a happy bride-to-be. No, don’t even think of it as acting—just enjoy the situation. Can you do that?”
As Cedric spoke, Harriet grew increasingly resolute. Right, Cedric Kailas wouldn’t have brought up marriage without a plan. It was a little disappointing that he hadn’t told her first, but there must have been a good reason. What mattered most was that she was helping him.
Harriet nodded vigorously.
“Alright! I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you.”
Seizing the opportunity, Cedric offered to escort her all the way home, maintaining the perfect facade of an affectionate lover. Only after she waved and entered the mansion did he slowly lower his hand and let his smile fade.
That was close.
He hadn’t expected Jeremia to move so quickly. Declaring his intent to marry Harriet to his mother the night before last had been a complete accident.
*
“Countess Direll visited this morning.”
“Did she talk about Harriet?”
“You know she did. So, tell me, are you truly serious about Miss Harriet? If not, don’t sacrifice an innocent person. Break it off cleanly.”
Cedric had been surprised by his mother’s intuition, guessing that this passionate romance might be a sham. But he didn’t flinch. Because for him, it was real.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I can guess your purpose in creating this situation, but you must consider Miss Harriet’s position. You shouldn’t use a person you owe a debt of gratitude to as a tool and then discard them.”
It seemed Jeremia believed Harriet was being used unknowingly and would be tossed aside with a few coins once the scheme was over. At first, he had brushed it off, insisting he truly loved Harriet, but he lost his patience at Jeremia’s next words.
“Do you know how painful the torture of false hope is for the one enduring it? ‘He’ll marry me soon, he’ll love me someday…’ A person who believes that eventually withers away!”
She was clearly projecting her past self onto Harriet. In Cedric, she saw Rowan—the man who had never reciprocated her love.
Stung by the comparison, he had declared in a sharp, uncharacteristic voice:
“Mother. Let me state this clearly: I will marry Harriet! Honestly, I am burning with the desire to be with her as soon as possible. Surely you aren’t saying this to oppose us?”
“Are you serious?”
“Have I ever joked about such matters? I want to bring her here before the end of next summer, at the latest.”
Jeremia had been stunned, but Cedric, unwilling to argue further, had retreated to his room. He hadn’t realized his mother’s initiative would outpace his own.
But now that things had come to this, proceeding with the words he’d carelessly uttered didn’t seem like a bad idea at all.
The problem is, I have to win Harriet over by then…
He let out a soft, dry laugh.
His mother’s guess might actually be right. Except Harriet would be the one inflicting the “torture of hope,” and he would be the one withering away from it.
Of course, he had no intention of simply wishing and doing nothing.
The kiss they would share as she walked into the wedding hall would surely be sweet. It would be a moment of pure happiness—one where Harriet wouldn’t look like she was about to cry, and she wouldn’t try to run away.