Chapter 67
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67
Clink, roll, roll.
The candy, which had been tucked between the rosary beads, rolled across the floor to the opposite side of the carriage. It was a treat she’d brought along to munch on whenever she got bored during the long ride.
‘Why now, of all times!’
And why did the sound of it rolling have to be so incredibly loud?
Harriet glanced sideways, only to find Cedric watching her.
“Oh, haha… My candy fell.”
She managed a forced smile and rose from her seat to retrieve it. Just as she gripped the offending sweet and straightened up with a sigh, the coachman gave another loud shout.
“Hup!”
Immediately, the horses whinnied, straining with all their might. The carriage lurched violently.
“Whoa!”
Harriet lost her balance. Just as she was about to tumble, Cedric grabbed her arm.
“Harriet!”
“Eek!”
With a final, violent jolt, the carriage pulled free from the mud. Harriet dropped the candy she’d just picked up, and the piece already on the floor bounced cheerfully in time with the carriage's movements.
“Ugh!”
Action always begets reaction.
Harriet, who had been caught just as she was about to pitch forward, fell in the direction her arm was being pulled. More precisely, she fell straight into Cedric’s arms.
“Ouch…”
Her backside felt a bit numb, but she was relieved that nothing else seemed to hurt. She slowly opened her tightly closed eyes.
The sight before her was utterly bizarre.
‘Why… is Cedric Kailas’s face right here?’
He was too close. His face was right in front of her nose.
And that wasn't all. What was this firm surface supporting her, and why was Cedric clutching his forehead?
“Uh… uh…”
As she let out a dumbfounded sound, as if denying reality, the coachman shouted from outside.
“The wheel is out! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine! Can we leave right away?” Cedric called back.
“Yes! I’ll just grab my tools and we’ll be off!”
Having received the coachman’s reply, Cedric turned his gaze back to Harriet.
Even as their reddish-brown eyes met, Harriet’s mind remained a total blank. She was paralyzed.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Huh?”
“You seemed unable to move. Or perhaps you were enjoying my lap so much that I was being insensitive by asking?”
Harriet shot up instantly.
“I-I-I’m so sorry!”
Her face went stark white as she realized she had not only been sitting on Cedric’s lap but had been cradled in his arms.
One more strange thing caught her eye: Cedric was still rubbing his forehead.
‘Surely, I didn’t headbutt him, did I?’
That would be the absolute worst. But she hadn't felt the impact of a collision.
“Um… your forehead, what happened?”
“Something flew up and hit it…”
Roll, roll, roll.
It was the sound she’d heard earlier. Both their gazes dropped to the candy rolling on the floor.
“So that was it.”
When Cedric lowered his hand, a reddish mark was visible in the middle of his forehead. It was a small, round welt, exactly the size of the candy that had struck him.
Could anyone have imagined such an indignity befalling the forehead of a handsome young man who likely never had a single hair out of place?
It was absurd. It was ridiculous. And it was incredibly funny.
“Pfft!”
Harriet belatedly clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling the laughter that had burst out instinctively.
‘I have to hold it in. Hold it in. Hold it…’
She bit her molars together, trying to compose herself, but the moment she looked up and saw Cedric’s forehead again, she lost the battle.
“Pfft, ah-ha, ah-hahaha!”
Seeing her, Cedric also let out a chuckle.
“Is it that funny?”
“Ah-ha, ah-hahaha!”
Instead of answering, Harriet pulled out a small hand mirror and offered it to him. Cedric took one look at his reflection and began to laugh as well.
“Ah-hahaha!”
“Hahaha!”
The two of them laughed until their sides ached. It wasn't just a figure of speech; they laughed so hard their stomachs actually hurt.
“Haa, haa, I’m so sorry, pfft! Whoo… I’m truly sorry about this.”
Even getting the apology out was a struggle.
Cedric, unable to wipe the smile from his face, pointed to his forehead with a fingertip.
“Has it faded a bit?”
“Cough! Yes… It’ll be gone by the time you arrive home. Truly, I’m so sorry.”
As Harriet finally managed to compose herself, Cedric gazed at her quietly, a lingering smile on his face. He murmured softly.
“Honestly, every time we meet…”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
Rattle, rattle.
The steady sound of the carriage rolling resumed.
Harriet suddenly realized she was sitting far too close to Cedric. She couldn't remember when she’d ended up there, why Cedric was leaning toward her, or how long they had been like this.
The fact that the sun was setting and the carriage interior was growing dark struck her with terrifying clarity.
“Um…”
The moment Harriet opened her mouth to speak, the carriage passed through the Genoa City Gate.
The faint evening twilight vanished. Just as everything went dark, something lightly brushed against Harriet’s lips and then pulled away. The scent of Cedric’s cologne seemed to grow a little stronger for a fleeting second.
“Oh?”
Was that sensation an illusion?
When the carriage emerged from beneath the shadow of the gate, Cedric’s expression was completely nonchalant.
“We’ve arrived in Genoa.”
“Ah, yes. Th-that’s right.”
She swallowed hard. She felt a little dizzy, though there was no logical reason for it.
‘His collar must have just brushed against me, that’s all. Yes, that’s it.’
Harriet gave an awkward laugh, gathered her handbag, and moved to the seat opposite him.
It had been a journey where, supposedly, nothing at all had happened.
*
On the last day of Holy Festival Week, was there anyone more on edge than Benedict Kingsley?
‘Why isn’t he coming? Why!’
He had been certain Cedric would visit at least once during the festival, but the entire week had passed without the Duke of Kailas setting foot in Arens Temple.
Benedict’s insides were burning with anxiety. He felt as though everyone around him was whispering. Even a simple greeting from a passerby felt like a mockery.
However, he couldn't avoid the post-mass gathering where he was expected to exchange pleasantries with his acquaintances.
“Ahem! It seems the Duke of Kailas is quite busy with the year-end, isn't he?” someone asked, as if they had been waiting for the chance to poke the wound.
“Ah, haha! It seems that’s the case. He hasn't been Duke for long, so he’s likely still adjusting to the workload.”
“Well, indeed, it seems so, as there’s no word of him visiting anywhere else, either.”
The only saving grace was that, as his acquaintance said, there were no rumors of Cedric visiting other temples. Though that hardly made his absence from Arens Temple any easier to swallow.
“Did you speak to the Duke?”
“O-of course! Even then, he said he couldn't promise anything because he was so busy, but that he would consider Arens Temple his top priority…”
“That’s a shame. My daughter practically lived at the temple all week because she heard the Duke was coming. Hahaha!”
Benedict forced a laugh, but his stomach churned. He hadn't expected Cedric to disregard his request so completely.
‘Did I ask for a high office? Did I ask to borrow money? What’s so hard about dropping by the temple for a single moment!’
With Cedric’s absence, even the High Priest’s expression seemed subtly colder.
“You’ve worked hard during Holy Festival Week, Priest.”
“Ah, Viscount Kingsley. May Yawar’s blessing always be with you.”
The Priest, who would normally have lingered to exchange a few more words, quickly excused himself to greet another worshipper.
Standing there, watching him leave, Benedict was consumed by a loathing for Cedric. The boy had put him in a humiliating position.
And his son, Albert, felt exactly the same.
Albert, who had just finished speaking with some of the temple’s younger men, returned with a face flushed crimson.
“What’s wrong with you now?” Benedict snapped.
“That Cedric bastard never showed, did he?”
“Damn it. Can’t you see that for yourself?”
“That arrogant brat! Just because he’s a Duke now, the little punk thinks he can look down on us!”
The news of Benedict’s failed attempt to bring Cedric to the temple had spread like wildfire that afternoon. Because of it, Albert had just endured a series of taunts from several rivals.
“It seems the Kailas family is drawing a line between themselves and their relatives.”
“Indeed. There are far too many people who go around selling the Ducal House’s name just because they share a bloodline.”
Albert wasn't so naive as to miss their meaning.
He believed that every ounce of humiliation he was suffering was entirely Cedric’s fault. It was all because of that arrogant bastard who pushed people around just because he sat on a high throne.
“I’ll get my revenge one day,” Albert hissed.