Chapter 81
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81
“Was it really that agonizing? Being mocked for being played by ‘plain’ Harriet? Then why didn’t you speak up? Why didn’t you tell them it was Bella—that Bella was the one lying!”
“……”
“You had countless chances to set the record straight, yet you chose silence. That doesn’t make you a victim, Lord Roark. It makes you an accomplice.”
Tez bowed his head, unable to summon an excuse. There wasn’t a single word of Harriet’s he could refute. In the end, he could only offer another apology.
“I was arrogant. I am sorry.”
Harriet wanted to scream at him, to let out every curse she knew, but she clenched her jaw and held back. Lashing out at someone who had already admitted their fault was nothing more than venting.
“I understand, so please, continue to pretend you don’t know me, just as you’ve been doing. I have no intention of forming any kind of relationship with you, My Lord.”
“Lady Harriet.”
“Just leave me alone!”
It was then that a completely different voice cut through the air.
“The lady clearly finds this distasteful. Why don’t you retreat like a gentleman, Lord Roark?”
Startled, the two turned toward the man standing in the moonlight. From the moment she heard the voice, Harriet knew exactly who it was.
Cedric Kailas?
Under the pale moon, he looked almost ethereal, his silhouette cast in shades of cool blue. Tez, visibly flustered, shook his head.
“It’s a misunderstanding! I was merely apologizing for past events.”
“I only caught a glimpse as I was passing, so I lack the full context,” Cedric replied smoothly. “However, cornering a lady in such a dark, secluded place… regardless of the topic, it can’t be seen as anything other than coercion, can it?”
Tez tried to explain himself again, but Harriet stepped forward, severing the conversation.
“Lord Roark! I admit I was over-agitated. Perhaps we can speak again another day. But not tonight.”
“Understood, My Lady. Then I shall see you another time.”
He bowed politely, his gaze flickering hesitantly between Cedric and Harriet before he finally turned and walked away. Harriet and Cedric remained silent until the sound of his footsteps faded into the night.
Once silence reclaimed the gardens, Cedric took a step closer.
“It seems I have a habit of stumbling upon your secret trysts with other men.”
“I find it rather puzzling myself,” Harriet countered. “Since you always seem to appear whenever I’m talking to someone.”
Harriet was more surprised by Cedric’s presence than she had been by Tez’s. Tez might have followed her with a purpose, but how had Cedric ended up here?
Moreover, he was different than he had been earlier. His eyes were fixed on her with a persistent, heavy intensity that felt almost… predatory. It was enough to make her skin crawl. Harriet shrugged her shoulders, trying to shake off the sudden tension.
“Anyway, I didn’t want to deal with him any longer, so thank you for intervening. Though, Lord Roark isn’t the type to truly cross the line.”
Cedric let out a sharp, displeased scoff. “Do you truly have such faith in the chivalry of men?”
“Don’t flatter yourself by thinking you’re the only gentleman in existence, Duke Kailas.”
“Perhaps you should consider the possibility that I am not a gentleman at all, Lady Harriet.”
With those words, Cedric took a long, predatory stride toward her.
He was definitely not himself. While he often exuded an unreadable aura, he had never looked at her with such raw, unfiltered hunger.
“Duke?”
Harriet instinctively recoiled. Normally, he would have been sensitive to her wariness, but today, he ignored it. He approached her with menacing intent until he was standing directly over her, reaching out to cup her cheek.
Only now, close enough to see his face clearly in the dim light, did Harriet realize something was very wrong.
“Duke! What is the matter with you? You’re acting strange.”
“Am I?”
“Yes! Snap out of it!”
Harriet grabbed his forearm and tried to shake him, but he only drew closer, his face inches from hers.
“I don’t know how to snap out of it,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a low, seductive silk. “But I think I know a way to feel better.”
At his gaze, Harriet’s heart began to hammer against her ribs, betraying her. Just then, voices drifted from the distance.
“Is it really this way?”
“I’m telling you, this is the only path leading where the Duke went.”
At the mention of the ‘Duke,’ Harriet stiffened. People were looking for him. She was about to wave them over so they could take him away, but the next words stopped her cold.
“That lustful bastard couldn’t have gone far.”
If she had heard it, Cedric must have too, yet he remained bewitched, staring only at her.
As Cedric’s erratic behavior collided with the phrase ‘lustful bastard,’ the rumors she’d heard at the party about a ‘pleasure drug’ flashed through her mind. It was the only explanation. For a man as composed as Cedric to lose himself like this in such a short time, he had to have been drugged.
If he’s caught like this, his reputation will be ruined!
Thinking quickly, Harriet unwrapped the shawl from her shoulders and draped it over both her head and Cedric’s, shielding them from view.
“What is the meaning of this?” Cedric asked, a dark, expectant smile playing on his lips as he pulled her into his embrace.
Pushing against his chest, Harriet hissed a whisper. “Cedric Kailas! Snap out of it and listen. Don’t say a word and stay still. Just follow my lead. Do you understand?”
“No.”
“Are you a child? Must you rebel at every turn?”
Cedric chuckled. Harriet slapped his forearm hard before grabbing him by the collar.
“Be quiet!”
The search party was drawing closer. The sound of shoes rustling through the dry grass filled the air. Harriet was hyper-focused on the noise, but Cedric’s attention was fixed entirely on the moist, trembling lips right in front of him.
She told me to stay still… but surely I can move just a little? Would she really be angry?
He couldn't help but smile. He remained silent as she commanded, but he leaned in slowly, his expression more radiant than she had ever seen it.
His lips brushed hers—a light, fleeting touch that made his head spin.
Ah… it feels like I’ve been searching for this my entire life.
His throat went dry. Her lips were so close—soft, supple, and inviting. He imagined they would taste sweet enough to melt him.
Just a little more.
He cradled the back of her head with his large hand, tilting her face up for a kiss. Harriet tried to turn away, and his lips landed instead on the sensitive curve of her neck and ear.
“Hmph, mmph...”
The sensation of his lips against such a delicate spot forced an involuntary moan from Harriet’s throat. That small, airy sound sent a jolt through Cedric’s every nerve. The stimulation was so intense it made his spine ache.
“Cedric, h-huh, wait...!”
He loved the way his name sounded on her breath. Even as she tried to push him away—a gesture that felt cruelly teasing in his current state—he simply pulled her closer with all his strength. The embrace of this woman, who smelled like the first blossoms of spring, was warmer and sweeter than he had ever dreamed.
He was desperate. He wanted to forget the world and lose himself in her, yet she continued to resist him.
“Don’t go,” he pleaded. “Stay with me.”
“No, you can’t… they’re right there…!”
Cedric finally silenced her protests, capturing her lips with his own.
“Mmph...”
She gasped into the kiss, the sound of a person breaking the surface of the water after nearly drowning. He let her breathe for only a second before surging back in.
He was relentless. He would retreat slightly when she pushed, only to return like a fierce, incoming wave, coaxing and soothing her. Eventually, Harriet’s stiff resistance crumbled. Her lips parted, finally accepting him. The hands that had been pushing at his chest stilled, then slowly moved to grasp his shoulders.
The ecstasy of that surrender was overwhelming.
Good… so good.
His mind was a chaotic blur. Logic had abandoned him; he only wanted to tear away the cravat choking his neck and shed his cumbersome clothes. He wanted to feel her skin against his, to let instinct guide them.
“Hah, hah!”
As they finally broke apart, Harriet gasped for air. She clutched his coat, swallowing hard as she shook her head in a daze.
“Th-this isn’t right.”