Chapter 82
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82
“Why not? You want this as much as I do.”
His gaze was hazy, his tone languid.
Harriet felt her own senses slipping away, drawn into the depths of that fog with him. She had heard that first kisses were often clumsy, messy affairs, but this was utterly intoxicating. For a fleeting moment, she wanted to give in—to play along with Cedric and pretend the rest of the world didn't exist.
But the sound of approaching footsteps snapped the last thread of her reason.
“Someone is coming!”
Perhaps it was the desperation in her breathless whisper, or perhaps his own frantic urges had been sated just enough to let reality back in. Cedric froze. He slowly scanned his surroundings, finally taking in their position.
‘This is… strange.’
Harriet was clutching her shawl with one hand to keep it from slipping, using the other to desperately push against his chest. He, meanwhile, was leaning into her so heavily that her upper body was bent backward at a precarious angle.
Never in his life had he found himself in such a disgraceful, unseemly position.
Only then did the realization hit him: something was deeply wrong.
“Why…”
A thousand questions swirled in his mind, but he couldn't give voice to any of them. He simply couldn't comprehend how he had ended up here.
Cedric slowly lifted his head, peering through a gap in the lace shawl. A few people were loitering nearby. Considering the unwritten social rule to discreetly avoid couples enjoying a clandestine meeting, their behavior was suspiciously bold.
“Don’t say a word. Just stay still. I’ll handle this.”
Leaving him with those cryptic instructions, Harriet slipped out from under the shawl. She immediately snapped at the man leading the group, her voice dripping with annoyance.
“I haven’t the slightest idea why you’ve all gathered here, but would you mind moving along?”
The group, realizing they were facing Harriet Listerwell, looked startled. They glanced back at the man who had led them there.
The man cleared his throat, looking sheepish. “Ahem! Uh, by any chance, has Duke Kailas passed through here?”
“Who?”
“Cedric. Duke Kailas.”
“How should I know? Even if he had, wouldn't he have had the sense to avoid a spot where I was already occupied? Unlike some people, the Duke possesses basic common sense.”
Intimidated by Harriet’s sharp retort, the man chuckled awkwardly and began to back away. Even so, he craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the man hidden behind the shawl.
But no matter how he strained, it was impossible to see Cedric. The Duke was completely concealed by the elaborate lace and the voluminous, heavy folds of Harriet’s dress. To make matters worse for the intruders, the garden was shrouded in shadow.
Harriet made no effort to hide her displeasure. “What are you still doing here? You’re ruining the mood.”
“My apologies. Cedric disappeared, and we were simply looking for him.”
“Go look somewhere else. My partner and I still have much to attend to.”
“Ha, haha. Yes, well… Have a good night, then.”
Harriet clicked her tongue in annoyance at the man’s retreating back, then ducked back under the shawl.
Inside the lace canopy, which barely covered their upper bodies, was a world entirely separate from the outside—a world of their own. Harriet remained in a posture that made it look as though she were locked in Cedric’s embrace until the sound of footsteps faded into the distance.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind swept through the garden. Harriet swallowed hard, then slowly pulled away and lowered the shawl.
“Are you… alright?”
She wasn't sure if the question was appropriate, but she had to say something to break the silence. Thankfully, Cedric’s eyes seemed to have regained some focus, losing that possessed, vacant look. However, judging by the way he struggled to form words, the drug’s effects were far from gone.
Harriet reached out to tidy his disheveled clothes and whispered, “Are you drugged?”
“Drugged…?”
“Your Grace, you look exactly like someone who has been. You don't smell of alcohol, so you aren't drunk.”
Cedric’s eyes wavered aimlessly. Harriet carefully smoothed his hair, which had been tossed into a mess when she threw the shawl over him.
“Do you know those people from earlier? They claimed to be looking for you, but their intentions seemed malicious. It felt as though they knew exactly what state you were in.”
At her words, the fog in his mind began to lift. The scattered fragments of his chaotic memories slowly fell into place, allowing him a moment of objective clarity.
The alcohol. The sudden, violent heat. The woman with red lips. The scent of roses. The receding hem of a pink dress. Harriet Listerwell. A kiss. Ragged breaths. Then, another kiss.
‘What have I done…?’
The belated realization made his head spin. He desperately wished this were a dream—some feverish nightmare a teenage boy might have. But the presence of the woman standing before him, watching his expression with concern, was a cold reminder of reality.
“Are they strangers?”
Cedric pressed down on his rising shame. He closed his eyes tightly, then forced himself to speak.
“Albert Kingsley.”
“What?”
“My cousin.”
Harriet seemed speechless, but for Cedric, the pieces of the puzzle finally fit.
‘He gave me an aphrodisiac and planned to expose my disgrace to the entire nobility… just to humiliate me?’
He let out a hollow, bitter laugh. “He mentioned he was getting into the pharmaceutical business lately, but to think the drug he’s manufacturing is this…!”
Harriet’s eyes widened as a realization struck her. “Is the drug his company produces called ‘Angelic,’ by any chance?”
“Something like that, I suppose.”
“And your cousin gave that to you?”
“Most likely.”
He had expected Albert to pull some sort of stunt, but he had never imagined his cousin would stoop to something so sinister and despicable.
Harriet looked equally dumbfounded. “I overheard at the party earlier that ‘Angelic’ is being marketed as a mood-enhancer for those with depression, but it’s whispered to be used for… less savory purposes.”
Cedric nodded. While understanding the situation brought a modicum of relief, it didn't solve the immediate problem. The drug’s effects, which had subsided for a moment, were surging again. Even as he tried to look away from Harriet, his gaze betrayed his will, sweeping over her lips, the curve of her nose, and the line of her neck. He couldn't stop himself from swallowing hard.
Noticing his gaze turning predatory again, Harriet gave his cheek a sharp, grounding slap.
“It might look unseemly, but hide here for a moment. I’ll go find Edgar Dawson.”
She pushed Cedric back into the shadows of the trees behind the gazebo and turned to run toward the ballroom.
‘Don’t go, Harriet. Call the guards instead. Not Edgar.’
Edgar would never let him live this down. He’d be teased for the next decade.
But the words wouldn't come. Cedric felt a wave of dizziness, and a heavy, drug-induced lethargy began to wash over him. He clenched his fists, fighting to stay conscious.
A moment later, he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He forced his eyes open to find Edgar standing over him.
“Are you alright, Cedric?”
“Edgar…? How are you here already…?”
Edgar, usually the picture of composure, looked uncharacteristically anxious. He turned to Harriet. “How long has he been like this?”
“I don’t know. When he found me, he was already in a strange state.”
“And you’re sure Albert Kingsley was the one leading that group?”
“I’ve never met the man, but His Grace identified him as his cousin.”
Cedric felt a surge of irritation watching Edgar and Harriet talk. Earlier, when Edgar was dancing with Daphne, Harriet had been smiling at him. Was this the sort of man Harriet preferred? Edgar was unnecessarily kind and full of jokes; women flocked to him. She would only end up with a broken heart.
If she truly wanted to shed her reputation as a ‘scandal maker,’ wouldn't it be better to be with someone more serious?
Even as he leaned on Edgar for support, Cedric felt thoroughly out of sorts.
Harriet turned to Cedric one last time. “If you aren't planning on ‘enjoying’ yourself with someone tonight, drink plenty of water and find a restroom. And keep in mind that alcohol only intensifies the drug’s effects.”
After that cold bit of advice, she gave Edgar a brief curtsy and vanished into the night. Cedric could only stare blankly as the lingering illusion of pink petals dancing before his eyes finally faded away.
*
“That Albert fellow… he’s surprisingly bold.”
Edgar sat on a sofa in a secluded corner, watching Cedric gulp down glass after glass of water. He let out a hollow laugh. To drug Duke Kailas at a banquet with so many witnesses was outrageous enough, but to lead a search party to ‘discover’ him in that state was a declaration of war.
“From what I can gather, the only time he could have slipped you anything was when the crowd gathered to greet you. He likely spiked your drink then.”
Cedric nodded. Albert had been insistent on a toast, practically forcing the glass into his hand. It was the most logical moment, even if he hadn't noticed the foul play at the time.
“Are you certain the drug was ‘Angelic’?”