Chapter 13

“But, Your Grace, will you leave the Empire again when my brother returns?”

“No, this time I’m planning to stay longer.”

“Why, why? Are you perhaps thinking of getting married?”

“It’s about time I did.”

It was true that Duke Kaiden was at a marriageable age. Just thinking about it made her smile, and she could vividly imagine all the noble young ladies not staying quiet once they found out he had broken up with the Princess.

“With whom?”

At her question, Kaiden suddenly imagined ‘Hazel Erban’ in a white wedding dress, smiling brightly, and his neck felt hot.

He must be crazy. Just the thought of imagining Hazel as a marriage partner because he misunderstood her interest in him was enough to make him feel ashamed in front of Evan.

Even in the carriage, Hazel had only innocently asked if she could touch his arm and member out of curiosity. She had trusted him enough to show him even her most private parts.

He should have brushed off Hazel’s interest in him as mere curiosity about men, but seeing her made him feel itchy and feverish, like someone with a pollen allergy.

“Ahem. I’ll have to think about it gradually.”

“What style do you like, Your Grace? Like hair color or something?”

“I haven’t thought about it much, but I’d prefer red hair and yellow eyes. Honestly, I can’t tell much beyond that.”

There are so many diverse hair colors in the world, from deep black like the night sky to jade green like the sea, yet he mentioned red.

Upon reflection, the Princess’s hair was also red, and her eyes were similar to his amber ones. Hazel realized she perfectly matched his pine tree-like preference and felt relieved.

And just now, in the carriage, he had touched her body and even below because she was curious. Wasn’t there a possibility?

“Then what about me? I also have red hair and yellow eyes…”

Under the table, Hazel clenched her fists tightly. For some reason, her palms were sweating as if she were confessing.

“Hazel, you’re like a precious sister. Always lovely and beautiful.”

Kaiden’s words, drawing a line, made Hazel’s cheeks burn with embarrassment.

Unaware of Hazel’s feelings, Kaiden placed his hand on her forehead, feeling a slight warmth. It seemed she was indeed unwell.

“Hazel, I think it would be best to go home and see a doctor.”

“I’m really fine.”

“No, I don’t think you are.”

Hazel leaned back, fanning herself with her hand.

To be honest, she had hoped that the sudden ‘kiss’ would advance her relationship with Kaiden, just as it had with Sophie and Calix, making him see her a little differently.

Was there no possibility at all? Just because she was Evan’s sister?

Her pride was wounded, and her desire for the 98.9 score only grew stronger.

“Geez… To think you touched me like that earlier.”

Hazel turned her head sharply in the opposite direction of Kaiden.

From the morning, gray clouds had spread thinly across the sky, and raindrops began to fall outside the window.

She admitted she had acted hastily due to curiosity about Kaiden’s impressive body and the unresolved 98.9 score, but she couldn’t help feeling down about his attitude, which seemed to not consider her as a woman at all.

She felt embarrassed, as if he had caught her harboring futile fantasies about romance and marriage.

“Your Grace, shall we head back now?”

“The rain is heavy, so it’s hard to catch a carriage. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Hazel nodded, watching the increasingly thick raindrops through the window.

She called the owner and ordered her usual brunch set of sunny-side-up eggs and toast with strawberry jam. Even after finishing the chocolate syrup-covered pancakes for dessert, the rain showed no sign of letting up.

“Sigh… When will it stop?”

Hazel sighed deeply, staring at the puddles forming in the dirt road, and stood up.

She needed to leave now to attend a social gathering before dinner.

“Your Grace, I’ll go out and see if there’s a passing carriage!”

Before he could stop her, Hazel dashed out of the shop.

The rain was so heavy she could barely see a few steps ahead, and her dress was soaked, clinging to her skin.

“Hazel! What are you doing going out like that?”

A voice full of anger sounded, and a large coat covered her head, lifting her feet off the ground.

Suddenly, she was in Kaiden’s arms, and unlike his soaked bangs, the inside of the coat was dry. 

“You’re sensitive to the cold and often catch colds. What are you doing? Last year, you suffered from a high fever for ten days. Why are you so careless? Do you want to see Evan die?”

“Well… I felt sorry because I suggested coming far. If we had gone where you wanted, there would have been more carriages in the city.”

“Then you should have taken an umbrella.”

“You should have used one too, Your Grace.”

“Where would I have found the time to worry about that?”

Kaiden shook his head, shaking off the water from his bangs.

Even now, she regretted that his shirt, clinging to his body, was black instead of the white that would reveal his skin.

When they returned to the shop in Kaiden’s arms, she was soaked from head to toe.

“Hazel, sit here for a moment.”

“Ugh… Yes.”

Her teeth chattered, and her skin prickled from the wet clothes.

Kaiden spoke with the owner for a while, then brought a large wool blanket to wrap around Hazel’s shoulders and began drying her wet hair with a white towel.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Unable to move from the cold, Hazel entrusted her shivering body to Kaiden’s care.

“A carriage will come soon. I’ve contacted the nearby villa.”

“Really? I shouldn’t have gone out then.”

“Honestly, Hazel, you’re always so impulsive.”

Kaiden playfully poked Hazel’s cheek with his finger. It was disappointing that he showed no change, as if the recent events were just a passing incident. Was she the strange one?

“Please don’t do this anymore. I’m grown up now.”

“If you don’t catch a cold this time, I’ll stop.”

“Achoo!”

She sneezed, a stream of snot running down her face, as if she had already caught a cold.

“See, you’ve caught a cold.”

Kaiden, seemingly unbothered by the snot, wiped it from under her nose with his large thumb.

“We can’t ride in the carriage for long while wet. How about staying at my villa tonight and leaving in the morning?”

“I can’t… I really need to go today.”

“Hazel, do you not understand how scary a cold can be?”

Knowing she would be bedridden for three days if she caught a cold, Hazel nodded, valuing every minute and second too much to waste lying in bed.

“It’s warm potato soup.”

“P-Potato soup?”

‘He took me home, gave me clothes to change into, and even made potato soup for me. That’s when he started to look a little different to me.’

Did potato soup really have the power to make someone fall in love? Even though it wasn’t Kaiden who made it, it still warmed her heart.

Upon reflection, Kaiden had always been kind to her. She knew it was because she was Evan’s sister, but after discovering he was a 98.9, she couldn’t help but have unreasonable expectations.

She thought she wouldn’t wish for anything more if they slept together just once, but the more time she spent with him, the greedier she became.

She occasionally wished that the kindness given to her as Evan’s sister was directed solely at her.

As she finished that thought, the warmth from the bowl spread up to the top of her head, and she bowed her head.

“Why, should I bring you something else?”

“Oh, no.”

“I’ll ask the owner to make corn soup. You like sweet things, so corn soup would be better.”

“I-I like potato soup too!”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Kaiden, who was drying Hazel’s hair, handed her a silver spoon, telling her to eat while it was warm.

Wrapped in a thick wool blanket, Hazel’s hair was now dry, but the Duke was still soaked, with water droplets falling from his hair.

‘He might catch a cold like this. I wonder if he’ll be okay.’

Her whole body felt prickly, and her heart fluttered whenever she looked into his eyes.

Kaiden was starting to appear different, not as a 98.9 score but as a man.

***

Duke Gray’s Villa.

Hazel felt awkward being alone with Kaiden, wishing his kindness was directed solely at her.

Now, she started to see Duke Kaiden not as Evan’s friend but as himself, and her heart raced even in the narrow carriage on the way to the villa.

Hazel wrapped the thick wool blanket around herself more tightly, hoping to muffle the sound.