Chapter 23
I carefully lifted the wine glass and took a sip. I hadn’t drunk alcohol often before, but since Cedric was offering it himself, I couldn’t refuse.
But I put the wine glass down with a frown.
‘Cedric drinks this often?’
No matter how much I drink wine, I can’t tell if it’s good. I don’t even know if it tastes good or not. When I put the glass down with a stiff face, Cedric smiled and asked,
“Don’t you like it?”
“No.”
“Well, it might not suit your taste.”
Now that I think about it, Cedric seemed to know even the little things about me. On the other hand, I didn’t know much about him. Plus, Cedric paid attention to even the small things about me, while I felt like I wasn’t doing anything good for him.
I paused while picking up my fork and looked up.
“Cedric.”
Cedric slowly lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes were soft, filled with curiosity and warm affection. Even if it was something he was pretending, it was fine. After all, it was clear that he needed me.
I asked something I hadn’t dared to ask before.
“Do you have anything you like or dislike?”
Cedric looked at me closely with a smile. I felt a bit embarrassed and quickly added,
“I realized there’s a lot I don’t know about you.”
Cedric raised one corner of his mouth.
“I just don’t want you to see me the way my family sees me.”
“What do you mean?”
“They see me as a monster.”
I remembered that Cedric had said something like that before.
“I’ll never say that to you.”
Cedric nodded, as if he already knew.
“You’re different.”
It felt nice that Cedric thought of me that way. It felt like I had become someone special to him. I felt my cheeks flush and said,
“I actually think you’re a very warm person.”
I could feel his gaze, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I continued speaking.
“No one’s ever treated me this kindly before. Of course, my family were never the kind of people who would, but still, no one’s ever cared for me like you do.”
I thought of the rumors Mrs. Jenkins had mentioned and added,
“You’re probably the only one like that in the whole social circle.”
I felt a little embarrassed, wondering if I had said too much. Then I heard a soft laugh. When I looked up, Cedric was looking at me with the brightest face I’d ever seen. His face, which always had a subtle coldness, now had gentle eyes filled with warmth.
“I’m happy you said that.”
His voice was so sweet. I smiled and looked down. His gaze was so intense, I felt like something might happen if I looked at him any longer. That was how natural the atmosphere between us had become. I couldn’t even eat and just played with my fork when—
“Revril.”
The sudden voice made me flinch and lift my head.
“It’ll get cold.”
Cedric pointed at the food with a smile. I nodded and grabbed my fork again. Every little thing I did felt like it mattered to him. It made me very conscious. And because Cedric didn’t start another conversation, it was very quiet.
‘I should bring up something to talk about…’
That’s when I remembered the wardrobe that the servants were burning. It was so fancy that it felt like a waste to destroy.
I lifted my head right away. Cedric looked at me more attentively when our eyes met. I had already heard the reason from the servant, but with nothing else to say, I asked,
“I saw them burning your mother’s furniture earlier. Why are they burning it?”
“Because I don’t want to see it.”
His voice was slow but firm. There was a coldness in it. I remembered what the servant had said earlier.
“The master never looks back at something once he throws it away.”
When I stared at him silently, Cedric spoke calmly.
“My mother doesn’t have much time left, so I plan to get rid of everything related to her.”
“But she’s still your mother.”
“She is, but I don’t have any affection for her. She probably loves my brother or the astrologer more.”
Cedric looked at me and continued,
“And I only need you.”
“Me?”
Cedric nodded. Honestly, Cedric was all I had too. I had a father and younger brother, but to be honest, I didn’t need them. My only younger brother didn’t even work and just made things harder for me.
Now I was finally free from my father’s shadow, and that was a relief. I no longer had to hear his nagging. And I could live with the person I loved.
Thinking that, I looked at Cedric and noticed the plate in front of him. He wasn’t eating at all, just like me.
“Cedric.”
As I spoke, there was a knock on the door. But Cedric didn’t seem to care and kept his eyes on me.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
Cedric smiled and picked up his fork.
“I will.”
But then the knocking came again. This time, there was a voice too.
“Master, the madam is calling for you.”
I quickly spoke to Cedric.
“Shouldn’t you go?”
But Cedric didn’t put down his fork and kept cutting the meat.
“I don’t have to go right now.”
“But if she’s calling at this hour, doesn’t that mean something’s wrong?”
Cedric looked at his plate, chewing his food, and slowly looked at me.
“Should I go to my mother now?”
I nodded without hesitation.
“Go quickly. It might be something urgent.”
Cedric slowly put down his fork.
“I’ll go since you said so.”
I looked at Cedric, feeling a bit dazed. He smiled softly, kissed my forehead, and left the room. When the door closed, silence fell.
I looked at the food Cedric left behind and touched my forehead. His warmth still lingered.
I ate the rest of the food alone. In the past, I wouldn’t have eaten because of sudden loneliness, but now, I actually wanted to eat more. Still, there was a part of me that felt sad about his curse.
I hoped the smile he showed me was real. But I didn’t think more about it. Because I had never met anyone like Cedric in my life.
While I was asleep, I suddenly felt something wrap around my wrist. It was a soft and affectionate touch. I slowly opened my eyes. The light was dim, but I could see the clear blue eyes.
“Cedric?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It’s okay.”
I looked at the clock. It was 3 a.m. Cedric hadn’t even changed his clothes yet. He was still wearing his neat hunting outfit. When I looked at him curiously, Cedric calmly explained,
“I went out hunting for a bit.”
“At this hour?”
“There was something I needed to check.”
“It wasn’t dangerous, was it?”
“Not at all.”
Cedric smiled. I felt relieved and relaxed. Cedric brushed my hair back and said softly,
“Go back to sleep.”
“What about you?”
“I still have something to take care of.”
“But it’s 3 a.m.”
Cedric smiled with that charming curve of his lips.
“It’s something I have to do now.”
He held my hand warmly. His warmth between my fingers made me close my eyes without realizing. Cedric’s touch was very gentle. I fell back asleep with peace in my heart.
The next morning, I woke up early to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Cedric wasn’t beside me.
‘I thought we were going to sleep together again tonight…’
I felt a bit disappointed, but then the knocking came again, and Cedric entered the room.
When I opened my eyes wide, Cedric came closer and spoke calmly.
“Revril, the doctor will be here soon.”
“The doctor?”
Cedric nodded and sat on the bed.
“You seemed really tired yesterday because of my mother, so I called him.”
“I’m okay.”
“You also met Herder, right?”
“Well, yes…”
“I told them to throw out the leaf tea Herder brought. The tea my mother drinks will now be what you bought.”
I didn’t have much to say. I suddenly remembered the laughter I had heard when Herder went inside yesterday. It was a reaction completely different from mine.
Then there was a knock on the door. A moment later, people with expressionless faces came in. I recognized them—they were familiar.
Cedric stepped back from the bed and gestured to the doctor. The doctor immediately put down his medical bag and came over to me.
“Madam, may I check your wrist?”
Since I had done this before, I slowly held out my wrist.
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