Chapter 101. A Moment of Happiness
Jade’s face, from which the smile had vanished, looked unbearably serious.
So my guess was right after all—Helena’s heart suddenly thudded loudly, but she calmly waited.
Until Jade himself chose to speak.
After a long silence, Jade, as if finally having made up his mind, slowly opened his mouth.
“…Actually, that day, on the street where I went out with Deborah… I saw him.”
“Him, you mean…”
There were times when Jade’s always bright face noticeably darkened.
And that was precisely when—
“Yes… Duke Cheister.”
“…”
Helena looked with pity at the deep shadow that settled over Jade’s blue eyes.
Although their mothers were different, Jade always addressed the man born of the same blood strictly as “Duke Cheister.”
Well, in a way, it was only natural.
Illegitimate child.
In Ruveik, children born to a mistress or concubine rather than the legal wife could not inherit the family name, let alone legally receive inheritance rights or noble status.
This was because the Ruveik royal family, bound tightly by thorough bloodline-ism and aristocratism, never acknowledged such things.
Jade was no exception.
No matter how much the 7th Duke Cheister, Randller von Cheister—who had given him flesh and blood—had cherished his son, that reality never changed.
Still, what made Jade slightly better off than other illegitimate children was that Randller von Cheister, while alive, had bequeathed him an enormous inheritance and the name of the hero of the Cheister family, “Jade von Cheister.”
Of course, ironically, that very fact had made him the sole target of hatred from Raymond von Cheister, who shared the same blood.
But to meet him on the street while with Deborah—what on earth had happened for Jade to look so utterly lost?
And why was that related to the reason Deborah hadn’t come today? Helena could only feel puzzled.
The answer to her questions soon flowed from Jade’s lips.
“Duke Cheister saw her with me… and dragged Deborah away right there.”
“…”
At those quietly resounding words, Helena was momentarily speechless.
Dragged Deborah away—who… Duke Cheister?
No, why on earth would Duke Cheister drag Deborah away?
Of course, it was true that Deborah had entered Elfgreen as a maid, but even considering that, it made no sense.
For what reason would Raymond von Cheister do such a thing—why?
Her mind was in complete chaos when
suddenly, a memory flashed through Helena’s head.
—Teacher. Have you… ever liked someone?
—When you like someone… I was wondering if there are this many things that don’t go your way.
—…But what if the process itself is too painful?
The moment she recalled the hesitant expression with which those words had been spoken, Helena’s face turned pale with shock.
‘No way, that child Deborah…’
Her heart was pounding anxiously when the words that drove the final nail into that ominous feeling came from Jade’s mouth.
“The two of them… from what I saw, they seemed to be in quite a deep relationship.”
So what on earth am I supposed to do about this—Helena could say nothing for a long while as she met those blue eyes staring straight at her.
And for quite a long time after that, as well.
* * *
“Where are we going?”
It was about an hour later that the two people, who had been frantically exploring each other, finally left the drawing room.
The duke helped the flushed and feverish Deborah to her feet, took her hand, and began walking somewhere.
In his other hand, he carried a picnic basket.
She had no idea since when it had been there, but it had been sitting on the drawing-room table.
At Deborah’s question, the man’s head turned slightly toward her.
“A walk.”
Seeing the man smile brightly, a smile also naturally settled on Deborah’s lips.
Today, he unusually seemed to be in a very good mood.
The sight of him smiling at her somehow made him look like a boy.
Most people who knew him would never believe it, but to Deborah’s eyes, that was undoubtedly how he appeared.
Was it because he wasn’t in his usual impeccably dressed style but rather a lighter one with his outer coat removed and only a shirt?
Well, whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.
Because at this moment, she was so happy that nothing else mattered.
Holding his hand tightly, like affectionate lovers.
Deborah prayed this moment would last forever.
The place they arrived at, led by his hand, was a lakeside a little distance from the mansion.
It was slightly smaller than the lake park near Levenville Market, but thanks to the green lawn surrounding it and the leisurely atmosphere, it felt cozier and warmer.
Yet strangely, despite the beautiful scenery, there wasn’t a single person around.
While walking with her hand firmly held in his, Deborah asked curiously.
“But… it seems like hardly anyone lives around here.”
“Hm?”
At the gesture asking what she meant, Deborah whispered softly.
“It’s just the two of us.”
When she added, “With such a nice view,” Raymond finally let out an “Ah.”
“Of course there’s no one.”
“…Pardon?”
He pulled the wide-eyed Deborah’s hand closer and whispered softly into her ear.
“Ghosts often appear here.”
“…Ghosts?”
Startled, Deborah instinctively looked around quickly.
The scenery that had felt peaceful and quiet just moments ago suddenly began to look eerie.
“Every year, people who see a ghost near this lake fall ill for no reason and then one day vanish without a sound.”
“…”
“And a few days later, the missing person’s body floats up here—”
“…I-I don’t want to hear any more.”
At the creepy words, Deborah unconsciously pressed herself even closer to the man.
“Why, are you scared?”
“No, it’s not exactly that…”
At the direct question, Deborah shook her head as if it wasn’t true.
Actually, ever since she was little, Deborah had been especially terrified of such stories.
Even now as an adult, whenever such topics came up, she would deliberately avoided the place…
Knowing full well this place had such a scary backstory, why on earth had he suggested coming here—Deborah stared at him with an utterly baffled expression.
“Shall we go a little closer to the lake?”
At the chin gesture pointing toward the lake, Deborah’s brow immediately furrowed.
“Why, don’t you want to?”
“…It’s not exactly that…”
“Really? Then let’s go down and rest for a—”
The man’s steps, which had quickly changed direction, suddenly stopped.
The reason was Deborah’s hand tugging at his shirt.
Deborah didn’t notice the slight twitch at the corner of the man’s mouth as he looked at that hand.
“…Let’s just go somewhere else.”
“Why? You said it was nice until a moment ago.”
The man’s expression as he raised one eyebrow somehow started to look a little annoying.
The faintly trembling corner of his mouth also seemed a bit suspicious.
Well, it’s probably just my imagination—Deborah thought as she shook her head.
“I just… think somewhere else would be better than here.”
Seeing her lips awkwardly rising, the man who had been twitching finally burst into loud laughter.
“…?”
Wondering why he was laughing so hard, after a long while, once he seemed to have finished laughing, the man lightly stroked Deborah’s hair.
Like one would do to a cute child—an oddly ticklish gesture.
“It was a joke.”
“A… joke?”
“Yeah, your reactions were so funny I couldn’t help it.”
“…”
“The reason there’s no one here is that this whole area is Chaser private property.”
“…”
Deborah’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper as she pressed her lips tightly together.
No, how could a person treat something like that as a joke…
Thinking of all the wild imaginations she’d had just moments ago, anger slowly began to rise.
Deborah tried to subtly pull her hand away, but the man’s hand followed and intertwined even more persistently.
“Are you mad?”
“…No.”
“You are mad.”
“I’m not.”
“Anyone can see you’re mad.”
Despite her denials, he kept pushing, and without realizing it, she felt a surge of emotion.
“I said I’m not ma—”
The sound she let out was quickly swallowed back down as it softly met his lips.
“…”
It was such a surprise attack that, looking at her wide, round eyes, the man once again gently enveloped Deborah’s lips.
“Cute.”
“…”
His voice rang tenderly.
Looking at the man’s face right in front of her, all her anger melted away like snow without a trace.
Yet far from feeling wronged, her heart was strangely tingling—truly, she would never be able to win against this man.
As his face drew close again, Deborah closed her eyes and fleetingly thought so.
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