Ch#67
Ch#67
Ch#67
~Chapter 67~
Tok, roll roll….
A single candy lodged between the beads of Harriet’s prayer beads rolled across the carriage floor.
It was something she had pocketed earlier to eat as a snack during the carriage ride.
‘Seriously? Why now of all times?’
On top of that, the sound of the candy rolling was obnoxiously loud.
When Harriet sneaked a sidelong glance, Cedric was already looking at her.
“Ahaha… The candy fell.”
She forced an awkward smile as she sat up to pick it up.
Just as she grabbed the candy and let out a sigh of relief, straightening her body—
“Hya!”
The coachman sharply cracked his whip at the horses. The horses neighed and lunged into the harness, shaking the entire carriage violently.
“Eek—!”
As Harriet lost her balance and started to fall, Cedric reached out and grabbed her arm.
“Harriet!”
“Eep!”
Right at that moment, the carriage jolted hard and finally pulled free from the mud puddle.
Harriet dropped the candy she had just retrieved, and it bounced merrily across the floor with every shake of the wheels.
“Ugh!”
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In her struggle to steady herself, Harriet ended up tumbling right into Cedric’s arms.
More precisely… onto his lap.
“Oof, oof….”
Her bottom stung a little, but she wasn’t seriously hurt.
With a sigh of relief, she slowly opened her tightly shut eyes.
But the sight before her made no sense at all.
‘Why… is Cedric Kailas’s face right here?’
His face was so close. Their noses were almost touching.
And that wasn’t all.
What was this hard thing under her bottom?
Ah. His leg.
And why was he pressing his forehead like it hurt?
“Uh, uh….”
Denying reality, Harriet let out a dumb sound.
The coachman’s voice came from outside.
“We’re out of the mud! Is everything all right inside?”
“Yes. Can we depart now?”
“Yes, Your Grace! I’m just packing up the tools, so we’ll be ready soon!”
With that, Cedric looked down at Harriet again.
Even as their eyes met, her mind was so foggy she couldn’t react properly.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Huh?”
“I asked because you weren’t moving. Or… are you enjoying sitting on my lap so much that I’m the rude one for interrupting?”
Harriet sprang up like a coiled spring.
“S-So-Sor-Sorry!”
Only then did she realize.
Not only had she landed on Cedric’s lap, she had flung herself fully into his embrace.
Her face went pale in an instant.
One more strange thing: Cedric was still rubbing his forehead.
‘Wait… did I… headbutt him?’
If so, that would be the worst of the worst.
But she hadn’t felt any impact or pain like that.
“Um… your forehead… why are you rubbing it?”
“Something just hit me.”
Jingle. Roll roll.
The exact same sound from before rang out.
Both their gazes turned to the floor at the same time. There, a single candy was still lightly bouncing in place.
“Ah. So that was it.”
As Cedric lowered his hand, a reddish, round mark appeared right in the center of his forehead.
The exact size you’d expect from a hard little candy hitting him square on.
Who could have imagined it?
The always impeccably composed, young, handsome nobleman—with a candy mark on his face.
And somehow… it looked utterly ridiculous.
“Pfft!”
Startled by her own leaked laugh, Harriet quickly clapped her hand over her mouth.
‘Hold it in. I have to hold it in. Just—hold—’
She clenched her teeth desperately, trying to regain her composure.
But the moment she looked up again at the mark on Cedric’s forehead—
“Pfft—ahaha—ahahaha!”
She burst out laughing again.
Watching her laugh uncontrollably, Cedric let out a short, dry chuckle of his own.
“Is it that funny?”
“Aa—ahaha!”
Instead of answering, Harriet pulled out a small hand mirror and handed it to him.
Cedric checked his reflection in the mirror—and then he started laughing too.
“Ahahaha!”
“Hahaha!”
The two of them clutched their stomachs and laughed for a good while. No exaggeration—really.
They laughed so hard their sides ached.
“Haa… haa… really—pfft!—I’m sorry! Whew… oh my god… I’m truly sorry!”
Even apologizing with laughter-tinged words took effort.
Still wearing the afterglow of his smile, Cedric lightly tapped his forehead with his fingertip.
“Has it faded a bit now?”
“Kh! Yes… it’ll be gone before we reach the estate. Really, I’m so—sorry!”
