Ch#81
Ch#81
Ch#81
Chapter 81
~Chapter 81~
“So… was it that humiliating to be teased for falling for someone like the ‘ugly Harriet’? Is that why you kept your mouth shut?” Harriet’s voice trembled with anger. “Then why didn’t you say it? Why didn’t you tell the truth! That it was Bella! That Bella was the one who lied to everyone!”
Tez remained silent.
“You had more than one chance to set things right. And yet you chose silence. That wasn’t fear—it was a choice. You’re not the victim here. You were just an accomplice.”
Tez bowed his head in shame. He had no excuses, no reasons to offer. She was right about everything. He hadn’t acted honorably. He’d only protected his own pride.
At the end of the long silence, he finally mumbled an apology once more.
“I was arrogant. I’m truly sorry.”
Harriet wanted to scream at him. She wanted to pour out all her rage on him. But she held back. Yelling at someone who had admitted his mistake would just be misdirecting her anger. And besides, she was tired of being angry.
“I’ve heard enough. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Pretend you don’t know me. Because I don’t want any relationship with you.”
“Miss Harriet—”
“Please, just leave me alone!”
At that moment, another voice cut in from the darkness. It startled both of them—a firm, unfamiliar tone.
“It seems the lady has made her intentions clear, Sir Locke. A gentleman knows when to withdraw.”
Both of them whipped their heads toward the voice. Under the pale moonlight stood a tall man exuding a cold, intimidating aura. The moment Harriet heard his voice, she knew exactly who he was.
‘Cedric Kailas?’
The voice was unmistakable, but in the moonlight, he seemed… off somehow. Colder, bluer, more distant.
Tez stammered, his face filled with bewilderment and unease. “This is a misunderstanding! I was just apologizing for a past mistake.”
“I didn’t hear everything,” Cedric replied calmly. “But conversing with a lady in a dark, secluded place like this… whatever your intentions, it can make the other person feel pressured or uncomfortable.”
Tez opened his mouth to protest again, but Harriet cut him off.
“Sir Locke! I admit it. I got too emotional. Maybe we can have this conversation again someday. But not tonight.”
Tez nodded stiffly. “Understood, Lady Harriet. Then I’ll take my leave.”
He bowed politely in farewell, then glanced back at Cedric and Harriet with lingering regret before turning and walking away. The soft sound of his footsteps on the grass faded gradually, leaving silence in their wake.
For a moment, neither Cedric nor Harriet spoke.
Then Cedric took a step toward her.
“You know,” he murmured lowly, “it seems like I keep catching you in secret meetings with other men.”
Harriet raised an eyebrow.
“And aren’t you the one who keeps running into me every time I’m talking to someone? Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?”
She was still puzzled by his sudden appearance. With Tez, she could at least guess his motive for seeking her out. But Cedric? What was he doing here?
And more importantly—something was off about him. He wasn’t acting like himself.
There was something wrong in his eyes. Intense, restless, unfiltered. This wasn’t the calm, composed Cedric she knew.
To shake off the rising tension inside her, Harriet shrugged lightly. “Well… I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him anyway. Thanks for stepping in, though. Not that I’m saying Sir Locke did anything improper.”
Cedric let out a dry laugh. A faint trace of irritation lingered on his face.
“Do you trust a man’s kindness that easily?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea.” She shot back quickly. “There’s more than one gentleman in the empire besides you, Duke Kailas.”
“You’d do well to consider the possibility that I’m not such a great gentleman either, Miss Harriet.”
Before she could respond, Cedric stepped toward her. Quickly. Closely.
Too closely.
Harriet flinched back instinctively.
The usual Cedric would have noticed her discomfort right away. If she showed even the slightest sign of tension, he would have stepped back to give her space.
But tonight… tonight’s Cedric was different.
He reached out and touched her cheek, as if distance meant nothing to him.
It was only when she saw his face in the moonlight, mere inches away, that Harriet realized something was seriously wrong.
He wasn’t acting normally.
“Your Grace… you’re not yourself.” She whispered. “What’s wrong? Are you drunk?”
“Me?” He muttered with a strange smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t feel like myself… but I feel good.”
Harriet grabbed his forearm and shook it. “Snap out of it! Cedric, please! Wake up!”
But his face drew even closer, and his breath brushed her skin.
“I don’t know how to feel like myself again. But… I think I know how to feel even better.”
His voice was thick with longing, and his gaze was unbearably intense. Harriet’s heart dropped without warning or permission.
Just then—a voice. Footsteps. From beyond the fence.
“Is this the right way?”
“This is the only path the duke would’ve taken. It has to be here.”
The word ‘duke’ made Harriet’s blood run cold. Someone was coming. And they were looking for Cedric.
Just as she was about to call out to them, the next words came.
“He couldn’t have gone far. That sex-starved bastard was already panting like a dog.”
Sex-starved bastard?
Harriet froze.
She whipped around to Cedric. Had he heard that too?
But he showed no reaction. He was still staring at her with hazy eyes, as if entranced.
And then realization hit her.
This strange behavior, the dilated pupils, the heat in his skin, the loss of self-control… This wasn’t just intoxication.
‘Could it be… drugs?’
That word. That insult. It all clicked into place.
The rumors.
All evening, people had been whispering about pills that altered moods. ‘Feel-good’ drugs that sharpened the senses and clouded judgment.
Had Cedric been drugged?
How could a man as rational and restrained as Cedric change like this in such a short time?
‘If people saw him like this… his reputation would be ruined.’
Without time to think, Harriet yanked the shawl from her shoulders and threw it over both their heads.
“What are you doing?” Cedric asked in a playful voice, but his arms wrapped around her protectively, holding her in place.
Before he could pull her closer again, Harriet pushed against his chest and whispered fiercely and low. “Cedric Kailas! Listen to me carefully. Don’t say a word. Just stay still and do exactly what I tell you. Got it?”
“Don’t want to.” He chuckled.
“Oh, come on. Are you twelve? Going through some teenage rebellion right now?”
Her irritation made him let out a low laugh.
Harriet shoved his chest hard and grabbed his collar. “I said shut up!”
She focused on the approaching footsteps.
The soft impact of polished shoes on dry grass. There were several of them. They were almost at the corner.
She tensed up. But Cedric?
Cedric didn’t care at all.
He was still looking at her. His gaze fixed on her lips.
‘I told him to stay still. But if I… just move a little… would she get mad?’
At the thought, he smiled. A genuine, warm, slightly mischievous smile.
He leaned forward.
Before Harriet could react, his lips brushed hers. Softly, lightly.
She froze.
It was just a grazing touch, but it sent shivers through her entire body.
And at that same moment, something bloomed inside Cedric.
‘This is it… what I’ve been craving all along.’
His mouth burned dry, and he swallowed hard.
Those lips—so soft, so full. They looked sweet, and they tasted even sweeter.
He wanted more.
Cedric cupped the back of her head with his large hand, tilting it gently as he pulled her closer for a real kiss.
But Harriet turned her head just in time, instinctively. His lips landed on her neck and ear instead.
She trembled.
And—
“Huh… ah…”
Without warning, a sound escaped her lips. A faint, fragile moan, breathless from her heightened senses.
That whisper-like sound hit Cedric like a shockwave. It was as if every nerve in his body ignited.
Electrifying tingles shot through him everywhere.
“Cedric… please…”
He loved the way she said his name. Especially now—like this, breathless and vulnerable.
But her hands kept trying to push him away, and he hated that.
This time, he pulled her into his arms more firmly.
The soft warmth of her body pressed against him… finally, everything felt right. Better than he’d ever imagined.
He didn’t want to let go. Not this moment.
‘Please… stay. Just stay by my side.’
“No… not here…” Harriet whispered.
But Cedric had no intention of listening anymore.
He silenced her the only way he could think of.
His lips met hers.
“Mm…!”
The sudden kiss startled her. She gasped, her breath catching in her throat. He pulled back just enough for her to breathe.
Her chest heaved as she panted.
But he didn’t give her time to recover.
He kissed her again.
Deeper this time.
He kissed her like waves crashing onto the shore. Pulling back slightly each time, only to surge forward stronger. His arms held her tight, his hands cradling her face tenderly. And her resistance?
It began to melt away.
Her tightly closed lips parted slowly. The hands that had been pushing him away lost their strength, then slowly gripped his shoulders instead.
And in that instant—that perfect, fleeting moment—Cedric felt pure joy.
‘Yes… this is it. This is what I needed.’
His mind spun. Nothing felt real anymore. Logic, restraint—all gone. He wanted only her.
Her skin. Her warmth. Her lips.
He wanted to lose himself completely.
“Haa… haa…”
As their lips parted, she gasped for air again.
Her hands clung to his shirt. She swallowed against her burning throat and shook her head.
“This… we can’t… we shouldn’t…”
