LI | Chapter 006

Chapter 006

Theodore let out a light laugh.

“I didn’t mean for my question to be funny.”

When Hazel pointed out his unserious attitude, Theodore immediately stifled his laughter.

But only the sound stopped. His face still radiated joy.

“If you felt offended, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to ask so directly. I thought you’d wonder, of course, but…”

“So, what’s the reason?”

“I fell in love with you at first sight.”

Hazel frowned.

“…A very superficial answer.”

“But it’s the truth?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel sincere.”

“Hmm, that’s a bit troubling. I’ve never fallen in love at first sight before, so I don’t know how to prove it.”

The man wiped the smile from his face, and his aura suddenly shifted from the cheerful one he had while laughing.

He now exuded a clear aristocratic dignity.

“Sorry, but there’s no need to prove it. I’ll refuse the proposal anyway.”

Theodore tilted his head in confusion.

“It seems it’s my turn to ask now. Why the refusal?”

“First, we don’t know each other.”

“We can get to know each other.”

The man interrupted her immediately. Hazel ignored his response and continued.

“Second, I have no intention of marrying.”

“Hmm,” Theodore let out a long sound, holding his chin.

He looked as if he hadn’t expected her answer at all. Then he asked with noticeable seriousness:

“If it’s not too forward, may I ask why you don’t consider marriage?”

Theodore inwardly scoffed at his own question. It sounded as if he thought not marrying was strange, even though he himself hadn’t considered marriage until recently.

“Because it brings me no benefit.”

Unlike Theodore, who vaguely disliked marriage, Hazel answered immediately, as if she had thought about it extensively.

“Benefit… I think marrying me would be different. It may sound like boasting, and I hesitate to say it, but I’m wealthy. And I’m a duke. In other words, marrying me means you’ll have everything. You’ll lack nothing, perhaps except the privileges of a queen.”

Unlike his conversations with friends, Theodore felt embarrassed listing these facts, so he took a deep breath to steady himself.

“I know. You’re an excellent marriage prospect. But those conditions aren’t appealing to me.”

“But you were clearly friendly when I entered the reception room?”

Theodore remembered it well.

The moment he entered the room, and Hazel’s faint smile as she looked at him.

He hadn’t forgotten that smile.

In that moment, he fell in love with her.

“Because I thought you were going to propose to Charlotte.”

Theodore closed his mouth.

He almost asked “Why?” instinctively.

Theodore was intelligent and perceptive, but he had disappointed himself several times today.

He couldn’t understand most of Hazel’s words.

He hadn’t told anyone he came to meet Charlotte—and upon reflection, he hadn’t mentioned either of the Easton ladies in his visit letter—so why did they always associate him with Charlotte?

Even when Lady Easton asked a question implying he wasn’t proposing to her, he almost frowned.

Charlotte and him?

The mere thought—no, he couldn’t even imagine it—felt mismatched.

The question swirled in his mouth several times.

He wanted to ignore it, but his curious nature, unable to leave things unanswered, won in the end.

“I’m embarrassed to repeat the same question, but why?”

“Because Charlotte is beautiful.”

“If that’s the only reason, you’re beautiful too, Miss Hazel.”

“Ugh,” was the word that crossed Theodore’s mind when he saw Hazel’s expression as she looked at him. She stared at him as if she had eaten a sour lemon.

Hazel faced him with clear, unpretentious eyes, trying to recall what Charlotte had said about him.

Did Charlotte say he was a womanizer…?

Hazel sifted through everything she’d heard about Theodore from Charlotte, but she found no such description.

All she was told was that he was kind to everyone. Perhaps his praise for her was an extension of that kindness.

Anyway, since Hazel had no intention of marrying, she needed to persuade him toward her sister.

“Charlotte has all the qualifications to be an excellent lady of the house, unlike me. She has an aesthetic sense that will make her decorate the house brilliantly, and she’ll get along with the servants easily.”

“Those aren’t necessary qualifications for a duchess. We have an excellent housekeeper and head butler in our family. Even if the duchess doesn’t care about decorating the house or is cold to the servants, the ducal household will run without issue.”

With each interrupting response, Hazel felt stubbornness rising within her.

“Charlotte will be a wonderful mother. She plays the piano skillfully, sings well, and knows many stories.”

“Have you really thought that far? Even to our children?”

Hazel opened her mouth in shock, then closed it. Theodore drew a playful smile with his lips.

“It’s a bit early to plan for our children, but since you, Miss Hazel, brought it up, let me share my thoughts…”

“No, I won’t listen.”

Hazel was firm.

Perhaps from embarrassment, her voice came out sharp and loud, and she realized belatedly that she had interrupted him.

“I was rude. I apologize.”

“I accept your apology.”

Theodore crossed his legs and leaned back on the sofa comfortably, expecting the conversation to continue, so he adjusted his posture to relax.

This was the opposite of Hazel’s desire to end the conversation immediately.

Calming herself, Hazel spoke quietly:

“What I mean is that I’ll treat the proposal as if it never happened. It’ll be better for you too, rather than me rejecting you outright.”

“That’s puzzling. I’ve already proposed, and the entire Viscount Easton family heard it. How can we treat it as if it didn’t happen?”

Theodore’s point was unexpectedly logical.

Hazel let out a faint sigh.

Suddenly, Theodore looked at her with serious expressions.

“Sorry, Miss Hazel, but I have no intention of treating this proposal as if it didn’t happen or retracting it. So, please consider it seriously.”

“My lord duke…”

“I know it’s a big surprise for you today. To be honest, I didn’t expect to propose right away either.”

Hazel didn’t believe him.

If he hadn’t intended to propose, why did he bring the ring?

She looked at him skeptically, so Theodore stood and raised his hands on either side of his face, as if declaring surrender to a security officer, showing he carried no weapon.

He even smiled an innocent smile.

Innocence and a man nearing thirty who had traveled most of the continent?

Those were two words that never went together.

Hazel quickly dismissed the thought and stood as well.

She had to escort him out as a matter of courtesy, so she followed as he walked ahead with confident strides befitting his strong background.

Her eyes instinctively glanced at his elegant back.

His appearance from behind was no less splendid than from the front.

In every way, this man was suitable for the Easton family.

How she wished he would become Charlotte’s husband.

With these thoughts, a question arose in Hazel’s mind.

“One moment, please.”

A thought crossed her mind that the question might not be necessary, but she knew she’d ask it eventually.

Her curious nature, unable to leave anything unquestioned, was always criticized by her boarding school teachers.

Hazel had received such criticism over a hundred times, but she couldn’t change her nature.

Theodore stopped and turned to her.

By chance, he stood where sunlight streamed in, making his face glow softly.

Women would typically clutch their hearts and hold their breath at this sight, but Hazel only frowned because the light irritated her eyes.

“Is there something else you want to say? I hope it’s ‘Let’s meet later.’ I’d be thrilled if it’s ‘I’ll seriously consider the proposal.’”

Empty words.

What piqued Hazel’s curiosity was something else.

“Why Easton? Is there a reason you want to marry into the Easton family? Oh, let me clarify first, the answer ‘I fell in love with you at first sight’ won’t do. Whether you fell in love or not, you came here intending to propose to one of the Easton girls. But there’s no connection between the ducal family and the Easton family. What exactly are you planning?”

After asking the question, Hazel clearly realized why she felt cautious despite the sincerity of his words.

A man who returned to the capital after two years, didn’t attend this year’s ball, didn’t join social season events, and never met Charlotte or Hazel, yet came straight to the Easton family with the intent to propose.

From the man’s words, it seemed he hadn’t specified anyone when he first came here.

To him, as long as it was an Easton, whether Charlotte or Hazel, it didn’t matter.

It was natural for this to spark her curiosity about his intentions.

“A plan…”

The man’s eyes widened slightly, then softened. After a moment, Theodore spoke in a refreshing tone:

“There’s no such thing.”

That was the first lie Theodore told Hazel.