CHAPTER~11
Innocent and Fragile Flower
The place where the two hid their bodies was a narrow gap between the walls.
It was so narrow that if Cedric did not support the wall with his arm, their bodies would touch immediately, or at least their body heat could be felt even without touching.
Yvonne, who unconsciously looked at his calmly descending gaze, hurriedly lowered her eyes.
She tried to move back to create some distance, but her high heels caused her to lose balance and she ended up pressing against his chest.
Through the clothes, she could feel the firmness of his body.
Panic-stricken, Yvonne tried to pull herself up quickly, but the more she tried, the deeper she pressed into his embrace.
As she struggled, the man’s hand grabbed her arm and helped her stand again.
At the same time, a low voice mixed with a sigh descended into her ear.
“…Stay still.”
His breath tickled above her head.
“Stay still.”
Her entire body tensed toward the top of her head, and only then did Yvonne stop moving.
Every exhale brushed against her hair, tickling her, and Yvonne involuntarily held her breath.
In the silence, only the sound of her rapidly beating heart echoed loudly in her ears.
Somehow, it made her head feel dizzy.
What broke the suffocating silence was the sound of men’s voices approaching.
“Maybe the paths really crossed, so should we sit here and wait a bit? If they’re nearby, they might pass by.”
“Are you sure you saw correctly? Not some other woman?”
“There’s no one else who could be as beautiful as that woman.”
“Hey, Derrick! Look at this guy. He’s eyeing your fiancée.”
“No, I’m just stating the objective fact! Don’t misunderstand, Derrick?”
Yvonne inhaled sharply at the familiar names coming from the men’s mouths.
It was the name of someone she must never meet.
But there was no time to be shocked. The following words from the men were even more startling.
“By the way, Leroy Lady, is she really a virgin?”
…Of course, in a negative sense.
“I think that guy has dirty thoughts toward your fiancée, Derrick? Even though he already has a fiancée.”
“Dirty thoughts? Nonsense! I’m just worried my dear friend might be tricked into a sham marriage.”
“You certainly talk well.”
“Anyway, she probably isn’t a virgin, right? No way men would leave a woman like that alone.”
“If they didn’t leave her alone? She’s no maid; she’s a lady.”
“Or maybe because she’s a lady, she got lured and did something naughty. So Derrick, check before you marry, okay? No one wants leftovers.”
All of Derrick’s friends he introduced to Yvonne at the banquet were nobles.
As if to draw a line, showing that the world Cedric, a commoner, lived in was different from theirs, who were nobles from birth.
However, what came out of the noble gentlemen’s mouths was not much different from what Cedric’s low-class father and his friends had said.
Could it be that her fiancé was the same kind of person?
At the moment she questioned this, Derrick, who had been quiet all along, spoke.
“Even if it’s leftovers, you wouldn’t give it up, so wake up, idiot.”
The men chuckled, and Derrick’s laughter joined in.
Yvonne bit her trembling lips tightly.
Feelings of humiliation and shame were familiar to her.
Living as a commoner woman with nothing but a half-decent shell meant bearing greater risks and hardships than others.
Yet this moment felt exceptionally miserable, probably because of the man listening to all this with her.
Yvonne squeezed her eyes shut.
She wished she could disappear. Right in front of this man.
“So, Derrick. When are you going to sleep with the lady? Saving it all for the wedding night doesn’t suit your personality, right?”
“Ha, damn. Lucky. Her breasts are big too. If I could just bury my face in them once, I could die satisfied.”
Cedric sneered as he heard the men’s laughter growing louder.
Idiots.
All those men could only think about that, but if they were human, they should be ashamed to speak it out loud.
While sneering at their conversation, the wind suddenly blew, and the hair lifted, brushing his chin and lips.
His gaze followed the strands of hair down.
The woman who had struggled to escape his embrace a moment ago was now as quiet as if dead, her long eyelashes lowered.
He wondered what expression the face that had glared at him earlier might be making now, but Cedric chose not to check.
“I saw it wrong anyway. Just wasted time. Time I could have used dancing with women.”
The men, who had been killing time for a while, finally reached the limits of their patience, cursing as they got up.
“Derrick, Oliver, just let me borrow your fiancée once.”
The men’s voices gradually faded until they completely disappeared.
Only then did the two emerge from the narrow gap.
“…I’ll head back first.”
Yvonne bowed politely, avoiding Cedric’s gaze.
But Cedric asked a question instead of greeting her.
“Is it okay for you to go back now?”
There was no way it was okay.
Yet the only thought in Yvonne’s mind at the moment was to distance herself from this man as quickly as possible.
“…It’s okay.”
Even as she said it was okay, her hands clutching the hem of her dress trembled.
And the perceptive Cedric surely noticed that.
But her feelings were none of his concern, so he would let her go.
As Yvonne turned, thinking this, the man’s voice came from behind.
Only then did Yvonne properly look at him.
In Cedric’s eyes, she could read neither pity nor mockery, nor any emotion at all. Somehow, they even seemed slightly cold.
“How about I guide you through the garden as part of our negotiation?”
His eyes pointed toward the garden, opposite from the mansion.
“I got lost.”
A lie without even the smallest effort to deceive.
Yet Yvonne could not turn away, probably because of the spring breeze blowing toward him.
Cedric followed behind Yvonne at a short distance.
Two steps.
As if his request to guide her through the garden had no other purpose, leaving room for explanation if others saw them.
Unlike him, Yvonne followed, unable to refuse his proposal, yet she could not fulfill the role properly.
The conversation Derrick and his friends had was stuck in her mind.
‘Does he see me the same way they do?’
Would he find me ridiculous as they did, talking about me so easily and lightly?
She was curious about his eyes following her, but at the same time, she did not want to know. Bad thoughts kept multiplying.
It was Cedric’s voice that broke the flow.
“Do you know the name of this flower?”
When she looked back unconsciously, his gaze was on a flower in the flowerbed.
Having studied herbalism, Adel had knowledge of flowers and could recognize most of them. This was one she knew well.
“It’s a freesia.”
“Ah, freesia.”
He muttered the name Yvonne told him, and the quiet resonance of his voice tickled her ears.
After looking at the freesia for a moment, Cedric pointed to another flower in front of Yvonne.
“Then what about this flower?”
“This is a crocus. It’s used as a source of saffron spice. Technically, this one is ornamental, and the one used as spice is…”
Cedric nodded appropriately as she explained, then looked up at her.
Her eyes sparkled while talking about flowers, completely different from before.
It was the most excited he had ever seen her since they met.
Even though she had lied that she was fine, her pale face had become even paler.
Cedric chuckled at the contrast.
Yvonne, startled, stopped speaking and looked up at him, embarrassed by her own behavior.
Cedric praised her gently so she wouldn’t feel ashamed, for explanations he could no longer even remember.
“You seem to know a lot about flowers, Lady.”
“A little.”
“Do you like them?”
“Yes. They’re beautiful, fragrant, and also…”
Yvonne, slightly excited like before, trailed off, sneaking glances at Cedric. She worried her long explanation might annoy him.
“Also?”
Cedric tilted his head sideways, meeting her gaze with curiosity.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then turned her eyes back to the flowers and answered.
“Because they help people in many ways. Used in cooking and cosmetics, and for some, essential as medicine.”
Her gaze on the flowers was as gentle as the careful touch of her hand on the leaves. Anyone could see she loved flowers.
Suddenly, Cedric thought that she must love something like him.
Innocent, fragile…
Something he wanted to pluck and hold.
