MWHCMD~20

CHAPTER~20

I Think I’m in Love

Nadia looked at the man sitting across from her.

With his long legs crossed, he gazed leisurely out the carriage window as if waiting for her to begin speaking.

She had always dreamed of the moment she could face him alone like this, and whenever she did meet him by chance, she tried desperately not to look like some clumsy woman in love.

But today, she had to bite her lip just to hide another kind of emotion.

Since this morning—no, ever since Cedric Glaston had suggested going to the opera with her—her excitement had long faded.

Ever since she ran into Yvonne and Derrick Glaston in front of the box seats.

Only then did she think something was strange.

Out of all the countless dates, times, and seats, meeting them today, at that exact time, right next to them—was that truly a coincidence?

Her uneasy feeling grew stronger with every passing moment.

Nadia did not hear Yvonne’s voice even once throughout the opera.

Of course, she couldn’t properly focus on the opera either, since all her attention was on the man sitting beside her.

But Cedric had heard Yvonne’s voice, just as she had focused on the sound of his breathing.

Still, she didn’t want to bring that up with her own lips.

There was a sliver of hope that maybe she had just imagined it, and even if it were real, she wanted to ignore it.

So Nadia brought up something else.

“Maybe it’s just my imagination, but Yvonne seems…… a bit strange lately.”

Cedric turned his gaze from the window toward her.

His cool blue eyes always made her heart flutter—and frightened her just as much.

Nadia took a quiet breath and continued.

“To be precise, she doesn’t seem like the Yvonne I knew.”

“No…… it’s more accurate to say she seems like a completely different person.”

Cedric’s brows narrowed.

“Your basis?”

“You saw it in the hunting grounds, didn’t you? Yvonne instantly recognized a wild poisonous plant.”

“Herbology can be learned from books.”

“But it’s difficult to distinguish similar-looking forest plants using only the drawings in books.”

“For such a trivial reason?”

At the word “trivial,” Nadia’s expression stiffened.

“That’s not all. The scar she had on her back when she was young—it’s gone.”

“Childhood scars can fade as years pass.”

“O-of course, that’s possible, but…….”

After hesitating, Nadia added quietly:

“I also saw Duchess Isabella denying Yvonne, saying she wasn’t her daughter. I just can’t believe all of this is a coincidence.”

Cedric showed no reaction.

He simply stared at her with those cold eyes, and that silence made Nadia even more anxious.

Just when she was becoming nervous because she couldn’t read his emotions at all, Cedric finally opened his mouth.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Because—he was interested in Yvonne, the ‘Lady of Leroy.’

If Yvonne turned out to be a fake, then she would be worthless in his calculating eyes.

But Nadia couldn’t say that aloud.

“Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

“……”

“Lady Nadia, you’re implying the Duke is foolish enough to be deceived by someone who isn’t even his daughter.”

“That’s not what I meant……!”

“Otherwise—”

Cedric cut her off as he continued.

“You’re claiming the Duke is a swindler who sold a fake daughter to the Glaston family.”

“If you have no proof or witnesses, you’ll have to face the consequences for defaming the ducal household.”

“I—I’m not saying I’m certain! I’m hoping I’m wrong!”

“……”

“I just wanted to prevent any potential harm. If she really isn’t Yvonne, then someone might get deceived, and that shouldn’t happen. That’s justice, isn’t it?”

Cedric let out a cold, mocking laugh.

How convenient justice was as a shield.

Some people thought that as long as they justified themselves with “justice,” even their petty jealousy could be disguised as righteousness.

The woman in front of him was one of those people.

“So you’re doubting your friend without any evidence because of that ‘potential harm’?”

“I—I just…….”

“Lady Nadia. If your motive were truly justice, the first thing you should have done was leave open the possibility that this was just a misunderstanding.”

Only then did Nadia realize.

She had been dragged into his pace and ended up revealing all her cards—along with her hidden feelings behind them.

Her heart sank at the same moment the carriage stopped.

They had already reached the Glaston estate.

Cedric stood up and added:

“This matter is yours to judge and handle as you see fit, but personally, I recommend separating fiction from reality.”

Despite the sharpness of his words, his expression remained polite, as he always was toward women.

After stepping down from the carriage, Cedric bowed respectfully toward Nadia.

His elegant figure was exactly as she had always admired, and her eyes stung with the urge to cry.

The carriage door soon closed.

***

The carriage entered the Glaston estate, and the one who stepped out was Derrick Glaston.

He barely acknowledged the butler’s greeting, muttering curses as he stomped into the mansion.

Catherine, who happened to be walking through the hallway, spotted him and approached.

“Back already? You came home earlier than I expected. I thought you’d stay for dinner.”

Derrick quickly composed his expression.

He didn’t want to tell Catherine what had happened today.

She still tended to treat him like a child hiding in her skirts.

“Yvonne wasn’t feeling well.”

“Oh dear, really? Is the medicine not working? She needs to stay healthy.”

Catherine seemed to accept his explanation, but a mother’s eye is sharp when it comes to her children.

“Still…… Derrick, you look worse than she does. Did something happen?”

Just as Derrick tried to steady his expression and speak, he sensed a presence behind him.

Catherine’s eyes flashed cold for a moment, which told Derrick exactly who stood there.

“Cedric, you’re home early too.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Cedric stepped beside Derrick and glanced at him briefly before passing him without a word.

Something about that look—about that behavior—set Derrick’s nerves on edge.

Catherine then spoke up.

“By the way, Cedric. Are you still seeing that young lady? Lady Lopez?”

Cedric paused on the stairs and looked down at her.

Catherine’s lips were curved upward in a subtly knowing smile.

Cedric let out a soft scoff.

How predictable she always was.

Catching sight of Derrick glaring at him beside her, Cedric decided to dump this troublesome situation onto his younger brother.

“Ask Derrick. He knows more about it than I do.”

“Derrick…?”

Catherine turned toward Derrick, confused.

Derrick’s carefully restored composure instantly shattered across his face.

Cedric surely saw it, but he continued up the stairs without even glancing at him.

“I think I might speed up the marriage, Mother.”

At that, Cedric finally turned back.

“I think I’m in love with Yvonne.”

Derrick’s eyes burned with fury, just like when he was young and begged his stepmother to take Cedric’s things away.

Cedric looked down at him with cold, indifferent eyes before turning away.

He was long past the age where such things would upset him.

***

She had no idea how she managed to return to the mansion.

Yvonne only fully regained her senses when she sank into the steaming bath.

The hot water touched the back of her neck, and suddenly the memory of Derrick’s breath on her skin came rushing back.

She scrubbed her neck aggressively where his breath had touched, but the harder she scrubbed, the clearer the sensation became.

Just as her chest tightened with frustration at her own helplessness, the voice that had saved her echoed in her mind.

“Derrick Glaston. You must be very desperate…… to throw yourself at a Lady.”

And those blue eyes were watching her quietly in front of the opera house.

At first, she had been afraid of those eyes.

In fact, until recently, she still had been.

But today, seeing those blue eyes brought her comfort.

It was a strange change.

Yvonne eventually stopped rubbing her neck and buried her face in her knees.

She replayed that voice and those eyes that had protected her.

Thinking of him made today’s memory feel less horrifying.

Even the unsettling thump of her heart slowly calmed.

With her mind a little lighter, Yvonne closed her eyes and corrected her earlier opinion of Cedric.

‘……He seems like a good person.’

At least for today.