Clop… Clop… Clop… The sound of the carriage’s wheels, driven by Arthur and Philip, rolled slowly along the rocky dirt road, heading toward a hill some distance from the downtown area.
Inside the carriage, Cedric and Emily sat side by side without saying a single word.
They simply sat in silence, gazing out the carriage window, but not for a single second did Cedric let go of Emily’s hand.
Emily, not knowing what to do, could only remain silent, her face flushing with embarrassment.
‘WHAT IS THIS?’ ‘IS CEDRIC TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?’ Emily screamed inwardly.
“Cedric, where are we going?” Emily asked, finally giving in to her curiosity.
Cedric turned toward Emily, his face just as red as hers.
“Somewhere very important to me,” he replied briefly, then looked away from Emily again.
Emily, realizing she wasn’t the only one feeling nervous, could only laugh softly.
“Why is he so damn cute?” Emily muttered.
But it felt like she’d forgotten something.
But what?
“Oh!” Emily exclaimed in surprise.
Cedric, equally startled, immediately turned toward Emily.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, panicked.
“I left Anna and my patient at the clinic.
Can we go back?” Emily asked, suddenly remembering that Anna was still at the clinic.
“…Hah,” Cedric let out a long sigh.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already told Alfred and Gillen to take care of everything,” Cedric replied nonchalantly.
“Really?” Emily asked, now surprised in turn.
Suddenly, Cedric fell silent and gazed into Emily’s eyes with a look that was hard to describe—as if there were warmth, longing, impatience, and regret all mixed together.
Then he slowly brought his face closer to Emily’s.
Thump… Emily’s heart was pounding wildly.
She clutched her chest, afraid her heart would leap right out of her body.
But it turned out Cedric was just bringing his lips close to Emily’s ear, wanting to whisper something.
“Stop thinking about other people when you’re with me,” he said softly.
But it was enough to send shivers down Emily’s spine.
Has anyone ever said that Cedric is like a hurricane?
Suddenly, he swept Emily’s heart this way, and a second later, that way.
“I can’t believe this,” Emily muttered, covering her face.
… Half an hour later, they arrived at a quiet, green hillside.
There wasn’t a single person in sight; only green grass and trees adorned the landscape.
Cedric and Emily’s carriage stopped at the edge of the hill, and they continued on foot to go deeper into the woods.
“Arthur, Philip, you two wait here.
Don’t let anyone come in here,” Cedric ordered.
“Yes, Your Grace,” they both replied, bowing their heads.
Then Cedric took Emily’s hand again and led her up the hill, which wasn’t very high but was densely forested.
After walking for 10 minutes, they reached the top of the hill.
From up here, they could see almost the entire view of downtown Leander.
It turned out that from a distance, the bustling city center was just a tiny speck.
Cedric then opened his cloak, spread it out on the grass, and sat down on it.
“Sit down,” Cedric invited.
Emily, a little confused, sat down on the cloak as well.
Silence… They spent several minutes simply sitting in silence, gazing toward the city center without speaking.
There was nothing but green grass and wildflowers swaying in the breeze, and the sound of birds flying back and forth overhead in search of food.
Then Cedric broke the silence.
“I became the Grand Duke who ruled this region when I was 15 years old.
And I went to the battlefield alongside King Killian when I was 17,” Cedric said, still gazing at the distant sight.
Emily turned toward Cedric, startled for a moment by his story, then looked back out into the distance.
She could only imagine that what Cedric had gone through must have been incredibly difficult.
Even before he reached adulthood, he had already been burdened with such a huge responsibility.
And now he was only 21 years old.
‘Emily, you’re a criminal—you’ve put this young man through so much hardship,’ Emily cursed inwardly.
Then Cedric continued his story.
“My father and mother were a couple who loved each other deeply.
But my mother died while giving birth to me.
I don’t even know what it feels like to be loved by a mother.
I only know the warmth of a mother because Philip’s mother was my foster mother, and she’s always treated me like her own son,” Cedric continued.
Thump… Emily’s heart seemed to stop beating as she listened to Cedric’s story; she gripped his hand tightly, as if to show her support.
DAMN Why does Author have a habit of giving the main characters such tragic backstories?
“Are they psychopaths?” Emily muttered.
After taking several deep breaths, Cedric finally continued his story.
“My father raised me out of a sense of responsibility and to carry on the family line.
But he was never really there as a father figure.” Cedric let out a bitter laugh in the middle of his story.
“It seems like half his soul died with my mother.
So he’s only been living because of the responsibility he carries.
Come to think of it, he’s a truly pitiable man.” Cedric tilted his head back to gaze at the blue sky and the sun, which was hidden behind the leaves of the large trees.
I don’t know what he was looking for, or if he was just trying to keep his tears from falling.
“Then, when I was 15, my father died in a war against another country.
And overnight, I was appointed as Grand Duke.
It’s to this hill that I usually escape for a while to clear my head,” he continued, his voice growing heavier.
“Cedric, are you okay?” Emily asked worriedly.
She had never seen Cedric like this before.
Emily had forgotten that Cedric was human too—not just the cold-blooded, icy figure portrayed in the novel.
Cedric turned toward Emily, then smiled and gazed deeply and warmly into her eyes.
Unexpectedly, Cedric lifted Emily’s hands and kissed the backs of her hands.
“The life I’ve lived so far has been nothing but loneliness, coldness, and responsibility.
But suddenly, you forced your way into my life, shining on me like the sun and allowing me to have feelings of my own.
Of course, I’m shocked by all of this,” Cedric said honestly.
For some reason, Emily’s heart ached deeply upon hearing everything Cedric had been through.
If only she had been there during Cedric’s difficult times—might she have been able to lighten his burden just a little?
“But that doesn’t mean I don’t like it,” Cedric continued with a smile.
Cedric’s hand slowly touched Emily’s cheek and gently caressed it.
“I just want you to be patient.
I’m probably going to be clumsy and have a lot of flaws.
Because I’ve never loved or been loved by anyone in my whole life.
But I’ll try to stay by your side no matter what happens.” Cedric expressed his feelings sincerely.
Plip… plip… plip… Emily couldn’t say a word.
Only her tears suddenly began to fall.
She wanted to be the first and last person to love Cedric.
She didn’t want Cedric to feel lonely anymore.
She wanted to be the person Cedric could share his feelings with.
“Hey, why are you crying?
Did I say something wrong?” Cedric asked, wiping away Emily’s tears with both hands.
Emily just shook her head and hugged Cedric tightly while crying.
Emily hoped this warm embrace would reach both the Cedric of the present and the Cedric of his childhood.
… For a few minutes, it seemed as though Emily wasn’t ready to let go of the embrace, so Cedric could only gently pat her back to calm her down.
“So, will you start over with me?” Cedric whispered in Emily’s ear.
Emily couldn’t speak, but she nodded in agreement.
Cedric smiled and slowly tried to pull away from Emily’s embrace, but not quite far enough.
They were close enough that their faces were almost touching, and they could feel each other’s warm breath.
“I’ve never heard you talk this much before,” Emily said, looking into Cedric’s eyes.
“I didn’t know I could talk this much either,” Cedric replied with a soft laugh.
They gazed into each other’s eyes for a long moment.
Then, slowly, Cedric’s lips gently brushed against Emily’s in an instant.
Chuu… Emily simply closed her eyes and accepted Cedric’s kiss, even though her face had turned red.
Seeing that Emily didn’t refuse his kiss, Cedric once again brought his face closer to hers.
He felt like he was going crazy.
“Can I?” Cedric asked, his face flushed and his breath hot and ragged.
“You don’t need to ask,” Emily replied, kissing Damian’s lips first.
Slowly, their lips met again.
Smoochhh… Sweet.
Warm.
Spine-tingling.
There was a strange sensation every time their lips met, as if a small electric shock were running through their bodies.
That shock didn’t make them stop; instead, it made them even more addicted.
Cedric, who seemed to have lost his mind, forced his tongue between Emily’s lips, driven by a desire to explore every corner of her mouth.
“Ah… Cedric… ah…” Emily moaned, calling his name in the midst of their passionate kiss.
Is this a dream?
If so, Cedric didn’t want to wake up.
I’ll never let you go again.
Cedric was losing his mind; he kissed Emily’s lips as if he were a man parched in the desert who had found an oasis.
“Hah… Emily, you keep making me want more…” Cedric said between gasps, their lips locked together.
That day, beneath the trees and the green grass, Cedric followed his heart and his own desires for the first time.
On that same day, Emily momentarily forgot that the novel’s plot was about to unfold, and that dangers would continue to threaten Cedric’s life at every turn.