LI | Chapter 005

Chapter 005

Theodore laughed.

His friendly smile easily melted people’s barriers.

But Hazel was an exception.

She believed there was no kindness or laughter in this world without a motive, so his charming, radiant smile only made her more cautious and guarded.

“Yes, I have something to say to you.”

All eyes gathered on Theodore’s mouth.

Theodore stood slowly, pulling from his coat’s inner pocket a small box he had prepared long ago.

It was unmistakably a ring box.

Holding it in his palm, he approached Hazel and knelt on one knee with deliberate grace.

“Will you marry me, Miss Hazel?”

Hazel’s heart pounded so fiercely she thought it might have stopped.

Her conversation with Charlotte flashed through her mind:

“I swear, this man is the one who’ll make your frozen heart beat!”

Charlotte had been right. Theodore had shaken Hazel’s heart.

But instead of love, it was out of shock.

In her astonishment, Hazel opened her mouth slightly, clutching her stunned heart.

That a duke like Theodore would propose to her?

It was utterly shocking, and not in a positive way at all.

“I’m sorry, my lord duke, it may not be my place to intervene, but I must clarify something. That young lady is Hazel, not Charlotte.”

Lady Easton spoke with great caution.

Theodore blinked, as if he didn’t understand the reason for her words at all.

“Yes, I know. I believe I clearly said ‘Miss Hazel,’ or did I misspeak? If so, please forgive me, Miss Hazel. It seems I’m so nervous I made a mistake.”

Lady Easton frowned immediately.

She was utterly convinced that Theodore would propose to Charlotte, not Hazel.

She wasn’t alone in thinking this; anyone in the Easton family aware of his visit would have assumed the same.

Lady Easton acknowledged that Hazel was a dutiful daughter, a good elder sister, and an excellent lady of the house, but she was not an ideal bride. In fact, Hazel herself had no interest in marriage.

Lady Easton loved her eldest daughter and knew her well.

Hazel was not suited for marriage.

For this reason, Viscount Easton didn’t pressure his spinster daughter to marry immediately, despite his underlying discomfort with her status.

The couple was prepared to live with her forever if she chose not to marry, even until their deaths. Viscount Easton had even set aside a portion of the inheritance, considering she might remain alone after they passed.

Lady Easton wasn’t the only one worried about Hazel’s future in her old age. Even André sometimes said he’d take responsibility for his elder sister for life. Hazel had laughed it off mockingly, but she appreciated it.

All this was for Hazel’s benefit, but it was also for the Easton family’s sake.

If Hazel suddenly married and something went wrong, it would affect the Viscount Easton family.

Divorce, regardless of the reason, would leave a stain on Hazel and the family, extending its impact to her siblings.

Thus, Theodore’s proposal was supposed to be for Charlotte, not Hazel.

This was also why the Easton couple didn’t focus on Hazel’s marriage, contrary to what one might expect from parents of a spinster daughter.

Of course, there hadn’t been anyone passionately pursuing Hazel either.

But now, here he was.

A man saying he wanted to marry Hazel, though it was hard to say he was passionately yearning for her!

Let’s set things straight here.

To the parents, the three men who had proposed to Hazel in the past weren’t men—they were trash.

It was utterly astonishing, but unbelievable.

That’s why Lady Easton asked, to confirm if he had mistaken Charlotte for Hazel.

“I approve!”

Suddenly, Charlotte stood, pulling André up with her.

André, despite his attempts to appear composed, blinked, trying to grasp the situation.

“You two really suit each other.”

“Thank you, Miss Charlotte.”

Theodore responded confidently, as if he had never confused Hazel with Charlotte.

“The duke and my sister, you two have a lot to talk about, don’t you? I’ll take my leave now. I forgot that Miss Emily invited us to a tea party. André, you’ll come with me, right?”

Hazel raised her eyebrows sharply.

Hadn’t attending Emily’s tea party been canceled because of Theodore’s visit?

“Mother, will you help me choose my outfit? Miss Emily has such refined taste, and since I’m invited, I must respect that.”

“Oh, ah, yes. Let’s do that.”

The stunned Lady Easton stood quickly under Charlotte’s urging.

Charlotte grabbed André’s hand with her left and clung to Lady Easton’s arm with her right, then turned to Hazel.

“Sister, take good care of our guest. Don’t forget we’re the Easton family.”

Her warning against rude behavior carried an implicit pressure to take the proposal seriously.

“I’m on your side.”

Charlotte added her final sentence with a sweet smile.

After the three left, Hazel was tempted to refuse the proposal immediately and return to her book, but she found a reason to talk with Theodore.

It was her duty to tell her sister, who was on her side, the details of how he proposed, especially since Charlotte had clearly left to give them privacy.

“If you need anything, just ring the bell.”

Lady Easton concluded her farewell and left, leaving the reception room door slightly ajar.

Suddenly, Hazel and Theodore were alone in the spacious reception room.

Hazel blinked, then realized belatedly that Theodore was still kneeling on one knee, so she quickly opened her mouth.

“You’d better sit first, my lord duke.”

“I agree. My leg is already starting to cramp.”

Theodore replied with a light joke and sat across from Hazel.

Then Hazel noticed that the angle of their eye contact was the same as before.

In other words, Theodore had been sitting in front of Hazel even before the proposal, unlike the other men who visited the Easton family and typically sat facing Charlotte.

Hazel quietly stared at Theodore. Naturally, his appearance was the first thing that caught her attention.

His flawless, unblemished skin was like a porcelain doll’s, and the smooth lines of his face seemed more beautiful than masculine, yet not feminine by any means.

His prominent nose and sharp eyes when he wasn’t smiling gave him the aura of a predator at the top of the food chain.

His lips, reminiscent of an unripe strawberry, were long and moderately full.

His Adam’s apple was distinctly prominent, his shoulders broad, and his chest, expanding with each breath, appeared strong.

What lay below…

She couldn’t see it well enough to assess, but she assumed it wouldn’t differ much from her current impression.

The man was a perfect being.

That was the highest praise Hazel, who had studied aesthetics for a time, could give.

‘Did someone like this really propose to me?’

She couldn’t believe it.

Her disbelief didn’t stem from humility or low self-esteem.

Rather, from an objective standpoint, there was no reason for a man like him to propose to Hazel.

Moreover, the Viscount Easton family had no connection to the ducal family.

Despite that, Hazel had expected Charlotte’s beauty to compensate for any lack in family status, which had fueled her hopes for their relationship.

When her thoughts reached this point, Hazel felt a slight unease.

The primary reason was her ignorance of the man’s intentions, and the second was the difficulty of confronting that radiant smile to ask what he was planning.

“Are you feeling unwell? Shall I open the window?”

Hazel looked at him with a strange expression as he moved easily to stand.

“No.”

Her voice came out curtly from her mouth.

It was the tone and response men often complained were ugly and rude.

In aristocratic society, a woman expressing her opinion clearly wasn’t welcomed.

If Charlotte had been in her place, she would have refused to open the window indirectly, saying something like: “Fresh air is wonderful, but I don’t want to dilute the fragrance of this place now.”

A sentence requiring two thoughts to understand it meant not opening the window.

Hazel hated this approach, but it was customary in high society, even desirable in aristocratic circles.

It was strongly recommended for women, especially in conversations between genders.

Of course, Hazel never understood or used this approach, which was why men avoided talking to her.

“I like your straightforwardness.”

But Theodore was different.

It was hard to tell if he was pretending or sincere because of his wide smile.

“If you have something to say, say it. I know my proposal surprised you, and I know it confused you, too.”

The man took care to make Hazel feel comfortable speaking freely.

“Since you’re being considerate, I’ll speak frankly.”

Theodore nodded.

His gesture suggested he’d smoothly accept even insults.

His body and slightly sharp eyes exuded authority and strength, but his actions were entirely different, which astonished her.

“Why did you propose to me?”

Hazel’s question was bold and direct.