MWHCMD~42

Chapter 42

Coins and Dessert

The owner must be busy.

The shop owner seemed to be occupied with other work in the back, not even realizing that a customer had arrived.

Only faint sounds coming from behind the counter indicated that the owner was there.

Thanks to that, Yvonne was able to browse the apothecary comfortably.

After looking around for a while, what Yvonne picked up was ginger candy.

It was a health supplement often recommended to pregnant women with severe morning sickness.

I still don’t know what I should do.

But even in my fear, the very first thought that came to mind was that I had to hide these symptoms somehow.

After purchasing the ginger candy, Yvonne immediately put one piece into her mouth and left the shop.

At the same time, she came face to face with a familiar figure waiting in front of the store.

The man who was her fiancé’s older brother, and perhaps… the father of the child in her womb.

At the sight of him, Yvonne’s eyes wavered violently.

Cedric Glaston was leaning against the carriage, leisurely watching Yvonne emerge from the shop.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

His gaze settled on the candy pouch in Yvonne’s hands.

Yvonne hid the pouch behind her back and took a step backward.

“…Since when have you been following me?”

“Since you left the estate.”

He didn’t even seem inclined to hide the fact that he had been tailing her.

Rather, he revealed it as if he had been waiting for this moment.

After silently observing her for a moment, Cedric straightened up and strode toward her.

Only a few steps.

The distance she had painstakingly created was always narrowed effortlessly by him in just a few strides.

That fact always made Yvonne feel powerless.

Before she realized it, the man standing right in front of her placed a hand against her forehead.

Yvonne looked up at him with guarded eyes.

She disliked the touch on her forehead.

She disliked the warmth.

Yvonne subtly avoided his hand and spoke.

“Please tell me what business you have here.”

“I asked the question first.”

In truth, the reason she had come to this apothecary was because of this man.

That realization suddenly made her feel wronged, then quickly hollow.

Thinking he wouldn’t back down without an answer, Yvonne offered an offhand excuse.

“…A maid asked me to buy something for her.”

“So the Leroy Lady household sends its maids to run errands for young ladies, I see.”

“Regardless of status, it’s natural for someone who can help to help someone in need.”

Yvonne responded firmly to Cedric’s obvious sarcasm.

Now it was his turn.

“Now please answer me, sir.

What business brings you to me?”

She assumed his purpose was her body.

That was the only reason he ever sought her out.

And if he demanded compensation again, she planned to remind him of what she had said at the garden party.

However, he made an unexpected suggestion.

“I thought we might have tea together today.

To strengthen our cooperative relationship as well.”

When he mentioned “cooperative relationship,” Cedric’s gaze seemed to cool for a brief instant.

But it was only for a moment.

He soon returned to his relaxed, leisurely demeanor.

The gentleman Yvonne had always known.

Someone who felt entirely different from the beast who had relentlessly taken her body without giving her a moment to breathe.

Yvonne bit her lip tightly.

The nausea she had barely managed to suppress began to rise again.

In such a confusing situation, she didn’t want to face him in this condition.

If possible, she wanted to avoid getting entangled with this man over anything other than her mother.

But the man was too imposing.

And far too handsome.

Passersby glanced over, then turned back to look again.

Someone as perceptive as him couldn’t possibly be unaware of those stares.

Yet he simply waited calmly for Yvonne.

Perhaps he had orchestrated this situation from the start.

In the end, Yvonne reluctantly opened her mouth.

“Let’s go.

Somewhere quiet.”

The carriage stopped in front of a hotel.

At the sight of the building, Yvonne hurriedly turned to Cedric.

Her eyes demanded an explanation for why they had come here.

But Cedric tilted his head slightly, wearing a calm expression as if he didn’t see the problem.

In the end, Yvonne spoke first.

“Didn’t you say we were going to have tea?”

“That’s why we’re here to have tea.”

“Then why a hotel…!”

“In case you’re unaware, young lady, hotels have a place called a salon where guests drink tea.”

Ah.

Only then did Yvonne recall that hotels served purposes other than the one lingering in her mind.

Her face flushed.

The first time she had ever visited a hotel had been that day with Cedric.

Naturally, the memory remained vivid.

“I don’t know what kind of thoughts you’re having.”

Cedric added softly, the curve of his eyes and lips forming a crescent.

It was a gaze that seemed to see straight through her.

A surge of irritation rose within her, but making excuses here would only look stranger.

Yvonne pressed her lips together in displeasure and followed him out of the carriage.

Just as he said, Cedric led her to a salon in the hotel lobby.

The salon, which accepted only a limited number of guests, was quiet and comfortable.

The attendant guided them to their seats and handed over the menu.

Cedric ordered without even looking at it.

“Darjeeling, please.”

“I’ll have the same—”

Yvonne paused mid-sentence.

She remembered hearing that black tea wasn’t good for pregnant women.

After hesitating briefly, she changed her order.

“No.

I’ll have chamomile tea.”

“I hear this hotel’s salon is famous for its desserts.”

“…I don’t have much of an appetite.

Just tea will be fine for me.”

“Bring three desserts.

The best-selling ones.”

Yvonne looked at Cedric with puzzled eyes.

She couldn’t imagine him eating dessert.

This must be my prejudice.

She soon learned it wasn’t.

“Eat.”

Cedric urged Yvonne to eat the desserts, yet he didn’t even pick up a fork himself.

He simply watched her quietly.

Fortunately, there were no desserts with a strong butter scent, so she didn’t feel nauseous.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to eat.

“I appreciate the thought, but as I said earlier, I don’t have an appetite.”

“Then we’ll have to throw them away.”

Yvonne stared at him in confusion.

Why.

If he had demanded her body, she would have understood.

But bringing her to a salon and forcing unwanted desserts on her was incomprehensible.

Why does this man keep… doing this to me?

The nausea she had just calmed began to rise again.

No, perhaps it wasn’t her stomach.

Perhaps it was her heart.

“I’m not sure what your ‘why’ refers to.

Coming to see you?

Or offering you dessert?”

“All of it.”

“People in business sometimes meet regularly without any particular reason.

Just to socialize and pass the time.

Like this.”

Cedric gestured with his eyes toward the other guests in the salon.

As he said, many of them looked like people meeting for business-related socializing.

As if to say that such a meeting was neither special nor uncomfortable.

Even so, Yvonne remained uneasy.

This time spent meeting his gaze.

And these feelings.

“…I’m always grateful for the kindness you’ve shown me.

So you don’t need to concern yourself with me anymore.”

It was a gentle yet unmistakable rejection.

Cedric let out a quiet chuckle as he looked straight at Yvonne while she refused him.

“Then I’ll be on my way.

If you hear the news I’m waiting for, please let me know.”

Yvonne bowed politely and walked away.

Left behind on the table were neatly arranged coins.

The exact amount for the tea she had drunk.

Beside them sat the untouched desserts.

Leaning back comfortably in his chair, Cedric’s eyes sank deeply as he gazed at the coins and desserts.

The woman only ever tried to run from him.

Even when she gave reasons, they were fleeting.

“At this point, it seems I’ve paid more than enough in return for you keeping my secret.”

As if she had no more business with him once that reason was satisfied, she walked away.

Insolently so.

It seems she won’t come to me of her own accord in the end.

Then I’ll have to use another method.