SMR | Chapter 66

Posted by LUNA, Released on August 31, 2025

~Chapter 66~

“The Duke says he’ll give you a ride back, Sister Harriet.”

“Huh? Me? He’s offering me a seat in the Duke’s carriage?”

“There’s plenty of room—after all, I’m riding alone.”

It was certainly a generous offer.

Harriet had been worrying whether staying another day would make Trisha anxious.

But the idea of sitting just the two of them, in a small space, for several hours made her feel uneasy.

‘And it’s not like I can refuse in this situation…’

Forcing a reluctant smile, Harriet eventually accepted his kind offer.

She quickly packed her things and climbed into Cedric’s carriage as everyone at the convent waved goodbye.

“Thank you for everything. Take care until we meet again!”

“You take care too, Sister Harriet. Don’t overwork yourself. We’ll pray for you to always be under God’s blessing.”

After Catherine’s farewell, the carriage door closed, and the wheels began to turn.

Harriet leaned out the window and waved, but the carriage didn’t wait for her feelings to settle—it picked up speed.

Watching the carriage grow distant, Emma, standing with Catherine and Agnes, said excitedly:

“The Duke has such a kind heart. He donates so much and never ignores someone in a tough spot.”

Catherine responded with a faint, curious smile.

“Hmm… maybe.”

In her view, Cedric was certainly polite and gentlemanly, but not the type to easily cross the lines drawn between social classes.

He wasn’t someone who gave unnecessary kindness.

So did he really take Harriet with him just out of consideration?

“You never know.”

Emma tilted her head, not understanding Catherine’s words, but Catherine only smiled.

***

Clatter, clatter.

A grand four-horse carriage traveled along the snowy country road, glowing under the orange-red sunset.

Though the snow had half-melted and turned the path muddy, the Kailas Duke’s carriage, with its crest etched on the side, moved forward without a single shake.

‘I guess Duke’s carriages really are something else.’

Inside the carriage, Harriet glanced around without moving her head—just her eyes.

She had thought the Pellon family’s carriage was fancy, but this was on a completely different level.

A four-horse carriage just for one person, with two coachmen?

Maybe for the rich, that was just normal.

‘Whatever… I just wish he’d stop staring at me.’

The real reason Harriet couldn’t find anywhere to rest her gaze was because Cedric, seated across from her, had been staring at her the entire time.

Normally, it would be rude enough to mention—but Harriet stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

It wasn’t like Cedric didn’t know better.

The fact that he kept staring probably meant: “You start the conversation.”

Childish, yes. But she didn’t want to back down from this silent standoff.

‘I may be broke, but I’m not spineless.’

She tried to look out the window like she didn’t care, when she suddenly heard a small chuckle.

She should’ve ignored it—but her eyes flicked over to him before she could stop herself.

“Miss Harriet, every time I see you, you make me smile.”

Harriet blinked, confused.

What?

She’d never once tried to make him smile.

“Me…?”

Cedric gave another soft laugh, clearly amused by her puzzled reaction.

“Still, I do wish you’d told me about the Clarissa brand idea first.”

“Well, I figured you’d be busy at the end of the year. I was going to tell you when we met. Wait—are you sulking?”

“Hahaha!”

Cedric burst out laughing—he had never been asked if he was “sulking” before.

Harriet, on the other hand, had no idea why that was funny.

‘Some people laugh when they’re angry… maybe he’s one of those?’

Cedric’s mood brightened even more as he looked at Harriet’s confused expression.

It was refreshing to meet someone who treated him so casually.

‘I’ve never seriously considered a woman as a business partner before. But she’s… not bad.’

A bold, clever woman with no ulterior motives—she was a rare type.

“So, when were you planning to visit me? The year’s almost over.”

“Soon. I’ll be getting the financial report for October to December from the accountant. I was going to come after that.”

“Are you confident?”

“Confident? Confident about what?”

Harriet didn’t understand half of what Cedric was saying, but she did her best to reply anyway.

“Is it really about being confident or not? Of course, I’ll be happy if the net profit is high, but even if it’s not, I believe the investor deserves to know the full truth.”

Just then, the carriage turned a corner, and the golden sunset light caught in Harriet’s eyes.

Cedric found himself momentarily hypnotized by that brief, beautiful shimmer in her gaze.

A gentle smile, like the evening glow, spread on his lips.

“There are plenty of people in this business who can’t do what you just called ‘obvious’.”

“What? They hide profits from the people who funded them? Isn’t that… a crime?”

“Something close. They always get caught eventually, but they’ll offer excuses—‘It was a mistake,’ or ‘It was a misunderstanding.’”

Suddenly, an old memory flashed in Harriet’s mind.

“Why do people who are guilty love the word ‘misunderstanding’ so much? Do they think I’ll go easy on them if they say that?”

Those were Cedric’s cold words to her, when she had insisted she didn’t steal the brooch. When she’d said it was a misunderstanding.

Remembering the goosebumps from that moment, Harriet’s expression stiffened.

“Miss Harriet…?”

Noticing something was off, Cedric called her gently, but Harriet spoke before she even realized what she was saying.

“Some of those people probably really did make mistakes. And maybe you misunderstood them. What if their words weren’t excuses, but the truth?”

Cedric’s soft expression slowly hardened.

“And am I supposed to evaluate every one of their circumstances? Knowing how to avoid misunderstandings is part of being a responsible business partner.”

“But even if someone did everything right, there could still be complications—manipulations, subtle shifts in the situation. When something like that happens, someone like me—no matter how much we explain, no one believes us!”

“No one… believes…”

He gave a short, dry laugh.

“Well… I suppose you’d relate to that side, Miss Harriet.”

Of course. Harriet, too, was someone who had received investment from him. But… why did that feel strangely disappointing?

Neither of them said anything for a while as the carriage passed over a small hill.

They just stared out the window in silence.

Then—

The carriage suddenly jolted and came to a stop, like a wheel had gotten stuck.

Cedric frowned slightly and opened a small window toward the driver’s seat.

“What’s going on?”

“Apologies, Duke! The road looked fine, but it turns out we’ve hit a patch of soft mud. The wheel’s caught, but we’ll fix it quickly.”

“Do we need to get out?”

“No, sir! But… it would help a lot if the lady sitting inside could move to your side of the carriage.

The extra weight at the front would make it easier to lift.”

Cedric looked toward Harriet.

Harriet, having heard the whole thing, awkwardly stood up.

“If it’s troublesome, I can step outside for a bit.”

But the driver quickly added, apologetically:

“Oh, no, no! Not that—just shifting the weight toward the front will help.”

“Seems that’s the case. I’m afraid it’ll be a bit uncomfortable, but I’d appreciate your cooperation, Miss Harriet.”

“I’m already getting a free ride, so this much is nothing…”

Trying to smile through the awkwardness, Harriet sat beside Cedric—leaving about two handspans of space between them, hoping it wouldn’t make him uncomfortable.

Still feeling a bit self-conscious, she peered out the window.

She saw the coachman’s assistant pulling out a tool—probably a handle—to place under the rear wheel.

As he signaled, the coachman whipped the horses.

“Hyah! Hyah!”

Each time the horses pulled, the carriage shook—and as it did, Harriet’s hand slipped off the seat and landed on top of Cedric’s hand.

“Ah! Th-that—! That wasn’t on purpose!”

“…I know.”

Harriet quickly turned her face the other way, muttering to herself.

‘Why did he have to put his hand on the seat too?’

The air between them had grown unbearably awkward.

The assistant now used something like a hammer to wedge the tool deeper under the wheel.

The carriage rocked again—harder this time—suggesting they were making progress.