CH 59

Then, he was afraid that their eyes would keep meeting each other and revealing his feelings. He just said that he liked her. Suspiciously. But after admitting it with his mouth, something unexpected happened. His heart, which was so small that he thought it would disappear on its own, grew out of control like a snowball rolling down a slope. To think he’d come to like a babysitter, and a witch at that. Besides, she was also a suspicious woman.

Elliot asked Hazel as businesslike as possible as he stood in front of the door, hiding his bewildered mind.

“What is going on?”

“I got this. I told the butler, and he said it would be best to consult with His Highness.”

The nanny came over and held out an envelope in her hand. The moment their eyes met the seal, both Elliot and Daniel narrowed their eyes.

“This…”

“Isn’t it the seal of the Baron Hobart?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why did the baron write to the nanny…”

“It’s not just a letter, it’s an invitation. An invitation to the Spring Ball.”

The moment he heard those words, the two men exchanged fierce glances. But right away, Elliot burst into laughter as if he was having fun, and Daniel gritted his teeth even more. Daniel explained to the nanny, who was alone and puzzled.

“His Highness received the same invitation today.”

“Oh yeah? But why did they send it to me?”

It was Daniel’s job to tell the nanny, who didn’t understand the situation at all, seeing as Elliot just rested his chin and smiled.

“The Hobart barons are an imperial family. Inviting the two of you to the prom…”

“Daniel, stop.”

Only then did Elliot take his laughter away, and he gave a firm command.

“Miss Hazel is the party to the rumor, so shouldn’t you know?”

“Ah… You mean that rumor?”

‘That rumor’. It was unexpected that the nanny knew.

“Where did Miss Hazel hear that?”

Elliot asked, and Hazel began to confide in her. Elliot’s eyes widened when he finally realized that at the ball last June, she had been threatened by young ladies who looked like “Cinderella sisters.”

“The names of those young ladies.”

“Telling is bad.”

Elliot raised his quill and asked, but the nanny gave a very nanny-like answer, and she told him what had happened.

“Ah… The reason Miss Martina’s fingers are bent then…”

As Daniel muttered blankly, the nanny tilted her head.

“Oh, it hasn’t opened yet?”

If she sincerely regretted it, it would be healed.

Tsk tsk.

The nanny added, then clicked her tongue.

“Then it’s not that she can’t break the curse, it’s that she can’t lift it, so Miss Hazel isn’t responsible.”

…Daniel gave a sharp glare at Elliot, who secretly sided with the nanny.

“So, what is the purpose of inviting Your Highness and me to the Baron of Hobart?”

The nanny asked about the main point of the conversation, which had been diverted for a while.

“It is said that inviting the two of you to the ball is the Emperor’s nefarious trick to make the nobles see the rumors of infidelity.”

“The Emperor? Why?”

“The purpose of spreading monsters and rumors of infidelity are the same.”

Hazel made a more puzzled face. In the past, Elliot would have thought that she was just as stuffy as Daniel, but now she looked cute, which was embarrassing.

“A fall in reputation as the heir to the throne.”

“It’s not like I’m going to inherit the throne, so it doesn’t matter.”

To Daniel’s serious words, Elliot replied calmly.

“A decline in popularity to look for a wife.”

“Ah…”

It’s like this again. Elliot wondered why Hazel’s expression darkened when the story of his wedding came out.

“The rumors are already taking a toll throughout the empire.”

“Oh my gosh.”

Hazel brought her hand to her cheek, her eyes drooping like those of a poor puppy. Elliot’s eyes narrowed the moment his gaze landed on her fingers.

“What should I do if Your Highness’s reputation is ruined because of me? Sorry.”

“I’m sorry. Rather, I should be grateful.”

“Yes?”

“Assassination threats have also decreased.”

As rumors of infidelity spread widely, the large and small attacks and rumors that had continued here and there since he became the Grand Duke stopped like lies. Elliot, who told Hazel the story, told Hazel about the amazing rumors that had circulated shortly after he became the Grand Duke, and he burst into laughter.

“There were even rumors that Daniel and I were lovers in the past.”

“Rather than that, it seems that rumors spread that the witch and the Grand Duke had a tryst in the forest under the pretext of subjugating monsters.”

Daniel was sarcastic. Wouldn’t that be better for him? Elliot thought so, but he stopped thinking because he was in front of Hazel.

“I am cautious, but…”

Hazel, thinking hard about something, asked.

“If you’re not interested in the throne, can’t you just give up?”

It was a sharp question that identified the problem with his status as the heir to the throne.

“You know it’s not that simple…”

Elliot interrupted before Daniel could finish his words.

“I want to give up too, but it is impossible to give up because those who inherit the imperial blood are given a position the moment they are born.”

As Hazel thought again, Daniel started to mutter.

“I am well aware that you are not interested in your reputation as the heir to the throne. But don’t the Grand Dukes need allies? You must immediately go to Duke Monette and woo the princess. The Duke is also waiting for Your Highness to step in and put an end to the rumors and act.”

However, Elliot dropped his gaze to the papers with another ear.

“Are you going to make a move after rumors have plunged the Grand Duke’s status into the gutter?”

“Daniel.”

At that moment Elliot turned his head to the papers and only raised his eyes to stare at Daniel. His voice was dangerously low. His childhood friend Daniel knew better than anyone what it meant to be angry.

“Be careful with your words.”

Saying that the affair rumors with Hazel was an insult to the Grand Duke was an insult to Hazel.

Elliot looked at Hazel’s face. She was still lost in her thoughts and didn’t seem to have heard Daniel’s overreaching words, but Elliot was worried about apologizing for ruining his reputation because of her, or dying.

“I won’t die right away if I don’t have a strong alliance with other nobles. We are forming an alliance because we need a comrade to fight against the threat of the imperial family, but now the threat has rather decreased.”

“But it can’t be like this forever, can it?”

“No. In my opinion, forming an alliance now is kind of stoking the imperial family’s unstable psychology. Pretending not to be interested in the Emperor or politics, living as a dissolute aristocrat is the way to prolong the lives of my siblings and I.”

Going to a ball, scattering rumors of infidelity, and drinking alcohol. Something like that Elliot added, and he grinned.

Hazel couldn’t bear to support Elliot, who would destroy his reputation as the upright Daniel said. However, he was right after all, so she couldn’t find any grounds for refutation.

Match.

The nanny, who was alone with her thoughts, suddenly clapped her hands.

“Then, if your popularity as the heir to the throne continues to decline, wouldn’t it be even safer?”

“That’s exactly what Your Highness said.”

“Oh, sorry. I couldn’t hear you.”

Then Hazel muttered again, thinking about it. Elliot’s gaze disapproved at Hazel’s hand as she brought it to her mouth.

“Is there any way?”

Then Hazel suddenly blushed.

“Did you have any good ideas?”

Elliot asked, and her cheeks began to redden even more.

“What way? Let me hear it.”

“Oh, no. It’s a crazy idea…”

Hazel smiled shyly, waved her hand, and ran away. Daniel, started nagging again. He wanted Elliot to dismiss the witch immediately and court Princess Monette.

Elliot pretended he wasn’t listening, then he almost replied inwardly.

‘I don’t want to get engaged to someone else even though I have someone I like.’

But he couldn’t say that to Daniel.

Hazelnut yield… Hazel? This was a serious illness. He looked at the papers late into the night, and Elliot let out a weary sigh as his heart began to race at the words of her hazelnut harvest. Maybe he needed a break.

He left the office and went out into the garden. As the smell of autumn wafted in the cool night air, he suddenly remembered how his younger siblings at the table this evening had been complaining about picking up three baskets of chestnuts. She had been busy with work lately, so he hadn’t been able to spend time with them. Perhaps it was only natural that the children regard Hazel as family rather than him.

Damn, that’s her idea again. After following the moonlit pond into the secluded grove of the garden, Elliot hesitated. Hazel was there, of course.

Small silver embers floated leisurely, and the woman wandered lightly among the trees, stretching her hands toward the embers. She seemed to be dancing. Because of the serious illness in her name, his unrequited love, he thought he was seeing things, but it wasn’t his imagination.

Bassrock.

Hazel’s head turned this way the moment she stepped on a tree branch without even realizing it. The emerald eyes that saw him shook.

“Because I want to get some fresh air before I go through the paperwork…”

Elliot didn’t follow her. He made an excuse that she didn’t even ask.

“Ah, that’s right.”

“By the way, what is Miss Hazel doing here?”

Instead of answering, Hazel gathered the silver spheres floating in front of her eyes in both hands, locked them in, and held them out to him. It was a butterfly flapping its wings, emitting light between his fingers.