After saying so, Rebecca, with a mischievous smile, looked at Cedric.

At that moment, Cedric, gazing at her with a soft smile, was enchanted by the bright laughter, sparkling eyes, and the gentle curve of the lips.

Everything about Rebecca seemed wonderful.

Cedric gently brushed aside her disheveled red hair and smiled softly.

“When did you get this drunk? I was so worried during the time we were coming here.”
At those words, Rebecca smiled like a child.

Then, she gently leaned her cheek against Cedric’s palm.

“Why? Are you afraid the villagers will gossip about us?”

Rebecca’s eyes, asking this way, sparkled charmingly.

As Cedric’s fingers lightly brushed her fair and smooth cheek,

“Duke, too! Why would we gossip about you and Lady Vi?”

“So, if Lady Vi scolds us, that’s fine!”

Middle-aged women sitting around Jacqueline giggled, shaking their heads.

“I’m thankful that you treated the Duke well. Actually, I was very worried about Rebecca on the way here.”

Cedric gazed at Rebecca with a sense of relief and happiness evident on his face.

At that moment, when the village women saw Cedric’s unfamiliar appearance, they exchanged glances, rolling their eyes.

“Hush!”

Rebecca, with her intoxicated eyes wide open, blocked Cedric’s lips.

“Cedric, stop ruining the mood with such talk. I was in the middle of an important conversation.”

Beneath Rebecca’s palm, Cedric’s lips gradually curved upward.

“What were you talking about?”

Then, Jacqueline squinted her eyes and bluntly said,

“Duke, did you cheat on Lady Vi? And with her closest friend!”

Cedric’s question ignited flames in the eyes of Jacqueline and other village women.

“Me?”

Cedric pointed at his face with his finger and asked.

“Yes, Lady Vi clearly said so, didn’t she? She claimed to have witnessed her husband having an affair with her best friend!”

Countless fish-like gazes were fixed on Cedric.

Cedric was even beginning to hallucinate if he had ever done such a thing.

Cedric blinked in astonishment, and the women’s gazes turned back to Rebecca.

“That’s right, Lady Vi?”

Jacqueline, half lying on the table, asked Rebecca.

Then, Rebecca, looking at Cedric in slow motion, nodded.

“Oh, right, our Cedric came… Who is different from others, handsome, well-built, wealthy, and… knows only one woman, Cedric…”

It was praise completely opposite to the complaints she had been expressing about her ‘husband’ until now.

The village women rolled their eyes in bewilderment.

“Lady Vi, just a moment ago, the Duke was claimed to be having an affair with his close friend!”

Then, Rebecca burst into a chuckle.

“Puhu… Cedric? That can’t be true. This man is subtly eccentric.”

Her response left everyone with perplexed expressions.

However, on Cedric’s face, who was almost misunderstood because of her, a subtle smile crept up.

‘Handsome, well-built, wealthy, and knows only one woman, Cedric.’

It was praise he hadn’t heard from Rebecca for a long time, completely contrary to the complaints about her ‘husband.’
Cedric tried to suppress the laughter that kept bubbling up, biting his lips.

After a while, Cedric, supporting Rebecca’s body, stood up from the seat.

“Rebecca seems to be quite drunk. Let’s head back now.”

Rebecca, as if she had detonated a bomb with her intoxication, leaned on Cedric, dozing off.

Cedric affectionately looked at her and urged the steps toward the cabin.

I suddenly opened my eyes to a pleasant warmth.

The first thing I saw was someone’s neck.

In the sluggishness of alcohol, I soon realized that I was piggybacked on Cedric’s back.

“Are you awake?”

Cedric turned his head slightly towards me and asked.

‘I must be heavy because I ate a lot of snacks earlier. Should I ask him to put me down…’

There was a brief rational thought, but the path to the cabin was still far, and the drunkenness lingered.

Eventually, I gave up on everything, dropped my head heavily onto Cedric’s shoulder, and fell silent.

Then, from his back, where I was leaning, a faint vibration of laughter was felt.

Savoring that comfort, I fell into a light doze for a while.

When I opened my eyes again, we had already arrived at the cabin.

Waking up on the bed, I finally rolled around in the regained comfort.

“Mina… Wipe my face, quickly…”

My pronunciation didn’t come out as intended.

I called Mina slowly but continuously.

Then, after a while, I felt warm moisture on my face.

I slowly opened my eyes in the pleasant warmth.

“Mina isn’t here, but I have a warm washcloth.”

Looking down at me with a smile was none other than Cedric.

I soon realized that he was gently wiping my face with the washcloth.

While the warm washcloth touched my face, I looked up at Cedric lying on the bed.

“…Why are you so handsome?”

I spoke slowly with a distorted pronunciation, and Cedric blinked his eyes quickly.

With each flutter of his long eyelashes, his blue eyes stood out clearly.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you so unnecessarily handsome and causing a stir? To shake people’s hearts…”

Frowning, I barely opened my swollen eyes.

Then, Cedric, seemingly tense, burst into a laugh.

“It feels good that my face is shaking your heart.”

Looking at his blue eyes saying that, I involuntarily took a breath.

With me, who was quite tense, in front of him, Cedric continued speaking.

“If I can move your heart, anything is good. So,”

Cedric’s beautiful face, pausing for a moment, came closer to me.

His slightly trembling fingertips consecutively began to slowly untie the ribbon tied on my forehead.
The moment his gaze, which had been looking up at me, felt like it was entwining with my breath.

Cedric’s lips let out a captivating low tone.

“Shake more for me, Rebecca.”