SMR 67

~Chapter 67~

Plop, clatter clatter…

A candy that had been tucked between Harriet’s rosary beads rolled across the floor of the carriage.

She had packed it earlier to snack on during the ride.

‘Seriously? Why now of all times?’

And of course, the sound it made as it rolled was unreasonably loud.

When Harriet glanced sideways, she saw that Cedric was already looking at her.

“Ahaha… a candy fell.”

She forced a smile and awkwardly stood to pick it up.

She had just grabbed the candy and sighed as she straightened up when—

“Hyah!”

The coachman gave the horses a sharp snap. The horses neighed, straining against the harnesses, and the whole carriage shook violently.

“Whoa—!”

Harriet lost her balance and was about to fall when Cedric reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Harriet!”

“Eep!”

At that very moment, the carriage jolted hard and finally pulled free from the mud.

Harriet dropped the candy she had just recovered, and it bounced happily across the floor with each shake of the wheels.

“Ugh!”

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Trying to catch her balance, Harriet ended up falling—right into Cedric’s arms.

More precisely… onto his lap.

“Ow, ow…”

She felt a slight sting in her backside, but nothing serious.

Relieved, she slowly opened the eyes she had squeezed shut.

But what she saw made no sense.

‘Why… is Cedric Kailas’s face right here?’

His face was too close—practically nose-to-nose.

And that wasn’t all.

And what was this hard thing under her bottom?

Oh. His leg.

And why was he holding his forehead as if in pain?

“Uhhh…”

Still in denial, Harriet made a dumbfounded sound.

From outside came the voice of the coachman:

“We’re out of the mud! Are you alright inside?”

“Yes. Can we leave now?”

“Yes, sir! Just gathering the tools now—we’ll be ready in a moment!”

With that, Cedric looked back down at Harriet.

Even as their eyes met, Harriet’s brain was too fogged to react.

“Are you hurt?”

“Huh?”

“You weren’t moving, so I wondered. Unless… you’re enjoying sitting on my lap, and I’m being rude for interrupting?”

Harriet immediately jumped up.

“S-s-sorry!”

Only then did she realize:

Not only had she landed on Cedric’s lap, she had basically fallen into his arms.

Her face went ghostly pale.

One more odd thing—Cedric was still rubbing his forehead.

‘Wait… did I… headbutt him?’

If so, that would be the worst.

But she hadn’t felt anything like that—no impact, no pain.

“Um… your forehead… why are you rubbing it?”

“Something hit me just now.”

Clink. Clatter.

It was that same sound she’d heard earlier.

Their eyes both dropped to the floor …where the candy was still bouncing gently in place.

“Ah. That must be it.”

As Cedric lowered his hand, a reddish round mark appeared right in the center of his forehead.

It was the exact size a small, hard candy might leave after a direct hit.

Who could have imagined—

A young, handsome nobleman, always perfectly composed, getting smacked in the face by a candy.

And somehow… it was hilarious.

“Pfft!”

Harriet quickly clamped her hand over her mouth, startled by the laugh that had slipped out.

‘Hold it in. You have to hold it in. Just—hold it—’

She clenched her teeth, desperately trying to regain control.

But the moment she looked up again and saw that mark on Cedric’s forehead—

“Pfft—ahaha—ahaHAHA!”

She burst out laughing again.

Watching her lose it, Cedric gave a small, dry chuckle of his own.

“Is it that funny?”

“Ahh—ahaha!”

Instead of answering, Harriet pulled out a small hand mirror and passed it to him.

Cedric took a look at his reflection—and then he started laughing too.

“AHAHAHA!”

“Hahaha!”

The two of them laughed so hard they were clutching their stomachs—and it wasn’t just a figure of speech.

Their sides ached from laughing.

“Haa… haah… I’m so—pfft!—sorry! Hoo… oh gosh… I really am!”

Even trying to apologize took effort through the laughter.

Cedric, still wearing the remnants of a grin, touched his forehead with his fingertip.

“Is it gone yet?”

“Khh! Y-yes… it should fade before we reach your estate. Really, I’m—so—sorry!”