(Risking My Life) Proposing to Miss Hazel - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 19

Clink-.

Three silver coins fell into my hand. For just half a day’s work, this was an incredibly generous wage.

I returned one silver coin to Baron. It was conscience money for having an easy time alone.

In the city, there’s a culture of envying people who have cushy jobs, but in the countryside, that would be a big problem.

Baron tilted his head sideways with a displeased expression.

“Please take it. My parents always said that people should know their place.”

It was a lie. I couldn’t even remember my parents’ faces, so how could I remember their words?

It was just a silencing comment to inform this gullible city person about countryside wage rates.

But the city person wasn’t easy to deal with. He pressed the silver coin back into my hand and skillfully wagged his silver tongue.

“I’m not just giving it to you. It’s a kind of bribe.”

“A bribe?”

“I was hoping Miss Hazel could help with herb preparation tomorrow too, so I wondered if you could spare the time.”

“Would I really be of help?”

His red eyes rolled around as if measuring something. Soon a puzzling answer followed.

“I’ll make sure you are.”

“…?”

“Let’s meet here tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock.”

“Alri… ght.”

Well, it’s not bad for me anyway.

***

I came down to the general store carrying the prepared white claw grass stems and silver coins earned without breaking a sweat.

It was 3 PM now. Felix said I could rest all day, but I didn’t know what to do with myself while the sun was still up.

It would be better to go to the shop and do some odd jobs. The adults were absolutely right when they said that even playing around is done well by those who have experience playing.

I deliberately passed through the entrance quietly and tiptoed toward the glass window.

It absolutely wasn’t because I was curious about what kind of trouble the diligent Felix might be causing in my absence – I just thought I’d surprise him.

Through the glass window, I could see Felix concentrating on reading a newspaper.

For reference, the newspaper delivered to our village is published in Benu, the city closest to Cromwell Castle, and brought to our village by the ‘Newspaper Delivery Man’. We usually receive day-old news, but even that is something to be grateful for.

Felix, who had been reading the newspaper, suddenly hung his head low and shook his shoulders. Sobbing sounds that I couldn’t tell were laughter or crying came from behind the newspaper.

“Kheuheuheuk.”

I perked up my ears, wondering what was wrong. His voice sounded quite unusual.

“Kheuk, kheuheuk.”

“…?”

What, is he really crying?

I was about to enter the shop out of concern when the bizarre sobbing suddenly stopped-.

“What should I do? I must be a genius.”

Felix’s nonsense hit my eardrums.

“….”

Ah, I thought so. I wasted energy worrying for nothing.

He’s just gone crazy as usual.

I leaned my back against the shop wall and quietly let out a sigh. Still, laughing is better than crying.

“Hihihihihi.”

“….”

Though laughing like that is a bit scary.

Felix giggled for a while, apparently finding something so amusing, then shouted loud enough to blow the roof off.

“Now we’re rich!! Hazel, just wait a little. Your brother will let you live in luxury!!”

My back flinched when my name suddenly came up. It didn’t seem like he knew I was listening and called my name – it seemed like a habitual soliloquy.

But what on earth was he trusting to be so confident about becoming rich?

My trust in my only brother was approaching zero, so the more excited he got, the more anxious I became. The lack of evidence made it even worse.

“Good, no problem at all. Once I sell all this purification water, Hazel will praise me.”

“….”

Ah, he’ll definitely never sell it all.

It’s okay. If Felix can’t sell it, I’ll sell it all myself. Someday. At least before I die, I’ll sell it all.

I let out a sigh with a different meaning than before and walked toward the entrance. I was too tired to watch Felix’s rampage filled with baseless confidence any longer.

“Felix, was everything alright?!”

When I burst through the door, my startled brother threw the newspaper into the air. He asked with a dumbfounded expression.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“I told you to rest today, so why did you come?”

“I was bored. I helped prepare herbs and got this too.”

“Isn’t that white claw grass? You prepared that?”

I was about to answer yes but changed my words.

“As if. I just stood nearby and received it.”

If I said I did odd jobs because we were short on living expenses, Felix would obviously get sulky asking if I didn’t trust him. In times like this, a white lie like Monica’s chickens is the best option.

“Good job. Since you’re here, could you watch the shop? I’ll go out for a bit.”

“When will you be back?”

“Let’s have dinner together at home. We need to roast the chicken marinated in rosemary and butter by today. It’ll be delicious with potatoes on the side.”

Since Felix has been raising me since childhood, his cooking skills are excellent.

The best I can do with food I make is bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients, but Felix creates dishes rivaling the village aunties using all sorts of spices and cooking methods.

If there’s one particularly satisfying thing since Felix quit drinking, it’s that I get to eat his cooking every day.

Of course, we’ll run out of money soon, so the days of eating only oat porridge with eggs might return, but honestly, even eggs taste better when Felix cooks them than when I do.

‘Maybe Felix would be better suited as a househusband rather than earning money outside.’

I’ve heard that it’s trendy in the city for women to support handsome but incompetent men.

Seeing that there were women in the countryside who wanted to live off Felix’s face alone, it’s not impossible.

“Yeah, have a safe trip.”

I saw Felix off and sat at the spotless counter. Overshadowed by his cooking skills, Felix is also quite good at cleaning.

“A househusband really is his calling. Much better than being a shop owner who just piles up inventory that won’t sell.”

Looking at the purification water bottles that had completely taken over one wall of the shop, I couldn’t help but sigh.

To calm myself, I shifted my gaze to the newspaper in front of me.

I was mindlessly reading the text when something interesting caught my eye.

[Do You Know About the Latest Trend, Purification Water Cosmetics?]

[Healthy Beverage Recipes Made with Purification Water!]

“Now they’re doing all sorts of things with purification water.”

I’d heard that in the city, purification water wasn’t used only for simple healing and purification purposes, but cosmetics and health drinks too.

Well, purification water isn’t bad for the body, so there’s no problem using it in daily life. I had no idea such articles would appear in newspapers….

“Huh…?”

A flash of inspiration struck and my eyes lit up.

I looked back and forth between the white claw grass in my hand and the mountain of purification water portions Felix had piled up.

“This might not be bad.”

***

The next day, I put the newspaper I read yesterday, purification water, and other things in a basket and headed to the Herb Gatherers’ Hut.

It was 7:30 AM. I naturally thought I’d arrive first, but I could see Baron waiting for me with a basket in hand.

He greeted me with a fresh smile without a trace of morning puffiness. It’s striking again how this man doesn’t suit the cottage backdrop at all.

“Miss Hazel, I’m so glad you came.”

“I should be thanking you for calling me.”

He must have realized that long sleeves were inconvenient for handling medicinal herbs, because today he was wearing a sleeveless outfit that exposed his entire forearms.

Though I thought it was a bit improper for someone who wasn’t a lumberjack, I quickly dismissed the thought. I shouldn’t complain about something as trivial as clothing when dealing with an employer who pays generously.

Baron glanced at the basket in my hands and asked.

“What’s that?”

“There’s something I’d like to ask you about. I’ll show you after we finish work.”

Out of courtesy, I had to ask about his basket as well.

“What did you bring, Baron?”

He lifted the corners of his mouth as if he’d been waiting for this question.

“It’s a lunch box. One I made myself.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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