(Risking My Life) Proposing to Miss Hazel - Chapter 52

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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 52

 

“Felix, should we buy a cake?”

 

On the way home from work, I suddenly asked as we passed Maria’s Bakery, which still had its lights on.

 

A cake with soft cream piled high on chocolate bread.

 

I’ve only eaten it once in my life.

 

And even then, it was just one bite that Felix had gotten for me and put in my mouth.

 

I still can’t forget that heavenly taste of sweet cream and bread, and tart cherry jam melting smoothly in my mouth.

 

Compared to other breads, cake was too expensive for us to even think about buying, but today my purse was full so I had no worries.

 

Instead of answering, Felix opened the bakery door and asked Maria.

 

“Ma’am, do you have any cake?”

 

Maria’s eyes widened as she asked.

 

“Whose birthday is it? Both Hazel and Felix have birthdays far off.”

 

“Do you have to have a birthday to eat cake? Hazel says she wants some.”

 

“Come in quickly. I have some génoise baked, so I can make one right away. Usually I only sell cakes by reservation, but since it’s for Hazel, I’ll make a special exception, you know?”

 

With tears welling up in her eyes, Maria grabbed my hand and led us into the shop.

 

She said she was happy that we were doing well, and didn’t spare any kind words about how we’d do even better in the future.

 

Maria packed a bag full of bread along with a cake generously covered with chocolate cream.

 

Her generosity really knows no bounds.

 

“If you want cake again, just tell me. I’ll make it for you anytime.”

 

“Thank you, ma’am.”

 

We went home and devoured the big cake.

 

Honestly, after the third bite it was too sweet and I wanted to stop, but dipping it in milk made it more manageable.

 

Felix ate it well without showing any signs of getting sick of it. He didn’t even drink a drop of milk.

 

“Felix, you really like sweet things, don’t you?”

 

“Why can’t you eat more? Doesn’t it taste good?”

 

“Of course it tastes good. But I think cake tastes better when you only have one bite.”

 

“Then just eat one bite every day. I’ll eat whatever you leave.”

 

“No way.”

 

“Why? Because it’s expensive?”

 

“If you eat too many sweets, your teeth will rot.”

 

Felix stopped mid-bite as he was shoving the last piece of cake in his mouth and burst into laughter.

 

He couldn’t swallow or spit out the cake and wheezed for a while before finally catching his breath and answering.

 

“Look at you talking exactly like Mother.”

 

***

 

Axel Cromwell has been anxious lately.

 

His ribs are still cracked and hurt every time he breathes. They hurt when he yells loudly, when he runs even a little out of breath, and even when he just laughs. Daily life is unbearably inconvenient.

 

Meanwhile, his wedding to the woman his father chose is approaching, and the woman he wanted to keep by his side brutally rejected him.

 

He thinks he’s heard “no” about twenty times. He’s not sure if that’s accurate, but that’s how it feels.

 

In the midst of all this, a terrible report arrived from the spy he had planted in Ruden Village.

 

It was a list of men approaching Hazel.

 

There was also a report about Hazel’s brother, but since Felix being strange was nothing new, he skipped over it without reading.

 

Axel’s eyes were fixed on the list of men for a long time.

 

‘No, just how many are there?’

 

His head was pounding and his chest was throbbing. He was so furious he could hardly sit still, but his ribs hurt so much he had no choice but to stay put. That made it even more maddening.

 

The problem was that recently, Cromwell Castle had exceeded its population capacity and sent war refugees to Ruden Village.

 

This meant there were more young men in Ruden Village.

 

Even so, they all looked like potatoes or sweet potatoes…

 

‘But that guy was different.’

 

Axel ground his teeth.

 

A mysterious man with black hair and red eyes.

 

Even after searching through the population registry to see if he was someone who had received permission from Cromwell Castle to settle in Ruden, his identity couldn’t be found.

 

In other words, he was an illegal resident of unknown origin.

 

With such a guy lurking around Hazel, he couldn’t help but be anxious.

 

“What exactly is their relationship?!”

 

Axel kicked angrily at the air, then clutched his ribs and collapsed.

 

It hurt and he was frustrated. It seemed like somewhere a little deeper than his ribs hurt too.

 

“Damn it…”

 

It was fine that Hazel had rejected him. Actually it wasn’t fine, but it was bearable up to that point.

 

Because he could change his approach and try again.

 

He was confident he wouldn’t give up until that lowly woman recognized his generosity and patience.

 

But if Hazel became another man’s…

 

Crash!

 

He punched the ground and breathed heavily with anger.

 

“Why do I feel like something that’s mine is being stolen?”

 

While Axel was writhing in frustration, his friends entered the room.

 

“Axel, we have something to report…”

 

“What is it?”

 

At his sharp tone, his friends stepped back and timidly continued.

 

“A little while ago, there was a merchant passing through Cromwell Castle from Ruden, so we went to collect taxes.”

 

“But that merchant was an employee of the Bashar Merchant Guild. You know Kaiden Goldenhands, right?”

 

“Yeah, I know him. So what?”

 

“It seems the Bashar Merchant Guild is doing business with Golden Sundries Shop.”

 

“And this is apparently the second time.”

 

After a moment of silence, Axel screamed.

 

“What?!”

 

But he immediately had to clutch his ribs and writhe on the ground. Because he kept doing this every day, his ribs hadn’t healed even after several weeks.

 

He let out a sob-like groan, then suddenly opened his eyes wide.

 

“Are there any handsome guys in that trading group?”

 

His clueless friends reported exactly what they had seen.

 

“Oh, there was one. One of the employees was really handsome.”

 

“Right. Even though he was covering half his face with a robe, his good looks couldn’t be hidden.”

 

Veins bulged ominously on Axel’s jaw and forehead. His friends’ stupid faces made him even angrier.

 

Like someone who wanted to completely break his ribs, he shouted furiously.

 

“Get out right now!!”

 

***

 

“No, Uncle Paul. You have a proper leather workshop name, but you want us to put our name on it?”

 

“Ah, forget it! Just sell it under the Golden Sundries Shop name. My workshop is a leather workshop, not a scrubber processing facility!”

 

“Still. And you should charge more too. The people in Benu tried the insoles and went crazy saying how comfortable they were.”

 

“Then sell them at a higher price and you keep more of the profit. I only need one silver coin per piece.”

 

“Oh, really.”

 

I want to help him make money, but it’s not easy.

 

After arguing with Uncle Paul from the morning, I trudged along.

 

I just used up energy without much gain. I went there to make his purse heavy, but it looks like only my purse will get heavy.

 

“Everyone is so lacking in greed…”

 

A tickling voice followed my complaint.

 

“Miss Hazel is just as lacking in greed.”

 

“Huh? Baron?”

 

When I turned my head, a familiar face greeted me with a nod.

 

“It’s been a while, Miss Hazel.”

 

“It really has. It feels like it’s been ages.”

 

Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen him in so long…

 

Baron’s appearance was quite aggressive.

 

Perhaps from working hard since morning, his sharp, knife-cut features were glistening with sweat, his forearms visible beneath his rolled-up sleeves were tense with exertion, and most of all—

 

‘How manly of him to roll up his pants like that.’

 

The problem was his thighs with their clearly defined muscles.

 

I knew it was rude to stare at another person’s bare skin, but my eyes kept wandering there. With his prominent quadriceps flexing so vividly, I couldn’t look away.

 

I watched as beads of sweat rolled down the deep valleys between his muscles, then hastily shook my head.

 

‘Get it together, Hazel. What are you looking at right now? This is rude to Baron.’

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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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