(Risking My Life) Proposing to Miss Hazel - Chapter 7

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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 7

“Mmm…”

The dawn sunlight woke me from my deep sleep.

I stretched, thinking Felix would be sprawled on the floor as usual—

“Hazel, let’s have breakfast now that you’re up.”

A sentence that shouldn’t be heard flowed into my ears.

Am I still dreaming?

That must be it, I thought, closing my eyes again. The savory smell of bacon wafted through the air. The scent of white bread loaded with milk and butter rushed into my nose.

“The dream is too vivid…”

“It’s not a dream. I told you Felix came to his senses. I made breakfast with your favorites, so eat before it gets cold.”

I blinked my bewildered eyes and turned my head toward the voice.

Standing by the dining table was a man with ash-gray hair, holding a frying pan and wearing an apron. I almost asked who he was.

“What’s with that ‘who are you’ look?”

Busted.

My blurry vision cleared, and the figure of my one and only brother became distinct.

Until yesterday, Felix had been proudly sporting unkempt hair and a beard, but his messy face was now clean.

Just like Felix from seven years ago.

“Felix… why are you like this?”

So this reaction was inevitable.

Felix replied calmly.

“How many times do I have to say it before you believe me? I came to my senses.”

“But why?”

“Why? Because it’s time for our little sister to get married, so I need to be a proper big brother.”

“Felix…”

It’s already too late.

All the country bumpkins my age are already married.

The sudden reality check made me feel inexplicably gloomy.

‘Let’s just eat.’

When I sluggishly got up and sat at the table, Felix placed two fried eggs, three strips of bacon, and a chunk of warm white bread on a cleanly washed wooden bowl.

“There’s no green.”

“Want some?”

“No.”

“I thought so.”

Felix grinned and fed me a crispy piece of bacon. Just touching my tongue, the delightful salty taste spread throughout my mouth.

Yes, this is the taste.

Remembering the hardship of eating only tasteless oat porridge for the past few days brought tears to my eyes.

I devoured the food ravenously, then got two more strips of bacon as a refill. Cured meat is always right.

“Eat a lot, Hazel. I’ll make sure you can eat like this every day now.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I caught a big customer.”

“Isn’t he a scammer?”

“You really have zero trust in your brother.”

“Before stating the obvious, I wish you’d reflect on your own track record.”

“I’ll try to make up for it starting today.”

“I won’t believe it, but I’ll watch.”

“That’s a good attitude. You should do the same when you get a husband later.”

I answered half-heartedly with “sure, sure” and crunched on the bacon.

I’m confident I can choose a trustworthy country bumpkin as a husband.

Because a man who’s the opposite of the blood relative in front of me would be the right answer.

After finishing my satisfying meal and preparing to go to work, Felix headed out the door in neat attire.

His hair was combed back with water, and though his shirt and pants were old, they were neatly ironed.

“Where are you going, Felix?”

“To the shop. I have to go to work.”

“You do?”

“I even drew purified water at dawn.”

Felix gave a thumbs up and smiled broadly. The dimples that had been hidden in his hair showed their presence.

“I’ll go ahead and portion things out. You stop by the clothing store to get your dress fitted and come slowly.”

“…”

“I won’t cause any trouble, so don’t worry.”

I stared at Felix blankly, not knowing what to say in response.

He looked back at me as if returning fire, then pointed to my cheek with his finger.

“You have egg yolk on your cheek.”

***

“Oh my, goodness, Hazel. You look like a real person wearing a proper dress. Do you know how much my heart ached watching you go around in rags?”

Anna, the owner of the only clothing store in Ruden Village, dabbed tears at the end of her sleeves. She must have truly felt sorry for my appearance.

Her daughter, Maribel, also clapped her hands and made a fuss.

“Hazel, this light blue dress was born into this world for you. If you don’t buy it, the dress will get depression from losing its owner.”

“Maribel, you don’t need to give me sales compliments too.”

“Sales compliments? What do you take me for? This is sincere without a hint of falsehood.”

“…Really?”

A smile unconsciously formed on my lips.

A light blue dress with small frills on the sleeves and neckline.

Though the design was somewhat plain, it was satisfying just because it was new clothes after such a long time.

“I’ll take this dress. How much is it?”

“I should normally charge eight silver coins, but just give me six and a half. Am I really going to do business with Hazel?”

“No. Please take eight. I have money to pay today.”

At my mention of having money, Anna and Maribel’s eyes widened.

“Did Felix win money gambling?”

“He didn’t steal it from somewhere, did he?”

“I thought the same thing, but he said he earned money through legitimate means.”

“…”

“…Really?”

The identical mother and daughter made the exact same expression I had when I heard those words from Felix. Indeed, people all think alike.

I took out eight silver coins from the money pouch Felix gave me and placed them in Anna’s hand. My heart felt proud, perhaps because I was buying something at full price after so long.

However, unfortunately, my mental peace didn’t last long.

“Hazel! Hazel! This is an emergency!”

Sara, who had come running frantically, roughly threw open the clothing store door.

Thwack—!

The eyes of the three people in the store widened. Sara, who had turned pale, approached with trembling lips.

“Felix, Felix is…”

“What about Felix?”

“He’s working without drinking.”

“…?”

“He was standing properly at the counter, even serving customers?”

“…”

Ah, so that was the problem.

Unlike me, who was relieved that no accident had occurred, Maribel and Anna immediately became serious upon hearing Sara’s words.

“Hazel, where does your Felix hurt?”

“Oh, I’ll call Dr. Michael for you. He went to make a house call at Cromwell Castle, but he’ll be back soon.”

I was trying to stop the lady, saying it was fine, when Bill, who was passing by, poked his head into the shop.

“What’s going on? Why does everyone look like that?”

“Felix worked without drinking. He even earned money and bought clothes for Hazel.”

“What?! Felix worked?! He earned money?!”

The villagers, having heard the most shocking news of the year, stopped what they were doing and gathered in front of the shop.

Murmur murmur, the street quickly became noisy.

“Wow, Felix came to his senses? How long will it last?”

“Lately when he drinks, he keeps talking about making Hazel rich, so I guess he was serious.”

“Well, even though he’s a scoundrel, he has a conscience. He’s aware that he’s making his sister suffer.”

“Hmm… it just seems like he ate the wrong mushrooms. Isn’t he having hallucinations?”

Oh, that makes sense?

A moment later, the villagers’ opinions converged on the idea that Felix had eaten poisonous mushrooms.

Since he wasn’t dead yet, it wasn’t a deadly mushroom, and they didn’t forget to mention that Felix was sturdy, so he’d snap out of the hallucinations in a week and to enjoy the moment.

I took their words to heart and completely let go of my expectations for Felix.

I thought so. There’s no way Felix really came to his senses.

The villagers finished the conversation by saying my new clothes suited me very well, then scattered in all directions in an instant.

“Hazel, you’re going to wear the new clothes, right?”

“I will. Everyone’s saying they’re pretty, so I feel good.”

“Oh my, poor thing. Felix will have to eat poisonous mushrooms often.”

“…”

No, Anna, what do you mean by that?

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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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