(Risking My Life) Proposing to Miss Hazel - Chapter 78

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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 78

My heart ached, but I sincerely blessed their marriage. Until then, Axel had loved and cherished Hazel like his own body.

So I didn’t know. I had no idea this bastard would do such shameless things to Hazel, deceive her, use her, betray her, and even fool around with other women.

I never even imagined he would neglect Hazel and let her die so miserably.

‘Felix… it’s been so long.’

‘Hazel, why, why is your body so damaged? What, what should I do… I didn’t even know you were sick…’

‘Sick? I’m living safely and peacefully in the castle. You’re the one who returned from the battlefield. You look healthy though… you’re not hurt anywhere, right?’

‘Who’s worrying about whom right now? Look at these skeletal arms. Where’s Axel? What was that bastard doing while his wife became like this?’

‘Axel is busy these days receiving successor lessons from the Lord.’

‘Hazel…’

‘Don’t make that expression. I’m so happy to see your face…’

‘You… do you really think I came here knowing nothing?’

‘…’

‘I came knowing everything. Even that bastard Axel’s atrocities.’

‘…No. Axel did nothing wrong. I volunteered to do it myself.’

A few days later, Hazel died in my arms.

Axel didn’t even show up to Hazel’s funeral. I searched every inch around Cromwell Castle, wanting to kill him and then die myself.

And some time later, I found Axel holding a woman who resembled Hazel.

His hollow eyes were so dull and faded that I couldn’t even ask why he had let my sister die.

‘Kill me, brother. I’m not worth living.’

‘You’re not even worth killing, bastard…’

I deliberately didn’t kill him as he shamelessly begged for death. I could clearly see that life was hell for him.

However, Axel was found dead that very night.

Black feathers were scattered over the corpse with its heart torn out.

‘Damn it…’

As unwanted memories flashed through my mind, curses naturally rose up.

Whether Axel really remembers the past or how he came to remember it doesn’t matter.

What matters is that bastard knows Hazel’s name.

He might even know her abilities.

‘Should I kill him now to avoid future trouble?’

Reading my murderous intent, Axel shuffled his feet nervously. His terrified hands trembled violently.

“C-calm down, Felix. I’m on your side, aren’t I? I just want to protect Hazel.”

“How can I trust you, Lord Axel?”

“I-I’ll show you through my actions.”

“…”

“Please give me a chance to atone.”

***

In the alley where Golden Sundries Shop was located.

Customers waiting for the siblings who were unusually late to work today crowded around the entrance gate.

Even though the owners were over an hour late, no one cursed the siblings.

They just looked up at the tree in front of the shop and made comments.

“That’s a big catch.”

“Indeed, a big catch.”

“What are you all doing there?”

“Look over there. Thief fruit has grown on Golden Sundries Shop’s tree.”

Where the villager pointed, there were two unconscious men trapped in nets.

Their faces were covered with masks making it hard to identify them, but they were dressed exactly like thieves. The situation of them getting caught while trying to break into the shop in the middle of the night was obvious, leaving no room for excuses.

“Felix must have set up traps, right? He’s really skilled with his hands.”

“Dieter’s net played a part too. That thing absolutely won’t tear.”

“But they seem like people I’ve never seen before…”

“Right? Even with masks on, they can’t fool my eyes. They’re strangers. They must have heard rumors about Golden Sundries Shop doing well and came to rob it.”

“Well, I’ll be. Thieves coming to our village…”

There hadn’t been thieves in Ruden Village for a long time.

Everyone’s circumstances were similar so there wasn’t much money to steal, and since people without greed had gathered here, they never even thought of stealing.

But now the situation had changed.

Though the villagers exchanged conversation in a joking tone, their expressions were stiffly hardened. It was natural for their eyes to be deeply filled with wariness and worry.

Monica and Anna, Paul and Franz, who arrived late, confirmed the thieves hanging from the tree.

They had just come over to Golden Sundries Shop after hearing from Baron and Dieter about what happened on the mountain yesterday evening.

Murderous intent flashed in their eyes as they looked at the thieves.

Hazel had been attacked.

This time it wasn’t just a threat – Hazel could have really died or disappeared.

Their precious daughter had almost died.

So they couldn’t just stand by.

“We should melt all those bastards in the furnace.”

“Grind them with sandpaper first, then melt them.”

“Not a bad idea.”

Paul cracked his thick fingers. Franz’s eyebrows twisted menacingly. Monica and Anna simultaneously ground their teeth.

“They’re probably in cahoots with the guys who appeared on the mountain, right?”

“We’ll know if we torture them.”

“I won’t let anyone who touched Hazel go, even if it’s the Lord.”

“I agree.”

***

I woke up early in the morning to the sound of birds chirping.

Despite experiencing something terrifying, I didn’t have nightmares. I actually slept more soundly than usual.

Maybe that’s why. The events from two days ago felt like they happened long ago. It seemed too surreal.

I could see Felix who had collapsed with an exhausted face.

Like Felix had done yesterday morning, I crouched down on the floor and quietly gazed at his face.

Though it shouldn’t be surprising, he has a face that resembles mine. Except for his higher nose bridge and sharper jawline, we looked alike as if I were looking in a mirror.

My only blood relative.

My last remaining family.

I can’t imagine life without Felix. He must feel the same way.

No, he’d feel it even more than me. Because Felix can do anything for me.

Enough to steal away even my share of nightmares.

Felix, who had been breathing peacefully in deep sleep, suddenly furrowed his brow and gasped as if being strangled. An earnest voice flowed from between his trembling lips.

“Hazel… n-no.”

“…Felix.”

I firmly grasped Felix’s twitching hand and kept calling him.

“Felix, Felix. Wake up. It’s morning.”

I didn’t want to wake him up so early in the morning. But it would be better than suffering from nightmares. He could always go back to sleep.

“Please…, sob, open… your eyes… don’t… die.”

“Felix, I’m not dead. I’m right here. That was all a dream, okay?”

I shook his chest and patted his cheeks, repeatedly trying to wake him. He didn’t budge at all.

I didn’t know why, but in his dream, I seemed to be dying or already dead. I’d heard that dreams reflect our real anxieties…

My heart ached painfully, but I gritted my teeth and held back my tears. I didn’t want him to see me crying when he woke up.

I wanted to start the day brightly and energetically, as if nothing had happened.

What mattered to me was protecting today’s happiness. Anyone who’s had a near-death experience would agree.

I acted like someone who couldn’t hear his screams as he thrashed in his nightmare, waking him up by acting spoiled. Maybe this approach would be more effective.

I’d done the same thing sometimes during childhood.

“Felix, I’m hungry! You said you’d cook bacon for breakfast today!”

For the record, he really had said that last evening.

Felix had been worried about my stomach after I’d been through such a terrible ordeal, so until yesterday he’d only fed me ground meat soaked in water.

Then he promised to cook bacon for me tomorrow morning. Felix never forgets promises like this.

“Huh? Oh! Bacon?!”

Felix, who had been sadly murmuring “Hazel, no…” just ten seconds ago, suddenly changed his tone and shouted about bacon.

He bolted upright and stared into space with sleepy eyes, muttering to himself “It was a dream…” as he patted his chest in relief.

“Did you sleep well, Hazel?”

Felix asked tenderly while stroking my hair. It was his usual fresh morning greeting.

“I’m starving to death. When are you going to cook that bacon?”

He chuckled softly as if my whining was absolutely adorable.

“You wanted bacon that badly?”

“I wanted the bacon that you cook for me. When I cook it, it all burns.”

“How would you like it cooked today? Tender? Chewy? Crispy?”

“Crispy enough to make crunching sounds.”

Felix got up without delay. The spot where he’d been lying was soaked with cold sweat.

“Got it, just wait a little. I’ll also make you some stretchy cheese potatoes.”

“Yeah, you’re the best, Felix.”

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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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