I Accidentally Saved The Male Lead’s Brother Chapter 137

Uncharacteristically, Carcel’s explanation became long-winded—a clear sign of his flustered state.

However, despite his attempts to clarify, Charlotte found it impossible to quell her anger.

Even as she acknowledged that her feelings were petty and childish, her emotions refused to be subdued.

Eventually, she spoke, her voice unable to conceal her irritation.

“I’ll make sure to be cautious of Lady Ohen and the blond-haired, blue-eyed man at the New Year’s Ball. And, of course, I trust you’ll be careful as well.”

“Charlotte, are you upset by any chance?”

“No? Why would I be upset?”

Carcel wisely refrained from stating that she seemed upset. It was the right decision. If he had said so, it would only have exacerbated Charlotte’s anger.

“Well, I’ll leave it at that. I’ll be going now.”

Charlotte turned her back on him and exited his office. The sound of the door closing was noticeably louder than usual.

****

‘What have I done?’

Back in her room, Charlotte regretted her behavior almost immediately.

‘What if Carcel is disappointed in me?’

That thought plagued her, but then another surfaced:

‘No, if he was thinking about Penelope when he brought up breaking off the engagement, then I have every right to be angry.’

This led to a cycle of self-recrimination. She buried her head in her hands, deeply troubled.

Her behavior was so unusual that Emma, her maid, was visibly alarmed.

“My lady, is something the matter?”

“No, nothing’s wrong.”

The most frustrating part was that she couldn’t consult anyone about this. The engagement, Rositto, and the matter of compatibility—all of it was a secret.

In the end, Charlotte dismissed Emma and flopped face-first onto her bed.

‘But he did tell Morris to look for another suitable candidate.’

Carcel wasn’t the type to lie easily.

If he had indeed been planning to break off the engagement and propose to Penelope, he might have avoided the question altogether, but he wouldn’t have lied outright.

Given that he specifically instructed Morris to find someone like Heather, it had to be true.

With that thought, Charlotte felt even more embarrassed about her earlier overreaction to the mere mention of Penelope’s name.

To think she’d asked if he was planning to leave her for Penelope—how could she say such a thing?

‘I said I wouldn’t let the original story affect me, but I guess I was more influenced than I thought.’

Charlotte trusted Carcel, but she couldn’t bring herself to trust Penelope. If Penelope followed Carcel around like in the original story, it would become a headache.

And now, with the possibility that the blond-haired, blue-eyed man might be involved, she had even more reason to keep a close eye on her.

Determined, Charlotte resolved to observe Penelope closely at the New Year’s Ball.

‘But first, I should apologize to Carcel.’

By now, Carcel was likely confused and worried, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Charlotte wanted to apologize, but she didn’t know how.

‘I had no idea I was so bad at relationships.’

As she groaned into her pillow, the door opened, and someone entered.

It was Theo.

The child, fresh from his nap, climbed onto the bed with a sulky expression.

“Sister.”

Hearing his voice, Charlotte turned her head and was startled. Theo’s face was troubled.

“Theo, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

Theo shook his head.

“Then what is it?”

The boy wriggled into her arms, fidgeting with his fingers. He seemed to have something to say but was struggling to find the words.

Charlotte gently patted his back, reassuring him.

“It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”

Encouraged, Theo finally managed to speak.

“Sister.”

“Yes?”

“Does Sister not like Theo anymore?”

For a moment, Charlotte thought she must have misheard him. The question was so sudden and nonsensical.

But Theo was serious.

“Does Sister and Brother not like Theo anymore?”

Why on earth would Theo think that? Charlotte pondered and had to admit she had been neglecting him recently.

She’d been preoccupied with Carcel, Edgar, and the New Year’s Ball. Despite trying to care for Theo, her attention had naturally been drawn more to Carcel.

Sharp as he was, Theo must have noticed.

“Sister doesn’t dislike Theo. I like you this much!”

Charlotte spread her arms wide. Theo seemed to smile for a moment but quickly grew serious again.

“But…”

“Why would Theo think that? I still play in the garden and read you stories at night, don’t I?”

“Sister seems to like someone else more than Theo!”

Theo puffed out his cheeks, sulking. He wasn’t entirely wrong. The only incorrect detail was that the “someone else” was an adult, not a child.

“Sister likes Theo. Sister likes Theo and Brother both. I don’t like anyone else more.”

Hearing that, Theo’s face lit up, and his eyes sparkled.

“Does Sister like Brother?”

“Uh…?”

“Does Sister like Brother?”

The straightforward question left Charlotte flustered. Still, to cheer Theo up, she answered honestly.

“Yes, Sister likes Theo and Carcel Brother both.”

“Does Brother like Sister too?”

Charlotte felt even more embarrassed but nodded, her cheeks tinged pink.

“Probably, yes?”

“Wow!”

Theo’s blue eyes sparkled even more brightly.

“Then Sister and Brother will get married?”

Charlotte, now thoroughly embarrassed, tried to change the subject.

“Theo, do you even know what marriage is?”

Theo puffed out his chest proudly.

“Of course!”

He raised his index fingers and brought them together.

“You do this, and then they go dan-da-da-dan!”

“Who told you that?”

“Danny did! Danny said his mom and dad went dan-da-da-dan!”

“Oh, Danny told you.”

“Yeah!”

Looking much happier, Theo snuggled against Charlotte.

“Then Sister doesn’t hate Theo?”

“Of course not.”

Charlotte pondered how to cheer Theo up. Playing in the garden or with dolls felt too ordinary.

After a moment’s thought, she came up with an idea that could brighten both Theo’s mood and Carcel’s.

“Theo, should we play a game and make cookies together?”

“Cookies?”

“Yes. Let’s make pretty cookies ourselves.”

Theo pouted as if in thought, then nodded vigorously.

“Okay!”

****

“We can handle this ourselves,” the head chef stammered as he brought out the ingredients for the cookies.

He had assumed Charlotte merely wanted to shape the cookies before baking them.

But Charlotte insisted on making everything from scratch, even the dough.

Despite the chef’s concerns, Charlotte was confident.

‘I’ve baked before.’

She had tried her hand at baking several times back in Korea. While not a master, her skills weren’t so poor as to be embarrassing.

It wasn’t just for Theo—she also wanted to bake cookies as an apology for Carcel.

By making them from start to finish herself, she hoped to convey her sincerity.

“This will be a fun activity for Theo, too,” she mused.

The chef reluctantly agreed but still hovered nearby in case something went wrong.

“Call me if you need help. If it doesn’t work out, you can use the dough I’ve prepared.”

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Theo, meanwhile, was brimming with excitement.

“Sister! Theo will make cookies?”

“Yes, it’ll be fun, won’t it?”

“Yeah!”

Charlotte handed Theo a long spatula and placed softened butter into a large mixing bowl for him to stir.

To her surprise, Theo was more skilled than she expected. Rather than wildly flinging the spatula around, he carefully and thoroughly creamed the butter.

“Sister! I did it!”

His bright laughter filled the kitchen.

Charlotte added the pre-measured sugar, which made the mixture thicker. Stirring became harder, so she helped Theo with the spatula.

As they worked, Theo’s giggles grew louder.

They added egg yolks, vanilla beans, and sifted flour, creating a delicious aroma that filled the room.

Theo sniffed the bowl eagerly, almost dunking his head in. When he emerged, a dollop of dough was stuck to his nose.

“Theo, you’ve got dough on your nose!”

Charlotte laughed aloud, and instead of sulking, Theo cheekily dipped a finger in the dough and dabbed some onto her nose.

“Sister’s got dough too!”

The kitchen filled with their laughter.

As they began rolling out the dough and cutting shapes with cookie cutters, Theo licked his lips in anticipation.

“These are going to be yummy.”

“Let’s finish quickly so we can eat them.”

At that moment, a low voice interrupted their laughter.

“What are you doing here?”

It was Carcel.

After parting ways with Charlotte earlier, he had been deep in thought.

Her words echoed in his mind:

―Did you already know Lady Ohen was a candidate back then?
―Were you planning to break off our engagement and go to her instead?

He swore he had never entertained such thoughts.