I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 14

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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 14

“Stop breathing immediately and get away!”

The Viscount shouted fiercely. Drury, who had been stepping backward, staggered.

A disgusting smell came from the broken glass bottle. The moment she smelled it, her whole body felt paralyzed.

The snakes in the cage also hissed sharply. Some were trying to escape by slamming their bodies against the walls.

“Wh-what is this….”

While Drury sat down in terror, the Butler came running after hearing the Viscount’s shout.

As soon as he arrived and sensed something was wrong, the Butler quickly opened the window while covering his nose.

Only after waiting for a while did the smell dissipate. Drury finally let out the breath she had been holding.

The Viscount stared at Drury with bloodshot eyes. His pupils had somehow turned red and were torn vertically.

He was so excited that he couldn’t suppress his true form.

“…Where did you steal this?”

“I-I didn’t steal it. That belongs to Cassian. Father said that Cassian is practically my property.”

An annoyed expression crossed the Viscount’s face. When he gestured, the Butler quickly cleaned up the remains of the glass bottle.

“Viscount, this smell… isn’t this dragon-killing grass?”

The Butler’s voice trembled finely. His white handkerchief had already turned purple.

Dragon-killing grass? What’s that?

Drury had never heard of it. But the moment that name was mentioned, her father’s complexion became extremely bad.

“Drury, did the Young Duke treasure that thing?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if it really belongs to the Young Duke!”

“Y-yes. That’s right.”

Drury flinched, overwhelmed by her father’s intensity.

Drury’s anger often easily subsided in front of the strong. The problem was that it didn’t last long either.

“…Since when? Do you have any idea where it came from?”

“That’s….”

Drury loved Countess Sarkis’s tea parties very much.

It wasn’t just because she could meet Cassian, or because her peers looked up to her.

It was because it was an opportunity to sneak into Cassian’s room.

The security at the Viscount’s Mansion was strict so it wasn’t easy, but Drury wasn’t an ordinary girl. Sometimes she succeeded.

Gloves he had taken off, books he was reading, medicine bottles by his bedside. Drury had stolen some of them.

Clutching the stolen items, she would imagine a future where she would trample on that beautiful and pitiful young boy. Then her twisted possessiveness would gradually calm down.

“It was after the engagement was announced. Medicine bottles I’d never seen before started piling up in the empty space under his bed.”

At first she was flustered and hesitated, but she quickly remembered when she first saw the medicine bottles.

“Tsk, I thought they just put some insignificant girl as a cover to avoid interference from the fiancée’s family.”

“What if that’s not it? You don’t mean the Young Duke actually cares about Damia Ponti?!”

“It means that girl’s backing might have provided the dragon-killing grass. If so, there must have been a deal.”

“What is dragon-killing grass?”

“You really! Don’t you even know that?”

“No, I don’t know.”

The Viscount gritted his teeth, but Drury didn’t care.

“It’s grass that kills dragons. Surely the seeds were dried up long ago.”

“You’re saying mere grass can kill dragons? That doesn’t make sense!”

“….”

“Then you’re saying mere humans could inflict fatal wounds on us!”

“Yes, we are of mad dragon blood.”

Lowly half-breeds born from a dragon’s whim, merely dragon-folk.

But dragon-folk lived longer than humans, were stronger, and were far more cunning and persistent than pure dragons.

Even when Duke Sarkis, who had slain the mad dragon, tried to sweep away all dragons in the world, they survived in hiding.

“I must inform that person immediately.”

There was only one person father called ‘that person.’

The one called the master of the dragon-folk.

Drury’s eyes widened in surprise. Even Drury, who feared nothing in the world, was afraid of that being.

“Is there nothing else you’re hiding?”

At that moment, the maid who had been taken by Damia came to mind. She couldn’t even remember her name, but she remembered that she was quite skilled with her hands.

“Isn’t there, Drury!”

Her father’s unusual pressing made her unable to speak.

With that person’s story coming up, she had no energy to worry about some mere maid.

She was just a lowly maid who knew nothing about their Family, and Drury originally changed servants frequently.

Even if left alone, it wouldn’t be a big problem. Father might not even notice the missing maid until the end.

“There’s nothing. I’ve told you everything!”

Drury shouted loudly instead to hide her anxiety.

* * *

Meanwhile, Countess Sarkis Elena was sitting alone in the Drawing Room attached to her bedroom, drinking tea.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

With Elena’s permission, the Maid Steward entered the Drawing Room.

She was someone of outstanding loyalty who had followed her from her family home. Besides her duties as Maid Steward, she was carrying out several of the Countess’s secret orders.

“Did the little bird return safely?”

“Yes, we sent the finest carriage as you instructed.”

“…She wasn’t disappointed?”

“No, instead she emphasized that she definitely wants to take the maid named Romi with her when the investigation is finished.”

Elena tapped the tea table with her fingertips.

“She wants to punish her directly… Haha, with a face that looks like it couldn’t kill even a bug.”

“She seemed quite worried that the maid named Romi might be treated harshly.”

“Trying to protect a maid who threatened her… She’s really a good child, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she seemed like a young lady that Young Master Cassian would take a liking to.”

Elena raised the corners of her mouth.

“Investigate that maid thoroughly. If she seems like she might harm the little bird even slightly, handle it appropriately.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure you have nothing to worry about.”

The Maid Steward bowed her head. Even in this simple gesture, discipline could be felt.

“And… I’ve also finished investigating the components of the medicine you asked me to examine some time ago.”

“What were the results?”

“There were no major abnormalities.”

“Are you certain?”

Ebony-like hair and features as if ice had been carefully carved.

Her expression was cold, contrary to the rumors of her being a kind Countess who liked children.

“Yes, no toxicity was detected at all. It’s also not a dangerous substance that becomes poison when consumed with specific foods.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“However, it has no efficacy for use as a treatment either.”

“That’s unexpected. Well, he’s such a clever child, so he must have his own thoughts.”

Cassian wouldn’t have been carrying around poison preciously, so it was an expected result.

Moreover, if it had really been poison, Elena wouldn’t have discovered it so easily.

“Cassian is making me do investigations I don’t want to do.”

It was uncharacteristic behavior for Elena, but it couldn’t be helped since Cassian was now the only precious thing left to her.

Especially since that son had a limited time to live.

“It’s natural that you would be worried about Young Master Cassian keeping unknown medicines close to him.”

Elena smiled without answering.

“What about the source of the drug?”

“I apologize. We haven’t found any leads yet.”

Elena sometimes couldn’t understand Cassian’s inner thoughts. No, there were times when even trying to guess felt frightening.

‘The hope that he might be able to live has been repeatedly crushed, so could Cassian really be in his right mind?’

That child had lived for too long being conscious of his short lifespan.

He would draw lines almost obsessively, afraid that someone special might appear around him.

As if he didn’t want to have any more attachment to life.

‘Even the tea parties I held under the excuse of liking children were useless.’

I had wanted to create precious relationships for Cassian that way.

“Go out for now. I need to organize my thoughts.”

“Yes, I will find the source of the drug even if I have to search every corner of the West.”

“Oh, wait.”

As if something had occurred to her, Elena hesitated.

“It’s unlikely, but… look into that herb garden the young lady tends to as a hobby as well.”

She wasn’t suspecting Damia.

Cassian, who didn’t trust even the renowned physicians throughout the empire, wouldn’t drink medicine given by a girl younger than himself.

She also hoped it wasn’t the case. The engagement with Damia was the first thing Cassian had chosen of his own will.

Still, she couldn’t let her guard down.

“Yes, understood. You must be tired, so I’ll take my leave now.”

Elena only nodded slightly and leaned back deeply into her chair.

“…There’s one more thing I find suspicious.”

The Maid Steward’s steps toward the door stopped.

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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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