I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 20

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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 20

“The Young Duke really seems to be completely smitten with Damia.”

Viscount Ponti twirled his beard around his finger.

“You’ve had many worries lately, so this is welcome news, my lord.”

The butler forced a smile, but the corners of his mouth trembled.

“There are even widespread rumors that the Duchess adores Damia. My shoulders naturally straightened with pride at gatherings.”

“Ahaha, how fortunate.”

“Hmm… At this rate, we might not need to insist on Count Fabron.”

The butler’s stomach turned cold. It was nonsense.

His vile mind spun rapidly.

He couldn’t let the years spent groveling before the incompetent viscount go to waste so meaninglessly.

“But my lord, without Count Fabron’s cooperation, the business you intended to start would be impossible to even begin.”

“Hmm… If Damia just becomes the Duchess of Sarkis, wouldn’t there be plenty of opportunities later?”

Cold sweat trickled down the butler’s neck.

‘I can’t just sit back and watch this.’

Count Fabron’s angry voice vividly echoed in his ears.

If he broke the promise, that cruel bastard wouldn’t leave the butler alone.

He gritted his teeth as if swallowing his fear.

The butler recalled the suspicious person he’d met through Count Fabron’s introduction a few days ago.

He’d thought it too dangerous then, but perhaps this wasn’t the time to be choosy about methods.

* * *

‘Riding it after so long makes me appreciate how nice it is even more.’

The Sarkis Ducal Family’s carriage was incomparably more comfortable than a hired carriage.

“Thank you for all the gifts, Young Duke.”

Cassian, leaning against the window, raised an eyebrow.

‘Earlier he was desperately clinging to me.’

As soon as they boarded the carriage, Cassian became relaxed again as if he’d achieved his goal.

“When you send gifts to my house in the future, please only send things that can’t be converted to cash.”

“I wondered why you made such a request, but it was because of the viscount?”

“Yes, he’s quite greedy.”

“I’ll have to secretly give you payment for the treatments without the viscount knowing from now on.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Damia hummed a little tune.

Earlier, Cassian’s tone had been so serious that she’d been tense, but it seemed it was just acting for her father’s benefit.

“What did you want to talk about when we’re alone? Are you finally going to honestly confess everything to me?”

“That’s right.”

“Really?”

“When we arrive at the mansion, follow me as quietly as possible. There’s someone you need to meet.”

‘What? I thought it wasn’t a big deal.’

Damia’s eyes narrowed.

“I’d prefer if Mother doesn’t know yet, so don’t make it obvious.”

“Who are you going to let me meet? You could just tell me directly.”

“My physician.”

“What? The reason you’ve been unusually kind to me lately… was because it required a doctor’s examination?”

Damia tilted her head, but the young boy offered no rebuttal in the end.

* * *

Cassian led Damia to the annex, avoiding the Duchess’s eyes.

The ducal family’s physician was waiting for them.

“So, you’re saying… your heart rate increased after contact with your fiancée?”

It was the doctor who had treated Damia on the boat trip day – gray-haired with a kind impression.

“That’s right. It sped up very noticeably. To a degree I couldn’t possibly ignore.”

“Then exactly what kind of contact… did you have?”

“I held her hand. It was probably the first time we touched skin to skin.”

“Hmm…”

“When our eyes met too, my heart beat even faster.”

What is he saying right now? Damia was dumbfounded and doubted her own ears.

“Are you trying to confess to me right now?”

“What?”

“Even if you like me that much… talking about this in front of the physician is too embarrassing.”

Cassian openly frowned.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not a metaphor, it’s fact.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. That’s why I brought you to the physician. So you’d understand my words without misunderstanding.”

“Hmm…”

“This is a very important matter for me.”

Damia glanced at the physician with confused eyes.

“Is it really true, Young Duke?”

The physician looked even more surprised than Damia.

“The Young Duke’s heart really…”

The physician couldn’t continue, watching Damia’s reaction.

“It’s fine, speak comfortably. Damia already knows what’s wrong with my heart.”

“You were… that close?”

Goodwill toward Damia spread in the physician’s eyes.

He even nodded as if moved.

“Wait a minute! I don’t understand the situation at all.”

“It’s exactly as I said. The moment I held your hand, my heart beat rapidly.”

“You’re talking about the boat trip day?”

“…Right.”

“Then why did you hide it all this time?”

Cassian’s red eyes wavered.

“Don’t tell me you were embarrassed?”

“…”

“Because your heart that was stopping started beating again from being so excited about me?”

“No, that’s not it…!”

Cassian, who was about to urgently explain something, suddenly closed his mouth.

“Of course, the fact that I cherish Viscount Ponti’s daughter greatly… yes, that’s right. She’s my fiancée, so it’s natural.”

Even though one cheek was strangely contorted, that face was still handsome.

It seemed he hadn’t revealed the circumstances of this engagement to the physician either, as if he was trying to act.

However.

‘Why is his acting so awkward?’

And suddenly ‘Viscount Ponti’s daughter’? He was calling me Damia just fine, so why the sudden distance?

It seemed she should help the Young Duke’s clumsy performance.

“You agreed to call me Damia. Are you being shy because we’re in front of others?”

She was trying to help, but Cassian swallowed a groaning sound.

“How I address you right now isn’t important… Yes, it is important.”

Cassian’s voice, which had been about to rise slightly, quickly subsided as he glanced at the physician.

When the young boy sighed, the black hair covering his forehead swayed lightly.

“Damia.”

Cassian’s voice sounded more mature than usual.

Even though it wasn’t the first time he’d called her by name, her heart sank with a thud.

The young boy’s red eyes gazing at Damia showed not the slightest waver.

Under that direct gaze, Damia bit her lip.

When she averted her eyes, Cassian’s red eyes also wandered through the air.

“Heh, heh heh heh…”

Coming to his senses, the physician was watching them with a pleased expression.

It was the kind smile of a grandfather watching his grandchildren’s lovers’ quarrel.

He seemed to misunderstand that the two liked each other so much they couldn’t even make eye contact just from calling each other’s names.

‘No, excuse me. It’s really not like that…’

Her toes kept curling from embarrassment, but she couldn’t add anything to the conversation.

There might be a confidentiality clause in the engagement contract that Cassian had insisted on giving her, though she hadn’t received it yet, which could make things awkward.

Damia turned her head away from the physician’s uncomfortably warm gaze.

Then she caught sight of Cassian with his handsome cheeks flushed red.

Huh? Wait, his face turned red?

“Young Duke, right now! Please put your hand on your chest once more.”

“Put my hand on my heart? Why all of a sudden?”

“Your face is red right now! Your heart might be beating fast again.”

The ticklish atmosphere between them completely disappeared, but Damia didn’t mind.

“I told you my heart wasn’t beating fast for that reason.”

“Still, please try it just once. This is the first time I’ve seen the Young Duke’s face this red.”

Cassian, who had been pursing his lips, let out a long sigh.

Without hiding his annoyed expression, he quietly placed one hand against his chest.

“…”

A silence fell as if time had stopped.

Both Damia and the physician were staring at the young boy as if entranced.

Damia unconsciously swallowed her dry saliva.

Cold sweat formed on her clenched fists.

“What exactly were you expecting? It’s the same.”

The physician clicked his tongue from the side, but Cassian didn’t seem particularly disappointed.

“No reaction at all. My heart is still so slow it feels like it might stop at any moment.”

“Ah…”

“So I told you it wasn’t because I was excited or surprised… or anything like that.”

Cassian slowly began removing the gloves from both hands.

“Wh-what are you doing right now?”

“I’m going to hold your hand.”

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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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