I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 21

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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 21

“What? Right now?”

“Yes.”

“You want to hold my hand all of a sudden?”

“I’m already certain, but wouldn’t it be satisfying for you to confirm it in front of the physician?”

The black glove fell onto the table.

Cassian’s large hands for a boy and straight fingers were revealed.

“I was thinking of hiding this fact for a while since you’d probably be flustered.”

“….”

“But you told me to be honest.”

“Did I… say that?”

Damia stepped back hesitantly.

“You did. You even threatened to keep your distance if I didn’t give you a reason.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just, um….”

Life finally began to stir in Cassian’s red eyes.

As he stared at me intently, I felt like I’d encountered a predator at a dead end.

“Come here, Damia.”

“Ugh.”

“A dying person is asking you a favor, and you won’t grant it? You’re more heartless than you look.”

He approached with large steps and extended his hand to Damia.

“I’m a gentleman, so I won’t make unreasonable demands of you.”

A real gentleman probably wouldn’t call himself one, but….

“Still, holding hands before marriage isn’t a big problem, right?”

Damia bit her lips tightly and glared at the young duke’s hand.

The two had already shaken hands not long ago.

Damia had even been the first to extend her hand back then.

It was because Cassian, who promised not only an engagement but also generous compensation as payment for the cure, had seemed like a very satisfactory business partner.

‘Why am I so conscious of it today?’

She should be able to take that hand casually like last time, but her heart kept pounding.

“Hurry up.”

“Young Duke….”

“Damia.”

Cassian glanced toward the elderly physician.

It seemed to mean it would be strange if his fiancée showed too much reluctance with someone watching.

“Alright. As you know, I like you so much, Young Duke… I was just hesitating because I was so nervous.”

Making an excuse clearly meant for the physician’s benefit, Damia responded to the boy’s handshake.

She was so embarrassed that she barely grasped just his fingertips.

“Ah, wait a moment…!”

But after Cassian raised an eyebrow once, she soon had to give him her entire hand.

Was it the aftermath of her stopping heart?

The young duke’s hand was shockingly cold.

It was so cold and even more embarrassing that she wanted to quickly pull her hand away.

But Cassian seemed to have no intention of letting her go.

“….”

They were close enough that she could count Cassian’s eyelashes.

As always, it was a perfect face.

‘Why is my heart beating like crazy?’

Damia desperately tried to think of other things to cool her flushed cheeks.

“…Huh?”

Then, a low exclamation flowed from Cassian.

“Why, what? It was just your imagination after all, right?”

He didn’t answer and turned his gaze to the physician.

The kind-looking old man approached with his examination tools.

‘It can’t be?’

She felt dizzy from a situation she had never imagined even in her previous life or dreams.

“Young Duke, your heartbeat is truly….”

The old man stammered with a moved expression but ultimately couldn’t finish his words.

But Damia could clearly tell what he was going to say.

Because Cassian was smiling as if he had expected this. It was a smile filled with satisfaction after a long wait.

‘Really? What does the dragon’s curse have to do with me!’

At that moment, Cassian pulled Damia’s hand toward himself.

Despite being only two years apart, Damia, who was smaller and thinner than her peers, was half-buried in the young duke’s embrace.

“See, I was right.”

“This is impossible….”

“It’s similar.”

The boy whispered in Damia’s ear.

Damia tilted her head at those unexpected words.

“Similar? What is?”

Cassian stared at Damia intently for a while without answering.

He smelled of clean grass and earth. Had he spent time in the forest before coming to see Damia?

Perhaps because of that scent, even though she wanted to avoid his eyes, she couldn’t move.

“The feeling is similar to when I took the medicine you gave me.”

Though it wasn’t painful at all, Cassian’s hand holding Damia tightened with strength.

Even his shoulders were trembling faintly.

“That can’t be…. This doesn’t make sense.”

“What does that matter? What’s important is that it wasn’t my imagination.”

Unlike the young duke who was usually indifferent to everything, his red eyes sparkled brightly.

Pure joy could be felt from his tightly pressed lips as if trying to hold back laughter, and a faint obsession from his red eyes that finally showed life after so long.

What? Wait. Obsession?

‘No, this won’t do. Really, truly, absolutely won’t do.’

This was an unexpected situation that was absolutely not in Damia’s plans.

* * *

Damia fled home with her face bright red from panic.

Even though she fanned herself constantly in the carriage, she couldn’t calm down at all.

‘I’ve become quite serious about this temporary engagement.’

Cassian seemed like he didn’t want to be apart from Damia for even a moment.

But perhaps judging that controlling the excited physician came first, he eventually let Damia go.

‘What am I supposed to do even if a dying person becomes serious!’

Damia tried to steady her wavering heart, but whenever the young duke’s face came to mind, her ears kept burning.

‘At first, I suspected you. Of course, I still don’t completely trust you.’

When they were alone, Cassian calmly revealed his reasons for keeping the secret.

‘After watching you continuously, I became convinced that you too were an unexpected phenomenon. If you had ulterior motives, you would have tried to exploit it immediately.’

‘And then?’

‘Well, even if there were other intentions, I acknowledged that the one who needs the other is ultimately me.’

It was a smile that seemed confident he could perfectly control the variable that was her.

“You’ve returned quite late, Miss.”

“Eek!”

Damia let out a startled scream.

The Butler was glinting his eyes in the darkness.

“What’s going on?”

“The Viscount went to bed early, so I was waiting for you in his stead.”

“Usually you don’t care whether I come in or not.”

“That’s a misunderstanding, Miss. I was simply busy managing the manor without a Maid Steward.”

Though his tone was gentle, there were thorns embedded within it.

“A letter has arrived for you as well, Miss. Your friend has been contacting you quite frequently lately.”

“Friend? I only have one person I could call a friend… Oh, could it be that Arsene already sent a reply?”

Damia’s expression brightened considerably.

“You could have just given it to Romi… Well, thank you anyway.”

Damia extended her hand, but the Butler slowly shook his head.

“Romi is practically someone the Young Duke brought here, isn’t she?”

“So what?”

“If Romi knew, it might reach the Young Duke’s ears. That’s why I wanted to deliver it to you personally.”

The Butler’s voice became subtle.

“I can’t let unnecessary misunderstandings ruin the relationship between you two.”

“Misunderstandings?”

“Would the noble Young Duke be pleased to hear that his fiancée is associating with a commoner boy?”

Damia’s eyes twisted with displeasure.

“The Young Duke isn’t such a narrow-minded person.”

“I wonder about that.”

“Arsene and I are just close friends.”

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

The Butler smiled sinisterly as he handed the letter to Damia.

“But… why is the manor so quiet?”

Damia looked around as she took the letter.

Though the manor was never particularly noisy, today it was unusually quiet, as if everyone had gone to sleep.

“We did a deep cleaning today. With so few servants, everyone seemed tired and went to bed early.”

“What about Romi? She should have returned from her errand to the town.”

“She said she would meet a friend while she was out, and hasn’t returned yet.”

“She still hasn’t come back?”

“I couldn’t scold her since you’re so fond of her, but she’s quite the one for having fun.”

The Butler’s smooth smile grated on Damia’s nerves.

“You look tired, so please go in and rest.”

Though there was nothing objectively suspicious, she kept feeling needless doubts.

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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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