I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 26
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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 26
Cassian’s contemplation didn’t last long.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t calm down thinking I might die helplessly like this.”
Because Damia had swallowed her tears and lifted her head.
Her doll-like pretty face was completely soaked with tears.
“What nonsense is that? Do you think I’d let you die?”
Cassian declared quickly.
The knights smirked at the somewhat romantic statement.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Sob. I’m, I’m fine.”
There was no way she could be fine after nearly being kidnapped.
Cassian released his arms that had been holding Damia and began examining the girl thoroughly.
Her porcelain doll-like white skin made her reddened nose from crying stand out particularly.
Her disheveled hair, white cheeks full of scratches, and several scrape wounds on her exposed wrists.
She would need treatment, but she was in fairly good condition considering she was found in the forest at night.
But…
“There’s blood on your fingertips?”
“That’s not my blood, sob…”
The kidnapper must have bumped into something while trying to escape in a hurry.
‘Thank goodness.’
Unconscious relief warmed Cassian’s heart that had been growing cold.
“Nothing hurts badly either?”
“N-no, nothing.”
Damia’s slender body was still trembling like an aspen tree.
‘To think I suspected such a young child might be a spy.’
Cassian sighed and embraced the girl in his arms again to comfort her.
Just like long ago, when his nanny and the Countess had comforted young him.
But with the girl’s warm forehead touching his chin, he felt like he was the one being comforted instead.
“It’s cool.”
“…What is?”
“You, Young Duke. When I touch you, it’s cool and feels good.”
“What?”
Cassian’s ears turned red as he pushed Damia away.
“Why are you so flustered?”
His clueless fiancée asked while sniffling.
“Wh-what am I flustered about? I was just startled thinking you might drip snot on me.”
Damia’s mouth fell open as if she couldn’t believe it.
A chuckle escaped at that foolish expression.
And as soon as he realized that fact, he was startled.
It was as if he secretly found this girl cute.
“Let’s go back for now, quickly.”
Cassian thought it was fortunate that it was dark outside.
If she had noticed his flushed cheeks, Damia might have gotten false hopes again.
He didn’t want to give false hope to the child who liked him so much she was satisfied with just being a temporary fiancée.
‘Taking a carriage back is out of the question.’
Originally, he had planned to just visit the Viscount’s Manor, deliver the engagement contract, and leave.
So he had come out with only a few escort knights, without the cumbersome carriage.
‘What should I do?’
The carriage the girl had nearly been kidnapped in was abandoned right in front of them.
But no matter how inconsiderate a fiancé he was, he couldn’t tell her to ride in that again.
“I’ll ride with the young lady.”
One knight volunteered to escort Damia.
Cassian’s horseback riding skills were just as good, but the boy, who avoided contact with others to the point of being germophobic, wasn’t used to carrying others on his horse.
“I’ll escort her safely, so don’t worry.”
“…”
“…Young Duke?”
“Yes, please take care of her.”
Even while nodding, he wasn’t entirely pleased about entrusting his temporary fiancée to someone else’s hands.
Cassian’s chest was in turmoil with unknown emotions.
This feeling was a first for him.
‘A sister. Yes, she must feel like a sister, so I keep worrying about her.’
It was a mistaken conclusion typical of a boy who had no sisters.
* * *
“You really want to return to the Viscount’s Manor? Even after what happened?”
Even after arriving in front of Viscount Ponti’s Mansion as Damia requested, Cassian hesitated for a long time, looking reluctant.
“Yes, Young Duke.”
After hearing a brief explanation from Damia, Cassian immediately frowned.
“The butler was complicit in this kidnapping? What if you run into him?”
“That’s exactly why I need to go. I might be able to catch the butler at the scene.”
“Did the butler participate for money? Whose orders was he following?”
“Count Fabron is suspicious, but… there’s no evidence.”
Cassian could be seen clenching his fists tightly.
He seemed to be doing his best not to explode in anger in front of Damia.
“How did the butler trick you into getting in the carriage?”
“He said the Young Duke was looking for me… Oh, Romi!”
A stifled scream burst from Damia.
“He said they found Romi severely injured at the Sarkis Family Estate. He said she might die soon.”
“What? What kind of ridiculous story is that?”
With all the shocking events happening one after another, she had momentarily forgotten about Romi.
“He said Romi had slipped on the Nobleman’s Family’s Rear Mountain. The butler even presented a letter with the Young Duke’s signature as evidence.”
“I never wrote such a letter.”
“If the butler was lying, that’s a relief, but… I still need to quickly check if Romi is safe.”
When Damia tried to run toward the Viscount’s Manor, Cassian blocked her path.
“Your maid is safe, so don’t worry.”
“How do you know that, Young Duke?”
“I had urgent business and stopped by the Viscount’s Manor in the middle of the night. That’s when I encountered your maid in the garden, desperately searching for you.”
“What?”
“She said your errand took longer than expected and she arrived at the manor late, but by then you were already nowhere to be seen.”
“Why did you come looking for me, Young Duke?”
“First, tell me about today’s events in detail. Was that coachman someone you’d never seen before?”
Damia stopped abruptly.
She had kept her mouth shut for now because she didn’t know how to explain that man who resembled Cassian but didn’t seem human at all.
‘Oh, what should I do?’
Now that she had calmed down, seeing those vertically slit pupils seemed like a dream.
‘A dragon transformed into human form in this day and age? Does that make sense?’
How could she be certain she hadn’t seen a hallucination while gripped by extreme fear?
Or perhaps that man was simply mentally disturbed.
‘Besides, he threatened to make me suffer so painfully that death would be preferable if I revealed what happened today.’
Even though she felt she should confess to Cassian, all her words just lingered on the tip of her tongue.
“Damia?”
“Um… do you happen to have any hidden older brothers?”
Damia, who had been hesitating, finally spoke up.
“What are you suddenly talking about? Are you feeling sick somewhere?”
“Does that mean you don’t have any?”
“Ha, of course I don’t.”
“Then among your collateral relatives, is there anyone who looks remarkably similar to you, Young Duke?”
“No. Do you think there could be two faces like mine in this world?”
She had tried to probe whether he knew anything about that suspicious man—the one who looked too much like him—but Cassian seemed to know nothing.
“Actually, I was really startled earlier because that coachman looked incredibly similar to you, Young Duke. They looked almost identical.”
“What? The coachman looked exactly like me?”
“You think that’s ridiculous right now, don’t you?”
“No, well… I understand. It must have been scary to endure with a clear mind. Wasn’t it perhaps a hallucination created by your unconscious?”
Does he really think there aren’t two people in the world who look like him?
She let out a hollow laugh at the Young Duke’s excessive confidence.
“Yes. Let’s go with that. I’m so smitten with you, Young Duke, that I’d think of an identical face even before dying.”
Damia glanced at the group of knights lined up behind Cassian.
There might be spies among them too, so she felt she should be careful with her words.
“Damia, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
As they reached the entrance of the Viscount’s Manor, Cassian’s expression had become serious.
“We came here to check on the butler’s whereabouts, but this place is no longer safe for you.”
His voice was very resolute.
“Until the situation is resolved, I’ll protect you at Sarkis Palace.”
“What?”
“I’ll ask Viscount Ponti for permission right now.”
Damia blinked her eyes slowly.
“But… isn’t living together a bit too soon?”
“…What?”
Cassian, who had been dazed as if he didn’t understand, suddenly widened his eyes.
“T-too soon for what! That’s not what I meant!”
The young boy even blushed as he got flustered.
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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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