I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 27
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 27
“Didn’t you tell me to move my residence to the Duke’s mansion? Isn’t that cohabitation?”
“I just want a child like you to be safe. I’m willing to protect you directly if necessary.”
“A child! How much more of an adult is the Young Duke compared to me?”
“Do you really not know the answer to that?”
Damia let out a light sigh.
With only a two-year age difference, how long was he going to treat her like a child?
‘It’s not particularly unpleasant though.’
It was just unfamiliar since she had never received such treatment even from her father.
“Anyway, I’m truly grateful for today. I survived thanks to you, Young Duke.”
“It’s fine. Protecting you is my duty as your fiancé.”
He made such a fuss about not getting the wrong idea, yet she couldn’t understand why he treated her so well.
‘Isn’t this misleading? Acting in a way that’s perfect for misunderstandings.’
Damia unconsciously bit her lip.
Though he was still young and sometimes acted childishly, Cassian was quite a decent young boy.
If Damia had really been a thirteen-year-old girl, she might have truly fallen for him.
“Do you know something?”
“What useless thing are you going to say now?”
“I think the Young Duke is actually quite kind.”
As Cassian was left speechless, a brief silence flowed.
“Anyway, you’re my fiancée right now. Even if it’s fake.”
“Are you saying it’s kindness that comes from a sense of duty as a fiancé?”
“You understand well.”
The young boy chuckled softly. Damia was drawn by that sound and looked at him.
The faint moonlight cast beautiful shadows on Cassian’s sculpted face.
He looked more mature than usual.
Thump.
Damia was startled and looked down at her chest area.
No, why is my heart pounding like this?
As the girl froze right in front of her door, Cassian frowned.
“What are you doing? You must be tired, so you should rest quickly too.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Damia smiled awkwardly while pretending to be composed.
However, her heart was still in turmoil.
‘It’s not because I’m fluttered. It’s because I’m grateful! He even saved me today.’
She absolutely didn’t want Cassian to notice this confusion.
* * *
The rusted hinges of the door made an unpleasant creaking sound.
The Ponti Viscount’s Estate was dark and gloomy, and a chill flowed through the silent manor.
If they had noticed their daughter’s disappearance, lights would have been lit throughout the manor, and even the few servants would have been bustling about.
‘Does no one really know that Damia was almost kidnapped?’
Cassian’s eyebrows twitched.
‘Didn’t that maid Romi say she would report directly to the viscount?’
Damia Ponti was only thirteen years old.
No matter how inappropriate it was to interfere in another family’s domestic education, he couldn’t stand by and watch a child being neglected like this.
‘If I hadn’t stepped in, she would have been kidnapped. I really need to take her to the Duke’s mansion quickly.’
As he reconsidered the plan that Damia thought was just casual talk, light footsteps were heard from the kitchen area.
“Miss Damia… Gasp!”
A maid who was coming out with a late-night snack discovered them and was startled.
It wasn’t Romi, but one of the few servants at the Ponti Viscount’s Estate.
The maid seemed to recognize Cassian and couldn’t close her gaping mouth.
“Where is Father?”
“The, the Viscount? I think he went to bed early saying he was tired.”
Perhaps because the interior of the manor was dark, the maid didn’t seem to realize that Damia’s condition was unusual.
‘He’s peacefully sleeping?’
He was astounded by how the manor was being run. Cassian gritted his teeth.
No matter how much Damia liked him, it had been unexpected for a young lady from a humble viscount family to suddenly propose to the Sarkis Young Duke.
It was a very bold action, different from her previous reputation of being timid and having no presence.
‘She fell for me, but she probably wanted to escape from this household just as much.’
His heart seemed to twist with pity for the girl he had come to regard like a younger sister.
“This is ridiculous.”
He barely suppressed the urge to turn the manor upside down.
“I brought back this household’s precious young lady after saving her from almost being kidnapped, but no one even knew about it.”
“…What?! Kidnapped?”
“Wake up Viscount Ponti. I need to meet with him immediately.”
Cassian spoke in a very insolent tone.
* * *
Viscount Ponti, who arrived at the drawing room still half-asleep, looked shocked enough to faint upon seeing Cassian.
‘He must have heard from the maid beforehand, yet he’s pretending to be flustered.’
Father seemed to notice the Young Duke’s displeased mood before his daughter’s unusual condition.
There was nothing left about Father to disappoint her anymore.
“My, what brings the Young Duke here at this late hour?”
“You really were sleeping, I see.”
Viscount Ponti fidgeted restlessly, rubbing his hands together.
“Are you aware that Damia was almost kidnapped?”
“What? Ki, kidnapped?!”
The viscount’s mouth fell wide open.
This time it seemed like genuine surprise, not acting.
“So you didn’t know your daughter had disappeared?”
Perhaps frustrated that the viscount still couldn’t grasp the situation, Cassian pressed his temple firmly.
The viscount rolled his eyes and floundered. He seemed to be thinking about how to speak without further irritating the Young Duke.
“Well… the butler said nothing…”
“That butler is the very person who was involved in kidnapping Damia.”
“The, the butler? That can’t be!”
Viscount Ponti turned pale and his mouth fell open.
“Would an innocent person run away?”
“What? Run away? Did the butler disappear?”
“They say not a trace of him can be found.”
Cassian’s escort knights had completed their search of the manor very swiftly.
The quick-witted butler had already fled, and they could only find Romi, whom he had locked up in the warehouse.
She seemed to have been caught by the butler while trying to alert the entire manor of Damia’s disappearance.
“No, that can’t be. The butler was loyal his entire life… There must be some misunderstanding!”
“No, Father. That man tried to sell me to Count Fabron.”
“Wha, what? Count Fabron?”
Though she didn’t know how much Father was involved in this kidnapping plot, that aggrieved expression looked quite genuine.
‘The butler said he had a grudge against my mother and wanted to destroy me.’
The resentful eyes of the former butler were still vivid in her memory.
Was this something the butler had done on his own initiative?
Did Father know about what happened between the butler and Mother? Or were all of these just the butler’s lies?
She wanted to confirm the truth with Father, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Talk of the late Viscount’s wife had long been taboo at the Ponti Viscount’s Estate.
Even when Damia simply missed her mother, Father would fly into a rage. That angry face was still vivid in her memory.
“Even though the kidnapping failed, I have no intention of letting this matter slide. Everyone who tried to kidnap my fiancée will pay the price.”
“Y-you’re absolutely right. But I simply cannot believe that the butler conspired with Count Fabron.”
“Are you saying you can’t trust the testimony of your only daughter, Viscount?”
Viscount Ponti’s shoulders jerked greatly at that sharp criticism, cutting off his stream of excuses.
“We c-can’t accuse a count without evidence. I was… I was only worried that a scandal might harm Damia’s reputation.”
Father’s thin lips trembled finely.
“First, I’ll find that butler bastard by any means necessary and make him confess.”
The Young Boy’s red eyes sank darker than usual.
Viscount Ponti swallowed dryly under that cold gaze.
“And as soon as dawn breaks, I’ll move Damia’s residence to Sarkis Palace.”
Huh? Was he serious?
Damia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What? But you’re not even formally married yet – what are you talking about!”
The viscount, who had been timidly reading the room, raised his voice.
Father seemed far more flustered than Damia.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
