I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 31

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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 31

 

“Why are you so surprised, Young Duke?”

 

“Normally, shouldn’t you be angry and ask if I don’t trust you that much?”

 

“Why would I? I like the no interference in private life clause the most. I don’t overestimate myself, you know.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“If you hadn’t written it down so kindly and in detail like this, I think I might have gotten confused again.”

 

“…Really?”

 

“Think about it. How unpleasant would it be if I mistook your kindness for affection on my own!”

 

He tried to imagine it, but strangely, it didn’t feel bad.

 

‘What kind of nonsense am I thinking again?’

 

Cassian bit the inside of his mouth hard to hide his confusion.

 

“I like you very much, Young Duke, but I will never force my feelings on you! I’ll do my absolute best, so don’t worry.”

 

“No, I wasn’t telling you to grit your teeth and try that hard.”

 

“Oh, but still.”

 

“I’ll draw the line myself, so you just act as you normally do.”

 

“I proposed to protect you from unwanted courtship, so I can’t forget my duty and make you uncomfortable!”

 

Her cheerful voice made Cassian’s insides twist.

 

Even knowing it was a contradictory emotion, it wasn’t easy to swallow the rising bitterness.

 

“Sigh…”

 

But he couldn’t argue with Damia, who was grinning brightly.

 

“Fine. Just sign it.”

 

Somehow a deflated voice came out.

 

Whether Damia was perceptive or not, she even hummed softly as she finished signing.

 

“Thank you so much, Young Duke!”

 

Do you really like me?

 

Cassian’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

 

If she were truly an ordinary girl who admired Cassian, she should have been sad about that clause.

 

A no interference in private life clause – it would have sounded like he was openly saying he’d have affairs.

 

And this from a man whose life had been extended thanks to her, no less.

 

Just how broad-minded was Damia Ponti that she wasn’t even upset about this much?

 

His throat burned with inexplicable anxiety.

 

Cassian’s lips hardened stiffly as he received the engagement contract.

 

* * *

 

Several days had already passed since Damia Ponti entered the Duke’s mansion.

 

Damia’s gaunt cheeks began to show rosy vitality as she tasted all kinds of sweet things.

 

Though they were still too young for scandalous rumors to spread in high society, the Duchess provided the plausible justification of bridal lessons for the girl’s honor.

 

She added the story that there had been friendship between Duchess Sarkis and the late Viscountess Ponti, and through that connection, this was an engagement arranged long ago.

 

“The, the butler was found dead?”

 

When Cassian, who had invited her for a garden stroll, brought up this rather shocking matter, Damia’s eyes widened.

 

“Yes, so it’s not easy to find who’s behind it.”

 

“He’s dead…”

 

“As you said, Count Fabron is suspicious, but… it seems he carried out his plan more cunningly than expected. There’s no evidence other than your testimony.”

 

Something that could be called powerlessness was seeping into every part of his sculpted face.

 

“Who disposed of the butler? Did Count Fabron use someone?”

 

“That’s…”

 

The young boy hesitated with an uncertain expression, only moving his lips for a long while.

 

He had tried hard to track the traces left on the corpse, but there were no results. He had been putting off explaining to Damia because he felt ashamed.

 

‘It’s absolutely not because I want to keep her at the Duke’s mansion longer.’

 

Since the butler who had been targeting her was gone, Damia might say she wanted to return to the Viscount’s manor.

 

But he had to dissuade her since it was still dangerous. Though he wasn’t sure if Damia, who had unexpectedly independent aspects, would obediently listen to him.

 

Even his palms had dried up for no reason.

 

“The condition of the corpse was somewhat unusual, so it’s still difficult to make a definitive judgment.”

 

“What could be unusual about a corpse?”

 

“It didn’t seem like it was done by human hands. It was in a miserable state, as if someone had torn him apart with bare hands.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Was it too horrific a story for a thirteen-year-old girl after all?

 

Belated regret quietly raised its head.

 

It was the moment when Cassian was about to support the girl who was obviously weak-hearted.

 

“Then what did it seem like he was attacked by?”

 

“What?”

 

Though her fingertips were trembling slightly, Damia didn’t look terrified.

 

Rather, the girl’s purple eyes were shining very clearly.

 

Like someone who had gotten close to a clue they had been searching for a long time.

 

“Young Duke, actually…”

 

After hesitating, Damia opened her lips and let out a small sigh.

 

“There’s something I haven’t told you yet. At the time, I thought I might have seen things, so I let it pass…”

 

“What is it?”

 

“That man who pretended to be a coachman and looked like you that day. Actually, that man’s eyes were strange. His pupils were vertically slit like a reptile’s.”

 

“…What?”

 

“He seemed very angry that I had given you the cure. He said their plan had gone awry. He knew everything.”

 

His slowing heart seemed to stop with a thud.

 

The mad dragon killed by the founder of the Sarkis ducal family was publicly known as the last dragon.

 

But there had once been rumors that some surviving descendants mixed into the Empire, mimicking humans.

 

For such a long time there had been no signs, so it was often regarded like a forgotten ghost story.

 

‘Then the strange condition of that corpse makes sense too.’

 

There had been some questionable aspects about his father, the previous Duke Sarkis’s death as well.

 

‘Could the reason the curse’s seal suddenly weakened also be because they did something?’

 

That clan would be eagerly awaiting the death of Cassian, the last direct descendant of the Sarkis ducal family.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Cassian covered his mouth with one hand. Perhaps because he had concentrated too hard, something surged up from within.

 

“Young Duke! Are you alright?”

 

Startled, Damia approached him. Worry was clearly reflected in her purple eyes.

 

“…I’m fine.”

 

Though he could faintly taste blood in his throat, he had long since become accustomed to this level of pain.

 

“You don’t look fine at all. You haven’t been taking your medicine often lately – hasn’t your condition gotten worse?”

 

“…”

 

“I brought enough to last for a while, Young Duke.”

 

Cassian stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

 

She seemed to have noticed that he had skipped his medicine a few times because he didn’t want Damia to return to that terrible Viscount’s manor.

 

“Give me your hand.”

 

“What?”

 

Instead of answering, the girl began pulling at his glove.

 

“What are you doing now?”

 

“I’m taking off your glove.”

 

Cassian let out a hollow laugh at that calm reply.

 

When the glove wouldn’t come off despite her forceful pulling, Damia frowned her smooth brow.

 

“Please cooperate to make it easier to take off.”

 

“How can you say things like that so casually? Aren’t you embarrassed?”

 

“Sigh, really.”

 

Damia let out a sigh uncharacteristic of a child and stood on her tiptoes.

 

The girl cupped Cassian’s cheeks with both hands.

 

Unlike Cassian’s ice-cold fingers, a pleasantly warm temperature caressed his cheeks.

 

“You, you right now…!”

 

“It’s not like touching will wear it away, so please stay still.”

 

“…What do you think you’re doing!”

 

“Come to think of it, it doesn’t have to be just holding hands, right? Let’s at least try this once.”

 

He tried to shake her off but couldn’t even budge. Damia’s warmth held his entire body as if it were shackles.

 

In her sparkling violet eyes, only Cassian was reflected.

 

The moment he saw that sight, his breath caught in his throat.

 

Thump.

 

Cassian unconsciously brought his hand to his left chest.

 

He felt a very slow and faint vibration. His heart was beating.

 

“Didn’t you read the contract properly? Physical contact is only allowed in unavoidable circumstances.”

 

He tried to act nonchalant, but Cassian’s voice was tightly constricted.

 

“This is exactly one of those unavoidable circumstances, Young Duke.”

 

A breeze from somewhere gently stirred Damia’s silver hair as it passed by.

 

Cassian bit down hard inside his mouth at the girl’s characteristic sweet scent.

 

If he started to desire this little woman, how much more miserable would he become in the future?

 

He was already sufficiently unhappy just being terminally ill with little time left to live.

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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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