I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 32

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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 32

 

“Are you watching Miss Damia again?”

 

Cassian Sarkis was ending his fifteenth summer in a state of great agitation.

 

It was because of his temporary fiancée who wouldn’t leave his mind all day long.

 

“No, I’m not.”

 

“What do you mean no? You called me to give a report, but you’ve been stuck to the window the whole time.”

 

“I was just looking outside.”

 

“And it just happens to be exactly the time when Miss Damia takes her daily garden walk with the Countess.”

 

Alec, the knight who had accompanied him to rescue Damia and his loyal aide, chuckled quietly.

 

“Oh my, you’ve fallen hard.”

 

“It’s not like that.”

 

“Didn’t you act just like this when we went to rescue the young lady? ‘I can’t live without that girl!'”

 

“Shut your mouth. I’ve told you countless times that wasn’t what I meant in that embarrassing way!”

 

Cassian’s sculpted forehead wrinkled at Alec’s imitation.

 

The Sarkis Knight Order was generally very respectful toward Cassian.

 

However, perhaps because they had watched Cassian grow up by his side, they were all eager to give advice on romantic matters as if they were his older cousins.

 

“Someone who mimics my face was targeting Damia. I’m just keeping her in my sight because I need to protect that girl.”

 

Veins stood out on Cassian’s clenched fist.

 

He thought he had rescued Damia from danger, but it turned out the girl had become endangered because she helped Cassian.

 

“Hmm… That coachman imposter probably wasn’t a pure-blood dragon. It would be impossible in times like these.”

 

Alec spoke in a serious tone.

 

Alec was one of the few closest confidants who knew that Damia and Cassian’s engagement was a transaction.

 

“You’re right. If it had been a real dragon, there would have been no reason to flee because of us.”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“It could have annihilated the entire town with a single breath.”

 

“You mean those rumors about those with dragon blood living while wearing human shells. Those weren’t just empty rumors after all. They call that clan the Dragon Clan, don’t they?”

 

“We need to find that family somehow. If their power grows any larger, they’ll become much more troublesome.”

 

“Yes, we’re doing our best.”

 

Alec bowed his head with a solemn expression.

 

As if his playful joking from moments before had been a lie, his tightly pressed lips looked very loyal.

 

“What’s the possibility that Count Fabron is connected to the Dragon Clan? Even if not, that bastard is absolutely disgusting, so we need to deal with him somehow.”

 

“Yes, first we’ve planted people in the Count’s Mansion as you instructed last time.”

 

“He needs to pay the price for daring to touch my fiancée.”

 

Cassian’s red eyes darkened ominously.

 

At that obvious anger, the corners of Alec’s mouth twitched again.

 

“Are you laughing right now?”

 

“No, you say the engagement is just a transaction, but your actions show you’re completely smitten with Miss Damia… Ah, no. You’re just maintaining courtesy as a gentleman.”

 

When Cassian gritted his teeth, Alec half-lowered his tail.

 

“The Young Duke just cherishes Miss Damia like a younger sister. Yes, yes, I understand perfectly. But does someone who doesn’t even have a sister really know what treating someone like a real sister is like?”

 

“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, get out right now!”

 

“Yes, yes, I’ll resolve what you’ve entrusted to me as quickly as possible.”

 

The knight who had gotten a taste for teasing the Young Duke couldn’t hide the laughter seeping into his voice until the end.

 

‘Ugh, a knight giggling like children over personal matters.’

 

Cassian irritably ran his fingers through his black hair.

 

He was just trying to give proper compensation for Damia’s usefulness, and since he was relatively more mature than the girl, he was just trying to protect that child well.

 

But since the girl had almost been put in danger because of Cassian, his gaze kept lingering in that direction out of guilt.

 

‘I absolutely don’t like that girl, but seeing everyone misunderstand like that, I should definitely keep more distance.’

 

However, when he saw color return to Damia’s pale cheeks and watched her busily moving around the palace, the corners of his mouth kept rising on their own.

 

‘Right, I’m just pleased. I’m proud to see a girl I regard like a younger sister gradually becoming healthier after coming here.’

 

He forcibly brainwashed himself and leaned back deeply in his chair with his eyes closed.

 

Really?

 

A question quietly raised its head from a corner of his heart.

 

‘It might be confusing because this is the first time I’ve become this close to a girl my age.’

 

Perhaps he should get used to this situation, even if it meant socializing with other young ladies.

 

Though he really didn’t feel like it.

 

* * *

 

“You look like a fairy, Miss Damia!”

 

Summer was approaching its end. Damia had finished dressing up to attend Countess Sarkis’s last tea party of the year.

 

Damia wore a light purple chiffon dress, and her wavy silver hair was half-tied and left to flow long.

 

A transparent crystal sparkled on her pale, slender neck.

 

‘Not bad.’

 

When Damia playfully spun around once, squealing cheers erupted from the maids.

 

“You came out faster than expected?”

 

When she opened the door and went out, Cassian was waiting for her, leaning crookedly against the wall.

 

Whether it was because this was the last tea party of the year, or because of the Countess’s urging, Cassian was also quite well-dressed.

 

When he combed back his fine black hair, his clean and straight forehead was revealed. He looked more mature than usual.

 

“You’re breathtakingly handsome today, Young Duke.”

 

Cassian merely raised an eyebrow once.

 

“Your face is truly perfect sculpturally. I feel proud just looking at it.”

 

Damia didn’t pay much attention to his non-response and admired him purely.

 

‘Huh? What’s wrong with him?’

 

When she approached closer, for some reason Cassian avoided her gaze.

 

“Fine, I get it. Then I should compliment you out of courtesy too.”

 

“You don’t really have to?”

 

“You’re… well, that is…”

 

Cassian pondered deeply. He moved his lips for a very long time.

 

“You seem to have put quite a bit of effort in. It’s not bad… to look at.”

 

“…What? That’s it?”

 

Cassian quietly bit his lip. After saying it, he seemed to regret it as if thinking ‘oh no.’

 

“Um… That was a compliment, right? Anyway, thank you!”

 

Damia held her dress hem and bowed her head slightly. Her perfect etiquette stood out.

 

When the girl gracefully handled even his terrible compliment, Cassian seemed embarrassed instead and cleared his throat.

 

“Thanks for what.”

 

Cassian, whose ear tips had turned red, extended one arm. Damia linked arms with him without hesitation.

 

‘He must be embarrassed.’

 

Damia pressed her lips together tightly to hold back her laughter.

 

She had thought he was either stone-hearted or had his eyes fixed on the sky, but today it seemed Damia looked quite pretty in his eyes too.

 

* * *

 

The garden of Sarkis Palace was beautiful even in late summer.

 

Damia sipped the grape juice that the Countess had prepared instead of champagne and fell into thought.

 

‘But when exactly does the Young Duke die?’

 

It’s not that she wanted him to die quickly or anything like that…

 

She tried to recall her past life memories, but couldn’t remember exactly.

 

She was only certain that Cassian died before coming of age and couldn’t inherit the title.

 

Around that time, Damia was already confined to Count Fabron’s mansion under the pretext of bridal lessons.

 

She was in the dark about outside news, and with each day being the same, her sense of time had grown dim.

 

‘It’s certain that Cassian took the cure earlier than in his previous life.’

 

So he might be able to live longer than he did back then.

 

Though it seemed like he was still secretly coughing up blood these days, he wasn’t in such a critical state that he would die immediately.

 

Damia’s gaze lingered on Cassian, who had left his fiancée alone today to mingle with children his own age.

 

‘Of course I want Cassian to safely become the Duke, but…’

 

Then when exactly should this temporary engagement end?

 

And how long would she have to stay at the Duke’s mansion?

 

“Come to think of it, it seems Lady Drury didn’t come.”

 

“Oh my, how unusual. She always attended every party held at the Duke’s mansion without fail.”

 

A conversation that was hard to ignore flew into Damia’s ears and struck her.

 

Drury wasn’t here?

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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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