I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 39
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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 39
“Since you keep being so stubborn, I’m crying on your behalf.”
“Stay… still.”
Damia tried to wipe her tears with her sleeve, but Cassian was a bit faster.
When his cool fingers touched her eyes, Damia grabbed his hand.
It was an unconscious action, and a look of bewilderment crossed Cassian’s face.
Damia nonchalantly wiped her tears with the back of his hand.
“What… are you doing right now!”
“I was worried my clothes might get dirty.”
“You…!”
“All my nightgowns are expensive ones. Mother bought them for me.”
“Even so, using someone else’s hand!”
Damia tilted her head as if feeling wronged.
“Last time, the Young Duke said he laid out his handkerchief because he was worried about my expensive dress, not me.”
“You’ve been holding onto that all this time?”
“Of course. I hold grudges for a long time.”
Cassian seemed at a loss for words and only let out a short chuckle.
“…”
Was it because she was holding his hand tightly?
She could feel his irregularly racing breathing gradually calming down.
“I’m fine now, so let go.”
“I don’t want to.”
Damia shook her head.
If she let go of his hand, it felt like Cassian would be dragged back into that terrible pain.
“But… doesn’t contact seem more effective than the medicine?”
“No. The medicine is much better.”
Cassian replied firmly. It was unclear whether he truly believed it or just wanted to believe it.
“Then where’s the remaining medicine? I’ll get it for you.”
Only empty glass bottles were rolling around by the bedside.
“It’ll be hard to find.”
“Then shall I try to guess?”
Considering Cassian’s meticulous personality, he wouldn’t leave medicine somewhere conspicuous.
Damia looked around and then bent her head low. It was to look under the bed.
It was dark and hard to see, but one of the wooden slats on the floor was very slightly askew.
Damia pressed that part lightly.
Click.
When she lifted the wooden panel, a hidden space appeared inside. Glass bottles were neatly arranged there.
“I found it well, didn’t I?”
Damia smiled triumphantly.
Cassian let out a deep sigh and slowly drank the medicine.
Though he frowned as if even swallowing was difficult, his complexion gradually improved.
“Thank you.”
Cassian said after moving his lips for a long while.
“I know.”
“You really…”
“Am lovely?”
“Let’s not talk.”
“Young Duke, you really can’t do without me now, can you? My existence must be very precious to you.”
It was a light joke meant to lighten the awkward atmosphere.
She naturally expected him to tell her not to get the wrong idea…
“That’s right.”
“…What?”
“I said you’re right.”
Damia’s cheeks grew hot.
“So, so… you think you’re fortunate to have met me, right? Honestly, isn’t this a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Even though she deliberately went further, he quietly nodded.
“Well, that’s good! Then I’ll feel secure and take advantage of you, Young Duke.”
“Do as you please.”
“No, please be sharp with me like usual. I can’t adapt when you’re suddenly like this.”
“…Forget what you saw today.”
“What?”
“I don’t always grovel like this. You don’t need to pity me.”
He seemed embarrassed about being caught in a weak state.
“Why would I pity you, Young Duke? Don’t worry.”
“Are you serious?”
“You know how much I depend on you, Young Duke. How could I rely on someone I pity?”
Cassian’s expression finally relaxed. He seemed somewhat relieved.
“But what brings you here at this hour? Why weren’t you sleeping?”
“I had a nightmare.”
“What kind of nightmare?”
She hesitated whether to just brush it off, but on a day like today, it seemed better to answer honestly.
“The man who pretended to be a coachman on the day I was kidnapped appeared in my dream.”
Cassian’s eyes instantly sharpened.
“I thought I was fine, but I guess it was quite shocking after all.”
“Nothing like that will happen again. Don’t worry.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“Because I’ll make it so.”
“I’ll trust you. But from now on, don’t hide your weak side from me. I want to be someone you can rely on too.”
“…”
“Okay? Please promise me.”
When Damia held out her pinky finger, Cassian hesitated for a moment before hooking his finger with hers.
It was a very brief and light contact, but in that moment, they felt closer than ever before.
* * *
“Oh, Miss…!”
Damia, who had barely slept, finally managed to sit up.
“What’s wrong?”
She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She still felt like she was half-dreaming.
“There was a fire at the Viscount’s Manor. They say the flames have been put out, but…”
“…What?”
Her whole body stiffened at the unexpected news. This had never happened in her previous life.
“It was quite a big fire, so the damage seems extensive. They say about half the manor burned down…”
“Fa, Father?”
“Well… I don’t know the details yet…”
Romi trailed off with tears in her voice.
Her heart began racing uncontrollably. Her imagination ran wild in only the worst directions.
Damia shot up from her seat.
“I need to go see.”
She woke up instantly. Her mind snapped to attention as if cold water had been poured over her.
Had Father and the servants evacuated safely?
The things left behind in the manor came to mind one by one. Would the herb garden be safe?
No, why had the fire started in the first place?
‘Could this have happened because of those wildflowers?’
The scene from her nightmare flashed through her mind. She recalled the eerie smile of the dragonkin who had been pretending to be a coachman.
Had that not been just a dream, but a warning?
* * *
“Damia!”
Father came running with tears in his eyes. His clothes were torn and his hair was disheveled as if singed.
Fortunately, he didn’t appear to be injured.
“Father…”
He pulled Damia into his arms. There was a faint smell of smoke.
Seeing that Father was safe, her mind finally began to return.
‘Everything burned down.’
The small viscount’s manor seemed to have no intact areas. The outer walls were all blackened with soot, and the roof was on the verge of collapse.
“Are you alright?”
Cassian, who had followed Damia, asked Father.
“Yes, Young Duke. Thank you. Thanks to you… we saved our lives.”
She couldn’t understand what he meant. Damia looked at Cassian with puzzled eyes.
“I had stationed some knights at the viscount’s manor. To prepare for any potential danger.”
She had been completely unaware of this. Cassian seemed far more thorough than she had thought.
“Yes, Damia. The Young Duke’s men dealt with the wolf pack and extinguished the fire.”
“Wolves?”
“The wolves suddenly attacked and while everyone was distracted, someone seems to have set the fire.”
Damia’s hands trembled finely. It didn’t seem like a random accident.
Those wolves were probably not ordinary beasts either, but likely magical creatures.
“No one was hurt, but the garden you worked so hard to cultivate is ruined.”
Her breath caught. Damia couldn’t even blink.
“Damia! It’s dangerous, come with me!”
Leaving Cassian’s voice behind, Damia began running toward the backyard.
* * *
The garden was horribly destroyed.
Damia stopped in place, unable to take even one more step.
“Ah…”
No words came out.
Nothing remained. Only debris trampled by beasts or charred by fire was scattered about chaotically.
Had she been too complacent? Perhaps she should have prepared more thoroughly before leaving for the Duke’s mansion.
Damia collapsed as if her legs had given out.
She sensed movement behind her, then someone’s hand touched her shoulder.
“Young Duke…”
Cassian was looking at her with an awkward expression, as if he didn’t know how to comfort her.
“I’ll help you start over.”
His voice was low and careful. Damia swallowed the tears that were welling up.
She needed to quickly check if those purple wildflowers were intact.
Damia staggered forward. The closer she got to where she had planted the wildflowers, the harder her heart pounded.
Even if she lost everything else, if only those purple wildflowers remained, she felt she could endure it.
At the edge of the field, three or four wolves lay dead with their noses buried in the ground. They were corpses with tongues hanging out and eyes bulging.
Their eyes were chillingly red.
‘They really were magical creatures.’
No miracle had occurred.
All the wildflowers had been uprooted and burned. Nothing remained.
“Damia, are you okay?”
Cassian caught her swaying body.
“Why are you crying? Was it something important?”
“…”
“I’ll help you restore it. We can transplant them to the Duke’s mansion. So please… don’t cry.”
“It’s impossible.”
“What?”
Tears welled up, blurring her vision.
Her lips trembled so much she couldn’t pronounce a single word properly.
How could she tell Cassian?
That the one possibility that could have extended his life had just completely disappeared.
It had been a much more certain and proven method than the unpredictable effects of contact.
And that it might be because of her carelessness.
Countless words circled on the tip of her tongue, but only sobs escaped her lips.
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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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