I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 69

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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 69

It was around when he was five years old.

Arsene was playing hide-and-seek with his mother when he ended up wandering into the neighboring house.

If he had known that place was the Ponti Viscount’s Estate, he would never have entered.

His father was quite a capable merchant even then, and was very excited about the newly acquired manor.

‘Our neighbor is a viscount’s family, they say. Quite a distinguished household.’

‘Oh my? That crumbling house?’

The Cadis couple took Arsene and visited the viscount’s manor.

Despite the barriers of social status, they believed neighbors could at least exchange greetings.

‘How dare a commoner set foot in this place!’

The Viscount Ponti of that time was much more stubborn than now.

On the day they returned after being turned away at the door, Father warned him not to even make eye contact with anyone from that household.

Not wanting to be scolded by his father, Arsene frantically searched for a hole to escape through.

“Where on earth does this lead?”

The place he arrived at after getting lost was a secluded garden that looked more like a weed patch than a proper garden.

Among the overgrown grass that had been left unattended, purple wildflowers were blooming abundantly.

‘Hello.’

When Arsene turned his head at the small voice, he felt as if his breath had stopped.

The little girl sitting on the grass was unrealistically beautiful.

A porcelain doll-like face, silver hair that sparkled more softly than moonlight, and violet eyes more brilliant than the wildflowers in her hand.

But it wasn’t just her appearance that left Arsene spellbound.

‘Are you crying?’

That girl was crying silently.

Tears dripped from her large eyes, flowing down her cheeks to the tip of her chin.

An ordinary child would wipe their tears with the back of their hand or their sleeve, but Damia just let the tears flow, not knowing what to do.

‘Sob… I’m Damia Ponti.’

‘Introductions are done! I already know.’

Damia Ponti stared at him intently with her tear-stained face.

Arsene felt something was off.

Why wasn’t anyone comforting this child who was supposed to be the only daughter of this house?

His father’s warning came to mind and he tried to ignore her and pass by, but his feet wouldn’t move.

‘Wipe your tears.’

‘But then my clothes will get dirty. Then I’ll get scolded again.’

‘What?’

Feeling frustrated, Arsene wiped Damia’s tears roughly.

But when the warm touch reached her, Damia burst into even more sorrowful tears.

‘I told you not to cry!’

Startled, Arsene awkwardly patted Damia’s back.

‘It’s because you’re comforting me. At home, everyone pretends not to notice no matter how much I cry.’

‘What are you talking about? You’re the young lady of this house!’

‘They say my mother died when I was born. So they say I shouldn’t cry.’

‘What? Who said such nonsense?’

‘My father did.’

Arsene couldn’t say anything in response.

Even to young Arsene’s ears, those were terribly cruel words.

‘No! That can’t be right!’

Only after Arsene comforted her for a long while did Damia reluctantly nod her head.

Looking at the girl with swollen eyes, a corner of Arsene’s heart stung sharply.

‘…I’ll comfort you for the rest of my life.’

So he ended up saying those words.

‘For life? Do you know how long that is?’

‘I know! It means something like forever.’

Actually, Arsene didn’t know the exact meaning either, but he didn’t want to be caught flinching.

‘Alright. I’ll allow it for now.’

Damia stared at him intently, then replied as if granting a favor.

‘Because you’re pretty.’

‘What?’

‘But only until someone prettier appears.’

Arsene blinked blankly.

Though he couldn’t fully understand the girl’s words, a certain conviction flowed through him like a thrill.

That he must never let anyone take away this position he had just claimed.

“…”

The fighting spirit that had blazed in the five-year-old was still the same at this very moment.

Now fifteen-year-old Arsene glared at the handsome face of Young Count Sarkis.

“And here is the front door, Young Count.”

“What, you show me the library and then immediately the entrance?”

“We couldn’t keep such a busy Young Count in our humble home for too long.”

Cassian let out a sharp, bitter laugh.

“I didn’t even get to sit down?”

“I saved you the trouble of having to get up again.”

Arsene smiled sweetly as he flung the door wide open.

* * *

Damia was enjoying the afternoon sunlight while nibbling on the desserts Cassian had brought her in abundance.

Thanks to Cassian taking Arsene away with him, she could enjoy some alone time after a long while.

But that peace didn’t last long either.

“Miss!”

“Come slowly, Romi. What’s the matter?”

Seeing Romi rush in breathlessly, Damia put down her teacup.

“Luke sent urgent news.”

“Don’t tell me it’s related to the monsters?”

“Yes, that’s right. Luke’s mercenary unit received a large-scale subjugation request. So he can’t leave his post for the time being.”

“Isn’t a large-scale subjugation dangerous?”

“Fortunately, it seems he won’t be going to the front lines.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

Damia was genuinely relieved, but Romi’s expression remained dark.

“But if Luke can’t take the lead, your plan will be disrupted, Miss.”

“Ah.”

“We’ve finished packaging all the lavender oil…”

Romi was right.

It was a product prepared targeting autumn. They needed to start releasing it to the market by now at the latest.

Until now, Luke had been moving around playing the role of a gentleman named L from Rodion.

Under the pretense of being a relative of a noblewoman from Rodion who owned these goods.

“True. We do need to promote it before the cold winds start blowing.”

On the surface, it looked no different from ordinary lavender oil.

But thanks to using lavender that Damia had grown herself, the fragrance was much richer and the sleep-inducing effect was definite.

It was bound to receive an enthusiastic response among nobles suffering from insomnia.

“I didn’t expect our hands to be tied like this.”

“There’s no choice. Well… there’s also the option of me going directly myself.”

“No! That’s too dangerous. What if someone recognizes you, Miss?”

Romi jumped up in shock.

“Why do you think I’ll definitely get caught? There are plenty of ways to hide one’s identity.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s a salon where people wear masks.”

“Don’t tell me… the Midnight Greenhouse?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

Damia’s eyes widened.

It was a place that even Damia from her previous life only learned about much later after becoming an adult.

“I have quite a few friends here and there. It’s a place maids like us can’t go to anyway, but everyone’s incredibly curious about it.”

“Ah.”

“They say everyone there hides their identity and uses aliases, so everyone has all sorts of fantasies about it.”

The Midnight Greenhouse was held in the underground of a closed grand theater.

The exterior was an unsightly abandoned building, but underground it was decorated like a greenhouse with plenty of luminous plants.

Who hosted it was kept strictly secret.

Mainly ladies were invited, but only very carefully selected gentlemen could enter as exceptions.

“I heard that unless you’re a noble young lady, you’d have to be at least an actress to get invited.”

“Exactly. So it’s perfect as a debut stage for a noblewoman from Rodion.”

“Pardon? But I heard only ladies who’ve had their coming-of-age ceremony can attend? And they say you absolutely can’t enter without an invitation…”

“I have one too, you know?”

Damia smiled slyly as she pulled out a thin bookmark made of crystal.

Inside the transparent crystal, a dark red rose bud was pressed as a dried flower.

“How did you get this?!”

“Thanks to Luke being very capable.”

“Really? Luke is that capable? That’s impossible!”

Romi trembled as if she had heard something unbelievable.

“You really get along well with Luke, don’t you, Romi.”

“Miss, you’re being sarcastic right now, aren’t you?”

“Of course not. I’m just envious.”

Damia shrugged her shoulders.

“What’s there to be envious of? That wonderful Young Count cherishes you so dearly.”

“Still, it’s not the same as having a real older brother.”

“Well, it would be different from real siblings. There’s no older brother in the world who would look at his younger sister with the same eyes as the Young Count does.”

“…Huh?”

Damia paused mid-way while lifting her teacup.

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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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