I Proposed Because You Were Terminally Ill - Chapter 71

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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 71

‘Why is he looking this way!’

Damia, who had been backing away, bumped her back against a pillar. There was nowhere to escape.

Even though she was wearing a mask, she felt as if her bare face was exposed.

‘That does seem to be Cassian.’

Even in the relatively dim lighting, his black hair and red eyes were eerily vivid.

His presence wasn’t something that could be erased by a mere mask covering just his eyes. Cassian must have known this too.

Though their eyes had only met briefly, Damia was certain.

He had no particular intention of hiding his identity even in such a secretive salon.

‘Has he been frequenting places like this behind my back?’

The Midnight Greenhouse was a secret social gathering held in an abandoned theater, so the atmosphere was quite different from typical banquets.

But Cassian showed no signs of being unfamiliar or nervous at all.

Of course, there was nothing particularly wrong with a young count on the verge of adulthood frequenting social clubs.

But…

Damia unclenched her tightly clenched fist. In any case, it wasn’t something for a temporary fiancée to interfere with.

‘It is strange that no rumors have spread so far.’

No matter how exclusive the gathering, the fact that the Cassian Sarkis was enjoying entertainment while wearing a mask should have become gossip quickly.

At the very least, stories about how that dignified young count was actually an open-minded person receptive to socializing with ladies should have spread.

However, Cassian’s reputation remained perfect.

Whether he had thoroughly silenced people, or because his visits were actually rare despite that natural attitude, was unknown.

‘But why is he still looking at me?’

Usually when eyes meet, people would give a light nod, but Cassian’s red eyes were persistently binding Damia.

‘Maybe I should have changed my eye color too?’

The problem was that there was no way to do that.

Anyway, except for her purple eyes, there were no clues for Cassian to recognize Damia.

She had changed her hair color, wore a mask covering more than half her face, and even wore a mature and sophisticated dress completely different from her usual style.

Moreover, the original Damia had neither the inclination nor the age to set foot in such a salon.

‘Right. I should act nonchalant instead.’

Damia picked up a drink from a passing butler’s tray.

Slowly bringing the glass to her lips, she gave a slight eye-smile toward Cassian, who was still staring intently at her.

‘If I’m going to act, I need to do it properly.’

Damia slightly raised her glass toward Cassian, proposing a toast.

When he raised an eyebrow, Damia went further and winked with one eye.

“…!”

Cassian’s brow twitched. He seemed to be trying not to show it, but she could see his hand gripping the glass tighten.

‘Fortunately, it’s not alcohol.’

As the sweet aroma of fruit juice spread in her mouth, her tension seemed to ease a little.

“Miss, that person, could it be…”

“Shh.”

Quick-witted Romi whispered to her.

“He doesn’t seem to have recognized us.”

“True. Your disguise is perfect, Miss.”

Romi seemed relieved as she patted her chest.

“He might have felt you looked somewhat familiar. But… huh?”

While briefly talking with Romi, Cassian, who had been standing firmly at the hall entrance, had disappeared without a trace.

“He must have gone somewhere else.”

“Someone probably approached him to talk. He’s such a famous person, after all.”

She replied, pretending to be indifferent.

No matter how recently he had entered, Damia couldn’t have been the only one who recognized Cassian’s identity here.

As soon as he entered, the young ladies around had stirred.

‘Whatever Cassian does here is none of my concern.’

Seeing how he didn’t approach despite making eye contact for so long, he clearly had no great interest in this side either.

Damia tried to calm her pounding heart.

‘Let me pull myself together.’

There was a separate purpose for coming to the Midnight Greenhouse. Today was the debut day of the ‘noblewoman from Rodion.’

Instead of worrying about Cassian’s conduct, she needed to think of ways to achieve her goal without drawing his attention as much as possible.

In place of Luke, who was away on monster subjugation, she had to promote lavender oil to the women attending this salon.

Damia looked around while covering her mouth with a fan. Each time she fanned herself, a subtle lavender fragrance spread.

“Who should we approach first?”

Romi also searched for targets with keen eyes.

“You memorized the list Luke gave us, right?”

“Yes, I checked everything thoroughly. We can’t make any mistakes.”

“Then how about Baroness Golt?”

Bertha Golt, Baroness.

Berta had entered as the second wife of an old baron, bore him an heir, and solidified her position.

The Golt family was wealthy, owning the Empire’s finest vineyards, and it was said that all wine in the central-west region was made from Golt grapes.

“Do you think she’s here today?”

“Probably. They say she never misses occasions like this.”

Berta, who had secured the mistress position at a young age, often relieved her stress through all sorts of parties and social gatherings.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that all gossip in the West began at Berta’s mouth and ended at her ears.

“Oh…!”

“Madam! Are you alright?”

Just then, murmuring sounds came from the center of the hall.

A noblewoman who had been chatting while surrounded by gentlemen staggered and collapsed to the floor.

She was wearing a butterfly-shaped golden mask.

It was exactly the mask that Berta, who enjoyed flaunting her presence anywhere, was said to favor.

“That looks like Baroness Golt… what’s wrong?”

“She seems to have collapsed?”

The situation wasn’t good enough to say they had saved themselves the trouble of searching.

While the people around panicked and bustled about, Berta’s complexion was rapidly turning pale.

Due to minimizing staff under the pretext of being a secret salon, there was woefully insufficient personnel to handle emergency situations.

“Miss… no, wait!”

As Damia pushed through the crowd without hesitation, startled Romi grabbed her sleeve.

Despite Romi’s restraint, Damia couldn’t take her eyes off Berta.

Berta, half-lying against a pillar, was gasping and clutching the area around her heart.

‘Is it hyperventilation?’

It was a familiar symptom. The moment she realized this fact, she absolutely couldn’t pretend not to know.

“Please move aside!”

People hesitated and stepped back at Damia’s firm shout.

“Block the view!”

While Romi blocked people’s gazes, Damia immediately reached behind Berta’s back.

Her fingertips caught the tightly pulled corset strings.

“Excuse me, Madam. I’m making it easier for you to breathe.”

Damia loosened the knots.

“Gasp, huff…!”

As the pressure that had been constricting her ribs disappeared, Berta’s chest expanded greatly.

However, her breathing, terrified, was still irregular.

Damia carefully placed Berta’s cold hands on her chest and stomach.

“Madam, look into my eyes. Breathe with me. One, two.”

“I, I can’t… I feel like I’m dying…!”

“You can do it. Slowly breathe in, pause for a moment, then breathe out.”

“Hah, haah…”

“You need to move your stomach, not your chest. Come on, slowly.”

Damia’s voice was low and calm.

Her instructions seemed so practiced that no one stepped forward to stop her.

“Haah… whew…”

Though her breathing gradually stabilized, Berta still looked terrified.

Damia called the butler over and grabbed something from his tray.

“Eat this. It’s lemon candy.”

“Ugh…”

“Eating something sour will help clear your head.”

Berta squeezed her eyes shut and reluctantly put the candy Damia offered into her mouth.

“Ah…”

The momentary stimulation seemed to calm her surging anxiety, as focus returned to Berta’s eyes.

She looked like she could finally breathe again.

“…Thank goodness.”

Damia said, hiding her trembling fingertips. Though she tried hard to appear composed, cold sweat ran down her back.

“You’ll be fine now.”

“But, but… I really thought I was going to stop breathing…”

“It’s a common symptom when you’re in crowded places. It’s not a serious illness, so don’t worry.”

In fact, it was more of a psychological factor than a physical problem.

Damia knew this well because she had suffered from this symptom in her previous life.

“Th, thank you…”

Berta looked up at Damia with teary eyes.

Just as she was about to nod.

“My goodness, did you see that just now?”

“Who is that woman?”

Exclamations and murmurs erupted from all around.

‘Oh, I’m screwed.’

As the price for her body moving before her head, she had drawn far too much attention.

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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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