Chapter 04
“I’m sorry, Count. That’s impossible.”
“Hmm?”
“I have someone I love.”
Damia clenched her small fists to avoid accidentally flinching.
‘I must buy some time, even if it means incurring the wrath of that old count.’
Next time, I’ll shove some herbs into that haughty little duke’s mouth to get his temporary fiancée position.
“Damia! What is a girl who just stays locked in her room and reads books saying now…!”
His father, Viscount Ponti, glared at him. The butler fidgeted and stamped his feet.
Both of them looked like they wanted to shut Damia’s mouth right away.
“Ha, hahaha. Love?”
At that moment, Count Fabron, who had been frozen in surprise, burst into loud laughter.
“My daughter has had a slight fever since this morning and is now talking nonsense….”
“It’s okay. Children’s puppy love isn’t a big deal.”
Damia’s father, who was trying to cover up her sudden behavior, hesitated.
Count Fabron had a very kind smile on his face.
‘Huh? This won’t do.’
Originally, I was going to make Count Fabron lose his temper and turn back.
He may not be able to eliminate Damia from the bride race to this extent, but at least he can buy some time.
“Young-ae still has a cute side to her, like a child.”
But there was still goodwill in the old count’s eyes.
“Still, it would be better to learn more about the qualities of a noble lady.”
“Count….”
“Well, she seems quite clever, so she’ll soon become a model lady.”
He rubbed his hands together as if he was really looking forward to that moment.
“It’s okay, Count.”
That reaction sent shivers down my spine, but Damia smiled and responded kindly.
If you lose in a battle of momentum, you will end up without even recovering your initial investment.
“It’s truly unfortunate that I can’t enter the Count’s household. Actually, I already proposed to the person I love some time ago.”
“What, what did you say? You got proposed to?”
Viscount Ponti’s eyes widened to their limit.
“No, Father. Listen carefully. I proposed to you.”
It was a slightly annoyed nagging that didn’t match the gentle voice at all.
Damia was smiling calmly, but her father and butler were on the verge of falling backwards.
“What, what nonsense is that! A woman proposing first!”
The Belotean Empire was extremely strict about the chastity of unmarried noble ladies.
When Damia shamelessly challenged his worth as a bride, Viscount Ponti’s clenched fists trembled.
“But… what can I do? I’m so deeply in love with him that I can’t help but feel helpless.”
Damia blinked slowly and tilted her head slightly.
At that peaceful expression, Viscount Ponti pounded his chest as if his heart was burning.
‘If only my father had collapsed right here, things would have been easier.’
Then, the old count would have no choice but to step down for today.
I didn’t feel any guilt at all, perhaps because I had left filial piety behind in my past life.
“Father, the moment I first met her, I decided: if I couldn’t marry that beautiful woman, I would rather enter a monastery and remain single for the rest of my life.”
“Damia, please shut your mouth!”
“I actually seem to be quite visually sensitive. So, I’m sorry to say, I’m not at all… attracted to you, Count.”
“Damia!”
Now Damia’s father was on the verge of foaming at the mouth.
“I was going to let it slide because it was cute when it was just a little bit too much, but it’s trying to climb over my head.”
The smile that had been on Count Fabron’s lips disappeared.
As the count’s voice dropped a tone, his hands began to tremble slightly.
Damia was deeply hurt by this fact. It was a fear she had learned from her past life.
“and…….”
Damia hid her trembling hands behind her back and parted her lips.
“Forcing me to marry a count who is older than my father for the sake of the family… isn’t that too harsh for a young lady like me?”
Damia answered with a determined look in her eyes.
I felt like my whole body would freeze with fear if I didn’t keep talking.
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden, Damia? You’ve been attending tea parties you never went to before. I’m starting to think you’re delusional or something.”
As Damia stood upright, seemingly oblivious to the gravity of the situation, her father, Viscount Ponti, began to breathe more heavily.
“Oh, it’s because of the tea party, Father. I met him there.”
At that moment, my father’s face turned pale.
It seemed as if he suddenly remembered Damia boasting that she would bring him a fiancée far better than Count Fabron.
“There is no boy in the whole empire as perfect as him.”
“You, you……!”
My father began to tremble as if he had realized something.
“Hey, you didn’t say anything to the Duke of Sarkis, did you?”
Please tell me it’s not just that.
Damia seemed to hear the words her father had never dared to say.
“I don’t believe you’re that crazy…….”
“Oh, you were very accurate just now.”
“Damia! Will the Duke’s household just sit by and watch you, who doesn’t know your place? Do you really need to be tied up somewhere to bring you to your senses?”
At his father’s old age, a strange light appeared in Count Fabron’s hazy eyes.
“I agree. I think your daughter needs some proper ‘discipline.'”
Damia bit her lip and barely swallowed her curses as she recalled the countless ‘disciplines’ she had received in her past life.
“How dare you call me Little Duke Sarkis! Does that make any sense!”
The father seemed anxious that he might miss the opportunity to sell his daughter for a high price.
“Well, I thought so too.”
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice brought silence to the noisy room.
He still has a boyish air, but his voice is low enough to be pleasant to listen to, and his attitude is relaxed, as if he fully understands the authority behind his words.
“Yes, Your Majesty the Young Duke Sarkis!”
Pitch-black hair and red eyes that immediately catch everyone’s attention.
A level of sculptural perfection that is almost impossible to find a single flaw in.
“Ah, no, how could the little duke come to our lowly family without even a word……!”
Her mere appearance was enough to turn everyone around her into mashed potatoes.
Even the Duke’s rather handsome attendants who followed the Duke were quickly buried in the background.
Damia was amazed by this wondrous sight even in the midst of all this.
“The Count’s daughter has a knack for making ridiculous things seem real.”
Perhaps because they were short on employees, it seemed that no one noticed even though the carriage of the Sarkis Duke family had climbed over the wall.
“Well, I apologize for coming all of a sudden.”
Cassian, who was smiling brightly, didn’t look the least bit sorry.
“I was just planning on saying hello and leaving today…….”
Cassian’s red eyes glared at Viscount Ponti, the butler, and Count Fabron, one after the other. His gaze was cold and contemptuous.
“Because it was an unpleasant sight that I, as a fiancé, could not bear to see.”
It was a picturesque, if somewhat rude, appearance of a savior.
