Chapter 05
“Hey, what do you mean by fiancée, Little Duke?”
Damia’s father, Viscount Ponti, opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
“The old count is so greedy that he wants to take the young lady as his second wife, and the father is so excited that he is thinking of selling his daughter.”
There was a distinct cynicism in his soft voice.
“Ahem…….”
Count Fabron, his face flushed red as if he knew shame for being so shameless, coughed.
Damia’s father also fidgeted, rubbing his hands together.
“As a fiancé, it would be difficult to tolerate such a disgusting conspiracy.”
“Fiancee? Since when have you been with my daughter…?”
“From now on, any disrespect to my fiancée will be considered an insult to the Duke of Saskir.”
Cassian simply ignored Viscount Ponti’s mumbling and continued to speak.
Perhaps because of the authority of the Sarkis family embedded in that cold warning, the two old men could not refute it and just moved their lips.
“It was good of you to come pick me up. I didn’t know I’d see such a disgusting sight.”
“Huh? You came here because you missed me so much?”
“…….”
“Me too, Little Duke. I’ve been waiting!”
Damia followed the boy, acting cute and natural.
* * *
Cassian led Damia to his carriage first.
As befitting the property of the Sarkis Dukes, the most honorable family in the empire, the carriage was extremely luxurious.
Neither his father, nor the old count, nor anyone could stop Cassian.
Here, in the West, no one could defy the power of the Sarkis Dukes.
“Excuse me, Little Duke. But where are you going now?”
The two sat facing each other in the carriage.
The boy leaned back against the backrest and frowned.
“It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that I was on the verge of being sold to the old count.”
“Did you doubt me?”
Damia deliberately raised her head, her eyes looking slightly sad.
“Because this empire is overflowing with young ladies who make up all kinds of stories to get my attention.”
“But if you came to see me in person, then you have realized that what I said is true.”
“okay.”
“That medicine worked, right?”
Instead of answering, the boy slowly stroked my hair.
As his clean and handsome forehead was revealed, Damia involuntarily swallowed her breath.
‘It’s so good it’s worth paying to see.’
It was as if my eyes, which had been polluted by the old pervert count, were being washed clean.
“What on earth did you do?”
“I can’t tell you that now. You haven’t responded to my offer yet.”
“Do you think I can’t get what I want even if I have to threaten Young-ae?”
“I believe you are not that reckless.”
“It’s a shame. That trust will be shattered today.”
As Cassian grinned and made a sarcastic remark, Damia’s lips, which had been slightly parted, closed tightly.
‘So, are you going to drag me here by force and threaten me or something?’
But Cassian Sarkis in his first life did not lose his dignity as a high noble until the moment of his death.
‘Even if Count Fabron from his previous life tried to mess with that herb, it ended with a warning.’
So, it didn’t seem like he would do something so despicable this time either.
“No. I don’t think my faith will be broken today.”
“why?”
“If you were planning to threaten me, you wouldn’t have come here in person.”
“You’re surprisingly quick-witted.”
Cassian let out a low laugh and then meekly agreed.
At that moment, the carriage rattled slightly.
“Wait a minute, are we leaving by any chance?”
It was so quiet that I almost didn’t notice, but the carriage seemed to have left a long time ago.
“Let me ask again. Is it really true that Young-ae wants an engagement to me in return for this deal?”
“yes that’s right.”
“This is your last chance to change the terms. I can give you whatever you want.”
“All I want is an engagement with the little duke.”
Even if I had money or land, I would have to lose it all to my father at the age of thirteen.
Even if the Ponti family’s finances improved, my father would not give up his marriage business.
Even if she could be better than Count Fabron, she would ultimately have to commit to a lifelong commitment to a complete stranger.
‘I’ll save up money until I break off my engagement with the Duke, then secretly emigrate to another country.’
For example, the Kingdom of Rodion right next door.
Because the Kingdom of Rodion is famous for broadly recognizing the rights of unmarried women as long as they have property.
“Why are you so firm?”
“I told you, I love you, Little Duke.”
“ha?”
“I’ll be your convenient temporary fiancée. You can use my excuses to chase away those annoying ladies.”
“Wait, temporary fiancée?”
Damia nodded slightly at Cassian’s question.
“Yes. I thought about it, and I think it would be okay to set a deadline in advance.”
“You said you wouldn’t interfere with my love life, but now you’re okay with a temporary engagement?”
“Yes. I don’t want to be a burden. If you overcome the curse or become an adult, I will immediately and cleanly break off the engagement. Of course, my heart will be torn.”
“You say you love me, but is that possible?”
“I love you so much, Little Duke, that I think I’ll happily cherish even the briefest of memories for the rest of my life. I know my place well enough to not even hope for marriage.”
I didn’t want to repeat another marriage where one party’s circumstances were at odds and love wasn’t a prerequisite.
Since she couldn’t let her true feelings be known, Damia did her best to imitate the devoted girl who was deeply in love for the first time.
“you…….”
Cassian sighed softly.
The boy’s red eyes had a complex light, as if he had a lot to say.
“Why? Oh, are you feeling a little awkward? I can be jealous if you want.”
“…There’s no way I could hope for something like that.”
Cassian frowned, as if displeased by something. He glanced out the window, seemingly lost in thought.
“Don’t you regret what you just said?”
“Of course. I can swear before God that I will never bother you again.”
“Okay. I accept the offer. Get ready to meet your mother.”
Cassian blurted out, as if he had finished thinking about it.
“Yes, I understand. No, what? Were you on your way to the Duke’s residence?”
“Yeah. Your mother is curious about you.”
It’s going to happen this quickly?
Cassian smiled with satisfaction at Damia’s surprised face.
“You know how to be embarrassed too, right?”
“Oh, Little Duke. Wait a minute. This is going too fast! I need to prepare myself mentally.”
“I don’t have time. Besides, I really liked your proposal.”
“What do you mean you don’t have time? Why are you so impatient?”
“Why? I have a limited time to live.”
A shameless smile appeared on his handsome face.
Damia burst into laughter, speechless.
* * *
“This is Damia of the Viscount Ponti.”
Damia barely managed to finish her self-introduction without hesitation.
Even though it was only a very brief greeting, my back broke out in a cold sweat.
Duke Sarkis passed away a long time ago.
In other words, the only direct descendants left in the ducal family were the Duchess and the Little Duke Cassian.
‘Could the Duke’s death have been influenced by the curse?’
Because Cassian was young, all the male relatives of the collateral branch offered to act as the Duke’s proxy.
And the one who protected the dukedom from those wild dogs was Duchess Sarkis before my eyes.
‘It’s as beautiful as if it was painstakingly carved from ice.’
The reception room of the Sarkis Dukes was filled with only the most expensive and rare items in the empire.
And the Duchess was a cool beauty who stood out more than any of the decorations in the drawing room.
‘He was famous for stabbing people with a smile and a cool demeanor. He was especially merciless towards those who touched his property.’
The thing that Duchess Sarkis cherished the most was her only son, Cassian.
‘Aren’t you going to lock me up somewhere for coveting Cassian without even knowing the subject?’
Just thinking about it made my stomach churn and I wanted to close my eyes tightly.
“I was puzzled that Cassian, who had always been so self-centered, would suddenly talk about getting engaged….”
The Duchess, who had been staring blankly at Damia for a long time, slowly opened her mouth.
Damia’s heart tightened at the sound of that low, unchanging voice.
