Chapter 10
“This is my first time on a boat ride.”
Young-ae and Young-sik, who were invited to the party, seemed even more excited than usual.
Damia, who had arrived at the lakeside, also whispered to Cassian with her cheeks slightly flushed.
“That’s good.”
Damia narrowed her eyes at that indifferent response.
Why have you been acting like this since earlier?
Even when I asked if he had anything to say, he hesitated for a long time and then finally shut his mouth.
“Your Majesty, do you have any grievances against me?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“I think there is.”
“I said there isn’t any.”
“Then is there anything you would like to ask me for?”
“What? Ah… no, not at all.”
Cassian was really weird today.
He seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact with Damia, but he stared persistently at her fingertips.
‘It seems like you definitely have something to say.’
I was curious, but not to the point of asking questions.
“Okay then.”
In the end, Damia backed down obediently.
Cassian’s eyebrows quirked in displeasure at the quick surrender.
The moment he was about to part his lips, the Marquis of Drury Thoreau approached, leading her followers.
“Thank you for the invitation, Your Highness. It’s also a pleasure to meet you, Viscountess Ponti.”
Drury, who had bitten the maid who had been holding the parasol, greeted him with perfect etiquette.
“Congratulations on your belated engagement. You two look so good together.”
Drury, who had been acting as the tacit fiancée of the Duke, had actually won that position in her previous life.
‘I’m probably a thorn in your side, but I don’t think you’re serious.’
If Damia hadn’t intervened, the engagement would have gone through without a hitch in this life.
“I always wanted to become close with Miss Damia, but I never had the chance, which was a shame.”
“I am happier that you knew me.”
Drury smiled and turned his gaze to Cassian.
“Lord Cassian, it’s been a while since we’ve been on a boat. Oh, do you remember the first time we went on a boat together?”
“well.”
“You held my parasol while rowing, Cassian. You said you were worried I’d get sunburned.”
“Was it like that? I don’t remember.”
Cassian, who seemed to have been absent-minded all day, answered dryly.
As he continued to glance at Damia’s fingertips, Drury’s beautiful brow furrowed slightly.
“I’m so jealous of Miss Damia. Her fiancé is someone who’s so kind to everyone!”
Damia was a little intrigued by the obviously sarcastic tone.
“So that’s what your personality was like? I didn’t know because we rarely had a chance to talk in our past lives.”
Drury seemed to want to tear Damia apart. His desperate expression was somewhat endearing.
“No matter how close I think of Cassian, I guess it’s still different from being with my fiancée, right? Even though….”
“that’s right.”
Cassian suddenly opened his mouth and interrupted Drury’s muttering.
It seemed that Drury, who kept chattering in front of them without leaving, was annoying and could no longer stand it.
“…yes?”
A crack appeared in Drury’s perfect smile.
It seemed that he had not expected that the indifferent Duke would readily agree.
‘You were trying to get Drury to stop clinging to you because you were interested in him, weren’t you?’
I think I’ll regret this a lot when I come to my senses later.
I was just about to make an excuse for the strange little duke today.
“So, would you mind stepping aside? Damia’s really looking forward to the boat ride. I want to give her a quick ride.”
Cassian nodded toward the lake.
“As Marquis Soro Young-ae already knows, time spent with one’s fiancée is special.”
“…Oh, my, I interrupted you two without realizing it. I’ll go first.”
Drury smiled and took a step back. Damia didn’t even think to stop her, as her exit was so calm.
‘uh?’
But the side profile that passed by seemed like a completely different person.
Drury was biting his lip so hard it bled. He seemed to be barely holding back his anger.
* * *
“Oh, it’s okay, Your Highness.”
Damia climbed onto the boat, holding the hand of a servant, not Cassian.
The Duke had taken off the black gloves he always wore, and it was a considerate gesture to him, who was obsessive about cleanliness.
“…….”
A sigh escaped Cassian’s tightly closed lips.
Damia tilted her head at the reaction, as if she was disappointed.
“I’m leaving.”
As Damia took her seat in the boat, Cassian began to row skillfully.
The ripples on the lake sparkled in the sunlight.
Damia briefly admired the mirror-like surface that seemed to reflect the summer sky.
“Huh? Your mother is waving her hand.”
From afar, Duchess Sarkis was watching the two of them with a look of extreme delight on her face.
Damia waved her hand in response.
‘I think you really like me. You don’t know that we have a contractual relationship.’
A sense of guilt stabbed Damia’s chest.
While Damia bit her lip and sat lost in thought, the Duke cleared his throat.
“I’ll give you the contract later. There’s something new I need to verify.”
“Ah, yes. Please take your time.”
Damia stroked the ripples of the lake with her fingertips.
Since the little peacock would know how to do it on his own, I wasn’t particularly curious about what else needed to be verified.
“While we’re on the subject, I’ll ask one more question.”
“Yes, anything.”
“What are your plans after I’m dead? I’m sure you’ll have enough money in return for the contract.”
Do I need this information to write a contract?
Or is there still something suspicious about her?
Damia, who had taken her gaze away from the lake, looked straight at the Duke.
I thought it would be better to answer honestly rather than tell a lame lie.
“Did you know that the Viscount Ponti family originally ran a herbal medicine business? I heard they were quite successful at one point.”
“I know. Why all of a sudden?”
“This is the first time I’ve told you this, Your Majesty, but I’d like to study herbalism. I might have some talent.”
“Well, the treatment you gave me was very effective.”
“And I want to make money with it myself. The money you gave me will be a sufficient foundation.”
The corners of Cassian’s mouth rose slightly, perhaps because of the unexpected answer.
Even his eyes, which had been unfocused as if he had lost his mind somewhere, suddenly came to life.
“I vaguely thought you were going to use that money as a dowry.”
“I don’t really have any plans to get married….”
Damia, who was about to reply that she wasn’t interested, belatedly bit her lip.
If this was the case, it was an unusual answer for a thirteen-year-old noble daughter of the empire.
A more plausible explanation was needed.
“I don’t really have any plans to get married. Because….”
Marriage is already enough in my past life. It was pretty horrible, too.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love anyone else as much as you, Little Duke.”
Damia softly recited an excuse that was completely different from her true feelings.
The little duke just burst into laughter, already accustomed to her confession.
* * *
In fact, Cassian had been restless all day, eager to test some absurd hypothesis.
The day I first vomited blood in front of Damia.
So, the moment when Damia, who was trying to give him medicine, touched him with her bare hands.
The heart that had stopped beating due to the curse began to beat clearly.
‘It was too strong to be considered a cure.’
So, I tried to seize the opportunity whenever I had free time today.
After making up my mind, I even took off the gloves I always wore.
“It’s okay, Little Duke! Don’t overdo it.”
But Damia stubbornly refused to contact him, even when boarding this boat.
He seemed to firmly believe the rumor that he was obsessive-compulsive, and he seemed to be the first to step forward and show consideration.
“I recently received a letter from a friend who moved to the Kingdom of Rodion.”
“huh.”
Cassian answered half-heartedly and rowed.
My mind was so complicated that I couldn’t hear what Damia was saying.
“Well, you know about my engagement, right? Apparently, my mother even sent a message to Rodion’s upper house about my engagement present.”
Just because I touched someone with my bare hands, my heart, which had not moved in any way, would not start beating.
‘But what if Damia was special? That mysterious cure worked, too.’
Then Damia lifted the cloth covering the picnic basket.
It seemed like they were trying to share a snack since the conversation wasn’t going well.
“Your Majesty, would you like something to eat? There’s so much delicious food….”
The girl, peering into the basket, remained silent for a moment. Cassian, puzzled, raised his head.
“What? Why?”
Damia, who had turned pale, seemed to have forgotten even how to breathe.
Are you scared?
and…….
“Whoa!”
With a single scream, Damia jumped up and threw the basket.
“Why? What’s going on!”
“Ship, snake…!”
“Snake? What the… all of a sudden….”
Before Cassian could finish speaking, the small boat began to tilt.
“Damia, sit down. Sit down!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I think I got bitten a little, but I was so surprised… Ouch!”
The girl stopped struggling, but eventually lost her balance and stumbled violently.
The boat rocked and water splashed everywhere.
“Damia!”
As his fiancée nearly drowned, Cassian instinctively reached out with both hands.
And then he quickly grabbed Damia’s wrist and pulled it with force.
“Go, thank you.”
Thanks to his nimble movements, Damia was safe. Cassian was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
‘for a moment.’
Thump.
Cassian looked down at my chest, feeling something was wrong.
His brows were furrowed in disbelief.
“Excuse me, Little Duke…?”
Damia tried to pull her hand away, but Cassian wouldn’t let her go.
No, I tried to let go with my head, but my hands wouldn’t listen.
‘It wasn’t a mistake.’
Cassian stared blankly at his bare hand that had touched Damia’s.
Thump, thump, thump… … .
A heartbeat, so unfamiliar it had been so long, was clearly felt in his left chest.
Just like a few days ago, when Damia was trying to give him medicine and he touched her with his bare hands.
“Oh, your highness?”
It seemed as if all the sounds around me had suddenly disappeared.
It wasn’t a ridiculous illusion, nor was the drug’s effect particularly strong.
The heart that had stopped beating due to the curse reacted to the contact with Damia.
Cassian gritted his teeth to keep from laughing out loud.
“I found it.”
Another way to get his stopped heart beating.
