Chapter 15
“What are you suspicious of?”
“Please thoroughly investigate any gifts sent from the Marquis of Soro. It’s okay to return them.”
“Yes, drugs may have been mixed in there.”
“Yeah. Of course, if you look at the new baby, it’s more suspicious.”
Elena’s eyes sharpened.
“I once considered getting engaged to Marquis Soro’s daughter, hoping it would be helpful to Cassian… but that was a miscalculation.”
Elena gave a low snort.
“Marquis Soro is a snake-like being, but I didn’t think it was necessary to involve the young Yeong-ae in it.”
But what Drury showed me today was exactly like my father.
“Seeing you throw away your own limbs with such an innocent face, I can’t help but compare you to Sae-a-ga.”
“Seasonal baby.” The maid swallowed a cough at the unfamiliar title, no matter how many times she heard it.
“Still, it seems like you hold the young lady of Viscount Ponti in special regard.”
“She’s a pretty girl, like a doll, but she’s so skinny that I feel bad every time I see her.”
“As you instructed, I have ordered all the popular desserts in the empire.”
Elena smiled gracefully and closed her eyes. She seemed deeply satisfied.
“Just go out.”
The head maid bowed politely and stepped aside.
The room suddenly became quiet. Elena, left alone, reached out to the desk.
I lifted a sachet, its clumsy stitching prominent. It gave off a faint herbal scent.
‘I made it myself.’
Damia’s face, her cheeks flushed rosy and she held out the sachet, came to mind.
Damia Ponti.
Even if it was an engagement with a big difference in status, it could be permitted.
If Cassian had even a little bit of regret for life, Elena had nothing to lose.
Moreover, the likelihood of this engagement leading to actual marriage was slim.
Because Cassian was terminally ill and it was unknown when his heart would stop beating.
“…….”
Elena thought of Damia, who had always been polite but never mean.
Being overly kind might be a flaw for a duchess, but it was far better than being as sinister as Drury.
“If only Cassian could live a really long life.”
The girl had no choice but to be left alone because of Cassian’s heart.
The reason why I chose to get engaged even though it would be a shame to break off the engagement is…
‘It must be because that child’s heart is sincere. Like Cassian.’
Damia was too young to have any other meaning. She was only thirteen.
Elena found the girl pitiful and lovable at the same time.
* * *
“Welcome, Romi.”
Despite Damia’s kind greeting, the maid couldn’t raise her deeply bowed head.
“I’m glad you arrived safely at my place. Would you like to see my face?”
Romy clenched her hands and followed the order, though she was trembling.
Round brown eyes, short curly hair, and a few freckles.
‘When I look at it again, it’s exactly the same face as in my memories.’
Damia barely managed to swallow the gasp that threatened to burst out.
Although there may be a difference in time, Romi was also kicked out of the Marquis of Soro’s mansion in her previous life.
And there, he honed the insight he had developed into business acumen, and opened a jewelry store that even noble ladies were eager to buy.
‘Count Fabron in his previous life also often called Romi to his mansion.’
He burdened Damia with unwanted things, like dressing up his own doll.
Count Fabron was obsessed with reputation and enjoyed pretending to be a good husband.
Romi was always careful to please the count and his wife.
But whenever their eyes met, Damia inevitably felt embarrassed. It was as if Romy saw right through her situation.
So I couldn’t forget Romi’s face.
‘With Romi, investment immigration to the Kingdom of Rodion will be much faster.’
Romi would have less trouble than in her previous life, and this was a good opportunity for both of them.
“Are you really going to punish me?”
Romy’s voice was hoarse, as if she was strangled. As expected from a sharp-witted child, she didn’t seem to believe Damia’s excuse to Drury.
“What did Marquis Soro promise you?”
“…yes?”
“What did you say you would give me in return for covering up my name?”
“That, that kind of thing…….”
Romi couldn’t confirm or deny the statement. It seemed she still feared Drury’s retaliation.
“If you’re going to lie, then stop. It’s better to cooperate obediently.”
At that moment, Cassian, who had been silent until then, opened his mouth.
“My fiancée’s finally giving me a chance. You don’t want to go back to the duke’s mansion and be interrogated, do you?”
“Are you really going to give me a chance? Not as a punishment?”
Despite Cassian’s threats, Romi only looked at Damia.
“Yes, Romi. I know you may find it hard to believe me, but….”
“No, I believe you!”
The answer was so quick that Damia couldn’t even offer a word of persuasion.
“I will trust you, so please don’t send me back to the Marquis’ residence!”
“What? If that was what you were thinking, you wouldn’t have been brought in in the first place.”
“Could you… promise me something?”
Romi’s voice sounded desperate at first.
As Damia nodded without realizing it, a color came to Romi’s face.
“You practically saved me.”
Romi’s brown eyes became moist.
“I’m handy. I’m good at cleaning. I’ll take good care of you, young lady.”
“why…….”
“That snake is a little scary, but… I can take care of it.”
“Why are you being so cooperative? At first, you were trying to shoulder the blame for Marquis Soro’s daughter’s mistakes.”
Romi lowered her head at Damia’s puzzled gaze.
“Was the price offered by Marquis Soro’s daughter too small? Or was there no compensation, only threats?”
“No. Miss Drury promised me quite a sum. It’ll be enough to pay me several years’ salary.”
“So you didn’t get that money because of me? Aren’t you sad?”
“The Marquis’s servants change hands very frequently. Some are simply kicked out, but many quit after receiving a bribe to silence them.”
Romi bit her lip tightly. Her expression seemed determined.
“And all the servants who left the Marquis’ residence are lost.”
“…what?”
“It might be a coincidence, but I’m afraid of the Marquis and Miss Drury. Even if they give me a lot of money… it’s all for nothing if I disappear.”
Just the thought of home made Romy shiver.
“I also thought that I should be careful because I don’t know what Marquis Youngae Soro might do in the future.”
Damia glanced at the white snake.
“It’s just that I couldn’t corner the Marquis Young-ae with a snake that wasn’t even a poisonous snake.”
The snake seemed to like its new home, and was already curled up and asleep.
“It’s a shame you were falsely accused, but I didn’t bring you here with only good intentions.”
“Thank you, Miss. You could have just pretended not to notice….”
“I just wanted someone who knew the young lady of the Marquis of Soro well by my side. And I was short on manpower.”
Damia felt a little embarrassed by the affection in Romi’s eyes.
Even if I didn’t know what the future held for that child, I would have reached out, but in any case, this wasn’t a deal Damia would lose.
“As you can see, our family isn’t well off. Your salary won’t be much, but I’ll give you what Soro Youngae promised.”
“…Huh?! No, I’m just grateful you brought me here.”
It seemed as if he didn’t believe that Damia would have that much money.
But considering the price of the cure Cassian had promised, it wasn’t too much.
Besides, I was thinking of squeezing the capable Romi to make more money, so this much was not a waste at all.
“Take it if you want. Don’t worry, I’ve saved up some.”
“still….”
“I don’t believe in trust without a price.”
When Damia smiled brightly, Romi’s pupils shook.
At that moment, Cassian sighed loudly behind me.
Looking back, Cassian’s face was filled with discontent.
“Why, Little Duke?”
“Are you serious?”
When Damia tilted her head as if she didn’t understand English, he wiggled his eyebrows.
“You forgot the most important thing.”
