LTP 02

Chapter 02

Before making such a ridiculous proposal, Damia Ponti had her own circumstances.

“Butler, Count Fabron has proposed to Damia?”

So, this is a common ordeal experienced by a pretty daughter who is the foundation of a failing noble family.

“Yes, since you are young, I will not spare my support every year even if you just get engaged.”

“Hmm…….”

“The considerable age difference is a flaw, but the Count Fabron family has been wealthy for generations. Furthermore, the Count himself is known as a respectable old gentleman.”

“Hmm…….”

“I don’t think there’s another marriage like this in the West.”

Damia’s father, Viscount Ponti, clicked his tongue slightly.

‘Even if I pretend to be worried now, Father will sell me out to that middle-aged man again this time.’

Damia, who was chewing on memories from her past life, gritted her teeth slightly.

Count Fabron, who outwardly pretended to be a gentleman, was in fact an indescribably terrible man.

My married life with him was filled with endless humiliation and shame.

‘I can’t be foolishly sold to be the count’s second wife like I was in my last life.’

Even though I had reverted to the body of a thirteen-year-old child who couldn’t even run away alone in the middle of the night.

“Well, what’s the big deal about age for a man? What about the subsidy?”

“No, isn’t that a huge flaw? After all, I’m only thirteen, and you’re old enough to be my father!”

I couldn’t just sit back and listen any longer. This time, I wasn’t going to walk into that hell without a fight.

“father.”

Damia forced herself to suppress her disgust and smiled.

“Are you having a meeting right in front of me to sell me out to that perverted old man?”

“Damia, what kind of idiot are you talking about now? And you say pervert. Isn’t Count Fabron renowned as a gentleman?”

“Is a man in his right mind who is already eyeing a thirteen-year-old girl and wants to make her his second wife?”

“Do you think becoming Countess Fabron is easy? You’re still young, so you might not know it, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Damia raised one corner of her mouth.

As the purple eyes glowed coldly, Viscount Ponti and the butler flinched.

“Even though I say I don’t know the ways of the world as much as my peers because I grew up without a mother.”

“Damia!”

“I don’t think you’d be so foolish as to be overjoyed at becoming the old count’s second wife.”

Well, Damia in her previous life was that kind of foolish.

Because I was a child who would obediently follow whatever my father told me to do in order to be loved.

I even laughed out loud at the words of the old count who had told me to come and live with him before I got married.

‘Because the splendid mansion looked just like a princess’ castle, and my father was delighted.’

By the time he became an adult, his father had already taken a large chunk of the money from the count.

At that time, even if I didn’t want to, I had no choice but to wear a veil and be dragged to the wedding hall.

So, in my last life.

and…….

Damia closed her eyes tightly without realizing it.

Just thinking back on that horrible marriage made me sick.

“I will not marry a count.”

After taking a deep breath, words came out that sounded quite resolute.

A cold silence flowed through the writer’s old banquet room.

“Miss Damia, I didn’t want to tell you this, but… the author’s debt is quite serious.”

“…….”

“You may never again find a match this good.”

The father nodded at the words the butler carefully spoke.

It wasn’t a wrong statement. After all, the Viscount Ponti family had truly fallen into ruin in their previous life.

‘This time, I have to stop it somehow.’

Damia’s purple eyes sparkled with a clear determination.

“Father, don’t worry. I’ll find you a new fiancé who’s far better than Count Fabron.”

As soon as my memories of my past life returned, I checked the flower bed behind the mansion.

Everything was the same.

Even the purple wild grass that is now neglected and growing haphazardly.

“Damia, you? How?”

Cassian Sarkis.

That beautiful boy who was so far away and so high up in my past life that I never dared to hold him in my heart.

‘This time I’ll help him, and in return I’ll get freedom.’

Once Cassian personally experienced the efficacy of that purple wildflower, no, that medicinal herb, he would never be able to refuse Damia’s offer.

“Right now, I have no evidence to expose the Count’s true identity. And I’m not even sure my father would prioritize me over money.”

So this was the only way.

“Please wait a moment. I will introduce you to my new fiancée soon.”

Damia remembered vividly how quickly the little duke’s perfect life had ended the last time.

I already knew how to delay his early death even a little.

‘I can just break off the engagement, take my share, and leave when everything’s over.’

I was sick of marriage, but I could tolerate a fake engagement for survival and freedom.

* * *

“I guess Viscountess Ponti was also invited to the tea party?”

“Wow, that’s harsh. It seems like you didn’t even have money to buy a new dress.”

The young girls imitated the adults and whispered with their mouths covered by fans.

Beside her, the less fortunate spirits giggled and looked Damia up and down.

Damia quickly pulled down her sleeves to hide her awkwardly exposed wrists.

If I were really thirteen, I might have been hurt and sobbed, but now I didn’t care at all.

“I can hear everything.”

But I didn’t intend to just sit back and listen.

When Damia smiled brightly and blurted out, the faces of the young ladies turned bright red.

At least the girls, unlike the boys, seemed to know shame.

‘Where is Cassian?’

Whether they were muttering indignantly or not, Damia’s attention was entirely focused on Cassian Sarkis.

The kind Duchess of Sarkis used to throw tea parties for children often in her past life.

Parties were held almost every week, especially during the short, sunny summers.

A small social circle for young girls who have not yet had their debutante and young boys who have yet to compete in a real competition.

‘I used to rarely attend because I didn’t have a dress to wear or the right people to make friends.’

Perhaps because he had been through such a difficult past life, he was now able to laugh off even minor embarrassments.

‘There it is.’

A boy was sitting leaning against a zelkova tree in front of the lake in the distance.

It was a party hosted by the Duchess of Sarkis, who was known as the ruler of Western society.

The only person who could be so extravagant was Cassian.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Cassian Sarkis alive.’

Even more so, the appearance of the perfect and arrogant little duke before his illness had fully set in.

As I got closer to the boy, my breathing became suffocating with tension.

‘Wake up. Even the great Cassian Sarkis is just a child now.’

Damia tried to calm herself down.

I died once and came back to life, so how can I possibly convince a little boy?

Besides, I practiced for this moment several times in advance.

How to explain to Cassian why he should be her fiancé in a very polite, rational, and logical way.

First of all, it was important not to cause rejection.

“ah…….”

But the moment she finally faced Cassian, all of Damia’s plans were shattered in an instant.

Because the peacock glistening in the summer sunlight was too dazzling.

‘Come to think of it, I was incredibly weak to beautiful things.’

In my previous life, I married an old count and forcibly forgot about it.

Pitch-black hair that seemed to absorb all light, blood-red eyes that immediately caught one’s attention, and flawless facial features.

It was a more perfected beauty than any masterpiece Damia had ever seen.

“It’s ridiculous to say that face is terminal. I can’t let him die so early this time.”

That perfect creature had to survive as long as possible to pass on its wonderful face to future generations.

Damia, gripped by a strong sense of mission, completely forgot all the words she had prepared.

“I have a prophecy for you. Your brilliant life will soon come to an end.”

And I blurted it out without realizing it.

Cassian Sarkis, too, was gripped by some strange conviction that he must quickly sense this alarm.

* * *

“I’ll explain your value to you, so will you become my fiancée?”

Oh, I’m screwed. I should have explained it more thoroughly.

Damia forced the corners of her mouth, which were twitching, to tighten. She pulled at least one corner into something resembling a smile.

“What’s with that look? Are you laughing at me?”

No, judging by Cassian’s reaction, the smile seemed to have completely failed. It seemed to have only made him angrier.

“Why would I laugh at you, Little Duke? It’s ridiculous.”

Although I vividly remembered being an adult in my previous life, perhaps because my body had become younger, it was harder than I thought to suppress the urge to cry.

But the Cassian in front of me was a real boy, unlike Damia.

He was still immature, couldn’t hide his emotions properly, and even seemed a bit naive.

“I told you, this is a prophecy.”

In this situation, perhaps scaring them would be a more effective method of persuasion