Episode 8
“You’re really thirteen years old…….”
“What about me?”
“Compared to when I was that age, I’m a lot smaller.”
“…Huh? Is that what you meant?”
It was an unexpected remark, but it didn’t seem to raise any particular suspicions.
Damia sighed in relief.
“Your Majesty, you’re only two years older than me.”
“Two years is a huge gap that can never be bridged.”
Cassian raised an eyebrow as if he were the only adult.
“I’m thirteen. As you can see, I grew up poor and didn’t eat properly.”
“you…….”
The boy, about to refute something, bit his lip. It had been a joke, but his expression became serious.
Cassian just licked his lips for a while, then pushed the plate of cookies towards Damia.
“At your age, you should eat a lot. This is expensive, so eat it quickly.”
“Wow, I was already curious!”
Damia bit into one of the cookies that Cassian had brought her today.
The cookies were crunchy, crumbly and melted in my mouth.
“Little Duke…!”
“…why?”
“It’s so delicious!”
It was so sweet that her eyes dazzled. Damia burst into a happy laugh without realizing it.
Damia actually loved sweets. She doesn’t remember ever eating them to her heart’s content in her past life, though.
When she was young, her family was not well off, and after she married the count, he began to detest women’s gluttony.
“…That’s fortunate.”
Cassian coughed softly and answered stiffly.
His straight lips seemed to twitch slightly.
‘Huh? He seems a little proud.’
It seemed that even the precocious little duke still had some childlike aspects left.
“Anyway, at thirteen, I don’t think you’ll have much trouble reading, understanding, and signing a contract.”
Cassian, who had quickly regained his composure, brought up his original topic.
“Huh? Isn’t it an age where it’s difficult to follow the crowd?”
“No matter how much I think about it, it’s strange.”
“What is it all of a sudden?”
“You, you. You’re too small and skinny for a thirteen-year-old, yet you speak with a suspiciously mature tone.”
It seemed like he thought Damia’s way of speaking was strange.
“I don’t have any friends, so I read a lot of books instead. I guess that’s why.”
“Don’t you have any friends?”
The boy’s handsome face was stained with shock at the excuse he quickly offered.
“No, well… it’s not like there aren’t any friends to worry about… Ah, if it bothers you that your fiancée doesn’t have any friends, I’ll make some in the future.”
“Hey, you think a friend’s planting something in the ground will make it grow? It’s not like it’ll grow right away if you try to make it yourself.”
“I don’t think the little duke has many friends either.”
“What? You really….”
“By the way, what kind of contract are you planning to write?”
Cassian blinked slowly, as if he was hesitating.
Finally, the boy opened his mouth with a sigh.
“I have so much money it could rot away.”
“Oh, I guess so… right?”
“I’m not trying to brag. I’m just saying there’s a lot I can give you in exchange for that medicine.”
“Wow, then can I look forward to it?”
“It would be a good idea to document all those benefits. To make it clear that they were a trade-off, not a favor.”
“Why do you have to go that far? I told you I wouldn’t make any mistakes.”
“I can’t help it. It would be awkward if you suddenly changed your position.”
That story again? Is my unrequited love acting too good at this point?
“Remember, even if you and I have a point of contact, and the medicine you gave me was very effective, it won’t change our relationship.”
“yes….”
What do you want to say, a compliment or a warning?
“I am just trying to do my best as a human being to you, my benefactor.”
“Yes, yes, I understand. If that’s the contract you need, I’ll write it up.”
“you…….”
“As you know, I have a passionate crush on you, Little Duke. Since it’s what you want, I won’t harbor any false hopes.”
Cassian’s handsome face was distorted with embarrassment.
“…Can’t you put some soul into your words?”
“yes?”
“I feel like you’re teasing me.”
Anyway, he was incredibly quick to notice things.
“No way, Your Highness. I’m being completely honest.”
“Your tone is cold.”
“I said no. Aren’t you being too suspicious?”
When the suspicion in Cassian’s eyes persisted, Damia decided it would be better to change the subject.
“But why are you so worried about me becoming so attached to the little duke? Do you have a particular young lady in mind?”
“what?”
“Just tell me. I’m good at giving relationship advice.”
“It’s not like that, so don’t pass it over.”
‘I think that’s right.’
In his previous life, Cassian had a fiancée.
Drury Thoreau, the beloved youngest daughter of one of the most ancient marquis families in the West.
As soon as I thought of that perfect girl, the tea, which had been bland due to the lack of tea leaves, suddenly felt bitter.
‘I thought maybe I had feelings for Drury, my fiancée from my previous life.’
Seeing how Cassian was trying so hard to convince Drury not to like him, it seemed like he might have been sincere.
Well, it might be quite difficult not to like a girl as perfect as Drury Thoreau.
“You can be honest with me. I won’t interfere.”
“I said no…!”
“Yes, yes. I understand. By the way, these cookies are really delicious.”
Damia calmly chewed the cookie, even making a crunching sound.
I don’t know exactly why, but it seemed like the embarrassing secret of a teenage boy.
“You really…….”
It was an unusual look for Cassian, who always seemed to have a leisurely air bordering on boredom.
Perhaps stimulated by Damia’s indifferent attitude, the boy’s jaw clenched.
“Now, calm down and have some too, Your Highness.”
It was at that very moment that Damia was about to hand the plate of cookies to Cassian.
“…Ugh!”
Suddenly, Cassian clutched his heart and crouched down.
“…Your Majesty?”
A startled Damia jumped up and ran to Cassian.
The boy’s face, which barely raised its head at the sound of people, was bloodless and pale.
“Are you okay?!”
“Ha, uh…….”
“Should I call someone?”
“…are you okay.”
Cassian managed to spit out a few words with difficulty, then immediately began coughing profusely.
Her beautiful face was distorted in extreme pain.
“What’s wrong with that? I’ll call the congressman right now!”
Damia stamped her feet and shouted urgently.
But Cassian stopped Damia.
“No way. Are you planning on spreading rumors about me being a poet or a poetess?”
“Well, then…….”
Damia, who was at a loss, noticed a teacup on the table.
There was still half a glass of purple medicine left in the cup.
“Your Majesty, at least take the rest of the medicine!”
Damia picked up the teacup and handed it to Cassian.
I had taken off the gloves I always wore, and my bare hands were as cold as ice.
Cassian swallowed the remaining medicine one sip at a time.
Damia was anxious, still holding the boy’s trembling hand.
How much time has passed?
Cassian, who had put down his teacup, looked at his bare hand that was touching Damia’s.
“…wait for a sec.”
“How are you, are you okay?”
The moment Cassian’s straight eyes flashed with doubt, crimson blood poured from his lips.
“Oh, my lord!”
Damia’s face, which had always been half-indifferent, was gripped by shock.
Could it be that the medicine he gave her had side effects?
“Huh, what… are you so surprised about?”
“The little duke is spitting up blood right now….”
I knew in my head that he had a limited time to live, but I couldn’t really feel it.
Well, Cassian was usually very calm and healthy.
“This is nothing. I’m already used to it.”
Cassian bent down for a moment to catch his breath, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
“The engagement contract… ugh.”
“Does that matter now?”
“I’ll send you the contract separately later, so wait.”
Cassian calmly resolved the commotion with a boyish face that still had the air of a boy.
“Little Duke!”
If his straight shoulders hadn’t been trembling faintly, I almost fooled myself into thinking he was really okay.
Damia’s feelings became somewhat complicated as she first encountered the pain he suffered as a terminally ill person.
