Chapter 26
Cassian’s worry didn’t last long.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t calm down because I thought I might die without being able to move.”
Damia had swallowed her tears and lifted her head.
Her doll-like face was soaked with tears.
“What nonsense are you saying? Do you think I would just let you die?”
Cassian said quickly and firmly.
The knights around him twitched their lips at how romantic it sounded.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Hic… I-I’m okay.”
There was no way she could be completely unharmed after almost being kidnapped.
Cassian released the arms that had held Damia and carefully checked her over.
Her porcelain-white skin highlighted her red, tear-stained nose.
Her hair was messy, her pale cheeks scratched, and her exposed wrists had several marks.
She needed treatment, but considering she had been found in the middle of the night in the forest, she was relatively fine.
But…
“There’s blood on your fingertips.”
“That’s my blood… hic… No, it’s nothing.”
The kidnapper must have bumped into something while fleeing.
“Thank goodness.”
Cassian felt a sudden relief warm his cold, tense heart.
“Any serious pain?”
“No… nothing.”
Damia’s thin body still trembled like a leaf.
“I actually suspected a little girl like this might be a spy.”
Cassian sighed and held her close again, comforting her like the nurse and the duchess had comforted him long ago.
But the warmth of her forehead against his chin made him feel comforted instead.
“It feels nice.”
“…What?”
“You, Young Duke. It feels nice when you touch me.”
“What?”
Cassian’s ears burned as he pushed Damia away.
“Why are you so flustered?”
His fiancée, completely oblivious, sniffled and asked.
“I-I’m not flustered. I just panicked thinking you might drip snot on me or something.”
Damia opened her mouth in disbelief.
A laugh escaped him at her silly expression—and then he realized something.
It was almost as if he had secretly found this little girl cute.
“Let’s go back quickly.”
Cassian was glad it was dark outside.
If Damia had noticed his reddened cheeks, she might get false hope.
He didn’t want to toy with the feelings of a girl who liked him so much she would settle for a temporary fiancée role.
“No chance of going back by carriage.”
He had planned to visit the viscount’s residence just to deliver the engagement contract, so he came without a carriage, only bringing a few knights.
“What should I do?”
The carriage that almost got her kidnapped stood right in front of them.
Even though Cassian was usually indifferent, he couldn’t just make her ride it again.
“I will escort the lady on horseback.”
One knight offered to accompany Damia.
Cassian was skilled at riding, but he was very reluctant to let others touch his horse. He wasn’t used to carrying passengers.
“I will ensure your safety. Don’t worry.”
“…Young Duke?”
“Yes, take care of her.”
Even as he nodded, he felt uneasy leaving his temporary fiancée in someone else’s hands.
Cassian’s heart stirred with a strange new emotion.
“It’s like a younger sister. That’s why I keep worrying about her.”
A childish conclusion, since he had no actual younger sister.
“Are we really going back to the viscount’s house? After everything that happened?”
They arrived at Viscount Ponti’s mansion as Damia had requested, but Cassian hesitated.
“Yes, Young Duke.”
After Damia explained briefly what happened, Cassian’s expression darkened immediately.
“You said the butler helped with the kidnapping? What if you ran into him?”
“Exactly. That’s why we must go. We could catch the butler at the scene.”
“Was the butler acting for money? Who sent him?”
“I suspect Count Fabron… but there’s no proof.”
Cassian clenched his fists tightly.
He seemed to be trying hard not to show his anger in front of Damia.
“How did the butler trick you into riding the carriage?”
“He said… Young Duke, you were looking for me… Oh, Romi!”
Damia’s quiet scream escaped.
“He said Romi was seriously hurt at the Sarkis estate and might die soon.”
“What? That makes no sense!”
Amid all the shocking events, she had temporarily forgotten about Romi.
“The butler claimed Romi stumbled on the hill behind the mansion and even showed a letter with your signature as proof.”
“I never wrote such a letter.”
“If it was a lie, that’s good… but we should still check if Romi is safe.”
Damia tried to run toward the viscount’s house, but Cassian blocked her.
“Your maid is safe. Don’t worry.”
“How do you know that, Young Duke?”
“I came to the mansion on urgent business at night. I met your maid in the garden searching desperately for you.”
“Ah?”
“Your errand took longer than expected, so you weren’t there yet when I arrived.”
“Why did you come for me, then?”
“First, tell me everything that happened today. Was the carriage driver someone you’ve never seen before?”
Damia froze.
She still didn’t know how to explain the man who looked like Cassian but didn’t seem human.
“Oh no… what do I do?”
After calming down, even seeing those long, slit pupils felt dreamlike.
“A human turning into a dragon in today’s world… how is that possible?”
How could she be sure she hadn’t hallucinated in fear? Or maybe he was just insane.
“And he threatened me, saying it would be better to die than tell anyone what happened.”
She wanted to tell Cassian, but the words stuck in her throat.
“Damia?”
“Um… do you have a hidden brother?”
Damia finally spoke after hesitating.
“What? Why are you asking that? Are you sick?”
“I mean… you don’t have one, right?”
“Hah, of course not.”
“Then among your extended relatives, is there anyone who looks very much like you?”
“No. Do you really think two people could look exactly like me?”
She was trying to see if Cassian knew anything about that strange man who looked exactly like him. But he didn’t seem to know anything.
“Actually, that carriage driver looked so much like you that I was shocked. Almost exactly the same.”
“What? The driver looked just like me?”
“You think that’s impossible?”
“No… I understand. It must have been scary to stay sane. Maybe it was a hallucination your mind created.”
Does he think there’s no one else in the world who looks like him? Cassian’s confidence made her laugh quietly.
“Yes. Let’s say that’s the case. I’m so obsessed with you that before dying, I imagined someone with the same face as you.”
Damia glanced at the line of knights behind Cassian.
There could be a spy among them, so she needed to be careful.
“Damia, listen to me carefully from now on.”
By the time they reached the mansion entrance, Cassian’s expression had turned serious.
“I came to check on the butler, but this place is no longer safe for you.”
His voice was very firm.
“Until this matter is resolved, I will protect you at the Sarkis estate.”
“Eh?”
“I will get permission from Viscount Ponti immediately.”
Damia blinked slowly.
“But… isn’t living together a bit too soon?”
“…What?”
Cassian’s eyes widened instantly, as if he didn’t understand.
“T-Too soon? No! That’s not what I meant!”
The boy’s face flushed bright red as he snapped.
