Chapter 6

Wait… How much does the duchess know?

Did he tell her about the medicine I gave him? Or at least about the prophetic dreams? Otherwise she wouldn’t be interested in me…

Without realizing it, Damia glanced sideways at Cassian. When their eyes met, the boy simply shrugged casually.

At that moment, a chilling feeling ran down Damia’s spine.

W-wait… He didn’t tell her anything, did he?

Frozen in confusion, Damia could only stare blankly at the duchess’s moving lips.

“I’m pleased to meet you, young lady. And you’re so calm and well-mannered as well…”

Huh? Pleased to meet me?

Damia’s eyes widened at the surprisingly gentle and friendly response.

“Cassian told me he revealed his secret to you. Even after learning about his condition, you still accepted him.”

The duchess’s blue eyes had become moist as she looked at her terminally ill son and Damia.

“I always wanted Cassian to experience all the happiness that others can.”

“Um…”

“But once Cassian realized his condition, he avoided forming deep relationships with anyone.”

“Ah…”

“So I’m grateful to you for giving Cassian the courage.”

It seemed like she was seriously misunderstanding something…

Damia swallowed nervously and glanced at Cassian.

She expected him to object immediately, but the boy was calmly nodding.

It seemed Cassian himself had created this very romantic misunderstanding in his mother’s mind.

“Even if Cassian happens to leave this world first…”

The Duchess of Sarkis suddenly stood up, as if overcome with emotion.

She walked over and gently took Damia’s hands.

Despite her cold appearance, her hands were warm and soft.

“The House of Sarkis will take responsibility for you. If necessary, we’ll support you in anything—remarriage, studying abroad, whatever you wish.”

What? Even remarriage?

At those words, Cassian frowned slightly, as if something bothered him.

“Right, Cassian?”

When the duchess turned to him for confirmation, Cassian wore only a faint, gentle smile.

“Of course. I want my fiancée to be happy even in a world without me.”

Even though there was not a single drop of sincerity in his voice, it sounded incredibly convincing.

So this is how he’s going to play it.

Realizing what was happening, Damia’s violet eyes sparkled.

“Please… don’t say such things.”

“…Miss Ponti?”

“How could I possibly be happy without the young duke? I… sob…”

Damia buried her face in her hands and lowered her head, pretending to cry. She even sniffled convincingly.

Her acting was so convincing that even Cassian—who knew the truth—might have believed it.

“How can someone have such a kind heart?”

The duchess’s voice trembled faintly.

She seemed deeply moved by the scene.

“May I call you my daughter-in-law?”

“S-sob… yes, Mother!”

Damia answered immediately.

The duchess’s eyes filled with tears from emotion.

Maybe I’ll actually be quite loved during this fake engagement.

Cassian seemed to shake his head in disbelief, but overall things were going far more smoothly than Damia had expected.

* * *

A few days later, Damia sat in the reception room of the Sarkis mansion looking troubled.

“Are you serious? You’re going to introduce me as your fiancée at the tea party?”

She nervously bit her lip.

“Wasn’t that just a children’s tea party? You’re suddenly announcing an engagement there?”

“If someone heard you, they’d think you weren’t a child yourself.”

Well… technically I’m not actually a child…

Damia swallowed the truth that absolutely could not be revealed.

“Are you dissatisfied because it’s not a proper engagement ceremony?”

“Of course not. I just…”

I wanted to quietly act as your fake fiancée, break the engagement later, and escape to another country.

So it wouldn’t be good for either of us if my face became widely known.

Damia bit her lip to stop herself from revealing her true thoughts.

“How about being satisfied with just an announcement? If we tried to prepare a grand engagement ceremony, I might drop dead before it even happens.”

“What? No, Young Duke, it’s not that serious…”

According to her memories from her previous life, his condition wasn’t that urgent.

But there was nothing she could safely say out loud.

In the end, Damia gave up arguing and closed her mouth.

“If you think even the announcement is too much, just endure it. My mother seems eager to show you off somehow.”

“Your mother?”

Instead of answering, Cassian gave the butler a light signal.

The silent butler bowed and opened the reception room doors.

“Her Grace has prepared engagement gifts. Because of the short time available, only some of them are being delivered today.”

As the butler spoke, a crowd entered the room like a marketplace from the capital.

“This is… only some of them?”

Damia swallowed dryly.

The merchants bowed together.

“We will serve you with our best efforts!”

The large reception room quickly filled with dresses, jewelry, and all kinds of accessories.

“You’re already surprised? I haven’t even brought out my gift yet.”

“What? You prepared a gift too, young duke?”

“Of course. You’re my precious fiancée.”

Cassian walked over to Damia, who was too stunned to speak.

When they were alone, he constantly complained, but in front of others, he acted like a devoted fiancé.

“As long as you don’t break the contract and become clingy, I’ll support you generously in material matters.”

His whisper made Damia’s heart pound wildly.

“Really?”

Even though the herb was payment enough, she hadn’t asked for money because she was the one who had insisted on the engagement.

But if he were offering it himself, there was no reason to refuse.

My escape fund for the kingdom will grow quickly.

Because of her previous life, she was already tired of men. Even if Cassian offered his heart, she would refuse.

Gradually, the shock disappeared from Damia’s violet eyes.

“I like you so much that it’ll be difficult for me…”

She stood up and whispered dramatically near Cassian’s ear.

“But I’ll manage my feelings well so I won’t disappoint you.”

Then she held out her hand as if asking for a handshake.

It looked less like a girl greeting her crush and more like someone greeting a business partner.

“…A handshake? Right now?”

Cassian raised an eyebrow at the strange request but didn’t refuse.

Damia smiled brightly and shook her hand.

Cassian kept his gloves on—apparently the rumors about his obsession with cleanliness weren’t false—but that didn’t matter to her.

* * *

“Did you all hear? Today at the tea party, young Duke Sarkis will personally introduce his fiancée!”

“What? That can’t be true!”

A group of noble girls erupted into excited chatter.

Cassian Sarkis, the most beautiful boy in the empire, was the center of every girl’s attention.

“…A fiancée?”

At that moment, a blonde girl standing under a willow tree spoke.

She held a parasol.

Her honey-colored blonde hair and sharp eyes made her strikingly attractive.

It was Drury Soro.

“Oh? I thought it would be the Marchioness Soro’s daughter. Isn’t it you?”

Drury slowly blinked, hiding her surprise.

Cassian Sarkis… getting engaged?