Chapter 7

Perhaps because she obsessively avoided sunlight, Drury’s unusually pale hands began trembling.

Cassian Sarkis is announcing an engagement… but not with me? Then who?

Drury was the daughter of the prestigious Marquis Soro family.

Using that status, she ruled over her peers like a queen.

Even if you searched the entire empire beyond the western region, there was no noble girl whose “status” matched the young Duke better than hers.

The position of the future Duchess of Sarkis should naturally belong to Drury.

What kind of nonsense is this?

She had endured so much just to act gentle and sweet in front of Cassian while hiding her terrible temper.

“An engagement all of a sudden? Isn’t that a bit rushed? He’s not even close to adulthood yet.”

“Right? There’s no reason to hurry.”

“Maybe he’s just completely fallen for someone. Even if they can’t marry yet, he wants to make her his fiancée right away.”

The boys whistled and laughed among themselves.

To Drury, it sounded like they were mocking her.

She turned sharply and glared at them.

The boys flinched and quickly fell silent.

At that moment, the mansion doors opened, and the young duke and the duchess walked out elegantly.

But Cassian was not escorting the duchess as he usually did.

“Who’s that beside him? I’ve never seen such a noticeable young lady before.”

Cassian was holding the hand of a girl with silver hair and violet eyes who looked as pretty as a doll.

Soft gasps of admiration sounded here and there.

Even Drury had to admit they looked like a perfect pair.

“Who is she?”

“They look good together…”

Among the murmuring crowd, Drury bit her lip hard.

There was no way she wouldn’t recognize that girl.

That’s Damia Ponti.

The baron’s daughter who always wore shabby clothes and rarely attended social events.

She had no presence at all—but if you looked closely, she was terrifyingly beautiful.

Drury had even secretly felt relieved before because Damia looked skinny and poorly dressed.

After all, Drury had no intention of sharing attention with anyone else.

“Why is she here…?”

Drury’s hand holding the parasol turned pale.

* * *

Cassian Sarkis watched his temporary fiancée with a slightly tired expression.

“I am Damia Ponti of the Ponti baron family.”

“Oh my, nice to meet you.”

“Yes, it’s embarrassing to say, but I’m the young Duke Sarkis’s fiancée.”

Damia’s violet eyes sparkled with energy. Despite her calm appearance, she was surprisingly bold.

Wasn’t she the one who said she didn’t want to stand out and asked me to reconsider announcing the engagement…?

On the very day Damia boldly proposed to him while holding his secret, Cassian had ordered his aide to investigate her background.

The fact that he was terminally ill was known only to his mother and a few loyal servants in the ducal family.

I can’t figure out how a mere baron’s daughter learned my secret.

Cassian didn’t believe Damia’s ridiculous excuse that she saw everything in dreams.

If anything, it would make more sense if this fragile girl were a spy from the imperial family.

After all, the imperial family had long been wary of the House of Sarkis, which secretly ruled the western region.

Part of the reason I accepted that ridiculous proposal was to keep her close and watch her.

But she was too young to be a spy.

She was small, thin, from a minor family, had no connections—nothing special at all.

“Miss Damia has become so beautiful that I didn’t even recognize her!”

“Maybe it’s because the young duke promised her lots of money—no, love.”

Except for her pretty face, quick mind, and unexpectedly bold personality.

Wait… she’s actually more useful than I thought.

For someone as picky as Cassian, that was high praise.

Still, nothing will change.

Unless the problem of his short life was solved, Cassian had no intention of forming a serious relationship with anyone.

He absolutely hated the idea of some random woman becoming the widow and mistress of the House of Sarkis after he died.

So this engagement was nothing more than a contract with a fixed time limit.

She knows my secret, so I couldn’t just leave her alone. And since she’s only a baron’s daughter, breaking the engagement later won’t cause trouble.

Perhaps the medicine’s effect had been so good that his guard had lowered slightly.

One night when he woke up in terrible pain, he had impulsively swallowed the medicine she gave him.

And that impulsive act had created a miracle.

It’s a little annoying that she claims to have a crush on me, but she’s useful enough.

Cassian clicked his tongue and nodded.

The girl seemed foolish and a little pitiful for being so deeply in love with a hopeless first love.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Young Duke.”

“You two look perfect together!”

Cassian responded to the congratulations with a perfect smile.

But his mind was full of thoughts about Damia.

* * *

“This is ridiculous!”

After the tea party ended, Drury burst into her father’s office, shouting angrily.

Without pretending to be a proper lady, her blue eyes flashed with rage.

“Cassian Sarkis announced an engagement! And the fiancée isn’t me—it’s some baron’s daughter!”

The room was filled with cages of pet snakes.

At Drury’s shouting, the snakes hissed loudly.

It seemed even they were frightened.

“A baron’s daughter?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

Drury’s pale face flushed red with anger.

She stomped her feet in front of her father, Marquis Soro.

“This is humiliating! You told me Cassian Sarkis belonged to me from the moment he was born!”

Clenching her fists tightly, she shouted.

“You promised me that if I waited, Cassian would become mine! You said you had a plan!”

“Drury.”

“This can’t continue! What if the young duke’s heart stops? I can’t just keep waiting quietly anymore!”

“Drury Soro! Watch your words!”

The marquis looked around nervously, but Drury could not calm down.

Her anger was so intense that even the snakes curled up in fear.

* * *

A few days later, Cassian visited the Ponti family mansion.

The perfect young duke looked completely out of place in the baron’s old and shabby reception room.

“We should write an engagement contract.”

“What? A contract?”

Damia froze in surprise.

She had been admiring the young duke’s handsome face while drinking weak tea—there weren’t enough tea leaves to brew it properly.

Contracts brought back bad memories from her previous life.

The old count had always treated her terribly while claiming everything was “in the contract.”

“Do we really need a contract? You already sent a proposal letter to my father. Ah—are you worried I won’t give you the medicine on time?”

“That’s not it. I know you’ve been providing the medicine faithfully.”

Cassian glanced at the purple liquid in his teacup.

“By the way… how old are you exactly? Are you really thirteen?”

“Huh? Y-yes, I am.”

Damia flinched at his sudden sharp gaze.

Why is he suddenly asking about my age?

She quickly thought back over her recent behavior.

Had she done something suspicious?

“Thirteen…”

Cassian narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.

His red eyes, shining in the sunlight, seemed to pierce through her.

H-he’s suspicious of me right now, isn’t he?!

Because of his position, Cassian tried to speak as maturely as possible.

Maybe it was a mistake that she didn’t pretend to act like a child to match him.

“You…”

Damia wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and waited nervously for what he would say next.