100 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Engaged to the Blind Duke Chapter 100
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Transparent white curtains fluttered in the wind between the open windows.
Books were densely packed on the bookshelf that occupied an entire wall covered in beige-toned wallpaper.
The capital townhouse study was smaller than the Duke's Castle study, but the overall atmosphere was somewhat brighter.
Upon returning to the study, Gerald received Olive's report.
"Lord Zero says he will arrive within ten days, along with the gift you prepared."
"How is the condition of the gift?"
"It's frozen solid."
Olive smiled meaningfully.
"Good."
"It's fortunate that Lord Zero is enjoying this task. Otherwise, he would have refused and just laid down."
Olive shuddered as if the mere thought gave him a headache.
"What about news of that woman?"
"We are still searching for Zelmia."
Olive answered with a serious expression.
"You're late."
"My apologies. She's hidden her tracks completely, no matter how substantial her backing is."
Olive slightly bowed his head with a contrite expression. Although finding that woman was the top priority, her trail remained elusive.
"Speed it up."
"Yes."
As Olive answered and raised his head, the Duke rose from his seat.
"Where are you going?"
"Marin."
The Duke gave a short answer and stepped away.
"Huh?"
Olive looked at the Duke walking toward the door and asked again with a puzzled expression.
"Is there other business remaining?"
"There was a message from the imperial palace asking you to come in......"
"Ignore it."
The Duke cut him off with a cold voice.
"Yes. Understood."
"Is there anything else?"
The Duke raised his eyebrows discontentedly.
For some reason, the atmosphere suggested he should say there wasn't anything even if there was, so Olive swallowed dryly and put on his usual gentle smile.
"Nothing."
The reports he currently held could be postponed until tomorrow.
Since arriving in the capital, reading reports had become his responsibility again.
This was because the Duke judged that it wasn't as easy to filter out spies here as it was at the Duke's Castle, and it would be better to reveal Marin's abilities as little as possible.
The Duke nodded as if understanding and left the study. The sound of his receding footsteps grew progressively faster.
A smile formed at the corner of Olive's mouth.
Is he that happy?
At the unconsciously arising thought, Olive stopped short of following the Duke.
He didn't know exactly what kind of contract existed between the Duke and Marin, but what if the Duke had genuinely come to like her?
Olive smiled contentedly to himself in the empty study.
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When the man with half his face covered by a black scarf shouted that he was the Crown Prince, Elmis's sword stopped right before his neck.
"Quickly, order this maid to put away her sword."
The self-proclaimed Crown Prince glanced down at the sword at his neck, then pulled the scarf down to reveal his face.
His demeanor seemed to say, 'Well, look at this.' Marin and Dia looked at each other.
"Dia, have you ever seen a portrait of His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"No. Have you, Lady Marin?"
"Me neither."
Since they didn't know the Crown Prince's face, how could they tell if this man was the Crown Prince or not?
Wavy golden hair, radiant golden pupils, clearly defined red lips, broad shoulders, and long legs.
The man before them possessed a beautiful appearance that gave off a honey-like sweetness.
When they didn't recognize him, a troubled look flashed through the Crown Prince's golden eyes.
As he pondered how to prove his identity, the sword pointed at his neck suddenly vanished.
Simultaneously, the maid with cool eyes knelt and prostrated herself before him.
"Elmis pays her respects to His Highness the Crown Prince. I made a grave mistake earlier, mistaking you for an assassin. Please forgive me."
"Not at all. I came with my face covered, so you were merely fulfilling your duty. You may rise."
Marin and Dia, with surprised expressions, hurriedly rose from their seats.
As Elmis's primary duty was security, she had memorized all the Empire's key figures.
"Marin of the Schwentz Barony, I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Dia of the Count Adria household, I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."
As the two women grasped their skirts and bowed their knees in a polite greeting, the Crown Prince hastily waved his hand.
"Everyone, rise."
As Marin and Dia straightened up, the Crown Prince approached them.
"My apologies for startling you."
The Crown Prince was a gorgeous handsome man who looked only a year or two older than Dia, but his speech was antiquated like an elderly grandfather. Was it because he was the Crown Prince?
"Not at all. Would you like to sit?"
When the Crown Prince gauged their reaction, Marin was the first to speak.
"I shall."
Soon, the three took their seats around the tea table in a triangular formation.
Marin and Dia sat like tongue-tied fools, unsure of what to say.
In truth, Marin's mind was quite complicated.
The novel was changing because of her.
In the novel, the Crown Prince and Dia promised to marry. However, their first meeting was not here but at the Debutante.
If she hadn't been here, Dia wouldn't have had teatime here, and thus wouldn't have encountered the Crown Prince either.
Realizing this, the anxiety she had pushed aside came rushing back.
Until now, she had complacently thought it would be okay if minor details changed. Things unrelated to the novel's important flow, like her own existence or the Opal Mine.
But there was one part that absolutely must not change.
Namely, the Duke's eyes.
Surely she wouldn't fail to cure his eyes, would she?
Anxiety surged up from her toes like a tidal wave. That fact absolutely must not change.
She had long applied Mandresson Grass to the Duke, but there was little progress. Perhaps Mandresson wasn't the crucial herb that could heal the Duke's eyes.
Something else the female protagonist mixed with the Mandresson. What if that neutralized the Mandresson's poison and restored the Duke's sight?
Only the female protagonist knew that method.
Amid the continuing silence flowing between the tea table, Marin slowly opened her mouth.
"But Your Highness the Crown Prince. What brings you here? And with your face covered......"
The Crown Prince slightly loosened the scarf around his neck as he spoke.
"I came because I wished to meet the Duke."
"It would have been better if you had sent a letter first."
Marin smiled brightly, conveying the meaning that he should make an appointment before visiting.
"I sent a letter to the Duke, but there was no reply......"
Marin offered tea to the Crown Prince, who wore an embarrassed expression. He picked up his teacup and continued.
"He's a person who ignores even His Majesty the Emperor's letters, so I wanted to create an opportunity to meet him somehow."
The Crown Prince smiled bitterly.
She knew the Duke was extreme, but she didn't know he would ignore even the Emperor's letters.
Marin was inwardly taken aback, but outwardly she smiled.
Smile. At times like this, you must smile.
"Lady Adria. May the deceased rest in peace."
The Crown Prince turned his gaze to Dia and spoke in a solemn voice.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Dia expressed her gratitude with a surprised face, as if she hadn't expected such words.
When the Crown Prince stared intently at Dia like that, Marin felt anxious.
Dia had just said she wanted to become the Crown Princess—what if the Crown Prince had overheard that?
Dia also met the Crown Prince's gaze without avoiding it.
With an anxious heart, Marin observed the two's spark-filled eye contact from the side.
Has he fallen for her? Or is he acting like that because he heard their earlier conversation?
It was a tense moment.
"What are you doing here right now, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The Duke's low voice echoed coolly through the garden.
Startled, the Crown Prince turned to look behind him.
"D, Duke."
"Vince, I see the Crown Prince."
The Duke made a slight nod with an annoyed expression.
