107 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke Chapter 107
The Emperor walked to the center of the Debutante Hall with a benevolent smile.
“Everyone, look up.”
As the nobles raised their heads, the Emperor smiled, looking leisurely at the young ladies.
“Listen, those who are having their Debutante today. I bless your future.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The young ladies standing in various places bowed slightly and greeted him as they rose. Dia did the same.
The Emperor smiled contentedly and looked at the orchestra, and the music began to play.
Only then did the young masters approach the ladies having their Debutante.
Marin looked at the young masters rushing towards them with a slightly weary face.
“Are you sure you don’t need me here?”
The Duke, who was standing next to her, asked in a relaxed voice.
Marin smiled awkwardly.
“I think you can stay a little longer.”
The Duke chuckled at her words, took a step forward, and exuded a strong aura.
Then, the young masters who were rushing in suddenly stopped and began to scatter.
Seeing that, Marin playfully slapped the Duke’s shoulder, not hard.
“How can Dia get any dance requests if you exude such a scary aura?”
“You told me to stay a moment ago?”
“Gerald, even if you just stand there, most young masters won’t approach. Put away your fierce aura.”
As the Duke calmed his aura, the faces of the young masters who were hesitating nearby showed conflict.
The Duke was scary, but they wanted to approach Dia.
Marin had no choice but to poke the Duke’s side slightly.
“I don’t think this will work. Please go a little further away. I can’t let our Dia become a wallflower.”
“You keep changing your mind.”
The Duke grumbled discontentedly.
“Shoo, shoo.”
The Duke’s chin twitched.
“Some people are already moving to the dance floor.”
Marin looked anxiously at the young ladies and young masters holding hands and going to the dance floor.
Dia’s dance card (a list to write down the names of dance partners) was empty, but there were already people dancing.
Our Dia has to be the star of the Debutante!
Gerald glanced at Marin’s restless face with his eyes lowered, then closed his eyes again.
“I don’t need guys who don’t have the guts to approach my niece.”
At that, Dia grabbed Marin’s arm slightly with a smiling voice.
“Marin, I’m fine. I don’t really want to dance.”
Marin looked at Dia’s beautiful face with a pitiful look.
Instead of being in the corner like this, everyone should see this beauty.
It was then.
“It’s nice to see everyone here.”
The Crown Prince, with his neatly swept-back, softly curled golden hair, approached.
He was definitely eye-catching, dressed smartly for the party. The young ladies nearby were so mesmerized that they stole glances at his face.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince…”
As Marin and Dia quickly tried to greet him, he raised his hand to stop them.
“Greetings are unnecessary.”
“Your Highness, you look wonderful today.”
Marin greeted him with a happy smile.
“Thank you for the compliment. The lady is also beautiful today. More than that, I would like to write my name on Lady Adria’s card.”
The Crown Prince said with a gentle smile.
As Marin hurriedly turned to Dia, Dia nodded slightly.
Marin smiled and handed him the dance card.
The Crown Prince wrote his name on the very first line of the dance card. And he continued to write his name down.
Marin stared at the sight with wide eyes.
“Your Highness?”
“Oh, is this not allowed?”
The Crown Prince smiled shyly, but carefully wrote his name down to the last space.
Marin looked at the sight with a dumbfounded face, then turned to Dia.
Dia was staring intently at the Crown Prince with strange eyes.
“Then, Lady, would you dance with me?”
“Yes.”
As the Crown Prince held out his hand, Dia, wearing black satin gloves, gently placed her hand on it.
The gently shining Crown Prince and the subtly shining Dia looked like a painting as they stood together.
After the two left, Marin looked down at the dance card.
Should I draw more lines below this?
“What are you doing?”
“Worrying. The dance card is only the size of my palm. I was wondering if I could make spaces on the back as well.”
The Duke chuckled and grabbed her hand.
“Why?”
“Five steps.”
“I’m already within one step, though?”
“It’s especially dangerous in crowded places like this.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Marin answered absentmindedly, when suddenly the nobles parted like the Red Sea.
Unconsciously, she looked there and saw the Emperor walking towards them with a smile on his face.
Marin quickly took her hand away from the Duke, bent her knees, and bowed.
“Marin of the Schwentz Barony, I greet the Emperor of the Empire.”
“Bynes, I greet the Emperor of the Empire.”
“Raise your head.”
“Yes.”
As Marin raised her head, she felt the Emperor observing her with curious eyes.
Marin tried to pull herself together.
The Emperor.
She never thought she would see the Emperor this close.
The Emperor was one of the people who tormented the Duke. He coveted the Duke’s wealth gained through Western trade and envied the Duke’s power, a petty villain.
Meanwhile, the Emperor examined the lady standing before him.
How did this lady steal the heart of the Western Duke? Is their engagement real or fake?
When the Adria County’s lady stood out the most here and he approached, the Crown Prince snatched her away.
Anyway, he had a son who had no redeeming qualities.
It would have been nice if he had one more son.
He had seen ten princesses through his empresses so far, but none of the empresses had given birth to a son.
Naturally, there was no succession dispute, and the Crown Prince immediately became the heir.
The Crown Prince had comfortably received the position of Crown Prince, which he had fought countless battles with his brothers to obtain.
He was dissatisfied with that.
He was still healthy, so he had no choice but to try to have more sons.
“Nice to meet you, Lady.”
The Emperor smiled kindly, unlike his inner thoughts.
“Your Majesty, it is an honor to meet you.”
He saw the lady’s shoulders trembling slightly with fear as she greeted him.
Unlike the Duke, this lady seemed to know her place very well.
It would be better for the Duke to marry a lady from a humble family like this than to marry a great noble with great power.
For the first time in a long time, the Emperor smiled sincerely.
“My greetings are late. Congratulations on your engagement. I hope you will be happy.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Western Duke as well.”
“Yes.”
The Duke answered curtly with a monosyllabic reply.
The Emperor’s smiling face froze coldly, then quickly returned to normal.
“I can’t keep busy people for long. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Yes. Your Majesty.”
The Duke took his fiancée’s hand and took a step, leaning on his cane.
He could see his fiancée taking the lead one step ahead of him.
A blind Duke and a fiancée from a humble family… Isn’t that a perfect picture?
A deep sneer formed on the Emperor’s lips.
\ \ *
As the Crown Prince and Dia walked to the dance floor, the young masters and ladies around them gradually retreated. Naturally, they stood in the center.
A soft melody flowed out, and the Crown Prince and Dia began to dance. The young masters and ladies who had been standing still also resumed dancing.
“You look dazzlingly beautiful today.”
The Crown Prince said with a gentle smile.
“Thank you. You too, Your Highness.”
“Is that sincere?”
Dia, who had been hanging her head the whole time, raised her gaze and looked into the Crown Prince’s golden eyes.
“Yes.”
“I missed you.”
Her dark green eyes showed a hint of doubt at his straightforward confession-like words.
“Why?”
The Crown Prince smiled again.
“Would you believe me if I said I fell in love with you at first sight?”
But his eyes were shining with pure favor, not with the desire of falling in love.
A gentle smile was drawn on Dia’s pink lips.
“You’re not good at lying, Your Highness.”
“Why don’t you believe me?”
“Because I know.”
“What?”
“Aren’t there people in love around me? When I see them, I naturally know. What lovers in love are like.”
Dia turned her gaze and looked towards the Duke and Marin. The Crown Prince’s gaze followed her gaze.
“Are those two in love?”
Dia narrowed her eyes as if she was just thinking about it was fun.
“You can’t help but know when you’re next to them.”
