121 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
Blinded Duke and I are Engaged 121
This is like me forcibly giving him a palm kiss on his lips!
Marin lowered her hand at the sudden thought and covered her burning ears with her hands.
Tsk! Get away with useless thoughts!
I have no thoughts. I'm not thinking.
"What is it? Why are you taking your hand away when you haven't nodded yet? If I say something like that again-"
"Today is the only day I can go to the Imperial Library. The library is closed tomorrow, and we're leaving for the West the day after tomorrow."
Marin spat out words like a machine gun to stop him from speaking.
He frowned as if dissatisfied, but nodded slightly.
And he suddenly reached out his hand.
Marin looked at his big hand with a puzzled face, then looked up at him.
"Why?"
"You're asking me for a favor, right?"
"Yes."
"Deal."
"Holding hands is a deal?"
What kind of strange logic is this?
"You said you were busy?"
He snatched Marin's hand, intertwined their fingers, opened the office door, and went out.
Marin had to secretly press her chest because her heart kept pounding as she was dragged along by him.
\ \ \
The Imperial Library was located separately in the annex. It was a temple-like building with thick pillars on both sides supporting a square ceiling.
Noble women tried to build up their artistic culture instead of learning to read, so it was not easy to see women in the Imperial Library.
When they arrived at the main gate of the Imperial Library and got out of the Diamond Carriage, people's attention was focused on them.
That's why she didn't want to ride the Diamond Carriage, but after riding it, it was so comfortable that she had reached the point where she could pretend not to notice people's attention.
Finally, she came here.
Marin stared at the Imperial Library with painful eyes.
She bit her lip tightly at the heart-wrenching pain.
She didn't know how many times she had hesitated to come here since arriving in the capital. But as the day of departure approached, her heart led her here.
She didn't want to live in the past with trauma anymore.
She had to come here, face her lingering feelings directly, and say goodbye.
"Let's go in."
"......Yes."
As they passed through the thick pillars and opened the white door, someone who appeared to be a librarian got up from his desk.
The hunched, white-haired librarian examined The Duke's closed eyes and cane, and immediately deduced his identity.
"Welcome, Your Grace The Duke."
The Duke nodded slightly in response.
"Um, can I just go in?"
Marin asked the librarian instead of The Duke.
"Your Grace The Duke does not need to prove his identity separately, but the Young Lady must do so separately-"
"She's my fiancée."
The Duke interrupted the librarian.
"Ah, then please come in."
The librarian opened the inner door of the library himself.
Marin put her hand on The Duke's arm, pretending to be a loving couple, and entered the library.
Then, she stood still at the entrance and slowly looked around the library with sad eyes.
The library was empty, but the scent of books greeted her.
The spacious interior and ceiling-high bookshelves were filled with books. There were also sofas here and there where you could sit and read. Sunlight poured in through the large windows.
But even if she glanced at it roughly, it seemed that there were more books in the Duke's Castle's library.
It's just an ordinary library.
Marin lowered her head with a bitter face.
Years ago, from the moment it was decided that she would leave for the capital for her Debutante, she wanted to come here so badly.
She impatiently urged her father and brother to go to the capital quickly, leaving her mother, who was sick. How pathetic.
When she closed her eyes, the memories of that day flashed through her mind like a lantern.
\ \ \
Marin paced back and forth in front of the mansion's main gate with an anxious face, unable to stay still.
The maid standing next to her took out the rabbit she was holding to comfort Marin.
"Young Lady, would you like to hold the rabbit?"
"No. The rabbit is all grown up now, so it has to learn to be apart from its sister. Rabbit, your sister will be back soon, so take good care of the house."
The snow-white rabbit had a pink heart-shaped spot on its forehead.
The rabbit blinked its pink eyes cutely, as if understanding her words.
"Oh, even if you look at me so cutely, your sister can't take you."
Marin turned her gaze away from the rabbit and looked at the carriage again with anxious eyes.
Baron Schwentz, who was watching the scene from the side, burst into a hearty laugh.
"Our treasure. The carriage won't be ready just because you're anxious."
"No, Father. I'm not anxious."
Marin shook her head hastily, glancing at the coachman who was repairing the carriage wheels.
"I'm sorry, Young Lady. I fixed it all yesterday, but suddenly this..."
"No, no. I can wait. Take your time, take your time."
"Yes, my cute sister. We'll be leaving soon even if you don't rush us, so please be patient."
Her brother, Marion, came over, grabbed her cheeks, and pressed them hard.
Marin, whose lips were sticking out like a duck, slapped Marion's hand and escaped.
"Brother. I'm about to make my Debutante now. When will you stop treating me like a baby?"
"You'll be a baby in my eyes even when you're forty."
Marion's light green eyes shone warmly.
"Yes, yes. Our treasure is always a baby."
"Sigh, I have no one on my side."
Marin shook her head.
"Your side is here."
Loanna, wearing a warm cape, came out with a bright smile.
"Mother!"
Marin ran to her mother and hugged her.
"I told you not to come out."
Baron Schwentz looked at Loanna with a worried face.
"How can I not come out when all my family members are leaving?"
"Mother, please go in quickly. It's cold."
Marion, who had already approached, was also worried about Loanna when it happened.
"Baron, everything is ready."
The coachman approached and bowed.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. Let's leave now. We'll leave first. Don't overdo it and come slowly. Okay?"
Baron Schwentz patted Loanna's hand affectionately.
"I will. Be careful. Marion, Marin. Be careful."
"Yes, Mother."
"Yes, Mom!"
Why is it suddenly raining?
Marin was reading a book when she heard the heavy rain hitting the carriage and raised her head.
When she looked ahead, her father and Marion were fast asleep.
They were sleeping so soundly that they couldn't even hear the loud sound of the rain.
Marin lowered her gaze back to the book.
It was a novel about the adventures of the strongest knight in the Empire defeating Monsters, and it was so interesting that she couldn't put it down.
The strongest knight in the Empire...
Maybe the author wrote this novel thinking about the Duke of the West?
Baines protects.
The people living in the West believed in those words like a god.
What does the Duke of the West look like?
He was always busy protecting the West, so she had never met him. Now, she only heard stories about him occasionally at tea times with the young ladies, with whom she had long since stopped interacting.
They said he was so handsome that his face shone? But he's very cold.
Nevertheless, the young ladies were excited.
Will I ever get to see him?
Marin chuckled and shook her head. There was no way she would ever meet such a busy person in her life.
It was then.
Heeheeheeing!
Suddenly, the horses neighed fiercely.
Thump, thump, thump.
The carriage, which had slipped on the rain, rolled down the hill.
It was a sudden event.
Her father, who had already woken up, quickly assessed the situation and hugged her head tightly in his arms. As she bumped around with her father, something hot soaked her face.
When she lifted her trembling eyelids, red blood was pooling on her eyelids and dripping down.
Father.
Marin was too scared to lift her gaze.
"It's okay, our treasure. It's okay..."
It was the moment when her father hugged her body even tighter.
Bang!
Marin hit her head on the carriage door due to the great pressure.
In her fading vision, she saw her father's hand.
Her father's caring hand trying to reach her somehow. Marin also reached out her hand to her father.
Please. Please. Let me reach my father. Please save my father.
Father, Brother. I'm sorry. Because I said let's go to the capital quickly. I'm sorry.
Marin lost consciousness as it was.
\ \ *
Marin was startled and opened her eyes at the sudden warm pressure.
The Duke was hugging her tightly.
Her vision was blurred as if she had cried without realizing it.
"......Why?"
"I don't have a handkerchief today either."
A deep concern was felt in The Duke's voice.
