128 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
Blinded Duke and I Got Engaged, Episode 128
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The next day, as Marin headed to the Duke's office at his summons, she looked down at the contract in her hand with a troubled expression.
It was an employment engagement contract.
The contract stated, "This contract will terminate upon the successful completion of Dia's Debutante."
Since Dia's Debutante had been successfully completed, there was no longer any need to continue the fake engagement.
Knowing this, a cold wind blew through her heart.
In her honest heart, she wanted to continue this fake engagement. She kept getting greedy.
However, she shouldn't push forward with her unilateral feelings.
If the Duke could see, she could confess her feelings.
If the Duke's eyes remained impaired, the female lead was her only hope.
Marin arrived at the office with a bitter expression.
"Come in."
"You called?"
Marin forced a bright voice. She didn't want to be caught looking dejected in front of the Duke.
"Yes."
"Before you speak, may I go first?"
The Duke nodded silently.
Marin silently placed the employment engagement contract she was holding onto his desk.
"What's this?"
"Our engagement contract."
The Duke's brow furrowed.
"It's over, is it?"
"Yes. Thank you for your hard work acting all this time."
Marin forcibly suppressed the increasingly gloomy feeling.
"...Yes. Good work. The wage you were to receive has been sent directly to the bank."
"Yes."
Marin looked down at the Duke with a complicated gaze.
Ah, what should she call him now? The Duke again?
How should she tell others that the engagement is over? Can she stay here?
She had earned much more money than planned. She could quit anytime now.
As she stared blankly at the engagement contract, the Duke took out another paper from his desk drawer and slid it over.
Reading it, it was her temporary employment contract.
"Why this?"
"This is why I called you. See? Your signature."
"Yes."
"Didn't Olive say you should read contracts carefully?"
"Yes?"
Marin, wondering what he meant, picked up the contract and scanned it closely.
"Huh?"
Temporary employment does not end without the Duke's permission.**
What is this?
Marin's eyes widened at the clause she had never heard of before.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes?"
"It means you can't leave without my permission."
"Was there such a clause in the contract?"
"That's why you should have read it carefully when you signed it."
"Did you read it all? You should check it properly and carefully."
At that moment, Olive's worried words came to mind.
"But Lord Gerald, you don't necessarily need me to read the reports to you anymore."
"That's right. But I need you when I sleep. And what's with the title?"
"Why?"
"Why the Duke again?"
His voice lowered coolly.
"Well, because the employment engagement is over."
Marin's heart stung, but she spoke bravely. Good job, me.
"Even if our contract is over, we are still officially engaged. The people around us don't know yet."
"That's right."
"So, until the official announcement, call me as before. So the nephews aren't surprised."
"Yes, I understand. When will you make the official announcement?"
"I'll think about it."
The Duke answered shortly with a displeased face.
"Then when can I quit the temporary job?"
"When I allow it."
"When will you allow it?"
"Why do you keep pushing?"
The Duke frowned and raised his head towards her.
Marin pressed her lips tightly.
Her gaze went to his closed eyes involuntarily. The Duke still couldn't see, and she was tormented by her own ugly heart that kept getting greedy for him.
"...Okay. I won't push."
As Marin spoke in a deflated voice, he added with a look of realization.
"You said you wanted to be buried in the Duke's Castle, right?"
"I did."
"If you're going to be buried, you have to live there for life."
"Is that so?"
"It means living until you die."
"Yes, yes."
Marin answered absentmindedly and handed the engagement contract to the Duke.
"Please dispose of it well, Lord Gerald."
"I will."
The Duke took the contract and put it in the drawer.
She saw him quickly putting the temporary employment contract in as well, as if someone would take it away.
"Then, I'll be going now..."
Just as she was about to bow and turn around, the Duke suddenly turned his head towards the door and opened his mouth.
"Come in."
The visitor to the office was none other than Olive.
"Your Grace, I have brought a guest."
Olive's voice sounded slightly excited.
"It's a disciple of Count Namuriyan, a master of herbalism. We haven't been able to invite the Count because he has been abroad, but one of his disciples happened to return to the Empire and has come to visit."
"I see."
The Duke replied indifferently.
She had reported about the Count to the Duke several times, but he didn't seem to remember at all.
In the meantime, all the famous doctors in the Empire had been invited. The only person she hadn't met was Count Namuriyan. She wanted to invite even one of his disciples, and this time, one had come.
Meanwhile, Marin's mouth was parched with tension.
Finally, the female lead had appeared. In the novel, the female lead had come after receiving a call from Olive.
But why so early?
No, was it time for her to appear since it was spring?
Marin clenched her trembling hands tightly and stared intently at the door.
The female lead was beyond that door.
She felt more nervous than when she first met the Duke.
"Then, I will bring her in."
The Duke silently nodded in response.
Marin placed her hand on her tightly constricted chest.
Soon, the door opened wide, and a slender figure wearing a brown robe entered.
Their face was not visible due to the deeply pressed hood.
"This is Duke Gerald Baines."
A white hand took off the hood and revealed a face.
Brown hair cascading down to her chest, warm brown eyes. A gentle smile on her lips.
Overall, she was a kind-looking woman.
"Hello. I am Leia Rozin."
"No..."
Marin muttered unconsciously with a shocked face.
She was not the female lead.
The female lead's name was Modriana Randa.
She had blue eyes and pink hair that made anyone fall in love at first sight.
"Pardon?"
Leia looked at Marin with a puzzled expression.
Marin, with a pale face, slowly approached her.
"Do you know... Lady Modriana Randa?"
"Oh my. Do you know Modriana?"
A sad light quickly crossed Leia's surprised face.
"Yes. A little..."
She didn't know if she could say she knew the female lead she had never met, but she had to hear the reason why another person had come here instead of her.
Could Leia heal the Duke's eyes even though she wasn't the female lead?
An anxious thought flashed through her mind.
"Ah, so that's what you meant earlier."
Leia, nodding as if she understood, continued.
"You said no when you saw me, right? Originally, Modriana was supposed to come here instead of me."
At her explanation, Marin nodded unconsciously.
"Modriana recently went to Naron Territory to gather herbs and suffered an accident with a Monster and passed away."
Tears welled up in Leia's eyes as she slowly continued her explanation.
Marin, with a pale face, collapsed on the spot.
No way!
The female lead died in Naron Territory?
"What could happen to old people like us? The place that was about to become an abandoned mine is being developed, so there are many people coming and going, and some accidents happen. Recently, a young lady suffered an accident-"
Suddenly, the words of the lord's wife came to mind.
Was the young lady who had the accident back then the female lead?
