141 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Blinded Duke and I are Engaged - Episode 141
Tan slowly got up and approached the bed.
Marin quickly retreated, wrapping the blanket around herself. She felt the hard headboard behind her.
Glancing at it, it was gold again.
Seriously, I'm going to get a gold allergy.
"Sweetie, I don't touch the sick, so don't worry."
Tan, lying comfortably on the bed, soothed her with a gentle voice.
So, you'd touch me if I wasn't sick?
She had a lot to say, but she couldn't bring herself to say it, so she narrowed her eyes and watched him.
"The bed is wide, so I'll sleep here. Sweetie, you sleep there."
Tan propped his head up with his arm and smiled brightly.
"No!"
Her voice, which had been blocked by the absurd situation, finally came out again.
Marin, still wrapped tightly in the blanket, wriggled off the bed.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll sleep on the sofa over there."
"Oh, you hate it that much?"
"Yes. I hate it that much."
Marin answered firmly and sat on the long sofa.
"Tsk, I can't help it then."
Tan clicked his tongue softly, then got up and approached her. He put his hands behind her knees and back and lifted her up.
"Why, why are you doing this?"
As Marin struggled with a frightened face, he carried her as she was and sat her back on the bed.
"I told you, I don't touch the sick. That also means I respect the sick. Sleep here. I'll sleep on the sofa."
"How about just sleeping comfortably in another room?"
"Sweetie, I'll be embarrassed if my virility is rumored to be strange."
Tan clutched his chest as if upset and lowered his head.
What kind of person is he?
Marin shook her head.
She gave up trying to understand Tan any further. He was not a man she could judge.
"Since we're spending the night together anyway, tell me. Why were you alone in the desert? Where did the Duke of the West go?"
Marin pressed her lips tightly.
How could she say that her mother was kidnapped by the Duke's enemy because of the fake engagement, and she came to rescue her, lost consciousness in the desert, and met him?
"Why? Don't want to talk about it? It sounds like there's a very interesting story. But Sweetie, you weren't alone in the desert from the beginning, were you?"
"...Why?"
Marin's tightly closed lips opened. She wondered why he was asking that.
"Didn't you meet any Monsters?"
"I'm good at fighting!"
Marin answered confidently.
Even though she looks like this, she is a fighter recognized by the Duke.
Of course, she only met Monster 1 who left because it was full before she even fought, Monster 1 who made her wander the desert, Monster 1 who thought of her as a mobile lunchbox, and Monster 1 who became food for another Monster.
When she thought about it, she was really lucky.
"I like women who are good at fighting. That's why I love my mother. Sweetie is even good at fighting, so I want you even more."
A strange light flickered in Tan's black eyes, which had been sparkling with playfulness.
She was confused as to how much of his words were a joke and how much was sincere.
"I have a fiancé."
"I told you to break it off."
She was tired of saying it.
Marin pretended not to hear him and quickly changed the subject.
"I want to leave for the Duke's Castle tomorrow."
"Really? What should I do?"
"Why?"
"I haven't been back long enough to take Sweetie there."
"Ah, that's okay. I can hire a mercenary."
"No. Haven't I been saying it all along? I respect the sick. Sweetie is still sick. Let's think about it when you're fully recovered."
His red lips were smiling, but his eyes were not smiling at all.
Was he indirectly saying that he would imprison her now?
Why on earth? What for?
Marin was speechless again at the unexpected situation.
But arguing with him, who didn't understand, was just a waste of time. She should focus on recovering her health as he said and sneak out.
"Okay."
"Hmm, you're answering so obediently, it's even more suspicious?"
Tan smiled brightly and watched her as if he was trying to figure out her intentions.
Marin met his gaze with a calm face.
"As Your Highness said, I'm sick. I need to focus on treatment."
"Smart. Makes me want you even more."
"I'm tired, so I'll sleep first."
Marin pretended not to hear him again and lay back down on the bed.
She was actually really tired. She had no strength in her body.
It was her first time sleeping in the same room with someone else, especially a man, so she was nervous, but he was an imperial prince, so he wouldn't say one thing and do another.
Marin tried to ignore Tan as much as possible and went to sleep.
Before long, Marin's breath could be heard, indicating that she had fallen asleep.
Tan sat lazily on the sofa and chuckled.
She really fell asleep? What does she trust about me?
Tan's eyes shone coldly.
She was a very strange woman. He occasionally thought of her on the way back to the Imperial Palace. He was intrigued because it was the first time a woman had looked at him so openly with such absurdity.
The corners of his lips rose coldly.
"The Duke of the West's woman..."
What he said to her was sincere. He really wanted her.
The Duke of the West's distorted face would be very interesting.
Tan habitually took out a candy and put it in his mouth. Soon, a bitter taste lingered in his mouth. It didn't taste good no matter how much he ate it.
He closed his eyes as if to erase unnecessary thoughts.
Following the rock markings was only for a moment, and at some point, Marin's traces disappeared.
Gerald looked at the vast yellow desert.
Where did she go?
The anxiety that had settled in one corner of his heart rose to the surface again.
He imagined her being attacked by Monsters, but he forcibly erased it.
Where did Marin go? Did she know about the War Oasis? Did she arrive at the War Oasis by some stroke of luck?
For now, her last trace was in the direction of the War Oasis. Gerald headed to the War Oasis with his last hope.
Please, let Marin be there.
The War Oasis, a wide and deep blue lake in the middle of the desert, was a fairly developed commercial district.
There were two-story buildings and numerous merchants and carriages everywhere.
As soon as Gerald arrived at the War Oasis, he looked for Paper, Surenne's friend.
He was an information merchant working in the War Oasis.
When he opened the door of the one-story bar, he saw Paper, who was taking a refreshing gulp of beer.
He had a bubbly brown perm and an eyepatch on his left eye, so he stood out everywhere.
A black-haired waitress approached as Gerald sat across from Paper.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Beer."
"1 Silver."
Things to quench your thirst in the War Oasis were expensive, and alcohol was the most expensive.
When Gerald threw 10 Silver into the air, the waitress quickly snatched it.
Paper whistled at the sight.
"Wow! I like rich people. Sena, please get my beer too. This person will pay for it."
The waitress snorted and glared at Paper.
"Get Paper's too."
Gerald gestured to Paper sitting in front of him.
The waitress nodded as if she understood and turned to the bartender.
"Oh! You know my name too? Do we know each other?"
"I know your friend."
"Who?"
"Surenne."
Paper's eyes darkened suspiciously for a moment, but his mouth smiled brightly.
"Oh, if you're Surenne's friend, you're my friend. What are you curious about?"
"Has a stranger come here recently?"
"Strangers always come here. Like you."
When Paper answered tentatively, Gerald placed 10 Gold on the table.
Paper's face became more serious as he quickly put the Gold in his pocket.
"You need to explain in a little more detail so I can tell you what I know."
"A noble woman from another country."
Paper rubbed his hands together and smiled.
"Ah, I see. This is a bit expensive."
"I'll give you ten times what you just gave me."
"Give it to me now."
"I swear on Surenne's name."
Paper leaned back in his chair and sneered.
"Does Surenne even know? That there's someone selling her name so easily."
"I'll even swear on the Duke of the West's name."
The smile instantly disappeared from Paper's face.
The fact that Surenne was under the Duke of the West of the Oman Empire was a secret known only to a very few people.
Surenne was his life's savior. If she hadn't saved him, he would have lost his other eye.
As an information merchant, he would sell his underwear, but he had never told anyone where she was, except for one person. Even that one person had no choice but to open his mouth because of threats. That bad Third Prince.
"Who are you?"
Paper asked harshly, feeling his lost eye throbbing.
"Let's just say I'm someone from the Duke of the West."
Gerald unsheathed his Sword and held it out.
Paper would immediately recognize the Sword that Surenne had made.
Paper, who had scanned the Sword, stared at Gerald with a strange expression.
"Surenne wouldn't make this Sword for just anyone. I'll trust you for now. Two days ago, His Highness the Third Prince passed by. He was with a woman who had lost consciousness, and the woman's clothes were not from our empire. To be exact, she wasn't dressed like someone who had crossed the desert."
"Tan..."
Gerald clenched his fist tightly and gritted his teeth at the appearance of an unexpected person.
