142 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Blind Duke and Fiancee Chapter 142
"How is it? Enough?"
"Enough."
"Beer, please."
Just then, a server brought two glasses of beer.
Gerald stood up silently.
"The money?"
"I'll transfer it directly to the bank."
"Okay. Goodbye, rich customer!"
As Gerald left the bar, two emotions swirled chaotically within him.
Relief that she was alive and anxiety that Tan had taken her coexisted.
But only for a moment, Gerald shook his head.
Marin is alive.
Let's focus on that for now.
Gerald set his destination for Sanders Imperial Palace.
Marin was drawn from her bed by the savory smell of bread.
"You're awake?"
Tan waved a piece of bread in his hand, looking pleased.
Marin opened her lips, still drowsy.
"You're still here?"
"Yeah."
"Why are you eating here?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you?"
Tan grinned mischievously and tore the bread with his hands.
Marin narrowed her eyes, wondering what nonsense he was going to spout this time after such a long pause.
"I'm not leaving here. For about two days?"
"Pardon?"
Marin asked back, her face aghast.
"Hmm, because of the rumors."
"What rumors? You don't mean that affair, do you?"
"Yes. For the sake of that rumor, I can't leave this room so quickly. So I'll eat here, wash here..."
"Oh my god..."
Marin lowered her head, her face drained of color.
What to do with this crazy Third Prince? He was even more insane than the Duke when he lost his mind.
"So give up."
Tan smiled sweetly, his eyes crinkling.
"Give up what?"
"The idea of getting out of here."
Marin stared at him with wide eyes.
His dark eyes were so deep that she couldn't read his thoughts.
"Want some bread? Ah, you haven't eaten for a few days, so soup would be better for your first meal, right?"
"No. Enjoy it yourself."
Since there was no way to stop this madman, she had no choice but to avoid him.
He burst into laughter at her listless voice.
"Sweetie. It's easier to give up."
"Yes, yes."
Marin replied casually and lay back down on the bed.
She had been planning to escape even today, but now she was completely trapped.
Gerald arrived in the capital of the Sanders Empire and stayed at a luxurious inn overlooking the Imperial Palace.
No matter how confident he was in his strength, he couldn't just barge into the imperial palace of another country.
That would immediately lead to war. War could break out at any time with the smallest trigger.
Above all, the Oman Empire and the Sanders Empire had constantly invaded each other until they signed a peace treaty.
Even if he said he had come to take his fiancée, there was a high probability that the Sanders Empire would hide Marin.
So the first priority was to find out if the woman the Third Prince had with him was Marin.
At that moment, he heard a familiar, stealthy breath approaching from afar. It was Kay.
He had left markers along the way so that Kay could find him.
The curtain swayed slowly, and Kay was already prostrate before him.
"Kay. Did you bury M properly?"
"Yes..."
In Kay's short answer, he could feel a multitude of emotions: despair, regret, anger.
Gerald silently shared those emotions and opened his mouth heavily.
"Marin avenged M."
Gerald turned on the Video Stone and showed Kay the video. Kay's eyes trembled as he watched the video.
"Thank you for showing me..."
Kay bowed his head after watching the video.
Gerald nodded slowly and changed the subject.
"The Viscountess?"
"She arrived safely at the Duke's Castle. She has lost a lot of energy and is recovering her health."
"I see."
Kay bowed his head silently and disappeared into the Shadows.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
When he opened the door, a one-eyed man with brown, frizzy permed hair and an eye patch was standing there.
"You were looking for me?"
Gerald stared intently at the man's face.
"News."
"Haha. You recognized me right away? People usually can't tell me apart from Paper."
Paper and News were identical twins.
Paper had injured his eye and was wearing an eye patch, but News wore an eye patch to follow Paper.
It was to deceive people and handle things while pretending to be each other.
Gerald sat down in a chair without a word.
News, who followed him into the room, looked around the luxurious room and whistled.
"I heard you had a lot of money, but it's true? You have to book this room a year in advance."
"Get to the point."
"Ah, you don't like wasting time. Okay. What do you want?"
"First, information about the woman the Third Prince brought to the palace. Second, a way to infiltrate the Third Prince's palace."
"For someone who doesn't like wasting time, your information is slow."
News leaned back in his chair.
"What do you mean?"
"There's a rumor going around that the Third Prince is so obsessed with that woman that he doesn't leave his room."
Gerald's face hardened like stone.
"Even though the Third Prince is a playboy, he's never been so obsessed with a woman. This time..."
News, who had been chattering, straightened up and awkwardly continued, feeling the chilling aura emanating from the client's body.
"Ahem, ahem. Customer. Exactly when would you like me to find out?"
"By tomorrow."
"The fee?"
"100 Gold for the first request. Twice that for the second request."
Gerald threw a money pouch on the table with a thud. Sparkling Gold peeked out from the leather pouch.
News widened his eyes and quickly stuffed the leather pouch into his arms.
"Request accepted, customer. I'll find out quickly. I'll see you at this time tomorrow."
News left the room quietly, unlike when he came in.
Gerald glared at the Imperial Palace beyond the window with fierce eyes.
"Huff, huff, huff."
Rough breaths escaped Tan's red lips.
The sweat that had formed on his forehead gently swam down his deeply carved collarbones before falling.
Each time he moved up and down, the blue veins bulging on his bronze arms were clearly visible.
Marin was still wrapped tightly in the blanket, staring at Tan with a bitter look.
That, that. He seems to be making the sounds louder on purpose.
Tan was doing push-ups diligently, shirtless.
"Hoo."
Tan took a deep breath, got up from the floor, and picked up a towel.
A drop of sweat slid down his smooth jawline and fell onto the pectoral muscles that had risen from exercise.
Marin covered her face with her hands, peeking at him through her fingers.
"Sweetie. You know it's sexier to secretly peek like that?"
Tan raised one corner of his mouth and looked at her with a suggestive gaze.
"I wasn't looking."
Marin quickly covered her entire face with her palms and pretended not to know.
"I saw you watching everything?"
"You made those sounds on purpose, didn't you? Because of that ru. mor."
As Marin changed the subject, Tan chuckled and poured himself some water.
"Sweetie, you're smart, aren't you?"
"Why are you so concerned about the rumors?"
Marin glared at Tan, taking her hands off her face.
Her strength had returned during the three days she had been trapped in the same room with him.
If she could just avoid his eyes, she felt like she could escape from this room, but Tan didn't give her any time alone.
He ate in the room, and even washed in the bathtub connected to the room.
"Rumors are very important, Sweetie."
"Haa..."
Never mind. What could she expect from that strange rumor-obsessed man?
"But Sweetie, aren't you hot if you keep hiding under the blanket like that?"
At Tan's playful words, Marin clutched the blanket even tighter, as if to show him.
She was hot. Very.
The Imperial Palace of the Sanders Empire was built on the desert, so it was hot and humid. But she couldn't show him a dress that revealed her bare skin.
It was at that moment.
["You were told not to let anyone in-"]
Marin suddenly perked up at the commotion outside the room.
["Am I just anyone?"]
["I'm sorry, but-"]
["Move."]
It was Sanders Imperial language, but she had learned it as a child, so she could understand it roughly.
As she looked at the door with curious eyes, Tan suddenly approached the bed quickly.
He had been in the same room for three days, but he had never even come near the bed...
"…Why?"
Marin looked up at him with a bewildered expression.
Tan's eyes flashed coldly, and he pulled down the opaque curtain attached to the wall of the bed with a snap.
The curtain instantly enveloped the bed.
Startled by the sudden situation, Marin followed Tan's actions with trembling eyes.
"Why, why are you doing this...?"
Marin froze and couldn't speak as she watched him kneel on the bed and lean towards her.
"Sweetie, stay still."
