145 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Engaged to the Blind Duke Chapter 145
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Tan stared at the man with an impassive expression in the drawing room.
A sharp-featured man with gray hair and gray eyes stood silently.
["A traveler?"]
["Yes."]
["Then why have you come here?"]
["I need money."]
Tan's cold gaze, tinged with a faint smile, swept over the man before him.
["Which empire are you from?"]
["The Taeha Empire."]
Tan, who had been thinking for a moment, spoke to him in the language of the Taeha Empire.
{“Taeha? That place only has one sea, right? Isn't that so?”}
{“You don't seem to know much about it. Taeha is surrounded by sea on three sides.”}
When the other man replied in the Taeha Empire's language, Tan shrugged his shoulders.
["Ah, I see. I was mistaken. But you speak the Sanders Empire's language well?"]
["That's because I'm a traveler."]
The man standing before him answered each question promptly and without hesitation.
Tan tapped his fingers on the table and thought of Marin.
At first, it was curiosity, then, like wanting to take a toy that someone else had, he became greedy because she was the Duke of the West's fiancée.
Now, he didn't want anyone to take Marin away from him.
Whether it was his older brother or the Duke of the West.
He wanted to hide her away in his palace, keeping her only for his eyes.
To keep Marin in the palace continuously, he needed to hire guards who weren't part of the palace staff.
During the Omen Empire's Debutante, many had seen her face beside the Duke of the West.
From the moment he brought Marin, he deliberately didn't call her by name and kept her hidden only in her room, but rumors spread quickly.
Probably someone under him had betrayed him.
It was his fault. There wasn't a single person in the palace he could trust. The knights he had secretly raised for amusement were outside.
He had intended to live idly, playing around and meeting women until he died. Losing Surenne to the Duke of the West was also because he lacked the power to conceal her talents. It was regrettable, but only at that time.
He had intended to die, just as his mother wished.
But Marin told him to live.
It was the first time. Someone who told him to live.
Even his own birth mother wished for him to die slowly.
She struck him painfully with her words. So sharply it jolted his mind awake.
Tan, thinking of Marin, smiled softly, then asked the man standing before him.
["Do you like women?"]
["I like men."]
["You're hired."]
Tan laughed brightly and rose from his seat.
He wanted to take him to Marin quickly to show her, but Bitra entered quietly.
["There is a message that the Second Imperial Consort requests your presence."]
Tan's face contorted for a brief moment, then brightened as if it had never happened.
["My mother is summoning me, so I must go. If you enter that room, Sweetie will be there. From now on, the name of the person you will serve is Sweetie. No, wait. Don't call her by that name. It annoys me when a man calls her that."]
["Yes."]
Gerald exercised the utmost patience while humoring Tan.
Right now, meeting Marin was more important than anything.
He already knew which room she was staying in. As he turned his gaze toward that room, he could hear her heartbeat.
Marin.
His fingertips trembled faintly. Gerald struggled to suppress his shaking hands.
While he couldn't see her, it felt as if time had stopped. And now, time had begun to flow again.
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Marin was quite dissatisfied with this flimsy, sheer dress she was wearing that revealed her skin.
She wanted to wear her own dress, but since she would be staying in this palace for a while, she thought she should adapt to the local attire, so she wore the dress the maid had prepared.
The flimsy pink dress was made of transparent fabric, leaving her upper chest and arms fully visible.
Marin, who had been looking down at the dress with a displeased expression, lifted her head at the sound of the door opening.
"You've come—"
"I love you."
The gray-haired man confessed his love abruptly as soon as he entered the room.
"Excuse me? Who are you?"
Marin looked up at the unfamiliar man with a bewildered expression.
The man swiftly approached her and stared intently at her.
Her eyes met the man's deep gray pupils. Her startled face was clearly reflected in his eyes.
"I was told that confessions should be made directly."
"Who said that? No, that's not the point—who are you to confess out of the blue?"
Marin stealthily stepped back, avoiding the man who had come too close.
He's a strange man.
"I'm Geral…"
In an instant, Marin quickly rushed over and covered his mouth.
Then, after quickly scanning the surroundings, she whispered softly so only he could hear.
"Did you just say Lord Gerald? If that's correct, nod your head."
The man slowly nodded.
Marin stared at the man's gray eyes with an anxious gaze.
"Lord Gerald didn't come here, right? He didn't come, correct? He absolutely must not come. If he comes, it will be a real disaster. It's war, war!"
Marin, with her hand over the stranger's mouth, poured out her words in a rush.
The Duke must not come here. She absolutely did not want to become a spark for war.
But there was no response from the man.
With an impatient expression, Marin cautiously asked him again.
"Don't tell me Lord Gerald came here? If that's the case, nod your head."
Fortunately, the man remained standing still.
"Haa…… Thank goodness, really. It's a relief. I already have a headache figuring out how to escape alone, and if Lord Gerald had come too, I would have been even more worried. What a true relief!"
Gerald, watching her delighted face, closed his mouth with an awkward expression.
In truth, he had intended to reveal his identity as soon as he saw her.
But seeing her pale face, he realized how foolish that thought had been.
If he had told her the truth now, she would have been distressed and worried about him.
An enemy Duke disguising himself and secretly infiltrating the Imperial family? As she said, it was more than enough to become a spark for war.
And there was one more thing he had overlooked.
Marin was the type whose thoughts were immediately revealed through her actions.
She was always surprised that he could read her mind, but what could he do when her clumsy actions gave everything away?
If he revealed his identity, her unnatural acting would surely give him away quickly in the Sanders Empire.
To ensure they could escape safely from here, it was better to conceal his identity from her.
As if her startled heart had calmed down, Marin removed her hand with an apologetic expression.
"I was rude to a stranger…… I'm sorry."
"He said…… to tell you he loves you."
"Who?"
"Gerald."
"Whaaat?"
Marin's light green eyes were filled with disbelief.
Who is this man? Thinking about it, this man only mentioned the name Gerald.
He could be someone planted by the Second Prince, and she had trusted him too readily.
"Why don't you believe me?"
"Lord Gerald would never say such a thing to me."
The man's brow furrowed, and he let out a deep sigh.
"I'm Gerald's friend. I came to help you."
Marin examined the man with a complicated gaze.
As she continued to stare at him suspiciously, he slightly lowered his head and whispered.
"Contract engagement. Will you believe me now?"
Marin's eyes widened. It's true!
Just how close were they that he told this secret, which he hadn't even shared with his long-time friend Jeromian?
"You really are Lord Gerald's friend. What's your name?"
"……Cal."
What a hastily made-up name. It's probably a fake name. Is he a spy for the Duke who's infiltrated the Sanders Empire?
Marin nodded awkwardly and asked for the news she had been curious about.
"By any chance, do you know about my mother?"
"Yes. She's doing well."
Marin covered her mouth and sank to the floor. Her legs gave way instantly.
"What a relief……"
It was truly a relief.
She had believed that Elmis would protect her mother to the end, but variables could always arise.
Hadn't she herself not anticipated that she would be trapped in the Sanders Empire's Imperial Palace?
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm just so happy."
Marin quickly wiped the tears forming at the corners of her eyes and stood up.
"Then, Lord Gerald is far away, right? He's not even in this capital?"
"……That's right."
"Ah, that's a relief. If he had come all the way to this Imperial Palace to find me, I would have called him a fool. This place is too dangerous for Lord Gerald."
Gerald's shoulders flinched slightly, but Marin failed to notice.
He had no right to complain if she called him a fool, considering he had been about to reveal the truth just moments ago.
His eyes traced Marin's face, which he missed so desperately even when she was right in front of him, until his gaze eventually fell downward.
When he saw the flimsy dress that revealed her white skin so transparently, he felt dizzy. Only now did the dress she was wearing register in his vision.
Is that considered dressed or undressed?
What is that scrap of fabric that looks like it's about to tear any second?
Gerald forcibly averted his gaze and scanned the entire room with his eyes.
It's a Crown Prince's room, so why is it so narrow?
Does that mean she's been alone with that bastard in this cramped room all this time? She wouldn't even read to him in his own room.
What did the two of them do in this narrow room?
No. Stop. Stop thinking.
Bitter water rose inside him. Once started, his imagination wouldn't stop.
Haa. Gerald tightly shut his eyes.
For now, let's just focus on the fact that she is safe.
