17 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
I was Betrothed to a Blind Duke 17
They said she slapped the landlord couple hard on the cheek. That skinny woman had the strength to hit someone?
It was unexpected. She always acted like a frightened rabbit in front of him.
She was definitely brave in some ways, seeing as she said everything she wanted to say even while being afraid of him.
“I’ll put you to sleep.”
Imsi's words suddenly came to mind.
When was the last time he slept?
He couldn’t even remember.
Even though his body was superior to others and his senses were outstanding, he was still human.
A human who couldn’t live without sleep.
Ever since he went blind, he couldn’t sleep at all because he was trying to control his rampaging senses.
He would endure like that until he reached his limit and then faint.
When he woke up after half a day, it was another series of pain.
Was there any point in enduring like this?
He had asked himself that question before.
Should he just die?
Would it be easier then?
The conclusion was that he couldn’t.
If he died like this without an heir, the Dukedom would soon collapse due to the Emperor and the opposition.
If he had known this would happen, should he have tried marriage?
Due to his more sensitive senses than others, he had given up the idea of living with someone early on.
When he got older, he was thinking of entrusting the succession to one of his sister’s children.
However, his sister only had one son. Since the Empire did not recognize women as heads of households, there had to be another boy to succeed him.
Gerald smiled bitterly.
Which would come first, him going crazy from the pain?
Or his sister having another son?
Marin held two books that looked as boring as possible in her arms and looked around at the other books.
As she moved through the bookshelves, scanning the titles, her steps stopped in front of the bookshelf where natural science books were gathered.
She wasn’t the female lead who could identify any herb just by looking at a passing blade of grass.
The only thing an extremely ordinary person (let’s exclude the memories of her past life) like herself could do was to remember the contents of the novel as much as possible.
Fortunately, she knew the name of the herb that would cure the Duke’s eyes, but she didn’t know what it looked like.
She took out a book labeled ‘Herbal Medicine’ and flipped through it page by page.
Whoever made this book was amazing. The book was well organized with the names, pictures, and effects of the herbs.
“Mandelsohn, Mandelsohn.”
Marin recited the name of the herb she had seen in the novel, quickly scanning the herbs with her eyes.
“Why Mandelsohn?”
Zero, who had approached unnoticed, looked up at her with a curious face.
Marin quickly closed the book and hid it behind her back.
“Why do you need it? That common weed.”
“Common weed?”
Marin’s eyes widened.
“Yes. It’s not in that book. I didn’t include Mandelsohn because it’s not an herb.”
“Are you perhaps the author of this book, Zero?”
Marin was startled and looked at the book cover again. The author’s name was simply written as ‘0’.
“That’s my signature.”
“You’re really amazing!”
“I am pretty amazing.”
Zero raised his chin as if showing off.
Oh, how cute.
Marin looked down at Zero with a satisfied gaze, but soon shook her head.
This person is an adult male. Get a grip.
“But Zero, is Mandelsohn not an herb?”
“Yes. It’s a common weed that you can see on the street.”
Marin barely managed to hold back her twitching lips. Maybe she could find it easily without having to work hard.
“What does that common weed look like?”
“Just a moment.”
Zero struggled to take out a thick book from the bookshelf behind her.
When she tried to help him because it looked heavy, he stopped her with his hand.
“Here, this one.”
Zero opened the book at once and showed her a picture of Mandelsohn.
“This was Mandelsohn?”
“Yes.”
Marin was surprised and looked at the picture with wide eyes.
The picture Zero showed her looked similar to a dandelion flower she had seen in her previous life.
The flower was small and yellow, with a long stem, and the leaves were clustered at the root and spread out to the side.
It was a common flower that could be seen on the street, but she didn’t know the name.
“This was Mandelsohn. Is this Mandelsohn not used as an herb at all?”
“It doesn’t really have any effects other than the flower’s scent being as refreshing as mint.”
“Ah……”
Marin couldn’t hide her disappointment and trailed off.
As expected, no one knew the effects of Mandelsohn except for the female lead. The female lead would only find out much later, so currently, she was the only one.
Zero, who had spread knowledge, put the book back with a proud expression.
Marin unconsciously read the title of the book, and her pupils shook.
“The Poison of Nature?”
Her voice, which read the title of the book aloud, barely came out as if her throat was being strangled.
“Mandelsohn has poisonous components, so it’s in this book. It’s just enough to cause a stomachache, though.”
Zero chattered innocently like a real child.
Marin, who had been confirmed, staggered without realizing it.
“Ah……”
Poison. Poison.
Using poison on the Duke was on a different level than lying.
“Are you okay?”
Zero asked worriedly when her face turned pale.
“I’m okay. I’ll be going now.”
“Come visit again.”
Zero waved his arms around.
“Yes.”
She also waved her hand and turned around.
Marin walked down the hallway with a troubled face.
In the novel, it said that the Duke’s eyes were cured when Mandelsohn was made into juice and fed to him.
So, she was thinking of using a very small amount of that herb to reduce the Duke’s pain if she found it.
She wasn’t the female lead, so she couldn’t play the role of completely curing him.
She thought she could repay the Duke’s kindness with this.
But that herb was a common flower like a dandelion, and it had poison.
Even if it was a weak poison that only caused a stomachache, poison was still poison. No matter how little it was, if she fed the Duke something that contained poison, she would be immediately sent to the execution stand.
“As expected, the female lead is different.”
Neutralizing that poison and making the Duke see.
She felt sorry for the suffering Duke, but she couldn’t possibly stand in front of the execution stand.
“The female lead will come soon if I just wait a little longer.”
Marin closed her eyes tightly.
“His Grace the Duke says he will not receive reports today.”
“Is he sleeping?”
Olive gave a bitter smile and shook her head silently.
Marin clasped her hands tightly in pity. The Duke was suffering again today.
“It’s the first day of the move today, so go home early.”
“Thank you for your consideration. Can I read the book I borrowed from the library in advance?”
“Go ahead.”
Marin greeted Olive and left the office.
The sun hadn’t set yet, so bright sunlight was pouring in through the hallway windows. On the opposite side, the windows were covered with black curtains, making it look like a deep and dark cliff.
Marin stopped right in front of the line where the hallway was divided like day and night.
“It’s like a warning not to cross over here.”
Marin muttered to herself and glanced around.
For some reason, human psychology makes you want to do what you’re told not to do.
Marin took a step into the dark hallway as quietly as a cat. A long and infinitely dark hallway unfolded before her eyes.
“I’m sorry……”
If it weren’t for the poisonous component, she would have helped him somehow with Mandelsohn.
Just as she was about to turn around, hugging the borrowed book tightly, the office door suddenly burst open.
Startled, Marin jumped and stood on the bright hallway side.
Olive looked around and soon found her and quickly approached.
“Marin. You haven’t left yet.”
Marin blushed like a child who had been caught doing something bad.
“I was just about to leav…….”
“His Grace the Duke is calling for you now.”
