18 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Blind Duke and Engaged Chapter 18
"The Duke is coming in now."”
Olive hurriedly cut her off.
“Why?”
Marin asked, her eyes wide.
“I don’t know.”
“Just me again?”
Marin looked up at her with frightened eyes.
“Yes. Just you.”
Olive smiled kindly, as if it were no big deal.
“I understand.”
Marin drooped her shoulders and turned around, then looked back at Olive.
“But how do you contact the Duke, Olive?”
“It’s a secret.”
Olive smiled kindly, putting her index finger to her lips.
“Ah, it’s a secret. I’ll be back.”
Marin dropped her head powerlessly and headed towards the dark hallway.
Ah, I don’t want to go.
A little while ago, she crossed the line on her own. But now that she was told to come alone, she really didn’t want to go.
Marin stood in front of the office with a very nervous face. She took a deep breath and was about to knock when a low voice was heard from inside.
“Come in.”
Marin lit the candle and entered the office.
Duke Bines was alone in a pitch-black, sea-like space where you couldn't see an inch ahead, existing like a remote island.
“Hello.”
“Do you think I, who am blind, am well?”
“…No. I’m sorry.”
Seriously, it’s a talent to twist words like that.
“Closer.”
“Yes.”
Marin secured her vision with the candle and walked to the Duke. He was sitting lazily in his chair.
“Put the candle nearby.”
Marin looked around and gently placed the candle on an empty bookshelf. She stood there blankly, and the Duke spoke again.
“Closer.”
“Yes.”
She still hugged the book in her arms and moved closer to the Duke.
The yellow light of the candle showed the Duke Bines' handsome silhouette.
“Hand.”
When he held out his large hand, Marin naturally placed her hand on his palm like an obedient puppy.
And silence fell.
It seemed like the Duke Bines' shoulder shook slightly, but it must have been her imagination.
“It’s a wrist examination.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Then tell me exactly it's the wrist.
She hurriedly tried to pull her hand out with her face flushed red, but the Duke grabbed her wrist.
“It’s still the same.”
“I’ve been eating very well these days.”
“The palm is swollen.”
Only then did Marin realize that her palm was swollen. It seemed to be swollen after she gave the landlord couple a good lesson (?).
“Ah… I didn’t know.”
“Did you hit someone?”
“Me? I’m not such a violent person.”
Marin opened her big eyes innocently, as if it was the first time she had heard that.
“I heard you did?”
“No, who would slander me like that…”
“The butler.”
“Ahem. Sometimes, when unavoidable situations arise, people can become violent.”
Marin quickly changed her words.
“You change your words well.”
“I wish you had told me you knew everything in advance.”
“Are you lecturing me now? Me?”
He asked in a languid voice.
“Of course not. How dare I? Absolutely not.”
Marin shook her head so quickly that it made a buzzing sound.
“What’s that book?”
Is this person really blind? How did he know I was holding a book?
“I picked out a book in case it would help the Duke fall asleep. I was going to ask you anyway, but are there any books you find boring?”
“Why?”
“Boring books are for falling asleep.”
The Duke paused for a moment, then spat out.
“…Fairy tales.”
“Fairy tales?”
“Is that so surprising?”
“No. It’s not that…”
The land of dreams and hopes. Huh? Aren’t such beautiful stories fairy tales? He seems like a person without an ounce of emotion.
“I especially hate happy endings.”
“Yes. I figured.”
His emotions are so dry that he would burn better than dry firewood.
Marin grumbled inwardly and turned her gaze to the Duke's face. Now that she knew he couldn't sleep, his face seemed thinner.
Even if he has no emotions, he needs to sleep well.
“I couldn’t prepare a fairy tale now, so I’ll bring it from tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Excuse me…”
“Why?”
“When are you going to let go of my hand…?”
His broad shoulders twitched.
She definitely saw it this time.
She was constantly worried because her wrist was uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to realize that he was holding someone else's wrist.
As soon as he let go of her hand, Marin quickly hugged the book and opened her mouth.
“Excuse me…”
“Why?”
“May I ask why you called me?”
“……”
She could see his jaw muscles hardening.
Was this a dangerous question?
Marin anxiously watched the Duke.
“…To examine.”
“Yes?”
“Did you forget that I told you to get your wrist checked every day?”
“Ah… Yes.”
Of course, she didn't forget, but she didn't know he would call her just for that.
Isn't that a lie?
Marin opened her mouth, looking at the Duke with suspicious eyes.
“Excuse me…”
“No more ‘excuse me.’ Say it all at once.”
“Yes. Then, may I go now?”
“Aren’t you going to read the book?”
“I heard you were tired today. Shall I read it to you?”
“Try reading it.”
“Yes.”
She heard the sound of her footsteps moving slightly away from him. She must have been standing close to the candle.
It would be hard to see the letters in this dark space.
The sound of her skirt brushing. The sound of turning the first page of the book. The sound of taking a deep breath. The sound of tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The sound of swallowing. The sound of her heart beating irregularly as if she was nervous.
The place that was only his own was filled with her sounds.
“I’ll start. People live their lives repeating their daily routines. But I didn’t want to live like that from today. I shouted into the air. I want to do something special.”
It seems to be a novel.
She lowered her voice as much as possible, as if she were reading a report, and began to read the book clearly and distinctly.
Today, the pain was especially severe, so I didn’t want to receive any visitors. I was overcoming the pain alone when I heard it.
Her faint voice.
“It’s like warning me not to cross over here.”
That was correct. It was a warning not to cross the line.
The hallway with dark curtains on the windows. That was as far as he could hear.
But even though she noticed it was a warning, she boldly crossed the line.
And he heard her voice more clearly.
“I’m sorry…”
I quietly called my shadow. Kay bowed down right in front of me.
“Tell Olive. Imsi here.”
“……”
Kay answered by bowing his head and disappeared.
What is she sorry for?
I was curious.
What did this woman do to be sorry to him?
But now that he had called her, he couldn't ask. Unless he revealed his secret.
When he grabbed her swollen hand, he realized again how thin and fragile she was.
He also learned for the first time that a person's hand could swell like that from hitting someone.
She was a really strange woman.
“I went up to the mountain. The mountain greeted me. It’s been a while. I told the mountain. I’m looking for something special.”
When she said her lines, her voice changed to an acting tone. It was strange that he didn't mind that voice either.
Why is this woman's voice okay to listen to?
Before he knew it, his thoughts about her shifted to her voice. As he focused on her voice, his whole body gradually relaxed.
Even the senses that he had tightly bound himself seemed to be fascinated by her voice and remained silent. It was impossible, but he focused only on her voice without even realizing it.
His body floated and drowsiness washed over him. The moment his mind became hazy, he quickly shouted.
“Stop!”
His mind snapped back as if he had been splashed with cold water all over his body. As soon as he came to his senses, his senses began to stimulate him madly.
“…Imsi. What did you do to me?”
