190 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Marin got up early in the morning and headed to the main building.
The more the Imperial Sanction was delayed, the more Gerald's mood sank. So she decided to dedicate the entire day to him.
Marin, who decided to have breakfast together, was heading to the office when she stopped in front of Olive's office after a long time.
And she looked at the hallway, bright with light from the window.
She used to feel like this place was divided into black and white, but it felt like a very long time ago.
Come to think of it, he really heard her call him a coward.
As Marin's face flushed with the re-emerging dark history and she hurriedly tried to move on, the side door of Olive's office opened.
It was Olive's bedroom.
'The aide is so diligent.'
Just as Marin was about to greet her with a smile, the person who came out closing the door was a very unexpected figure.
Marin rubbed her eyes and stared at the person.
"...Surenne?"
Why are you coming out from there?
Marin's trembling pupils scanned Olive's bedroom door and Surenne alternately.
This feels like she's seen something she shouldn't have?
"Yo, Miss Marin. Good morning!"
Surenne raised one hand and gave a refreshing smile.
"Oh, good morning—no, that's not it. Surenne, why are you here?"
When Marin pointed to Olive's room with her finger, Surenne gave a playful smile.
"Had a drink."
"Ah, I see."
They must have stayed up all night drinking.
Only then did Marin's tense shoulders relax. She had been frozen stiff, thinking she had appeared at a moment she shouldn't have seen.
Remembering the time she drank with Surenne before, it wasn't that strange. If Gerald hadn't come to pick her up, she would have stayed up all night drinking with Surenne too.
"I fell asleep while drinking, haha."
Surenne burst into a cool laugh.
Marin flinched at the word 'slept,' but soon accepted it purely as it was.
"Because of that bet you mentioned last time?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"You look pretty good for someone who drank all night?"
"Ah, I worked out."
"......Huh?"
At the moment Marin was contemplating the correlation between alcohol and exercise, the bedroom door opened again.
As Surenne turned around, Marin naturally hid behind the tall Surenne.
"Surenne. You, you left your underwear behind."
Underwear? Marin covered her mouth with both hands and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Ah, that? I left it on purpose."
Surenne replied nonchalantly.
"......Pardon?"
What?
Marin was so surprised that she covered her mouth even tighter, afraid that a scream might leak out.
Wow, this guy. He's amazing.
Wait, this isn't the time to be impressed, it seems like she shouldn't hear any more.
Marin moved the hand that had been covering her mouth to her ears. She can't hear. She can't see.
"I'm going to use that as an excuse to come again next time."
"Ah, such a deep meaning. Then I'll keep it safe......"
Olive's voice, trembling with shyness, was cut off in the middle.
"Miss Marin?"
It was a voice that sounded like she was being strangled.
"I can't see. I can't hear."
When she covered her ears with the hand that had been covering her mouth, a voice popped out of her mouth.
"Miss Marin, why are you here? No, since when? No, now, what's going on is!"
Olive was rambling, and Marin stuck to Surenne's back, covered her ears, and continued to chant.
"I can't see. I can't hear."
Surenne, who was caught between them, looked at the two of them in turn and smiled.
"Cute."
"Surenne......"
Olive looked at Surenne with a tearful face.
"I'm hungry, so I'll go first. Miss Marin, see you again. Olive Uvis, I'll see you often."
Surenne winked at Olive and left the spot.
As the screen (?) disappeared, Marin blushed and lowered her head deeply to avoid Olive's gaze.
"I didn't hear anything, and I didn't see anything."
"Actually, I confessed to Surenne!"
The two people who spoke at the same time made eye contact with surprised faces.
"You confessed?"
"Didn't you just say you didn't know anything?"
Olive gave an awkward smile.
"I don't know anything, but you succeeded in confessing, right?"
"Yes......"
Olive raised her hand to her reddened neck and quickly put the underwear she was holding into her gown pocket.
"Congratulations!"
"Thank you. But to The Duke......"
Olive gave a desperate look with a lot of meaning.
"Yes. I'll keep it a secret."
"Thank you."
As an awkward silence flowed between them, Marin hurriedly turned around.
"I'm going to have breakfast."
"I'm going to get ready for work."
The two quickly scattered in their own directions as if they were being chased by someone.
\ \ \
The middle-aged knight guarding the front gate of Duke's Castle looked down at the small children standing in front of him with a bewildered face.
"Why did you come here?"
"To see the Rabbit......"
The red-haired boy whispered with a timid face.
"Rabbit, five fingers!"
The girl with her red hair tied on both sides smiled brightly, spreading her five fingers wide.
"Are you village children?"
"Yes."
"How far is it from here to the village that you came all the way here?"
The middle-aged knight looked down at the children with a troubled expression.
It was not a distance these small children could walk from the village to Duke's Castle.
"My dad delivers milk to Duke's Castle every day."
"Ah, Milhi's children."
"Yes."
Ronnie nodded his head with a proud face when the Duke's Castle knight knew his dad.
"Where is your dad now?"
"He went inside to deliver. We're waiting here."
"Then you have to wait quietly. You want to see the Rabbit?"
"That's because my sister likes the Rabbit so much."
"Want to see Rabbit! Want to say hi to Rabbit!"
The girl clenched her small fists tightly and stomped her feet.
After a moment of contemplation, the middle-aged knight spotted Uvis passing by from behind and called him.
"Uvis, come here."
"I don't want to?"
He grabbed the nape of his neck, who was trying to run away quickly.
It seemed like this had happened before.
"Hey, you! Can't you listen even when the year changes?"
"It's because you're going to make me do something annoying."
"Go to Miss Marin and ask if it's okay to let the village children in to see the Rabbit."
Only then did Uvis stretch his neck out and look at the village children.
"Okay. I'll be back soon."
"Okay."
The middle-aged knight watched Uvis run away, then turned his gaze to the children.
"Wait a little bit first."
"Yes."
"Okay!"
The two children nodded and stepped aside, holding hands. They were siblings with a good relationship.
\ \ *
Not long after, Uvis appeared with Marin.
"Miss Marin, hello."
The middle-aged knight saluted Marin with a stiff face.
"It's been a while."
Marin also smiled softly and greeted him.
It was that knight who had stopped her on the night she came to Duke's Castle to get an advance.
He must have been scolded a lot by Sebas Butler afterward, as he was very nervous whenever he saw her.
"The village children came?"
"Yes. They're over there."
The children were squatting on the floor, playing with dirt.
Marin approached the children and greeted them kindly.
"Hello."
"Hello!"
Ronnie, who was surprised to see Marin, jumped up from his seat and bowed his head. Mini smiled brightly and waved her hands.
Marin recognized the children BaniBani had protected at a glance.
"You're the children who played with the Rabbit."
When Marin asked kindly, Ronnie replied with a frozen face.
"Yes. My sister wanted to say hello to the Rabbit...... I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. There's no need to be sorry. Our Rabbit will be happy to see you too."
Ronnie's pupils trembled.
Is it okay to be allowed so easily?
"But do your parents know?"
"Ah, no."
Ronnie flinched with a look that said the moment he was expecting had come.
Marin, who was watching the scene, turned to the middle-aged knight.
"Do you know the children's father?"
"Yes. He's the one who delivers milk."
"If the children's father comes, guide him to where the Rabbit is."
"Yes, I understand."
The middle-aged knight replied in a formal voice.
"Shall we go then?"
Marin held out her hands to the children as if to hold them.
"Okay!"
"Yes."
As expected, brave little sister.
Ronnie was once again impressed by his sister as he watched Mini grab Marin's outstretched hand.
