4 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
Engaged to the Blind Duke Episode 4
A coziness like lying under the warm spring sun. A refreshing feeling as if being in the heart of nature, with the babbling sound of a stream and birds chirping.
It was a strange experience, one she had never felt in her entire life.
It was different from the singing voice too.
The contents of the book she read aloud entered her mind clearly, as if embedded in her ears. It wasn't boring at all. Her faint presence was instantly imprinted through her voice alone.
She began to think, just as the woman had said, that she was indeed someone essential to His Grace the Duke.
“Miss Marin, shall we go together?”
“Yes.”
Marin nodded and diligently followed behind Olive. Whether it was because his legs were long or because he was in a hurry, his walking pace was extremely fast.
The hallway was long, very long. Since it was a five-story castle, she felt that if she lost sight of him, she would get lost.
As she hurriedly followed Olive, the surroundings gradually grew darker.
It couldn't be sunset already.
Marin slowed her pace and looked around. All the hallway windows were covered with black curtains.
It felt like being sucked into a pitch-black cave, and Marin unconsciously came to a halt.
When the sound of footsteps following him ceased, Olive turned around.
Marin swallowed hard and slowly scanned the darkened surroundings with an uneasy gaze.
When she looked forward again, Olive spoke with a faint smile.
“His Grace the Duke is sensitive to light.”
“Yes……”
“In the future, if you get to serve beside His Grace the Duke, I will inform you of the various things you need to be cautious about.”
“Yes! Understood.”
Marin deliberately answered more cheerfully.
She didn't know yet whether she would be able to serve the Duke or not. But it was also important to make a good impression on Olive, who might become her direct superior.
“Shall we go again, then?”
“Yes.”
Even while diligently following him, Marin unconsciously hugged the book she had just read tightly, like a talisman.
\ \ *
Olive caught his breath in front of the office door and looked back.
He saw Marin, who was breathing heavily from rushing to keep up. Simultaneously, the book she was clutching preciously caught his eye.
“That, I think it would be better to leave it here for now.”
“Huh? Yes.”
With a startled expression, she placed the book down beside the office.
As Olive stood quietly in front of the office door, a voice flowed from inside.
“Come in.”
Olive gave a look to Marin, who was standing behind him, signaling her to wait a moment.
Then, after lighting a candle placed against the wall, he picked up the candlestick and opened the office door.
The office, with its windows completely covered by black curtains without a single gap, was dark like a black well even though it was still early in the day.
“Your Grace the Duke.”
“What is it?”
Duke Gerald's low, deep voice was filled with languor.
“I wish to hire one person, and it seemed like a matter for which I needed Your Grace's permission, so I have come.”
“Since when have I had to concern myself with every single servant?”
As he retorted with an indifferent tone, Olive bowed his head a little deeper.
“You will not need to concern yourself with such matters in the future either. However, this person is somewhat special. I believe you should keep her by your side.”
“By my side?”
Gerald's voice sank low as he asked back, sounding incredulous.
“Yes. I believe she is someone absolutely necessary for Your Grace the Duke.”
Olive spoke resolutely with a tone of conviction.
“Is she a doctor? I thought I had met all the doctors in the Empire.”
A faint hint of interest tinged Gerald's voice.
Olive tightly shut his eyes. For over a year, they had summoned every doctor known for their skill. Yet, not one of them could cure the Duke's eyes.
Feeling as though he had given him false hope for nothing, Olive bowed deeply.
“She is not a doctor. My apologies.”
“…….”
At Gerald's silence, Olive added desperately.
“She is not a doctor, but she is a person who can help Your Grace the Duke. Please, just once, just meet her once.”
Even though His Grace couldn't see him, he would surely sense his desperation.
“……Bring her in.”
After a long while, a heavy permission fell from Gerald's lips.
“Yes. Thank you.”
Olive quickly went back outside.
“Miss Marin. Please come in.”
“Yes, yes.”
The extremely tense girl answered twice without realizing it.
Marin followed Olive inside.
The office felt stuffy with stale dust, as if it hadn't been ventilated for a long time. Furthermore, not a single ray of light entered through the black curtains draped over every window.
Only the faint light spreading from the candlestick placed on the floor illuminated the inside of the office. The deep interior of the office, where the light didn't reach, remained pitch black.
The Duke was there.
In the cave-like pitch-black space, a massive shadow that didn't move a muscle emanated an overwhelming presence.
Ah, is this the dignity of the main character?
Marin unconsciously gulped. She wanted to run away.
“Miss Marin.”
“Yeess?”
Her frightened voice rose an octave.
“Here.”
Olive, now holding a stack of documents, extended a few sheets to her.
“Please, as you did in the drawing-room.”
“Yes……”
Marin took the documents with trembling hands.
White is the paper, black is the text.
The letters floated hazily on the paper. She chased the floating letters with her eyes. Cold sweat trickled down her back.
I can do this. No, I can't. No, I must.
“Miss Marin?”
Olive called her with a flustered expression.
Marin unconsciously squeezed her eyes shut.
Right. How could I deceive the Duke? I should say I can't do it, even now.
But the moment she was about to speak, the image of Loanna lying in bed with a pale complexion came to mind.
No. I must do it!
Marin's eyes snapped open. As her trembling body relaxed, the letters on the documents began to come into focus.
After taking one big, deep breath, she slowly began to read the document aloud.
“Urgent report regarding the silver mine discovered in the Nylon Territory.
As a result of a year-long investigation and analysis involving miners, the mineral appears to be a low-grade ore with an opaque white hue, not silver.
Furthermore, ground tunnel Monsters frequently appear in the mine, causing the miners to hesitate to enter.
According to mining experts, it would be better to choose to close the mine rather than risk further danger.
We report this urgently and request your command at the earliest.”
Marin's eyes sparkled as she read the urgent report with interest.
This silver mine discovered in the Nylon Territory was dealt with quite significantly around the middle of the novel.
Eventually, this place becomes a closed mine, and the female protagonist goes there to gather herbs, picks up a mineral from the site, polishes it, and makes a necklace. This gem then becomes fashionable in high society.
This mine, destined to be closed, was not actually a silver mine but an opal mine.
Opal was a gem never before discovered in the Empire. Thus, its price skyrocketed to an unimaginable extent.
“What a waste…….”
Why didn't I think of this sooner? If I just went there secretly and dug up a few minerals, I could make a fortune.
“What is?”
“Eeek, yes?”
With a startled face, Marin looked up at the enormous Duke standing before her.
The presence she had forgotten while engrossed in reading the report had somehow come and stood right in front of her.
He was so tall she had to tilt her head back fully just to see his face. Was it just his height? His frame was large too.
The Duke's smooth jawline, tilted slightly askew, came into view. Raising her gaze a little more, she saw the Duke's overall face, his eyes covered by a black silk-like band.
Even with his eyes covered, his sculpted high nose bridge and, below it, the elegantly shaped, full red lips.
As expected of the male lead. He was so handsome he seemed to glow even in the dark.
“I asked what is a waste.”
It seemed he had overheard her muttered soliloquy.
Marin's vision went dark.
I have to answer quickly.
Her heart pounded thump-thump.
What if I say it's a waste to close this mine because I know the future, since this is the world inside a book?
I might be dragged off somewhere and burned at the stake as a witch. Or driven out as a madwoman.
Think fast.
“Th, that is…….”
Trembling all over, Marin racked her brains. She felt like a rabbit, not even a mouthful, standing before a huge tiger.
“Olive.”
“Yes.”
Olive, standing beside them, answered in a tense voice.
“Have I ever been known for my patience?”
A subtle irritation tinged the Duke's languid voice.
“No.”
Olive looked at Marin with a pitying gaze.
“I see.”
“…….”
Marin racked her brains frantically, feeling like steam was about to come out of her head.
“She seems to have trouble understanding speech.”
At the Duke's icy cold tone, Marin opened her mouth with a trembling voice.
“M, Monsters.”
