52 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Engaged to the Blind Duke Episode 52
Loanna, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, looked at Marin with surprised eyes. She felt as if she had glimpsed a different side of her daughter, who always acted like a mischievous child.
"Well then, everyone, I must take my leave as I'm quite busy."
Marin waved her hand in farewell to the three people and quickly slipped out of the room.
Although she had pretended to have important matters, it was nothing more than an escape.
Walking without thinking, she soon found herself in front of the Duke's office.
Ah, why did I come here?
As Marin turned to leave, the Duke's indifferent voice came from beyond the office door.
"Come in."
Marin swallowed a sigh and walked into the office as slowly as possible.
The Duke listened to her footsteps and abruptly asked,
"Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"You seem to be forcing yourself to walk in reluctantly."
Ghost. At this point, it wasn't even surprising.
Must be the male protagonist buff, I suppose.
"That's not true."
Marin moistened her lips and spoke confidently. If she said it wasn't true, then it wasn't.
"Yes, it is."
"Couldn't you just pretend it's not?"
Faced with the Duke's firmness, Marin quickly backed down.
"What brings you here?"
"Your Grace told me to come in."
"Name."
"Gerald told me to come in, didn't he?"
"Not about the office. Why did you come all the way to the door?"
"Well, I just... ended up here while running away..."
"Running away? From whom?"
The Duke's expression cooled slightly.
"The party preparation team."
Marin hurriedly cleared up the Duke's misunderstanding.
"If you're running away, why come to me?"
A faint smile touched the corner of his lips.
"Um, probably because you're the strongest person around me. If I'm near Your Gr- Gerald, I thought they wouldn't come looking for me."
"Must be nice to have a strong fiancé."
He lifted the corner of his mouth and spoke slowly.
Marin's earlobes instantly turned bright red.
He must be talking about his position as Duke, wealth, abilities, things like that, right?
"Since you're here anyway, why not return to your temporary duties?"
"Great idea!"
Marin quickly scurried over to the desk.
"Only now do you feel like approaching me?"
"People naturally feel at ease in their proper place. The position of fiancée isn't my proper place, it's too uncomfortable."
Picking up a document from the desk, Marin inadvertently revealed her true feelings.
"But if Olive isn't here, who will deliver these documents?"
"The butler has taken over Olive's duties."
"I see. The butler must be really busy too."
"Especially since he's even teaching someone now."
"That's right. Teaching m- Huh? You knew?"
"Do you think there's anything in the Duke's Castle that I wouldn't know?"
Leaning back loosely in his chair, he extended his hand.
Marin naturally placed her wrist on his palm.
He gripped her wrist and examined it, then clicked his tongue discontentedly.
"How on earth can this be filled out properly?"
"I told you it won't work."
"You can grow, Imsi. Try your best."
"Some things just won't work no matter how hard you try."
"Someone's coming."
"Huh? Who..."
BANG!
Her eyes widening at the sound of someone kicking the door open, Marin hurriedly checked the Duke's expression.
He had said she could speak normally now, but was such loud noise acceptable too?
The one who had kicked the door was none other than Jeromian.
He was wearing a flowing silver silk robe as if he had just emerged from his bedroom. The nightshirt he wore underneath had buttons undone down to his chest, making him look sexy.
Fascinated by this sight rarely seen in this world, Marin observed him with an interested gaze.
As expected, handsome men look good in anything.
"What are you doing? Engagement? Party?"
Jeromian spat out words fiercely but stopped abruptly when he saw the Duke's hand holding Marin's wrist.
"Why are you holding hands?"
"We're engaged."
As Marin blushed and tried to pull her hand away, the Duke deliberately tightened his grip and didn't let go. Unable to do anything, Marin greeted Jeromian with her wrist still held.
"Hello, Lord Jeromian."
At her greeting, Jeromian looked flustered, took off his glasses to clean them, then put them back on properly.
"Lord Jeromian?"
Hearing her form of address from beside her, a dissatisfied wrinkle formed between the Duke's brows.
"Yes. Hello, my lady."
"My lady?"
Repeating the address in a disbelieving voice, the wrinkle between the Duke's brows deepened.
"Let me introduce my fiancée. Lady Marin Schuwenz."
He placed heavy emphasis on the word "fiancée."
Marin looked down at the Duke as if he were strange, then felt Jeromian's piercing gaze.
"Let me greet you again. I am Marin Schuwenz."
"So you were nobility after all."
Jeromian nodded with an I-knew-it expression.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you."
"It's fine. I was deceiving you too."
Could he possibly be about to reveal that he's Zero?
Hiding her anxious heart, Marin feigned ignorance with her expression.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"Actually, I am Zero. I can change my body through alchemy. I am both the alchemist Zero and the minor northern duke Jeromian Rodel Saint."
Marin's eyes widened in surprise that he had revealed his true identity.
"You're quite surprised, aren't you? I'm sorry."
"Ah, no..."
Marin shook her head with a dazed expression.
Fortunately, since she was genuinely surprised, it seemed her prior knowledge hadn't been exposed.
In the novel, Jeromian confesses to the female protagonist that he alternates between adult and child forms. However, his actual identity isn't revealed until the end of the novel.
But why had he revealed even that he was a minor northern duke to her?
"What are you up to?"
When Zero gave a lengthy self-introduction he would never normally make, the Duke cut in with a cool voice.
"What do you mean, what am I up to?"
Jeromian blinked his eyes, pretending innocence.
"You wouldn't speak truthfully without some scheme."
Jeromian spread his arms and shrugged with an aggrieved expression.
"It was a pure self-introduction."
"Pure? That's not a word meant to be applied to you."
"Tsk tsk. To misunderstand the word pure like this. This is why I told you to read more books. You don't become a person just by swinging a sword with muscles."
Marin watched their childish argument with a dumbfounded expression.
Are these two really adult men?
"If you're done talking, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave quickly."
The Duke made a chin gesture toward the door with a cold expression.
"I haven't even started yet. Engagement? You're engaged to Lady Marin?"
"Your news is late."
"My lady. If you're being coerced by this guy, shake the carrot. I'll help you right away."
Jeromian pulled a small carrot from his silver silk robe pocket and held it out.
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
The Duke's low voice was rough.
Marin was so surprised she couldn't speak, her mouth slightly agape.
How did this guy know about shaking carrots?
Reading Marin's surprised expression, Jeromian put the carrot back in his pocket and scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry. I was researching with carrots until just before coming here. If you're too afraid of the Duke to speak, just give me some kind of signal and I'll help..."
"Enough! I've indulged this pointless talk long enough."
The Duke sharply cut off Jeromian's words.
"You're really engaged to Lady Marin?"
Jeromian looked at the Duke with a serious expression.
"Yes."
"You, who until a few days ago called Lady Marin 'Temporary' and treated her condescendingly, suddenly developed feelings for Lady Marin? And you expect me to believe that?"
The Duke leaned back leisurely in his chair and let out a light laugh.
"You're right."
"I only ever say what's right."
Jeromian looked at the Duke who spoke as if it were obvious, with a displeased gaze.
"That word you used - pure. It was true after all. To think that a noble's engagement must be based on mutual affection."
Jeromian's pale face flushed bright red then quickly cooled.
"Then why is this engagement proceeding?"
"Let's just say it's due to mutual necessity. You should go now."
Perhaps feeling he couldn't get through to the Duke, Jeromian this time stared directly at Marin.
"I don't know what you need, but getting engaged to just any man like this isn't a good choice. You could meet someone better..."
"Minor Duke. I appreciate your concern for me, but I know my own circumstances best. My family is ruined."
Marin calmly interrupted his words.
Ruined - this single word contained the meaning that 'there's no chance for me to meet the better person you speak of.'
