63 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
She Blinded Him, My Lord 63
The nobles followed her gaze and were startled. The female nobles covered their faces with fans, and the male nobles grimaced as if they understood the pain.
“I kicked him that day to escape from him. If he’s the Baron’s Attending physician, he would have treated that man on that day, so if you ask him, he can be a witness.”
“Then, to have lost something you should never lose in your life…”
Christine, who had been trembling in fear on one side, muttered to herself with a blank face.
Because the surroundings were so quiet, the nobles who heard her words nodded their heads.
“D, The Duke, Yo, Your, Grace, Sa, Save…”
Gerbium’s eyes were gradually losing focus.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you here right now.”
Gerald brought his face close to Gerbium and whispered in a terribly low voice.
Even when he had overheard their conversation from afar, he was angry at the sight of this bastard mocking Marin’s poverty. So he forced him to kneel before her and beg.
But what had he done in the past?
In an instant, an unbearable rage erupted, and the invisible world before his eyes turned bright red.
Gerald gritted his teeth and forcibly released the power that had made Gerbium kneel. Otherwise, he would have crushed him to death on the floor.
He would have done so if it hadn’t been a party to celebrate the engagement.
In the South, he had been cautious according to procedure, but this was the West. Even the Emperor would have stepped back from him in the West.
He wanted to break the neck of the bastard in his hand right now.
Was it really impossible?
Meanwhile, Gerbium thought only of his desire to live in his fading consciousness.
In the end, thinking that he had to escape this moment somehow, he uttered words that he should never have said.
“Marin, she, tricked, her father…”
The words whispered in his fading consciousness could only be heard by The Duke, who was closest to him. Gerbium soon fainted without finishing his sentence.
Gerald’s lips hardened.
So there was another reason why the Schwentz barony had fallen? Fortunately, Marin hadn’t heard. It seemed like an investigation was needed.
A tough life, indeed.
The Duke threw him onto the marble floor.
“Sebas Butler, clean it up.”
“Yes, The Duke.”
Sebas Butler, who had been glaring at Gerbium with eyes blazing with anger, bowed his head.
The butler picked up Gerbium by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away. No longer could the dignity of a noble be found in Gerbium, who was being dragged across the floor unconscious.
The nobles’ gazes turned to Christine this time.
They had never seen the always indifferent Duke of the West punish a noble so publicly. That meant that The Duke’s fiancée was an important person to The Duke.
The nobles thought that no one would be able to mention the scandal of The Duke’s fiancée from the moment they left this party.
The Duke’s head turned to Christine. She trembled, her face looking as if she would burst into tears at any moment.
“Yo, Your, Grace, I’m sorry. Schwentz Young Lady, I’m sorry. I misunderstood. I had no idea Gerbium was such a person.”
Christine sniffled, finally shedding tears.
“I don’t think deliberately spilling wine was a misunderstanding, was it?”
Jeromian, who had been watching the situation from the side with his arms crossed, retorted sarcastically.
“I, it was a mistake, a mistake.”
Christine hurriedly wiped away her tears and made excuses.
“Did you say it was a mistake, Young Lady?”
Jeromian gave a chilling look and a painted smile.
“Yes, yes.”
Christine, feeling fear from the strange man who was questioning her on behalf of The Duke, answered hastily.
She saw the transparent barrier that had been protecting The Duke’s fiancée disappear as the man waved his hand.
Whoever this man was, he was no ordinary person.
Why were two seemingly great men so eager to protect that woman?
“Does a mistake come with a warning?”
The Duke, who had been listening from the side, slowly added.
Surprised, Christine looked at The Duke. Surely The Duke was far away. There was no way he could have heard their conversation.
“Ah, I…”
Christine couldn’t bring herself to continue speaking. It felt as if The Duke, with his eyes closed, was seeing right through her.
Her vision was blurring. Her chest felt tight, and she felt suffocated.
Christine suddenly felt a choking sensation and scratched her own neck. Someone, please help me.
Just as Christine’s face turned white, crushed by The Duke’s murderous aura, a desperate voice burst from her lips.
“Susan…”
“Your Grace!”
Susan jumped out from among the nobles who were watching.
Christine was startled. The moment she was about to utter Susan’s name, Susan had come to help her.
“Lady Susan!”
At that moment, the suffocating pressure was suddenly released.
Christine collapsed to the floor and gasped for breath.
At the same time, she looked at her friend who had come to help her with grateful eyes.
However, Susan avoided her gaze with a cold face, and soon spoke to The Duke in a gentle voice.
“Lady Wares has committed a great wrong, but it was caused by a misunderstanding of her fiancé’s past. Please have mercy on Lady Wares.”
Christine looked at Susan with a confused expression.
She thought she was standing up for her, but before she knew it, the title had returned to Young Lady, and the gaze she had briefly met was surprisingly cold.
Could it be… that she had stepped in to silence her because she thought she was going to say her name?
When The Duke stood silently, Susan’s gaze turned to Marin.
“Schwentz Young Lady will have mercy on Lady Wares, won’t she? The beautiful dress is still intact, after all.”
Marin was inwardly impressed by Susan’s appearance as she put her hands together and spoke kindly.
If she pushed Christine any further in this situation, she would become the villain who wouldn’t cover up the mistake of an innocent Young Lady who didn’t know her fiancé’s past.
Marin met Susan’s gaze, which was staring straight at her with a challenging look. Her skill in guiding the conversation as she wanted was considerable.
Marin gently placed her hand on The Duke’s arm.
“I was fine thanks to Gerald and Jeromian. So let’s just let it go this time.”
At this, Baron Wares, who had been holding his breath in the back, appeared and bowed his head.
“Your Grace, please forgive my foolish daughter.”
“Father…”
“I don’t want to see you for a while.”
A cold command fell from The Duke.
Baron Wares’ face turned black with grief. It was a warning not to appear in society until he was forgiven.
The Baron, who forcibly raised Christine, bowed deeply until his head touched the floor.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Soon, he roughly dragged Christine out.
At the sight, the nobles closed their mouths like dumb people.
Two nobles had been dragged out of the party.
It was the first time they had seen such a bizarre sight at a party celebrating an engagement. No one knew how to act, so they hesitated in place.
Marin looked around and then sighed inwardly.
We’re doomed, doomed. What are we going to do about this atmosphere?
She grabbed her dress with a sense of duty.
I have to save it somehow!
“Gerald.”
Marin approached The Duke and whispered.
“Why?”
“Will you dance with me? Our party is ruined right now.”
“…I will.”
Marin linked her arm with The Duke’s and led him to the central dance floor.
Just as she was about to pass Susan, she saw her eerie gaze.
Surprised, she looked again, but she had already turned her head and was walking elsewhere.
Why was a woman she had never met looking at her with such eyes? Was she not just trying to help a friend?
As the engaged couple moved to the dance floor in a friendly manner, the orchestra hurriedly began to play a song.
Soon, a beautiful melody enveloped the arena hall.
