73 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Engaged to the Blind Duke Episode 73
“I don’t want to. Or is that an order? But I am not The Duke’s person, so I have no reason to obey that order.”
Dia stared straight at The Duke, who had his eyes closed, with a chilly gaze.
“Your Chaperone will be my fiancée.”
Was he even listening properly to what she was saying?
A prickly thorn grew in Dia’s chest. That sharp thorn wanted to stab The Duke and hurt him.
“Are you ignoring what I’m saying? Just like you ignored us on the day we first arrived? Why on earth did you take on the role of our guardian? You should have just left us alone, to live or die. You ignored Mother all those long years too, didn’t you? Now that she’s gone, do you finally feel guilty?”
“…….”
“Please, don’t hold even a shred of pity for us. I’ll just live as if I were dead. I won’t need a guardian once I come of age. I’ll take my siblings and leave for the south again.”
Unable to contain her anger, Dia shouted while her body trembled uncontrollably.
Looking at The Duke’s face reminded her of her mother, which made her even angrier. Because he resembled the person she missed, she missed her mother even more, and it pierced her heart even deeper.
“Do you dislike Marin as your Chaperone?”
“No… Yes. I dislike it. I dislike the idea of The Duke’s fiancée being my Chaperone.”
“If there is someone you want…….”
“Stop! Why on earth do you care about my Debutante?”
“Because as a noblewoman, you must undergo the Debutante.”
“Why? Because I need to get married? Because I need to produce heirs?”
Dia poured out her words passionately, then got chills as she suddenly realized something.
This person is trying to get me married. That’s why he’s trying to separate me from my siblings.
“That is not an invalid reason either.”
“You’re really honest to the point of being unnecessary.”
Dia clenched both her fists tightly. Her nails dug into her tender flesh, and it hurt. And that was good. Because otherwise, it felt like tears would pour out.
“I refuse. No matter what happens, I will not go to the capital for my Debutante. I will take my leave now, The Duke.”
Dia grabbed her dress, bowed politely, then turned away coldly.
She knew how rude it was to leave first without being dismissed by The Duke. But she was too angry to bear it.
The Duke neither blamed her for her rudeness nor stopped her.
As she walked toward the study door, she saw it was slightly ajar. She was about to push it open fully and leave when she saw Marin standing in front of the door.
When their eyes met, Marin smiled brightly.
Unconsciously, Dia covered her lips, which were trembling uncontrollably.
Did she hear?
She had shouted inside the study that she disliked her. She hadn’t yet figured out how to respond to her kindness, but she certainly didn’t dislike her.
“I……”
As Dia tried to part her lips with difficulty, her face full of guilt, Marin gently stopped her.
“It’s alright, Young Lady.”
So she had heard everything.
She was suddenly frightened. What if she stops letting Peridot sleep with her?
As if reading her expression, Marin spoke softly, as if soothing her.
“Young Lady, please don’t worry. I will teach Ruby and Peridot well.”
Meeting Marin’s eyes, Dia thought.
Even if I won’t have a Debutante, if she were my Chaperone, she would be so reliable.
“……Thank you.”
“You should go quickly. Your siblings must be waiting.”
“Yes.”
She wanted to apologize and say she didn’t mean it, but she didn’t want to apologize where The Duke could hear.
Dia bowed to Marin and moved her reluctant footsteps.
Marin watched Dia’s dejected back as she walked away, then entered The Duke’s study. She deliberately made her footsteps loud and heavy, stomping to show she was angry.
Then she walked close to The Duke, slammed the report she was carrying onto the desk, and placed her hands on her hips.
“Why?”
The Duke asked with a composed face.
“What on earth, are you trying to win first place in an ‘Ugly Speaking Contest’ or something?”
“Is there such a contest?”
As if there would be?
Since The Duke remained still as if waiting for an answer, Marin spoke sullenly.
“No, there isn’.”
“That’s a relief. It sounds like a boring contest.”
The Duke chuckled softly.
“Why on earth do you speak so unpleasantly?”
“I was just being honest.”
Now she understood why Olive had pressed the report into her hand and told her to hurry to the study.
“So why are you only half honest? Don’t you know what treatment a noblewoman who doesn’t have a Debutante receives? Don’t you know how much that society will torment and make life difficult for her? Why are you skipping over saying that?”
Marin stared at The Duke with a pitiful gaze.
It seemed this clumsy person, who was solely focused on protecting, didn’t anticipate that his actions would hurt his nieces even more.
How on earth could the relationship between The Duke and his nieces improve?
“……Was it difficult?”
The Duke asked after a pause.
“Who? Me?”
“Yes.”
“Well, a little. But I was pushed out of noble society right away and lived like a commoner, so I didn’t suffer the disregard for long.”
“Who disregarded you?”
As soon as his words ended, a murderous aura emanated fiercely from him.
Marin respectfully brought her hands, which had been planted on her hips, together in front of her.
Yes, she was intimidated.
“That was a long time ago. Lord Gerald, that murderous aura, please….”
At that, he quickly reined in his aura and pushed the report lying on the desk toward her.
“Write it down.”
“Huh?”
Marin’s eyes widened as she asked again.
“Write down the people who disregarded you.”
What is this, a Death Note or something?
“Um, this is a report, you know.”
“Isn’t there even one blank space on the report? Write on top of it if you have to.”
He was firm, as if he wouldn’t yield an inch.
Unconsciously, Marin let out a puff of laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
He asked bluntly.
“You already punished them. Gerbium.”
Marin kept leaking laughter and bit her lip hard.
Until now, she had endured alone while taking care of her mother. But now she had someone on her side, and he was too strong. So she felt indescribably secure.
She wished her nieces would quickly understand The Duke’s heart too.
The Duke raised his head as if looking at her.
Marin took a deep breath to suppress her laughter and picked up the report.
“I’ll read the report to you.”
“Alright. And if you remember anyone else, write them down too.”
Wow, he’s persistent too.
\ \ *
Loanna was sitting on a bench outside the annex to get some fresh air for the first time in a while.
The winter air was cold enough to sting the tip of her nose, but the shining sunlight was warm.
The green leaves clinging to the winter trees were admirable. Indeed, the scenery seen from inside through a window was different from the scenery seen outside.
“Yuria.”
“Yes.”
Yuria, who had been watching her worriedly from behind the bench, answered quickly.
“You should go inside somewhere warm.”
“No, Madam. I really can’t allow this. I’ll go get another blanket. Please wait a moment.”
“It’s fi……”
Before Loanna could raise her hand to stop her, Yuria quickly dashed into the annex.
She was already bundled up tightly in a thick blanket. Sometimes she seemed to fuss more over her than over her own daughter.
It was a problem that her body was so weak as to warrant such worry from others, though.
Loanna closed her eyes with a faint smile. With her eyes closed, the sounds around her became more vivid and clear.
They said The Duke’s nieces were staying in the annex, and indeed, she could hear many more human sounds now.
The Duke, whom she had seen once from afar, always had his eyes closed.
He must always focus on sounds like this, right?
Thinking that he was the person who would marry her daughter made her concerned.
“Excuse me, are you alright?”
At the sudden sound of a cautious voice, Loanna gently opened her eyes.
A cute girl with light green eyes was looking at her worriedly.
It seemed she had misunderstood, thinking Loanna was in pain because she had her eyes closed with a weary face.
