87 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
“Marin?”
“Yuria, how did I get here last night? Please, please don’t tell me Gerald brought me.”
“The Duke brought you here, miss. I’m sorry.”
Kind Yuria spoke honestly with a helpless expression.
“No, why are you sorry? I just stuck my nose in the dishwater…”
“Ahem, daughter.”
“Mom, what should I do? Last night, I…”
“Daughter, how can you stop there when I’m curious?”
Loanna playfully urged, but Marin, with a face that had lost all hope in life, buried her face in the pillow again.
“I need some time alone for self-reflection.”
“Alright. Rest.”
“Rest well, miss.”
Loanna’s voice was full of laughter.
After the two left, Marin recalled what she had done last night.
“Which part of the body did these fingers touch! Huh? Are you really going to act like that without the owner’s permission?!”
Marin bit the fingers that had poked and rubbed the Duke’s chest.
This one, acting recklessly, needed to be punished a lot.
“You too! How could you touch his head? Huh?”
She also hit the palm that had tapped the Duke’s head.
“If I was going to be that drunk, I should have lost my memory. Why do I remember everything!!!”
Marin grabbed the pillow, screamed, and kicked the blanket wildly.
The enormity of what she had done last night made her upset stomach not even hurt.
The only bit of luck was that she hadn’t said the female lead’s name.
“How can I face the Duke now? I just want to disappear like dust. Please.”
Round tears welled up in Marin’s eyes and trickled down.
\ \ \
In the training grounds, Garnet was sweating as she swung a wooden Sword.
She cheered inwardly at the news that Marin couldn’t come out due to a hangover.
Although she started late, she didn’t want to lose to Marin. She wanted to work harder and catch up with her quickly.
“Tsk. She’ll break her wrist at that rate.”
Uvis strolled over with a sulky expression.
“What?”
Garnet stopped swinging her Sword and looked at Uvis.
He was the same age as her, but perhaps because he was bigger, Uvis seemed much more mature than her. She didn’t like that.
The fact that he frowned every time he saw her also played a part.
“If you didn’t hear, try hurting your wrist.”
“Hey!”
Garnet stood in front of him, huffing.
She was tall for a woman, but he was a head taller. That made her even more annoyed.
“What?”
Uvis asked, making it very clear that he was annoyed.
“Why do you hate me?”
Garnet stared at Uvis with a sharp gaze.
“Should I tell you honestly? Or should I say what the miss wants to hear?”
Uvis, who had turned the scabbard behind his back and held it with both hands, said in a still annoyed tone.
Garnet was speechless.
What kind of guy is this?
“Do both.”
“I don’t want to.”
Garnet glared at him.
“Be honest.”
“I don’t like that a well-bred lady is swinging a Sword as a hobby. I also don’t like you being temperamental with our Marin miss.”
“You…”
Garnet was speechless at his honest answer and stood there blankly.
“What? You told me to be honest.”
Uvis smiled like a prankster.
“Tch.”
Garnet couldn’t say anything more because she had said it herself, and she turned her head away.
“Why are you learning Sword?”
“Hmph. Why should I tell you that?”
Garnet snorted.
“See? That’s why I don’t like you. I’m leaving.”
As Uvis turned around and walked away, Garnet looked at his back with a flustered expression. When Sebas Butler wasn’t around, she had to learn Sword from him.
“Hey. You have to finish what you were saying earlier.”
“Be careful with your wrist!”
Uvis shook his wrist behind his back.
Oh no, he really can’t leave.
“…To protect! I’m learning to protect!”
Uvis stopped abruptly.
“Because I couldn’t protect our parents, I want to protect our remaining siblings. I’m learning to protect.”
Uvis, who had turned around, stared at her with wide eyes as if surprised.
Garnet lowered her head to hide her reddened face. Fortunately, her voluminous blonde hair covered her face.
It was the second time she had told someone her dream, following her teacher, so she was embarrassed.
If Uvis laughed at her dream, she didn’t think she could make eye contact with him.
“Same here.”
“…What?”
Garnet carefully raised her head and stared at Uvis.
“I also started Sword to protect my sister.”
Uvis said, tapping the Sword he was holding.
“Are you close to your sister?”
“Of course. We’re orphans, so it’s just my sister and me.”
“…Me too. Now, it’s just us left.”
“What? You have The Duke, don’t you?”
Uvis frowned as if she was talking nonsense.
At that, Garnet said coldly with an angry face.
“That person isn’t our family. You don’t know anything.”
“You want to protect him, though.”
Uvis’s red eyes stared intently into Garnet’s green eyes.
“Yes.”
“Who is The Duke? Baines. Baines is…”
“…Protects.”
Garnet unknowingly continued the next sentence with a dazed expression.
Only then did Uvis smirk.
“You know it well. Who do you think protects this western region from the Monster? No. It’s not just the western region, it’s protecting this empire. The person who knows how to protect the best is The Duke.”
“……”
Garnet’s green eyes trembled incessantly.
\ \ \
Garnet visited Dia’s room with a thoughtful, dark expression.
“Sister.”
Dia was embroidering by the sunny window.
Beautiful sister. Kind and mature sister. She had wanted to be like her her whole life, but she could never be like her.
“Yes, Garnet.”
Dia raised her head and greeted her with a bright smile.
“Where’s Peridot?”
“She’s with Ruby. What’s wrong?”
“Sister, I…”
Garnet bit her lip. Her stomach ached with guilt. Was she even allowed to say these words?
“Garnet, what’s wrong?”
Dia, who had put down her embroidery, was looking at her with a worried gaze.
“I want to become a knight.”
Dia’s deep green eyes widened.
After a long silence, Dia tapped the chair opposite her.
Garnet hesitated and went to sit in front of her.
“I want to become the head of the family.”
Garnet’s eyes widened in surprise at Dia’s words. She didn’t know Dia was thinking that way.
Oh? Then what about Peridot?
She naturally thought that the youngest sibling would be the next Count.
Garnet’s lips quivered as she chose her words with a confused expression.
At that, Dia burst into laughter.
“What? Was it a joke?”
“No, I’m serious. But seeing your face made me laugh.”
“Sister, then what about Peridot…”
At Garnet’s worried voice, Dia gently took her hand.
“Until our parents’ accident, I had never once thought about becoming the head of the family. But after our parents passed away, it was just us left. I thought that since I was the eldest, I had to protect our siblings. But a woman can’t become the head of the family. That’s the law of the empire.”
Garnet silently met Dia’s gentle eyes.
It was a different dream from hers, but in the end, it was for the same reason, so she could completely understand her.
“I feel the same way as you, sister. I want to protect our family.”
Garnet confessed her feelings honestly.
“Yes. I thought so.”
Dia said kindly. She continued, gently stroking Garnet’s hand.
“I can’t become the head of the family because of the imperial law, but you’re different. There aren’t any female knights in the empire yet, but there’s no imperial law that says there can’t be a female knight.”
