9 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
Blind Peacock and Engaged Episode 9
"Imsi." Don’t be like Olive.”
“You’re bleeding. You should see a doctor right away.”
Her heart pounded with a piercing pain at the sight of blood. Marin tried to ignore the bloodstains.
The faint smell of blood floating in the air was the Duke’s blood. Just how much blood had he lost?
“Was bleeding. Was. Don’t you know past tense?”
The corner of the Duke’s mouth tilted up crookedly.
“Yes, I understand. You were bleeding. But you’re not now. Right? Still, you should get treatment. You were bleed, ing, so, you, should.”
Marin gritted her teeth and suppressed her rising anger.
“It’s okay. I heal fast.”
His indifferent attitude was incomprehensible.
“Even if you heal fast, you still need treatment. You need to find out why you suddenly had blood coming from your ear.”
“Not suddenly.”
The Duke, with his eyes covered by the strap, turned his head towards her as if making eye contact.
“Pardon?”
“I stabbed my ear.”
“…Who did?”
Marin’s light green eyes trembled. Could it be?
The Duke tilted his head slightly towards her. And he spoke slowly, as if observing her reaction.
“…Me.”
Wow, seriously. He’s really crazy.
“It’s quiet now.”
Satisfaction was evident in the Duke’s low voice.
Marin couldn’t say anything more and pressed her lips tightly together.
As she quieted down, the Duke’s face returned to facing forward.
It was still a dark space. But the streaks of blood, once etched in her eyes, were clearly visible.
A Duke who was in so much pain that he would do something as crazy as stabbing himself.
Ironically, meeting the Duke made him seem human for the first time.
He felt like a ‘person’ suffering in reality, not a male protagonist in a fictional novel.
She knew that this male protagonist would regain his sight after meeting the female protagonist. So, perhaps she had thought of his blindness as insignificant.
She thought that the pain and hardship experienced by the male protagonist in the novel were natural.
Because it would eventually be a happy ending.
Ah, what a foolish thought.
Only after recognizing his crazy behavior did she feel his pain.
How great would the suffering be to suddenly lose sight?
She couldn’t imagine it.
Before she knew it, tears welled up in her eyes. Tears ran down her cheeks and fell onto the carpeted floor.
The Duke suddenly turned his head sharply. Although covered by the black strap, it felt like his eyes were piercing through her.
“…Why?”
Marin quickly wiped away her tears.
Even if he was sensitive to sound, there was no way he could have heard the sound of tears falling.
“What do you mean?”
“…Never mind.”
An awkward atmosphere flowed in the office.
Just then, Olive returned.
“Your Grace? Miss Marin?”
Olive looked puzzled, as if wondering why the two of them were standing so close.
“This.”
The Duke made a circle with his thumb and forefinger and held up her wrist. Even with her wrist inside, it was slightly empty.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Fill it.”
“Yes.”
Olive answered immediately without asking any other questions.
Marin stared wide-eyed at their conversation.
Excuse me. Are you talking about my wrist right now?
“Imsi.”
The Duke’s face turned towards her again.
“Yes.”
Marin answered absentmindedly, secretly pouting her lips.
She had been suspecting it since earlier. Imsi. Had she been promoted from a tree branch?
“Get checked from now on.”
“What should I get checked?”
As if he couldn’t be bothered to speak, he lifted her wrist high and then dropped it.
Ah, he was talking about my wrist.
Marin quickly retrieved her wrist.
Nice to see you again, my wrist.
“Report.”
“Yes. Here it is, Miss Marin.”
Olive handed the report to Marin as if he had been waiting.
“Yes.”
Okay, let’s get to work.
Marin received the report from Olive and slowly read through it.
Her clear and calm voice warmly enveloped the office.
Olive’s lips formed a satisfied smile as he watched the Duke’s stiff shoulders gradually relax.
\ \ *
Marin walked down the hallway behind Olive with a troubled expression.
She thought she knew everything about the Duke, the male protagonist in the novel, but she was mistaken.
She didn’t know that the Duke was suffering so much that he would harm himself.
The problem was that she knew how to eliminate his pain.
“No way. No way.”
Marin shook her head vigorously, muttering to herself. That role was for the female protagonist to play, not for her to step in.
She had to live as if she didn’t exist, earn money, and disappear quietly.
That way, this novel would proceed to a happy ending as in the original.
After walking for a while down the hallway with black curtains, a bright hallway appeared.
At the end of the bright hallway, a light brown door was visible.
“This is the office.”
“It’s quite far from the Duke’s office.”
Marin estimated the distance between the dark end of the hallway far away and this place. The castle was so large that it would take a long time to walk from one end of the hallway to the other.
“His Grace likes things quiet.”
Olive opened the office door and went inside.
Marin stood at the entrance and looked around the office.
A large picture window with bright sunlight streaming in. A bookshelf filling one wall with documents. A wide brown desk in the front. A tea table and brown sofa in the center. Next to it was a white desk that looked brand new.
She was supposed to assist Olive with his work here, except for the times when she was reporting to the Duke.
Olive walked towards the white desk.
“This is Miss Marin’s desk. You can work here from now on.”
“Thank you.”
Marin was excited for the first time in a while. She didn’t know how long it had been since she had used new furniture like this.
Only good things had happened to her since coming to the Duke’s estate. A huge weekly wage, a new desk, a good boss.
Let’s exclude the scary Duke.
Marin turned away from the desk and turned to Olive.
“Um, Assistant.”
“Yes, Miss Marin.”
Marin carefully opened her mouth, looking at Olive’s dark brown eyes, which held a warm warmth.
“The blood from His Grace’s ear…”
“Did you see it?”
Olive asked back with a bitter expression.
“Is it okay for him not to get treatment?”
“His Grace really doesn’t like anything touching his body. Even if it’s a medical procedure.”
“But he still needs to get treatment.”
“I’ve told him many times, but it doesn’t work.”
A shadow fell over his face, which always had a gentle smile.
“But don’t worry too much. He’s very strong and heals quickly.”
Does he also know that His Grace stabbed himself?
Marin swallowed the words she wanted to say as she looked at Olive, who was trying to speak brightly.
“Actually, the bigger problem is that he can’t sleep.”
Olive sighed deeply with worry.
“He can’t sleep either?”
“Yes. Not at all.”
But why is not being able to sleep a bigger problem than bleeding?
Marin didn’t understand, but she just nodded.
“My mother used to drink a glass of warm wine when she couldn’t sleep.”
“Really?”
Olive’s eyes deepened as if observing her.
Marin, not noticing his gaze, answered readily.
“Yes. It worked for my mother.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope it helps. But Assistant. I’m a commoner, why do you keep using honorifics with me?”
It was unusual for him, a nobleman, to keep using honorifics with a commoner woman who was only playing an assistant role.
“You’re my assistant, aren’t you?”
Olive tilted his head and asked back.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“That’s the reason.”
“Ah, I see.”
He was indeed an unusual nobleman.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“No. Do whatever you’re comfortable with, Assistant.”
“Then, will you call me by my name from now on?”
Olive said with a bright smile.
“Yes. Olive.”
“Good. Miss Marin. Shall we start working then?”
Olive smiled brightly and stacked the documents from the bookshelf on Marin’s desk. The amount of documents was enormous just by looking at them.
Marin looked at Olive with a slightly horrified expression. He was still wearing a kind smile.
Let’s put the thought of him being a good boss on hold for now.
Marin awkwardly raised the corners of her lips and picked up the documents.
