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Chapter 10
“This is my first time on a boat ride.”
The young ladies and young masters invited to the party seemed even more excited than usual.
Damia, arriving at the lakeside, whispered to Cassian, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“That’s good.”
At his indifferent reply, Damia narrowed her eyes.
Why has he been acting like this all this time?
Even when she asked if he had something to say, he hesitated for a long moment before finally keeping silent.
“Young Duke, are you upset with me about something?”
“No, I’m not.”
“I think you are.”
“I said I’m not.”
“Then… do you have a request you want to ask me?”
“What? Ah… no, not at all.”
Cassian was acting really strangely today.
He seemed to be making an effort not to meet Damia’s eyes, yet kept staring persistently at her fingertips.
‘He definitely has something he wants to say.’
She was curious, but not enough to press him.
“Then it’s fine.”
Ultimately, Damia stepped back quietly.
At her quick surrender, Cassian’s eyebrows twitched, showing his displeasure.
Just as he parted his lips to speak, Lady Drury Soro approached with her entourage.
“Thank you for the invitation, Young Duke. And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Damia.”
Biting down on the handmaid holding her parasol, Drury gave a perfectly polite greeting.
“Though I’m late, congratulations on your engagement. You two suit each other so well.”
In her previous life, Drury had actually won that place as fiancée, playing the part Damia now assumed.
‘She must see me as a thorn in her side… but I doubt she’s sincere.’
Had Damia not intervened, that engagement would have proceeded smoothly in this life as well.
“I’ve always wanted to be closer with Lady Damia, but I never had the chance, which was unfortunate.”
“I’m even more pleased that you know me.”
Drury smiled brightly, then turned her gaze toward Cassian.
“Cassian, it’s been a while since we went boating. Do you remember the first time we rode together?”
“I suppose.”
“You rowed the boat while holding my parasol yourself, worried I might get sunburned.”
“Did I? I don’t recall.”
Cassian’s distracted, half-hearted response suggested he had been lost in thought all day.
As he continued glancing at Damia’s fingertips, Drury’s elegant brows twitched slightly.
“I’m so jealous of Lady Damia. To have someone so kind as your fiancée!”
Damia’s interest was piqued by the clearly mocking tone.
‘So that’s her personality. I didn’t get to talk to her much in my previous life.’
Drury seemed determined to get under Damia’s skin. Her desperate effort was somewhat endearing.
“No matter how close I consider myself to you, Young Duke, it must be different from being a fiancée, right? Even if…”
“That’s right.”
Cassian unexpectedly cut her off, silencing Drury’s sarcasm.
It seemed he could no longer tolerate Drury’s incessant chatter in front of them.
“…What?”
A crack appeared in Drury’s perfect smile.
She hadn’t expected the usually indifferent Young Duke to respond so readily.
‘Was he worried about me clinging to him because he was interested in Drury?’
She would probably regret it later when she realized.
Trying to defend the odd behavior of the Young Duke today, Damia interjected.
“Could you step aside? I’m really looking forward to the boat ride and want to get on quickly.”
Cassian gestured toward the lake.
“As Lady Soro already knows, time with a fiancée is always special.”
“…Oh my, I intruded without realizing it. I’ll step back first.”
Drury smiled and took a step back. She retreated so calmly that Damia didn’t even consider stopping her.
‘Huh?’
But the side profile she passed by looked like a completely different person.
Drury was biting her lips so hard they were almost bleeding, struggling to hold back her anger.
“Oh, it’s fine, Young Duke.”
Damia climbed into the boat, taking the hand of the servant rather than Cassian.
Since the Young Duke had removed his usual black gloves, it was a considerate gesture for someone with his meticulous habits.
“…….”
A sigh escaped through Cassian’s tightly pressed lips.
The response, almost wistful, made Damia tilt her head.
“Let’s go.”
Once Damia was seated, Cassian expertly began rowing.
The ripples of the lake sparkled under the sunlight.
The mirror-like surface reflecting the summer sky made Damia exclaim softly.
“Oh? My mother is waving.”
From afar, the Duchess of Sarkis watched them with a delighted expression.
Damia waved back.
‘She really likes me. She doesn’t know that my connection with the Young Duke is contractual.’
A guilty pang pricked Damia’s chest.
As she bit her lips and pondered, Cassian cleared his throat.
“I’ll give you the contract later. Something new came up that needs verification.”
“Ah, yes. Take your time.”
Damia ran her fingers over the rippling water.
She wasn’t curious about what needed verifying—she trusted that the Young Duke would handle it appropriately.
“Since we’re talking, I’ll ask one more thing.”
“Yes, anything.”
“What will you do after I’m gone? You should have enough money from the contract.”
Does he need this information for writing a contract?
Or does he still find something suspicious about me?
Damia looked him squarely in the eyes, leaving the lake aside.
Rather than telling a clumsy lie, she thought it better to be honest.
“Did you know the Ponti family originally ran an herbal business? They were quite successful at one point.”
“I know. Why suddenly?”
“This is the first time I’m telling you, but I want to study herbalism. I might even have some talent for it.”
“True, the remedy you made for me had remarkable effects.”
“And I want to make money from it myself. With the funds you provide, I’ll have a solid foundation.”
Cassian’s mouth lifted slightly in surprise.
Even his previously unfocused eyes seemed to regain some life.
“I assumed you’d use that money as a dowry.”
“I’m not really thinking about marriage…”
Damia bit her lips belatedly, realizing her answer was unusually candid for a thirteen-year-old noble girl.
She needed a more plausible explanation.
“I’m not really thinking about marriage. Because…”
She had already experienced marriage in her previous life—enough to know it could be quite dreadful.
“I don’t think I could ever like anyone as much as I like you, Young Duke.”
She expressed this reason gently, different from her true feelings.
Cassian, seemingly accustomed to her confessions, just let out a dry chuckle.
In truth, Cassian had been on edge all day, wanting to test a ridiculous hypothesis.
That day, when she had first coughed blood in front of him—
The moment she had tried to give him medicine, and their bare hands had touched—
His heart, which had been frozen by a curse, had clearly started beating.
‘Too intense to be just the effect of the remedy.’
So today, he had looked for every chance to confirm it.
In the end, he even removed his usual gloves.
‘It’s okay, Young Duke! Don’t overdo it.’
But Damia had refused any contact with him, even when boarding the boat.
He believed the rumors of his own germophobia, and took the first step to accommodate her.
“A friend who recently moved to the Kingdom of Rodion sent me a letter.”
“Yes.”
Cassian answered half-heartedly, continuing to row.
His mind was too clouded to hear Damia clearly.
“Of course, they already know about my engagement. Mother seems to have informed the Rodion merchants because of my engagement gift.”
Even if one had touched him barehanded, a heart that stubbornly refused to beat wouldn’t start suddenly.
‘But what if Damia is special? That mysterious remedy did have an effect.’
At that moment, Damia lifted the cloth covering the picnic basket.
Since conversation wasn’t flowing, she seemed to be trying to share some snacks.
“Young Duke, would you like something to eat? There’s plenty of delicious food…”
Damia, peering into the basket, suddenly went silent.
Curious, Cassian looked up.
“What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”
Damia went pale, as if she had forgotten to breathe.
Could she be scared?
And then…
“Ahhh!”
With a shriek, Damia sprang up, throwing the basket.
“What? What happened?”
“A, a snake…!”
“A snake? What—”
Before Cassian could finish, the small boat began to tilt.
“Damia, sit down first! Sit!”
“I-I’m sorry. I think it bit me slightly. I was just too startled… Ah!”
She stopped struggling, but lost her balance and staggered.
The boat rocked, splashing water in every direction.
“Damia!”
As his fiancée nearly fell into the water, Cassian instinctively reached out.
He grabbed Damia’s wrist, pulling her to safety with force.
“T-Thank you.”
Thanks to his swift movement, Damia was unharmed. Just as Cassian exhaled in relief—
‘Wait.’
Thump.
A strange feeling made him glance at his chest.
His brows furrowed in disbelief.
“Um, Young Duke…?”
Damia tried to pull her hand away, but Cassian didn’t let go.
Or rather, his mind told him to release her, but his hands wouldn’t obey.
‘It wasn’t a mistake.’
Cassian stared at his bare hand touching Damia.
Thump, thump, thump…
For the first time in a long while, he felt each beat clearly in his left chest.
Just like when Damia had touched him barehanded a few days ago while giving him the medicine.
“Y-Young Duke?”
It felt as if every sound around them had vanished.
It wasn’t a ridiculous illusion, nor was the effect of the medicine unusually strong.
His heart, once frozen by the curse, responded to contact with Damia.
Cassian clenched his teeth to prevent himself from laughing aloud.
“I found it.”
Another way to make his stopped heart beat again.
