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Chapter 28
“My daughter’s marriage will be obstructed, Young Viscount.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Cassian furrowed his brows in displeasure.
“Are you confessing in front of your fiancée that you are considering other marriage prospects besides me?”
The Marquis flailed his hands in the air, realizing his mistake.
“Oh my, you really had such thoughts?”
“Quiet, Damia!”
“You’re raising your voice at your daughter who just barely returned alive? My heart still trembles when I hear loud voices.”
“No, this father is only concerned because of you.”
The Marquis glanced nervously at Cassian rather than at Damia, unsure what to do.
Cassian let out a short sigh and swept his black hair back.
“Then rest assured. Damia will be cared for by the Sarkis family for her entire life.”
He averted his gaze from the Marquis and looked straight at Damia.
“No matter what happens from now on, my feelings will not change.”
Even if Cassian Sarkis, whose lifespan was limited, were to die early as expected.
Even if no romantic feelings ever bloomed between him and Damia.
It seemed as if the words he swallowed without speaking could be clearly heard.
Cassian insisted on staying a night at Marquis Ponti’s estate.
He was equally adamant that he would take Damia to the Sarkis estate at sunrise, refusing to compromise.
“Are you really going to sleep here?”
Damia guided Cassian to the guest room but remained skeptical.
The creaky old bed that seemed like it would groan with every movement, the flat, uncomfortable bedding, the shabby furniture and lighting.
Damia assumed the boy would give up upon seeing the state of the guest room and leave.
She had even planned to sneer slightly if that happened…
“Hmm.”
The Young Viscount was surprisingly composed. He showed no intention of backing down.
“Have you ever slept in such a shabby room before?”
“Of course not.”
His arrogant attitude implied that the question was obvious.
“Are you worried about me? You could leave only a few guards behind.”
“That wouldn’t make me feel safe.”
Damia bit her lip tightly.
“Young Viscount, what will you do if I actually misinterpret this?”
“In the end, you’ll be the one who gets hurt. You take care of your own heart.”
“Perhaps you should think about your own feelings, Young Viscount?”
“What?”
“Why are you treating me so well?”
Cassian’s red eyes flickered slightly.
Of course, it was because of Damia’s unusual ability. And also because of the remedies she occasionally provided.
“That’s obviously…”
Cassian stopped mid-sentence, closing his mouth. He had intended to speak exactly what he thought but couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Damia, tilting her head as she listened, frowned in confusion.
“You don’t need to understand because you’re young.”
“Huh?”
After a long silence, that unexpected remark made Damia widen her eyes.
“Now, go.”
“I’m going after that answer, though?”
“No. A child like you should sleep early.”
“Why do you keep…”
“Unlike you, I’m an adult, and I have things to finish. So, go.”
Cassian sat on the small chair attached to the guest room and waved his hand.
He even took out a quill as if he had actual work to do.
Faced with this clear dismissal, Damia pursed her lips.
“You were holding back another unpleasant remark just now, weren’t you?”
As she was leaving, Damia turned back and snapped.
“No, I wasn’t. What do you think I am?”
“Place your hand over your chest and think, Young Viscount. You always emphasized that I should know my place.”
“What? I never did. I only said not to hold false expectations in our relationship.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not at all.”
Cassian answered firmly.
“Then why shouldn’t I have expectations?”
Damia’s violet eyes seemed to pierce through Cassian’s chest.
His heart thudded unnaturally.
“That’s… because I don’t have much time.”
Cassian unintentionally revealed his true feelings.
The boy, usually arrogant and confident, spoke with a small, trembling voice.
“…”
A sudden silence fell between them.
Cassian cursed himself for being unnecessarily honest.
For some reason, he couldn’t look Damia in the eyes.
It was as if his voice had been blocked, and no reply came from her.
“Miss Damia! I’m here!”
While Cassian hesitated, someone called for Damia.
“Oh? Romi must be looking for me.”
“…”
“I need to check if you’re hurt anywhere. You should rest as well, Young Viscount!”
Hesitating, Damia quickly left the guest room.
‘Why do I feel more impatient than her? That can’t be right.’
A strange restlessness climbed up Cassian’s back.
Without realizing it, he clenched his fists and stared at the door for a long time.
“Can this really be called a noble estate?”
After sending Damia out, Cassian slowly examined the dilapidated guest room.
The Ponti family, though minor nobility, wasn’t entirely insignificant.
They had once profited from the herbal medicine business and even expanded to the capital during a short period of prominence.
‘What happened over generations for them to decline this much?’
He recalled the Marquis’s foolish face, sleeping unaware even as his daughter was kidnapped and defending the treacherous butler.
‘With people like that, destroying a family would be nothing.’
Cassian bit his teeth.
Although she was only a temporary fiancée, he didn’t want to harshly criticize Damia’s father.
Even if the man was shameless enough to marry his frail daughter to a Count several times his senior…
‘Maybe I deserve to scold him too.’
Cassian roughly ran his black hair through his fingers.
Lately, Damia Ponti had made his thoughts incredibly complicated.
‘I already gave up on lifting the curse of the Radiant Dragon a long time ago.’
He didn’t know how much time remained for him, but he intended to dedicate himself to his family until the very end.
‘Choosing the most suitable heir for the duchy, managing the incompetent collateral branches, ensuring my mother can live the rest of her life comfortably… even without me, that alone kept me busy.’
That was why he desperately kept his limited lifespan a secret.
If news spread that the Sarkis family was faltering under the Radiant Dragon’s curse, predators would swarm across the empire.
‘It was easier when all I had to worry about was that.’
Now, with hope of surviving and one girl occupying his thoughts all day, everything had become overwhelmingly complicated.
Cassian groaned, running his hands through his hair, and got up for the bed.
“Ugh… uncomfortable.”
The bed looked ancient, seemingly about to collapse at any moment.
As expected, it creaked with every movement.
The bedding was so thin and worn that even in summer, it was unbearable.
‘I really need to take her to the duke’s estate immediately.’
Because of circumstances he didn’t need to know, his eyes kept drifting toward that girl.
That’s why he treated her like a younger sister he had to care for.
But it was dangerous to feel pity and affection at the same time.
What if he felt so attached to Damia Ponti that he wanted to be responsible for her forever?
‘I don’t even know how long I’ll live.’
No, that wasn’t the problem right now!
Cassian sat up abruptly, startled at his own thoughts.
‘What nonsense just crossed my mind?’
The reason he kept his distance from Damia wasn’t only because of his limited lifespan.
She liked him too much, and he could never return those feelings.
Cassian had never once been interested in girls his age.
Even the popular Drury Soloroz wasn’t an exception.
By comparison, Damia was even younger than that.
A little cute, perhaps… but this was absurd!
Cassian clenched his teeth and buried his face in the pillow.
As he struggled, the bed groaned loudly.
