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Chapter 12
“Quickly, we’ll escort the young lady this way!”
At Cassian’s urging, the servants snapped into action.
Damia felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. In all her past lives, she had never been the protagonist of such a mortifying situation.
“Young Duke, I really am fine. I could even swear it.”
“I’m not fine.”
Cassian seemed completely indifferent to the gazes of everyone around them.
Damia finally squeezed her eyes shut.
Her mind told her to act calm, but it was impossible.
Her heedless heart kept racing.
Which meant Damia’s heart…
‘No, this isn’t my heartbeat, is it?’
She stopped struggling and held her breath.
Thump… thump… thump…
The beat was fast and irregular.
And it was coming from an impossible place—right from the Young Duke’s left chest.
“What kind of nonsense is this…”
“Don’t worry. We’ll thoroughly investigate why the snake appeared.”
Cassian seemed to have misinterpreted her muttering, but she had no energy to correct him.
The duke’s gamekeeper rubbed his chin with a serious expression.
“Definitely not a snake native to the Empire. The scales are too smooth—it seems to have been handled by humans.”
He examined the white snake that had come out of the picnic basket carefully. Its pink eyes shone like gemstones.
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve heard that in the Kingdom of Rodion, they’re even kept as pets.”
“Oh, you know about them? Indeed.”
“They’re naturally very beautiful, and extremely gentle—not prone to biting humans at all.”
The gamekeeper nodded repeatedly as Damia, still receiving emergency treatment, spoke.
“Focus on your treatment, Damia.”
“Phew, Young Duke… even if I focus, will it make a difference?”
“……”
“And besides, I think I’ve already received overly excessive treatment.”
Perhaps because the physician had been intimidated by the Young Duke’s fierce energy, Damia’s wrist was wrapped in a bandage far thicker than necessary.
“Well… as the young lady said, it’s a non-venomous snake.”
The gamekeeper spoke cautiously, glancing at Cassian.
“See? I read it in a book on herbalism!”
“Yes, but this concerns your safety, so verification is necessary.”
“You’re so over the top when it comes to me, Young Duke.”
Cassian gave a faint roll of his eyes but didn’t argue.
“Alright, then everyone may leave now.”
At Cassian’s command, the physician and gamekeeper quickly exited the guest room, clearly relieved to escape the uncomfortable situation.
“I’ll find the culprit myself. You just rest. You need to recover.”
“I’m fine, Young Duke.”
“I said I’m not fine.”
“No, it’s not that… I think I already know who the culprit is.”
Damia smiled, holding a handkerchief she had secretly pulled from the basket without Cassian noticing.
“What did you just take out? And how do you know who the culprit is?”
“Hmm… first, there’s something I want to check.”
Damia slowly stood from her chair.
“W-what? Why are you suddenly coming closer?”
Cassian stumbled backward in a panic.
He seemed far more flustered than usual. When his back hit the wall, his cheeks flushed bright red.
“Phew, finally it’s just the two of us.”
“You’ve been waiting for this moment?”
“Of course. I could hardly bear it.”
“…That much? What exactly do you want to check?”
Damia’s eyes sparkled as she blocked his path, causing a subtle tension to flicker across Cassian’s face.
“When you insisted on carrying me earlier…”
Cassian let out a knowing chuckle.
“Oh, that? I hope you didn’t misunderstand. It wasn’t like that.”
“Uh… what do you mean?”
“It’s a shame if I led you to expect something. I had no personal feelings; I was just fulfilling my duties as your fiancé.”
“Eh?”
“Still, since you are my fiancée, I intend to maintain this level of courtesy in the future.”
Damia barely swallowed.
“Sorry, but you’ve got it wrong. That’s not what I came to talk about.”
“…Then what is it?”
A vague expression crossed Cassian’s sharp gaze—neither disappointment nor relief exactly.
“I felt your heartbeat then.”
“What?”
“You said the remedy was gradually helping, right? But it wasn’t just gradual—it was irregular and rapid!”
“Th-that’s…”
“Maybe the remedy was more effective than I thought! I want to check it again!”
Damia smiled, spreading her palm. There was a faint glint of madness in her expression.
“Wait, what’s that hand for? Are you going to touch me directly?”
“Well, if necessary.”
Cassian went pale.
“Even as fiancés… you should keep boundaries!”
“I have no ulterior motives. Please believe me.”
“D-don’t be ridiculous. How many times have you confessed to me already?”
“Are you embarrassed? Just think of it as a medical procedure.”
“No, that’s your misconception! If my heart was really racing that fast, I would have noticed!”
“…Ah…”
She had to admit he had a point. The one most affected should be Cassian himself.
‘So it really was just my imagination?’
Of course. The purple herb was only meant to buy time, not serve as a perfect cure.
“E-excess chatter aside, tell me who you think the culprit is.”
Yet she noticed he hesitated oddly.
Damia furrowed her brows, staring at Cassian.
“Who exactly tried that ridiculous assassination?”
Her tone clearly hinted that she wanted to change the subject.
“Hmm…”
“Hurry up!”
It was only suspicion, but she had a gut feeling. And there seemed no reason for Cassian to lie.
“But to call it an assassination… isn’t she a little too small and pretty?”
Damia placed the white snake on her palm.
“Why keep provoking it? Put it down immediately.”
“You heard earlier—it’s a very gentle breed. Completely harmless. See?”
The snake curled obediently around her hand, proving her point.
“Anyway, she was the one who exposed herself. What if she bites again?”
Cassian looked extremely anxious. Today, he seemed particularly obsessed with Damia’s safety.
“It’s not her fault.”
“What do you mean?”
Damia sighed softly and held out the pink handkerchief. With the bulky bandages wrapped around her arm, moving it was awkward.
‘I didn’t want to cause a fight with Drury…’
But if she instigated, there was no reason for Damia to shield her.
If she let it slide this time, it might escalate later.
“I think someone was trying to play a trick on me.”
“Not me? Who dares?”
“Huh? Why are you so worked up?”
“W-what? You’re my only one…”
Only one? Was now really the time for such a cringeworthy expression?
“Exactly… yes, my fiancée.”
“Eh? That’s all?”
Cassian snatched the handkerchief from her hands instead of answering. His gaze sharpened instantly as he inspected it.
“It has the Marquess of Soro’s emblem. Was this inside as well?”
“Yes. But there’s something even more telling.”
Damia let the white snake sniff the handkerchief.
Snap!
The usually lethargic snake straightened its body and bared sharp teeth.
Its behavior was aggressive, contrary to its gentle reputation.
“What the…”
Cassian’s face froze in shock.
“Cassian, may I come in?”
The Duchess of House Sarkis knocked on the guest room door.
“Lady Drury has something she’d like to apologize for.”
It was a completely unexpected turn of events.
