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Chapter 26
Cassian’s worry didn’t last long.
“I’m sorry… I just couldn’t calm down thinking I might die like this.”
Damia swallowed her tears and lifted her head.
Her doll-like face was soaked with tears.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Do you think I’d just leave you to die?”
Cassian quickly said, leaving no room for doubt.
The knights flinched slightly at how romantic his words sounded.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Sniff… n-no, I’m okay.”
There was no way she would be unharmed after nearly being kidnapped.
Cassian released his arms from around Damia and began examining her thoroughly.
Her porcelain-white skin and the red tip of her nose from crying stood out vividly.
Her hair was a tangled mess, her cheeks scratched, and her exposed wrists bore several small wounds.
Though she needed treatment, considering she had been found in the middle of a dark forest, she was relatively unharmed.
Yet…
“There’s blood on your fingertips.”
“That’s my blood… sniff… no, it’s nothing.”
It seemed the kidnapper had hit something while fleeing in a hurry.
‘Good.’
Unconsciously, relief warmed Cassian’s coldening heart.
“Any severe injuries?”
“No… none.”
Damia’s slender body still trembled like a leaf.
‘To think I suspected a child this young of being a spy.’
Sighing, Cassian pulled her back into his arms, comforting her.
Just like long ago, when his nurse and the Duchess had comforted the young boy.
Yet now, he felt comforted by the warm forehead of the girl pressed against his chin.
“It feels nice.”
“…What does?”
“You, Young Viscount. It feels nice when you touch me.”
“What?”
Cassian’s ears turned red as he pushed Damia away.
“Why are you so flustered?”
His oblivious fiancée asked, sniffling.
“I-I’m not flustered! I’m just worried you’ll drip snot on me or something.”
Damia gaped in disbelief.
He gave a foolish expression, prompting a small laugh to escape her lips.
Then, realizing it, she was stunned.
It was as if he secretly found her cute.
“Let’s head back, quickly.”
Cassian was relieved it was dark outside.
If Damia had seen his flushed cheeks, she might have let herself hope foolishly again.
He didn’t want to toy with the hopes of a girl who liked him so much she’d be content with being his temporary fiancée.
‘No chance of going back in the carriage.’
Originally, he had intended to visit the Marquis’s estate just to deliver the engagement contract.
So he had come without the cumbersome carriage, bringing only a few guards.
‘What to do?’
The carriage that had almost been used for her kidnapping sat right in front of them.
But no matter how oblivious his fiancée was, he couldn’t make her ride it again.
“I’ll escort the lady on horseback.”
One of the knights volunteered to accompany Damia.
Though Cassian was skilled at riding, he was not used to letting others ride his horse, as he was almost compulsively averse to physical contact.
“Rest assured, she will be safe.”
“……”
“…Young Viscount?”
“Yes, take care of her.”
Though he nodded, leaving his temporary fiancée in another’s hands left him uneasy.
His chest stirred with feelings he didn’t understand.
This was a first for him.
‘A little sister… right, that’s why I can’t stop worrying about her.’
A boyish, misguided conclusion from someone without a sister.
“Are we really going back to the Marquis’s estate? Even after all that happened?”
Arriving at Marquis Ponti’s estate as Damia had requested, Cassian hesitated for a long moment.
“Yes, Young Viscount.”
After Damia briefly explained the situation, Cassian immediately frowned.
“You say the butler colluded in the kidnapping? What if you run into him?”
“That’s all the more reason to go. We might catch him red-handed.”
“Was the butler motivated by money? Whose orders were they following?”
“I suspect Count Fabron… but there’s no evidence.”
Cassian clenched his fists.
He seemed to be restraining his anger in front of Damia.
“What did the butler tell you to get you into the carriage?”
“That the Young Viscount had found Romi—ah!”
Damia gasped softly.
“They said they found Romi badly injured in the Sarkis estate and that she might die soon.”
“What? That makes no sense at all!”
Amid all the shocking events, she had momentarily forgotten about Romi.
“They claimed Romi slipped on the estate’s back hill and even presented a letter with your signature as proof.”
“I never wrote such a letter.”
“If the butler lied, that’s fortunate… but we still need to check if Romi is safe.”
As Damia tried to dash toward the Marquis’s estate, Cassian blocked her way.
“Your maid is safe, so don’t worry.”
“How do you know that, Young Viscount?”
“I stopped by the estate in the middle of the night on urgent business. That’s when I ran into your frantic maid in the garden.”
“R-really?”
“Your errands took longer than expected, so I arrived late, and by then, you were already gone.”
“Why did you come to find me?”
“First, tell me exactly what happened today. That driver—was he a stranger to you?”
Damia froze in place.
She didn’t yet know how to explain the man who looked like Cassian but seemed inhuman, so she remained silent.
‘Oh no… what do I do?’
Calming down, she realized seeing those vertically slit pupils almost felt dreamlike.
‘A dragon disguised as a human in this day and age… is that even possible?’
How could she be sure she hadn’t hallucinated out of extreme fear?
Or maybe the man was simply insane.
‘And he threatened that if I told anyone about today, it would be more painful than death.’
Damia felt she needed to tell Cassian but couldn’t form the words.
“Damia?”
“D-do you… have a hidden brother?”
Damia hesitated before speaking.
“What are you talking about? Are you sick?”
“I mean… do you not have one?”
“Ha, of course not.”
“Then among distant relatives, is there anyone who looks particularly like you?”
“No. Do you think there’s another face like mine in the world?”
She wanted to see if he knew anything about the suspicious man—the one who looked far too much like him—but Cassian didn’t know.
“Actually, the driver earlier looked so much like you that I was shocked. They were almost identical.”
“What? The driver looked exactly like me?”
“You think that’s impossible?”
“No… I get it. It must have been scary to face it sober. Maybe it was a vision your mind conjured.”
Did he really think there could be two people with his face in the world?
Cassian let out a small laugh at his own overconfidence.
“Yes. Let’s just go with that. I was so infatuated with you that before dying, I could only imagine your face.”
Damia glanced at the line of knights behind Cassian.
There might be a spy among them, so she needed to be careful what she said.
“Damia, listen to me carefully from now on.”
Arriving at the estate entrance, Cassian’s expression grew serious.
“I came to check the butler’s whereabouts, but this place isn’t safe for you anymore.”
His tone was firm.
“Until the situation is resolved, I’ll keep you safe at the Sarkis estate.”
“R-really?”
“I’ll get permission from Marquis Ponti immediately.”
Damia blinked slowly.
“But… isn’t living together a bit soon?”
“…What?”
Cassian’s eyes widened instantly, as if he hadn’t understood.
“W-what do you mean ‘soon’? That’s not what I meant!”
The boy’s face flushed as he flusteredly protested.
