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Chapter 31
“Why are you so surprised, Young Viscount?”
“Normally, wouldn’t you be angry, like ‘How can I trust you so easily?’”
“Why would I be? I actually like the clause about not interfering in your private life the most. I don’t overestimate myself.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think if you hadn’t written it so kindly and meticulously, I might have gotten confused again.”
“…Is that so?”
“Think about it. How unpleasant would it be for you if I misunderstood your goodwill as affection!”
She imagined it, but strangely, it didn’t feel bad.
‘What nonsense am I thinking now?’
Cassian bit down hard to hide his embarrassment.
“I really like you, Young Viscount, but I will never force my feelings on you! I’ll do my best, so don’t worry.”
“No, I didn’t mean that you should grit your teeth and try so hard.”
“Well, I will anyway.”
“I’ll set the boundaries myself. You just act like you normally do.”
“I proposed to protect you from unwanted advances. I can’t forget my duty and make things awkward for you!”
Her lively voice twisted Cassian’s insides.
Even though he knew his feelings were contradictory, it was hard to swallow the surging irritation.
“Ugh…”
Still, he couldn’t scold the cheerful Damia.
“Fine. Just sign it.”
A strangely deflated voice escaped him.
Damia, humming a little as if unaware, completed the signature.
“Thank you so much, Young Viscount!”
Does she really like me?
Cassian narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
If Damia were an ordinary girl who merely admired him, she should have been upset by that clause.
A clause forbidding interference in private life would sound like he was openly allowed to flirt.
And yet, the man whose life she had helped prolong…
How big-hearted was Damia Ponti that this didn’t even bother her?
An unexplainable anxiety burned in his throat.
Cassian’s mouth stiffened as he took the engagement contract.
Several days had already passed since Damia Ponti had arrived at the estate.
Her previously gaunt cheeks had taken on a rosy glow after tasting all kinds of sweets.
Although they were still young to attract rumors in high society, the Duchess had used a plausible pretext—“bride training”—to preserve the girl’s honor.
The Duchess had ties with the late Lady Ponti, and the engagement had been arranged long ago through that connection.
“You… found the butler’s body?”
Cassian had brought up a rather shocking topic during a garden walk. Damia’s eyes widened.
“Yes, which is why tracing the culprit isn’t easy.”
“H-He’s dead…”
“Like you said, Count Pavron is suspicious, but it seems he was more cunning than expected. Aside from your testimony, there’s no evidence.”
Cassian’s chiseled face carried a trace of helplessness.
“Who dealt with the butler? Did Count Pavron send someone?”
“That…”
The boy hesitated, moving only his lips for a long moment.
They had tried to track the signs on the corpse, but to no avail. He had delayed explaining to Damia out of embarrassment.
‘I’m not keeping her here for my own sake.’
Now that the butler who had targeted him was gone, Damia might want to return to the Ponti estate.
But it was still dangerous, so he had to stop her. He wasn’t sure if independent Damia would obey him willingly.
His palms went dry.
“The state of the corpse is unusual, so it’s hard to draw definite conclusions yet.”
“Unusual for a corpse?”
“It doesn’t look like it was done by human hands. Whoever did it tore him apart bare-handed—it was horrific.”
“Ah…”
Perhaps too gruesome a story for a thirteen-year-old girl.
Late regret crept up. Cassian was about to support the obviously fragile girl.
“So… what do you think did this?”
“What?”
Though her fingertips trembled, Damia didn’t look scared.
Her violet eyes shone with remarkable clarity, as if she had finally found a long-sought clue.
“Young Viscount, actually…”
Damia hesitated, then sighed softly.
“There’s something I haven’t told you. At the time, I thought maybe I was seeing things, so I ignored it…”
“What is it?”
“The man who was posing as your coachman… he looked like you. But his eyes were strange. His pupils were vertically slit, like a reptile’s.”
“…What?”
“He seemed extremely angry because I gave you the treatment. Their plans were ruined. They knew everything.”
Cassian felt his slowed heartbeat stop with a thud.
The founder of the Sarkis house had killed the “mad dragon,” officially recorded as the last dragon.
But there were rumors that some surviving descendants had disguised themselves as humans and infiltrated the Empire.
No signs had appeared for a long time, so the rumors were considered forgotten folklore.
‘Then the grotesque state of that corpse makes sense.’
There were suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the late Sarkis Duke, Cassian’s father.
‘Could the sudden weakening of the curse’s seal be their doing?’
That clan would be eagerly awaiting the death of the last direct heir of the Sarkis house—Cassian.
“Ugh…!”
Cassian clamped one hand over his mouth. Concentrating too much, something surged violently inside him.
“Young Viscount! Are you alright?”
Damia, startled, stepped forward. Concern was clear in her violet eyes.
“…I’m fine.”
He tasted faint blood in his throat, but he had long grown accustomed to this level of pain.
“You don’t look fine at all. You’ve been skipping your medicine lately; hasn’t your condition worsened?”
“…”
“I brought enough to last for a while, you know, Young Viscount.”
Cassian stubbornly stayed silent.
She must have skipped her medicine, unwilling to return to that horrific Ponti estate.
“Give me your hand.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, the girl grabbed his gloved hand.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m taking off your glove.”
Cassian let out a hollow laugh at her casual reply.
When she pulled with all her strength and the glove wouldn’t come off, Damia frowned.
“Please cooperate so it comes off easily.”
“How can you say something like that so casually? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Phew, really.”
She let out an unchildlike sigh and stood on her tiptoes.
The girl cupped his cheek with both hands.
Unlike Cassian’s icy fingers, her hands were pleasantly warm against his skin.
“You… you’re…”
“Touching it doesn’t wear it out, so just stay still.”
“…What are you doing!”
“Don’t you think it doesn’t have to be holding hands? Let’s try it anyway.”
He tried to pull away, but he couldn’t move. Her warmth gripped his entire body like shackles.
In her shining violet eyes, there was only Cassian.
Seeing her like that, his breath caught.
Thump.
He instinctively pressed his hand to his left chest.
A slow, faint vibration—his heart was beating.
“You didn’t read the contract properly! Physical contact is only allowed in unavoidable circumstances.”
Cassian tried to sound calm, but his voice was tight.
“This is exactly that unavoidable circumstance, Young Viscount.”
A breeze brushed Damia’s silver hair.
Cassian bit down hard, intoxicated by her sweet, unique scent.
If this girl started wanting more, how much more miserable would he become?
Even with his limited remaining time, he had already suffered enough.
