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Chapter 36
“What is it?”
“The thing you’re holding in your hands right now.”
“Huh? It’s nothing.”
Damia hid the letter behind her back, unusually flustered.
“Is that so?”
Cassian tilted his head, his gaze fixed on her.
The boy’s red eyes seemed to pierce right through her. Her mouth went dry.
“It looks like a letter. Who sent it that you’re hiding it?”
“Wh-why are you suddenly coming so close…!”
The freshly washed boy gave off a subtle scent of soap. Damia’s cheeks burned red.
“It really is nothing!”
“You don’t mean to say…”
Cassian narrowed his eyes.
“Are you… in love?”
Who would want to hear that?!
Damia looked around, exasperated. Luckily, no one was nearby.
“In love? What on earth are you talking about!”
“You’ve been acting suspicious lately. Spacing out, lost in thought… now I finally understand why.”
“I think you’ve got it wrong.”
Even as Damia firmly denied it, Cassian scoffed. Then he twisted the corners of his mouth into a mock casual smile.
“It’s fine, just tell me honestly. Maybe someone else caught your eye.”
“No, really.”
“So that’s why you accepted the ‘no interference in personal life’ clause so easily.”
Misunderstanding everything, Cassian still wore a gentlemanly smile, pretending to be the generous fiancé.
“You made such a fuss claiming you loved me… but I get it. You’re still young; feelings can change quickly. I understand it all.”
Why does he say he understands, yet the corners of his mouth are trembling?
“If you want, I can even give you advice. Love advice, that is.”
“Love advice? That’s… honestly, what would you know, Young Viscount…”
“Ha! I know far more than you!”
It was a careless remark, but Cassian snapped immediately.
“Y-yeah, sure, I’m sure you do.”
“So, tell me. Who’s got you so excited? Give it here.”
“I told you, it’s not like that!”
Damia glared at Cassian while clutching the letter to her chest.
“You really…”
The boy laughed, exasperated.
“If it’s nothing, just show it. The more you hide it, the weirder it looks.”
“That’s enough. By what right do you think you can read my mail, Young Viscount?”
“Me? Your fiancé.”
A roguish smile spread across his handsome face.
He was stunning enough to take one’s breath away, yet shameless to the extreme.
“Young Viscount! Where are you?”
At that moment, the voice of Cassian’s aide, Sir Alec, called out.
Taking the chance while Cassian looked away, Damia bolted immediately.
“Damia, wait!”
“D-don’t follow me!”
Her breath was ragged, but Damia didn’t stop.
She finally reached her room without being caught. Pressing against the wall, she tried to catch her breath.
‘He’s ridiculously persistent about the strangest things.’
She peeked lightly out the door. No footsteps followed.
Only then did she relax a little. Damia slowly tore open the letter.
[Sorry for the late reply.
Nothing serious happened.]
‘That’s a relief.’
Arsen’s handwriting was neat and elegant as always.
Yet some letters were pressed heavily onto the paper, as if the pen nib had been digging in.
[I asked my father for the things you requested. They aren’t hard to get, so it shouldn’t take long.]
Having traveled with his successful businessman father, Arsen was unusually resourceful for a thirteen-year-old.
Damia had been keeping up with trends in Rodion through him. So far, it hadn’t differed much from her previous life’s memories.
She could even obtain small amounts of needed items cheaply through Arsen’s father.
Arsen was a reliable friend in many ways. The letter meticulously recorded the progress of Damia’s requests.
[I was surprised to hear you moved to the Sarkis ducal estate.]
Damia, smiling contentedly as she read, paused. Arsen had been unusually silent whenever Cassian was mentioned.
Finally, his name appeared in the letter.
[Honestly, I thought your engagement was sudden… but I’m not trying to criticize what you clearly decided on yourself.
And seeing that you suddenly got engaged and moved… I wondered if there might have been some difficult circumstances you couldn’t talk about.]
Arsen’s intuition was remarkably accurate, even though Damia had been evasive.
[I’m happy as a friend that you’ve someone to rely on when you’re struggling, but I guess it makes me a little disappointed that it’s not me.
I suppose I’m more petty than I thought. Even I’m a bit disappointed in myself.]
Damia hadn’t expected her personal changes to make Arsen reflect on himself.
‘Wow… that’s kind of touching.’
Her heart swelled warmly. Having been inseparable since childhood, Arsen seemed to treat her matters as if they were his own, feeling sorrow as well.
‘He really is such a good friend.’
[I don’t know exactly what happened. If you had told me first… I could have come to Rodion with you, I even imagined something impossible like that.
It’s probably too late now, though.]
Hmm? Damia paused at the overly sentimental tone.
They were childhood friends, yes, but he felt that responsible about her?
Arsen seemed far more delicate and kind-hearted than Damia remembered.
[Still, I’m glad you’re doing well. And that you’re happy with your fiancé, the Young Viscount.
Now that I understand the situation clearly, I won’t let my replies be late anymore.]
Then why had his replies been delayed all this time?
The letter was almost finished.
[You’ve already forgotten the promise we made, and it was a little hard to admit that I was the only one who was serious.]
Damia stopped reading and tilted her head.
‘Huh? What promise did we make?’
She thought carefully but couldn’t recall.
‘Ah… could it be what Arsen said before he went into exile to the Kingdom of Rodion?’
This time, they had to part, but promised to meet again—and never be separated again.
Arsen had shed tears over that, and Damia had comforted him with an affirmative answer.
‘But that was such a long time ago.’
Perhaps the old memory surfaced because she had been so upset learning of her friend’s engagement belatedly.
No matter what she considered, Arsen’s true feelings were hard to guess.
Just then, lively footsteps echoed down the corridor.
“Miss Damia! The herbs you planted have sprouted!”
“Romi? Really?”
Damia had been tending a small flowerbed even at the ducal estate.
The purple wild herbs used in Cassian’s medicine couldn’t be transplanted, but she had planted a few other useful herbs.
Perhaps due to the new environment, they didn’t grow as well as at the viscount’s estate. She had almost given up on a temporary herb patch, but apparently, it had yielded unexpected results.
Damia stuffed the letter into the nightstand. Her cheeks glowed with excitement.
“I’ll head out right away!”
At that moment, the last page of the letter slipped under the nightstand.
But Damia was already running down the corridor, her steps light as if flying.
Cassian Sarkis was having a very frustrating afternoon.
‘When did she say I’m the only one, anyway?’
He sat at his desk, nervously flipping through innocent stacks of papers. The corners were already worn and frayed.
‘Who could the letter possibly be from?’
He hadn’t even seen the sender’s name. Damia had been clutching the letter tightly.
His fiancée liked being alone, rarely leaving the house unless necessary.
In other words, she had no chance to form friendships with boys her age.
‘Could it be… from that tea party?’
At the last party, some young noble had acted overly friendly toward Damia.
Even going so far as to insist on escorting her to the lakeside, his arrogance had grated on Cassian all over again.
‘Even if it’s just a contractual engagement, how dare some guy catch her eye while I’m her fiancé?’
Of course, even if Damia had unusual tastes, it wasn’t his business.
This was only a temporary engagement, and the “no interference in personal life” clause had been his own idea.
Yet he couldn’t stop boiling with jealousy. Cassian finally jumped up from his seat.
‘Yes… it’s not a matter of taste… her eyesight must be failing.’
If that were true, it was serious.
He had to ensure his fiancée’s safety. That was the condition of their contract.
‘Her vision is definitely off.’
What if Damia tripped at night due to poor eyesight?
That would clearly violate the contract. He needed to act fast.
Cassian quickly ended his ridiculous rationalization and ran straight to Damia’s room.
