Chapter 36

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Engaged to the Blind Duke
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* * *

In an empty, quiet room, Gerald closed his eyes and listened carefully to the sounds around him.

From far away came the voices of Killon conversing with nephews he had never even seen.

Rage boiled in his chest, but he quietly swallowed it down.

It wasn't time yet. Finding his missing youngest nephew took priority.

Gerald silently set down his teacup and opened his mouth.

“Kay.”

Kay prostrated himself before him.

“Track Killon and find Perido.”

Kay vanished wordlessly at his curt command.

Soon after, the sound of Olive's footsteps hurried down the corridor.

“Come in.”

Olive entered with an indignant expression.

“Baronet Killon seems to have handled tomorrow's funeral in a rush. Many nobles didn't receive word. And......”

Olive hesitated for a long while, faltering.

Gerald didn't press him and silently picked up his teacup.

“The Count and Countess's bodies were badly damaged and already cremated, they say. For tomorrow's funeral, the cremated Count and Countess will be......”

Olive couldn't finish his words in a voice thick with grief.

No noble ever cremates before a funeral.

The Duke's tightly shut eyelids slowly opened.

A terrifying killing intent poured from his silver eyes, shining with icy brilliance.

The porcelain teacup in Gerald's hand crumbled to powder and scattered across the floor.

His red lips slowly parted.

“......How dare he.”

Olive trembled slightly in fear.

He had known the Duke nearly his whole life, but this was the first time he had seen him so enraged.

* * *

Marin pursed her pink lips into a tight circle as she focused intently on the map. She had stared at it for days now, to the point where she had memorized the terrain completely.

“Impossible. Arriving in a week? That doesn't make any sense.”

A sigh-like mutter escaped her lips.

She had long known that the journey from the west to the south was far. Even Olive had said it would take ten days at best, but he planned to cover it in a week by riding hard.

Who was it that said ignorance is bravery?

Tormented by self-loathing for being unable to keep up due to her trauma, Marin had secretly packed her things. She had resolved to follow alone, bravely.

That was how her map studies had begun. Even taking the straight-line route from west to south was a great distance, and there were mountains scattered along the way.

She was confident in her riding skills, but not at the level of scaling mountains on horseback.

And if she ran into bandits alone? Disaster.

Even if she overcame all those trials and arrived, the Duke's cold sneer would be waiting for her.

“Haah.”

She tore her gaze from the map, and a deep sigh leaked from her lips. She had devised all sorts of plans while poring over it, but they were all reckless.

He hated noise—would he be enduring the carriage well? Was he eating properly? The Mandelsong must have run out by now. She should have taught him how to make it. How many days had it been since he last slept?

“You there, why so serious?”

***

“Not serious...... Who are you?”

In the quiet library where few people came, the only one who would speak to her was Zero. Marin naturally turned, assuming it was him—only to widen her eyes at the stranger.

Long silver hair shining like the Milky Way. Deep blue eyes emitting a cold light from behind his glasses. Alluring red lips.

Ah, dazzling. A man of extraordinary beauty stood before her.

“Pleased to meet you. Zeromian Rodell Saint. Zero's older brother.”

Zeromian bowed slightly in greeting, then met her eyes with a pleased gaze.

“Ah, hello. I'm Marin.”

Marin hurriedly stood from her seat and greeted him with a dazed expression.

“I've heard a lot about you from Zero. We finally meet.”

Zeromian smiled prettily with his eyes and spoke in a friendly manner.

“I see.”

Marin forced an awkward smile, following his lead, while slightly averting her gaze.

So this is his true form. She couldn't very well say, 'I know you two are the same person.'

He, who often transformed into a child, had appeared in his original form.

What did this mean?

In the novel, he didn't reveal his true appearance to the heroine until much later. His real name never even came up.

Zeromian Rodell Saint.

He had shortened his long name to Zero.

But Saint? She had heard that surname somewhere before.

It kept circling in her mind, so Marin mentally repeated it to herself.

Saint. Saint? Could it be the Northern Ducal House of Saint? Is this man the young duke of the North?

Realizing this unexpected truth, Marin stared at Zeromian with wide, startled rabbit eyes. His blue eyes were fixed piercingly on her, as if gauging her reaction.

To pretend she didn't know his identity, Marin quickly lowered her gaze and hid her shock.

While the Western Ducal House blocked desert monsters, the Northern Ducal House blocked mountain monsters. The North was even more reclusive than the West, shrouded in mystery.

That was why she hadn't immediately recalled the Northern Ducal House's name.

Even in this novel world, the young duke from another ducal house was right here? And there were only four ducal houses in the entire empire?

Using a pen name meant he wanted to hide it—could he just tell anyone? Or did he think she wouldn't know because she was pretending to be a commoner?

“Why the surprised face?”

She had been caught. His voice was kind, but his blue eyes held a sharp glint.

“Huh? Oh, it's just...... you look so much like Lord Zero.”

“I hear that a lot.”

“Yes. You look exactly alike. I bet Lord Zero will look just like this when he grows up.”

“With no beauty in the empire to rival mine, it'd be his good fortune if he takes after me. Don't you think?”

Zeromian winked and joked around.

“Exactly.”

Marin nodded as if in full agreement.

But perhaps her reaction was unexpected, because Zeromian suddenly removed his glasses and roughly wiped them with his sleeve. Amid his sparkling silver hair, his earlobes peeked out, flushed red.

It was strange to see him, always so confident, flustered by a single word from her.

Zeromian adjusted his glasses again and calmly changed the subject with a composed expression.

“More importantly, you still haven't answered my question.”

“What question?”

Marin asked back with a puzzled look.

“Why so serious?”

Zeromian repeated the question once more, and only then did she recall their initial exchange.

“Oh, it's not serious, really. I was just wondering if His Grace the Duke is faring well on his journey.”

“No need to worry about that guy. He's the strongest in the empire.”

“Worried......?”

Marin became aware of feelings she hadn't even realized she had.

“You weren't worried?”

“Hmm, I guess I was. Worried. I was worrying about His Grace the Duke......”

***

The Duke was, as Zeromian said, the strongest in the empire and the male lead of the original novel. There would be trials and tribulations, but he was the protagonist who would get his happy ending where everything resolved.

Had she come to feel affection for him after spending time together?

Marin shook her head firmly.

No. It was just her professional spirit being too strong.

Marin nodded to herself as she sorted out her thoughts.

Zeromian watched her with curious eyes as she groaned alone, shaking and nodding her head.

“Thank you, Lord Zeromian.”

“Done thinking?”

He asked with an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“Yes. You awakened my professional spirit.”

“Oh ho. To think I could manage something like that.”

When he praised himself, Marin nodded in agreement.

“Yes. Lord Zeromian is truly amazing. I can't just sit here worrying. Mind if I take my leave first?”

Marin folded the open map with a snap.

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“Then, until next time.”

Marin flashed a bright smile and left the library.

“Very interesting.”

Like a researcher who had stumbled upon a fascinating subject, Zeromian's sparkling gaze lingered on her retreating back for a long while.