Chapter 49

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Engaged to the Blind Duke
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“I apologize for the commotion, Your Grace the Duke. Idre Smill, at your service.”

The first to regain her composure, Idre offered the duke a polite bow.

The duke acknowledged her with a slight nod of his head.

The countess and Ommanda hurriedly gathered their skirts and curtsied as well.

“Soran Ateck, at your service.”

“Ommanda Ateck, at your service.”

As the duke stood there in silence, the countess cautiously lifted her head a fraction. Ommanda, standing beside her, sneaked peeks at the duke’s face while blushing furiously.

A fleeting question crossed the countess’s mind about why the duke had come here, but her sordid greed drowned it out. Her eyes gleaming like an opportunist seizing her chance, she addressed the duke.

“Your Grace the Duke. I was just about to report this to you. Can you believe this viscount’s daughter is impersonating Your Grace’s fiancée? What an outrageous story. She must be harshly punished for the crime of insulting the nobility.”

Having delivered her speech, the countess wore a satisfied smile. If she could catch the duke’s eye this time, her husband would never scold her extravagance again.

And who knew—if he took a liking to her daughter’s beauty, her daughter might even become the real fiancée.

The countess subtly prodded Ommanda in the side.

Ommanda flashed a confident smile of her own and took a step toward the duke, but at that moment, his firmly closed lips finally parted.

“Marin.”

“Yes.”

Marin wanted nothing more than to crawl into a rat hole and hide. This was exactly why she’d wanted that mother and daughter gone before the duke arrived.

“Why is everywhere you go always so noisy?”

For a moment, the countess couldn’t comprehend what was happening before her eyes.

Why was His Grace the Duke conversing so familiarly with that lowly lower noble?

She glanced at her daughter standing beside her, only to see Ommanda staring with eyes popped wide.

Only then did the countess grasp the situation, swallowing a scream.

No way—were they actually acquainted?

Indignation filled Marin’s light green eyes. She’d known he would say something like that.

“This time, it’s not my fault.”

“You always say that.”

“This time it really is. Those two were throwing a tantrum, insisting they wanted my dress.”

The duke turned toward them. Overpowered by his untouchable aura, the mother and daughter couldn’t even lift their heads.

“That can’t be. To my fiancée.”

The duke spoke lowly, his voice not particularly threatening.

Yet his signature icy demeanor made the countess and Ommanda tremble like aspen leaves.

Overwhelmed by the duke’s presence, the countess let out a groan and clutched her forehead. As she swayed, Ommanda hurriedly supported her from the side.

“M-Mother.”

“You’ve already settled the matter of the engagement dress, I take it?”

“We couldn’t even get started because of them.”

Marin grumbled, and the duke clicked his tongue with a tsk.

Ommanda, pale as a ghost, dropped her gaze to the floor, looking as if she might faint at any moment.

The quick-witted Idre snatched up the money pouch and approached them.

“Will you take the payment for the dress and be on your way?”

“N-No. We don’t need the payment. Just give the dress back.”

Ommanda scrambled to think.

She had passed by the shop, spotted the stunning golden dress, practically snatched a friend’s dress to buy this one instead, and deliberately ruined it. But this unforeseen adversary had thrown everything into chaos.

Idre, the designer of the duke’s fiancée’s dress, was destined to become hugely famous in high society.

After today’s fiasco, it was clear this designer would never sell her another dress—and as the flower of society, she couldn’t possibly go without even one gown from a renowned designer.

For her future, she needed at least one of Idre’s dresses.

***

But.

“No. I’ll just return your payment.”

Idre refused with a cold expression.

Ommanda bit her lip as things failed to go her way, but in her place, the countess snatched the money pouch and yanked her arm.

“Ommanda, let’s go—now.”

“Mother, from now on it’ll be impossible to buy dresses here...”

“Go!”

The countess, who rarely ever raised her voice at her daughter, bellowed and dragged her out.

Once they were gone, the shop fell quiet.

“I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Allow me to escort you both to the parlor. We’ll have refreshments ready in no time.”

Idre guided the two to the parlor in the back of the shop before swiftly retreating with her assistant.

Marin glanced at the sofa and whispered to the duke.

“Just go straight.”

“Are you going to keep doing this from now on?”

“Doing what?”

“Like lovers smitten with each other.”

“Ah...”

“Let’s give it a try.”

As he spoke, the duke lifted his arm, and Marin awkwardly hooked her arm through his.

“This way, you won’t need to give me directions.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Marin walked slowly, as if guiding him, while observing his handsome profile.

Wasn’t he sensitive to being touched by others?

Strangely, the duke didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable.

“The sofa is right ahead.”

The duke sat on the sofa, and Marin took a seat at a polite distance.

“Marin. You have a real talent for making me repeat myself.”

“Y-Yes.”

Marin replied in a petulant whine without realizing it—then caught herself.

Had she overstepped?

She scooted a little closer to him and checked his expression, only to see the corner of his mouth slightly lifted.

“Since when did you start minding my mood?”

“I’ve always done it.”

“No, you haven’t.”

The duke spoke in a tone of surprise.

Marin felt deeply wronged.

“It’s true.”

“Fine, let’s say it is.”

“It really is!”

He let out a soft chuckle and turned his head toward her.

Marin’s eyes went wide. His were closed, but she had the illusion of their gazes meeting.

“Even now, it doesn’t seem like you’re minding it.”

This, she had to concede.

Marin clamped her lips shut, at a loss for words.

It was then.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Idre arrived carrying a hefty stack of catalogs. Trailing behind her, Yuria glanced nervously at the duke, her hands shaking as she set the refreshments on the table.

“So, when have you two decided on for the engagement ceremony? Next fall? Ho ho. Even that might be too soon.”

“We’re not doing a separate ceremony—just a party to celebrate the engagement.”

Marin lightly gripped her teacup while consciously avoiding Idre’s eyes.

***

“Oh my! I see. Then when?”

“......”

Marin couldn’t bring herself to say it, so she lifted her teacup to cover her lips.

As her silence dragged on, anxiety flickered in Idre’s blue eyes.

“One month from now.”

The duke spoke curtly in her place before picking up his teacup.

Idre clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, screaming inwardly.

She urgently gestured at Marin with her eyes, as if demanding to know if it was true.

Their gazes met, and Marin gave a faint, apologetic nod.

“Then you two must pick out dresses tonight, even if it means staying up all night. Otherwise, I can’t start working.”

“I’ll just leave it all to you, Designer.”

Marin was already exhausted and wanted nothing more than to hand everything over to Idre.

“What are you saying! You’re the star of the party, Miss Marin! It has to be a design you’re satisfied with!”

Idre’s eyes bulged as she flew into a passionate fervor.

“That’s what she says.”

The duke leaned back leisurely on the sofa, watching from afar like a bystander.

“Is Your Grace the Duke planning to stay here with Miss Marin as well?”

Idre turned a deferential gaze toward him.

Picking dresses was dreadfully dull work. But men in love often endured it patiently for their beloved.

“I will.”

Idre inwardly burst with admiration. The duke had fallen in love.