Chapter 54

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Engaged to the Blind Duke
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Yoreli recalled the eye color he had noticed at first glance when he saw the duke's fiancée with her head bowed deeply. It was a clear, light green like new sprouts.

Yoreli pointed confidently to one of the bags.

“This is a peridot ring mined from the northern mines. It looks just like Your Ladyship's eyes.”

Yoreli carefully took out the ring with his gloved white hand and held it out.

Marin overcame her embarrassment and lifted her head to look at the ring.

It was a teardrop-shaped peridot surrounded densely by transparent diamonds.

“Wow, it's pretty.”

The gem emitted a dazzling light thanks to the delicate craftsmanship.

“I made it myself. Haha.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

She wasn't sure if she should accept something like this, but it really was a beautiful ring.

“If I may, how about this one?”

Yoreli's eyes sparkled as he pulled a blue gemstone ring from another bag.

“This is an aquamarine ring. It has such a refreshing aura, doesn't it? The moment I heard Your Ladyship's name, this ring came to mind.”

Marin stared blankly at the sparkling blue gemstone ring and thought of someone dear to her.

Her mother had loved aquamarine gems. That's why her father had gifted her mother the most aquamarines. Her own name had been inspired by that gem.

“It's pretty.”

As her expression darkened, Yoreli looked at her with a flustered face.

“Does it not please you?”

“No. I was just thinking of the past for a moment.”

Seeing Yoreli's anxious expression, Marin hurriedly added,

“My father often gifted this gem to my mother. That's what came to mind. Both are so beautiful.”

“We'll buy both. Surely there's a matching set for those rings?”

“Of course. We have perfect sets with necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.”

Marin hurriedly turned to the duke and whispered,

“It's just for one use anyway...”

“This will be a bonus.”

“I gratefully accept.”

Marin swiftly changed her attitude and bowed her head in thanks.

With these jewels, she could leave the Duke’s Castle right away.

“Yoreli. Leave all the jewels you brought.”

“Y-Yes? Th-Thank you!”

Yoreli looked stunned before pouring out his gratitude, on the verge of tears.

“I only need those two.”

Marin whispered in the duke's ear with a weary face.

“Sell the other jewels if you want, but don't sell those two engagement rings.”

She flinched. Did this man really have mind-reading powers?

Having her thoughts read, Marin cautiously replied.

“I won't.”

“As expected, you were planning to sell them.”

A crooked smile played on his lips.

Ah, she had been caught.

“It's a misunderstanding. I was planning to pass them down through generations in the family.”

***

Marin jumped up as if to say what nonsense.

In times like this, she had to deny it outright.

“I'm sure you were.”

In the meantime, Yoreli had placed the aquamarine and peridot rings in a deep red velvet box.

“Here is the first engagement ring.”

“The aquamarine one.”

“Yes.”

Yoreli gently placed the aquamarine ring box on the duke's outstretched hand.

“Why?”

Marin looked at him curiously.

“I'll wear this one to the party. It would mean something to wear the ring your parents liked.”

Marin stared at him blankly, unsure what expression to make.

It wasn't even a real engagement.

Marin's nose tingled, and she quickly looked away.

As a heavy silence began to settle, the duke turned his body toward her as if looking at her.

He took the ring from the box and gently traced its shape.

Since he couldn't see, he seemed to be gauging its form by touch.

Soon, the duke extended his large hand toward Marin.

“Marin.”

“...Yes.”

Tension rose to the tip of her throat. Marin awkwardly placed her hand carefully on his outstretched one.

He slowly slipped the ring onto her ring finger. Even though it was fake, her heart pounded relentlessly.

“Ugh.”

“Gasp.”

Sebas Chen the butler and Yoreli covered their mouths at the sight of their solemn moment.

The ring fit her finger perfectly.

Marin carefully touched the ring, just as the duke had.

The ring from this fake engagement was so beautiful it hurt the eyes. And it felt heavy.

The weight of the fake engagement made it feel even heavier.

* * *

Zeromian, on his way to the duke's study, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The Duke’s Castle blacksmith Surenne and Sebas Chen the butler were approaching him.

“Hey, handsome alchemist! Looking good as always today!”

Surenne, whose voice was hoarse and rough from overuse, raised her hand high in cheerful greeting.

Dark purple eyes. Light purple bobbed hair. At 185 centimeters, she was tall for a woman.

Her strong facial lines made her look like a handsome man at first glance, but up close, she was quite a beauty.

Surenne wore a sleeveless shirt that revealed her toned arm muscles and pants.

“Blacksmith. Aren't you cold?”

Zeromian adjusted his glasses and glanced at her outfit.

“The forge is always so hot, you know. Did you deliver that staff I commissioned to His Grace?”

“Thanks to you, it was finished on time. Appreciate it.”

Without Surenne, he couldn't have made it so quickly.

It was a perfectly normal-looking staff designed to extend a blade, with blueprints explained to her all night long.

“Surenne, that's His Grace the Duke.”

Sebas Chen the butler, who had been listening to their conversation, chimed in with a scolding tone.

“Muscle-bound butler, that's too long. Even His Grace doesn't mind. I'm not some Imperial from this empire.”

“Surenne, don't you use nicknames with long titles when calling others? And you've lived here for over five years.”

Sebas Chen rubbed his furrowed brow as if it gave him a headache.

***

“That's an endearment! His Grace has no affection for such things. And even after five years, I'm still not one of this empire's people, right?”

“No, why do you only mispronounce 'people' like that? You pronounce everything else just fine.”

“It's fun.”

Surenne winked at the butler and giggled, and Zeromian, listening beside them, laughed out loud along with her.

“It's rare to call both me and the handsome alchemist at the same time. Handsome alchemist, do you know why?”

“You'll find out when you go.”

Soon, the three arrived at the study, and the duke's voice rang out immediately.

“Come in.”

As soon as Zeromian entered, he manipulated his bracelet to brightly illuminate the room.

“Handsome alchemist. Make me one of those bracelets too.”

Surenne eyed the bracelet with greedy eyes.

“Duke, why did you call?”

Zeromian ignored Surenne and asked Gerald directly.

Gerald turned his head toward Surenne without answering.

“Surenne.”

“Yes, Your Grace. Have you been well?”

Surenne bowed her head in greeting. For her, that was her best attempt at courtesy.

The first place he met her, a citizen of the Sanders Empire, was Warasis. Warasis was a large commercial district with a big lake in the middle of the desert.

There, she had been selling swords she made herself while disguised as a man. At the time, she was more like a rough mercenary than a blacksmith.

“Can you make a carriage?”

Gerald brought up the issue he had been pondering for a while.

Marin couldn't ride a carriage, so they could ride horses together, but he was blind.

Of course, blindness posed no problem for riding horses. But it would look suspicious to others.

For Dia's debutante ball on the way to the capital, a carriage was essential.

“A carriage?”

“A carriage?”

Zeromian, listening beside him, shot Gerald a look as if he were talking nonsense.

“Yeah.”

“I could make one, but places other than a blacksmith like me would make them better.”

“I want a carriage that doesn't look like a carriage.”

“What do you mean?”

Zeromian frowned and interrupted.

“I want the inside not to shake, and for it to feel open on all sides even when inside, like a glass carriage.”

Surenne rested her chin on her hand and listened intently.

“A glass carriage... I could make one, but no matter how sturdy, it would shatter if scraped by wood or stone.”

“What if it's made of diamond instead of glass?”

All three stared at Gerald with dumbfounded expressions.