I Got Engaged To The Blind Duke Chapter 3

***

 

Marin sat on the sofa in the servants’ lounge, nervously shaking her legs.

She had made it this far. Could she really do this?

Just as she was trying to calm her trembling nerves—

Click.

The door opened, and a handsome man with slightly drooping eyes and a gentle air about him entered.

His dark brown hair fell in soft curls, his deep brown eyes were filled with warmth, and a gentle smile naturally graced his lips.

Olive Leon.

The name of one of the supporting characters in the novel, Duke Vines’s aide, flashed through Marin’s mind.

“Miss Marin?”

“Yes. I’m Marin.”

Marin sprang to her feet and bowed in greeting.

“I’m Olive Leon.”

As expected, he was the man she thought he was.

“Please, have a seat.”

He offered her a seat in a gentle voice.

“Yes.”

Marin answered and swallowed nervously.

Never before had she felt so keenly that she was truly living inside a novel as she did today.

Meeting a character from the novel face-to-face for the first time made her heart pound, and cold sweat trickled down her back.

After sitting down again, Marin straightened her back, tense with nervousness.

“You have very neat handwriting.”

Olive remarked admiringly as he held up the fabricated résumé she had prepared.

“Thank you.”

“Where did you learn to write?”

“I worked for a noble family for a long time, starting when I was young. The young lady and young master I served were around my age, so they taught me a lot.”

Marin put as much effort as possible into making up her lie.

“I see. It’s quite rare for a woman to know how to read and write. That’s an unusual background.”

“Yes…”

Marin answered in a timid voice.

A commoner woman who knew how to read and write?

Knowing how strange it would seem, she instinctively shrank back.

Even most noble ladies weren’t taught how to read and write.

Rather than spending their time learning letters, they tried to cultivate their refinement through playing musical instruments, appreciating works of art, and other such activities.

However, Marin had persuaded her father to teach her how to read and write, then cut off contact with the few noble ladies she had been acquainted with. Spending time reading books at home was far more precious to her than gathering with them and wasting time on pointless socializing.

Perhaps it was because she had been a bibliophile in her previous life that she remained so obsessed with reading in this life as well.

After her family went bankrupt, it wasn’t easy to find work that she could do while retaining her status as a noble lady.

As a result, she had no choice but to borrow her deceased older brother’s name and pretend to be a boy.

It was something she would never have dared to do if she hadn’t recovered her memories of her previous life.

After all, she had been just another ordinary noble lady.

Employers who were pleased with how quickly and efficiently she handled her work always wanted her to stay. However, she had no choice but to frequently change jobs to avoid having her disguise as a man exposed.

“Actually, if it hadn’t been for the recommendation, this position wouldn’t have been available to you. You understand that, don’t you?”

At Olive’s voice, Marin abruptly snapped out of her thoughts.

“Yes…”

Her already dispirited voice grew even fainter.

She had gotten this opportunity through a recommendation from a former superior she had met while working in disguise as a man.

“I was also a little surprised when a woman showed up, since I had been told that a boy named Marion would be coming to assist me.”

“Marion is my younger brother. He left for the capital because he wanted to work there. I didn’t want to miss such a wonderful opportunity to work for the House of Vines.”

Marin made up her story as politely as possible.

She had briefly considered disguising herself as a man again this time, but in order to be of help to the duke, it would be more convenient to work in her natural appearance.

“I see. However, we already have enough female servants in the ducal household. Besides, hiring female servants falls under the head maid’s authority, not mine.”

“I… I’m not applying to be a servant. I’m applying to assist you, Sir.”

“Ah, that would be rather difficult. Then I hope you understand that—”

“I’ll be useful to you!”

Marin interrupted Olive just as he was about to wrap up the meeting.

“I beg your pardon?”

Confusion appeared in his deep brown eyes.

“No. I mean, I’ll be useful to His Grace the Duke.”

Olive, whose slightly drooping eyes usually gave him a kind appearance, suddenly turned sharp and fierce.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“There’s no one in the western region who doesn’t know about the unfortunate accident that befell His Grace the Duke.”

Marin swallowed nervously and continued a little more boldly.

“Miss Marin? Do you understand what you’re saying right now?”

Olive’s usually smiling expression stiffened like stone.

Marin pretended not to notice his piercing gaze, stood up, and looked around.

“Miss Marin?”

Olive called out to her, doing his best to keep his voice calm.

However, Marin stubbornly continued searching her surroundings.

A book. She needed a book.

But since this was the servants’ lounge, there weren’t any books in sight.

“Miss Marin!”

Olive’s voice grew sharp as his patience ran out.

At that very moment, she spotted a book standing almost as though it had been hidden away at the far end of the window.

She quickly picked it up and began reading aloud with great care.

“Where Do Monsters Come From?”

“What exactly are you doing?”

Olive asked again, his voice as cold as ice.

However, Marin ignored him for the moment and focused on the book.

“Why do they come? Many scholars have raised this question, but not a single one has found the answer.

Perhaps that’s why some scholars have become absorbed in a theory that cannot even be proven.

It states that the ecology of monsters gradually changes to adapt to their surrounding environment.

Most scholars disagree with this theory.

Count Blusher, a historian who called this theory the biggest load of nonsense in history, said… Shall I continue?”

Olive, who had somehow closed his eyes and begun listening to her read, suddenly opened them wide. He looked startled, as though he hadn’t realized when he had closed his eyes.

“His Grace sometimes can’t read documents… No, rather, when reading them becomes difficult for him, I can read them aloud just like this. My voice will be more comfortable for him to listen to than yours, Sir.”

That’s right.

In her previous life, she had been a book narrator.

Even after recovering her memories of her previous life, she had never intended to make use of her former profession. Not unless she had been so desperately poor that she could barely afford to put food on the table.

“Please, have a seat for a moment.”

Concealing his bewildered expression, Olive offered her the sofa again.

“Yes.”

She clutched the book in her hands as though it were her savior.

“First of all, unfortunately, I don’t have the authority to hire you, Miss Marin.”

“Ah…”

Marin bit her lip, unable to bring herself to say anything more.

Rent, her mother’s medicine, food expenses, and with winter approaching soon, the cost of firewood as well.

Before her eyes, she could almost see winged gold coins flying far, far away.

Marin lowered her head in dejection.

“However, you really do read books very well. Honestly, I’m impressed. That’s a truly special talent.”

Olive had relaxed his sharp gaze, and he was now looking at her with genuine admiration.

“…Thank you.”

Marin mumbled a barely audible response, her head still lowered. Right now, even receiving a compliment brought her no joy whatsoever.

“If you were applying for an ordinary assistant position, I could handle that myself. But if the job involves reading documents aloud to His Grace the Duke, that’s an entirely different matter. So I think I’ll recommend you to His Grace.”

“Pardon? Really?”

Her head shot up from where she had been staring at the floor.

“Yes. Let’s give it a try. I’ve actually been worrying about that very problem lately.”

Olive gave a bitter smile.

Ever since His Grace had lost his eyesight, reading documents aloud had become Olive’s responsibility.

The duke was meticulous by nature and never overlooked even a single sheet of paper.

Depending on His Grace’s mood that day, Olive would sometimes read through the many documents, while on other days, he wouldn’t be able to read any of them at all.

As a result, important matters concerning the ducal household remained unresolved and continued piling up.

Olive studied the woman sitting before him, who was nervously clutching the book tightly with both hands.

A shabby dress that was clean but clearly old, slender wrists peeking out from beneath her sleeves, a short and very thin frame, platinum-blonde hair gathered into an updo that glowed faintly in the sunlight streaming through the window but lacked any luster and looked somewhat dry, large light green eyes like fresh spring sprouts against her snow-white skin, and pale pink lips.

She had a cute appearance, but her coloring was so faint