I Got Engaged To The Blind Duke Chapter 5

“Mon-monsters.”

“…….”

The duke remained silent, as if prompting her to continue.

“I’ve heard that burrowing monsters are like minerals that sparkle like jewels. Since burrowing monsters keep appearing there, I thought there might be some other kind of gemstone besides silver. That’s why I thought it was a waste.”

Burrowing monsters looked like rats, but were as large as big dogs. They loved shiny things so much that they sometimes attacked private homes and stole sparkling objects.

After finishing her explanation, Marin lowered her head dejectedly. She had somehow managed to squeeze out an answer, but she wasn’t sure whether it would satisfy the duke.

“When was this report submitted?”

The duke turned his head toward Olive.

“Three months ago.”

“Wasn’t this supposed to be an urgent report?”

“There were many more pressing matters, so it was pushed back.”

Olive lowered his head like a guilty man.

“Put the abandoned mine on hold, and send some knights down there to investigate further.”

“Yes. Understood.”

After giving the order, the duke took a step toward her.

Terrified, Marin tried to take a step back as he approached, but her feet tangled, and she staggered.

Oh no, I’m going to fall!

Just before she could topple backward, the duke caught her by the wrist and steadied her.

“……A twig?”

Marin blinked in surprise at nearly cracking the back of her head, then desperately pretended she hadn’t heard his mutter.

He couldn’t possibly have been talking about a person.

But wasn’t this duke blind? How could he move so quickly?

After calming her startled heart, Marin bowed to the duke.

“Thank you.”

“Your name?”

“M-Marin.”

“Are you a commoner?”

“Yes…….”

Marin answered in a trembling voice, almost whispering as she tried to gloss over the question. The moment she lied, her heart, which had finally settled down, began pounding again.

The duke tilted his head toward her, as though listening for something.

Marin fidgeted, wondering whether she should say anything else.

But when was he going to let go of her wrist?

“A commoner who can read and even analyze reports?”

Marin’s eyes widened as far as they could go. Her heart dropped straight to the floor.

How did a casual excuse turn into having the ability to analyze reports? Why?

“Are you a spy?”

“Whaaat?”

Her heart, which had fallen to the floor, sprang back into her chest and began thrashing like a fish pulled out of water.

“A confession?”

“N-No. No, I’m not. Absolutely not. You don’t have to hire me. I was being thoughtless. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

Marin turned around to leave the room, but her body wouldn’t move an inch. She had forgotten that her wrist was still trapped in his hand.

“Olive.”

“Yes.”

“Draw up an employment contract.”

“Understood.”

Olive replied promptly with a broad smile.

“Make it temporary.”

“Temporary…… Understood.”

Olive’s expression, which had brightened, immediately fell.

“Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Marin bowed to the duke with a deeply moved expression.

Temporary or not, she was happy as long as she could earn money.

“Feed her.”

“Pardon?”

“Pardon?”

Olive and Marin both questioned the duke’s unexpected command at the same time.

“She’s like a twig.”

The duke drove the point home by lifting her wrist once before letting it go.

Ah, so I hadn’t misheard him earlier. I’m not that thin.

Marin pouted and wrapped her hand around her wrist.

She was certainly grateful that he had stopped her from falling, but that gratitude was already vanishing like smoke.

“Yes. I will follow your orders.”

For some reason, Olive was smiling broadly again.

As if he no longer wished to deal with them, the duke turned away and headed toward the desk in his office.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

“Your Grace, we shall take our leave.”

“Um…… Thank you again.”

Marin hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly bowed before leaving the office.

Once they were gone, silence returned to the office.

The footsteps of the two could be heard in the corridor.

Olive’s footsteps, with his left foot slightly heavier than his right.

And the footsteps of a woman that sounded as though she might float away like a feather.

Having held the woman’s wrist, he now understood why her footsteps had been so weightless.

He had called her a twig, but she might have been even thinner than one.

What a strange woman.

The report she read aloud had not grated on his ears at all. It sounded as natural as the sounds of nature. For the first time since losing his sight, the contents of a report had entered his ears so clearly.

He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had listened to a report and actually been able to think about its contents.

Now he understood why Olive had been so desperate to introduce that woman to him.

Ever since he had gone blind, his senses other than sight had become extraordinarily sensitive.

Especially his hearing. Every sound reached him as noise, and his headaches never let up.

The House of Vines, which protected the western region, had a secret passed down through its bloodline, inherited only by the eldest son of the direct line in each generation.

They were much larger than ordinary people, and all five of their senses were highly developed.

Their eyesight allowed them to distinguish the color of a bird’s eyes as it flew through the sky.

Their hearing allowed them to distinguish every sound within fifty meters.

Their sense of taste allowed them to identify anything they had tasted before. Especially poison.

Their sense of smell allowed them to distinguish any scent whatsoever.

Their sense of touch made them extremely sensitive to even the slightest contact.

And Gerald von Vines was the one with the most exceptional senses among the direct descendants of his generation.

When all five senses were evenly developed, there was no problem.

He could control them himself, suppressing them at times and heightening them at others. Using those extraordinary senses, he had won every battle against monsters and protected the western region.

The Grand Ducal House of Vines protects the West.

That unbreakable formula had been praised more than ever during his generation.

But nothing lasted forever.

A year ago, after a monster attack left him blind, everything had become twisted.

As if trying to compensate for the loss of his sight, his other four senses had grown even stronger.

That was where the suffering began.

Because of his excessively sensitive senses, he was plagued by terrible headaches at all hours of the day.

His hearing was especially unbearable. Even the sound of an insect crawling struck his head like thunder.

As all his senses ran wild, his mind gradually deteriorated as well.

The pain caused by his other senses drove him closer to madness than the agony of being unable to see.

But today, for the first time, another person’s voice had not tormented his ears.

Even if the woman really was a spy, he would have to keep her close.

Just from the sound of her heartbeat, he could tell how frightened she was of him. And that she was lying, too.

“K.”

At Gerald’s whisper, a black shadow landed soundlessly before him.

“…….”

The shadow, completely concealed in black clothing, silently awaited its master’s orders.

“Investigate her.”

“…….”

The shadow disappeared as silently as it had appeared.

Gerald leaned back deeply in his chair and focused once more on suppressing his four senses.

 

***

 

Marin returned to the reception room with Olive, looking as though her soul had left her body.

She had gotten a job at the ducal estate. Her lie had worked.

Still unable to believe it, Marin sat down on the sofa with a dazed expression.

Olive handed her a thick book.

“What is this?”

It was the book she had set down on the floor before entering the duke’s office. She had been so distracted that she had forgotten about it, but it seemed Olive had picked it up for her.

“I thought you seemed to like this book, Miss Marin.”

“But this isn’t my book.”

“Books about monsters aren’t supposed to be kept in this castle. It was going to be thrown away anyway…….”

“Oh, then please throw it away to me.”

Marin quickly accepted the book.

Yes! How much is this worth?

“Let’s do that, then. I have some preparations to make, so please wait here for a moment.”

“Yes.”

As soon as Olive left the reception room, the tension drained from Marin’s stiff body. She leaned back against the sofa and relaxed.

Only then did the title of the book resting on her lap catch her eye.

[Where Do Monsters Come From?]

For someone who knew the setting of this world, it was quite an interesting book. She picked it up and examined it from every angle, but the author was unknown.

Why had a book like this been in the reception room reserved for the servants?

A thick hardcover like this could be sold for a very high price on the market. Perhaps a servant had tried to throw it away but decided it was too valuable to discard and hid it instead.

A book someone had hidden away had become a book of good fortune for her.

It was something everyone in the western region knew, but no one dared to speak of openly.

She had brought up the duke’s accident.

If she hadn’t read this book, she might have been dragged out by the knights.

At the terrifying thought, her shoulders trembled.

“Are you cold? Should I bring you a blanket?”

Olive, who had returned at some point, asked kindly.

“No, I’m fine.”

Marin waved both hands and straightened her back again.

Olive, seated across from her, smiled warmly.

“Take a look at this. It’s a temporary employment contract. The ducal estate has a standard contract, but I’ve only changed the employment period to make it temporary. And since you have a specialized position, I’ve set your salary a little higher.”

Olive handed her the contract.

Marin’s eyes quickly skimmed over the salary section.

One gold coin a week.

Good heavens.

One gold coin was enough to feed a family of four for an entire month.