31.
Marin found herself instinctively scanning his physique.
The black shirt did nothing to hide his solid, muscular frame.
Does he train in his office? He certainly doesn’t look like he’s lost any muscle mass.
“Well, it isn’t exactly due to muscle, but rather… shall we call it lifestyle exercise?”
The more Marin spoke, the more it felt like she was digging her own grave. She clamped her mouth shut and lowered her head.
“That’s unexpected. I thought you would demand that I spare your life for the sake of some unknown future, or something of the sort.”
Marin’s head snapped up.
Her life? Right! Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner?
A life insurance policy. In other words, a “Life-Saving Pass”!
She should have asked him to spare her life just in case her lies were ever discovered.
Barely holding back the urge to stomp her feet at the missed opportunity, Marin whispered, clinging to a thread of hope.
“Is there, perhaps, a chance to change that?”
“Do you think there is?”
“……No.”
Of course not. There was no way such luck would favor her.
A tear welled up, and Marin slumped her shoulders dejectedly before bowing to the Duke again.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“Where are you going?”
“To my room.”
“I’ll grant your request now.”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s go for a walk.”
“Pardon?”
Marin blinked, tilting her head in confusion.
“Imsi. Surely you didn’t harbor the irrational thought that I could go for a walk alone while blind, did you?”
Assuming she truly didn’t understand, the Duke explained in a cold, measured voice.
“Ah…….”
Marin slightly parted her lips before closing them again.
……She had. That was an irrational thought.
Because the Duke sometimes made her forget he was truly blind, she had assumed he could naturally navigate a walk on his own.
“Come here.”
“Yes.”
As she approached the Duke slowly, he rose from his seat.
Seeing the Duke standing after so long, she felt intimidated by his towering stature and broad frame.
He had been imposing enough while sitting, but standing, he was like a massive mountain.
“Closer.”
“Yes.”
Marin approached him, her face full of tension.
What should I do now?
Then, she suddenly remembered seeing a blind man and his companion walking together during her childhood.
“Your Grace.”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to place your hand on my shoulder?”
His jaw muscles tightened.
Ah, she remembered he didn’t like physical contact with others.
“Then I’ll go get your cane…….”
“Where is your shoulder?”
“Here. Oh, excuse me for a moment.”
Carefully grabbing his sleeve, Marin guided his hand onto her shoulder.
His heavy, large hand, which felt like it could cover her entire shoulder, was unexpectedly warm.
“Shall we go then?”
Marin whispered, acting braver than she felt.
“Yes.”
* * *
Marin moved quickly, taking a step ahead of the Duke, who dwarfed her.
After descending the first-floor stairs, she opened the back door to avoid being seen and headed outside.
A large, bright full moon greeted them.
“I’m going to stop for a moment.”
Marin paused in her tracks.
“Why are you stopping?”
“I’m trying to decide where to go.”
“Go to a place Imsi likes.”
“Yes.”
Marin led the way toward a secluded area.
After leaving the grove, she reached a vast garden covered in green grass.
It was the same garden where she had found the Mandlesong.
Under the large full moon, the fresh grass was covered in night dew, sparkling like starlight.
“Wow.”
An exclamation of awe escaped her before she could stop it. The garden looked beautiful at night, too.
“Why?”
“Look……”
She started to say “Can’t you see?” but trailed off.
She had forgotten again, given how easily he had followed her without a word.
“Why did you stop speaking?”
“Just because.”
The Duke, having removed his hand from her shoulder, walked slowly forward.
He stopped in the middle of the grass, which shimmered under the white moonlight. He looked like a painting.
The Duke tilted his head as if listening to something, then exhaled deeply.
Then, looking stifled, he untied the cloth covering his eyes.
Marin stared at him, her eyes wide with shock.
The Duke turned his body to face her.
Marin held her breath, gazing at his closed eyes.
His eyelids fluttered and lifted slowly.
His near-white, silver irises were as clear as the eyes of a fairy born from white snowflakes.
Surprised by their beauty, she gasped.
He walked straight toward her as if he could see.
“Are you afraid?”
“Ah……”
The overwhelming pressure of the Duke striding toward her made Marin step back involuntarily.
“Am I repulsive to you?”
“…….”
Suppressed by his presence, Marin’s mouth felt glued shut; she could only shake her head.
“Do I look like a monster?”
Unlike the Duke’s indifferent expression, his deepened voice carried an edge of agony.
Only then did her lips part, as if a spell had been broken.
“No. That’s not it.”
“Then why did you back away?”
“……Because you’re too beautiful.”
It wasn’t something one usually said to a man, but his beauty was so dazzling it felt burdensome.
“What?”
He looked dazed, as if struck in the back of the head, before his brow furrowed.
“You’re so beautiful that I was startled.”
“Imsi.”
His eyes, as he approached even closer, were as ecstatic as a cluster of silver stars.
In the novel, he was described as having black hair and black eyes.
So why did he have eyes of this color? Was it because he was blind?
Marin stared into his eyes, as if possessed. He wasn’t looking at her; there was no focus in those beautiful irises, confirming he truly couldn’t see.
“Yes.”
The Duke leaned down near her face and whispered suggestively.
“Are you seducing me?”
“Hah?”
Marin snapped back to reality, as if doused with a bucket of cold water.
“Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
Flustered and blushing, Marin stammered a response.
“A pity.”
The Duke whispered in a bitter voice.
“Whatever could you mean by……”
Gerald chose silence over an answer.
She stood quietly, as if she had sensed his intention.
She certainly is a woman who catches on quickly.
For the first time since he lost his sight, he felt a genuine sense of regret.
He wanted to see her face.
He wondered if she truly didn’t see him as a monster.
After being attacked by a monster and losing his sight, his eye color had changed from black to silver.
There was no one else in the world with silver eyes.
That made sense, as silver was the eye color of monsters.
Countless monsters he had slain had possessed eyes of this color.
He had wondered if he was becoming a monster himself, and so he had hidden his eyes.
And yet, she called such eyes beautiful. Perhaps she had never seen a monster before.
Gerald chuckled inwardly and looked at the snowy-white world.
People thought that because he was blind, the world was pitch black for him, but it was the opposite.
The whole world was frigidly bright.
That was why he always covered his eyes with a black cloth, burying himself in darkness to block out even the slightest brightness.
Since he had applied the Mandlesong, the eye strain had disappeared for hours.
That was why he could readily agree when she suggested a walk today.
The outside air, which he hadn’t breathed in a long time, was fresh and sweet.
He could have come out on his own without her lending her shoulder, but he had brought her along on purpose.
He had been curious about where she would lead him.
He could smell the scent of Mandlesong nearby. She must have been harvesting it from here.
Strangely, the time spent with her was amusing and comfortable.
That was when it happened.
“Your Grace!!!”
Olive’s desperate voice echoed from not far away.
“That’s Mr. Olive.”
“I know.”
“Should I let him know we’re here?”
“No need.”
Olive was already running quickly toward them.
Gerald hid his displeasure and covered his eyes with the cloth again.
“Your Grace!!! A letter!!”
Unlike his usual composed self, Olive’s voice was rough and trembling.
“Why all this fuss?”
“The Count and his wife… have passed away.”
Olive knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly.
My sister is dead?