The Male Lead’s Father Refuses to Break Off Our Engagement

Chapter 42

 

“That’s right. But why now…”

There was a conversation passing through Evelia’s mind as she muttered softly.

It was a conversation they had the night Ruth was sick after finding a four-leaf clover in the rain, the night she proposed a contract marriage to Cassis.

 

-I’m not sure what it means to care.

-I’ll tell you that. First of all, put that document away and go see Ruth.

 

Evelia had said this to Cassis, who was unable to express his feelings to Ruth.

Does that mean that Cassis cares about Evelia now?

As soon as I thought about that, my face became hot again, as if it were on fire.

Evelia put her both hands on her cheeks to hide her blushing face.

Normally, I would have assumed that I had misunderstood what Cassis said. However, after returning to her hometown together, something changed between them.

At least Evelia thought so.

I needed to confirm it. What was really going on in this man’s heart behind my back.

Evelia asked somewhat impulsively.

“Does that mean you care about me?”

“……”

Cassis remained silent this time. This time I was sure. He was avoiding answering.

From that attitude, Evelia could tell that her prediction was correct.

“Why?”

Cassis had been unknowingly caring for her, especially when she was sick.

Cassis was silent for another long moment.

Evelia waited for him in silence, not wanting to rush him because it was okay if he didn’t say anything.

Normally this silence would have been awkward, but it wasn’t now.

Cassis spoke again, breaking the silence that seemed never end.

“Didn’t I already tell you that my mother died of fever?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I did this.”

At first glance, it may sound like something unrelated to the current topic, but Evelia, who is quick-witted, quickly grasped the meaning.

“Are you saying you came here because you were worried that there might be something wrong with me?”

“……”

Evelia thought as she looked at Cassis who was silent.

‘This guy has a pretty cute side.’

I’m sick and it seemed like something was wrong with my head.

There was no one to be cute to, so she thought Cassis was cute.

‘Well, it’s still not bad.’

In Korea, I couldn’t get sick in peace. I was overlooked both at my grandmother’s house and at my father’s house. Even though it hurt, I couldn’t say it, I hid it.

Actually, I tried to hide the pain this time too. But Annie started making a fuss after I coughing a few times, and the whole mansion went into chaos.

At first, I felt burdened by people making a fuss because of me, but now that I think about it, I don’t hate it.

Perhaps Cassis also sees herself as someone who needs to be protected?

I really didn’t know what was going on with my head, but that wasn’t a bad feeling either.

An unknown emotion sprouted in Evelia’s heart. She opened her mouth, feeling a tingle somewhere in her chest.

“I’m healthy. There’s nothing wrong with me, it’s just a mild cold.”

“But….”

“But?”

“No.”

Evelia waited for his answer again, but this time he seemed to have no intention of answering.

It was strange. Before, she hadn’t thought anything of it when she hadn’t had to talk to Cassis, but now it was strangely awkward.

So Evelia changed the topic.

“What kind of person was the previous Duchess?”

“…….”

“It’s not a big deal, but I still have to take responsibility for the Duchy as the Duchess for the next three years. So I was curious, what kind of person the previous Duchess was.”

Evelia added, looking at Cassis.

“If it’s a question that’s difficult to answer, you don’t have to tell me.”

“No. Rather….”

Cassis paused and pursed his lips. Just as Evelia was giving up on listening to the answer, Cassis spoke again.

“Actually, I don’t have many memories of my mother.”

Evelia chose silence instead of a clumsy retort.

“My mother wasn’t feeling well after giving birth to me.”

“So you haven’t been able to spend much time with the Duchess.”

“That’s right.”

“That must have been very sad for you.”

Evelia muttered without realizing it. But there was no response from Cassis. And she wished she hadn’t said that.

‘I crossed the line.’

It was the moment when I was about to say that I had made a mistake. Cassis opened his mouth quietly.

“I don’t know.”

His voice was no different from before.

“I don’t have any tears in my eyes. Don’t you usually cry when you’re sad?”

“…….”

“Someone even pointed a finger at me for not crying.”

He asked, looking at Evelia intently.

“Do you think I’m a monster?”

“Ah…”

What a monster. It was a word she hadn’t expected to hear.

In particular, it was an unexpected word to come out of Cassis’ mouth.

Evelia shook her head.

“No.”

“…..”

“Every person is different. You just have different ways of expressing it.”

Evelia knew in her gut: This man wasn’t crying, he just couldn’t.

He was holding back his emotions so tightly that he couldn’t even cry.

He wondered what it was like to want to cry but not be able to.

Evelia muttered, feeling like she wanted to cry.

“So just because you didn’t cry doesn’t mean you weren’t sad.”

“… You say the same thing as Julia.”

Cassis muttered softly. After that day, Julia’s name came out of his mouth for the first time.

Evelia was curious.

How was your relationship with your sister?

Evelia almost asked that question without realizing it, but then bit her lip.

I suddenly became curious. What kind of life did Cassis live?

How on earth did someone who didn’t have any emotions think that Julia was so special?

But I couldn’t ask. Because she wasn’t in position to ask such personal questions.

Cassis looked at Evelia intently, as if waiting for her words.

However, when there was no word from her, he slowly stood up.

“I see. I’ve taken up a lot of your time, so I’d better be going.”

“Yes.”

Evelia called after Cassis as he turned and walked away.

“Duke.”

“Yes.”

“Good night.”

Cassis looked back at her and then nodded.

“You too, Lady.”

Have a good night. A low voice sounded like a song.

 

*****

 

Cassis, who already had a mountain of work to do, became even busier because of the unplanned two-day, one-night trip.

As soon as he returned to the mansion, he headed to the Imperial Palace at dawn.

This is because His Majestythe Emperor still hadn’t met with him, claiming to be busy.

But this time too, there was no good sign. The Emperor still didn’t allow his marriage.

“Did Your Majesty refuse an audience today as well?”

“Yes. I’ll have to find another way.”

“I see. More than that…”

Logan hesitated. Cassis handed him his jacket and urged him on.

“Lady Venion has a cold.”

Cassis’ hand twitched.

“A cold?”

“Yes. The doctor said it was because she had been exposed to the cold wind.”

“What about now?”

“Much better than earlier in the day. She said it was just a mild cold.”

“I get it. You should go.”

“Yes.”

Logan bowed and stepped away. Cassis headed to the office without even changing his clothes.

But he couldn’t concentrate on the documents. Logan’s voice continued to float in his head.

‘Lady Venion has a cold…’

She said it was a mild cold. She had a fever during the day, but she doesn’t have it now.

But Cassis couldn’t take it lightly.

His mother, the former Duchess Adelhard, and his older sister Julia both died of fever.

Moreover, Evelia was thin and not in good health. If Evelia had heard, she would have retorted, saying, ‘I’m not that weak!’, but in Cassis’ eyes, she looked weak.

The wound on her wrist may have been the trigger. Anyone could tell how weak must you be if your body gets bruised just by someone grabbing your wrist hard?

So did Julia. She had a similar physique to Evelia and suffered from a mild cold every season.

She would say, “It’s just a little cold,” but in the end she died of a fever.

Is this why I keep seeing Julia in Evelia? Cassis pondered and headed to Evelia’s room.