Chapter 105
#105. The Starting Point of Regret
"Judging by how stiff you are, it seems even the rumors spreading in the Grand Duchy weren't shared with you by Grand Duke Bikander."
Olivia didn't respond. Leopold smiled faintly at her unwavering stance, not even flinching back.
Just five steps.
The narrowed distance was more than satisfactory; it was overwhelming. The pity was fleeting.
He had never seen Olivia cry. Only trembling voices and a stifled expression. It seemed it would be alright to see her cry.
Now, all he had to do was fill the most vulnerable gap.
"Then let me tell you, Olivia."
He began to peel away the lies Olivia believed in with a voice as sweet as honey.
"You're well aware of the story of the Late Vikander Grand Duke, a blind warmonger who lost the war."
As his handsome voice continued, her green eyes stared fixedly at Leopold.
"But you probably didn't know that the Late Grand Duchess, the princess of the fallen kingdom, came to this Imperial Palace herself to compensate for the defeat."
Even just the connected gaze sent a chilling thrill down his spine. A sense of stability spread through him, as if he were reclaiming something rightfully his.
Looking into her jewel-like, sparkling green eyes, Leopold slowly licked his lips.
If he used the sordid stories of the past he had heard from the Empress, he could easily turn the situation around. The story, crafted with the most provocative words, was enough to stir Olivia's emotions.
"His Majesty the Emperor only wanted a small price for the sake of the Grand Duke's family's future, but it seems the Grand Duchess thought differently."
"The Late Grand Duchess came herself with the documents for the reparations. Isn't it obvious? A princess of a fallen kingdom with no backing, the head of the family dead, and only a young son. She must have wanted to seek favor from His Majesty, with whom she had a connection in her youth. Perhaps."
"......"
"The reparations might have been the method she came up with to win His Majesty's favor."
Leopold's voice lowered subtly. A strange sneer hung at the corner of his lips, which curved into a crescent shape.
"Or perhaps it was her beauty, rumored throughout the continent. They say her green eyes sparkled mysteriously and were so bewitching and beautiful. What do you think, Olivia?"
Leopold smiled languidly. As expected, Olivia's stiff expression looked precarious, as if it would shatter at any moment.
In this situation, he was the only one Olivia could turn to. A strange sense of victory excited Leopold.
But strangely, Olivia didn't react at all. The silence continued. He began to feel impatient.
It would be best if she broke down and cried in his arms right now, but Olivia stood stubbornly upright.
Forcing a relaxed expression, Leopold slowly tilted his face towards Olivia's. His reflection began to appear in her clear green eyes. His throat felt parched.
"Without even knowing she had such a mother, that Grand Duke thinks the Late Grand Duchess was forcibly taken away and, as revenge, steals you from me..."
"Wouldn't it have been better to apologize, Your Highness?"
Leopold blinked in surprise at the calm voice that cut him off.
He didn't understand this situation. Olivia, who had been so close to falling into his arms, was now facing him with a cold expression.
"…What?"
"If you had, I might not have felt this disgustingly awful."
Olivia blinked slowly. The moment contempt was overlaid on her eyes, which had shone like transparent jewels, Leopold's heart plummeted into the mud. It felt as if his blood was chilling.
"Wait, Olivia."
His face, pale as a sheet, reached out to grab Olivia. At the same time, a stinging sensation spread across the back of Leopold's hand.
He thought he heard a gasp from a short distance away, but Leopold was too distracted to even care.
His noble pride, which had never been struck by anyone, was wounded.
"What are you doing? Olivia. What you've done is going too far."
"Your Highness, you shouldn't be twisting the story of a hero who fought fiercely for the Empire and died in battle like this."
Olivia tightened her grip on the dress she was holding. Her nails dug into her palm, but she felt no pain. Rather, it felt as if the inside of her throat was being pierced sharply.
At this moment, she desperately wanted to see Edwin. How could the Crown Prince of the Empire show such a low side of himself?
Especially with the story of a Knight who had stepped forward for the Empire in the war and the story of the Knight's family.
"What are you talking about, Olivia? Don't you understand what I'm saying? You're just a spoil of war for that Grand Duke bastard!"
Leopold burst out in frustration.
"The Late Grand Duchess also had green eyes, so why don't you realize that the love you're receiving is just a substitute for the Late Grand Duchess!"
Leopold ran a hand through his hair, suppressing his agitated emotions. As a result, he didn't see the realization spreading across Olivia's face.
He attacked Olivia in anger.
"Aren't you satisfied with living as a substitute for the Second Princess? Are you now planning to live with the shadow of the Late Grand Duchess as well?"
"Whether I'm a substitute or a spoil of war, that's between His Excellency the Grand Duke and me, and it's none of Your Highness the Crown Prince's business."
She was instantly pushed out of the line. The face of Olivia, who was pronouncing the word "substitute," was terribly cold.
Leopold unknowingly examined every corner of Olivia's face. He hoped to see a hint of hesitation somewhere, but Olivia stared at Leopold with a chillingly dry face.
Disturbance arose on his handsome face, which he couldn't hide. He bit his lip as if he couldn't believe it, and blinked his anxious eyes repeatedly. Leopold let out a nervous laugh.
"...Don't be stubborn, Olivia. Come back to me when I catch you."
"......"
"The Grand Duke just wants to take everything I have. If I weren't interested in you, it might be a love that could disappear at any time. Don't you remember? The day I was going to ask you for the first dance, he competed to ask Olivia for a dance."
Now Leopold didn't even know what he was saying. In his mind, Edwin was the worst son of a bitch. Outraged that his first dance had been stolen, Leopold became angry once more.
"Olivia!"
"...I was wrong."
At his urging, Olivia slowly parted her lips. At that moment, a look of delight spread across Leopold's handsome face.
There, there.
"All I can show Your Highness now is my back."
"...Olivia?"
Leopold doubted his ears for a moment. Olivia's voice was surprisingly calm, without the slightest tremor.
He couldn't even tell what expression Olivia was making right now. Strangely, his breathing became rapid, as if someone was clutching his heart. This was an ominous feeling he had never felt before.
"Whether I like it or not, I know Your Highness better than anyone else. As Your Highness knows as well."
That's right. Olivia knew him better than anyone else. His favorite scents, props, tastes in food, preferences in clothing, even the types of flowers.
Just like Tiaje Palace, which perfectly matched his tastes.
"Did you want to keep me by your side while protecting your pride?"
"Olivia!"
"By maliciously fabricating the story of a loyal predecessor to mock me?"
"You know that's not it."
A suppressed, choked voice poured urgently over Olivia's words. Watching Leopold's face, which was hastily choosing his words as if making excuses, Olivia looked at his face for a long time as if it were something new.
And the face that her indifferent gaze touched began to crumble layer by layer. When desperation was evident on Leopold's face, Olivia sensed it.
Ah, now I really have no connection with the Crown Prince anymore. Even seeing him collapse, she felt nothing.
The Crown Prince, who had endlessly manipulated her and tried to keep her in his grasp, ironically awakened her with his hollow packaging.
"But Your Highness, who doesn't know me, has already made a fatal mistake."
Looking at the Crown Prince's pale face, Olivia smiled calmly. She felt ridiculous for having backed away in a panic earlier.
"How can someone who tells me to come back to him say such outrageous things to the Late Grand Duke, who devoted his loyalty to the Empire? It seems that loyalty, affection, and love cannot reach Your Highness."
"No, Olivia. No."
Leopold gasped. The always relaxed and arrogant Crown Prince couldn't hide his embarrassment, having been caught off guard for the first time.
He was at a loss, as if he had been stripped naked, but Olivia, who had seen through him, only looked over his shoulder with a cool gaze, as if she couldn't be caught.
No matter what he did, he couldn't get a single glance from Olivia. She was so firm that she would never give him a smile in the future.
At the same time, Leopold staggered slightly. Things he should have realized a long time ago came rushing in all at once. His strong jaw trembled.
"...Princess. Olivia. Liv."
His honeyed voice grew more and more desperate. He called Olivia as if begging for salvation.
The handsome man looked at Olivia with a terrified face, just like a lost five-year-old. His sea-blue eyes revealed his vulnerable inner self for the first time.
"How, what should I do, no, what should I do?"
"......"
"Should I guess what you want?"
Olivia didn't smile. A hidden sense of fear rushed in. Hesitantly, again and again. Leopold took a step and forced a smile. His handsome face was pale, and only the corners of his lips were raised, making it grotesque and ridiculous.
"I'll send Maria to another country. Don't worry. If you come back to my side, I promise to look only at you with all my heart."
"......"
"How about changing the name of Tiaje Palace? I'll change it to your name. I can raise the palace's budget as much as you want."
Clumsy pleas poured out. He never thought there would be a time when he would want emotions from someone. It must be very difficult for someone who only knew how to skillfully take hearts to gain sincerity.
Olivia raised the corners of her lips as if it were something new. Leopold's inflated heart waited for her words.
But that was the end of the answer.
That smile was enough for Leopold, who had been filled with expectations, to fall into the abyss. It was fortunate that he didn't know that even that smile was the last greeting she was leaving for the palace, not for him.
Olivia, who had been quietly looking at Leopold, slowly turned her body. And when she moved away beyond the main gate, Leopold was jolted awake as if he had been struck by lightning.
"Olivia!"
If he let her go now, he might not be able to see Olivia again. Gasping for breath from a suffocating sense of loss, Leopold ran to the main gate. When he passed through the main gate that had been opened for Olivia to leave.
"Olivi, a...!"
Hope shattered. A carriage was leaving far away. For some reason, he felt like Olivia was in it, so Leopold leaned against the wall, exhaling a miserable breath.
Strangely, Duke Madeleine was standing in front of him.
"Duke, did you tell Olivia... my story?"
Strangely, the Duke didn't answer.
But he didn't even have the mind to urge the Duke.
Olivia had disappeared. From his sight, and perhaps completely from his world.
Leopold leaned against the wall, collapsing slowly. The world was as confusing as if it had been turned upside down in the blink of an eye.
"How, Olivia. You."
A faint voice was wet with moisture.
It was the first confession as a man, not as the Crown Prince, he had ever made. What he had felt with Maria was incomparable; it was dizzying and terrible.
Even so, he was resentful of Olivia for leaving him, the difficult events of the past rushed in like a tsunami, and all these situations were not flowing as he wanted.
Leopold looked back at the palace in the face of this unbelievable situation. The silver Crown Princess Palace was here, but the owner had gone far away.
Should he have been honest? Or should he have begged?
The night a few days ago when he had felt a slight sense of powerlessness came to mind. As he looked at the terribly beautiful Olivia, he should have changed even then.
He could clearly feel that her heart, as hard as a rock, would not turn to him, so Leopold held his breath. Soon, a distant darkness pressed down on him as if the ground beneath his feet was collapsing.
* * *
Olivia turned around as she walked away. Leopold's voice, as if calling her name in the wind, was conveyed. It was fortunate that the carriage going far away distracted her gaze from herself.
Olivia smiled bitterly and hurried away.
She could clearly feel the gaze watching her. It must be the Duke.
"…Take this carriage."
It was strange. A Tea Party should be in full swing, but the Duke was in front of Tiaje Palace. The Duke, who had a dazed expression as if he had just hatched from an egg, pointed to the carriage he had come in.
There was no reason to take the carriage the Duke was offering. Of course.
"Now, of all times."
Olivia, who had been muttering, slowly closed her lips. Nothing would change, but she didn't know why people kept making her have such vile and bad thoughts.
Olivia paused her breath for a moment. And she emptied the Duke, Conrad, and Jade into the breath she exhaled. There were many things to think about even without them.
The most important thing.
"Why didn't you tell me..."
"In Vikander, we think green eyes are beautiful. Like other eyes."
Suddenly, Edwin's words came to mind. Her heart beat painfully.
