Chapter 120
#120. To the Knight Whose Name I Don't Know
"No, Lady. How did you get all the way here?"
Dian truly couldn't understand.
The Lady was an ordinary person who had never even held a sword. Of course, she wouldn't have learned how to hide or read presences.
How could such a Lady evade the eyes of the Knights who rotated shifts every hour, and cross paths with the maids and servants going back and forth in the hallway to get all the way here to the first floor?
Perhaps the Saintess's power? Did she have something like that?
It was an absurd thought, but it was the most Dian could imagine.
"Well..."
Her voice was small, carried on the breeze. Dian strained to hear the Lady's voice.
"It's a secret."
Dian, who had been concentrating intently, blinked as if dumbfounded. Then, his face turned bright red and he said,
"This is a flaw in the Ducal Palace's security, Lady. If you tell me, I will correct it immediately."
Olivia smiled gently.
Rather than a flaw, it was Olivia's habit.
Reading the Knights' shift change times and identifying the servants-only passages.
The habit that had started when she lived in the attic on the fourth floor of the Madeleine Dukedom had allowed her to master the Imperial Palace's geography more perfectly than the Imperial Palace's servants.
That was how she could meet Esella without being noticed by others, and return to the residence after secretly receiving orders from the Princess in the Imperial Palace.
Esella, the Princess, and many of the servants knew this, but no one was as surprised as Dian. A playful spirit stirred within her. Olivia subtly broached the subject.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes!"
"You want to share my secret?"
"Yes, if you're okay with it, Lady. I'll only talk about it for educational purposes!"
"Then, shall we start?"
Dian, who had been sparkling his eyes, realized something. Right, the Valley of Senua! He had to stop the Lady somehow. At the same time as he thought, his mouth moved on its own.
"Lady, I was so flustered earlier that I didn't get a chance to tell you, but... the Valley of Senua is not a distance that you can just go back and forth to at night."
It was a pretty good excuse, considering he had just made it up. Dian widened his eyes and acted exaggeratedly.
The Lady didn't know much about the Territory of Vikander, so it was a statement that was one hundred percent likely to work.
"The Territory of Vikander is much wider than you think, so it will take a full four days by carriage to get to the Valley of Senua on the border."
"It's three hours away, though?"
"Yes?"
As bewilderment spread across Dian's face, Olivia took out the map she had put inside Edwin's Robe.
Dian's face became blank as he looked at the map, which was full of traces of meticulous notes.
"How did you..."
"The library. Besides this map, all the information about the Territory of Vikander is there. Except for the Valley of Senua and..."
The White Crystal Mine.
Olivia cleared her throat.
"But that place is really dangerous, Lady! Besides, if you go by carriage, everyone will know."
In the meantime, Dian came up with another reason. No matter how far three hours was, it was useless without a carriage.
"So, how about borrowing a carriage outside the gates? It might take a little longer to cross the garden, but I can't ride a horse, so I'll run as fast as I can."
"What kind of..."
His words were cut off. But the Lady's face was too serious to ask if that made any sense.
"The mountains are rugged, so it's really dangerous to even get in. Lady...!"
"I have to go, even if it means taking a risk. You said you wanted to know my secret, Dian."
"I don't want to know anymore."
Dian shook his head with a dejected face. Olivia laughed softly. And she made eye contact and said in a serious tone.
"You're the only one who can help me right now, Dian. It's a suspicious place. How can I not remember going there? Such a strange place is located in this Territory of Vikander, so shouldn't we check it out?"
"...I think we could just not go at all."
"But you've already been there, Dian."
He was hit right on the mark. Olivia lowered her voice as she saw Dian's startled face.
"And soon Edwin, no, His Grace the Grand Duke will be here. Do you think we can go out like this when that time comes?"
Come on, come on, come on.
As if the spell she had been casting in her mind while looking at Dian had worked, Dian pursed his lips. His face looked like he was about to say let's go any minute now.
I was going to go as far as revealing that I'm Liv Green if it really didn't work out.
Olivia added as if driving a wedge into the situation, which was unfolding better than expected.
"So, before His Grace the Grand Duke comes, we must... Dian, what's wrong?"
Olivia paused for a moment. Dian's face was pale in the moonlight. At the same time, a voice was heard from a short distance away.
"What is this..."
The voice that fell softly was familiar. Olivia raised her head in an instant.
"E, dwin?"
Olivia blinked slowly. Unbelievably, the person standing close by was Edwin.
Her feet moved first.
"...How should I interpret this situation..."
"Edwin!"
While Edwin was looking back and forth between Dian and Olivia with a confused gaze, Olivia came up and hugged Edwin tightly.
The small body that touched his chest was cool. Even though he knew she was wearing the Magic stone necklace, Edwin hugged Olivia as if to protect her from the cold. In the meantime, he heard a mumbling voice.
"I wanted to see you. I didn't expect to see you so soon."
Edwin smiled slowly. The texture of the embroidery touched his fingertips. When he looked closely, Olivia was wearing his Robe.
At the same time, he was pleased with the sweet and comfortable scent that touched the tip of his nose. The face that clung to him as if hanging on was terribly lovely. Even her small voice.
Everything he had missed while he couldn't see her was being fulfilled.
What this situation was could be judged later. What he had to do now was...
"Me too. I really wanted to see you too."
All he could do was hug this lovely Lady as much as he had wanted to see her.
* * *
The drawing room of the Ducal Palace.
The atmosphere was heavy as Winster and Bethany glared fiercely at Dian.
Tap, tap. Edwin, who had been tapping the table regularly, opened his mouth quietly.
"...So."
Olivia blinked.
She had a lot of questions she wanted to ask Edwin when she saw him. Whether he had brought the secret documents of the White Crystal Mine, what had happened with the Princess's work, and whether he was tired from traveling such a long distance, and so on.
But what was unfolding now was.
"Dian went to the Valley of Senua without reporting to anyone."
Dian lowered his head at the smiling gaze. When his red eyes turned to Olivia, Olivia immediately understood why Dian couldn't say anything.
"Olivia heard that, and she was going to go on a secret mission with Dian alone... Is that right?"
In other words, this situation was an unexpected variable.
"That's, well..."
Edwin called her name, not her nickname. Olivia stuttered without realizing it.
Sweat broke out on her back, but Olivia just smiled sheepishly.
Edwin's gaze seemed to soften just a little at the pleading, coquettish smile. Olivia hurriedly opened her mouth.
"Well, it's a dangerous place, so I was going to go there once first and then tell Edwin about it. I definitely wasn't planning on keeping it a secret..."
Her words became long like an excuse. Olivia now desperately understood why Dian had been rambling earlier.
Edwin raised the corners of his lips with a gentle smile.
"So, you were going to go even though you knew it was a dangerous place?"
It seemed that it was her delusion that he had softened. Unlike his gentle face, his voice was getting colder and colder.
Olivia carefully watched Edwin's mood and asked.
"...Am I about to be scolded right now?"
"Why? Do you think you've done something worthy of being scolded, my Lady?"
His skill in speaking indirectly under his bright smiling face was excellent.
Olivia was unfamiliar with the Edwin she was seeing for the first time, so she carefully pulled on Edwin's hand. And she opened her mouth with difficulty.
"If you're going to scold me,"
Olivia's voice quietly filled the silent drawing room. It was a word that even Dian, who was paying more attention than anyone else and listening intently to her response, could not understand, as if she had deliberately slurred her pronunciation.
After a moment of silence, His Grace the Grand Duke's voice rang out in a low voice.
"...Everyone, leave."
"Yes!"
I don't know what the Lady said, but this was an opportunity. A chance to live! Dian answered more vigorously than anyone else, bowed politely, and left the drawing room.
It was a moment when only sparkling hope was filling him. Someone grabbed the back of his neck.
"Dian. It's our turn to talk to you now, right?"
Ah, right. Dian laughed like he was crying as he faced Bethany and Winster, who had murderous smiles.
.
.
.
"...Can't we be alone? I'm embarrassed..."
Ha, really.
Edwin swallowed a heavy sigh as he felt the warmth wriggling in his hand.
After doing something so breathtakingly cute, as soon as the people left, his Lady was looking at him with innocent deer eyes, as if she had never done anything wrong.
"Are you very angry?"
"..."
"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I was just going to go there for a little while."
Edwin still didn't say anything. What should he do? After thinking for a while, Olivia unconsciously intertwined her fingers with Edwin's.
Looking at his mood was one thing, and habits were another. Only then did she hear a low laugh and a weak voice.
"You're really playing with my emotions, aren't you?"
"Me?"
Olivia blinked on purpose. It was Edwin who was playing with her emotions by making her look at his mood right now. Perhaps it was a fairly appropriate reaction, as the corners of Edwin's lips went up a little and then immediately went down.
"...It's okay to do what you want, Liv. But don't do anything dangerous."
How dangerous was that place that even Edwin would say such a thing? But instead of arguing, Olivia nodded obediently.
Long eyelashes cast shadows on Olivia's face. Edwin said a little more sternly because her face, which showed that she was reflecting enough, was cute.
"I'm also sad that you were trying to create a secret between us. Imagine if I was creating a secret from Liv."
"That's...!"
Olivia blinked for a moment. And she nodded again as if she had gained some enlightenment.
"...I was really too much."
Edwin, who had thought she was going to make some excuse, burst out laughing without filtering it. Anyway, she was manipulating people.
Olivia, who seemed to have loosened up a little now, sat close to Edwin's side. What should she do to make him completely loosen up? While she was thinking hard, a good idea came to her mind.
Although she hadn't compared them yet, there was one thing she was sure of.
"By any chance, if I reveal another secret right now, will Edwin's anger be completely gone?"
"Don't change the subject, Liv. We're not done with the current one yet."
The stern voice was long gone. Olivia, who cleverly noticed that fact, sparkled her eyes and said.
"I'm not changing the subject, but aren't you curious? My secret. The reason why I went up to the capital."
"The reason why Liv went up to the capital? That's..."
Edwin blinked as if it was an unexpected topic.
Her heart was pounding. It was ninety-nine percent likely. Olivia looked at Edwin and put him in her eyes. And she carefully opened her mouth.
"There was someone I wanted to meet."
"Someone you wanted to meet?"
"A long time ago..."
Olivia cleared her throat for a moment.
Whenever she talked about family, the Crown Prince, or the Imperial Palace, which were uncomfortable topics, her throat would always get choked up. But today, her throat was choked up in a slightly different sense. The condensed anticipation was gradually increasing in volume.
"...There was a time when I sent relief supplies to a battlefield in Heferti for Lady Jade Madeleine."
It was difficult to make eye contact. Olivia lowered her gaze to the tip of Edwin's chin.
"But there was a thank-you letter for the relief supplies that I sent every time. It was the first time I had ever received such a letter. To be honest, I didn't even expect people who were risking their lives on the battlefield to send thank-you notes for just relief supplies."
"..."
"I felt strange. It was my first thank-you letter. So, I also sent a reply as a thank you at first. But letters started coming periodically."
"..."
"He was a Knight whose name and face I didn't know. How much it meant to me that he expressed his gratitude to me even without revealing his identity..."
Suddenly, she remembered the small flower that had come with the letter. As she paused for a moment, Edwin's breathing was heard over the silence of the drawing room.
Olivia smiled quietly at that supportive sound and continued.
"...I was grateful. But one day, the letters stopped coming. For about half a year. During that time, I became more and more worried. Whether he was alive and well, where he had gone, or whether he had moved camps. Then, I gradually felt regret."
"..."
"I received sincere comfort, but the letters I sent to the Knight were all just everyday life packaged in lies."
"..."
"So, I wanted to meet him once and say thank you, so I headed to the capital."
Trailing off, Olivia raised her head.
"It just so happened that a few days ago, I received a letter with the same handwriting as that Knight. From Edwin, too."
Edwin smiled kindly as if he now understood what she was saying.
That gentle and ticklish laughter that made his Adam's apple move poured water over Olivia's parched expectations.
Her heart was beating wildly. Overwhelmed with emotion, Olivia smiled even brighter and looked at Edwin.
"I'm Liv Green. It's nice to meet you like this. Knight."
"...Nice to meet you. Generous and peculiar benefactor."
