Chapter 21
#021. We Are Not Family
"What is going on? Did Grand Duke Bikander just propose to Madeleine?"
"No, seeing as he's asking the Emperor for permission to marry, doesn't that mean the proposal and acceptance have already happened?"
"That Madeleine is never quiet for a day."
The nobles whispered. As always, Olivia was at the center of their whispers. Olivia tried to think of something else, as was her habit.
It's okay, it's nothing. Because if she thought that way, it really would be okay.
So, Olivia was a little surprised when warmth touched her hand. The Grand Duke placed his hand on top of hers, which was linked in his arm. The Grand Duke, who tapped her hand slowly as if it were nothing, glanced at the nobles in the distance.
The sounds they were making died down. When the ballroom became quiet again, the Grand Duke looked at Olivia.
"...The more I think about it, that dress really suits you today."
His words, spoken in a small whisper, were out of the blue. Olivia unconsciously relaxed her stiff expression and smiled a little.
But when she saw the man approaching from a short distance away, Olivia's hand clenched again.
"Grand Duke. Did you just propose to my fiancée? How dare you?"
It was Leopold.
Leopold frowned as he looked at the Grand Duke. Grand Duke Bikander, standing next to Olivia like a partner, was facing him head-on.
Leopold's eyes narrowed.
Edwin Lowell Vikander. The Grand Duke was the Emperor's dog. That meant that if he ascended the throne, the Grand Duke could become his dog. How dare such a dog desire to marry his fiancée, and even face him as if trying to compete for power?
The Grand Duke still didn't know his place. It was as if he didn't know that the most beautiful and precious of the territories and spoils that the Grand Duke acquired by running around the battlefield like a dog were always presented to Leopold.
Leopold took another step forward with a sneer. Leopold reached out his hand to Olivia.
"Come here, Liv."
But Olivia just stared at his hand and didn't come to his side.
It was strange. Leopold frowned. She had allowed the Grand Duke to have the first dance at the last banquet. Now she was ignoring him. Swallowing his rising anger, Leopold added in a low voice.
"...What's with that dress anyway? Come here first. There should be a spare."
Olivia looked quite beautiful in the white dress, but that didn't matter. Separating Olivia and the Grand Duke, who looked like a pair in their black and white combination, was the priority.
Leopold was about to take another step when he saw that Olivia wasn't coming. The Grand Duke blocked Leopold as if to stop him.
"From now on, you don't have to send dresses to Madeleine. Your Highness."
"What?"
The Grand Duke raised the corners of his mouth and replied leisurely to Leopold's furious face, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"The same goes for jewelry. It's one of my greatest pleasures to personally choose and gift jewelry that suits Madeleine."
"Grand Duke!"
Leopold finally lost his temper. Everyone flinched, but the Grand Duke stood by Olivia without wavering. And he said quietly to Olivia.
"Remember what I said?"
"......"
"Only look at me."
The Grand Duke smiled. Seeing his steadfast appearance, Olivia recalled the past few days she had been busy preparing for today.
* * *
"I keep telling you. I'm always ready to do anything for you, Madeleine."
That was true.
The dress boutique that took two months to book, the large pink diamond, the perfectly fitting beautiful shoes. Everything was prepared for Olivia as if it were natural.
Last night, when everything was ready, the Grand Duke said to Olivia.
"I'm going to propose to you with the favor the Emperor gave me."
Olivia gasped at the unexpected words. She was surprised that he called the Emperor so casually, but instead of pointing that out, Olivia focused on his words. She thought the Grand Duke would use some trick, but she didn't expect him to propose to her.
"Th-the proposal, uh, later..."
Olivia stuttered, her words jumbled. The Grand Duke narrowed his eyes as if he found it amusing.
"Aren't you too surprised? I'm about to feel hurt, you know?"
"That's... I'm actually a little surprised."
"It's the best way. An efficient way for you to distance yourself from the Imperial Family and the Madeleine Dukedom."
Then the Grand Duke added with a slight smile.
"Well, you probably know that my personal feelings are mixed in too."
"But I..."
Olivia trailed off. The fact that she liked the Grand Duke, that the Grand Duke looked favorably on her, and that she, the Crown Prince's fiancée, was marrying the Grand Duke were separate issues.
No matter how much she tried to sort out her feelings, she was still scared. Her heart, which had not reached the family she had longed for so much, nor Leopold.
Could she ever love someone wholeheartedly while trusting them completely?
But the Grand Duke smiled languidly as if he had read Olivia's thoughts.
"Don't worry in advance. I won't force you to do anything with this proposal as an excuse."
"......Why?"
Olivia was genuinely curious. Why was the Grand Duke being so kind to her? Why was he doing everything for her? The Grand Duke hesitated for a moment instead of answering.
"Well... it would be funny to call it a condition, but there is something I want."
Of course. Olivia felt relieved instead. But the moment the Grand Duke opened his mouth, Olivia tightened her grip on his hand.
"At tomorrow's banquet, only look at me."
"......"
"No matter what you hear, no matter who approaches you."
The Grand Duke said kindly.
"I'll block anyone or anything you don't want. So..."
When that kindness caressed Olivia's wounds, the Grand Duke said as if driving a stake.
"Only look at me. Got it?"
* * *
Olivia blinked. The cool atmosphere of the banquet hall reminded her of reality.
From the moment she entered this banquet hall, the Grand Duke had been keeping his promise. He kept looking after Olivia and made sure she didn't have to have uncomfortable conversations.
So Olivia had to keep her promise too. Olivia looked at the Grand Duke. As if sensing her gaze, the Grand Duke smiled softly at Olivia. Their clasped hands were firm.
The Grand Duke now looked back at the Emperor instead of Leopold. Just as he was about to speak to the Emperor again, a low voice interjected.
"...It seems like some arrangement is needed."
A familiar voice. Her father, or rather, Duke Madeleine. Olivia unconsciously broke her promise and looked at the Duke.
"Your Majesty. May I have a word with my daughter for a moment?"
This was unexpected. Olivia's hand trembled slightly.
It was her father, who had never called her his daughter in public before.
What did that mean?
Olivia couldn't bring herself to face the Duke. But the Emperor seemed to think differently.
"That would be good. Duke, have a talk with Madeleine. Now, everyone, let's enjoy the banquet again."
The Emperor, who had been watching this situation with a stiff face, gladly accepted the Duke's intervention. As the Duke approached Olivia, Olivia reflexively looked at the Grand Duke.
Seeing the desperation in her small face, the Grand Duke gently patted the back of Olivia's hand.
"Tell me. Madeleine. What do you want to do?"
"I-I don't know."
Olivia mumbled. She really didn't know. She thought she never wanted to see him again. Olivia looked at the Grand Duke.
"...Do you think I'm stupid?"
She thought so herself. She ran away from home and said she didn't want to go back. Yet, in a short time, she was gathering the expectations that had all burned to ashes. All because of that one word, daughter.
But the Grand Duke shook his head.
"Of course not. I just..."
The Grand Duke paused for a moment. And he said clearly to the Duke, who was approaching with heavy steps.
"I just thought the Duke was a very lucky man."
"...Greetings, Your Highness, the great hero, the Grand Duke. I would like to have a word with my daughter. Do I need to ask for Your Highness's permission?"
"Her permission is more important than mine."
The Grand Duke naturally looked at Olivia. Olivia gained courage from his attitude of asking her what she wanted to do.
"...What is it?"
"...It would be better to move to another place first."
The Duke rubbed his face wearily. Olivia's heart swelled a little at the sigh that was mixed in with his words. Could there have been some concern for her in that troubled face?
Olivia nodded to the Grand Duke. The moment their firmly clasped hands were released, the Grand Duke looked a little regretful and then looked at the Duke with a meaningful gaze.
"Duke Madeleine. Don't use your luck carelessly. You understand what I mean, right?"
But the Duke simply bowed in response and moved his feet.
It was the first formal private meeting since the day she went to her father's drawing room.
Olivia's fingertips trembled, and she gripped her dress tightly. When Olivia, who was very nervous, followed him, the Grand Duke returned to his unique cool face.
Leopold, who was watching them, also did not hide his angry face.
At the Emperor's gesture, the stringed instruments began to play again, but the nobles all knew.
That today's banquet had already reached its worst.
.
.
.
The Duke went out to the back garden. As she entered the deserted silence, Olivia looked at the Duke's back.
What was he going to say?
Olivia's heart fluttered even though she tried to calm herself. Her father's face seemed to have become haggard in the past few days. She thought he wasn't looking for her, but could his complexion have worsened because of her?
"If I could, I would erase you from my life."
Even though it was a memory from a few days ago, the Duke's voice, as if spitting out those words, was clear. Olivia's face clouded over. But she firmly gripped the hem of her dress.
From his back, Olivia couldn't read her father, or rather, the Duke's intentions. But for the first time, he had brought her along as if to protect her. She couldn't gauge whether it was genuine or not.
What is her father, the Duke, thinking right now?
As Olivia's mind raced with complex thoughts, the Duke stopped walking. And when he turned to look at Olivia, she instinctively knew that all her thoughts had been wrong.
"What kind of Magic did you use?"
Sharp words poured out at Olivia without filter. Duke Madeleine spoke coldly, as if to freeze everything.
"What did you whisper that made Grand Duke Bikander propose to you, the Crown Prince's fiancée?"
Contempt flashed in the amethyst eyes that looked down at Olivia.
"Is it that you're so messed up that you can't even keep the one thing, just that one thing, of becoming the Crown Princess Consort without causing trouble?"
Just like always.
It was then that Olivia, who had been silently listening to the sharp accusations as usual, burst into laughter.
The Duke raised his eyebrows as if displeased, but Olivia couldn't stop laughing.
Goodness. To end my lingering feelings so perfectly.
The Duke would never know.
What I was feeling when I followed the Duke out of the banquet hall.
What my expectations, now so shattered, were.
"Can't answer right away?"
"If I tell you, will you believe me now?"
"What?"
A fierce gaze pierced Olivia as if to see right through her.
She had always endured that gaze.
Someday, someday those eyes would look at her kindly, would acknowledge that she was also her father's daughter, she had never doubted it.
There were times when she was happy just to see the Duke's silver hair, the same color as hers, just to share the characteristics of the Madeleine Dukedom.
Not anymore. Her efforts had reached their limit. At the end of her best efforts, Olivia smiled wanly.
"Then I'll tell you. I didn't whisper to the Grand Duke to ask for marriage, and the one who ignored me, his fiancée, for years and made a fuss by being friendly with Lady Etel is the Crown Prince."
"That mouth. Shut it."
"The one who brought me to the mansion to send me as the Crown Prince's fiancée instead of Esella is Duke Madeleine himself, who is standing right here,"
"Shut up!"
A fierce roar shook the night. The sound of startled birds flying away was loud.
Duke Madeleine glared at Olivia as if he had finally lost his reason. His purple eyes turned red as if blood vessels had burst.
"It's because of you. You. If you, if you hadn't come to my house, nothing would have happened! You made me unhappy. It's all your fault. All of it."
Each syllable was filled with pent-up anger. The Duke gasped for breath. The hatred was so intense that she had even doubted herself, wondering if it really wasn't her fault.
But not anymore.
"Now, and back then."
"……."
"I really, didn't do anything."
"……."
"I'm not the one who made you unhappy."
"Olivia Madelaine! How dare you!"
Despite the Duke's thunderous anger, Olivia no longer lowered her head. It was a strange thing. The Duke, who had felt so big, was no longer scary. It seemed like it was really time to end things.
"……You said you wanted to erase me, right?"
"If I could, I would erase you from my life."
Words that had hurt as if her heart was falling out had become merely a tingling sensation in just a few days. If time passed, those words would mean nothing to her.
"I feel the same way. I'm also going to erase the Madeleine that's attached to me now."
Madeleine.
It was the name she had so desperately wanted.
The family she had clung to with all her might, the family she had unrequitedly loved with all her life's best efforts.
And the unrequited loves that had never looked back at her.
Olivia smiled lightly at all those unrequited loves.
"I will erase Madeleine, completely."
Slowly, the relationship that only she had been pulling on snapped and fell.
"Olivia!!"
Along with the Duke's roar, a flash of murderous intent came at her with all its might. Even in the face of the ominous energy that tightened her breath, Olivia straightened her body. That was the last thing Olivia wanted.
"That's far enough."
At that moment, a single footstep intervened.
"If you pose any further threat to my precious lady, you will turn all of Bikander into your enemy, Duke."
A neatly spoken voice warmly enveloped Olivia. The Duke gnashed his teeth and muttered lowly.
"……Grand Duke Bikander…… Your Highness."
Olivia turned around.
Hair as black as Abyssal raven feathers and ruby-red eyes that sparkled. A man so gorgeously handsome that it was hard to believe he was filled with ominous nicknames like murderer and Blood demon.
The expressionless face that seemed like it would never break smiled sweetly the moment it met Olivia's.
It was a strange thing. Neither the family she had tried so hard for, nor her fiancé, nor anyone else.
No one had ever looked at Olivia like that.
So kindly.
So sweetly.
With the look that Olivia had so desperately wanted.
"If you're done with your business, I'd like you to give me the opportunity to escort you home now, my lady."
"……Let's go. Not to the mansion, but back to the banquet hall."
Olivia forced a smile, swallowing the rising emotions. And for the first time, she turned her back on the Duke first. The Duke's gaze was fixed on her back, but Olivia didn't look back.
Just like the Duke always had.
"……It took me a really long time to get ready today. Shouldn't I at least dance once?"
The slow end of her words trembled. Olivia smiled brightly and took the Grand Duke's hand. She could feel his hand trembling, but the Grand Duke pretended not to notice and matched Olivia's words.
"……You're still giving me the honor of the first dance today, right?"
