Chapter 26
#026. Between a Deal and a Favor
Behind the panting maid, another maid appeared. The young maid's clothes bore the emblem of the Imperial Princess Palace.
"I already have a prior engagement with the Crown Prince, so please tell the Princess that I will visit her later," Olivia said softly. Her voice held a certain dignity. The startled maid quickly added,
"Th-that is, the Princess said she had already obtained the Crown Prince's understanding in advance."
Olivia smiled faintly.
It wasn't the first time the Princess had tricked Olivia in this way.
There were times when she had Olivia running around the palace all day, saying things like, "Leopold is said to be somewhere over there."
"Let's confirm that," Olivia replied curtly, then called for Baroness Sophron.
Instead of a young maid who could be easily deceived, a titled lady would be able to find out the truth clearly.
It took quite some time, but Olivia waited patiently. The Grand Duke beside her remained silent.
However, the answer the Baroness brought back after taking the carriage was that Leopold had left the palace early in the morning.
"There was a message that he might be late returning, so you should have dinner in advance," Baroness Sophron said, watching Olivia's reaction as she relayed Leopold's words.
Olivia's mind turned cold at the assumption that she would naturally wait. A chilling smile touched her lips.
After sending a letter urging her to come quickly, Leopold had broken his promise to her again. And the Princess, with whom she had no appointment, had summoned her regardless of her own schedule.
To make matters worse, all of this was exposed in front of the Grand Duke, who had come with her today.
The shame and humiliation crushed the elated mood she had felt just moments before. She could feel the Grand Duke's gaze on her.
Olivia haughtily raised her chin.
She smiled as if it were nothing. Wearing a mask was something Olivia was good at.
"I'll have to excuse myself for a moment. Please feel free to look around."
"Mademoiselle."
Olivia, who was about to move, turned to look at the Grand Duke. With a graceful movement, the Grand Duke walked towards Olivia.
Standing face to face, she was struck anew by how remarkably tall he was. The man naturally extended his hand to Olivia.
"Are you perhaps going to escort me all the way to the carriage?" Olivia said with a quiet smile. The Grand Duke, meeting her gaze, took Olivia's hand and slowly kissed the back of it. Olivia's eyes widened at the soft lips that brushed against her skin.
Someone gasped softly, but even that sound was drowned out.
The Grand Duke persistently held Olivia's gaze. His deep, crimson eyes shone bewitchingly, as if to captivate her.
"...You should know that I have always only seized victory."
The Grand Duke's voice was low and resonant. His enigmatic eyes flashed provocatively at Olivia.
"So my Mademoiselle will be the same."
His languid voice tickled her ear. And when the Grand Duke released her hand, Olivia turned and walked away.
Watching Olivia's retreating figure, walking more elegantly than anyone else, the Grand Duke sensed it.
That his wishful words had worked very effectively on the Mademoiselle.
* * *
Olivia stepped out of the carriage and walked through the Imperial Princess Palace's garden.
A rose garden in full bloom. Under an awning that shielded the warm sunlight, the Princess sat at a table.
There was only one teacup, one plate of refreshments, and even only one chair—the one the Princess was sitting on. Not even a servant was nearby.
Olivia looked at the Princess with cold eyes, clearly indicating that there would be no hospitality.
Sensing Olivia's presence, the Princess looked up and smiled brightly.
"It's been a while, Madeleine. You're quite late."
Unlike her curved lips, her bright blue eyes glared at Olivia with venom. Olivia took a slow breath and walked towards the Princess.
"...Greetings, Princess."
"I sent a maid quite a while ago. I was almost disappointed that you weren't coming."
The Princess made a disappointed expression and pointed ahead.
"Oh dear. I thought you weren't coming, so I cleared away the cup. Is rose tea alright?"
The Princess's eyes were full of mockery as she looked at Olivia.
Just a moment ago, she had been filled with complex emotions that had turned her hands white. But now, strangely, she felt at peace.
When Olivia smiled gently, the Princess glared at her fiercely for a moment.
Smiling? Daring to act generous in front of her, with only half the blood.
Her hissing breaths grew louder and louder. Looking at Olivia's face, which was smiling at her as if nothing had happened, her unresolved anger surged violently.
She had felt so good when the second Madeleine had returned to the mansion with a completely broken expression. It was the same when rumors spread that Olivia had been chased out.
Now that lowly half-blood wouldn't be able to hold her head up properly. Now she had finally suppressed her spirit.
Reina had enjoyed the rumors with a sense of relief.
The more chaotic the rumors about Olivia, who had disappeared without a trace, the more eagerly Reina spread them.
What could she do even if she ran away? Olivia Madelaine would eventually beg for forgiveness from her, the Princess.
With a mountain of tasks to assign, Reina adorned herself beautifully, eagerly anticipating the final day of the victory celebration.
And on the final day of the victory celebration, as she walked lightly towards the banquet hall, she heard a strange rumor.
"...What? The Grand Duke proposed to the Madeleine?"
It was absurd. Her father, the Emperor, had soothed her, saying that the Grand Duke would eventually kneel before her.
"The Princess possesses a precious treasure, so do not worry."
The Emperor's solemn words had never been wrong.
Reina believed the Emperor's words wholeheartedly. He had always told her that she was the most precious treasure in the world. So she doubted that any man would dare to reject her.
But the rumors were true. Before she even entered the banquet hall, the widespread story made the Princess tremble with shame. She felt ridiculous in her beautifully adorned appearance, as if she were going to receive a proposal.
How much had that lowly thing made a fool of her?
The Princess, gritting her teeth, had immediately summoned Olivia, but she had not come. She had made the perfunctory excuse of being ill and had only now arrived.
The Princess glared fiercely at Olivia, who stood before her. Even though she tried to restrain herself, her anger did not subside at the sight of that detached face.
The Princess hastily drank the rose tea to calm her anger. The cooled tea had a terrible aroma.
Just as she was about to scold the maid, Olivia replied with a calm face.
"It's alright, Your Highness. I have something to say to you within the palace anyway."
"Within? You certainly have a funny way of speaking, Madeleine."
The Princess said lowly, as if displeased. Her voice grew louder and louder, revealing her uncomfortable mood.
"Am I not allowed to sit here? Are you daring to tell me to move?"
"I'm fine with it, but I was worried about causing trouble for Your Highness."
"What? Trouble for me?"
Ha. How ridiculous.
The Princess scoffed. Anger surged like waves over her bright blue eyes. The Princess shouted sharply.
"Madeleine, are you going to keep playing word games like that?"
"Tristan Granary District."
The place Olivia quietly mentioned was the second most prosperous and fertile territory among Princess Reina Franz's possessions. It was also one of the territories where she had entrusted work to Olivia.
The Princess's eyes widened for a moment.
Not missing the opportunity, Olivia continued in a calm voice.
"Retail Territory."
It was the Princess's territory that had fallen into a spring famine. It was also the place that Olivia had secretly restored.
"Necklace of Le Calle."
It was a necklace that had been passed down like a legend in a kingdom that had already been destroyed centuries ago. The Princess had almost lost the fifth wealthiest Miner Territory among her possessions in order to obtain this necklace, which was said to bring good luck by the descendants of elves.
Of course, the person who had salvaged it was Olivia.
"White Crystal Mine,"
"M-Madeleine!!"
The Princess slammed the table and stood up. The servants, who were standing far away, glanced at her at the Princess's loud shout.
The Princess's face turned pale. Olivia tilted her head, watching her trembling lips.
"Is it alright if I don't say any more?"
"What is this! What are you doing? Do you think I'll bat an eye if you do that? You wanted to marry my brother so badly. What did the Grand Duke do to you that you dare to threaten me now?"
Olivia smiled faintly at the Princess's appearance, muttering as if threatening her.
The Princess would never have dreamed of this happening when she entrusted the work to her.
She herself had never thought that this day would come.
She had always been intimidated by the Princess.
She had been afraid of the Princess, who entrusted her with work to test her qualifications as Crown Princess Consort, and she had felt sad when she saw the Princess recommending other ladies to dance with Leopold.
When she realized that the promise that she would recommend her to dance with him if she worked hard was a joke, she had felt a sense of despair.
The Princess had controlled her as much as the Empress.
But when she gave up the position of Crown Princess Consort, everything became clear.
A person who was so easily flustered, easily angered, and clumsily threatened.
The Princess was standing in front of her, her face red with anger.
Olivia looked straight at the Princess. And smiled.
"Will you move now?"
.
.
.
The Imperial Princess Palace's reception room.
The Princess, sitting in her seat, ordered the maids with a deliberately calm face.
"I have something to discuss with the Madeleine in private, so everyone please step back."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Even Baroness Luhas, the governess who had been scrutinizing the Princess's face until the very end, finally left the drawing room.
Only then did the Princess glare at Olivia with venomous eyes.
"Ha. I quietly tolerated a commoner like you as my brother's fiancée, only for you to repay my favor in this manner?"
"......"
"I don't know what the Grand Duke whispered to you, but you better kneel down right now, bang your head on the floor, and beg for my mercy. How dare you bring up something with no evidence to me?"
That's right. There wouldn't be any evidence. The Princess felt a slight sense of relief.
From the moment she first entrusted the task to Olivia, her mother, the Empress, had repeatedly emphasized:
"The lowly and foolish ones try to leave evidence. Princess, always be careful not to get caught. Or use a tail that you can cut off without consequence."
She had always followed her mother's advice. The maids who assisted Olivia were sent to remote rural areas every few years. She always had the reports delivered directly, so no one else could have seen them.
If necessary, she could simply claim that she had taken Olivia as her personal playmate to help with the work.
Despite her lowly birth, she was efficient and meticulous, so she wouldn't have left any traces.
Even a three-year-old would know whose words were more credible: the words of a bastard princess or the words of the legitimate Princess.
The Princess arrogantly raised her chin.
As Olivia thought that her confident smile somewhat resembled Leopold, she took out a piece of paper from her bosom.
"This is a record of my personal expenses."
As expected, the Princess didn't even glance at it.
"What is that?"
"When Your Highness was frequenting underground auctions to find the Necklace of Le Calle, I used my personal funds to restore the Retail Territory, which had fallen into a spring famine."
"What?"
The Princess snatched the paper as if grabbing it. On one page of the well-organized ledger, the uses of the funds were clearly written.
"Don't lie! You disobeyed my orders and created a double book at your own discretion? And the maids who were monitoring you said nothing?"
"It's not a double book, but a copy of my personal funds ledger. When Your Highness was about to ruin the Miner Territory, you told me to handle it with my own money first, and this is just a record of my compliance."
"Something like this can be fabricated easily!"
The Princess shouted sharply. But Olivia smiled and pointed to one side of the ledger copy. The seal and stamp of the Imperial Banker were there, with the date as it was back then.
Having decided to abandon her usual elegant and innocent appearance, the Princess glared at Olivia fiercely. Her blue eyes trembled aimlessly.
Perhaps this appearance suited her better than the aloof one that hid her true intentions. Olivia quietly looked at the Princess and said,
"I have no intention of revealing this fact separately. I simply came here with the purpose of asking a favor of Your Highness."
"A favor? You spoke to me as if threatening me, and now you're saying it's a favor? What's the reason for this sudden change?"
The Princess glared at Olivia. Olivia looked down at the back of her hand for a moment at the hate-filled eyes. And then she smiled.
"Because I need a dowry."
