Chapter 27
#027. Dowry
"Dowry?"
The Princess, repeating the word, glared.
The fact that Grand Duke Bikander's proposal was directed at Olivia, not her, flashed through her mind. So, this half-wit was mocking the Princess, herself.
The Princess's breathing grew rough. Soon, her face flushed red, and she tore the ledger she was holding to shreds. She felt like her resentful insides would burn up if she didn't tear something apart right now.
The torn paper fluttered down onto the expensive table.
But Olivia spoke calmly.
"It's alright, Your Highness. I have the original."
"Bring it here immediately!"
"If Your Highness provides my dowry."
"And if not?"
The Princess scoffed and glared at Olivia with venom. But Olivia, who had been speaking so well just a moment ago, pressed her lips tightly together.
Green eyes stared back at the Princess. The Princess gritted her teeth.
Daring to face her at the same level. And that too, Olivia Madeleine, who always carried out her orders.
But along with the resentful feeling, an ominous imagination stirred in her mind.
If Olivia were to leak that ledger. And if this fact were to become known...!
'Are you really saying it wasn't you, Reina?'
She could vividly imagine the Emperor's wrath.
A chill ran down her spine.
He had always cherished her, but she knew that one of the reasons she was loved was her ability.
And Olivia had been in charge of most of the tasks that had earned her father's trust.
"...What do you want?"
The Princess muttered through gritted teeth. Only then did Olivia softly curve her eyes.
"I'm not asking for much. How about the Miner Territory?"
"Don't even think about it!"
The Princess burst into anger.
Olivia didn't change her expression. It was expected. The Princess would never give up the Miner Territory, the fifth most prosperous of the assets that enriched her vault.
But what if it was a territory far inferior to the Miner Territory she had mentioned first?
Olivia didn't want to be too greedy. If the Empress intervened, she might not get anything.
"Then how about the Javier District?"
Olivia asked. If she received the Javier District, which had a small population, and kept everything quiet, she thought the Princess would agree.
But Olivia had missed something.
The Princess was beside herself with this situation alone. Her head felt like a tangled mess, and it didn't matter to her what kind of place the Javier District was.
She was just filled with the thought that Olivia, who knew her assets better than she did, would definitely not try to make a loss.
The Princess smiled leisurely and recalled the list of her assets in her head. Every territory the Emperor had given her whenever Olivia handled a task was a place where precious crops such as tobacco and grapes grew, or fertile land with good profits.
How did things get like this? But figuring out why things went wrong was a problem for later. The Princess had to minimize the damage.
The most useless place, but one that could silence Olivia.
Suddenly, a good idea flashed through the Princess's mind like lightning. The corners of her mouth, which had been unable to hide her anxiety, softly lifted.
"...There is one place suitable to take as a dowry."
The Princess spoke again in an aristocratic manner, as if she had regained her composure. The Princess smiled elegantly, making a theatrical gesture.
"The Lady also knows it well. The White Crystal Mine. You remember, don't you?"
The White Crystal Mine.
It was an abandoned mine near the north that she had visited under the Princess's orders.
"You seemed very interested in that abandoned mine back then."
"That's..."
Olivia, who was about to refute the Princess's subtle words, closed her mouth. The Princess sparkled her eyes and clapped her hands.
"It was the first time you asked me a question again while handling a task about that abandoned mine, wasn't it?"
It wasn't that she was interested in the abandoned mine, but that she had asked to find out about the related records that had been processed with a high security rating.
Unlike other Imperial assets that were thoroughly managed, there was no record of when or where the abandoned mine had been incorporated.
All Olivia could find out was that it had been registered as an Imperial asset about ten years ago, and that only the Imperial family could view the records.
But the Princess hadn't even confirmed that information, citing that she was busy. In the end, Olivia had left for the abandoned mine near the north with prominent geologists from the academy.
A place that had not been visited by people for a long time, even though it was an Imperial asset. Just going near the entrance of the mine, the chilly northern air collided with each other, creating a whirlwind-like wind.
"The vein of minerals has been cut off here for a long time."
She remembered what the geologists who had explored the abandoned mine had said.
So, there was no need to consider the Princess's offer.
A place with no value as a mine, and barren land with only skinny branches. There was no foundation for people to build a settlement there.
But why couldn't she easily refuse?
Olivia parted her lips, then closed them again. The Princess chattered.
"Think about it carefully, Lady. All my territories are quite far from the north, aren't they? Wouldn't that mine adjacent to the north be the best for managing them?"
The image of the mine flashed through Olivia's mind like a picture. She remembered that the appearance of the mine, which she had visited for the last time after the scholars had left, saying there was nothing more to investigate, was somehow strange.
"Lady. Decide quickly. I think it's a pretty good condition."
Seeing Olivia standing still, the Princess spoke coaxingly. She felt like her eager heart would be revealed, but there was no information to be read from Olivia's expressionless face.
If she refused this.
The Princess tried to recall her assets, but there were no particularly useless assets.
"There will surely be a day when it will be useful to you."
She remembered what her father, the Emperor, had said. She had been lukewarm when she received this abandoned mine, but to think that she could use it in this way.
If Olivia just nodded, this abandoned mine would be fulfilling its purpose.
The Princess glanced at the torn pieces of paper on the table.
If she hadn't tried so hard to find the Necklace of Le Calle, she wouldn't have been caught like this.
"...I'll do that."
The Princess lifted her head sharply. The small, fleeting voice was definitely an acceptance.
She thought she was stupid, but she didn't know she was this stupid!
"I'll change the ownership right away."
Before Olivia could say anything, the Princess twisted her lips into a smile.
"You thought well, Lady. Although I'm not in a position to congratulate the Lady's marriage, our relationship doesn't end here, does it?"
Right now, she was absurdly talking about the position of Grand Duchess, but Olivia essentially loved her brother. If her brother whispered sweet words, she might come back to apologize to her.
That's when she would not forget today's humiliation and thoroughly trample on her.
The Princess hid her sparkling eyes and smiled again with an elegant face.
Meanwhile, regret and worry swirled like a vortex in Olivia's heart.
What did I just say?
The desire to reverse her words soared. But the Princess didn't give Olivia a chance to say a word. When she called a servant, the maids who had been waiting outside quickly entered.
"Call Count Yubler. And a financial manager to notarize."
Count Yubler was the Princess's financial manager. It seemed like the Princess was going to do things thoroughly today.
Olivia looked at the torn pieces of the ledger and slowly nodded.
Actually. It was a place that bothered her.
"Well. I'm coming here for the second time, but there's nothing here, you know?"
From the moment one of the geologists complained and covered his mouth with a startled face. Or maybe from the time there were no proper records of the mine.
Or maybe.
Olivia suddenly recalled the entrance of the mine where the cold wind blew. Before leaving the mine for the last time, she thought that a refreshing wind had blown from somewhere for the first time.
"Princess. Count Yubler has arrived."
Olivia's thoughts were broken by the voice of Baroness Luas reporting. The Princess smiled brightly, as if she couldn't stand it, and welcomed the Count.
.
.
.
Count Yubler, who had been suddenly called, tilted his head.
"Princess. Are you really saying that you are bestowing this White Crystal Mine to the Lady?"
"That's right, Count."
"But do you see this seal here?"
Count Yubler pointed to the documents of the White Crystal Mine. Unlike other assets, the fact that only the Imperial seal was stamped without any records was somehow unsettling.
It would be better to proceed with the work after finding out more, but the Princess glared.
"Count. Are you ignoring my instructions now?"
"It's not that."
The Count was sweating behind his back. He was sure that his gut was telling him to check one more time, but the Princess in front of him didn't seem like she would wait for him to check.
"Proceed quickly. It's a gift I'm bestowing to my dear Lady."
"...Yes. Your Highness."
In the end, all the Count could do was follow the Princess's orders.
The Count prepared the documents. And handed the pen to Olivia. Olivia slowly wrote her name. The Princess snatched the documents as soon as she received them and quickly signed them.
The finance manager standing behind her finished the notarization, stamping it with the Princess's magical seal.
Only then did the Princess shrug with a refreshed expression, as if she could finally breathe. She was even generous enough to praise the Count and the finance manager, who were about to leave.
But as soon as they stepped out, the Princess turned her vicious gaze back to Olivia.
"Well, everything has gone as the lady's wished. Are you satisfied now?"
Olivia couldn't answer easily. She fidgeted with the edge of the document proving that the mine was hers.
She couldn't tell if this strange feeling was due to regret or the bewilderment of owning a mine.
"Since I've shown this much generosity, I expect you to bring me the original."
As soon as she got the original ledger, she would turn it into tinder. The Princess gritted her teeth. She needed to burn the source of her anxiety to ashes, leaving no trace.
But instead of answering, Olivia rose from her seat. The Princess raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. I am a person of honor."
"If you had any honor, you wouldn't have done this to me."
The Princess sneered. But Olivia, having achieved her goal, simply smiled faintly.
"I plan to dispose of all the ledgers so that Your Highness has nothing to worry about."
The Princess looked at Olivia with suspicious eyes. But it was true that she planned to dispose of the ledgers. The Princess kept calling her lady, but she had already left the Duke's family.
It would take several days for her name to be officially removed, but she needed to settle the ledgers and assets before then.
Once everything was settled, she would burn it all.
Of course, she didn't intend to tell the Princess that.
Olivia, holding the documents in one hand and the hem of her dress in the other, bowed to the Princess.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Unsurprisingly, the Princess did not acknowledge Olivia's greeting. Her head remained bowed.
Finally, the Princess rose from her seat. Only when Olivia heard the Princess shuddering as if she couldn't stand the sight of her and leaving the drawing-room did Olivia lift her head.
For the first time after facing the Princess, she felt something other than humiliation or misery.
The corners of her lips turned up involuntarily.
It was a strange and wonderful feeling, hard to name.
* * *
Olivia took the carriage back to the Tiaje Palace.
Another document had been added. If she had assets to take as dowry, she wanted to boast to the Grand Duke right away. But the actual value of the assets she had acquired was terrible.
But the deal was already done.
How should she utilize this White Crystal Mine and its surroundings?
Olivia pondered, but no answer came to mind.
The carriage gradually slowed down. It was the Tiaje Palace. Only when the carriage stopped and the door opened did Olivia realize that it was quite dark.
Only then did Olivia suddenly worry about the Grand Duke. What had he been doing alone in the palace? Was it because of her hasty heart, or because the tension from her meeting with the Princess had been released?
As soon as she stepped outside, her legs faltered. Her hand, reaching for the carriage door, grabbed something solid instead. At the same time, a cool and refreshing scent wafted over her. Olivia's eyes widened.
"Welcome back?"
"Your Highness."
Olivia straightened her posture. The Grand Duke looked at the arm Olivia had released with a languid smile, as if he was disappointed.
"You look good."
Olivia smiled brightly and raised the hand the Grand Duke had kissed. Half embarrassed and half boastful, Olivia replied.
"Thanks to you."
Doing what she wanted was so overwhelming.
Having what she wanted too.
And.
"I'm even happier that I was helpful."
The Grand Duke smiled radiantly. At that moment, Olivia felt her heart beat faster. Thump, thump. She felt her healthy pulse ringing louder in her ears.
