Chapter 35
#035. A Little Luckier Person
"You should have woken me up if I fell asleep."
Olivia's desperate voice echoed in the drawing room. She tried to remain calm, but failed.
"How can I wake you up when you fell asleep because you were tired? Unless I carried you."
"Edwin!"
Olivia, startled, called out Edwin's name. Edwin smiled innocently and raised both hands, his eyes curving sweetly as if to show he was harmless.
I mustn't fall for that eye smile.
I mustn't forget how surprised I was when I woke up in the carriage earlier.
Olivia fanned her flushed cheeks and glared at Edwin.
"Oh, you're awake?"
Her vision was blurry, and she blinked. Before her stood Edwin, smiling gently, as if he had been watching her for some time.
"Oh, um, that is…"
"You must have been very tired. I should have come to the Grand Duke's Residence sooner if I had known."
Edwin looked at Olivia's complexion as if he hadn't thought of it. He smiled slightly at Olivia's dazed face, still marked with sleep, and then spoke to the coachman.
Let's go into the Grand Duke's Residence now.
Anxiety crept up on Olivia, and she hurriedly looked outside. The dim surroundings had already turned black.
After hearing that the carriage had been circling the garden for a long time before entering the Grand Duke's Residence, she felt dizzy.
She rarely fell asleep while riding in the carriage back to the Grand Duke's Residence.
Was she really that relaxed today? Her face must be swollen from sleeping. Thinking about it again, she felt embarrassed.
Olivia's cheeks puffed out sullenly. Her green eyes, unaware of her puffed cheeks, were lost in thought.
Edwin watched her with an adoring gaze, but Olivia was too engrossed in her thoughts to notice, and she finally looked up.
"You have to wake me up next time! Okay?"
"...Next time?"
Edwin's reply was a beat late.
Okay. Olivia nodded triumphantly, smiling brightly.
"You said you'd do anything I wanted."
If circumstances didn't allow, it was a threat. She wanted to see Edwin taken aback. But strangely, the corners of Edwin's lips quirked up mischievously.
"‘This’ time, I only watched you being good, and ‘next’ time I'll wake you up, so..."
A languid voice wrapped around Olivia.
Just as Olivia realized the loophole in her words and exclaimed, Edwin leaned towards Olivia as if he would fall on her.
"...The time after that, can I do whatever I want?"
The red eyes within the loosely curved gaze sparkled dangerously. Olivia instinctively shook her head and replied.
"No way!"
"Wow. You answered without even thinking? How do you know what I'm going to do?"
"Whatever you do, no. There is no next time."
"I wish there was."
Edwin shrugged playfully and leaned back against the sofa.
Not a chance. Just as Olivia made a firm resolution, Edwin said sweetly.
"Then it's okay if I doze off in front of Olivia, right?"
"Huh?"
"Just. If the sun is warm, I might doze off in the carriage. And then I might fall asleep first."
A fluffy image was drawn over Edwin's voice. Edwin nodding off in the carriage with the yellow sunlight streaming in. Then Edwin falling sound asleep and leaning against the carriage window.
Her lips curved up just imagining it.
Not because she wanted to tease Edwin for falling asleep first, but because she wanted to see him relax and fall asleep in front of her.
Olivia blinked as she realized this. It was a strange feeling. Did Edwin feel the same way? Her heart ached just thinking about it.
She wanted to reach him a little more.
She wanted to sit close, not across the table. She wanted to keep leaning on that kindness.
"...Instead, let's wake each other up when we arrive. It's uncomfortable to keep sleeping only in the carriage."
"What about when we're not in the carriage?"
"Yes?"
"For example, what if we fall asleep while drinking tea like this in the drawing room?"
"Then..."
Olivia was speechless at the unexpected question. Edwin said as if he had been waiting.
"How about going next to the person and letting them lean their head on your shoulder? Aren't we close enough to do that?"
Edwin winked playfully. Her face felt like it would flush as soon as she imagined Edwin's head touching her shoulder. She wanted to touch him, but not that close...!
Olivia bit her lip, about to shake her head. She didn't have that kind of composure. She resented the face that smiled gently as if touching her was nothing.
She wanted to tease that relaxed attitude that seemed to pull her in without any gaps.
So Olivia nodded as if it were nothing.
"Shall we?"
Edwin's eyes widened for a moment. Olivia felt secretly pleased that his handsome face looked somehow flustered.
"Re, ally?"
"I'm serious. Did you ask me as a joke?"
Olivia laughed out loud. Perhaps, unlike his suave exterior, Edwin's heart was innocent and soft.
Come to think of it, it was like that last time too. She remembered Edwin's face turning red when she called his name.
She wanted to tease him more. Perhaps she really was witty, as the Grand Duke said. She was thinking that she wanted to approach him with a little more humor.
"...I had made a very firm resolution to approach you slowly."
The voice that followed was thickly subdued. Olivia, sensing something was wrong, looked at Edwin and widened her eyes.
His beautiful face somehow exuded a dangerous atmosphere.
It was strange. Edwin was smiling more kindly than usual.
Olivia laughed awkwardly and backed away. In an instant, the air in the drawing room became strangely heated.
Edwin chuckled softly, and his prominent Adam's apple bobbed slowly. A thick desire spread darkly over his red eyes.
"...Olivia gave me permission first?"
"I don't, think so?"
"That can't be."
The corners of Edwin's eyes curved sweetly. Then, he clicked his tongue, seeing the table that stood between them like a barrier.
The table, which she had thought was a pity just a moment ago, acted as an excellent shield.
But even taking a breath was a luxury. Edwin suddenly stood up. Olivia swallowed hard without realizing it, seeing that he looked like he would come to her side at any moment. It was then.
Knock, knock - the sound of knocking broke the atmosphere. Edwin's face furrowed slightly.
"It's Sobel. May I come in for a moment?"
"No."
"...Yes?"
An absurd reply was heard from outside the drawing room at the curt answer. Olivia instinctively said.
"Yes! Come in."
"Olivia."
A sigh was mixed in with the voice calling Olivia. Haha. Olivia smiled awkwardly and looked away, while Sobel opened the door and entered.
"Your Highness, Miss, I presume,"
"Since when have you been ignoring my orders, Sobel?"
It was Olivia who flinched at the ominous voice. Sobel shrugged nonchalantly.
"Since Your Highness told me to prioritize the Miss's orders. Probably."
"You're all talk, Sobel."
"It's a relief that at least my mouth is alive. From tomorrow morning, we will start construction on the room next to the Miss's as a dressing room. But even just looking at the blueprints, there are too few dresses, shoes, and jewelry to store."
Edwin clicked his tongue and slumped into his seat. Sobel spread out the paper he was holding as if he had been waiting. At a glance, there were few colored parts indicating use.
"That's what he says. What should we do?"
Edwin turned to Olivia and smiled mischievously. Olivia quickly replied.
"I think it will be full when the dresses I ordered from Madam Pluto's boutique arrive."
"Fifteen dresses are not enough. The shoe and jewelry display cases are also empty."
Shoes and jewelry. Olivia shrugged with a troubled expression. Hmph. Edwin raised his chin primly. Olivia smiled without realizing it.
Sobel was getting salty in that fluffy atmosphere. Then he winked at Edwin and said.
"Oh, and Your Highness. The tea is cold."
Tea? Olivia stared blankly at the teapot. She hadn't been in the drawing room for long, so the tea was still warm.
While Olivia was looking at the tea, Edwin's expression hardened slightly and then relaxed.
"...I'm in a bad mood. It must be because Olivia's display case is empty. Sobel. Call the jewelers. And the shoemakers."
"Yes."
Sobel replied as if it were natural. It seemed like jewelers would be visiting the Grand Duke's Residence one after another from tomorrow. Unlike before, all she had now was a closed mine.
Olivia hesitated.
"I have jewelry. I have the Pink Diamond Necklace from then too."
"But you don't wear it after the banquet."
"Well..."
Because Esella, who had the same necklace, came to mind.
Olivia shrugged.
Sobel, sensing the awkward atmosphere, said he would bring more tea and left the drawing room. Olivia smiled faintly only after confirming that the door was closed.
"...You bought me two of those Pink Diamond Necklaces that day."
"I gave one to Olivia as a gift, and the other one."
"...You gave it to my sister Esella. I delivered it, but I don't know if she'll wear it."
She didn't realize that the word "sister" would be such an unfamiliar and awkward pronunciation.
Olivia murmured "sister" once more in her mouth.
It was a designation that would gradually become more unfamiliar. Olivia smiled faintly.
Edwin, who had been carefully watching her, slowly opened his mouth.
"Why do your eyes look so sad when you think of your sister?"
Sad, I just wanted to see Esella...
Olivia, who had been thinking absentmindedly, blinked.
That wasn't it.
A family she wanted to see. A sister she always cherished and loved. A beloved sister she couldn't approach for fear that her rumors would be a disgrace.
But the emotions she was feeling now were a little more complicated than that. She was still affectionate, but also sad on the one hand. She felt sorry for her, but also upset because of her.
So.
"...I'm sad, as Edwin said."
The voice that came out of her lips became soft. Her nose tingled. The more she thought about it, the sadder she felt, so Olivia bit her lip and looked at Edwin.
It's because of Edwin. She didn't want to think about it. She thought it would be okay if she covered it all up, but the story came up and she remembered it again.
"...I wish she had just listened to me for one word."
It couldn't be helped if it was a clumsy complaint. In fact, at that time, she wanted to say just one word to Esella. That I didn't do anything.
"...Did Esella not listen to me because I kept postponing promises to ‘next time’?"
Esella's friend's tea party that she always talked about, or the coffee house they were supposed to go to together, debutante preparations, etc. Countless things that Esella wanted and Olivia postponed came to mind.
Then Olivia smiled a little. She had decided to stop looking for reasons in herself.
All sorts of complicated thoughts stirred in her head.
Nevertheless.
"...But I hated those words."
"Did our mother really die because of you, sister?"
That one word that Esella had said was like a lump in her throat. Olivia slowly looked at Edwin. He wouldn't even know what she was saying. Edwin was staring intently only at her.
With an expression that she couldn't even fathom.
"...Then I must look very ugly."
It was a strangely low voice.
But Olivia couldn't nod. She was upset and sad, and maybe she even hated her sincerely.
"...I still want to see her."
She heard that she had collapsed. She wanted to see if she was okay. Esella.
Edwin, who had been silent, shrugged. It sounded like he was sighing, and it also sounded subtly regretful.
"...The Madeleine Dukedom must be generally lucky."
Olivia blinked at the sudden story of the Madeleine Dukedom.
"And Madeleine is the luckiest person among them."
Madeleine.
Edwin always called her Miss.
So, there was only one lucky Madeleine he would mention in that way. Olivia swallowed without realizing it.
She felt anxious and subtly depressed. Her heart was beating fast.
Edwin continued in a low voice.
"...Madeleine came to the Grand Duke's Residence. She said she wanted to see Olivia."
Thump. Her heart seemed to drop heavily for some reason. Olivia clenched her trembling hands tightly. Edwin looked at Olivia.
"What do you want to do?"
The decision was entirely up to Olivia.
