Chapter 38
#038. Solidifying Faith and Anxious Heart
Olivia's heart fluttered as she watched the carriage disappear into the distance.
Was it because she saw Esella, whom she thought she would never see again? Or was it because she forgave Esella? Or was it because she heard that Conrad had come?
Olivia couldn't easily tell.
"...Is there anything you're forgetting because of your meeting with your sister?"
She was swallowing her heavy emotions when a subtle voice made Olivia's eyes widen.
"How long have you been here?"
"Since a while ago, Olivia. Don't change the subject and quickly remember what you're forgetting."
Since a while ago? She really didn't notice him at all. But Edwin was looking at Olivia with a sulky face, as if telling her not to think about anything else.
What she was forgetting.
Olivia thought hard, but nothing specific came to mind.
She looked at Sobel behind her, gesturing for a hint, but Sobel just shrugged.
"...What am I forgetting?"
"Wow. That's too much. I'm still upset, you know."
Hmph. Edwin coldly turned his head away.
Come to think of it, they were talking about how she wasn't wearing the necklace Edwin had bought her earlier, but then the conversation shifted to the story of Esella's arrival.
But Olivia wasn't anxious even at Edwin's words that he was upset.
If he wanted to pretend to be upset, he should at least show some disappointment in his eyes. The way he looked at her was as affectionate as ever.
To the point where she wanted to tease him.
So Olivia pretended not to know and tilted her head exaggeratedly.
"...That's strange. When was Edwin upset?"
"If you come out like that, I'll really make the jewelers line up in front of your door from tomorrow morning?"
Olivia shook her head at his threatening tone. And she raised her palm as a sign of surrender, as if admitting defeat.
"That's unfair, Edwin. Do you have to win against me like this?"
"That's what happens when you only taste victory, Olivia. It's such a sweet thing. You know that too, Olivia."
Edwin winked at Olivia as if seeking agreement. Olivia chuckled and nodded. She vividly remembered how pleased she was the first day she didn't get pushed around by the Princess.
"Well, yes, but. There's no special benefit to winning against me, is there?"
"At least I can ask you for a walk, right?"
Edwin smiled mischievously and held out his hand. Olivia chuckled and placed her hand on his.
"Anytime."
.
.
.
The cool night air felt better than expected. The cool breeze seemed to soothe her flushed eyes.
She heard the sound of carriage wheels turning. The carriage that had taken Esella was returning from the opposite direction. Olivia smiled faintly.
"At this rate, the front of the Grand Duke's Residence will become a meeting place for House Madeleine."
Jade came once, Esella came once, and even Conrad passed by, so it was fair to say it was a meeting place.
It was a joke, but Edwin's eyes widened and blinked. Shadows fell on his beautiful face each time his eyelashes fluttered.
"Maybe I'm saying the same thing as you?"
"Edwin thought so too?"
"Of course. The number of visits from Madeleine is a whopping three times."
Then Edwin glanced at Olivia's expression.
"...Are you okay, Olivia?"
"About what?"
"I just asked. Never mind."
Edwin quickly changed the subject. What was that about? Olivia pondered. Then she narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly.
"...No matter how I think about it, Edwin is so considerate. Are you worried that I might be upset because the young Duke came to pick up Esella?"
Edwin didn't answer. The corners of Olivia's lips curved into a smile.
Olivia shrugged and spoke first.
"I was fine, though."
It was always like that. So she didn't really care. No, to be more precise, there was another reason why she was okay.
Olivia smiled mischievously and blocked Edwin's path. And before Edwin could ask why, she shrugged and said,
"Now that I'm going out, Edwin will come to pick me up, right?"
Anywhere, anytime.
She had a firm belief that Edwin would come to pick her up.
"Well... because you're here, Miss?"
So she was okay. Because from some point on, Edwin had taken up much more of her attention than Conrad, who had never come to pick her up even once.
Edwin's red eyes slowly curved. Olivia felt shy at their meeting gaze and looked away.
"What should I do, Olivia?"
"About what?"
"Even though you shake me so unknowingly."
Edwin faced Olivia with affection. His sighing voice was terribly sweet.
"I can't help but be helplessly swayed."
"What is it?"
Edwin's expression, genuinely troubled, was so affectionate that Olivia burst into a small laugh.
The wind, which had only felt cool, was now tickling her playfully.
* * *
"...Therefore, I plan to have the Grand Duke and the Princess attend the meeting tomorrow. At that time, I will talk about the 'one-year grace period,' so everyone should be aware of that."
The Emperor spoke with dignity in the nobles' meeting hall.
No sooner had the Emperor finished speaking than Duke Giovanni Madeleine clenched his fist tightly. He tried to prevent the uncontrollable anger from running wild, but it was no use.
The nobles next to him had already noticed the Duke Madeleine's angry state and whispered among themselves.
"So, isn't what His Majesty is saying that? Either return the first Princess to her place during the one-year grace period, or raise the second Princess as the Crown Princess Consort."
"To summarize, that would be it."
"No. Surely the Duke wouldn't offer his second Princess, would he? The daughter he cherishes so much?"
"Then will the first Princess, who received the Grand Duke's proposal, come back?"
"Who knows? We all know how much the first Princess liked His Highness the Crown Prince."
Just as the whispering voices grew louder, the Emperor slammed his fist on the table.
With a bang, the meeting hall became as quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.
"Everyone is noisy. That's enough for today's meeting. Everyone, leave."
The Emperor's eyebrows twitched. Showing his displeasure, the nobles left the meeting hall, regardless of whether they were from the Emperor's faction or the noble faction. Except for one person, Duke Giovanni Madeleine.
"...Duke, why aren't you leaving?"
Even though he knew this would happen, the Emperor deliberately spoke to the Duke with an indifferent face. The Duke barely loosened his stiff lips and spoke to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty. A one-year grace period? Please reconsider."
"What should I reconsider? Isn't it already over with the story that ended at the meeting?"
"Fourteen years ago, didn't you end the story you shared with me at that time as well?"
A coldness dripped from the Duke's voice. The Emperor frowned and glared at the Duke.
"Duke! What kind of disrespectful expression are you making towards me right now!"
"...I apologize. Your Majesty. But please keep the promise to which Madeleine pledged its loyalty. You clearly said that my second daughter would be excluded from the Crown Princess Consort candidates."
But the Emperor himself knew best that the Duke's expression would not be resolved like this.
"...It is Madeleine's bloodline. If you accept that child as the Crown Princess Consort, Madeleine's loyalty will continue to follow Your Majesty firmly."
The Emperor slowly nodded. He had certainly made a promise with the Duke.
"...That's right. But what can I do? The situation has changed."
"Your Majesty!"
"Then you should have managed your daughter well, Duke."
The Emperor said calmly. The Duke lowered his head. It was obvious that a furious expression was hidden beneath that lowered head. But instead of scolding that disrespect, the Emperor had a productive conversation.
"How could the Crown Prince's fiancée receive the Grand Duke's proposal? Even if I don't want to say it, I can't help but wonder how to deal with this shameful matter."
"..."
"Goodness. Is that even possible, Duke? The Crown Prince's fiancée, who will lead this Franz in the future, even accepted the Grand Duke's proposal."
The Emperor snorted and rolled his eyes.
The bad relationship with the Grand Duke Bikander family continued to his son's generation. It was a funny thing.
But he couldn't let Leopold follow in his footsteps. That child had to trample the Grand Duke in a better way. It would be even better if he couldn't recover again.
So the Emperor smiled benevolently at the Duke.
"...I don't want to break my promise with the Duke either. I know very well how much the Duke cherishes his second daughter."
"..."
"I am now giving you another chance. Even postponing the wish I made as Emperor."
The strength in the Duke's shoulders began to loosen little by little. At that moment, the Emperor's eyes met the Duke's with a warning.
"So, Duke. Don't disappoint me. If you have time for this, it would be better to talk to the first Princess before tomorrow's meeting."
"...I will obey your command. Your Majesty."
The Duke, with a stiff face, bowed to the Emperor. The Emperor nodded greatly with a generous heart. And when the Duke left the meeting hall, the Emperor burst into laughter in a loud voice.
"Hahaha. How can things turn out so pleasantly?"
Perhaps the nobles who had returned a little while ago were already spreading the word. If the words were embellished in the meantime, interesting things would surely happen.
A one-year grace period.
It was a good way to package it as clarifying the succession of a woman who had a marital relationship with the Imperial Family, but in reality, it was no different from tearing apart the woman's chastity.
Olivia Madeleine had been engaged to the Crown Prince for eleven years. It would be stranger if there was no talk about it.
A new scandal for a Princess with many scandals. He wondered if the Princess would remain by the Grand Duke's side as she was, even if the words that would disappear without a trace if she came to Leopold's side.
"...Chamberlain."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Chamberlain, who had been standing by, approached the Emperor.
The corners of the Emperor's lips turned up crookedly.
"Write a letter to the Grand Duke. We should at least let him know that there is a meeting."
"I will send someone right away,"
"No."
At the words filled with a languid smile, the Chamberlain lowered his head. The Emperor's eyes turned up coldly.
"Do it leisurely. Tomorrow, an hour before the start of the meeting would be good."
At that time, it would be a time when it would be difficult to even come to the meeting properly. The Chamberlain did not answer.
At the natural agreement, the Emperor smiled cruelly. As if wishing for someone's destruction.
* * *
Golden twilight fell over Tiaje Palace. Maria Etel clasped her hands together and raised them near her chest. At that moment, Leopold said affectionately.
"Maria. I will welcome you as my fiancée."
Ah, ah. Maria let out a soft exclamation through her parted lips. A surge of emotion sparkled in her clear blue eyes, and soon tears welled up.
Leopold's fiancée.
She had sensed it from the moment Leopold raised his handsome lips, saying there was good news. But the reality before her eyes was an overwhelming thing that could not be compared to anything else.
Leopold hugged and comforted Maria Etel, who was sobbing as if she was moved, as if she was pretty.
"Hahaha. Are you that happy?"
"...Of course, Your Highness. You don't know how much I've been waiting for this day."
Maria's voice, soaked in joy, was cut off intermittently.
Now Leopold was really becoming her lover, a more than official relationship.
How could she not be overwhelmed? From the first time she saw Leopold, that half-baked Olivia had occupied the position of fiancée.
She was different from that half-baked one. As a descendant of the noble Marquis Etel family, she could serve the Empress and expand the power of the noble faction. She quickly envisioned herself becoming Empress through the Crown Princess Consort.
Leopold and she would do better than any Emperor and Empress in history. Because they loved each other so strongly.
"Are you that happy? Then you can fulfill your role as fiancée well for a year, right?"
"Yes?"
For a moment, Maria doubted her ears. For a year? Leopold must have misspoke.
"L-Leopold. W-What do you mean."
She had to act smart and clear-cut like a prospective Crown Princess Consort. Maria stammered. It was something she had never done before because she was afraid of looking stupid, but she couldn't speak easily because she was flustered.
"What is it, Maria?"
"T-That, for a year. What do you mean?"
Leopold smiled handsomely as if he had finally understood. Maria was a little relieved because the smile was that of an affectionate lover. And she said with confidence.
"The fiancée position is only for a year? You misspoke, right?"
"I said it accurately, Maria."
"Yes?"
Maria's face turned pale. Leopold smiled languidly and stroked Maria's cheek.
"Olivia is vacating her position with a one-year grace period. Instead, you will officially occupy my side for that one year."
The sweet feeling of running above the clouds was instantly dragged to the ground. Maria blinked. She had no doubt that it would be the happiest day in the world.
This was a nightmare.
Maria, blinking her eyes, was really as pretty as a doll. Leopold kissed her hair.
"If the Madeleine Princess..."
Maria Etel smiled with difficulty. Leopold, who had always loved her, seemed somehow distant today.
"If the Princess doesn't come back, then of course I will become Your Highness's Consort, right?"
"Maria."
Leopold's eyes, looking at her reproachfully, were cold. Thump. As Maria's heart fell below the floor, Leopold broke his cold expression and smiled mischievously.
"...That can't be."
He shattered Maria's swollen chest in an instant.
What does it mean that it can't be? Does it mean that the Princess will definitely come back? Or.
Does it mean that I can't become the Consort?
"I believe that you will fulfill your role as my fiancée well even for a year. Right?"
The relationship that Leopold defined was clear and certain. An official relationship for a year. Then what will happen after that?
Again. Will I only have to hear the sound of a mistress?
Leopold gently stroked Maria's head. Maria blinked her eyes, stiff and frozen.
She couldn't believe it. She had thought that the half-baked one was interfering with her and Leopold's love. Even though that half-baked one had disappeared, Leopold, who didn't take her side.
It was as if she was seeing him for the first time.
Who is the person who is hugging me now with the face of a lover?
Maria Etel's expectations were shattered. The sharp fragments that broke so sharply pierced Maria Etel's pure heart.
Before she knew it, the sun had set and Tiaje Palace was shining silver again. Maria suddenly thought of Olivia Madeleine in the cold moonlight, as if mocking her broken expectations.
"Do you want to be a mistress?"
A soft voice flashed through her mind, and Maria Etel shook her head. She absolutely didn't want to miss it. She was going to turn this time of one year into eternity. And Maria Etel was confident.
A deep desire spread over her blue eyes.
