Translator: Nox

Chapter 50

#050. What a Blatantly Hostile Person Was Hiding

The Ducal Palace's dining hall, bathed in bright morning sunlight.

It was nearing the end of breakfast, but the servants standing along the walls lowered their heads, stifling laughter, and perked up their ears.

"I slept very well last night, you know?"

The young lady spoke, gazing into the distance as if making excuses.

"…I heard a report that you visited the library late at night, though?"

The Grand Duke's voice was gentle, but his words were a soft rebuke.

Ever since the esteemed young lady had come to the Territory of Vikander, mornings had begun like this.

Most of the time, the young lady would achieve what she wanted with a bright smile, but occasionally, like today, the Grand Duke would gain the upper hand. A flustered look crossed the young lady's face.

"…I went to get a book to read in the morning."

Olivia smiled sheepishly at her own flimsy excuse, trying to look as pretty as possible. Edwin's stern face gradually softened, as if he couldn't help it.

"…Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Doing what?"

"Knowing that it makes me go soft."

"Of course, that's why I'm doing it."

Olivia replied pertly. Edwin's lips curved upward slightly.

"Then do you also know this?"

"Know what?"

"That every time Olivia does that, I feel like a captured fish, wanting to beg for affection."

Edwin's eyes darkened as he gestured towards Olivia's wrist. In an instant, the inside of Olivia's wrist felt as hot as if it had been burned. Her heart pounded at the memory of his lips touching her wrist.

How! How could he say such a thing in front of so many people?

It was fortunate that she was the only one in the dining hall who could understand those words.

Olivia's mind raced as she gaped, unable to speak. It suddenly occurred to her that his words were like a subtle, secret language just for the two of them.

A blush rose on Olivia's peach-colored cheeks. She shouldn't be getting excited about this. Olivia deliberately glared at Edwin and stood up from her seat.

A smile lingered in Edwin's eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take a nap."

It was early for a nap, but Edwin didn't bother to point it out.

If the young lady, fleeing like a rabbit, were to glance back even once more, he would be overcome with the urge to follow her, she was so adorable.

Instead, Edwin smacked his lips and watched Olivia's retreating figure. The hem of her rose-like dress billowed out magnificently.

At some point, the colors of Olivia's dresses had become increasingly vibrant. The ornaments she wore in her hair had also become more diverse. Edwin knew better than anyone that all of this was Bethany's handiwork.

"Escort?"

"I don't need one!"

.

.

.

"Why do you keep teasing her? What if the young lady really gets upset?"

"I'm the one who's about to get upset."

Edwin let out a heavy breath at Howard's words. He clenched and unclenched his fist under the tablecloth.

It was unfair that she always acted so lovely and ran away whenever he teased her like that.

Edwin stared at the seat where Olivia had been sitting. He swallowed hard at the memory of her face, eyes narrowed in a pout.

"…Still, the young lady has become much brighter. She even ate a piece of Meringue Cookie today."

"Did she?"

Edwin looked at Olivia's plate at Howard's words. On the day she was sick and drowsy, her voice, saying that sweets would make her fat, had painfully lingered in his mind. It had pained him to see her deliberately avoiding the sweets he made sure to have on hand.

Today, one Meringue Cookie was missing from Olivia's plate.

"Don't cry. So, laugh with me."

He knew she was originally a strong and resilient person.

But he hadn't expected her to bloom so vibrantly in such a short amount of time.

Edwin collapsed onto the table, losing all composure.

That innocent young lady's face turned red just from having her wrist kissed.

And he was becoming increasingly desperate for Olivia. Her sweet scent, the way her eyes curved when she smiled, her straight, green gaze.

No, Olivia herself.

The uncontrollable feelings kept leaking out.

But he would wait. He wanted to be the man who was most suitable for Olivia more than anyone else.

Edwin took another breath. And he jumped up from his seat.

"…Let's go train."

Mental discipline was the best thing for times like these. Howard's impassive face clouded over just a little.

"Don't you feel anything?"

Bethany asked Dian leisurely, watching Olivia ascend the stairs.

"…No, I don't."

Dian answered, pretending to be nonchalant, but his brown eyes were also wavering slightly. It had started yesterday on Yeniv Street. The young lady's unusual interest in Yeniv Street was different from what Dian had thought.

For the esteemed young lady to even try to take charge of the redevelopment of Yeniv Street, the lowest place in Vikander.

What on earth was she up to? Still, the red-rimmed eyes he had seen yesterday continued to bother him.

In the end, Dian ran a hand through his hair roughly. He didn't know why an arrogant duchess who was known for her scandals was confusing him so much.

"Don't tell me you have lice or something?"

Dian's body instinctively stiffened at the voice that came with a languid laugh. It was the Grand Duke. Dian immediately paid his respects.

"…Greetings, Your Grace."

He always respected the Grand Duke. To rebuild a crumbling family so prosperously and strongly. Above all, he was Dian's savior, having saved him from being beaten to death.

Therefore, Dian always looked at the Grand Duke with fervent eyes, as if wanting to become like him.

But today, Dian seemed uncomfortable, constantly shrinking back. His stomach felt uneasy, as if he had swallowed a hot potato. In the end, Dian sighed and lowered his head.

"…I apologize, Your Grace."

"For what?"

"…I have presumptuously shown disloyal behavior towards the young lady to whom Your Grace has sworn an oath, due to my own independent judgment."

In Vikander, where order moved with a sharper edge than anywhere else, it was impossible for him to object to the duchess who would become the Grand Duchess.

That was why he had been avoiding the Grand Duke. Dian waited for the Grand Duke's punishment, taking a trembling breath.

"…I don't know anything about that?"

"Yes?"

His head, which had been lowered deeply, shot up. The Grand Duke shrugged, smiling ambiguously.

"My young lady asked me to do this. When she goes to the Territory of Vikander, she wants me to let her see if people welcome her or not."

"…."

"So, I'm watching now. It's up to Olivia to decide how to deal with you."

Dian's mind became as tangled as a skein of yarn. The rumors he had heard were clearly that the duchess was an arrogant young lady. If he told the Grand Duke, he could easily deal with a mere knight like him.

Why did that young lady keep acting differently from the rumors and from what he thought?

"Instead, let's go train."

"…Yes?"

Dian's body creaked like an unoiled door. The Grand Duke wrapped his arm around Dian's neck, smiling brightly with his beautiful face.

"I'm very eager for a sparring match right now. Perfect. Dian can be my opponent."

Anyone could tell that there was a desperate emotion beneath his lightly spoken words. Dian hurriedly looked around. But even the servants and knights avoided his gaze.

War hero. Ruthless Monarch of the North. Murderer.

Dian, who had seen him up close, knew best how merciless the Grand Duke was, unlike his breathtakingly beautiful face. If he was dragged away by the Grand Duke like this, he would have to escort the duchess to Yeniv Street, tattered and torn.

He suddenly met Howard's eyes. Howard mouthed to Dian, who was trying to ask for help.

'I won't go far.'

Olivia went up to her room and sat at her desk. She fanned her flushed cheeks with her hand and glared sweetly at the closed door.

"Honestly. Always playing tricks like this."

More precisely, at Edwin, whom she couldn't see.

Just calling Edwin's name made Olivia's eyes curve into a smile.

It was all Edwin's name's fault.

A beautiful name that sparkled even in pronunciation.

Shaking her head, Olivia took out her diary from the drawer. It was a diary Hanna had bought for her when she was at the Grand Duke's Residence.

• I didn't do anything.

Olivia smiled faintly at the words that appeared as soon as she opened the first page. Every time she looked at the messy letters, the day she erased Madeleine came back to her vividly.

Even as she recalled that day, Olivia could now smile. Because the new diary was filled with only good things.

• I can turn Sir Dian Szelin's heart to me.

• My eyes are especially pretty. I think so too.

• I can make Yeniv Street a place where children want to live. My name will be on this proposal. I can do it.

Now, the diary was no longer a pledge that confined Olivia.

It was full of hope for herself. Olivia, who was smiling pleasantly, noticed an incomplete sentence in her diary.

• And I can tell Edwin.

A pledge with a missing object.

Olivia quietly ran her finger over the letters. She felt the texture of the paper where the pen had pressed down and quietly picked up her pen.

One more sentence was added where the scratching sound had passed.

• I'll tell him after I've finished writing the plan for Yeniv Street.

"…I do."

Olivia's eyes widened at the sincerity that had leaked out without her knowing. She covered her mouth and looked around the room. Olivia's face turned bright red as she confirmed that there was no one in the room.

An empty lot a little away from the entrance to Yeniv Street.

"Do you really think that Yeniv Street needs something unique to it?"

• I can turn Sir Dian Szelin's heart to me.

Should she erase that sentence?

Olivia pondered for a moment, thinking about her diary at Dian's blunt voice. Dian, who knew Yeniv Street better than anyone, objected to Olivia's plans at every turn.

"Then do you think it's better for Yeniv Street to remain as it is?"

"No, I'm not sure about that."

Judging from the way he was stammering and not answering properly, it seemed like he was just saying that because he didn't like her.

In the end, Olivia took a light breath and straightened her body, looking at Dian. Dian flinched for a moment, then met Olivia's gaze with a blunt look.

"Sir, you really don't like me in a way that's very obvious."

"…I apologize if you felt that way."

"If I'm that uncomfortable for you, I'll change my escort Knight first. I need to clean up this Yeniv quickly."

Because that way, she could tell Edwin more confidently. But Dian, who didn't know that meaning, spoke with a flushed face.

"That's why! Why is an esteemed young lady interested in this Yeniv that she doesn't even know well… Ah!"

Then he suddenly grabbed his right eye.

Olivia, who had been at odds with him, looked at him with worried eyes as he seemed to be in pain. Then her eyes widened.

"…Sir. Are you wearing Lens?"

A glimpse of green pupils could be seen under Dian's brown eyes.

Color Lens that had once been popular even in the capital.

Dian bit his lip at the fact that Olivia had seen through him.

He looked devastated, as if he had been caught doing something he never wanted to be caught doing.