Translator: Nox

Chapter 51

#051. Dian Szelin's Inner Thoughts

The carriage slowly departed.

Only when Yeniv Street was far behind did Olivia look out the window.

Dian was on horseback, maintaining a steady distance alongside the carriage. His posture, always upright in Olivia's presence, was slightly slumped.

It was fortunate that the sunset was behind Dian. Otherwise, his face would have been clearly visible. That was not what Olivia wanted. Perhaps Dian felt the same.

Olivia drew the curtain on the window. Amidst the sound of the horse's snorting from outside, Olivia pondered the events of earlier.

"...May I escort you to the Ducal Palace now?"

Dian awkwardly changed the subject when she mentioned his Lens. And only after confirming that she was in the carriage, ready to depart, did he briefly turn away.

When he said they would depart again, Dian's eyes were perfectly brown. But Olivia could not forget the green eyes she had seen beneath the brown.

Until now, Olivia had thought that Dian's animosity was simply because she was a princess of the Emperor's faction, and because of his deep loyalty to Vikander. Like some of the Knights who would stare intently at her and then look away when their eyes met.

But looking back, Dian had hated her with a particularly noticeable intensity.

"...A defense mechanism, perhaps?"

But the fact that he got along well with the children on Yeniv Street lingered in her mind, making it seem unlikely that he hated her so much more because he didn't want to be caught with green eyes.

Then what was the reason he specifically disliked her?

Olivia blinked rapidly. To be so concerned about finding out why someone disliked her.

She hadn't bothered to find out why people disliked her in the past.

A bastard, a half-blood. Or the unloved fiancée of the Crown Prince. So many scandals represented her. She had assumed the reason lay among them and had only done her best for the people she loved.

But the current her.

"Do as you wish."

She wanted to love everyone in Vikander. And at the same time, she wanted to be loved by everyone just as much.

Strangely, she kept being drawn to Vikander, and the people of Vikander. She felt ready to love them all.

Even if it was greedy, it was okay. The words "Do as you wish" were already imprinted on Olivia like a spell.

.

.

.

The drawing room after dinner.

Just as when they lived in the Grand Duke's Residence, the routine of having warm tea together after dinner, after being apart during the day, remained the same even after coming to the Territory of Vikander.

Normally, they would talk about what they had each done during the day while they were apart. But today, Edwin, who was looking at her with an intrigued expression, brought up an unexpected topic.

"...Did Dian get caught, or did Olivia notice?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dian's Lens."

Olivia caught her breath. She had been so careful not to reveal that she knew, thinking that Dian's wearing Lens might be a secret, and had launched into a long explanation about her visit to Yeniv.

Startled, the two questions she wanted to ask Edwin became tangled.

"...How did you know? No, did you know?"

"If I were to answer how I knew that Olivia knew about Dian's Lens first..."

Edwin smiled knowingly, as if he had understood perfectly, and glanced out the open window.

It was a dark night, but the training grounds were brightly lit.

It was hard to see who was there beyond the dense trees, but she thought she could hear shouts like battle cries.

"...It's a habit of Dian's. Whenever someone discovers his Lens, he trains like that as a way of venting his frustration."

One answer solved the second question as well. Olivia asked another question.

"Did he get caught often?"

"Almost every day until a few years ago. Aside from the people who saw Dian when he first came here, everyone probably found out that way. He wasn't used to Lens back then."

She had vaguely heard that when you first wear Lens, it feels foreign and uncomfortable in your eyes.

"Bethany even offered to cast a permanent spell to change his eye color, but he refused. Eventually, he got used to Lens."

One of Olivia's eyebrows rose in question as she listened silently.

Something was strange. He trains like that to vent his frustration when he gets caught, but he refused the magic and used Lens, which carried the risk of being discovered?

The words didn't add up. But Edwin continued in a low voice.

"He hadn't done that for a while after getting used to Lens, but when I saw him doing that today, I knew Olivia had caught him. I'm sure everyone else guessed too."

"...Do you know why Sir Szelin insists on using Lens?"

Olivia's voice trembled slightly. If she heard the answer to that, she might be able to understand why Dian Szelin was hostile to her.

Edwin's red lips moved slowly. It was the moment Olivia's heart rate quickened.

"...That's something I can't tell you."

It was a slightly apologetic smile.

Ah. The strength in her fist, which she had been clenching without realizing it, relaxed.

She had clearly been the one to request neutrality, but she had almost crossed the line. Olivia forced a smile to hide her disappointment.

"I see, thank you."

"Instead."

As soon as Olivia finished speaking, Edwin continued. His red eyes, curved into a gentle crescent shape, looked at Olivia affectionately.

"Instead of Dian's personal secret, it would be okay to tell you something that everyone in the Ducal Palace knows, right?"

Olivia nodded.

Something everyone knows. And at the same time, something only she doesn't know.

"Dian knows more about the rumors surrounding 'Olivia Madelaine' than anyone else."

"Is that so?"

Olivia smiled slightly. It wasn't a very surprising statement. It was the perfect reason to hate her.

"I guess it's not as surprising as you thought."

I thought you'd be much more surprised. Edwin pouted his red lips as if disappointed.

"Because I had a feeling."

"Then how about this?"

His languid voice was somehow secretive. When his red eyes, which looked at her as if bewitching her, sparkled eerily.

"What if it was Dian who vehemently refuted those rumors here in Vikander?"

That can't be.

Olivia immediately denied it. Edwin shrugged.

"It's true. He even went to pubs that specifically carried the Empire's newspapers, you know? I even banned him from those pubs because he was so busy memorizing Olivia's rumors and ranting about how they were fabricated."

Her eyes, which had widened in surprise, blinked slowly. Many changes in thought passed over her serene face. As those traces accumulated, a firm resolve was reflected on her clear face.

Edwin knew very well.

How steadfast his little lady was. That she was strong enough to cut off the family she had clung to for fourteen long years.

So when Olivia looked up.

"I need to see Sir Szelin now."

Edwin smiled and nodded.

As if he had expected it.

* * *

Alone in the training grounds.

Thud-. With a sharp metallic sound, Dian collapsed to the ground.

A strong shock spread throughout the hand that was holding the sword. His legs were trembling, and sweat was pouring down his body like rain. He could have collapsed right there.

But.

"...Sir. Are you perhaps wearing Lens?"

No matter how much he trained and exhausted his body, he couldn't erase the voice of the princess asking him that question.

"...I should have listened when Bethany offered to cast a spell."

Dian squeezed his eyes shut at the regret that leaked through his teeth.

Damn it. Damn it, damn it!

Everyone knew his eyes were green, but he didn't want that noble princess to know!

Dropping the sword, Dian scratched his head roughly. He wished he could turn back time. What was that last remaining attachment that made him reject Bethany's magic!

"I don't know much about training."

Dian was startled and looked up at the sudden familiar voice.

He thought it was a hallucination. Otherwise, there was no way he wouldn't have sensed her approach until she was this close.

But what was approaching him was definitely Olivia Madelaine. The rose-colored dress he had seen earlier, the fine silver hair shimmering coldly in the moonlight, the elegant face. And,

"If you train like that, it will be difficult for you to escort me tomorrow, Sir Szelin."

Even the green eyes that were looking straight at Dian.

"...Greetings, Princess."

"I would like to take a walk for a while. Would it be alright if I asked you to escort me?"

"...I have just finished training and will smell unpleasant. If you wait a moment, I will bring another Knight."

"I'm fine. Shall we go then?"

Dian eventually lowered his head. Olivia nodded and began to walk.

.

.

.

The night in Vikander was dyed pitch black. The chirping of the crickets was similar to what he had heard in the Grand Duke's Residence in the Empire.

Olivia chuckled and looked around the garden. Then she glanced at the Ducal Palace and asked Dian.

"I think it was around here. Is that right?"

"...What are you referring to?"

His voice sounded like he was dying to avoid answering. Olivia smiled kindly, as if she didn't mind, and replied.

"The place where Sir Szelin glared at me."

"...!"

At Olivia's words, Dian finally looked around at the place where he was standing.

It was true. The first day the Grand Duke and the princess returned. The place where he had glared at Olivia Madelaine, who was on the balcony of the Ducal Palace in the distance.

"...Why did you come here?"

"I thought I might be able to understand why you glared at me if I came here."

Olivia quietly looked at the Ducal Palace and shook her head. Then she turned around to face Dian.

"...I don't understand. So please tell me directly. Why do you hate me so much?"

"...Why do you want to know that?"

Dian answered a beat late. Even though the training was over, his heart was beating abnormally fast.

He couldn't even tell whether he wanted to hear the princess's answer or not.

"I want to love everyone in Vikander, and I want to be loved by them in return."

The moment he heard the gentle voice like the spring sunshine, a hot emotion welled up from his stomach.

He had to hold it in. Dian clenched his fists tightly and closed his mouth. But the straight gaze that was looking at him drew Dian in.

The green eyes that Dian had wanted to avoid so much blinked slowly and curved into a crescent shape.

"Of course, the people of Yeniv too. Sir Szelin as well."

"You are truly amazing."

He couldn't hold it in any longer. Before he knew it, a sarcastic voice came out. Dian looked down at Olivia with sharp, cold eyes.

He would have preferred it if she had been surprised and hurt by his words. But this noble princess quietly closed her mouth and faced him with a serene face.

The moment he saw that face, Dian couldn't control himself.

"Why did you, who want to love everyone and be loved by everyone so much, do that?"

Like a dam that had been built up firmly, Dian lashed out fiercely.

"Why did you covet other people's things and cause a ruckus at the Tea Party? Why...!"

50% of the negative articles in the Empire's newspapers were about the Madeleine princess.

The half-blooded princess with green eyes shamelessly coveted other people's things somewhere, caused a ruckus somewhere. She used vile tactics to torment others.

Even Dian, who had initially refuted the rumors as fabrications, eventually became exhausted by the countless gossip that poured out.

Every time, Dian wanted to ask just once.

"What were you lacking, Princess, who is so dearly loved that you can proudly carry around your green eyes?"

"..."

"If you have the generosity to think about the people of Yeniv like this now. Couldn't you have been more restrained back then, thinking about the people with green eyes even a little bit?"

"..."

"...Aren't you the only one who isn't persecuted by people just because you have green eyes?"

The thick emotion that couldn't be filtered out flowed out as it was. Even as he felt it, Dian couldn't close his mouth.

"...Of course, even if I, a lowly person, say this, I'm sure the precious princess wouldn't care about how other green-eyed people live."

In the end, Dian muttered like a sigh.

"Whether they had to wear Lens and hide their eyes to avoid being bullied, or whether they had to cast permanent magic. Or whether they thought it would be nice if they could walk around with their green eyes as they are without any problems."

Under the quiet night sky, a resigned voice echoed clearly.

"...It's not something that concerns you, Princess, who has always been loved."