Translator: Nox

Chapter 65

#065. The appearance of Lovers I See for the First Time

The dining hall of Tiaje Palace.

"…And so, I was looking at documents all day today."

Unlike Maria Etel, who was reciting her day's work in an excited voice, the Crown Prince stared at the white plate with a stiff face.

Baroness Sophron, standing by the wall, even held her breath. The atmosphere was not good.

Leopold's handsome eyes were gradually turning sharp.

"By the way, Leopold, why aren't you eating much today?"

Maria Etel seemed to have noticed the Crown Prince's condition. Baroness Sophron was slightly relieved by her coquettish voice.

The Crown Prince had a soft spot for his lover's lovely appearance. She thought that his frowning brow would soon be smoothed out.

"…It smells."

So, when an unexpectedly cold voice fell, the dining hall froze as if cold water had been poured on it.

A smell in the dish for the supreme Crown Prince to eat.

Not only Baroness Sophron but also everyone standing there felt a chill down their spines.

"What is this in His Highness's food…!"

"I am sorry, Your Highness."

At the same time as Maria shouted sharply, Baroness Sophron rushed over and apologized. The sight of the servants kneeling in rows seemed to Leopold to be in slow motion.

Leopold stared at them blankly and then looked back at the table.

Someone seemed to have quickly taken away the plate that contained the food. Even though the appetizing smell had disappeared, a terribly sweet smell still lingered.

Where was that smell coming from? Even when he looked around fiercely, it seemed like the sweet smell was coming from everywhere.

Leopold finally jumped up from his seat.

He said dryly to the eyes that were looking at him like aspen leaves.

"…Maybe it's because I have a headache today. I'm tired. I should go in."

"Leopold…!"

Maria was anxious. Today was the day she had to say that the engagement ceremony should be included in the Summer Ball schedule. She had to somehow settle the insufficient budget by today.

Perhaps because of her desperate call, Leopold turned to look at Maria for a moment. And Maria did not miss that golden opportunity.

"Then, how about some tea? If you have it with sweet refreshments, your headache might ease a little."

Maria smiled brightly and offered. Leopold looked at Maria's lovely face for a moment.

He stood up to avoid the terrible sweet smell, but she was offering sweet refreshments.

As Leopold was about to refuse, a scene of the tidy Tiaje Palace suddenly flashed through his mind.

A serene landscape that spread softly like a watercolor painting. It felt like he could breathe a little in his head, which had been stuffy like a dark cloud.

Leopold stared at Maria for a long time.

'I knew it.' Maria curled up the corners of her lips. With the smile that Leopold liked the most, she subtly tugged at his sleeve.

"…It would be even better if I could relieve Leopold's fatigue."

Leopold nodded.

Maria, who had become elated, looked down at the maids as if she had won a great victory.

His Highness the Crown Prince had yielded to her. So, the owner of this palace is naturally the beloved Maria Etel.

All the maids understood that meaning and bowed their heads. Thanks to that, everyone missed Leopold's eyes, which were somehow empty.

.

.

.

After the Crown Prince and Maria left the dining hall, the chefs, who had belatedly heard the news, hurriedly ran into the dining hall.

"Chef."

Without paying attention to the resentful glances of the servants, the chefs hurriedly checked the dishes hidden in the trolley.

After smelling and tasting them for a while, the chefs looked at each other with puzzled faces.

"It just smells delicious?"

"Really. There's no fishy smell of meat or anything like that. The fruit puree is also moderately sweet."

"What smell are you talking about?"

"But don't you smell a little sweetness somewhere?"

One of the chefs, who was tilting his head, said. At that, a maid quickly replied.

"Ah! It's probably Lady Etel's perfume. She told us to spray the new scent she's using all over the palace."

"If that's the case, then that's not it. There's no way His Highness the Crown Prince would smell the perfume of the Lady he's with all day and say that."

* * *

"Here, say 'ah'."

Sitting on the sofa in the drawing room, Leopold obediently opened his mouth.

Maria put a sweet cream cookie into Leopold's mouth with a coquettish gesture.

The crispy cream cookie was quite to his taste. In addition, the bitter tea scent that neatly erased the sweetness was also exactly to his taste.

Leopold smiled generously and kissed Maria's hair.

"My Maria. I'm glad I listened to you. I feel much better."

"I'm glad your headache has gotten better."

Maria smiled gently. The cream cookies and the tea that Leopold liked. All of them had always been prepared even before Maria had access to this palace.

That stupid Olivia Madeleine would never have dreamed that this Maria would use what she had prepared.

Intoxicated with a thrilling sense of victory, Maria suddenly lowered her face as if she was embarrassed.

"But the drawing room was too messy. I was so embarrassed earlier."

Maria certainly seemed that way earlier. She was surprised and didn't know what to do when she saw the drawing room with documents scattered here and there, and then she picked up the documents.

The way she awkwardly organized the documents, and the way she glanced at him as if she was watching his mood, and the way she smiled coquettishly when their eyes met.

Yes, Leopold loved that Maria Etel. Her cute and lovely appearance. And even the way she sometimes showed off something to him in an adorable way.

"My Maria seems to be faithfully performing her duties as a fiancée. You're working so hard."

"I'm working hard to prepare, but how did you know?"

Cunningly, Maria blinked her eyes as if she didn't know anything.

"…But there's a very small part that's lacking in the budget allocation."

"Budget?"

Leopold's reaction was the same as usual. Maria, full of confidence, continued.

"Yes. Still, it's the first ball I'm hosting…"

"Maria."

"Yes?"

Maria was bewildered by Leopold's voice, which cut off her words. She felt that Leopold's face, which was smiling kindly, was somehow cold.

"You have to say it right. My Maria doesn't host any balls, does she?"

'Ah, a slip of the tongue.' This was the duty of the fiancée and at the same time the Summer Ball hosted by the Princess.

Maria quickly nodded her head. Leopold smiled and grabbed Maria's hair and kissed it.

"There's a budget shortage. There's never been a shortage before."

In an instant, Maria's heart dropped. She was already uneasy about the question of how much had been prepared, but those words that followed painfully dug into Maria.

How could she bring up the story of Olivia Madeleine in this space where the maids and even Count Hagis were present?

But Leopold had no idea what he had said. Just like last time.

"…This kind of thing never happened."

Maria lowered her head at the sight that didn't disappear even when she clenched her fists tightly. In the meantime, Leopold continued to speak.

"What kind of amazing ball are you trying to hold…"

Leopold, who was speaking languidly, suddenly flashed his eyes.

"…Is Grand Duke Bikander attending?"

"Yes?"

"The ball, I mean. The intention to attend must have arrived."

"That's…"

Leopold's eyes narrowed at Maria's appearance, who was unable to continue speaking as if she was flustered.

"Then, what about Olivia?"

Maria's eyes widened at the name that fell indifferently. Soon, Maria's face flushed with shame, and her lips trembled.

"…Why?"

"Those two should definitely come."

Leopold, who had neatly come to a conclusion, looked at Maria. 'Of course?' What was 'of course'? It felt like her head was turning white.

Of course, Maria also wanted Olivia to come to the ball.

She wanted those lowly eyes to be dyed with despair when they saw her and Leopold standing proudly.

But, this… this was not it.

When Maria couldn't answer, Leopold's eyes sank coldly. Not getting an immediate answer about whether they would attend or not.

Olivia had never done that even once. Even when he asked about Maria's attendance, she always answered calmly.

Leopold immediately looked at Baroness Sophron.

"...We haven't received replies regarding their attendance from either of them."

"Is that even possible?"

"I am sorry."

The Grand Duke had never attended a banquet before the victory celebration. Therefore, even the experienced Baroness Sophron had no other choice but to send an invitation.

"Did the invitation even reach the Grand Duke?"

"…I apologize. The messenger sent to the Territory of Vikander has gone silent, so we sent another invitation to the Grand Duke's Residence first. We have confirmed that the butler at the Grand Duke's Residence received it."

"Your Highness, Crown Prince. The messenger sent to the Territory of Vikander has gone silent."

Count Hagis's report overlapped with Baroness Sophron's answer.

Leopold's eyes turned cold. If the Grand Duke didn't receive the invitation, Olivia would naturally not be able to come to the Summer Ball either. It was a despicable trick to try and separate him from Olivia.

Even if they did that, Olivia would come back to his side anyway. Leopold suppressed the rising displeasure at the sight of them resorting to such obvious tactics despite the inevitable outcome.

"...If the Grand Duke doesn't attend, we'll have to hold the butler at the Grand Duke's Residence responsible. Should I go and bring the butler here now?"

"...Your Highness, we don't have the justification to force the Grand Duke to attend."

Leopold's eyebrows furrowed fiercely at Count Hagis's words, which seemed to indicate his difficulty.

Thump!

Eventually, Leopold stood up abruptly from the sofa. In an instant, everyone in the drawing-room fell silent as if cold water had been poured over them.

"If we don't have justification, we'll have to create it."

The sharp rebuke fell over the drawing-room. Maria, startled by the sight, couldn't say a word.

Leopold strode out of the drawing-room with the same fierce momentum. Only after Count Hagis followed him did Baroness Sophron raise her head to look at Maria Etel.

The young lady, who had always been loved, only blinked with a rabbit-like startled expression. Soon, shock rippled across her blue eyes. It was probably a sight Maria Etel was seeing for the first time.

His Highness the Crown Prince had always been affectionate whenever he looked at Maria.

Baroness Sophron hesitated for a moment before saying a word.

"...His very nature shows that he was born with the blood of a king."

She had put it delicately, but the true meaning was this: He is an arrogant and autocratic person. It meant that someone with such a nature had been kind only to Maria until now, but unfortunately, Maria didn't seem to grasp that.

"...He's never shown me that side of himself before."

Hearing the murmur, Baroness Sophron hurriedly followed after the Crown Prince. But before she could even run, she spotted the Crown Prince standing far away.

The Crown Prince was standing in the east corridor. Where there would normally be a side table and blue hydrangeas.

But now, in front of the Crown Prince was a splendid vase and profusely blooming light pink lisianthuses.

Leopold's face clouded over for a moment as he looked down at the lisianthuses with sharp eyes.

Surely, when he came to this Tiaje Palace...

"...I felt at peace."

The Crown Prince's words, spoken as if in a daze, were in the past tense. His voice was tinged with regret, as if reminiscing about something. In that fleeting moment, Baroness Sophron recalled, ironically, something from a long time ago.

The first time Madeleine had brought blue hydrangeas to this side table.

"His Highness the Crown Prince said that his eyes felt at ease when he looked at these flowers."

"But, the Language of flowers of this flower is..."

At that time, Baroness Sophron paused for a moment. No matter how worried she was, she couldn't say it to the young lady's brightly smiling face.

But the young lady said as if it was nothing.

"Heartlessness, isn't it?"

"Knowing that."

"But you also know that the color of these hydrangeas can change depending on the soil, right? That's why in the acidic areas of the south, they call these blue hydrangeas 'miracles'."

The young lady's voice, full of anticipation, scattered.

Baroness Sophron blinked. The Crown Prince, who had looked somewhat empty, opened his eyes sharply again as usual.

At that moment, Baroness Sophron thought that a futile miracle was sprouting very belatedly.

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.

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While her hands placed on the dress trembled, all sorts of thoughts swirled in Maria's head.

It was always Olivia Madelaine's lot to receive such gazes. She had only watched Olivia Madelaine's expression harden while keeping Leopold's side, but.

But Maria Etel shook her head. Before strange thoughts swallowed her up, Maria had to quickly think of another plan.

The reason Leopold was acting like this now was because he wanted to show Olivia the sight of her and Leopold together. If she showed the Grand Duke and Olivia a perfect image, Leopold would love her dearly again.

She could fill the insufficient budget in any way.

The Etel Marquisate was very wealthy, and her father loved her more than anyone else.

If she went to her father, he would not only fill the insufficient budget but also come up with a good plan.

Her father wanted her to secure the position of Crown Princess Consort as much as she did.

"...I should go now. Prepare the carriage."

Her eyes, which had been tearful like a naive noble lady just a moment ago, began to gleam blue.

* * *

At that moment, the gates of the Etel Marquisate opened and closed. The carriage entering the lavishly decorated garden was emblazoned with the crest of the Elkin Ducal House, the leader of the Aristocratic Faction.