Chapter 66
#066. Maria Etel's New Ally
The entrance of the Etel Marquisate.
No sooner had the carriage door opened than the youngest daughter of the Etel family dashed into the mansion. The servants, who had been on edge since the carriage arrived, bowed exaggeratedly.
"Welcome back, Miss."
However, unlike usual, Maria passed the servants by and entered the mansion.
"Where's Father?"
At Maria's sharp cry, a servant approached. Come to think of it, the chances of her father being at the mansion were slim.
She should have checked the bars or casinos on Ruheirn Street instead.
Just then, the servant pointed to the drawing room on the first floor.
"The Marquess is currently in the drawing room."
Maria blinked and smiled brightly. It seemed things were meant to be. She hadn't expected to find her busy father so easily!
Maria hurriedly ran towards the drawing room. The servant, who thought he had smoothly navigated the conversation with the young lady, suddenly realized his mistake.
"Miss!"
The Marquess had ordered everyone to leave after Duke Elkin arrived a little while ago. The servant, who had been about to follow the young lady, stopped in his tracks.
In front of the hallway leading to the drawing room, a large stag hunting trophy stared down at the servant like a warning. The bright blue jewels embedded in its empty eyes looked just like the eyes of Marquis Etel.
A chill ran down his spine, and the servant realized.
Even if the young lady went in there, nothing would happen, but it was different for a servant like him.
Especially in this Etel Marquisate, which was more ruthless than any other noble family.
The servant shrugged. And went back to what he was doing.
* * *
As she approached the drawing room, she could hear voices murmuring. The drawing room on the first floor was lavish but not soundproof. Maria, standing at the door, was about to knock.
"...we should have eliminated the possibility of future problems. We could have given her some kind of drug..."
Before knocking, Maria held her breath. The voice she had faintly heard belonged to her father.
A drug? Before Maria could gather her thoughts, another voice chimed in.
"Did you think of that back then? You were just focused on giving Duke Madeleine a warning."
"Indeed. You are right, Duke."
"Still, the Marquess is right. If that half-breed hadn't been born back then, Duke Madeleine wouldn't have offered his daughter."
"Whether we should call that luck or not. Whether we should criticize him for living with the evidence of his misdeed, or admire him for obtaining a sacrifice to send to the Imperial Family instead of his daughter. It's quite perplexing, isn't it?"
"If it's a sacrifice, then the prayers of gratitude should be directed to us. Didn't we provide that dancer?"
Soft laughter was exchanged.
Maria involuntarily covered her mouth. The Duke whom her father would address so respectfully was Duke Elkin, the head of the Aristocratic Faction and the Empress's older brother.
And the story that had just come out was probably about...
About fourteen years ago, the story of Duke Madeleine's illegitimate child that had shaken society.
Maria was six years old at the time, but she vaguely remembered it because the scandal had led to the Duchess's death.
That incident was a trap set by Duke Elkin, the head of the Aristocratic Faction, and her father.
Maria clenched her fist. Her nails dug into her palm, but she felt no pain. All of this felt unreal. She wanted to call out to her father, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
It wasn't because of disappointment.
A strange exhilaration washed over her.
Olivia Madelaine, that commoner, was able to be born thanks to her father and Duke Elkin.
Even her birth was decided by nobles like them, what a pathetic life.
How dare that half-breed sit next to her lover until now!
As things fell into place in her mind, Maria composed herself. She had only intended to tell her father, but perhaps now, with Duke Elkin present, was the perfect time.
If she wanted to solidify her position as Crown Princess Consort... Besides Leopold, she needed allies.
Maria shook her head, thinking of Leopold from earlier. And with eyes that had grown colder, she knocked on the door.
Knock, knock. Before the steady knocking could finish, an angry voice erupted.
"Who is it? I told everyone not to enter this way...!"
"Father, it's me. Maria."
"Maria?"
With a flustered voice, the door immediately opened. A door that didn't even function properly anyway. Maria thought she should replace the door as she looked inside the drawing room.
It was as she expected. Duke Elkin was sitting elegantly on the sofa. His red hair and smiling face were just like the Empress's.
Marquis Etel looked troubled.
"Oh, Maria. What brings you here now? The Duke is here."
"I came to speak with Father about the Summer Ball, but I didn't realize he had a guest."
Maria, with an apologetic expression, straightened her posture. And paid her respects to Duke Elkin, who was looking at her.
"Maria Etel greets Duke Elkin. Have you been well?"
"I've been fine, thanks to you, young lady. No, now that you're the fiancée of my nephew, His Highness the Crown Prince. We're practically family."
At the words thrown out like a joke, Marquis Etel was delighted. Maria smiled sweetly.
"Anyway, the Summer Ball. It's not a place for me, so I'll be going now, Marquess."
"No, Duke."
A clear voice stopped the Duke before the Marquess could. Duke Elkin, looking back at Maria with a puzzled expression, narrowed his eyes.
On Maria Etel's face, which was smiling like a flower, a desire that could only be seen on her sister, the Empress, briefly flashed by.
"...Do you have something to say to me, young lady?"
"Isn't it the Summer Ball? As a way to celebrate Princess becoming family, I was grateful that she allowed me to contribute ideas to the ball."
Everyone here knew that was a lie.
Family. Duke Elkin had used the same expression a moment ago, but mentioning the Princess was a slightly different story.
Maria was only a temporary fiancée filling the Crown Prince's side during the 'one-year grace period.' For the Princess to show such favor to Maria as family...
"That's,"
As Marquis Etel hurriedly tried to speak, Duke Elkin quietly raised his hand.
At the gesture to hear more, Maria smiled with her eyes and continued.
"...I told His Highness the Crown Prince before that I wanted to have a grand engagement ceremony, and I was thinking, to solidify my position, what if we had the engagement ceremony at the ball?"
The Marquess gaped.
An engagement ceremony at the Summer Ball, which all the nobles of the empire wished to attend. This was too risky. But the Duke raised the corner of his lips and stroked his chin with his index finger.
"...Does my nephew, His Highness the Crown Prince, know about this?"
"Wouldn't it be more delightful if it were a surprise?"
Maria Etel smiled brightly without batting an eye.
Duke Elkin looked at that face and quickly calculated.
Radiant blonde hair and a face as pretty as a fairy.
The audacity to frequent Tiaje Palace since the half-blooded Princess was there. He even recalled the rumors that she had sent flowers in the Crown Prince's name to mock the Princess.
"...I should see the Empress once."
It wasn't a bad card. Duke Elkin, having finished his calculations, said kindly.
Maria Etel smiled brightly as if she knew he would say that. Marquis Etel, who was next to her, also grinned from ear to ear.
"If the Duke speaks to the Empress, our Maria, no, the future Crown Princess Consort, will be able to prepare for the ball much more easily. Thank you, Duke."
Future Crown Princess Consort. Maria smiled brightly at the pleasant title.
Her engagement ceremony would be more splendid than any Crown Princess Consort's engagement ceremony in history.
How much would Leopold like it? Just imagining it was enjoyable.
Even more so was imagining Olivia, that lowly thing, kneeling in front of her with a desperate face.
* * *
At that moment, Olivia blinked and looked at Edwin with an incredulous expression.
"How is it? Do you like it?"
Leaving aside whether she liked it or not.
Olivia, looking at the silk and jewel boxes filling the table and the jewels sparkling inside, involuntarily muttered her true feelings.
"Well, rather than liking it."
Edwin's face clouded over. Olivia immediately changed her words.
"...I like it so much that I don't know what to say."
Edwin smiled again as brilliantly as a flower.
While thinking it was a relief at that face, Olivia felt dizzy looking at the jewels filling the table.
Delicately cut jewels and meticulously crafted necklaces, bracelets, brooches, and even earrings.
There was even a tiara at the end of the table. A platinum tiara decorated with emeralds and teardrop diamonds. That was a jewel that only royalty, Princesses, or Grand Duchesses could wear.
Even excluding that, even the Princess, no, even the Empress, would have difficulty buying this many jewels at once.
Olivia knew the Princess's budget as well as the back of her hand. Thanks to that, she habitually estimated the prices of the jewels and gasped.
Edwin, who had been happily watching Olivia looking at the jewels with a surprised face, clapped lightly.
"Then, what should we try first?"
"M-Me? Now?"
"Yes. It's for Olivia, but she might not like it, so we should try it on first."
"If she doesn't like it..."
"We'll have to call Baron Stone and the jewelers, right? To bring something even more beautiful."
Dian, who was standing behind the Grand Duke, was inwardly appalled at his nonchalant words.
It had been tearfully difficult to choose even this much, and he wanted 'more'? Moreover, some of the jewels she had brought had been rejected for not being pretty enough.
Dian looked at her mistress with pleading eyes. Fortunately, Olivia seemed to feel the same way, as she waved her hand with eyes wide like a rabbit.
"No. I like them all. Even the Empress would think these are too precious..."
Olivia, who had inadvertently spoken her thoughts, realized her mistake.
Although she didn't know the exact reason, she shouldn't have said that, knowing that the entire Territory of Vikander was hostile to the Imperial Palace.
She always reminded herself to be careful, but after living in the Imperial system for twenty years, all her thoughts still revolved around the system and the Imperial Palace.
Edwin chuckled languidly as he watched Olivia choose her words carefully.
"I will only give you things that are incomparably more precious than the Empress."
Edwin smiled brightly, as if it were nothing. Just as she was thinking it was a relief, Edwin took out a ring case covered in red silk from his pocket.
With a soft click, the ring case opened, and Olivia blinked.
A round ring made of platinum, with delicate diamonds set on top. The seemingly ordinary diamond ring looked particularly special because there were only two of them in the world.
For some reason, the tips of her fingers trembled slightly. In addition to the red gemstone ring that had been bothering her all day, another ring had appeared to worry her.
"Of course."
Edwin winked and smiled gently.
"If my Olivia puts the same ring on me, that is."
.
.
.
"Why are you trembling so much? Are you cold?"
She didn't even have time to glare at the teasing voice. She knew best how much Edwin's hand, placed on top of hers, was shaking.
"...It's because Edwin's hand is heavy."
"Surely not."
Even as he immediately retorted, Edwin looked at Olivia and his hand alternately with a worried expression.
Looking at her white hand, which was only half the size of his, it seemed like it would be difficult to support.
Olivia could see what Edwin was thinking, but she focused only on putting on the ring.
Long, elegant, and strong hands.
The moment she grabbed the fourth finger of that hand and slipped on the round ring, Olivia unknowingly let out a tense breath.
"Done."
Edwin stared at his ringed hand for a moment. He stared blankly at the ring with unfamiliar eyes, then held out his palm to Olivia.
"I already put it on, though?"
"You've only put on two."
Olivia's eyes widened again as she tried to brush it off with a nonchalant tone. Only when Edwin smiled and pointed to the jewels on the table did Olivia realize her mistake.
Goodness. She hadn't realized he was serious about putting rings on all ten fingers.
