Chapter 74
#074. Olivia Madeleine's Absence
Maria Etel swayed like a piece of paper. Baroness Luhan, the Princess's nanny, firmly grabbed Maria Etel to steady her.
The way she was being easily swayed made her look like a doll that would move according to one's will, which slightly eased the Princess's hardened resentment.
"I was curious. What kind of expression would the person who ignored my call and embarrassed me be making right now?"
Maria blinked at the gentle voice. As she watched her tearful eyes gradually regain focus, the Princess raised one corner of her lips.
"You are still so very lovely."
A doll-like pretty face, radiant blonde hair. Even the pitiful atmosphere from being soaked in tears.
Just lovely enough for her brother to like.
If only that small head knew how to think, she would have cherished her too. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to have that kind of sense. The Princess added with an elegant face.
"...So busy receiving my brother's protection that you don't even have time to come see me."
The voice that came out was as cold as a blade. The Princess stared at Maria with eyes sharper than frost.
If she had any sense, she would prostrate herself and beg for forgiveness.
If she was frightened, she would burst into tears.
Seeing her face, which was still just pretty, made her anger surge again. The Princess struggled to maintain her smile and composed her breathing.
Even though she had gritted her teeth, determined not to let Maria Etel off the hook when she came, the advice she had listened to from her nanny was quite useful.
"Bring Maria Etel here immediately! This time, I really won't let her get away with it."
It was a little while ago, after finishing the Tea Party and returning to the drawing room. As she threw things around in anger, her nanny approached her feet and soothed her.
"Please calm down, Your Highness. In any case, for a year, she is a Lady who will assist you like your own limbs. Why would a noble Princess like you care about a mere mistress..."
Baroness Luhan, who was speaking quickly, covered her mouth with her hand. Oh my. The nanny, who muttered with a bewildered face, lowered her head with a sorry expression.
"...Please, please pretend you didn't hear that. Your Highness. I spoke impious words."
Mistress.
It was a word too embarrassing to say out loud. At the same time, the Princess realized how the noble ladies were secretly viewing Maria Etel.
The Crown Prince's lover who captivates society with a triumphant face. But an unrecognized mistress.
Ha. The Princess swallowed a chilling laugh. And she blinked, pretending not to have heard.
"What did my nanny say?"
"...Thank you, Your Highness. With this heart as vast as the sea, please give Lady Etel a chance to repent. If you can erase the debt of the heart with the generosity of patting her down once, it will rather benefit Your Highness."
...Of course, it was after severely punishing her as much as she had been humiliated by Essela Madeleine.
It was when the Princess, who had finished calculating perfectly, was putting on a seemingly generous face.
"Do you think you can get away with treating me like this, Your Highness?"
The words she spat out as if screaming were presumptuous. The Princess unknowingly delayed her words for a beat.
"...What did you say just now?"
"How could you treat me like this when I did so much for you, Your Highness?"
The nanny's eyes widened at the shrill cry. The Princess raised her hand at the gesture of trying to stop Maria Etel quickly.
Her panting breaths were rough. Her eyes, wide open with venom, seemed to have thrown away the loveliness from before. Maria Etel seemed to have forgotten that she was in front of the Princess.
"What efforts did the Lady make?"
While a thousand fires were burning inside, she was sincerely curious. Did she really make any effort?
Maria Etel slowly calmed her breathing. She came to her senses after shouting.
This was the Imperial Princess Palace, and the person holding her was the Princess's nanny. Just a Baroness. Maria bit her lip and roughly shook off the nanny's hand.
And she looked down at the Princess sitting upright and said.
"I prepared the Tea Party, and I prepared the Summer Ball on behalf of Your Highness. And before that."
"......"
"I am the legitimate daughter of the Etel family and the Crown Prince's fiancée. I am the one who will become the Crown Princess Consort in the future!"
The Princess's face went blank at the words she spat out as if declaring. Only then did Maria find her pace and clench the hem of her dress tightly.
It was as she said. She was the one who would soon become the Crown Princess Consort and be revered as the moon of the Empire. But how dare a Princess who was only going to marry into another country treat her like this?
Flames sparked in her blue eyes. Her whole body was tingling and her face was stinging. The humiliation from before was vivid.
Maria glared at the Princess and snapped.
"I came to be a good friend to Your Highness, but I am very disappointed that you treat me like this."
"...I, too, wanted to talk with you, but I am equally embarrassed."
"I am sorry that you wanted to be friends with me, but I think Your Highness is the only one in the world who treats friends like this."
"Lady!"
Baroness Luhan, who was next to her, hurriedly called her, but Maria couldn't see anything.
She didn't even want to tell the Princess, who hadn't even heard that Duke Elkin had already told the Empress about her engagement ceremony to be held at the Summer Ball.
Maria gritted her teeth. And she gave strength to her tingling body and paid her respects.
"...I will see you at the Summer Ball, Your Highness."
Again, the Princess said nothing. Maria got up on her own and approached the door. The door didn't open even though she must have sensed her presence, so Maria shouted sharply.
"What are the maids doing that they don't even open the door!"
"Such insolence...!"
The nanny belatedly burst into anger. But Maria Etel had already left the drawing room. The maids standing in front of the door lowered their heads with bewildered faces. The nanny shouted at the innocent maids.
"I told you never to open the door until I told you to!"
"I'm sorry, Baroness. I heard from outside that the voices sounded the same."
There was nothing wrong with the maid's words. The voices heard behind the thick door were all the same. The nanny sighed.
While this farcical situation was unfolding, the Princess quietly held her teacup. She took a sip of the hot tea, but it couldn't calm her boiling insides.
The Princess opened her eyes coldly. Her hand, which was giving strength, was not getting blood.
This was it, she had been hit by Maria Etel, whom she had called to teach her manners. She should have broken her spirit firmly, but it was a mistake that she had shown generosity first.
She didn't know what her brother was thinking, putting such an arrogant Lady in the position of fiancée.
Even if it was only for a year, Olivia, that lowly thing, was better than such a reckless Lady...
The Princess paused at the name that naturally came to mind.
Come to think of it, even when she didn't accept her greetings, Olivia, though her bloodline was lowly, never wavered in her respectful posture.
She would have given her a better score if she hadn't so ruthlessly robbed her Abandoned Mine. The Princess, who had been burning her eyes with anger, suddenly changed her expression.
No. Either way, it would be fine if Olivia came back as her brother's fiancée. Regardless of the one-year grace period, she had to take measures to bring Olivia back at this Summer Ball as soon as possible.
The damage to her Summer Ball had to end with this ball.
"Your, Your Highness. What are you going to do?"
Baroness Luhan spoke cautiously. She was afraid that the Princess's face, which had been trembling with anger until just now, looked strangely calm.
Punishing Maria Etel didn't go as planned. What was she thinking? It was just when she was trying to guess her inner thoughts for a moment.
"I have to see the Empress. Please contact her first."
The Empress. At those words, Baroness Luhan's face also brightened. If it was the Empress, she would surely soothe not only Maria Etel but also the Princess's uncomfortable feelings.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Maria Etel, who had left with staggering steps, found her nanny in front of the carriage. Her nanny ran to Maria with a startled face.
"Oh my! Miss! Why are you coming out like this?"
Her body, which had not been supported until now, collapsed into her nanny's arms as if collapsing. Only after barely getting into the carriage did Maria shout fiercely.
"Let's go see His Highness the Crown Prince!"
She was going to tell Leopold all about this humiliation. If he heard this, the kind Leopold would comfort her and punish the Princess. Just imagining it seemed to make her throbbing body feel a little better.
But when she arrived at the Crown Prince's Palace.
"His Highness is currently out."
Maria felt like the sky was falling at the Chamberlain's report. Oh my, Miss! The nanny fussed beside her and pleaded with the Chamberlain.
"Chamberlain. Our Miss needs to rest for a while, so please guide her somewhere."
"I will guide you to the drawing room right away, Lady."
"The drawing room!"
Maria burst into anger at the offensive word. She knew the Crown Prince's Palace as if it were in the palm of her hand. She always rested in Leopold's room, but suddenly the drawing room!
The Chamberlain quickly whispered to Maria.
"There are many eyes watching, Lady. It is for the sake of the Lady's dignity, so please go to the drawing room today."
Maria barely calmed her seething breaths. There was only one more nanny watching! But when she thought about it carefully, the Chamberlain's words made sense.
It wasn't a good rumor for her to be going back and forth to his room before the official engagement. But Maria had to get angry once more in the drawing room she had obediently followed.
"Goodness! Can't I even see His Highness's doctor?"
"You must be careful about even small things in an engagement relationship. If it is a doctor that only the Imperial family can see, it would be better not to see him."
The Chamberlain, who came out to the hallway, looked at the drawing room door for a moment.
No flower blooms red for ten days. Maria Etel didn't seem to know that His Highness the Crown Prince's attitude had been unusual lately. So she still came to this palace and acted as if she was the best.
But a veteran Chamberlain never bet on only one side.
The Chamberlain called a servant and said subtly.
"Go to Tiaje Palace and tell Count Hagis that Lady Etel is here."
And at the same time, the east corridor of Tiaje Palace.
Baroness Sophron gave rest to her throbbing ankles to match the Crown Prince's steps, which had barely stopped.
The Crown Prince, who suddenly visited Tiaje Palace, examined the entire palace in detail as if he was trying to grasp every part of this palace.
...Just like. Like the last day the Princess left this palace.
The only difference was that unlike the Princess, who smiled faintly while looking around the palace, the Crown Prince was frowning terribly. The Crown Prince's sea-colored eyes, looking at the splendid vases and the profusely blooming pink lisianthus, were fierce.
Knowing this atmosphere, Count Hagis, the aide who had rushed over, hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Your Highness."
"......"
"Lady Etel is said to be waiting for Your Highness at the palace."
The Baroness lowered her head without realizing it. Was the futile miracle that had unfolded today over? But the Crown Prince, who seemed like he would return to his palace right away, opened his mouth without taking a step.
"...The appearance of the palace is terrible."
"Yes? No, I'm sorry, Your Highness."
The Baroness was flustered at the unexpected words. The current appearance of the palace was all Lady Maria Etel's taste. He should know that. To say such a thing...!
"Put it back to the way it was before, Baroness."
"......Yes!"
Baroness Sophron's answer was a beat late, but Leopold didn't even have the energy to point that out. And he looked at the palace corridor with sharp eyes.
"First of all. Get rid of these flowers."
This messed up palace had to be returned to its original state. Only then could he feel comfortable here again.
...Then the owner of the palace would return.
Leopold went outside. Under the sky that had already turned navy blue, the roof of Tiaje Palace shone clearly with a chilling silver light.
As if commemorating the true owner of the palace who had left this palace.
* * *
The drawing room of the Madeleine Dukedom.
Conrad, who was looking over the ledger until late at night, suddenly saw the blank part of the promissory note and let out a turbid sigh.
He couldn't concentrate, and it was a blank part. Everything seemed to be making fun of him.
Even the Crown Prince, who suddenly invited the Heferti Delegation to the Summer Ball, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who overlooked it.
Conrad shook his head and headed to his room. But nowhere in the bookshelf in his room could he find the documents to confirm the promissory note payment.
At a time when everyone was asleep. Jade's words vaguely came to Conrad's mind.
"The ledger is in Olivia's room... in the drawer on that side."
He said that he had brought all these ledgers from Olivia's room. He was reluctant, but he couldn't delay any longer. A little more and it would be dawn, and then it would be time to go to work.
Conrad stood in front of Olivia's door, replacing the strangely restless heart with the word reluctant.
It was a strange feeling. He hesitated to open the door that he had never entered voluntarily. Even though he knew it was an empty room, Conrad unconsciously knocked. Of course, there was no response.
He carefully opened the door and went into the room.
And when he turned on the light, Conrad unknowingly clicked his tongue. It was completely different from Essela's room. Unlike the warm and cozy atmosphere of Essela's room, Olivia's room was desolate.
A place filled with valuable and neat furniture and minimal items rather than items containing personal memories.
Conrad, who thought it looked just like Olivia, hurried to the desk.
The drawer, which he thought was only one, was on both sides of the desk. It was a disaster. Conrad, who was wondering which drawer it was, finally opened the right drawer.
Fortunately, there were five thick notebooks inside the drawer. At first glance, he thought that the shape was different from ordinary ledgers, but Conrad thought that the appearance could be different and unfolded the middle at random.
And at that moment, Conrad's eyes widened as if struck by lightning. What was written in the notebook was clumsy handwriting as if he had just started writing.
- Today, I called Essela frivolous. I heard that it was an attitude that was absolutely not aristocratic, so I must fix it. I must never do that again.
