Chapter 80
#080. A Name Not Permitted
The Imperial Palace in the dim evening.
A carriage stopped in front of the banquet hall. Olivia inhaled sharply, held her breath, and then exhaled quietly. She had felt a subtle tension when she arrived in the capital, but it hadn't made her this queasy.
"Are you very nervous?"
She wanted to hide it as much as possible. Edwin's eyes met Olivia's as she tried to deny his gentle concern. The word "no" that she habitually tried to say caught in her throat.
His gaze was waiting for her.
His uniform, unusually bright today.
His hair swept to one side, handsome and heart-flutteringly exciting.
Olivia couldn't break the dazed gaze. Just then, a faint tinkling sound seemed to ring out from somewhere. Olivia snapped back to reality, feigning composure and smiling.
"...I think it would be a lie to say I'm not nervous at all."
Edwin, who had been quietly watching Olivia, made a small, guttural sound. He ran a finger along his jawline and cast an indifferent glance toward the banquet hall. Then, looking at Olivia, he playfully suggested,
"The Heferti Delegation is supposed to attend the banquet from tomorrow anyway. How about we go on a date somewhere else right now?"
It was a sweet invitation. Tempting enough to make her waver, just a little.
"Hmm... That's quite tempting, but I can't."
Unfortunately, Olivia had seen her reflection in the mirror.
"As you can see, I put a lot of effort into getting ready for this banquet today."
Olivia's image was reflected in the clean window. It was a boastful remark, but Edwin nodded with a serious expression, as if agreeing. A little embarrassed, Olivia didn't take back her words.
"Miss, you really look like an elf. No, the queen of the elves."
Hanna's exclamation suddenly came to mind. She was the pride of those who had done their best to adorn her since yesterday, no, from the moment she arrived in the capital from the Territory of Vikander. So, self-deprecating words were forbidden.
"And Edwin should attend the banquet. Even if the delegation is coming from tomorrow, it would be good to familiarize yourself with the nobles you'll see at the Nobility Council."
...Of course, she quickly changed the subject, a little embarrassed.
Edwin, noticing her demeanor, deliberately said mischievously,
"Then we might have to be apart for a while?"
"Just a while, you said."
She spoke so decisively. Edwin, looking at Olivia smiling with her eyes wide, clenched his teeth. Every time she looked at him with such trusting eyes, Edwin was grateful for that trust, but also felt as if a burning ember was clinging to the inside of his chest, making him feel precarious.
He didn't know if it was because of the guys in this banquet hall, or because of the story of his predecessors that he hadn't yet revealed to Olivia.
"...You're right, Olivia. Even if we're apart, it will only be for a little while."
Edwin smiled and leaned slightly toward Olivia. A faint tinkling sound rang out.
"After that little while, no matter where I am, I will soon return to Olivia's side."
His seductive voice was like a spell. Olivia nodded. Her heart, which had been beating irregularly due to nervousness, began to race for a different reason.
Olivia, escorted by Edwin, approached the door of the banquet hall. A page, his face full of tension, looked at Olivia and Edwin and hurriedly bowed.
"Greetings to His Highness Grand Duke Edwin Lowell Vikander, the war hero, and Lady Madeleine."
Lady Madeleine.
While the page bowed deeply, Olivia briefly savored the title that had been used to name her.
Was it because she hadn't heard it while in the Territory of Vikander? The word she had heard for fourteen years felt unfamiliar, as if she were hearing it for the first time.
...As if it were referring to someone other than herself.
Only then did Olivia realize what she felt out of place about. Meanwhile, the page straightened up and quickly said,
"I'll announce you inside right away."
"Not Lady Madeleine."
An elegant voice rang out powerfully.
The hurrying page stopped in his tracks. Overwhelmed by the pressure underlying the beautiful voice, he turned around, trying to confirm what he had heard.
Olivia Madelaine. Olivia, who had been referred to as Lady Madeleine, raised the corners of her lips and affirmed.
"'Olivia.' Announce me as that."
Without any hesitation. To remove the Madeleine name in this formal setting.
The page blinked for a moment at the unprecedented event. But soon, as if drawn by the strange energy in her green eyes, he shouted toward the open door.
It was only after he announced their names that he remembered that the red smile that had lingered on the Grand Duke's lips had been very deep.
* * *
"Presenting His Highness Grand Duke Edwin Lowell Vikander, the war hero, and Miss Olivia Madel, no, Miss Olivia!"
At the page's resounding voice, everyone's eyes turned to the door of the banquet hall.
Inside the banquet hall, the noisy chatter of the people disappeared in an instant.
The musicians, immersed in their music, looked around one by one at the strangely changed atmosphere. The rich melodies faded one by one, and soon the banquet hall became silent.
In a place where only the sound of clicking heels could be heard.
The nobles stared at the people walking into the banquet hall with disbelieving eyes.
The man with a striking contrast of beautiful white skin, jet-black hair, and red eyes was overwhelming to look at.
But next to him was a woman who was never overshadowed by the war hero's imposing presence.
Olivia Madelaine, who had captivated everyone's attention on the last day of the victory banquet.
Those who had downplayed the praise for the lady, saying that her beauty at that time must have been a coincidence, were speechless, as if glue had been applied to their lips.
The lady standing next to the Grand Duke was breathtakingly beautiful. Unlike the last time, when she had a detached and fragile purity, the lady standing before them now was overflowing with vitality.
Below her thickly braided hair, her slender, pale neck was exposed. The silver hair that loosely flowed along her face shimmered precariously near her collarbone.
The sparkling rock crystal necklace and neat jewels around her neck created an atmosphere like that of a bewitching queen of the elves.
Her mysterious green eyes in her splendid and elegant face blinked.
Only then did the nobles exhale the breath they had forgotten and look at the lady. The lady's appearance, which had instantly taken over the banquet hall, imprinted on the nobles' minds who the true owner of the banquet was.
No one said it out loud, but everyone knew.
The owner of the banquet.
.
.
.
While receiving everyone's attention, Olivia scanned the banquet hall.
Among the nobles who were staring blankly at her, there were faces that stood out particularly clearly.
Duke Madeleine and Conrad near the terrace. Jade at a slight distance.
And Maria Etel and the Crown Prince, glaring at her in shock.
The emotions that had been building up rose like embers. But Olivia turned her head. She wasn't as worried as she had been in the carriage earlier.
Because they were strangers now.
Instead, Olivia felt the attention focused on her in this quiet banquet hall. Unlike the past, when it had been full of hostility, the gazes were somehow strange.
Olivia whispered softly, only loud enough for Edwin to hear.
"Everyone seems surprised that I was introduced as 'Olivia.'"
Where had the confidence she had talked about in the carriage gone? But Edwin didn't bother to correct her and casually brushed off her words.
"It's a formal occasion, so they might be surprised. Will you be okay? Everyone will try to call Olivia by her first name."
Of course, he had no intention of letting that happen.
Edwin asked, hiding his true feelings. Olivia smiled and cast her gaze over the banquet hall. Her face, which had been radiant until a moment ago, smiled sharply.
"...I. I have no intention of allowing anyone at this banquet to call me by my first name today."
Because there was no one here who was close enough to call her by her first name. Olivia looked back at Edwin.
"So, if I have to engage in social activities on behalf of Vikander, that will be in a year."
Her lips, perfectly painted with lipstick, parted slightly.
"...After the marriage, when I become the Grand Duchess."
At that time, the title of Grand Duchess of Vikander. Or Her Highness the Grand Duchess, would replace her name. Olivia murmured the three syllables, Grand Duchess, in her mouth.
It was still unfamiliar, but it was a word she strangely wanted to reach.
"...You know what you're doing, don't you?"
"What?"
Her face, blinking as if she didn't know anything and then averting her gaze, was maddeningly beautiful. She had been as beautiful as she could be earlier. Now, she was becoming dizzyingly breathtaking.
Edwin sighed and groaned.
"...I want to go back to the Territory of Vikander right now."
He wanted to exist alone with her in his space, where no one else's gaze could reach.
Olivia laughed a little, as if his heartfelt words sounded like a joke.
After all, Edwin couldn't win against Olivia in any moment. All he could do now was to escort her admirably.
A faint tinkling sound could be heard whenever the Grand Duke and Olivia walked.
But soon, it was buried beneath the melodies created by the musicians who had snapped back to attention and started playing again.
And among the people who were moving toward Olivia one by one like spring that had thawed from a freeze, a person walking as if running caught his eye.
The moment his eyes met the familiar yet unfamiliar handsome face.
"Olivia, Liv!"
Olivia's expression hardened coldly. A name that no one in the banquet hall could call carelessly was loudly echoed by the person she least wanted to hear it from.
.
.
.
When Leopold's eyes met Olivia's, who looked like a fairy, he felt a thrill run through his entire body.
He felt regret and satisfaction at the same time as her sweet gaze fell on him, making it a pity to take his eyes off her.
She should have been doing that all along.
The fact that Olivia had attended this banquet meant that she wanted to show herself to him again.
He had been annoyed by the lack of contact all this time, but today, at that sight, Leopold felt generous enough to forgive her.
"Leo,"
He felt a hand grabbing his arm for a moment, but Leopold shook off Maria Etel without any emotion. He felt her hurt gaze stabbing him in the back, but he could just appease Maria with sweet words later.
At the same time as he thought that everything was easily resolved, Leopold called out to Olivia before anyone else in this banquet hall.
"Olivia. Liv!"
Calling her name was a privilege given only to him. Because Olivia loved him.
But.
The moment her small face looked at Leopold, a sensitive instinct subtly touched his nerves.
"...Greetings to the little sun of the Empire."
Leopold blinked for a moment at the flawless and elegant greeting.
Olivia's face, which had smiled like a puppy receiving a treat every time he called her name, was still stiff. It was impossible.
No matter how strange their last farewell had been, it wasn't the kind of attitude she would show to a fiancé she was meeting after a long time.
He couldn't tell if this strange feeling was because Olivia was greeting him with distance, or because the Grand Duke was flaunting his presence right next to her, as if protecting her.
The thought that something was wrong flashed through Leopold's mind. His heart beat erratically.
At that moment, Olivia said calmly.
"I'm sorry, but I would appreciate it if you didn't use nicknames when you call me in the future."
Leopold's raised lips stiffened.
Because he couldn't believe the situation before his eyes. Leopold quietly looked at Olivia. But her straight gaze toward him reminded him that this situation was real.
A huge wave swept over the blue eyes of his distorted face, as if he couldn't believe it.
