Chapter 81
#081. The Jingle-Belled, Naive Grand Duke
There was no way.
Even when Olivia was last at Tiaje Palace, she had looked at him with a wavering expression.
It was absurd to summon the Grand Duke to Tiaje Palace, and even though she had left him behind, the words she had said, revealing her jealousy, were still so vividly remembered.
And yet. Don't call her by her pet name?
Understanding the situation, Leopold felt as though the Olivia before him was a mere illusion. He couldn't believe it unless it was an illusion.
That the bright dress, which he had always thought didn't suit her, was so dazzlingly beautiful.
That she could shine more brilliantly than countless jewels.
And.
That the eyes looking at him were so indifferent.
Leopold forced the corners of his lips up. Then, leaning back languidly, he replied with ease.
"...I can't do that."
Olivia looked up at him with an unreadable expression. The eyes, devoid of affection or desire, felt foreign, and at the same time, his heart stirred strangely.
It was unexpected. That he wouldn't be able to see those eyes sparkling with affection, looking at him as if craving him.
Nevertheless, Leopold judged that this situation wasn't a major problem.
It had been a full eleven years.
The time that Olivia Madeleine had loved him.
So, if Olivia knew the efforts he had made to bring Tiaje Palace back to her, she would easily fall for him again.
It would be nice to hear it directly from Baroness Sophron. Thinking that, Leopold smiled loosely.
"Even if I leave my seat for a while, it doesn't mean the owner of my side will change, does it? The Crown Princess Palace awaits, just as it was when I left."
At the elegantly falling voice, Olivia unknowingly thought of Tiaje Palace.
The palace she thought was hers. The palace that wasn't hers.
When she had nothing, she had obsessively taken care of the palace. But now, there was no need to do so. The palace wasn't hers, and she now possessed so much.
Olivia was reminded of what she possessed. Meanwhile, a familiar face glaring at her caught her eye.
"...Lady Etel seems to be waiting for Your Highness."
Olivia's calm demeanor, even after all this, was not the reaction Leopold had expected.
Leopold had no idea that his words would make Olivia think of the Territory of Vikander.
With a surge of irritation, Leopold reflexively looked in the direction of Olivia's gaze. Maria, her face even redder than the pink dress she was wearing, was looking this way.
As soon as their eyes met, her cat-like, sharp eyes welled up with tears. It was the expression Maria made whenever she wanted to weaken his heart.
But at this moment. Leopold couldn't let Olivia go.
Strangely, he was anxious. His mouth was dry, and his head was spinning. Just as he was about to open his lips again towards Olivia, who had cut him off so sharply,
He heard the murmuring of the nobles, which he hadn't noticed before.
"What's going on? Did His Highness just get rejected by the Princess?"
"Leaving Lady Etel back there. Is the Princess really going to become the Crown Princess Consort again after a year's grace period?"
"No way. The Princess is wearing a ring, isn't she? The same as the Grand Duke's?"
At the words heard among the belatedly noticed voices, Leopold's face hardened.
A ring.
The red jewel sparkling on the hands of Olivia and the Grand Duke, which he hurriedly looked at, made him feel nauseous, as if he had inhaled acrid smoke.
He was so angry that it felt like his vision was turning red.
A red jewel ring.
He was clearly engaged to the Princess. But. Olivia, who had never worn a ring before, was wearing a ring!
Fueled by anger, Maria quickly approached Leopold. The nobles briefly turned their attention to Maria, who seemed concerned about the Crown Prince.
But even beneath her worried expression, Maria couldn't erase the sticky humiliation, as if she had been smeared with filth.
Olivia Madeleine, not only did you call that wretch by her pet name, but you said your side was waiting for Olivia. How could you say such a thing when I am standing here?
But the trembling of her fingertips due to shame was something to calm down later. If she could take the lead and calm this atmosphere now, she could restore her ridiculed state.
"Leopold, calm down. You're not going to keep calling her by her pet name anyway. You were just trying to provoke the Grand Duke, weren't you?"
There was a hint of desperation in Maria's whisper. But Leopold's entire focus was on Olivia and the Grand Duke, who were trying to retreat with perfect courtesy.
He didn't want to see that face, filled with superiority, as he held his fiancée's arm.
The moment he glared at their backs, his heart ached as he saw Olivia's face, which was cold even when she turned her head and met his eyes.
This wasn't right.
Leopold gritted his teeth at the overwhelming sense of humiliation. He had to repay this humiliation somehow.
But this time, the arrow wasn't aimed at Olivia, as it always had been. The moment Edwin's figure, moving away, was slowly captured in his gaze.
Each time the Grand Duke took a step, a very faint, tinkling bell sound, popping out from the musical melody, could be heard.
This was it.
"...What is this sound? Surely there can't be a cat here."
A cat? It sounded like a bell was ringing somewhere.
Unlike the nobles who didn't understand what he was saying, Olivia flinched slightly. But without stopping, Leopold spat out hoarsely.
"For someone with the title of Grand Duke, what you're doing is so trivial. Is it on your right ankle, or your left ankle?"
The briefly distorted face smiled handsomely, mocking the Grand Duke.
Only then did a small commotion spread among the nobles. Unlike Olivia, who was blinking in confusion, the Grand Duke looked at Leopold without any change in expression.
There was no sign of embarrassment. That indifferent appearance further widened the wounds on Leopold's proud self-esteem.
How dare he. Not only did he take his woman, but he also stared at him, the Emperor's dog, with such arrogance.
"Are you even acting cute like a jingle-belled cat? Goodness."
To call the Grand Duke a cat. At Leopold's voice, exaggeratedly clicking his tongue, a snicker burst out from among the nobles.
The atmosphere shifted back towards Leopold. Leopold took Maria, who was clinging to his arm, and walked towards Olivia and the Grand Duke.
As if expecting the Crown Prince's sublime actions, the nobles' eyes sparkled. This was much more interesting than the redundant Summer Ball concept.
Moreover, the protagonists of this stimulating drama were the small sun, the Crown Prince, and the war hero, the Grand Duke.
When the two, whom no one could dare to approach, came closer, the nobles watched the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke, forgetting to even breathe.
But instead of meeting their expectations, Leopold slowly looked at Olivia and the Grand Duke. As he approached, he caught a faint, cozy, and dizzying scent above his nose.
At that familiar scent, Leopold gritted his teeth once again. The scent that was coming closer and closer had to be for him.
Olivia's green eyes, looking at him, had to sparkle again instead of trembling anxiously. So Leopold sneered lowly, just loud enough to be heard between the Grand Duke and Olivia.
"...It's something only a prostitute would do."
Then, he straightened up as if nothing had happened and smiled brightly.
But the result was not what he had hoped for. The Grand Duke, who should have been blushing with humiliation, was fine, and only Olivia's face was pale white.
.
.
.
"...It's something only a prostitute would do."
The moment Leopold's words poured out between Edwin and her, Olivia felt her heart drop.
It was unbelievably vile for the Crown Prince to say. But even aside from that, Olivia felt her fingertips grow cold.
She never knew that the Thread anklet she had made would become a tool to attack Edwin.
She was used to insults directed at her, but she couldn't allow that insult to spread to Edwin. She wanted to point out the Crown Prince's over-the-line words, but she couldn't even do that.
She should have made it sturdier from the beginning. Or she should have put more beeswax inside the bell.
Her mind went blank at the unexpected situation. She couldn't even dare to look at what kind of expression Edwin was making right now.
"...You're trying to be loved by acting cute."
Edwin's arm, which had been firmly supporting her hand, lightly stroked her exposed shoulder. At the gentle voice that eased her tension, Olivia looked at Edwin.
"I wonder how His Highness knew something that even my lady didn't notice. Olivia?"
As if he hadn't been affected at all. No, rather, Edwin's red eyes sparkled as if he was enjoying it. Confirming that Olivia was slowly relaxing, his gaze, which had been patiently watching her, turned back to the Crown Prince.
"And."
Edwin coldly raised the corners of his lips.
"I didn't think there would be anyone in this banquet hall who couldn't even distinguish whether the one with the bell was a cat or a tiger."
A chilling sense of oppression poured out over the quietly spreading voice. As if mocking the Crown Prince's distorted face, the Grand Duke shrugged his shoulders and looked around with a pitiful expression. Then, he smiled at the Crown Prince, making eye contact.
"...It seems I overestimated this place. Your Highness."
The seductively raised eyes soon folded gently.
After that, two or so Knights nodding in agreement could be seen.
Those guys with the Vikander emblem stamped on their uniforms.
"...What?!"
"If I may add one more thing, thanks to Your Highness, I'm learning a new fact. Goodness, prostitutes wear bells on their ankles. I had no idea."
With that one sentence, the nobles immediately grasped what the Crown Prince had said when he leaned in. But the Grand Duke didn't even give them a chance to whisper, adding.
"I've been wandering around battlefields since I was young, so I'm told I'm naive and don't know the ways of the world."
A lie.
The nobles stared blankly at the Grand Duke for a moment. The dangerous and captivating Grand Duke, who seemed to be at odds with the word "naive," once again took the lead in the atmosphere in an instant.
"That's why the lady to whom I pledged my honor has been taking on various major tasks as soon as she arrived in the Grand Duchy."
At the softly spreading voice, the nobles recalled the rumors that had been seeping into society.
Olivia Madeleine had completely cleaned up the slum district of Vikander, which had been dragging on sluggishly.
The high-nosed Knights of Vikander, who didn't pledge allegiance to any lady, had pledged their honor to Olivia Madeleine.
Every time she went out, cheers that seemed to shake the mountains spread, and so on. It was the story that Olivia Madeleine was loved by everyone in the Territory of Vikander.
At the same time, the nobles recalled another strange rumor that had been following these incredible rumors.
The Princess who was said to have left for the Territory of Vikander, let alone arriving in the Territory of Vikander...
Eyes met knowingly. Meanwhile, Edwin looked at the Crown Prince. His blank face, as if he was hearing it for the first time, was quite a sight to see.
"It seems the rumors are quite slow, Your Highness. Well, if you didn't know, you wouldn't have bothered her so much."
The eyes that quickly turned fierce at just one word were amusing. The Crown Prince, who didn't know much. A fool who couldn't even recognize the most brilliant and precious one.
Edwin pulled out non-existent mercy and smiled brightly. And, just like the Crown Prince had done, he leaned between the Crown Prince and Maria Etel.
While frowning at the headache-inducing sweet smell, Edwin whispered so that only the two of them could hear.
"So, there will be no more sending bothersome letters to my busy and respected lady. Not naive, Your Highness?"
"Grand Duke!"
"What is all this commotion!"
A thunderous roar echoed over Leopold's voice. Only then did the nobles panic and bow their heads indiscriminately.
"His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress are entering!"
The belated shout of the bewildered attendant made the situation even more ridiculous.
The joyful atmosphere of the banquet was shattered in an instant.
Only one person, Edwin Lowell Vikander. Only the Grand Duke looked at the Emperor calmly with a beautiful face.
"That's what I'm saying. What is this at a banquet I was invited to..."
The light voice, as if dealing with someone else's affairs, echoed through the banquet hall. A sneer flashed across the Grand Duke's red eyes.
