Chapter 92
#092. I Don't Look Back at the Place I Abandoned
Leopold blinked once. But Olivia's expression didn't change. A clear face devoid of any sarcasm or lingering affection.
The faint, metallic taste of iron wafted through his tightly clenched teeth. Leopold stared at Olivia, forgetting even to relax the tension in his jaw.
An unfamiliar feeling, one he had never experienced before, washed over him.
No. That couldn't be. Leopold desperately tried to deny his uneasy thoughts. What should he say to Olivia first?
"...I didn't say it either. Congratulations on your engagement, Your Highness."
A languid voice broke the moment that had been solely between Olivia and him.
Ha. Leopold shrugged, exhaling a bitter breath. His eyes, widened in shock, quickly sharpened with a blue edge as he faced the Duke.
The man, who had been out of his sight until recently, now exuded a palpable presence.
The Duke, as if Olivia's side was his rightful place, pressed the arm that was escorting her even closer, looking at Leopold with a provocative gaze.
Leopold twisted the corner of his lips upward. A fierce anger surged, pushing back the unfamiliar fear.
Her side was a place prepared for him. It was not for a dog like him to covet.
"...Engagement? You know better than anyone that it's not like that, Olivia."
A savage breath burned black beneath his heart, unable to escape, but it didn't matter.
Suppressing his agitation, Leopold forced a sweet smile. And he extended one hand towards Olivia.
"You've indulged in enough spite. Olivia."
A fleeting smile touched Olivia's face and then vanished.
The smile that emerged after her composed expression broke was all the more alluring. As if bewitched, Leopold spoke to Olivia once more.
"Forget about the postponement or whatever, and come into my palace. I've ordered them to prepare the Crown Princess Palace."
"..."
"It's the room you've always wanted."
Olivia slowly raised her head. The green eyes that looked at him now seemed a little more familiar. Eyes that always held a gentle smile and loved him.
A faint sense of elation rose within him. Leopold's handsome lips curved upward in relief.
Facing that expression, Olivia stepped forward, leaving the Duke, who had been escorting her, behind. The Duke, who had briefly reached out to follow her movement, quietly lowered his arm.
"Your Highness truly knows everything. Even that I wanted that room."
"Of course. It's about you."
"Then, what does Your Highness want from me?"
What the esteemed Crown Prince desired. Various thoughts intertwined in Leopold's mind. But the only words that immediately sprang from his lips were:
"...I wanted you to come back to my side, Liv."
Leopold blinked for a moment. The reverberation of the words he had uttered himself slowly shook his heart. His mind, which had been hazy like a fog, felt clear and refreshed.
Yes. That was it.
The reason he had intended to call her to the Crown Prince Palace instead of the Crown Princess Palace, the reason he had been annoyed by the postponement, and the reason he had been speechless while looking around the banquet hall to defuse Maria's engagement announcement earlier.
Perhaps. Could it be that he held some affection for Olivia, even if only a little? Was that why he wanted to keep her by his side?
Suddenly, Olivia burst into laughter. The clear laughter that cut through the night sky made Leopold unable to continue his thoughts, and he looked at Olivia.
"If you bestow upon me the position of a mere fiancée again, will Lady Etel, whom Your Highness loves so dearly, become your mistress once more?"
"...Watch your tongue, Liv."
His handsome brow furrowed instantly. The voice that had been as sweet as honey returned to a tone of warning. Olivia chuckled. The Crown Prince hadn't changed. How could he be so disrespectful to her from beginning to end?
"I have truly never been respected by Your Highness."
"What are you saying all of a sudden, Olivia...!"
Leopold's voice sharpened, as if flustered. Olivia met his piercing gaze directly and said,
"I told you not to use that nickname. I also told you that I am planning to get engaged to the Grand Duke who is here. And yet, you're telling me to come back now? Come back to where?"
"You are my fiancée!"
A voice filled with anger shouted as if bluffing. Olivia smiled faintly instead of answering. Leopold's expression slowly distorted as if something was wrong.
Could it be that she still believed he loved her?
Foolish, and so foolish as to be pitiable, Maria Etel. Did Maria Etel even know what was happening right now?
"Was your love so shallow that you would abandon such a solid engagement with just that much? Me...!"
His face, with his lips moving, seemed both terrified and full of defiance. Eventually, Leopold stared at Olivia for a long time before saying,
"You love me...!"
Leopold's eyes, uttering what felt like an ultimatum, grew increasingly desperate. Just like Olivia used to look at Leopold.
So, for the first time since leaving Vikander, Olivia smiled kindly at the Crown Prince. And she answered as sweetly as she could.
"Never again. That will never happen again."
Olivia knew best how much of a shock her words would be to him.
His sea-blue eyes wavered aimlessly. A gaze that said it couldn't be true turned to Olivia's face. But she still smiled without a trace of wavering.
"A lie. Don't lie. Every time I looked at you, you had an expression that said you loved me."
"You even knew that much. Why didn't Your Highness even know that flowers were coming to me in your name?"
"Flowers? Could it be that the story about the flowers you told me back then..."
Olivia curled up the corners of her lips with a smile. That alone seemed to be enough of an answer, as Leopold's face turned as white as a sheet.
Ah, that's right. Who was she to pity anyone?
Maria Etel would never do anything to deserve pity. This foolish choice must have been what Maria Etel had so desperately wanted.
Olivia quietly lowered her hand. Before it could even fidget, the hand that had hoped someone would hold it was now firmly clasped by a warm and affectionate hand.
"...I remember every word Your Highness has said."
"..."
"I also remember how passionately you spoke of your love to Lady Etel."
"Olivia...!"
He couldn't bear it any longer. His tightly clenched fist seemed to tremble pathetically. Leopold's heart ached as if it would burst. The breath that escaped his lips grew increasingly rough.
But, heartlessly, Olivia in front of him smiled elegantly.
"So, I dare say."
More beautiful than ever.
"Don't say that you've come to want me by your side now."
Infinitely firm.
Just like when she had declared that she would break off their engagement.
The heart that had just begun to sprout was broken before it could even begin to awaken.
Leopold bit the inside of his mouth hard, feeling a sense of helplessness he had never felt before. Olivia, whom he was looking at in a situation where he couldn't even feel the pain, was devastatingly beautiful.
Unlike her elegantly curved lips, her green eyes were coldly extinguished as they warned Leopold.
"Even if, by any chance, Your Highness were to harbor other feelings for me, do not even reveal them."
"..."
"And please."
"..."
"When I abandoned that position and left, please think of my last appearance at that time as my answer to Your Highness."
Olivia's back, which he had first felt strange about. What he should have felt was not doubt, but a sense of crisis.
Leopold's face gradually crumbled. Olivia indifferently watched Leopold's inner thoughts being peeled away layer by layer, and she recalled what she had said.
She would not look back at the place she had abandoned. She had vowed that on the day she showed him her back for the first time.
The one who had taken her hand when she was taking precarious steps was now by her side. Edwin, who satisfied the emotions she had desired for over a decade with just a moment's gaze, and whom she therefore wanted to do her best for.
"Imperial Moon. In that high position..."
In the place she had abandoned,
"...Lady Etel, whom Your Highness cherishes so much, is already there."
It was up to Maria Etel, who had coveted that position so much, to sit there. Maria Etel's face, looking down at her from the high-rise window, was particularly clear.
Those blue eyes that sincerely resented her.
Olivia turned her gaze away without regret.
Before she knew it, she could hear whispering sounds all around her. As the summer ball reached its midpoint, all the nobles had come out to watch the situation.
An uncontrolled Summer Ball. The Princess standing in front of it was looking at her with a pale face.
Edwin's escort continued smoothly. Olivia murmured casually as she moved her feet.
"...I used to worry whenever the nobles made a fuss like this."
Ah, how should I control high society? Her Majesty the Empress will call me again tomorrow. Father, no. I'll get scolded by the Duke again.
Olivia looked at Edwin, recalling the many things she had to control.
"But now it's good. No, I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow."
Because no matter who cleaned up the mess, it wasn't her job.
Olivia leaned back as if bluffing and swaggered. Her face with a mischievous smile was devastatingly lovely.
"Our marriage is still a long way off, but isn't this enough to show that I have the qualities of a prospective Grand Duchess?"
Edwin swallowed a groan at the smug voice that seemed to be showing off. And he took a little greed and hugged her exposed shoulder.
"It's more than enough, to the point where we should get married right away, even now."
Olivia smiled brightly. She didn't care about Leopold's collapsing expression as he looked at her from behind.
* * *
"What a disgrace!"
A thunderous rage shook the Emperor's palace reception room.
Even the servants standing in the hallway lowered their heads in fear at the roar that leaked through the closed door.
The Princess, who was receiving that anger in its entirety, bowed her head without even raising it.
She had always been educated to maintain her dignity, but she couldn't stop her body from trembling like an aspen. This was not just fear of the Emperor.
How could Olivia, that lowly thing, reject her brother?
Her vision blurred. She had only gone out to cool off for a moment, but before she could control it, all the nobles at the banquet saw that sight. Her brother, whom she thought would keep Olivia in check, was instead bowing his head with a face as if he had been utterly defeated.
The Empress, unable to bear it any longer, spoke as if trying to calm the atmosphere.
"Your Majesty. Please calm down."
"Calm down? Is this something that can be calmed down?"
The Emperor, who had burst into anger, bit his lip.
No matter how much he blamed Marquis Etel and imprisoned him, and quickly married off his daughter elsewhere, the foreign delegations had already seen this ridiculous sight.
The future of the Crown Prince, who would become the Emperor, the Princess's position in high society, and the entire Franz Empire would have looked ridiculous.
"How on earth did you make a banquet that foreign delegations also attend look like this! You should have just done what you always did!"
At that moment, the Princess's body stiffened with tension. The Emperor frowned, feeling an uneasy premonition.
"What are your plans for tomorrow!"
"That, that is."
The Princess's face, not knowing what to do, touched the Emperor's sensitive senses. Could it be? But the Emperor soon shook his head. Even so, the Princess had solved countless problems so far.
The thought that she had borrowed someone's hand was an overestimation.
There was no benefit to pushing the Princess right now. The Emperor turned away from the Princess as if he didn't even want to see her face and said,
"The Empress will be in charge of the banquet from tomorrow."
"Yes?"
"Your Majesty!"
The horrified Princess shouted loudly, but the Emperor barely suppressed his snorting breath and didn't even look at her.
As if timing it right, the Chamberlain entered with a knock.
"Duke Elkin is requesting an audience."
"...Let him in. The Empress will step down with the Princess. After this banquet, the Princess will be ordered to be confined, so she must always be careful, very careful, with her actions."
A stern order was issued.
The Princess's body slowly collapsed as if the world had collapsed.
.
.
.
"...The Marquis is."
"He has been confined to his residence. I wanted the Lady to be with him as well, but..."
Duke Elkin trailed off as if he was in trouble. The Emperor felt as if fire was flying in front of his eyes.
That presumptuous woman who had disgraced Franz was now being protected in the Crown Prince's peaceful palace.
Moreover, the Princess, who had rejected the Crown Prince twice today, had safely entered the Grand Duke's Residence.
"Huh."
The Emperor exhaled a hollow breath. His train of thought naturally criticized his son. He was at a young age, but he had to think about his position.
He couldn't control a woman in a public place, causing shame to foreign countries twice.
"What is Duke Madeleine doing that he hasn't even come!"
His annoyance jumped elsewhere. If Duke Madeleine had managed his daughter well, this disgrace itself wouldn't have happened. Duke Elkin nodded in agreement.
He had to somehow repair this disgrace.
At that moment, the Emperor's eyes flashed.
Since the problem had arisen from the engagement ceremony, the only thing that could cover it up was an even bigger engagement ceremony.
"Tomorrow."
The Emperor said hoarsely.
"Invite the Grand Duke to the Imperial family's dinner before the banquet."
There was still the White Crystal Mine. The last remaining leash was what he had to use at times like this.
.
.
.
"Mother. What if His Majesty really finds out everything? Everyone saw Olivia, that thing, reject my brother!"
The Empress Palace's reception room.
The Princess, who had been crying pitifully, eventually buried her face in her palms. Tears that had been shimmering along with her sobbing fell to the floor in drops.
The Empress, who was watching that scene, couldn't help but gasp for breath.
Such a disgrace to her proud son and daughter. It was fortunate that her brother had said that there would be no connection to her family.
She would not leave Marquis Etel and Maria Etel alone. The anger that had turned blood-red was directed at Olivia, who had rejected her son.
"Daring to not know her place."
A chilling anger burst from her lips. The Empress suppressed her anger and said to the Head Maid,
"Is there still no news from the person we sent to the Territory of Vikander?"
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. There is no news from that side, but instead..."
The Head Maid, with a flustered face, leaned towards the Empress and whispered in her ear. The Empress's face, listening to those words with a sharp face, lit up.
"Is that really true?"
"Yes. Apparently, the Princess's maid said that the Princess had been exchanging letters with a strange man, even using a pseudonym!"
* * *
It was as Olivia had predicted.
They had blocked the media, but they couldn't block the mouths of high society. From the next day, invitations to tea parties came to the Grand Duke's Residence in the capital.
Behind the polite letters was the curiosity of the nobles who were curious about the story of the 'Madeleine Princess' who had rejected the Crown Prince twice.
She rejected all the letters, but there was only one. There was a letter she couldn't reject.
An invitation to a tea party from the Empress. At the bottom of the letter that had been sent to everyone, there was a postscript only for Olivia.
I hope the Princess will also attend, as the little Madeleine will also be attending.
It was a blatant attempt to take Esella hostage. But Olivia decided to let it go once.
The carriage she was riding in came to a complete stop. Olivia looked out of the carriage. The Princess's palace, which Olivia had always decorated, greeted Olivia with a somewhat chaotic feeling.
Suddenly, she remembered Edwin's last words before they parted a little while ago.
"You don't have to go, Olivia."
Did Edwin know that those words alone were more reassuring? Olivia chuckled and stepped towards the open door of the carriage.
As if waiting, a servant guided her. In front of the reception room door, the servant shouted inside.
"Princess Olivia Madeleine has arrived."
When the door opened, she could see the splendid reception room, the noble ladies and young ladies who had already arrived sitting at a long table. Esella's eyes widened. She had a face as if she hadn't expected Olivia to come.
The beautiful Empress, sitting at the top, smiled brightly.
"It's been a long time since I've greeted you so closely. Princess."
The Empress's bright voice was as cool as a snake. Olivia quietly looked at the Empress.
Olivia, who had always been timid beneath the unsmiling eyes in her elegant gaze, quietly held her breath once. Then, with perfect etiquette, she spoke.
"Glory to the Imperial Moon. I greet the Empress."
