It was impossible not to feel excited. Even though it was still under the same Litten sky, just leaving the hotel felt like a new life was about to begin. Olivia's heart fluttered at the small change.
The stop arrived at to catch a Carriage to 3rd Street, Riverside was deserted, as if a Carriage had just left with passengers.
Should she wait for thirty minutes, or hail a passing private Carriage? As Olivia pondered, a newspaper stand next to a streetlamp caught her eye.
[Johann Duke of Edinburgh Leopold, Engaged to Princess Tanesia Irene Krantz]
'No way!'
Olivia's eyes widened at the unbelievable headline.
Her gaze, captivated by the headline for a moment, slowly moved down to the photo that adorned the entire front page.
The woman wearing a tiara was a beauty with delicate features. And next to her, photos of Johann Leopold were placed side by side.
Olivia's mind went blank for a moment.
Marriage.
Of course, Johann Leopold would marry. To Clara Saint. So this woman, Princess Krantz, shouldn't have been the one.
'It means anyone will do.'
Olivia clasped her trembling hands tightly together and felt a chill.
It was as if the world's firm will to make the heroine, Clara, stand out, required a villain.
To that end, the role of Johann's wife, who oppressed Clara, was important, and it seemed to be saying that it didn't necessarily have to be Olivia Blanchett.
The surroundings quickly became bustling as people gathered to take the Carriage. The noise buzzed in Olivia's head. She felt dizzy.
"Are you alright? ...Miss?"
Anne, who had been watching for the Carriage, was surprised to see Olivia suddenly turn pale and approached her. Following Olivia's gaze, Anne covered her mouth with her hand as her lips parted silently.
Miss...
Anne looked back at Olivia with concern. Her bloodless face was pathetically pale.
Of course, Olivia was shocked for a different reason, but to Anne, who had no way of knowing this, it looked as if the Miss was about to collapse at the news of her beloved husband's engagement.
How much she loved him.
A love that was insignificant to the Duke was everything that sustained the Miss's life. Even if that love was painful and cruel. Such feelings could not simply disappear the moment a signature was placed on paper.
"Shall we rest for a while somewhere? How about over there?"
Anne asked, pointing to a coffee house across the street.
"...It's alright. I'm fine."
Olivia barely managed to lift the corners of her lips.
Just then, the Carriage arrived. As the door opened, people rushed in. Olivia boarded the Carriage as if swept away by a wave.
The Carriage departed, and the newspaper stand that had been visible through the window receded into the distance. But the face of Grand Duchess Krantz, smiling like the bright spring sunshine, was clearly etched in Olivia's mind.
***
No way.
「Johann Duke of Edinburgh Leopold, Suddenly Engaged to Grand Duchess Krantz」
This couldn't be happening.
Diane's coldly sunken eyes were fixed on the photo in the morning paper. Her hands, clutching the newspaper, trembled. She felt a strong sense of betrayal at the sudden situation without any warning.
It was as if she had only done good for others.
Reporters, as if by agreement, expressed joy and excitement in all their articles without reservation. They raved that Duke Leopold was finally about to welcome a Duchess befitting his noble lineage.
Irene de Krantz.
A princess of a supreme nation, incomparable to Olivia Blanchett. She was an opponent who instantly crushed Diane's desire to become the Duchess. She extinguished even the will to fight.
Diane bit her lip.
Diane, who needed time to capture Yohan's heart, had been staying in Greathill under the pretext of cleaning up the mess left by the former Duchess.
This was because someone was needed to check the bills and ordered items that continued to arrive even a month after the divorce.
She should have had a child first. By any means...
If the Grand Duchess came in as the new mistress, she would no longer have any reason to remain here. Tanesia had secretaries and aides, so there would be no place for the former Duchess's secretary to step in.
'Annoying!'
Diane stood up and threw the newspaper onto the table as if discarding it. Her angry footsteps paced by the window.
An unbearable anger surged within her.
What lengths she had gone to in order to get rid of Olivia Blanchett...
Her temples throbbed.
'Annoying! It's so annoying, I'm going crazy!'
Instead of screaming, Diane picked up a vase on the sideboard and threw it onto the wool carpet. The glass shattered, glinting sharply in the morning sunlight.
Now that all her efforts had come to naught, she needed something commensurate with the position of Duchess.
Without that something, she could never leave this place.
With a quick change of heart, she walked to the vanity and opened the top drawer. Opening the box with a green velvet and gold trim, a lily-patterned amethyst key sparkled.
She couldn't just leave like this.
Diane stared down at the golden key, gnawing on her lower lip. Blood gathered on her red lips, turning them a deep crimson as she slowly rose.
Greathill was a separate palace built in the architectural style of her home country for the young Queen who was homesick after marrying into a foreign land.
The King had filled a large room with jewels for his beloved Queen, and the key to the room where these precious items were displayed and stored was the Lily Key.
Of course, after the Queen's death, the jewels were transferred to Rondos Palace, but Olivia Duchess Leopold, who became the new mistress of Greathill eighty years later, filled the space with jewels again.
This was also Diane's scheme, but the people of the world, unaware of the circumstances, cursed the vulgar Duchess for being a snob who was unaware of her place.
Stupid Olivia.
Olivia, who had become a vain snob without even realizing it, relied on Diane more and more as the situation worsened.
So, it was easier than breathing to hold such a pathetic girl in the palm of her hand and manipulate her.
The Lily Key was originally an item managed by the mistress. Diane framed Olivia's maid in order to get her hands on this key.
She secretly hid the Pink Diamond Necklace, one of the late Duchess's belongings, in the maid's room. Due to the incident, Diane took charge of the Lily Key, citing poor management.
It was as if Yohan, who regarded his wife as incompetent, had entrusted the fish store to a cat.
Diane closed the box, put it back where it was, and closed the drawer. She called a maid to clean up the broken vase and began her day as usual. Waiting for the night to deepen.
After waiting for the night to deepen, Diane quietly left the study after confirming that even the lights in Yohan's bedroom were turned off.
Carrying an unlit lamp, she walked down the long corridor and stood in front of the report opposite the Duchess's bedroom on the second floor. Relying on the moonlight, she inserted the key and gently turned it, and with a click, the door opened.
She carefully opened the heavy door as quietly as possible and squeezed her body into the smallest possible gap.
Fumbling through the dark space, Diane placed the lamp on the shelf and groped for a match in her pocket to light it.
The enchanting space, no matter when she entered, poured out dazzling light even with a small light. Dry saliva went down the back of her throat.
From the jewels owned by Yohan's mother, the Duchess of Edinburgh, to the tiara set bestowed by the Queen upon her marriage, to the rare collections purchased at various auctions and jewelers.
Diane had waited three years for the pleasure of admiring the precious items that would one day be hers.
'I think of it as compensation for my service. Yohan.'
The sparkling jewels disappeared one by one into the bag she had prepared. The bag quickly became heavy, and the surroundings were once again plunged into darkness. Diane quietly slipped out as she had come in.
A Carriage, secretly prepared by sending a messenger during the day, was waiting under the darkness of the back gate wall.
"Longbon Street."
The Carriage, which had run down the narrow hillside, entered a dark path. The road led to a foggy riverside, and the Carriage ran along the straight river for a long time.
Bridges were placed along the river, but the Carriage crossed the bridge at the very bottom.
The Carriage, which had once again entered a winding and dark road, had already entered a dark and narrow back alley. It was a slum where shabby buildings were densely packed without any room for sunlight.
The Carriage arrived at its destination and stopped. Diane, who had deeply lowered the hood attached to her cloak over her hat, got out of the Carriage.
After briefly looking around, she knocked on the door. At the third knock, a faint light leaked from inside. Soon, the door opened with a creak.
"Who the hell is it... Oh my! Isn't it Miss Brooke."
Diane glared at the man and said in a low voice.
"Don't call me that carelessly."
"Yes, yes. That's right."
The man opened the door wide and stepped aside. As Diane stepped inside, the man sharply scanned the dark alley and closed the door. All the window blinds were also lowered.
"How have you been?"
The man scratched his sideburns and sauntered over. Without explanation, Diane threw the bag onto the table as if dumping it.
"Did you bring something great?"
The man opened the leather bag. A sly whistle echoed through the silent space. The man winked at Diane.
"Two days. Make it within that time."
"If you push me too hard, only shoddy things will come out."
"There are eighty more points. I'll finish it in half a month and leave."
"What's my share?"
"I'll know after I dispose of the jewels."
"6 to 4."
"Are you crazy?"
"Because I'm crazy, I even kill people. Isn't that right, Miss?"
The man grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. Diane, barely suppressing her disgust, said with a sigh.
"8 to 2. Don't be greedy for more than that. Money is good, but it's not worth trading your life for, is it?"
Diane took out a self-defense pistol from her handbag and pointed it.
