The carriage started off slowly.

It was only when they were far from Yenive Street that Olivia looked out the window.

Dian was sitting on a horse, following at a distance beside the carriage. His usually upright posture in front of Olivia seemed slightly broken.

Fortunately, the sun was setting behind Dian. If not, his face would have been clearly visible. That was not what Olivia wanted, and perhaps not what Dian wanted either.

Olivia drew the curtain at the window. As the sound of the horses’ hooves resonated from outside, Olivia mulled over the recent events.

“……Shall we head to the Duke’s castle now?”

Dian awkwardly deflected my question about the lenses, and only after confirming that I was in the carriage, he turned away a moment later.

When he said we were starting again, Dian’s eyes were a perfect brown. But Olivia could not forget the pale green eyes she had seen beneath the brown.

Until now, Olivia had thought that Dian’s enmity was simply because I was a princess of the imperial faction, and his loyalty to Vicander was deep. Like some knights who occasionally stared intently at me, then turned their heads if our eyes met.

But thinking back, Dian seemed to dislike me exceptionally.

“……Could it be a defense mechanism?”

But if he disliked me more for not wanting his green eyes to be discovered, his fitting in well with the children of Yenive Street had always struck me.

Then what was the exact reason he disliked me so much?

Olivia blinked her eyes in a flurry. To think that I would struggle this much to find a reason for someone disliking me.

In the past, I didn’t bother to find out why people disliked me.

Illegitimate child, halfcreature. Or the fiancée of an unloved prince. Many slurs representing me. I thought the reason was among them, so I brushed them aside and did my best for the ones I loved.

But now, I…

“Do as you please.”

I wanted to love all of Vicander. And at the same time, I wanted to be loved by all.

Strangely, my heart kept leaning toward Vicander, and its people. I felt ready to love them all.

Even if it was greed, it was okay. That phrase to do as I pleased had already become a command inscribed in Olivia.

.

.

.

After dinner, in the drawing room.

As when the two had stayed in Duke’s residence, even after coming to Vicander’s jurisdiction, the order of having warm tea together after a meal remained the same.

Usually, they would talk about what they had done during the day when they were apart. But today, Edwin, who seemed amused, suddenly brought up a topic.

“……Did Dian get caught, or did Olivia notice?”

“What?”

“Dian’s lenses.”

For a moment, Olivia swallowed her breath. Thinking that Dian wearing lenses might be a secret, I hadn’t given any hints, but recounted the story of going to Yenive in great detail.

Two questions intertwined in my surprise at Edwin.

“……How did you know? No, did you know?”

“If I have to answer how I knew Olivia knew about Dian’s lenses first…….”

Edwin grinned, as if he had precisely understood, and glanced out of the open window.

It was a dark night, but the training ground was bright.

The dense trees blocked the view of who was there, but the distant sounds of shouting or perhaps battle cries were faintly audible.

“……It’s a habit of Dian’s. Whenever someone discovers his lenses, he does training like that to vent his anger.”

One answer resolved the second question as well. Olivia asked one more thing.

“Was he caught often?”

“Until a few years ago, almost every day. Apart from the people who saw him when Dian first came here, probably everyone found out that way. He wasn’t used to lenses then.”

I heard once, it feels strange and uncomfortable to wear lenses for the first time.
How desperate must Beserni have been to offer even a permanent spell that could change eye color, but still he refused. He finally adapted to the lens later.

Olivia, who had been listening quietly, raised one eyebrow in perplexity.

Something was strange. Training in anger like that and even refusing magic while using a lens that had the risk of being discovered?

It was a contradictory statement. But Edwin calmly continued.

“After getting used to the lens, he wasn’t like that for a while, but seeing him like that today, I thought Olivia had caught on. Probably others guessed as well.”

“……Do you know why Lord Stellin insists on the lens?”

Olivia’s voice trembled a little. If she could hear the answer, she might understand why Dean Stellin was hostile to her.

Edwin’s red lips moved slowly. It was a moment when Olivia’s heartbeat quickened.

“……That, I cannot tell you?”

It was a slightly apologetic smile.

Ah. The strength in my clenched fist unknowingly loosened.

I had definitely demanded neutrality, but almost crossed the line. Olivia struggled to hide her disappointment and grinned.

“Thank you.”

“Instead.”

Before Olivia’s words ended, Edwin continued. His round, curved eyes looked tenderly at Olivia.

“Instead of Dean’s personal secret, it’s alright to tell you something that everyone in the dukedom knows?”