The lady, devoid of any venom, like a fairy, looked at Winster for a moment.
“Can I ask something?”
“Yes! Of course!”
Winster thumped his chest. There was little about the Duke and his duchy that Winster did not know.
“Um…”
Olivia hesitated a little, her small face unable to hide her curiosity.
“Do you like lacetrimmed dresses?”
“Ah!!”
.
.
.
A delicate laugh floated out of the open window of the reception room. The Duke, who was listening proudly from the next room, had a bemused look on his face.
“……Do you really have to do this?”
Deliberately leaving them alone, having Winster act friendly to the lady.
Even after thinking again, it was an incomprehensible plan.
But the Duke just nodded his head, smiling leisurely.
“Of course. Now is the opportunity.”
The lady, with nowhere to go, had chosen this place as her only destination.
The Duke wanted her to grow fonder of the duchy, to think of it as home naturally. That was the result the Duke desired.
Watching the Duke smile brightly, as if pleased, Howard inwardly sighed.
Winster, who had been taken with the lady since her last uproarious laughter, would be fine, but it seemed far off to win the affection of the other knights still in Vicander.
He was reminded of the knights who shuddered at the thought of the Emperor.
The Duke, like the Emperor, was just as much a foe.
His daughter then? They were not ones to meekly bow to the master’s lady.
Howard cautiously raised a worry.
“I hate to say it, but many in Vicander hate even the Duke. Of course, we will block it in advance, but the lady may get hurt.”
“I hate too.”
“What?”
“The Duke. I hate too.”
Howard couldn’t understand the Duke’s words. Meanwhile, the Duke shrugged his shoulders and stood up.
“And you can’t hate the lady.”
“Of course, I think so too.”
“Especially Dian. After the war, he praised the sponsor who sent turkey meat, saying she must be kindhearted.”
The sponsor who sent turkey meat during the war?
Howard’s eyes widened.
The Duke winked.
“Keep it to yourself. Even if he doesn’t know, if it’s the lady, she will capture Dian the same way.”
“If he starts with only prejudice without knowing, then…”
Howard trailed off without knowing it.
As fiery a knight as Jade Madelleine, including the passionate Knight Dian Stellin and Vicander’s knights would reveal their hostility, it was when Howard’s expressionless face slightly twisted under the worst assumption.
Duke Vicander glanced at Howard. A daunting pressure that no one could dare to follow crushed Howard, and he instinctively straightened his body.
A beautiful face smiled leisurely.
“If so, nothing will change.”
“……”
“You will be my rain, and my knights will serve you as they serve me.”
It was then that Howard’s spine relaxed softly.
How dare. How dare I tried to assess my lord’s lady. That too, in front of a lord who wants to do everything for her.
“……I apologize. I misspoke.”
Howard bowed his head respectfully. The sharp atmosphere that dominated the space slowly cleared.
Duke Vicander slowly sighed.
Even though the intimidation had subsided, that sigh pressed painfully on Howard’s shoulders.
“……Be more careful with your words in front of the lady. Now I finally want to say what I want without looking around.”
[This is the time separator]“We will meet the Emperor at the nearest possible date.”
Of course, if the lady is alright with it.
At Duke Vicander’s added words, Olivia nodded slightly.
She had been prepared to go again sometime. But there was something to do before that.
“If it’s alright, I’ll go to the Imperial Palace first. I think I need to see the Crown Prince and the Princess.”
Beyond receiving the letter, there was a final matter to discuss. Olivia made a pained face. Duke Vicander, with his eyes narrowed, grudgingly nodded.
“Indeed. You must have things to settle.”
Despite speaking leisurely, a childlike displeasure was apparent on Duke Vicander’s face. Olivia smiled faintly, and then opened her mouth quietly.
“It’s been a year since I was granted power over Tiaje Palace.”
“Is that so?”
Duke Vicander flicked his eyebrows. He seemed to know that the fiancées of ordinary crown princes are granted power much earlier.
“Yes. Of course, I worked before that, but having power granted is different, right? So imagine how I felt.”
Olivia spoke deliberately lightly. She didn’t reveal her sorrow at all. Fortunately, Duke Vicander said nothing.
“……I cared for Tiaje Palace day and night. Finally, this palace became completely mine. You know that childish sense of possession.”
Olivia laughed heartily. She spoke as if it were nothing, but even the thought of that exhilaration was so exciting that her nose tingled.
She was truly grateful to the Empress, who had reluctantly granted her power. Despite the Princess ruining the palace and telling her to care more about the Princess Palace, she worked without complaint.
She thought that she would be recognized someday.
“Especially the garden. It’s a place I’ve really worked hard to decorate.”
Hoping that at least Leopold would appreciate it.
It was a vain hope. Olivia swallowed her bitter memories and grinned. Duke Vicander spoke slowly.
“……If you have decorated it, it must be a beautiful place.”
“Don’t you want to see that beautiful garden for yourself?”
Olivia joked. Duke Vicander looked at Olivia without responding. Soon, his lips curled lazily.
“……Is this a date request?”
“To be precise, I am practicing what you called ‘spoiling’, you know?”
“That’s the same thing.”
Duke Vicander smiled gracefully. Like a blooming rose, Olivia didn’t reply but just giggled.
In truth, she wanted to show him.
The palace that no one cared about.
The space she always wanted to be proud of.
She needed someone to recognize her efforts. And she thought that Duke Vicander would fully recognize her efforts.
This tingling anticipation was pleasant. The conviction that he would meet her expectations made Olivia excited.
Olivia looked elsewhere, avoiding Duke Vicander’s gaze. Her eyes kept curling as if her laughter was contagious.
[This is the time separator]“War hero Duke Vicander, and to see the princess. But why is Duke Vicander in the Tiache Palace?”
The Countess of Sofron had a perplexed face.
It was understandable.
Duke Vicander appeared in the Tiache Palace, a space of the crown princess where male nobles couldn’t enter unless permitted, with the crown prince’s fiancée.
Especially at a time when there were rumors that the Duke had proposed to her.
Olivia smiled faintly and faced the Duke. Laughter fluttered over the Duke’s face.
“I permitted it.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, I personally permitted and welcome the guest.”
The countess’s expression clouded at the solemn, dignified voice.
She could immediately guess who the lady was thinking of.
Uninvited Maria Etel.
Although it was the crown prince’s will, it was a fatal mistake as a maid who serves the crown princess and manages the Tiache Palace. But Olivia turned the conversation away.
“……I have sent a letter to the crown prince in advance. Please prepare as he will be here soon.”
“Yes. Then I will prepare in the garden.”
The Countess of Sofron hurriedly left her seat. Among the glances of the palace people, Olivia looked back at the Duke.
His face, looking curiously around the palace, seemed a bit cute. Realizing it, Olivia quickly lowered her head.
“Miss?”
The Duke called Olivia, seeming puzzled. Oops. Olivia, who then realized that her behavior might look strange, spoke in excuse.
“A bee, a bee. There must be bees in spring.”
“Even the bee seems to have taste.”
The Duke smiled kindly. His smile was embarrassing, so Olivia said something else.
“There. I planted that pink flower.”
“No wonder. I thought the handwriting on the label looked familiar.”
Huh? Olivia didn’t understand what the Duke meant by the handwriting being familiar. What does that mean?
But before she could ask again, a voice like a shout came from the other side.
“Princess! The crown princess is looking for you urgently!”
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
