“But, Your Highness the Princess. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said he would come to Tiaje Palace, even if late.”
At Olivia’s words about leaving, Lady Sophrone, the Countess, spoke with a startled face.
Olivia looked up at the sky for a moment. The conversation with the Empress had taken longer than expected, and it was already late.
Was the dark soninlaw visible? The lady avoided Olivia’s gaze.
“It’s late for dinner time. I’ll contact you again next time.”
The lady didn’t persuade any further at Olivia’s firm words. She merely bowed her head in farewell.
The Duke who had been in front of the carriage reached out as if it was only natural. She had gotten used to this escort. As Olivia climbed into the carriage, the Duke sat in front of her with a swift motion.
The door closed, and the carriage set off. Familiar landscapes passed by the window.
“How was the sponsorship?”
“Just as you said, Miss, it was a splendid place. So much that I regret not seeing more?”
“Me too.”
Olivia looked outside with a slight smile. Knowing that today was the last day in her palace, she had braced herself. But the strange relief that she would have to come again was there.
When would she come to see Leopold again?
Counting the days, Olivia felt a sharp gaze and looked at the Duke. The Duke was looking at the document envelope in Olivia’s hand with curious eyes.
As Olivia shook the envelope with a playful face, the Duke chuckled.
“Looks like you brought something fun?”
“Yes. A symbol of victory, perhaps?”
Olivia purposefully put on airs. It was insufficient as earnest money, but she had acquired property she liked. And she thought the Duke would be pleased with her victory, regardless of its utility.
“That’s impressive?”
The feeling that expectations were met, that a prediction came true, was so sweet and fuzzy.
At the sincere praise that uplifted her, Olivia smiled brightly without knowing it. The Duke, seeing that smile, was speechless for a moment. Olivia did not see the Duke’s ear tips, hidden by hair, turn red.
“……Is there nothing for me who cheered hard from behind?”
“Hmm. Doesn’t Your Highness have everything?”
Olivia looked at the Duke as if in thought.
Even if I offer jewels as a gift, the Duke would refuse first. Now I couldn’t afford to buy expensive gifts either. The Duke should know that.
With her eyes narrowed, surveying the Duke, Olivia’s eyes widened as if she had realized something. Before the Duke could grin, Olivia hugged the envelope tightly.
“You can’t have this.”
She could not yet show this abandoned mine. She had not even properly planned what to do with that desolate abandoned mine. It was too barren to inhabit people, and it had no marketability as a tourist resource. It seemed like it would take quite some time until a good idea came to mind.
Olivia said earnestly, but the Duke blinked dumbly, shadows cast by his eyelashes.
Did I speak too sharply?
As Olivia was pondering her words, the Duke burst out laughing.
“Hahaha. Would I steal your victory?”
Seeing his eyes curved lazily with a smile, Olivia felt a bit embarrassed. She also muttered, not alone, and not loudly.
The Duke, with a full smile on his face, rested his elbow on his knee. Then he leaned toward Olivia, propping his chin.
“I want something other than material things.”
Olivia’s face brightened. If it wasn’t material, she might be able to do it.
“Just say it.”
“Call me more intimately?”
“What?”
“You know. The original relationship is revealed in speech, but you still treat me formally when you see me, and you keep your distance by calling my title every time.”
It seemed like a complaint, but it was just a grumble. Olivia giggled. The Duke, not missing the chance, leaned just a little closer to Olivia.
“So. Will you try calling me?”
“……”
“You surely know my name, don’t you?”
“……How could I not? Since that day, I’ve come to know Your Highness’s name very well.”
“It is my honor to reveal my name. I am Edwin Lowell Vicander.”
The name he told me with mischievous eyes.
Edwin Lowell Vicander.
Olivia, without knowing, murmured the Duke’s name and then exclaimed. The quickwitted man in front of her was already smiling.
“What did you say? Speak up; I can’t hear you.”
He lied with a face that had already heard everything.
What’s the big deal about calling a name? Olivia shrugged, as if it were no big deal. Then, she tried to speak again but closed her mouth.
“Why won’t you call me?”
“……I called you earlier.”
“I didn’t hear you?”
The Duke widened his eyes, tilting his head as if to say, ‘when did that happen?’ It was just calling a name. Why should it be so tense?
Olivia, after a moment’s thought, exclaimed quietly. She hadn’t realized she was acting this way because she hadn’t had the opportunity to call him by name.
Suddenly, she recalled Maria Etel, who had freely called Leopold’s name. If she called him by name, then she would really become close to the Duke.
A strange feeling brushed her heart.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
