Instead of answering, Olivia smiled faintly.

Thinking about Acella should be gradually reduced. The bitterness of not being able to do what she had done as a daily routine weighed heavily. Seeing her expression, Edwin playfully spoke.

“……How about paying more attention to me now? Look. I almost felt hurt because you didn’t keep looking at me. Just a word and it’s all right.”

Edwin pouted playfully but his eyes softened as he smiled. His red eyes warmly gazed at Olivia.

It was then that Olivia, who was laughing without realizing it, opened her eyes wide.

“Come to think of it, you don’t call me by my name, do you?”

Olivia spoke carelessly and blinked her eyes. The man who had asked her to call him by his name had not called her by hers.

Where is this going?

Olivia narrowed her eyes and stared at Edwin. But Edwin shrugged his shoulders and spoke with a calm face.

“You never allowed or asked me to.”

“When did I,”

Olivia, reflexively speaking, stopped short. Come to think of it. She had never given such permission. Until now, not one person had asked for permission to call her by her name.

Strangely, her cheek seemed to tingle. No, a part of her heart seemed to tickle.

“Well, you could have just called me by my name.”

Despite the words blurted out awkwardly, Edwin looked at Olivia seriously. And he shook his head gently with a kind smile.

“I can’t do that. I told you. I’m ready to do anything for you. But, speaking differently, if you don’t tell me what you want, I can’t do anything.”

“……You’re malicious.”

“Malicious? I’m no sorcerer.”

Edwin narrowed his eyes as he shrugged his shoulders. Olivia averted her gaze from his captivating smile that seemed to bewitch people.

His red eyes followed Olivia’s eyes persistently, filled with anticipation.

“There seems to be something you want now. Won’t you tell me?”

The end of his languid voice stretched out as if urging Olivia.

What she wanted.

Olivia licked her lips. What she wanted never seemed to come true. It was easier to endure and hope for the next.

But strangely, in front of Edwin, she began to want more.

Olivia had never felt such a strong desire as now. As her expectations were repeatedly met, she seemed to want even more.

When she didn’t want to go back to the Duke’s house, when she wanted someone to recognize the effort in the carefully prepared Tiaje Palace, and even now.
The heartbeat was getting stronger. It seemed as if the pounding sound was loudly echoing in her ears. Olivia clenched her fist and pressed her knees. Then, slowly, she looked at Edwin and spoke.

“Edwin, I would like you to call me by my name, too. Even…”

Would it be okay to say this?

But impulsively, Olivia spoke, a teasing smile on her lips.

“……very dearly.”

People I wished for called my name very easily.

When warning or drawing a line. Sometimes they called me by my pet name carelessly.

But Olivia had been called very dearly by someone.

“Olivia. Liv. My baby.”

The memory of her mother, who called her in such a way that her heart would swell, flashed in her mind.

And at that moment.

“……Olivia.”

Olivia gasped for a moment. Edwin smiled ever so sweetly, as if the pronunciation itself was poignant, very precious.

“I’ve really wanted to call you. Finally, I’m calling you.”

“…….”

“It’s a really pretty name. Olivia.”

My name, spoken so softly, never felt so precious.

“What a pretty name. Olivia.”

Suddenly, Olivia realized that memories of Leopold, who had long tormented her with love, had flown away.

But she was neither disappointed nor hurt. She was sure that far more precious memories would accumulate, more than the ones that had flown away.

So Olivia smiled brightly.

“Edwin, too. It’s a good name.”

“My name?”

Edwin blinked as if he was hearing it for the first time. And at that moment, Olivia knew that it was time to tell what she had learned.

“Yes. When I call Edwin’s name, the corners of my mouth go up like this. It’s a name that makes you happy every time you call it.”

At those words, Edwin’s smile bloomed like a slowly opening flower. His sweet smile tugged Olivia’s eyes even brighter.

(This is a time divider.)

The scenery outside the carriage window was getting darker.

Edwin quietly knocked twice on the driver’s seat. The driver caught the signal, and the carriage slowed down.

Edwin grinned and looked ahead. Olivia, perhaps very tired, began to doze off as soon as she got in the carriage. Her previously rigid posture gradually relaxed.

What kind of dream is she having, Olivia’s nose twitched. The expression on her face, reminiscent of a plucked rabbit, deepened Edwin’s smile.

“Olivia.”

Edwin murmured Olivia’s name. As if recognizing her name, Olivia let out a small sleepfuss. Edwin immediately shut his mouth. Then Olivia started dozing off again.

The thought of becoming a relationship that could show gaps instead of a sharp, prickly appearance was joyfully overwhelming.

If the Emperor’s permission falls, I should go down to Vicander territory with Olivia right away. I wanted to make her laugh more freely, to wish for more.

“I, Your Grace.”

Winstar, who had approached the window, spoke in a small voice.

“There is someone at the front gate.”

At Winstar’s words, Edwin’s eyes narrowed.

Is it Jade again? This time, with Olivia asleep, I won’t send her away nicely.

But the identity of the person standing at the gate was unexpected.

The same cool silver hair as Olivia, and a familiar pink diamond necklace.

Without speaking her name, Edwin knew who the young lady was.

Esella Madeleine.

Olivia’s beloved younger sister, with a swollen face, was standing in front of the Duke’s front gate.