Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
“Of course, even if an incident occurs, it would suffice if the duke’s other daughter comes. Quite a strong bond, isn’t it?”
The empress spoke in a clear, resonant voice.
Leopold’s partner was destined to be a lady from the imperial faction. The most honorable position, yet one trapped in the empress’s coils, doomed to wither away.
Everyone hid their daughters from that position, but the heartless father who offered his was none other than the duke.
Hiding his precious youngest daughter, he presented an illegitimate child, found after scouring the empire, a man as cold as ice.
Thus, the duke would move as desired, like a piece on a chessboard.
“I will go.”
Everyone knew the duke’s words omitted agreement. The empress threw a laughing remark at the departing duke’s back.
“Farewell, Duke. No matter what others say, we’re on the same side, aren’t we?”
A tinkling laugh echoed from the reception room left behind. The duke, Giovanni Madelaine, ground his teeth.
Olivia. What on earth was that girl doing to make the empress mention even Essela?
He had to go to the mansion. Before that girl ruined things further.
.
.
.
As soon as the duke left, Countess Chase collapsed to the floor.
“Your, Your Majesty. I truly didn’t do it. Please believe me.”
“I want to believe it wasn’t you.”
The moment a pitying voice was heard, Countess Chase lifted her head as if spotting a glimmer of hope.
“But what can I do?”
“Your, Your Majesty?”
“When so much evidence points to you, why would I antagonize Madelaine to protect you? Don’t you agree?”
“…….”
“You must be tired from coming to the capital, so return to Chase territory to recover.”
Everything was neatly resolved. The empress lightly waved at the Countess Chase, who was ushered out.
When the door closed, the empress laughed like a girl again.
“That was amusing. Intimidating the chamberlain? That lowly thing has some nerve.”
The empress’s eyes narrowed slightly. Half-blooded, but still a Madelaine, is that it? Hmph. Still just a half-blood in the end.
Something that would never belong anywhere.
“I’m glad Your Majesty enjoyed it.”
The Marchioness of Oftem, the closest among the maids, smiled as she applied perfume to the empress’s hand.
Confirming the empress’s relaxed expression, the Marchioness of Oftem spoke as if just remembering.
“By the way, Lady Etel is no ordinary person either. Daring to impersonate His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“That was a bit risky, wasn’t it? Truly, if Your Majesty hadn’t shown grace, that lovely face would’ve been ruined.”
“Indeed. Your Majesty is truly remarkable. How did you know to send a maid like that?”
The empress smiled generously, thinking of Maria Etel.
The crown prince’s lover with a lovely appearance.
It was a pity she couldn’t be made crown princess as a fellow noble faction member, but who knew she’d create such an entertaining scene on her own?
“Lady Maria Etel asked for a card.”
The words of a maid planted in the crown prince’s palace came to mind. Having covered for her so grandly, it was only a matter of time before Maria Etel became hers.
Humming a tune, the empress looked down at her nails.
It was time to redo her nails. Longer, sharper ones.
Through the window, the chamberlain was seen bowing. The carriage slowly started.
Countess Chase had left the palace, they said. Within days, she would return to her territory.
As the empress always did.
Normally, Olivia would’ve pretended not to notice.
But since they’d touched Madelaine too, this time she had to tell her father.
If it were just her own matter, fine, but if it concerned Madelaine, whom she loved like her life, her father would likely be angry too. Perhaps, just perhaps.
He might be a little angry for her sake too.
Olivia gave a small laugh. Though she doubted it, an inevitable hope swelled within her.
Whatever happened, she now had a reason to talk to her father, even a little.
With a brighter expression, Olivia looked out the window, then gasped and tapped the coachman’s window.
“Stop over there for a moment.”
“My lady!”
As the carriage slowed and stopped completely, Sally called out loudly to Olivia and climbed aboard.
“How did you get here? How did you know I was here?”
“My lady, that’s not important right now.”
Sally exhaled heavily. Seeing Sally’s tense face, Olivia sensed something serious.
“What’s wrong?”
“His Grace is looking for you!”
Olivia’s heart pounded—thump, thump—wildly. Her father looking for her was something she’d never heard since coming to Madelaine.
Before the dark oak door, Olivia steadied her breathing.
Her father’s reception room. A place forbidden to her for fourteen years.
With a trembling fist, she knocked on the door.
“It’s Olivia.”
The door, which seemed like it would never open, did.
The duke stood before a large window where the sunset glowed.
The sunset’s light was so strong she couldn’t see the duke’s face. Unable to read his expression, Olivia clenched and unclenched her fist nervously.
The reception room was silent. Pressing a hand to her racing heart, Olivia took another step forward.
How much had her father heard? Did he know how she’d reacted? Unsure where to begin, Olivia hesitated before parting her lips.
“F-Father.”
“Crown Princess.”
Cutting her off, a cold voice fell. The duke looked straight at Olivia. His face, backlit by the sunset, was as cold as ice.
“I asked for just one thing: to become the crown princess.”
A sharply honed voice struck once, a gaze devoid of the slightest affection struck again. They pierced Olivia.
“You couldn’t even manage that one thing, and now you’re embroiled in such scandals, arrogantly trying to disrupt the crown prince’s palace?”
“No, that’s not it.”
There was clearly a misunderstanding.
“I heard the empress sent you a gift to console your loneliness. And you threatened the chamberlain over a mere card in it? Do you really think you’re fit to be crown princess?”
The heavy, sharp voice attacked Olivia, but she felt oddly relieved.
Right now, her father was misunderstanding her.
“It wasn’t just a card. It mocked me by impersonating His Highness the Crown Prince and insulted Madelaine.”
“How does that insult Madelaine?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear? I asked how mocking you insults Madelaine.”
His vivid purple eyes were as emotionless as if looking at a stranger.
The coldly cutting words made Olivia feel as if her lungs were stabbed, her breath catching.
It had been so long since she’d seen her father.
Every morning, he’d frown at her face, never once calling her to the reception room, but that was because her efforts hadn’t yet reached him.
Her father had still brought her, alone, to this place.
He let her live with a splendid wife for a while, meet siblings, wear beautiful silk dresses, eat delicious food, and…
Oh, yes. He placed her in the most precious seat, beside Leopold.
Her father knew she liked Leopold. He said it was a precious seat, one she couldn’t have had if she weren’t a Madelaine lady.
The more she counted, the more reasons there were.
“I, too,”
Her voice trembled, so Olivia clenched her fist tightly.
“I, too, am a Madelaine.”
Her voice, bursting toward the duke, quivered.
The moment the duke looked at her emotionlessly, Olivia realized.
“If you want to claim you’re a Madelaine, act like one.”
There was still a line between her and her father.
“Behave properly. Don’t drag Madelaine into such filthy rumors again.”
Cold eyes, words blaming her as if everything was her fault. It was the same as when she was a child, grabbed by the arm, unable to speak.
Then and now, she had only one thing to say.
Olivia muttered faintly, as if wringing it out.
“…I didn’t do anything.”
“You did nothing, yet those rumors engulf you?”
“…Yes.”
“Then what about what you did in the crown prince’s palace?”
“That was just…”
…her effort to protect Madelaine. Even if she was ignored, Madelaine shouldn’t be.
She thought protecting Madelaine together would bring her a step closer to her father.
The duke looked down at her with reproach. She’d hoped for just one step closer, but now they were ten steps apart.
“…Get out.”
The duke glared at Olivia as if fed up. Turning away, Olivia stared blankly at the reception room.
Every time she looked at the oak door, she wondered what was inside.
The portrait above the fireplace was painted fourteen years ago, before she arrived. A brightly smiling duchess, a kind father, a mischievous Conrad and Jade, and a fairy-like Essela.
As if time had passed it by, the room remained as it was fourteen years ago.
Filled only with hatred toward her.
Olivia forced herself to breathe.
It felt like she couldn’t breathe.
.
.
.
She didn’t know how she got back to her room.
Lying on the bed in her dress, Olivia stared at the ceiling. The silk canopy, adorned with lavish lace, draped elegantly, and everything around her was valuable, but…
Her heart felt hollow. Had she skipped dinner?
Pondering, Olivia shook her head and buried her face in the bed again.
The cool sheets brushed her cheeks.
In a world where all sound seemed to vanish, Olivia thought she wanted something very small.
Not the kind of affection that would risk everything, like the chamberlain’s.
“Good job.” Or “Well done.” She hoped for words like that.
At least, she thought her trembling hands, her best effort, were worth that much.
Olivia raised her hand and looked at it. Then she thought suddenly.
She was glad she’d kept wearing the gloves a man gave her.
At least her father wouldn’t have seen her hands trembling. The glittering gloves would’ve caught his eye first.
Then Olivia gave a soft laugh.
On second thought, her father wouldn’t notice her trembling hands. That thought made her laugh. Olivia laughed out loud.
When that loud laughter subsided.
Olivia’s face twisted slightly, then was buried in the sheets.
Without a sound escaping, Olivia’s slender back trembled faintly.
At the victory banquet hall, filled with paired hands, Olivia Madelaine was alone again. Nobles glanced at the Madelaine lady with subtle smiles.
“What’s she thinking, dressing like a partner and standing alone?”
“Exactly. She shouldn’t have worn that dress. It’s not like she’s advertising that Lady Etel stole His Highness the Crown Prince.”
It was as the nobles said. Leopold, in a red uniform, stood beside Maria Etel in a pink dress.
Not beside Olivia, in a red dress matched to his red uniform as a partner.
Her eyes met Leopold’s from afar. One corner of his mouth lifted. A charming smile and a roguish, attractive demeanor.
Leopold knew Olivia too well. That’s why this was so easy for him. Being with Maria Etel, everything that happened in the crown prince’s palace.
Olivia looked ahead as if nothing was wrong.
If she thought it didn’t matter, it really didn’t. Otherwise, the shame and humiliation she hid so carefully would consume her.
In the distance, she saw her father and Conrad. They must’ve heard, but they didn’t glance her way.
In this grand banquet hall, they felt like strangers. Her gaze fell to the lace gloves.
She wore the jewels and dress sent by the palace, but the gloves were the ones that man gave her.
Olivia slowly raised her gloved hand. That man, who strangely calmed her when they were together.
Then, a heavy trumpet blast overwhelmed the banquet hall.
“His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and Her Highness the Princess arrive.”
The chamberlain shouted loudly. Everyone paid respects to the emperor, empress, and princess. Behind the ornately adorned emperor and empress, Princess Reina appeared in a pure white dress.
It wasn’t the flashy dress the princess usually favored.
“We pay homage to the sun and moon of the empire. We greet His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Haha. It’s a joyous day, so rise.”
To lift the mood, the emperor laughed heartily, raising his glass. Then, scanning the banquet hall noticeably, he spoke loudly.
“But where are the stars of today?”
“Well, that’s…”
The chamberlain from the emperor’s palace whispered awkwardly to the emperor. Hearing it, the emperor frowned.
“What? They’re not here yet?”
The banquet hall fell silent. It was a victory banquet, but arriving later than the emperor and empress was unthinkable.
Just as the emperor’s fiery temper was about to erupt.
“His Highness Archduke Edwin Lowell Bicander, the Imperial Knights, and the Bicander Knights enter!”
With the chamberlain’s resounding voice, the doors swung open, and knights in ceremonial uniforms marched in grandly.
Olivia, too, looked for Jade among the knights. His silver hair should be easy to spot, but with so many people, she couldn’t find him.
Suddenly, the crowd watching the procession fell silent. Noticing their reaction, Olivia turned her head.
Olivia’s eyes widened. She blinked instinctively. The man in a black uniform at the front of the knights’ procession.
Tall, with jet-black hair that reflected even darkness. Ruby-red eyes with a hint of crimson. A face so beautiful it stole one’s breath.
That man was undoubtedly the one she’d been thinking of, the man she saw in Ruheirn.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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Why does the Grand Duke keep falling into her? He was shaking the first time they met and also fell into her…does he have an ailment?
The fl and the ml are ao cute !
I really don’t understand the logic of blaming Olivia for the mother’s death. It’s obviously illogical but none of them care enough about Olivia to treat her well regardless. Half of them were always cruel to her. This family has a herd mentality.