DYBAR - Chapter 33 < Last Chance >

DYBAR - Chapter 33 < Last Chance >

Do Your Best And Regret It

"The Empress should talk to the Princess first. As the Empress said, we must avoid pitying the Princess."

The Empress, who got off the carriage, smiled as she remembered the Emperor's words. In fact, there was no need to talk to that lowly green-eyed Princess. Because Olivia Madeleine thought terribly of her son, the Prince. 

But she wished the Emperor had put pressure on the Duke directly. She doesn't doubt it because she knows Olivia's feelings for the Crown Prince, but the Princess's behavior recently as she hangs out with Grand Duke Vikander has been a real problem. 

The Empress shook her head. Rumors that the Princess was taking up residence in the grand duchy reached the Empress's palace.

No matter how uneducated she was, the Princess who was betrothed to the Prince was living in the mansion of another nobleman. It was also the mansion of Grand Duke Vikander, who was thinking of marrying the Princess. 

If it was raised as an issue, it could easily escalate into something serious. So either teach the eldest daughter properly or put the youngest daughter in her place. It was obvious that the Duke's face would harden with just this threat alone. 

The Empress clicked her tongue in disappointment for not being able to see him in person. But soon she smiled leisurely and entered the Empress' palace. 

Anyway, today wasn't the only day. A few days ago, she heard from the Princess that even though she had called for Olivia,  she did not come right away. 

Of course, she heard the news that Olivia visited the palace yesterday, but it was just as scandalous. 

Although she thought that the princess had done well, the Empress' smiled brightly, saying that she would have to call Olivia to her palace soon. 

People who were distracted by the beautiful Empress's smile did not notice the eerie movement of her long fingernails. The Empress's smile grew deeper. She was having fun today as well.

But the Empress's joyful mood was shattered by a report from her maid that she had planted it in the Crown Prince's palace, Thiase Palace.

"Again. Say it again."

"Well, that is."

The maid who had been placed in the Princess's palace trembled and responded to the Empress' cold voice.

"The Princess requested His Majesty the Crown Prince to break off the engagement, Your Majesty."

"..."

The empress's eyebrows sharply rose. Her maid's words were shocking. How dare the green-eyed girl, born so lowly, ask her proud Prince to break off the engagement? 

The leisurely smile from before had gone somewhere, but the beautiful face was filled with anger. Her angry hands grabbed the armrest of her sofa roughly. The silk of the armrests was crumpled mercilessly.

The Empress's closest maid, the Marchioness Offem, who discovered it, noticed it and went outside with other maids. In her quiet drawing room, the 

Empress recalled Olivia's pretty face as she always bowed her head. She was a Princess who seemed like she would do anything to become a Princess. The Princess's sincerity, as she always looked at the Prince with her love-filled eyes, was barely this thin.

"I don't think anyone would be half-hearted."

The Empress let out a light breath. She felt as if she had been played by the Princess. It felt like a fire was burning in her chest. 

How dare she ask the Crown Prince to break off the engagement first?

"She seems brash, arrogant, and mean."

A venomous anger flickered above the softly muttered words. There is no such thing as a one-year grace period. 

She will ask the Emperor to put aside that lowly-born girl and immediately take Eshela Madeleine as his son's wife. That would be the greatest punishment for the Duke, who could not even properly guard her daughter. She will take the soft and gentle little Princess of Madeleine and have her die with Empress poison.

The Empress let out a harsh breath between her teeth. Her brown eyes, which always sparkled neatly, sparkled strangely.

***

The Prince's carriage had already been circling the palace for several laps. The coachman looked several times at Count Hodges, who was following the carriage on horseback, with an anxious look on his face. 

However, the Crown Prince's adjutant, Count Hodges, only nodded slightly. He meant to keep turning. Following orders, the coachman drove the carriage slowly.

And in this slow carriage, Leopold stared ahead expressionlessly. He couldn't believe that what was happening to him was real.

Olivia is asking him to break off their engagement. Something unbelievable happened.

"I came to see you one last time before I break off my engagement."

Olivia's voice rang in his ears.

"Your Majesty, you are also disrespectful to me by bringing Lady Ethel into my palace without my permission."

"Rather than eavesdropping, Your Highness forgot your promise to me and had a secret meeting in the garden of the Crown Princess' palace where I was waiting." 

"Greetings to the Little Sun of the Empire. Olivia Madeleine, I will greet you again soon as Archduchess Vikander."

"Please... I hope you stay safe until then."

Leopold had no idea she was such a good talker. No. He had no idea that Olivia would look him in the eyes and say she was breaking off the engagement so calmly. 

The Olivia from earlier seemed unfamiliar as if he was seeing her for the first time. 

Leopold's head started pounding as he remembered the green eyes that had been looking at him without any agitation. As soon as he thought about it, the events from before came back to his mind one after another. 

Olivia dared to turn around even when he told her to stand. And the face of the Grand Duke, who glanced at him while standing next to her as if guarding her. When the face that seemed to be laughing at him became clear.

" How dare..."

The voice he spoke between his teeth was so heavy that it gave him goosebumps. A ferocious energy stirred around Leopold. She felt like his stomach was turning. His heart pounded unpleasantly as if he was crying. 

How dare. His father's dog, which roamed the border, coveted his fiancee. His fiancee, who was supposed to be the most chaste, was deceived by the Grand Duke's trick. He doesn't deserve it. 

Eventually, Leopold hit the carriage. The carriage came to a halt with a force strong enough to make the expensive carriage vibrate. But Leopold paid no heed and hit the carriage once more. This turmoil that formed like a lump was clearly anger. 

Leopold's eyes, defining the identity of his emotions, sank as deep as the deep sea. A sinister spirit appeared as if he would not leave anyone alone if he was in front of him. 

It was sometime later that the carriage, which had been stopped for such a long time, started again. Leopold arrived at the palace with a very sharp face. 

Seeing this, the chamberlain welcomed Leopold and carefully reported.

"Are you here, Your Highness? Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."

"Her Majesty the Empress?"

Everything was annoying. Leopold wanted to send away her mother, the Empress, on the pretext that he had a headache.

However, the Empress must have heard the news of Leopold's arrival and burst into Leopold's room.

"Prince!"

"What brings you here, Your Majesty?"

Because he was feeling down, he had no desire to talk at length with the Empress.

"Prince, I heard the story. How dare that lowly thing!"

However, the moment he heard the Empress' words, Leopold's eyes sharply rose.

"Who did you hear it from?"

"Isn't that what's important?"

"That's important to me, Your Majesty."

A coldness dripped from Leopold's voice. The Empress was sorry. He was the Crowned Prince from birth. It would be unbearable for the world to see the news of a request for a break-up of the engagement being leaked out due to the world's high pride.

"There was a maid I planted in the Crown Prince's palace, Prince. Don't worry about what she says getting out."

Despite the Empress's firm words, Leopold did not loosen his frown. But that wasn't important to the Empress.

"How dare that half-baked Princess show off to the Prince!"

Leopold swallowed his troubled feelings. Leopold couldn't even figure out where the Empress's words were. Meanwhile, the Empress continued speaking in anger.

"I came to His Majesty a little while ago to ask for a one-year grace period. This won't work. We had to kick out Olivia Madeleine and immediately brought in Ethella Madeleine, who was more suitable for the position of Crown Princess. "

"Is it for one year?"

What caught Leopold's ears more than the talk about taking Esella Madeleine as his wife was the words 'one year's grace'. The Empress continued speaking as if she was shocked.

"Yes, Prince. A woman who was married to a member of the royal family cannot marry another nobleman for one year, even if only to clarify her succession relationship."

"..."

"Even though she was born in a lowly world, her abilities are not bad, so I decided to give her a chance!"

The Empress' angry voice receded like a thunderbolt. Leopold's head turned quickly. There was something strangely disturbing about it. 

When Leopold's eyes darkened as he was recalling the conversation from earlier, Olivia's calm voice passed through his mind once again.

"Your Majesty, you are also disrespectful to me by bringing Lady Ethel into my palace without my permission."

"Rather than eavesdropping, Your Highness forgot your promise to me and had a secret meeting in the garden of the Crown Princess' palace where I was waiting."

Ah. That's it. The calmness to face the facts. 

A strangely resigned laugh, not a laugh that had been held in for a long time. 

Aside from her ability to speak well, Olivia today was really different from usual. When he realized that fact, he felt strangely dirty.

"..."

The corners of his handsome mouth quirked up. Meanwhile, the Empress spoke in an angry voice. 

"I'm going to tell His Majesty right away. Prince, Please proceed with your marriage to Ethella Madeleine."

"There is no need for that, Your Majesty."

"What is that!"

"As you said, please give Olivia Madeleine a chance for one year."

Olivia, who is quite intelligent and knowledgeable, would also be familiar with the one-year grace period mentioned in the old book. 

He was glad he met his mother now. Because Leopold didn't really know about the 'one-year grace period'.

The Empress couldn't believe her ears as Leopold shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you saying we should give that arrogant girl a chance? Prince?"

"... Wouldn't it be okay to just do it once?"

"She dared to ask for an end to the engagement first. No matter how little you learn, there is a degree!"

"I know, Your Majesty. However, we  can tolerate wandering once in a while."

Okay. Wandering. Olivia may be lost and wandering right now. In about a year, he'll find out where he belongs again.

"Still..."

The Empress didn't seem to be dissatisfied at all. Leopold led his mother to the sofa as if escorting her. He now realizes that they are both so angry that they keep standing around while talking.

"Instead, Your Majesty. I wish to take Maria Ethel as my fiancée during this one year's grace. I can't easily leave the fiancee position, right?" 

It was an appropriate choice to balance the noble faction and the imperial faction. If she were Maria, she would be fully capable of playing the role of fiancée for a year.

However, unlike Leopold, who said he was confident, the Empress had a completely calm face. 

"Wouldn't you rather be Princess Ethella Madeleine than Lady Ethel? To solidify the throne, it is important to unite with Madeleine, no matter what happens in the future."

What was important to the Empress', who was the Princess of the Duke of Elkin, the head of the aristocratic faction, was the Crown Prince's strong throne. The head of the imperial faction, the Duke of Madeleine, was disliked, but the family of the lovely Maria Ethel fell just short of the Crown Prince. 

But Leopold grinned. 

"Do not worry, Your Majesty. Don't you know how well I know Olivia?"

Only then did the Empress's eyes open slightly. Leopold nodded at her as if to look at it. It was obvious to him that the Empress was thinking the same thing. 

Olivia Madeleine, always easy. She may be acting strange now, but Olivia was not someone who could leave his side. Forever she had to look only to him.

"The Princess can never leave me. In about a year, the Princess will beg me to come back to my side."

It was impossible for someone who had been following him around like that to now ask for an end to the engagement. 

Just thinking about Olivia going to someone else's side made him feel sick. No matter how much he hated Olivia, it was clear to him that Olivia was his. And what it is has never been taken away from him. 

Moreover, Olivia was the one who always stayed by his side. So, Olivia had to stay next to him and only look at him. No matter what happened, he was going to do it again.

"So, Your Majesty. Please also give a good word to His Majesty the Emperor so that everything can be returned to its original state in a year. I will come to see you and talk to you."

This is Olivia's last chance.

"Anyway, the Princess is lucky."

Hearing the Prince's confident voice, the Empress eventually nodded as if there was nothing she could do. But neither the Empress nor Leopold realized it. Unknowingly, they both thought of Olivia as a Princess they couldn't miss. 

Meanwhile, Olivia, who wasn't even hoping for her chance at that time, was blinking at the shower of the dresses. Until just now, she couldn't even think about what happened in the imperial palace.

You delusional bastard!

Oops, sorry 🤭

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