DYBAR - Chapter 85 < About Irreversible Things >
Do Your Best And Regret
"Father..."
The voice that came out without his knowledge trembled terribly. He thought everything would change when his father read the diary. Conrad believed that the terrible emotions he felt would come to his father as well.
However, he couldn't find any inspiration whatsoever in my father's voice that he heard just moments ago. No, it was clear that his ears were wrong. Because his father is not that type of person. A cold-hearted but fair and warm person. That was the father Conrad was looking at, Duke Giovanni Madeleine.
Conrad knew better than anyone else the kind of love his father gave to Ethella and Jade, and to him. How warmly he smiles when he looks at his children with a face that seems cold at first glance.
Conrad quickly turned his head and looked at his father. He hoped there would be some change in his father's face. Whether it's guilt, regret, or pity. But the moment he faced his father's face, Conrad couldn't breathe for a moment. His father put down the diary with an eerily nonchalant look on his face.
The sound of the diary falling repeatedly repeated in Conrad's ears. His hands were shaking slightly. When cracks began to appear in his strong faith in his father, the voices he could hear infrequently moved further away and closer again.
"Starting tomorrow, the Heferti delegation will participate in the banquet. His Royal Highness also said that he is seen with Olivia when there are envoys from other countries. So, early in the morning,"
"Father... You saw the diary."
Conrad interrupted his father with a trembling voice. For the first time, the Duke scolded his son with harsh eyes. But what was important now was not that view.
Something stuck in his throat like a thorn, but Conrad had to say something.
"It wasn't her fault, Olivia. This is all a misunderstanding. Just like I did, father did too."
"Misunderstanding? What a misunderstanding."
"Therefore..."
Conrad's mouth, which had been trying to answer inadvertently to the repeated question, slowly closed. The inside of his throat felt like he had swallowed sand, and then a sharp pain clawed at Conrad. It wasn't a misunderstanding or anything like that.
The reason why he hated Olivia and that girl was clear. His once-loving parents became estranged from others, and his beloved mother died. It was all because Olivia came into their house. But really, is Olivia coming in?
Conrad stumbled for a moment. The floor his legs were supporting began to tilt little by little.
"Father"
It was an earnest call. Please, he wanted his father to hold his hand now. But the Duke looked at his son with indifferent eyes. The eldest son, who thought he had matured quite a bit, was still soft-hearted.
"What do you want to say?"
Conrad bit the inside of his mouth tightly. Even though he didn't feel any pain, his father's voice was brutally clear.
"My thoughts changed a little after hearing Ethella's story. She tried to forgive him a little bit. By the way, she said that child was smiling at the banquet today."
Sigh.
The Duke sighed as if he was astonished. An immeasurable sadness passed over that face. It was the same as Conrad's face when he was young and was sobbing after the Duchess died. So Conrad was always on his father's side. He wanted to be a little bit of strength to his pillar-like father.
"That can't happen."
But.
"Why did Hazel die?"
That couldn't be a reason to blame Olivia. Even as his vision became distant, her blurry figure became increasingly clear. Olivia looked at him and stubbornly called him brother, and no matter how much Conrad insulted her, she came to his side and smiled.
And finally, Olivia passed by him as if looking at others. He remembered she briefly looking at Conrad with her green eyes at the end of resignation and then turning around.
When Conrad couldn't even breathe as if his lungs had been stabbed, her indifferent amethyst eyes stared at him.
"Don't you know that too?"
"You really didn't know?"
Suddenly, Conrad remembered the day Jade came to see him. That's what he said to Jade, who was talking about Olivia with that dumbfounded look on his face. Only then did Conrad understand that Jade was standing there as if nothing but a tattered remnant of himself remained.
It was only at that moment that Conrad realized that his eyes, like his father's, contained only pure hatred. The person he was supposed to hate wasn't Olivia. Olivia was not the one who had to constantly be cut in a social world as sharp as a knife.
"Take a break. Don't forget to visit the Grand Duke's residence tomorrow."
As if he had quickly gotten over his emotions, the father left Olivia's room. As if nothing had happened. But Conrad couldn't take a single step. His eyes, having finally realized the truth, wavered aimlessly. The culprit of these old wounds, which he cowardly could not hate. All. It was all his father. A father who was neither fair nor strong.
Ah... he found out too late. No, he ignored it until this late.
Conrad covered his face with his palms in unbearable despair.
***
Princess' palace drawing room.
Through the floor-to-ceiling window, she could see a garden shrouded in deep blue darkness. In the garden, lanterns twinkling like starlight added to the glamorous atmosphere of the banquet.
Although the scenery was beautiful enough to capture the viewer's attention, the Empress did not pay a single glance toward the garden and looked at the Princess sitting across from her. Maybe she heard wrong. The Empress tried to deny what she had just heard.
However, the beautifully decorated Princess made excuses without even raising her head.
"Well, I didn't know it was that important. If I had, I would never have handed it to Olivia. What a shameful thing she is, she has proof that she has been doing what His Majesty the Emperor told me to do, so she threatened me."
Even the Princess's voice could not be heard properly. Instead, the conversation she had previously had with the Emperor came to mind vividly.
So, that was a story from a few months ago when the Emperor was very drunk. The Emperor, who was in a good mood when he heard the story about the Grand Duke being attacked on the battlefield, started talking about drinking.
"... The Empress probably has no idea what a great treasure I have bestowed upon the Princess this time."
Since he had nothing else to give in the world, he gave away an abandoned mine and turned it into a treasure. However, the Empress calmed her anger with the Emperor's next words.
"Once upon a time, the mine that the Princess of Lowell loved so much was taken away. If it is a dog with deep filial piety..."
The Emperor's words stopped there as if he was feeling drowsy. However, the Empress perfectly understood the next words. As long as the Princess owns the abandoned mine, the Grand Duke will inevitably faithfully fulfill his role as the imperial family's dog.
By the way, she handed over that abandoned mine to Olivia. The Empress was dumbfounded before her eyes. It was fortunate that the Emperor went to bed early today. If she were, to be honest, she would have heard this in front of him.
Meanwhile, the Princess approached the Empress's side and begged, as if trying to make room for her to stretch out her feet.
"Your Majesty, mother. Please save me. Really, if His Majesty the Emperor knew..."
The Princess was genuinely appalled. The Supreme Emperor's wrath would not end with a thunderous roar. All these things the Princess enjoyed thanks to the trust she received. It is obvious that they will shatter in an instant.
Tears poured down the Princess's pretty face.
"Princess. Ha, don't cry. You have to act like a princess. Crying won't solve anything in this situation."
When the Empress saw her daughter crying, the dizziness that had been swirling through her mind disappeared. Controlling the nervousness that made her lips dry, the Empress now asked the most important question.
"Olivia, does she know the value of the mine?"
"Maybe... I don't think she knows."
"The Princess. You must answer clearly."
The Empress's voice was sharp. The Princess, overcome by her fear, unconsciously shook her head and denied it.
"She'll never, ever know. It's a secret that only the royal family can know, so how could Olivia know? If I had already known, I would have revealed everything today."
Sigh.
The Empress briefly let out her sigh. There was truth to what the Princess said. But there was still a long time left until the banquet. It was something that could be revealed at any time if the value was known. If it were revealed that the ownership of the abandoned mine had been passed over, it was clear that it would be known that Olivia, the fiancee of her son, had taken the mine as compensation for doing the Princess's work.
The Emperor must never know. No matter what happened, she had to make sure that Olivia calmly returned to the Prince's side at the banquet tomorrow. The Crown Prince also said that he would keep Olivia by his side as much as possible during the Heferti mission, so there was nothing to worry about.
He said that today she almost turned down her nickname, but even though she endured many insults, she was the child who stayed by the Crown Prince's side.
Everything was coming together in her mind. As the Empress sighed, what her brother, the Duke of Elkin, said flashed through her mind.
"What do you think about making Lady Ethel the Crown Princess, Your Majesty."
"It seems like a fun group. If she shows me results, I might be swayed."
The Duke of Elkin smiled brightly at the answer the Empress gave at that time and told her to look forward to the last day of the banquet.
It's the last day of the banquet. The Empress doesn't know what will happen, but Maria Ethel is now a useless ally. The Empress quickly pulled her strings. Soon, the head maid who was outside came in.
"Tell the Duke of Elkin to enter the palace immediately."
If her brother answered her call at any time of the day or night, he would come into the palace right away. However, the maid, who had always been loyal to her, looked troubled for a moment.
"Ah, if it's the Duke of Elkin. He is planning to spend the night at an external palace today in order to respond to the delegation."
Of course. The Empress frowned in urgency. Now that she thinks about it, she remembers hearing about him briefly at the banquet earlier. As the representative serving the delegation, it would not be easy to leave the position.
The Princess's expression became even more sad as she saw her mother unable to hide her anxiety. The Empress grinned, trying to calm her daughter down. After sending her maid out, the Empress spoke kindly.
"It's okay, Princess, do not worry. You will be safe."
"But, mother."
"I already felt that the Grand Duke who took Olivia had a sinister intention, so I already sent someone to the Vikander territory."
"Then..."
"Even if she goes on a rampage now under the protection of the Grand Duke, how dare she not come to the Crown Prince's side?"
The Empress spoke sonorously. Only then did the Princess blink her eyes, as if she felt a little relieved. Looking at that, the Empress smiled brightly.
Anyway, from what her brother said, it was clear that Maria Ethel's actions would occur on the last day of the banquet. So now, the urgent priority was to understand the Grand Duke's true intentions and return Olivia to the Crown Prince's side.
The Empress relaxed her brows again. The tips of her alluring lips slid up. The Princess also smiled brightly with a face similar to that of the Empress.
***
And the morning of the second day of the banquet. Marquis Ethel's dressing room.
With the sunny morning sky visible through the window, Maria Ethel looked at one place as if fascinated.
" You were able to do it so well, Madam. You've wasted too much time on me."
Madame Pluto barely managed to keep her body upright and bit her lip. Last night, the employees of Ethel who knocked loudly on the boutique door almost kidnapped her and the tailors and threatened them by bringing her to the Marquis of Ethel's residence. Under the threat that they would not let go if they could not complete Lady Ethel's dress as quickly as possible, Madame and the tailors put in all their effort and completed three days' worth of work in one night.
However, without paying attention to Madame's gaze, Maria was overcome by an ecstatic feeling. A brilliantly beautiful white dress that can't even be compared to Olivia Madeleine's engagement dress. That dress, generously sprinkled with pearls and diamonds, was made for Maria with the money of the Duke of Elkin and his father.
Not only the platinum tiara but also the rich veil that sparkles in the sunlight. Maria imagined how beautiful she would look wearing that dress and having an engagement ceremony in front of all the nobles and delegations.
It was clear that Leopold's eyes looking at her would return to the way they were before.
"So, don't bother sending letters to my busy and respected Lady. It doesn't exist anymore. Aren't you naive, Your Highness?"
Maria's blue eyes shook violently as a memory suddenly came to her mind. A letter?
It was impossible for Leopold to send a letter to that half-hearted person. Maria shook her head roughly. The Grand Duke's words rushing into her head must be lies. How could the soon-to-be Crown Princess be shaken in her personal life like this?
If only Maria got engaged wearing that dress.......!
As she tried to shake off her distracting thoughts and concentrate on imagining her engagement party, her heart pounded. Everything was perfect. As if living up to her high expectations, the nanny shouted with excitement.
"Today you will become the most beautiful fiancee in the world. It might be called the engagement of the century."
The engagement ceremony of the century. Maria rolled the words into her mouth. Her heart was pounding. But, it was extremely rare for envoys from other countries to attend weddings or engagement ceremonies. So, the entire continent, beyond the empire, might praise her engagement ceremony.
"It won't be long before you ascend to that noble position, the Crown Princess."
Crown Princess. A dream-like event unfolded dazzlingly before Maria. All Maria had to do now was to tread lightly on the carpet leading to the path.
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