DYBAR - Chapter 77 < Who Is The Owner Of The Tiase Palace >

DYBAR - Chapter 77 < Who Is The Owner Of The Tiase Palace >

Do Your Best And Regret

The corridor of the Prince's Palace. 

Count Hodges, who heard the new report, hurriedly ran towards the Prince's office. Before he could catch his breath, he knocked on the office door and received a brief permission. A moment of confusion appeared on the bright face of Count Hodges, who opened the door at almost the same time.

"I see you, Your Highness."

Leopard doesn't know,

"What is the matter with the Little Duke of Madeleine?"

Conrad noticed, just to that extent. Conrad pretended not to notice Count Hodges' embarrassment and pointed to the papers he was holding.

"I came on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as he said he would receive a report on the invitation to the Heferti delegation last time."

"You must be busy. Thank you for your hard work."

Ritual greetings were exchanged. Meanwhile, Leopold, who had checked the list of envoys, half-heartedly lifted his pen.

"By the way, when did you say the delegation would arrive?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I received confirmation that it will arrive the day after tomorrow, the first day of the summer banquet."

"It's a day late."

It was an indifferent reprimand. It was a statement that did not take into account the time it would take to travel from Heferti to the Empire, but instead of pointing out the fact, Conrad silently lowered his head. Leopold, who was casually looking at that face, tilted his head. 

Cool falling silver hair, and a somewhat cold face. Conrad's face reminded him of someone at first glance. He could have just erased it, but an unidentifiable blurry afterimage wandered around in his mind. Jade Madeleine is a brother, so they look very similar, but Leopold doesn't know because he's never seen the youngest Princess.

 As Leopold gradually narrowed down the scope, a name clearly appeared in his mind. 

Olivia Madeleine. 

As the hazy face became clearer, Leopold's face slowly hardened. The Olivia that immediately came to mind was not the one who always yearned for his love like a puppy.

"Olivia Madeleine, I will greet you again soon as Grand Duchess Vikander."

Because it was Olivia who disappeared from Tiase Palace with her back turned to him.

"I hope you stay safe until then."

With his brows furrowed Leopold lightly shook his head. It was his mistake to think that Olivia resembled the Duke of Madeleine. She could not be more similar to the Duke, who was always blunt, and Olivia, who wanted his affection to the point where he felt pity for her. 

Leopold closed the payment cover as if to put away his thoughts. His cool, handsome eyes narrowed at Conrad.

"Then the mission issue has been resolved..."

Taking advantage of Conrad's pause as he was taking care of the payment cover, Leopold got to the point. The real reason why he called Conrad, even making the excuse that he was a missionary who would take care of it on his own.

"It's been a while since the Duke contacted the Princess, so of course the younger Duke, who is your brother, would know the Princess's news, right?"

Words with intent were directed at Conrad. 

But what made Conrad uncomfortable was not Leopold's criticism of his father, but the name Olivia itself.

"...I apologize, Your Highness."

Leopold's face, which had been smiling slowly while waiting for an answer, distorted. 

Sorry.

"Has it been confirmed that she will come to the banquet this summer?" 

"I apologize."

"Were you able to contact her?"

"I'm sorry."

He couldn't stand it. As soon as his eyes turned red, Leopold threw whatever he could catch. A harsh bursting sound rang through the office, and the cover of the document thrown against the wall fell down carelessly. 

When the sound of someone swallowing in vain was heard, Leopold laughed and muttered loudly.

"It's ridiculous to even ask this."

In contrast to his soft voice, his bright blue sea-colored eyes pierced Conrad as if they were his own.

"If the Duke was sending a message asking how she was doing, or rather if the Duke was worried about your younger sister in the first place. He wouldn't have sent his Princess to Vikander territory so easily."

Who is blaming whom now? 

It is a known fact throughout the empire that the Crown Prince looked down on Olivia and accompanied her lover to the event.

"Your Highness, I didn't know you would say that."

Unable to suppress his boiling emotions, Conrad muttered as if biting his teeth. A spark sparked in his amethyst eyes, which were always cold. In fact, it wasn't even funny. Conrad Madeleine, who was more hostile to Olivia than anyone else, took Olivia's side. 

The corners of Leopold's tightly closed mouth rose slightly. The fiercely raised eyes blatantly glanced down at Conrad. Soon a new smile escaped his lips.

"Now, is the Little Duke blaming me?"

Leopold said in a low voice. A menacing atmosphere enveloped the office. It was unreasonable. The next head of the Madeleine Duchy, who is a fan of the emperor and is more loyal than anyone else, is sarcastic to him just because of Olivia. 

Leopold, who slowly got up from leaning on something absurd, paused for a moment. Today, he continued to feel a strange sense of déjà vu from Conrad. The face is looking at him coldly, and even the words blaming hum just a moment ago...

But Leopold did not continue his thoughts.

The two tall men did not hide their hostility towards each other. It was a time of fierce competition to overwhelm the opponent.

"Your Highness, your Highness! I confirmed that the Grand Duke's carriage entered the castle gates a little while ago!"

Count Hodges, who had retreated for a moment due to the bloody atmosphere, hurriedly spoke. As soon as Count Hodges finished speaking, the heavy momentum that had filled the office disappeared. 

"Olivia."

In response to Leopold's repeated questions without taking a breath, Count Hodges repeated the facts as they were reported.

"The Princess also came into the capital."

After only hearing that Olivia came here, Leopold's frown, which had been stiff, gradually eased. It felt like the tension that seemed tightly condensed was slowly relaxing.

"Where now, no..."

At this moment, Conrad, who had been waiting more than anyone else to find out Olivia's whereabouts, clenched his fists tightly.

"The Little Duke, go out."

Conrad hesitated at the expected order to leave. But that was all he did. Only after Conrad, who had politely shown his manners until the end, left, Leopold turned his indifferent eyes to look at Count Hodges.

"Olivia, how did she look?"

Olivia. 

It was strangely uncomfortable to call that name, which only had four syllables. Come to think of it, there weren't many days when he called her Princess Olivia. Is that why she feels unfamiliar? Or, is there a word he wants to add to the name? 

While suppressing his complicated thoughts, Leopold said everything he wanted to ask in one piece. But Count Hodges bowed his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Highness. It was difficult to confirm the Princess's current health status as she was in the same carriage as the Grand Duke."

"The two rode in the same carriage?"

"Yes."

Bang-. 

At the sudden sound of a fist hitting the desk, Count Hodges looked at Leopold astutely. An inexplicable anger welled up in Leopold's heart. Even though he hit his desk hard, his fist didn't hurt. 

Same carriage. It has to be a carriage in such a small space! 

Leopold knew very well that anything could happen in that carriage. This was a different matter from Olivia dancing with the Grand Duke.

 He's already given up a lot of it to Olivia. Although her chastity had been tied down with a one-year grace period, there was no telling what would happen next.

“Bertain.”

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Go to where the Princess is right now."

When Leopold went out to the palace entrance, the carriage was already ready. An attendant in front of him lowered his head in surprise when he saw Leopold 

"What is the princess's current location?"

Leopold said as he got into the carriage. Count Hodges hesitated for a moment about what to say. The only place for the Princess to go in the islands was Grand Duke Vikander's residence. However, his intuition told him that if the Princess's whereabouts were revealed to the Grand Duke's residence, the Prince would be angry. 

Leopold's brow furrowed in silence. He couldn't wait even a moment. At the same time, the attendant next to him was hesitating.

"But why is the palace so noisy today?"

Leopold let out an impatient expression. A loud crying sound was heard from somewhere in his palace, which was always quiet and relaxed. As he looked toward the place where the crying came from, the chamberlain who was far away seemed to have noticed his gaze and quickly approached him.

The chief chamberlain looked sideways at the servant standing next to the carriage and said.

"Your Highness. Are you going to Tiase Palace by any chance?"

"Tiase Palace? Why am I there?"

At that moment, a look of having made a mistake passed over the chamberlain's face. Could it be that Olivia has come to Tiase Palace? 

Leopold shook his head as a thought suddenly passed through his mind. Even if Olivia had no self-respect, she wouldn't have come to Tiase palace so quickly. But soon, Leopold's mouth softened. 

When he thought about it, she was a woman who had been extremely affectionate if he was Tiase Palace. She couldn't necessarily say no. Now, instead of Olivia, who had ruined his mood earlier, in Leopold's mind, the face of Olivia, which he knew well, appeared. 

The image of Olivia Madeleine circling around him, smiling. However, when the troubled chamberlain began to speak, Leopold was momentarily dazed, as if he had been hit with cold water.

"What? Maria got hurt?"

Olivia isn't back? 

Leopold was startled by the sudden thought that came to him. He thought that his lover l, Maria was hurt. Perhaps sensing that his frown was the expression of Leopold, who was angry at his lover's injury, the chamberlain looked bewildered and began to explain.

"Well, they say tea spilled on her arm."

"What does that mean? Say it so I can understand."

"That is..."

It was then. The crying sound grew louder, and a gentle-looking woman came running crying from afar. While the attendants were apologizing for missing her, the nanny fell to her knees as soon as she saw Leo Ford. 

"Oh my. I meet you, Your Highness the Crown Prince, the little sun of the empire."

"Isn't you Maria's nanny?"

It was the face he encountered every time he went to Marquis Ethel's residence. The nanny's cries became louder at the sight of the Crown Prince calling out to her with honor.

"Yes! Your Highness! Our Young Lady got burned by the maids of Tiase Palace."

"No, what kind of safety is this person!"

The chamberlain jumped even more and stopped the nanny. But Leopold had already heard everything.

Wait. She got burned because of the maids?

"What does that mean?"

It was an extremely calm voice. The nanny's spine went cold as she heard a voice so low that it didn't even sound like he was worried. Bright blue eyes stared as if penetrating into the nanny's thoughts. The nanny straightened her body, which instinctively flinched. At the same time, what her Young Lady said earlier came to her mind. 

Aaaah-! 

When the screams erupted, the nanny suddenly ran into the parlor. Because she couldn't repeat what happened last time at the Princess's palace. But the sight that unfolded in the nanny's eyes was different from what she was worried about.

"Please save me, My Lady."

The young maid holding the teapot knelt in front of Maria, trembling. The maid seemed to have missed her teapot once, and her front lip was completely wet. On the other hand, Maria, who was looking down at her arm where a few drops of tea had spattered, frowned and cupped her arm.

When Baroness Sophron, who was embarrassed by the sight, called the royal doctor, Maria spoke privately to her nanny in the room where they were alone.

"Nanny, hurry to see His Highness the Crown Prince. Do you remember the servant who gave you money before? I delivered the letter on his behalf. That's right. Tell the servant to somehow tell His Majesty that I was injured."

Even in the hectic state, the nanny counted quickly.

"If that doesn't work..."

"If that doesn't work, the nurse must somehow bring His Highness the Crown Prince to Tiase Palace."

When Maria gazed into the distance and sighed lightly, she looked back at her nanny, and her doll-like beautiful face became colder than anyone else's. The nanny clearly remembered what the Young Lady had said at that time.

How is this Maria treated because of His Royal Highness? 

"You should also know about Leopold. At the very least, Your Highness should make it clear who the owner of this Tiase Palace is."

So the nanny just said it with the most desperate and sad face she could.

"It has been a long time since the maids of Tiase Palace looked down on and insulted our Young Lady. This time, they can do whatever you want in the palace that our Lady has decorated for His Highness the Crown Prince!"

But the nanny with her head down didn't know. The moment Leopold's face, which had been engulfed in the doubts, heard her last words, she became cold.

"I need to stop by Tiase Palace first."

Having achieved her goal, the nanny was just happy.

 ***

At that time, the deepest sediment of Tiase Palace. 

In the Crown Prince's bedroom, which only the Crown Prince could enter, Maria Ethel was lying on the bed there. Baroness Sophron looked at Maria Ethel with a hard face. Maria raised the corners of her mouth lovingly.

"If you had done this a long time ago, I wouldn't have had to hold that child accountable."

Those blade-like eyes turned towards the hallway. The young maid on her knees in the hallway trembled. She is a low-ranking maid with neither title nor wealth. From the time she brought out th teapot, this was going to happen four months ago. 

Today was a very lucky day. Maria smiled brightly.

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