DYBAR - Chapter 155 < Rumors That Got Mixed In >

DYBAR - Chapter 155 < Rumors That Got Mixed In >

Do Your Best And Regret

“If it was a declaration of war, didn’t I do it?”

A declaration of war. What is that...!

The Emperor, who had been startled by the quiet voice, held his breath for a moment. 

Princess, no Lady, no... Now he could clearly see the shape of the woman's mouth, which he didn't know what to call.

A handkerchief.

“Now, wait a minute.”

The Emperor struggled to come to his senses and raised his palm. The situation was already tilted. The war should never have happened.

“...If Vikander wants to become an independent country...”

The Grand Duke's gaze towards the Emperor was sharp.

“We also see Vikander as one...”

He couldn't bring himself to say the words that were stuck in his throat. However, the beautifully forged red eyes were pressing on the Emperor, as if hoping for a proper answer. He barely opened his dry lips.

“...Shouldn’t we be prepared to treat you all as one kingdom?”

One kingdom.

No one in the conference hall would have failed to notice this direct and clear intention to surrender.

Just hearing his own voice come out of his mouth was so cruel that the Emperor gritted his teeth. And he made excuses to himself as if to patch up his shattered pride.

Now that there were no knights, he, the Emperor, had to do anything to protect the imperial palace.

Even if it means mentioning Vikander's independence out loud.

But...

“If you say it that way..."

The moment the Emperor saw the Grand Duke smiling loosely as if he was benevolent, his vision became distant. Behind the red eyes that were looking at him as if they were oppressing him, hundreds of other eyes were watching the Emperor.

His sense of shame and humiliation immediately enveloped him. The Emperor's expression became cruelly distorted by the humiliation that made him shudder.

Anyway, Edwin smiled casually and looked back at the conference hall.

“Seven o’clock tomorrow evening. Let’s watch it again here.”

“....”

“I’ll have to leave the palace for a while to comfort my knights surrounding the Islands.”

With enough words to make it clear that the person giving generosity is Vikander.

***

“The new negotiations between Vikander and the Empire will begin...”

“..The delegation is going out with us now...”

Leopold blinked blankly. All sounds cut out intermittently. It seemed like his father, the Emperor, was saying something, but he couldn't understand it at all.

No, he didn't even have time to understand. Because Leopold’s head was filled only with Olivia’s voice.

“If it was a declaration of war, didn’t I do it?”

An expressionless face, trembling lips, and a voice without any emotion.

Everything that came from her made Leopold's eyes dim. It felt as if the floor beneath his feet, which supported his body, was engulfing him like a mire. No matter how hard he struggles, he can't get out of the mud.

There was still only one person shining in the pitch-black vision. The object he loves, covets, and desires.

“Come, Livia!”

Olivia's eyes turned to him at the tearful scream. With one glance, Leopold's emotions finally burst.

“Why do you have to do this to me...?”

Even though he realized too late that there was such a desperate feeling that made him cough up blood, the accumulated time between Olivia and him was eleven years. A long eleven years.

But how could Olivia leave him behind?

“It’s not enough to disparage my cause, did you have to declare that you are not on my side?”

Leopold did whatever he could. If only Olivia hadn't appeared now, if the ancestral Grand Duke hadn't woken up.

In the face of numerous choices, he poured out his surging emotions. Injustice, anger, and sadness. Nevertheless, he loves Olivia and is willing to endure her, but how could she...

“How can you smile like that even though you’re causing me pain!”

It hurt like his insides were being torn apart. The cries that started out as evil turned into sobs.

“I said I loved you. I swear that I only want you as my Crown Princess and Empress. You have known me for so long...”

Can she treat him like a person who has nothing to do with anything?

Leopold, who had been holding his breath for a moment due to the rising cries, suddenly realized.

All that surrounded him was an extremely heavy silence. While confessing his feelings, Leopold Franz was the only one in his story.

Leopold slowly looked at Olivia. No way, no way...

His frightened, shaking sea-green eyes turned to Olivia, and he was speechless.

Unbelievably, while he was showing his miserable inner feelings...

While confessing his love that feels burdensome...

“It looks like you’re done. Edwin, shall we go now?”
　
What passed over her extremely pretty face was boredom. It was like watching an extremely boring one-man play, nothing more or less.

As if she had nothing to do with this moment.

Leopold's eyes caught the sight of her back, clearly showing that she was on the other side, a place that could never be reached. 

At the same time, the sight before his eyes turned pitch black.

***

“Come, Livia!”

It was a good thing he stopped at that tearing scream. Maria Tefils, who was walking towards the door of the conference hall, stopped in her tracks.

Olivia, who did not even blink at the most heartbreaking confession, left the convention hall more extravagant than anyone else, escorted by the Grand Duke and the previous Grand Duke.

And she gradually began to realize this situation she was in. When the Crown Prince finally broke down completely, Maria Tepils became Maria Ethel for a moment and looked at him.

Leopold Franz. His Highness the Crown Prince, who was once the envy of the people of the empire.

The corners of Maria's mouth rose in fascination as she watched the despair of the person who seemed to live his whole life melting everyone with his sweet and arrogant smile and misleading them about his true feelings before his eyes.

She whispered with all her sincerity.

“I hope you live like that for the rest of your life.”

She hopes he lives with such a vain look as if he is immersed in a mire.

After a soft curse, Maria became Countess Tepils again. As the sound of shoe heels receded in an unusually cheerful manner, the venue became eerily quiet again.

With only the empire's nobles left, they only glanced at each other.

The Emperor bowed to the power of the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke family, who was exposed to his very core.

The Emperor, who had lost all his strength, muttered with a helpless expression on his face.

“...Check the whereabouts of Duke Madeleine and Duke Elkin and the situation of the Imperial Knights who are confronting Vikander.”

Since this was the case, they had to minimize the loss. The nobles who realized this meaning moved diligently.

“Could it be possible to contact His Highness the Grand Duke even now? If things continue like this, we’ll just end up trashing the land.”

Of course, for the sake of their family.

***

“...Are you okay, Your Highness?"

Garden of the Emperor's Palace.

Only when the carriage departed did Olivia ask, looking at the ancestral Grand Duke who had held her hand as they left the conference hall.

Seven o'clock tomorrow evening. The end of the day that Edwin gave the Emperor was not only to prepare the empire to treat the kingdom properly. It was also a time of rest for the previous Grand Duke, who had not been able to recover properly during his journey to the islands.

No matter how much he recovered, he wouldn't have had the stamina to scream as loudly as before.

The previous Grand Duke seemed to have noticed Olivia's worried gaze and smiled sweetly.

"It's okay. Olivia, since you prayed for me like that...You are the precious Young Lady whom my wife spoke of. For saving me. And my wife, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me go in peace.”

Olivia remembered the first words spoken to her by the Grand Duke, which contained his trembling. Now he affectionately called Olivia's name.

The previous Grand Duke, who was looking at Olivia and Edwin with a grin, looked back at the imperial palace through the window. Overwhelming emotions such as sadness and sorrow passed over the red eyes.

Olivia turned her head, pretending not to see the silence that clearly reminded her of her ancestor, the Grand Duchess, who must have been at her resting place somewhere here. Edwin, who was right next to her, also seemed to understand the previous Grand Duke's heavy silence and knocked on the coach seat a couple of times.

The speed of the carriage decreased noticeably. Olivia also looked out the window.

Unlike last time, it was an empty imperial palace with not a single knight in sight. The sight of servants and nobles rushing about was far from the majesty of the imperial palace.

The end, that sweet ending has come closer.

One kingdom. It was fortunate that the Emperor's word that he would recognize Vikander's independence came first. My heart was so full that I had no time to pay attention to the Prince who was constantly blaming me.

Vikander's knights took over the islands without a single drop of blood, and envoys from other countries all sided with Vikander.

It was obvious that if Edwin completed the negotiations well tomorrow, the bad stories about Lowell and Green Eyes, a kingdom that disappeared into history, would disappear.

But...

Why does my mouth feel sour even before the sweet fruit? It felt like something small was stuck in my solar plexus.

I looked out the window. Then, the moment I saw shining silver hair beyond the alley.

"Miss, I went to Lord Jade Madeleine. I informed him that the Lady was safe and that he would soon leave Katanta and return to the Islands.”
　
I remembered Dean’s words from his visit to Katanta.

Even though I knew Dean wasn't lying, I hoped that those words were lies.

I find it funny that Jade Madelaine cares so much about my well-being now. As a result, I find myself helplessly recalling the face that came to see me on Father's Day, feeling ridiculous.

“I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.”

“Olivia, please!”
　
When the plea that had been following me around all of a sudden suddenly came to mind.

“...Liv.”

"Yes?"

I was startled and woke up from my thoughts.

“Now we are leaving the castle. What are you thinking so hard about?”

Ha ha ha. 

I awkwardly swallowed my laughter. When the carriage stopped, the previous Grand Duke, who had gone out of the carriage, was already on his horse.

"I know, right. When did we get here? Oh, Your Highness, the former Grand Duke, is it really okay for him to ride a horse?”

It was clearly visible that I was changing my words hastily. However, rather than saying it out loud, Edwin just made it up to the tune.

“Because my father said it was okay. Liv, please don't worry about my father and look at me next to you. I was having a hard time earlier and my hands were shaking too.”

Only then, looking at me smiling brightly, did Edwin think of a corner of the imperial palace that he had glimpsed at him.

Shiny silver hair. He was clearly the Duke of Madeleine. He is the one who sent a short letter to him via Jade Madeleine and Dean.

- I heard you are coming to the system. If I am not there when you arrive at the imperial palace, please postpone it for one day. I think I can do at least one.
　
Although it was unintentional, it went according to the Duke of Madeleine's wishes. The absence of the Duke is over, and full-scale negotiations with the empire will begin tomorrow evening, a day later.

The moment Edwin remembered the letter, he snorted. It was funny to remember that lame story so meticulously, but he couldn't help it. Regardless of the content of the letter, the Duke's handwriting was surprisingly similar to Olivia's.

He might be lucky. Edwin read the entire letter just because of that handwriting.

Edwin slowly raised his eyebrows. And he hoped that the Duke would bring something that would interest him tomorrow as much as that handwriting.

Meanwhile, the carriage began to run, following the horse ridden by the previous Grand Duke.

***

Deng-dong-deng-. 

The people who had locked their doors when they heard the loud bell that signaled the surprise attack looked outside and couldn't believe their eyes when they heard the sound of horses' hooves and carriages coming from the imperial palace.

"Oh my God. The person on that horse. Isn’t he the ancestral Duke Vikander? The hair is pure white, but it’s definitely a face I’ve seen before at victory ceremonies!”

“There’s a Saintess and His Highness the Grand Duke behind him!”

Surprised people cautiously opened their windows.

A dead man came back to life, and those small whispers spread like wildfire across the island.

'The late Grand Duke Vikander is alive.'

It started like this at first, but at some point, the rumors started to gain weight.

'His Majesty the Emperor drove his loyal ancestor, Grand Duke Vikander, to death.'

'It turns out that the previous Grand Duke was not a warmonger, but fell for the Emperor's scheme.'

'After learning of this fact, the empire's allies turned to the side of the Vikander family.'

It's as if someone spread it intentionally, in a fairly realistic and provocative way to suit people's tastes.

***

"Oh my God. So, the Vikander family is going to become an independent country? Then what happens to the empire?”

“Should we quickly go to the Great Dukedom to find a way to live?”

An alley in the islands. Jürgen, hiding under the shadow of the wall, grinned. The whispered words were exactly as Jürgen had spread them.

But among the words that continued without knowing the end, she lifted one eyebrow.

“By the way, is it true that the Duchy of Madeleine was also named the Grand Duchy?”

...That wasn't a rumor she spread. The corners of Jürgen’s lips rose steeply. The scar on her face was unusually distorted.

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