DYBAR - Chapter 161

DYBAR - Chapter 161

Do Your Best And Regret

“Then I’ll come back.”

The hem of Olivia's dress completely disappeared outside the conference hall door. After standing blankly for a while, Winster laughed and muttered.

“... Oh my god, this isn't something I should say at this time. You're very romantic. Both of you.”

“That’s right. I didn’t expect to see something like that here.”

Dean stuck out his tongue and agreed. So, a little while ago, the Young Lady was looking at Duke Madeleine.

“Please change location. To the Duke’s office.”

The Young Lady spoke without hesitation and immediately extended her hand to His Highness. The appearance of an innate arrogance, like a Princess of a country, caught the attention of the imperial nobles who were leaving like defeated soldiers.

As if in response, His Highness held her hand dearly and kissed the back of it, and Dean even felt like he heard someone exclaim in exclamation.

Ugh, really.

Dean shook his head and fanned his hands. But he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching.

“If you say that the Empire’s stomach hurts, then it will be a success. You’re so romantic that I can’t help you.”

Dean and Winster started giggling among themselves. The only one who couldn't assimilate was Howard, who had to move out to document the negotiations.

It was romantic...

Howard, who saw the two people up close, said the kiss on the back of their hand was not romantic.

The density of that moment is somewhere solemn....

“...He was like a knight.”

"Answer."

As soon as a drowsy voice was heard, Howard closed his mouth. Edwin looked at Howard, who was the only one who got the answer right and raised the corner of his mouth.

Edwin remembered the trembling hand that had been extended to him. Even the slender, small hand wrapped in the palm of his hand.

But what was more powerful than that were her fiercely burning green eyes, her proud posture, and her tightly pursed lips.

When he kissed her with a wish for victory, the tremors magically stopped.

It looks like he won't be the only one achieving victory today.

Edwin smiled sweetly. The moonlight that rose was particularly cold.

***

The road with the Duke of Madeleine to his office was quiet.

I had once walked down this hallway countless times. I pretended not to notice Sir Huxley, and I changed the flowers in the vase on the nightstand, and I looked at the office, thinking that I would be able to go in someday.

But my expectations were always blocked by the solid office door. The only thing I was allowed to do was the hallway.

Just like in front of the door of the Duke's residence, the Duke of Madeleine's drawing room.

I consciously brushed the back of my hand where Edwin had kissed me. I knew the red eyes looking at me. The heat of his lips that slowly touched me disproved me.

Unlike the Duke's living room, where I ran away, today I will leave the office of my own free will.

“Are you here? Duke... And, long time no see, Miss."

“Bring the tea to the office.”

The slightly embarrassed greeting of Lord Huxley, who met me at the door, and the Duke's calm voice were alternately heard.

And soon the door to the office opened.

Once upon a time, the place I longed for so much.

It was so ordinary that it took my breath away.

***

“...No matter what I say, what I say right now will only sound like an excuse, no. I know it’s just an excuse.”

Only when the silence had thickened did Giovanni, Duke of Madeleine, part his lips.

It was a poor excuse to choose one word out of thousands.

Even though he knows that he starts talking like this...

“I wanted to make it clear that the Madeleine family is not doing this because they want to stick with Vikander.”

It was fortunate. Because he didn't turn on a single light as Olivia requested. That's why he can't see his child's expression properly.

“...In the past, it was all my fault. Like you said, you didn’t do anything.”

Giovanni couldn't bear to look at the green eyes looking at him. He felt like his mouth was full of sand. However, he continued to make self-confident confessions.

“It’s just that I realized it later and where my sword should have been aimed. I thought I should clarify that first, so I did that.”

But Olivia didn't even move.

Giovanni became increasingly impatient. He was curious about what kind of expression that kid was making right now, but at the same time, he didn't want to know.

The cold moonlight gradually poured into the office through the floor-to-ceiling window. Giovanni couldn't hide his nervousness every time he saw the jawline hidden in the darkness, the silver hair that resembled him, and the tightly closed lips.

His voice spread like a plea.

“In any case, don’t worry about the Duke of Elkin reacting badly. He will give us back more than double the pain we have suffered because of what he did. So..."

And maybe. If that revenge reaches that child’s heart.

“Hate me and do whatever you want with Madeleine. Then one day I... Will you help me pay back everything I did wrong to you?”

The child was burning. The horse, trying to close the small distance by just a span, took strides ahead.

“...I wish I could do something for you.”

Giovanni closed his eyes because he couldn't bear to see.

Numerous mistakes that he couldn't recall in detail rose to the surface of his memory.

In front of all that Olivia Madeleine did to become a family member, Giovanni Madeleine became infinitely smaller.

He thought more and more, but strangely enough, the terrible headache that had been bothering him the whole time gradually became less noticeable. It was as if the tangled blood vessels were slowly coming back into place.

But the silence lasted only for a moment.

“...There were two reasons why I sent Duke Elkin out of Vikander.”

Giovanni opened his eyes at the soft voice. In his eyes, which were completely accustomed to the darkness, Olivia's face was now clearly visible.

“One is because I don’t want to hear him yelling loudly like he’s picking at a pig anymore.”

A terribly calm face. Eyes that don't waver at all. Only then did Giovanni realize that his hasty words had no effect on this child.

“The other reason is because I know Madeleine’s clarity.”

Madeleine is certain in repayment and even more certain in revenge.

“When you know your enemy, you know that you is the one who will point the tip of your sword very clearly.”

That kid knew that better than anyone else.

“I sent someone to Eddington Street to find out. Really my mother...”

I swallowed my saliva slowly.

“...Was she, along with the Duke of Elkin, intentionally trying to slander the Duke? I wanted to check.”

Even though I knew that wasn't the case, and even though I knew my beautiful, strong mother wasn't that kind of person, I had to make sure. That way, in my world, the Duke will be the perfect perpetrator and I can hate him forever.

“But later, even the thought of finding out the hidden story disappeared. Anyway, my mother must have gotten money from someone. It is true that she slept with the Duke for one night in return. “

“....”

“So, I fully understand that the Duke hates my mother.”

I took in my breath and then I let it out slowly.

Unlike last time, when I just poured everything in, today's ending had to go my way.

So I looked blankly into the Duke's eyes.

“You said you wanted to do something for me.”

In the darkness, the Duke nodded his head shallowly. Because that's what he really wanted to hear. I smiled slightly, feeling a little offended.

“I was like that too.”

“...”

“Me too, ever since the day the Duke called me to the mansion....”

No. I shook my head for a moment.

“... Maybe, from the time the Duchess held my hand.”

Mentioning the unwritten rule no longer made the Duke angry. It was obvious that he was a little nervous.

So I was able to say so easily what I said that left a profound and profound mark on me.

“I really did my best for the Duke and Madeleine.”

Either it wasn't there, or it was just overflowing. It wasn't my job anymore.

“So, Duke.”

So when I called the Duke of Madeleine.

“You too, Duke...”

I grinned.

“The Duke of Elkin and Her Majesty,”

I corrected him.

“Please unleash fierce revenge on the Empress and the Princess. Just enough to satisfy me.”

“... Full and overflowing. I promise.”

The sound of his gruesome, voice gave me faith for the first time. So I nodded me head.

“And I hope you regret it too.”

To what extent.

“As much as I loved Madeleine. Very, very, very best.”

I smiled brightly. It was clear that even after fourteen years, the Duke of Madeleine would not regret as much as I loved Madeleine. But I had enough of my heart.

Because through countless starry nights, this wasn't the answer I had been searching for.

“And when that time is over....”

I pressed my lips for a moment.

And at that moment, Giovanni recalled a very old past in those clear eyes.

“Are you my father?”
　
A transparent half-color or a cautious wind that suddenly looked up and asked. It was similar to when that six-year-old girl first came into his house.

So Giovanni had little hope.

Maybe, hopefully, as time goes by, they can get along on pretty good terms. Or, to put it a little more greedily, he can make amends to the child who was hurt by his mistake until she no longer remembers the past...

“Please forget me slowly.”

...Even drawing ridiculous blueprints. He didn't even know that the floor he was stepping on would be broken into pieces.

“The Duke had sad memories and regretful memories because of me... And...”

Olivia spoke slowly but clearly as if she had been thinking for a very long time. Those blunt words were swung heavily towards Giovanni.

Every time the fragments flew out with a sharp sound, he suffered from the deception and hypocrisy he had so generously placed on himself.

“I’m sure it’s up to you, Duke, to erase the hatred you have for my mother... If it’s really okay.”

It was a lie to say that her goal was not to improve relationships. The wind that was fostered shamelessly was filled with false hopes.

“I think that’s the best the Duke can do for me.”

There was no end to the fall. The more he expected, the more he felt hypocrisy, the more Giovanni fell.

“It won’t be difficult.”

Giovanni finally came to his senses at what he thought was the bottom. It was when he tried to hold on to the child once again, saying that he could do anything with his lips.

Olivia laughed lightly.

“...For fourteen years, you wanted to erase me.”

“If I could, I would erase you from my life.”

At that moment, Giovanni looked at the string he was desperately trying to grasp. A handful of ash remains after burning brightly. The emotions that even the embers had dried up disappeared in the breeze of laughter.

It was as if Giovanni and Madeleine were not allowed to hold anything in the first place.

***

The Duke’s silver hair shone brightly in the moonlight. A symbol of the Madeleine Duchy that I was most proud of at one time. Under this commonality, I believed, the Duchess of Madeleine was united.

But, I knew the truth.

The family was like the relationship between the head chamberlain of the Crown Prince's palace and his son.

Also, they were like an Empress and a Princess.

It means something like Edwin's relationship with his ancestors.

A solid and unbreakable relationship. So I and the Duchy of Madeleine had a relationship that could never be.

Knock, knock.

Only at the sound of the knock did I answer, tearing my gaze away from the Duke's silver hair.

Lord Huxley came in, looking very nervous. Steam was rising from the tray he was holding.

I watched as Sir Huxley set down the teacup and poured the tea into the teapot.

The color of the tea was dark brown. I felt like laughing. Lord Huxley must have noticed the corners of my mouth rising slightly and spoke cautiously.

“... No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find the tea you gave me.”

“You will never find it again.”

Even if I were given hundreds of millions of dollars, I would no longer personally stop tea for the Duke.

The moment I answered with a white smile, I made eye contact with the Duke. Amethyst-colored eyes widened as if realizing something. Unlike Lord Huxley, who had a puzzled expression on his face, the Duke seemed to have noticed.

Even if decades pass. That I will never look back at Madeleine again.

I, who had been pondering etiquette for just a moment, stood up and rolled up my dress. And I slowly showed respect to the Duke.

The sight of the Duke lowering his head was very pitiful, but he was neither pitiful nor heartbroken.

It was the words of a perfect relationship.

***

“Just a moment, Miss."

Perplexed, Lord Huxley looked back and forth between the Duke and his eldest Princess. And he ran towards the eldest Princess, who was walking away from him. His choice was right.

As Lord Huxley walked away, Giovanni Madeleine's back slowly bent as he lowered his head.

...Not even that tea. It came from that kid's hand.

With his tightly closed lips, the pain he thought he would never know for the rest of his life leaked out. His heart was beating irregularly and pounding in his ears. No, that's not a heartbeat. It was the sound of footsteps moving away.

He had never been comforted.

Nevertheless, she blindly showed affection to him.

She doesn't even hate him anymore... How can we possibly define that child?

Beyond his distant vision, countless moments he had missed came to mind.

The child who always lowered her head like a shadow and smiled happily at him grew bigger and bigger, and painful calluses began to form over her eyes that had transparently revealed her emotions.

The precariously curled body fell helplessly to the floor.

And at some point, when his stiff knees, which had not even bowed in front of the Emperor, touched the floor.

His collapsed body began to tremble silently. He lost his first daughter, whom he could never embrace.

It's kinda sad. I hope Olivia can forgive the Duke. Sometimes parents make mistakes too. But it's just my opinion.

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