No, perhaps…
‘I like you, Olivia.’
“Puhuh!”
Olivia rolled around on the bed, laughing.
“I really like handsome men… The most handsome man in the world? I like him the most…”
She imagined herself standing next to Duke Axid.
She felt happy.
Olivia remained happy the next day as well.
Duke Axid meticulously showed Olivia around the castle for half the day.
His kindness exceeded her expectations.
Moreover, today too! She could feel Duke Axid’s gaze throughout the tour!
After parting ways with Duke Axid, Olivia rubbed her cheeks, which felt warm to the point of being hot.
‘I’ll ask him to have a meal with me tomorrow. He’ll surely accept, right?’
With cheeks flushed with a rosy hue and dreaming of a rosy future, Olivia ended her day.
But from the next day on, Olivia couldn’t meet Duke Axid at all.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
She became unhappy.
“This is ridiculous…”
Olivia counted the days.
It had been ten days since she had stayed at the Duke’s estate under the pretense of a tour.
Aside from the first two days, Olivia had not seen a single strand of Duke Axid’s hair during her entire stay at the estate.
‘Is this even possible?’
Olivia went to find Duke Axid but was told that he was too busy to meet.
At that point, Olivia felt disappointed but not discouraged.
She had noticed that the Duke was deliberately avoiding her, but she didn’t get too upset.
It seemed that he wanted to maintain his integrity towards the current stand-in…
In a way, it was better. A handsome man with integrity? Perfect.
‘If he won’t meet me, I’ll just have to run into him by chance.’
Olivia began her bribery scheme. She distributed money and valuables to some of the estate’s servants to find out where Duke Axid was.
Then, under the guise of chance, she went to meet the Duke, only to find…
‘Huh? He was definitely here…’
Every time she went to where Duke Axid was supposed to be, he was nowhere to be found.
And this situation was repeated several times.
Currently.
Having spent about half of the money and valuables she brought, Olivia was deep in thought with a serious expression.
‘Did the servants deceive me? Did they take the money and deliberately guide me to places where the Duke isn’t?’
Olivia shook her head.
The servants had always appeared genuinely flustered whenever the Duke was not present at the locations they had directed her to.
It didn’t feel like an act…
“I need to change my approach.”
It was a bit drastic, but she needed a third party to draw the Duke out.
Olivia started searching the Duke’s estate for someone who could summon him.
Since maids and servants couldn’t call the Duke at will…
“Excuse me, sir.”
Olivia stopped a man in a knight’s uniform who was passing by.
The man who stopped his steps looked back at Olivia.
Seeing his face up close, Olivia was momentarily taken aback.
…He’s handsome.
Not as much as Duke Axid, but still…
“What is it?”
The handsome knight spoke. His voice was quite pleasant, though his tone was a bit arrogant.
But if you’re handsome, you can afford to be a bit arrogant.
Olivia smiled as she looked up at the knight, intending to win him over with her charm.
However, despite Olivia’s best effort, the knight maintained a sullen expression.
…Indeed, a sullen expression.
Olivia scrutinized the knight’s expression more closely.
The knight was looking down at her as if he were displeased.
‘What’s this?’
Why is this guy looking at me like that on our first meeting?
Well, he may be handsome, but still…
Olivia tried not to show her growing frustration. She kept her smile consciously and spoke.
“I have a request. It’s not much, but I need to meet with His Grace the Duke…”
“Stop it. Don’t you have any self-respect?”
“What?”
“Aren’t you ashamed of trying to seduce a man who is already married?”
Olivia’s face flushed bright red. Her lips trembled.
“What did you say?”
“I’ve been silent because the madam told me to, but I can’t tolerate it any longer. Why are you behaving like this with that status and that face?”
“Hey!”
“What?”
“What gives you the right to lecture me? And anyway, the current Duchess here is also a stand-in!”
“Excuse me? A stand-in?”
“I heard everything! About how the Duke can’t forget his deceased wife and what he’s doing!”
“What’s he doing?”
“Am I supposed to spell it all out? Fine, I’ll tell you.”
Olivia began to spill out everything she knew—or rather, everything she believed to be true.
The knight listened to everything Olivia had to say, then blinked in surprise.
“…Is this the kind of rumor going around?”
“Hmph, it’s not just a rumor. I confirmed it with the staff. It’s true that the Duke refers to her as ‘Laila’ and treats her as if he’s known her all along.”
“…Ah.”
Olivia stopped as she noticed the knight’s reaction.
The knight clenched his jaw, his face twitching as if he were trying to hold something back.
Then he burst into a loud laugh.
Olivia looked up at the suddenly laughing knight in confusion.
Her eyes were drawn to the distinct dimple on his right cheek.
After a while, the knight calmed down from his laughter and said,
“It’s the same person,”
“…What?”
“The former Duchess and the current Duchess are the same person. It’s not a stand-in but the same person… the same person.”
“What are you talking about? The former Duchess has passed away.”
“She didn’t die. She only changed her appearance during the process of curing her illness.”
“…What?”
Olivia’s face now fully reflected her shock.
“What… that’s impossible.”
“Is it impossible for an evil god to exist in this world and for someone to have sealed that deity?”
“…”
“There’s a special clan with unique powers. I can’t go into details, but… thanks to them, the Duchess cured her incurable illness and changed her appearance. However, her eye color remained the same.”
“…”
“I swear on my honor as a knight that everything I’ve said is the truth.”
Olivia bowed her head deeply.
After a moment,
Her voice trembled as she said, “…I’m going to kill her.”
“What? Me?”
“No, not you…”
Olivia lifted her head. Her face was flushed bright red, as if it would explode if touched.
“…Thank you for telling me what I didn’t know.”
“Uh? Oh, yes.”
“I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier.”
“No, um… It’s alright.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“No, um…”
The knight scratched the back of his neck. Olivia cast a sidelong glance at him and walked past him.
Olivia went to find the Duchess. Miraculously, the Duchess agreed to see her immediately.
As soon as Olivia met the Duchess, she immediately bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry.”
“Lady Olivia?”
“I made a mistake, I misunderstood, and I was really rude…”
Olivia stuttered and stumbled over her words, but she clearly acknowledged her mistakes.
She then apologized again to the Duchess, Laila.
“I’ve insulted you despite your kindness. I will accept any criticism.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“No, it’s alright. Please stop apologizing. I feel bad now…”
“Excuse me?”
“For now, how about you lift your head and fix the false rumors circulating outside?”
Olivia slowly lifted her head. Laila, looking into Olivia’s skyblue eyes, spoke.
“I want you to help me correct the false rumors that are circulating outside.”
“…”
“If the rumors aren’t corrected, similar incidents might happen again.”
Olivia imagined the scene of other women attempting to take her place, appearing at the Duke’s residence. She snapped back to reality.
“…Yes, leave it to me. I will take responsibility and clear up the false rumors.”
Olivia said with a resolute expression. Laila nodded.
“Thank you.”
Laila stood by the window, watching as Olivia’s carriage disappeared into the distance.
She recalled when Olivia first appeared at the Duke’s residence.
Hallo Sienna, Happy holiday! But, r u still there?