Chapter 2 – Part 6

“I’ll come running like a dog whenever you call.”

‘Easy, right?’ The man, tinged with madness, smiled brightly.

‘My goodness.’ He wasn’t joking about wanting to be imprisoned.

Her mind spun in confusion, not knowing what to address first. Should she refute the idea of calling him like a dog or laugh off his request to be imprisoned?

Olivia chose neither. Confronting a man openly displaying his madness with emotions was foolish.

“Duke, I’m not joking.”

“Mas.”

His black eyes were filled with her.

“You used to call me that.”

His pitiful words trembled with emotion. A deep sigh escaped Olivia’s lips.

It was always like this. It was natural to feel strange in a new life, but her heart felt unsettled, as if she had known him from her previous life. Yet, digging into those forgotten memories felt oddly terrifying.

“I understand what you mean.”

Marsden hurriedly cut her off, as if to prevent her from speaking.

“You’re scared to remember me even though you have no memories of me. It’s natural to be suspicious of someone who made such a confession by the lake.”

Marsden seemed to calm himself with a deep breath. Olivia waited patiently.

“Confessing that I cast a despicable spell on you was, yes, my selfishness. You are more precious to me than anything, but I didn’t want to stay by your side like an innocent person. Yet, the foolish thing is….”

A deep sorrow tinged Marsden’s smile.

“I was too afraid to confess all my sins, so that’s all I could say. That’s why you must have been unsure whether to trust me or not.”

Olivia couldn’t interrupt. He had seen through her heart exactly.

She was a bit angry, too. Clearly, the regretful male lead of this novel was Gael Abyss, but the man in front of her was behaving like the regretful male lead. A man who didn’t even have a name in the novel was acting this way.

Whether Marsden understood Olivia’s thoughts or not, he looked at her earnestly, almost pleadingly.

“So… I’ll answer questions 1 and 2 later. But if you can wait a little longer, I promise I’ll tell you everything without hiding anything. Can you do that for me?”

What kind of story does he have? Olivia felt pure curiosity, beyond mere complexity. Normally, with her temperament, she would have said there was no reason to wait and trampled on his pride, much like she did with Celeste.

“Your Grace… no, you’re quite complicated too.”

“I think so too.”

Marsden agreed with a faint smile. Olivia decided to take a step back. It seemed like the best way to calm him down a bit.

“So, which question can you answer first? Since you refused to fill out the paper, does that mean you’ll answer just one now?”

Even though he hadn’t given a straight answer to anything, Olivia felt lighter. It was simply because Marsden had shown his sincere feelings. She felt the need to quickly fortify the walls around her heart in the near future.

“I’m in a tricky situation too. I need to use my opportunities sparingly.”

“Of course.”

Olivia turned her gaze to the flower garden, as if to say he could do as he pleased. It would have been nice if her mind were as carefree as that flower garden. Life is easier for those who are empty-headed after all…

“Let’s start with question 4. A servant from the Charbert house said they saw you heading to the east annex.”

Olivia’s head snapped back. The sleepiness she had felt disappeared instantly.

“At that time, I hadn’t seen you for several days. There were groups illegally using spells, and the Charbert family’s situation was dire. It was ultimately my fault for not looking after you better.”

Marsden ran a hand through his slightly disheveled hair, as if recalling a painful memory.

“I don’t know. I just had a bad feeling that day. Even though we were about to raid the group, I went to check on you. But I was told you had hurried to the east annex. It was strange. You never even glanced at the place since Harry Palmer used it.”

Harry Palmer. It made sense that she wouldn’t go near an annex he used.

“I searched every room. The only one that was locked… when I broke in, the entire room was covered in blood… that’s all.”

“I see.”

Olivia grabbed Marsden’s hand firmly. His gaze fell on their joined hands, his face pale.

“So, as reported, there was no body found?”

“…Yes.”

That’s all. Marsden closed his eyes tightly. Olivia knew he was omitting something. His detailed account of finding the place was too brief for the crucial part. It was more than just painful to recall; it raised suspicions.

‘How frustrating.’

She had always rolled her eyes at female leads who wavered before regretful male leads, but now she found herself softening in front of this man.

“Alright then, we’ll leave it at that for today. But let me make one thing clear, while I might call on you for help or request your presence, there’s no way I’ll imprison you.”

“I see.”

Marsden’s eyes drooped in disappointment. ‘Why was he disappointed?’

“Instead, could you really help me this time?”

“Sure, what is it? Is there someone you want to get rid of? Do you need more weapons? Or maybe an assassin, land or a kingdom…”

“Just be quiet.”

Olivia couldn’t hold back and interrupted Marsden. How could someone’s mood swing so drastically in such a short time?

“There are some people who irritate me so much I want to split their heads open.”

“Alright.”

Marsden, like a well-trained guard dog, listened intently to her words.

“Help me deal with those bastards.”

‘Then I’ll call you whenever I have questions.’

* * *

Olivia asked the Emperor to announce the establishment of a prison when she arrived at her estate and left the palace. She hoped Harry Palmer wouldn’t find out until she got there.

There had been ongoing opposition within the palace, but Olivia didn’t care. She had no interest in the small fry. She was focused on dealing with the scum she didn’t even want to call human.

“We’ve arrived, Marchioness.”

When the coachman announced their arrival, Olivia didn’t wait for a knight to open the door. She threw it open herself and didn’t bother with an escort. All her dresses were stuffed in the trunk anyway.

Olivia surveyed the exterior of the mansion. It was much cleaner after she had sternly ordered it to be thoroughly cleaned.

At least it would be less embarrassing in front of Marsden. With that thought in mind, Olivia began to climb the main staircase.

The door creaked open. She was just about to step on the stairs, and her gaze turned to the man who appeared there.

“Marchioness, you’re finally here.”

‘Ridiculous’ Olivia recognized the man and a smirk spread across her lips.

“Do you remember your one and only friend, Harry Palmer?”

“I remember, but what are you doing there, not greeting your master?”

Olivia shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat. Harry’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Aren’t you going to come upstairs anyway? Come on up.”

‘Had he lost his mind?’ When Olivia let out a bitter laugh, the warmth disappeared from Harry’s expression. Soon, a forceful voice came down the stairs.

“Why are you embarrassing me like this? Do you know how hard I tried to defend you when everyone said you’d gone mad? Please, don’t disappoint me any further and come up.”

Olivia stood quietly, calculating the height and overall length of the stairs.

“You’re right. It’s my duty to comply with Mr. Palmer’s requests.”

Olivia nodded, and a satisfied smile spread across Harry’s face.

“Now, don’t disgrace the family any further. If you come to your senses now, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”

“As expected of Mr. Palmer.”

Olivia pushed her hands deeper into her pockets.

“You truly are the master of this house.”

“Enough with the flattery and come up quickly…”

“Did you see this coming, you crazy bastard?”

Harry’s words halted. As people around them began to doubt their ears, Olivia pulled something out of her pocket and hurled it at Harry Palmer’s ankle.

“Ahhh!”

Harry screamed as his ankle shattered, sending him tumbling down the stairs. No one moved to catch him. He rolled well!

“Ugh…”

He didn’t die, just as expected. Making a fuss over such a minor injury.

“Goodbye, Harry? The only Harry I like is the one from that movie.”

Olivia playfully kicked his head with her foot, hands clasped behind her back.

“Why is this Harry here so annoying? It makes me want to kill you.”

Harry’s blue head trembled. Olivia kneeled on one knee and spoke to him.

“Welcome to hell, Harry. You’re dead now.”