Chapter 5 – Acknowledgement (Part 11)
Is this man planning to kill me?
‘May I request a private audience with the Earl?’
Olivie sincerely thought so.
Robin, guided inside by the butler, gave her a small smile and then immediately said that to her father. Her father, without a second thought, said yes and headed to the study with Robin. An hour passed, then two, but there was no message from the study. In the meantime, the tips of Olivie’s nails were torn like gears, and her lips, from being bitten so much, were red and swollen.
‘At a time like this, even my mother isn’t here.’
She grew anxious, suspecting that everyone except her might be gathered in her father’s study. What on earth were they discussing in her father’s study?
More than anything, she truly hadn’t imagined that Robin would come so quickly.
It had only been a few hours since they parted.
Since he said he was going to the Tanner residence, he must have spoken with Earl Tanner.
‘Could he really have been persuaded so quickly?’
Could it be that he’s moving swiftly to handle things before Earl Tanner hears about today’s events?
“…….”
Yes, realistically, that seemed likely. Even if Earl Tanner hears about it later, Robin could just insist that he had already given his permission at that time.
Imagining his face, which suited being subtly unreasonable, a soft smile appeared, but Olivie shook her head. She reminded herself by tapping her cheeks lightly that this wasn’t the time to be smiling, and as she turned her head, a knock was heard from outside the door.
Knock, knock.
“Come in!”
Unable to wait, she took a step closer to the door as it opened.
“It’s me.”
“Why?”
The person she was waiting for didn’t come, and instead, the unwelcome Evan pushed the door open a bit more and stepped inside.
She wanted to kick him out, but since she had already told him to come in…
“What do you want?”
Unable to chase him away, she asked about his business, intending to send him off quickly.
“Thinking of kicking me out first, how cold.”
At his suspiciously smiling face, Olivie’s brow furrowed as she stood closer to Evan.
“What did you hear?”
“Nothing.”
Of course not.
There was no way her father would have let her brother into the room.
“Then why?”
“Oh, I came to let you know that Robin went home.”
“……What?”
Doubting her ears for a moment, Olivie looked at him, and Evan, with an annoyingly smug smile, repeated each word slowly.
“Ro·bin·Tan·ner. Went·home.”
“Without even seeing me?”
Olivie opened her mouth.
He came all the way here to meet my father, but he’s leaving without seeing me?
‘Wasn’t he here to get permission for marriage?’
As Olivie was unable to continue speaking due to the rather absurd situation, he plopped down on the sofa, stretched his arms along the backrest, and looked up at her.
“Father wouldn’t let him see you.”
“……Why?”
‘Could it be…?’
Did he oppose it until the end?
Olivie, puzzled, lifted her head.
“Why?”
“Because it’s too late.”
Olivie quickly turned her head to look out the window. Seeing the dark sky, it was indeed midnight.
“Even so, he wouldn’t let me see him off?”
“Would it just end with seeing him off?”
“…….”
“He didn’t want you to attract attention from the staff and become the subject of rumors.”
Even with Evan’s additional explanation, Olivie’s puzzlement didn’t resolve as she stared at him intently. If her father didn’t allow her to see him off to avoid gossip, honestly, there was only one conclusion Olivie could come to.
“Did you hear something, brother?”
“No.”
At Evan’s immediate reply, she narrowed her eyes.
“You heard something.”
“What? That Father and Earl Tanner are meeting tomorrow, or that Robin said with his own mouth that if he ever cheats on you, he’ll die by Father’s hand. Or that he truly loves you. He liked you since you were young, but you were too young, and the age difference was too great to say anything back then. But in the meantime, you got engaged to Louis, so he couldn’t express his feelings. Something like that?”
“…….”
Even if it was to get permission.
‘That lie was a bit much.’
Thinking that the words seemed like a random utterance, she looked at Evan without much concern.
“So, what message did he leave for me?”
“How did you know?”
As Evan looked up at her in surprise, she shrugged with her arms crossed.
“Isn’t it obvious? Would you come to my room to tell such trivial stories?”
At Olivie’s words, he let out a small laugh, slapped both thighs with his hands as if acknowledging it, and stood up. Then he approached her. Although he seemed to be choosing his words as he mumbled along the way.
“I’ll see you at the Imperial Banquet. I’ll come to get you.”
He conveyed Robin’s words like a short memo and stood before Olivie.
In the meantime, with his face full of grimace, he stared at Olivie. It was clear from his expression that he had more to say but didn’t want to. Olivie tilted her head in curiosity.
“What is it?”
“He says he loves you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he made a gagging gesture and rubbed both arms with his hands, shaking his head. But that wasn’t all he had to say.
“Have sweet dreams.”
“…….”
“I hope you sleep well tonight.”
Throughout the conversation, it was slightly confusing whether these were Robin’s words or Evan’s, but knowing her brother, he wouldn’t have bothered to tell her such things with such distaste.
On the other hand, this only amplified her suspicion.
“Brother, did you make some deal with Lord Tanner?”
“W-what? No!”
But despite his denial, Olivie could be sure from the clear wavering in his gaze.
There was definitely something very shady going on between the two of them.
* * *
The next day.
Her Father had left early, and her Mother was still sleeping. Meanwhile, the carriage sent by Emily had been stationed in front of the mansion since dawn. The carriage, adorned with the Duke’s family crest, was blocking the entrance to the point where most of the servants, including the head butler, felt burdened by its presence. Olivie clicked her tongue at the sight.
“Let’s go.”
“Lie!”
Emily, who had sent the carriage at the break of dawn, rushed out to the entrance when she heard that Olivie had arrived.
‘Oh my.’
Olivie widened her eyes at Emily’s belly, which was as big as a mountain and even more noticeable now that she was wearing more comfortable clothes at home, something she hadn’t noticed yesterday.
“Careful!”
Olivie instinctively bent her knees and grabbed Emily’s hand, her heart sinking at the sight of Emily’s unsteady steps, fearing she might fall.
“Seriously.”
“Hehe.”
But whether Emily understood Olivie’s concern or not, she glanced down at the hand Olivie was holding and then looked at Olivie with a smile, her cheeks blushing.
“I missed you so much.”
“Really.”
Emily’s unique charm quickly eased Olivie’s tension, and Olivie glared at her in a way that wasn’t quite annoying, letting her shoulders droop.
“Be careful.”
“Got it.”
Emily nodded vigorously at Olivie’s reminder and pulled her hand inside, holding it tightly.
“Let’s go in quickly; I’ve prepared breakfast!”
“Where’s your husband?”
“He went to the palace early in the morning.”
“Oh, I see.”
Thinking that it must be busy since she had come to the capital after a long time, Olivie nodded and walked along as Emily led her.
“I’m glad.”
After breakfast, Emily moved to the parlor and smiled at Olivie with a sense of relief.
“This is more than just good. If you take my brother, it solves a big problem not just for me but for our entire family.”
“…….”
“And if it’s you, we’d be absolutely thrilled.”
Olivie watched Emily, who seemed to have forgotten about what happened yesterday. It seemed the two siblings were indeed alike.
How could they be so similar?
Olivie chuckled softly.
“I was actually planning to ask you to be our child’s godmother this time, but if you and my brother do it together, it’d be perfect.”
Emily clapped her hands and laughed as if it was truly wonderful, then popped a grape into her mouth. Watching Emily chew and constantly rub her belly, Olivie let her shoulders droop. Emily’s attitude, showing no concern for the long time she’d been deceived, filled Olivie with deep guilt from within.
“Emily.”
But…
“Honestly, when I saw you yesterday, my heart sank because your reaction was so different from what my brother wrote in the letter. I thought maybe you disliked him because of his personality.”
“He wrote a letter?”
“Yes, quite a long one.”
Emily chuckled and put another grape in her mouth, chewing it.
“He said he fell for you. That he’d propose after the Imperial Banquet and marry you early next year. So he insisted you must attend this Imperial Banquet.”
“…….”
“I thought you two had already talked about everything since he wrote that. I almost got upset with you, thinking, ‘How could this girl not say anything?’ But then, when I saw you in person, you looked like you didn’t know anything, and my brother…”
Emily waved her hand dismissively and shook her head.
“Let’s not even talk about it.”
Even recalling it seemed absurd to her, as she stopped laughing and shook her head again, then popped another grape into her mouth.
“He’s hopeless.”
Emily clicked her tongue and crossed her arms.
“But still, try to see him in a good light. From what I can tell, his feelings for you seem genuine.”
“…….”
“And even though I’ve complained a lot about my brother in front of you, he’s not as bad as I made him out to be. He’s a bit cold, has a tendency to control people, and doesn’t know how to speak nicely. But he’s a good person. You know that.”
“Emily.”
“Huh?”
Olivie interrupted Emily’s rambling and looked up.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
