Chapter 5 – Acknowledgement (Part 7)

The carriage moved swiftly forward.

The scenery, unclear as to where it was heading, stretched endlessly, but Olivie couldn’t say a word during the journey.

Too many things had happened in a short time, leaving her thoughts too jumbled to organize.

‘What on earth.’

No matter how much he intended to help me, how was he planning to handle the aftermath?

Even if many people had dispersed, those who could hear had heard everything he said.

‘I’ll never let it go.’

A phrase so easy to misunderstand made Olivie touch her forehead.

“Even now, you should say it’s not true.”

“There’s no need.”

“Lord.”

Olivie sighed as she looked at him.

Perhaps, like Louis said, he might not be making rational judgments because he had become involved with her. He might be swayed by emotions and pleasure.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said such things in the current situation.

“Everything Louis said is true. I’m my father’s illegitimate child.”

“……”

She clenched her cold fingertips, but she couldn’t stop her lips from trembling.

It was something she had never said out loud before.

Ah, just once.

‘Father, am I an illegitimate child?’

It was a phrase she had neither uttered nor heard since that autumn night when she was ten, when she asked her father. More precisely, after she understood what the word meant, she had never used it to refer to herself.

‘An adopted child! Why? Why is Olivie an adopted child? Was it too shameful to raise her openly as the Earl’s illegitimate child? If you’re going to raise her as an illegitimate child without even putting her name in the family register, just return her.’

The day her biological mother caused a scene and wailed in front of her mother. The ten-year-old who saw her father’s eyes staring at her that night knew.

That she was an illegitimate child.

That her mother cried so much because of it.

‘It would have been better if I were an adopted child.’

Sometimes she thought so.

When she saw her mother crying, unable to either abandon or embrace the betrayal and the fruit of denial from her father, sometimes she even wished she could die.

Because she couldn’t bear to make her angelic mother suffer.

So that winter, she committed a terrible act.

But it was her mother who saved her.

‘No!’

Her mother’s prayer, clutching Olivie’s waist as she was about to fall into the lake with hands that seemed like they would break, still lingered in Olivie’s ears.

‘Lie, no.’

‘Lie, my child, no.’

‘Why would you die?’

‘Why are you trying to die!’

After that day, when her mother, who cried until her voice was hoarse, fainted repeatedly from grief yet constantly inquired about her well-being. Olivie never committed such a terrible act again.

‘Instead, I started to understand my place.’

She had become noticeably more mature and did nothing that would trouble the family. She didn’t throw tantrums, nor did she make big mistakes. Adults who were unaware of the circumstances praised her maturity, but her family felt pity for her.

Especially her brother Evan, who would torment her and get angry.

Her father would look at her sternly and let out a short sigh, while her mother was constantly in tears.

The final decision she made, seeing her mother’s tears every day to the point where her eyelids seemed to give way, was to act like the Olivie from before that autumn night at ten years old, with a smile.

She tried hard to show that she was okay, that she was all better, by coming into her mother’s room without a care, laughing and playing around.

People were fooled by her act.

Her family seemed to be playing along, but they pretended not to notice.

But inside, she was still in darkness, and every night when everyone was asleep, she had to gather her emotions alone.

That’s how she lived for ten years.

Nurturing her wounds and enduring long, sleepless nights, she had lived until now.

It wasn’t something to be burst like gossip by someone in a moment.

Her wounds.

“It seems my biological mother was a commoner.”

She brushed away the tears that had fallen with the back of her hand and lifted her head, pretending nothing was wrong.

“So I’m half. So… no, honestly, it’s not something that should happen, and I shouldn’t hope for it given my situation, but…”

“You can.”

Robin wiped the tears from Olivie’s cheek with his thumb and met her eyes.

“If you’re okay with it, it’s fine.”

“…”

“Nothing else matters. As long as it’s you.”

Olivie swallowed her breath at his words. She felt that if she didn’t, tears would flow continuously, and she wouldn’t be able to see him. It was hard to distinguish whether what he was saying was just to comfort her at the moment or if he was sincere.

But why would he?

He didn’t need the power of her family like the Caylen family, nor was she someone who could help him.

As Louis said, this wasn’t something that should be said, not only for the Tanner family but also for him.

“Why?”

Robin responded simply to her question, which seemed genuinely puzzled.

“Because I love you.”

“…”

It was a confession that came out without warning. Olivie’s mind went blank, and she held her breath.

‘Love?’

Did he just say he loves me?

‘Why?’

It felt like her mind was tangled.

Then what about those words back then?

What was that cold line he drew?

“Lord, you clearly said that day our contract was until the Imperial Banquet.”

Confused, she asked incoherently, and Robin reached out his hand toward her.

“That was so you wouldn’t run away within that time.”

He wiped the tears from the tip of Olivie’s chin with the back of his hand and met her gaze steadily.

“You were planning to run away, weren’t you? To another country.”

“How did you—”

How did he know?

Olivie opened her eyes wide in surprise.

‘Only my mother knew about that plan.’

Olivie’s eyes darted around in confusion. The expression he had tried to keep serious broke into a slight smile.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“Yes.”

Olivie nodded vigorously.

After wiping the tears still pooled around her eyes with his hand, he lowered his head to press his lips against hers. The kiss, which started with a light suck on her lower lip, lingered and then parted.

“Haa.”

A short sigh escaped her unconsciously, and he gently caressed the corner of her lips.

“There’s nothing about you that I don’t know.”

“…”

He whispered softly, his lips close to hers.

Every time his breath brushed against her, a shiver ran down her spine. Meeting her eyes again, he murmured seriously.

“But, if you say you don’t want it, I’ll let you go.”

As he spoke, his lips brushed against hers, making her hold her breath.

‘Again.’

He was pretending to give her control, but she knew better.

He wasn’t that kind of person.

‘This is unfair.’

Olivie bit the tender flesh inside her mouth to regain her composure.

To be asked to make a choice after such a tantalizing kiss.

In this situation, who could say no and reject him?

No woman would easily refuse.

Robin knew that all too well.

But…

“Think about it.”

As if he wasn’t expecting an immediate answer, he finished the kiss with a gentle peck and stood up.

“Our contract is still valid.”

She blinked, looking at him with a slightly dazed expression.

“Then.”

“……”

“If I say I want to end the contract that day.”

As Olivie dragged out her words, Robin, sitting with his long legs crossed, leaned back against the chair. His relaxed demeanor, even tilting his head slightly as he gazed at her, made Olivie more anxious, and she licked her dry lips.

“Are you going to marry the Princess?”

The moment her words broke off nervously, their eyes met.

He said nothing, so Olivie clasped her hands together.

The fingertips that had felt warm just moments ago were now cold. Massaging her numb fingertips with a tense expression, she lowered her head.

“If you say so…”

His voice continued slowly.

“Can you give up on me?”

“……”

A sweet voice.

The moment she raised her eyes and saw his expression, seemingly smiling with a twisted corner of his mouth, the thought that this was a trap wouldn’t leave her mind.

A trap that she should never answer or respond to.

But the moment she met his blue eyes, it was too late. It was as if she was being drawn in, unable to escape. She couldn’t breathe.

“……”

Yes, she knew it was presumptuous, that it was something she should never say.

She knew, but…

She couldn’t control the emotions that filled her in an instant.

She liked him. She felt like she was going crazy with how much she liked him.

Someone might ask if she was swayed by just a few words like that. But it wasn’t just that.

Even after seeing her worst and knowing what kind of person she was, he hadn’t changed. On the contrary, wasn’t he saying it didn’t matter at all?

Such a man, no, such a person was rare.

He wasn’t the first to find out she was an illegitimate child. However, among the few who knew, there was no one whose attitude towards her hadn’t changed. Whether for better or worse, people changed, and overwhelmingly, they changed for the worse.

All of this might just be an excuse to convince herself. But right now, none of that mattered.

Robin was not the man her parents had chosen for her to understand her place; he was the man she wanted.

Above all, she liked him.