Chapter 2

Olivia had gone to bed early the previous day, feeling exhausted. Thanks to that, she woke up before the sun had risen. 

As she raised her hand to rub her eyes, instead of the soft sensation she expected, she felt something stiff—something that shouldn’t be in her bed. 

A shiver ran down her spine. 

“What…?” 

The letter she had received yesterday was left in the study, so it couldn’t possibly be that. Moreover, since it was sealed, it was clearly a new letter. 

What she thought was a one-time prank had not ended. 

Olivia furrowed her brows as she stared at the letter in her hand. There was no way a maid would deliver a letter to her in such a manner while she was sleeping. 

The envelope and seal were identical. 

Shivering slightly, she distanced herself from the letter. She stared at it on the bed for a long time. 

Even though it didn’t seem to have malicious intent or appear dangerous, it was unsettling. 

“What is this?” 

Her mind swirled with confusion. 

After a brief moment of hesitation, Olivia snatched the letter and tore it open roughly. 

“If this is some weirdo, I’ll shoot them in the head!” 

It was an empty threat. 

She didn’t know how to handle a gun. In fact, her parents would never let her near such a terrifying object. Olivia, trying to seem intimidating, carefully opened the envelope. 

Contrary to her worries, nothing happened. 

After hesitating for a moment, Olivia hurriedly began to read the letter. 

「To My Beloved Olivia, 

Liv, did you sleep well? 

I couldn’t sleep. 

Would you believe me if I said the room felt too big and scary without you? 

……Don’t worry too much. 

If it gets too hard, I’ll ask the physician to prescribe me sleeping pills and force myself to sleep. 

Enough about me. Starting today, I will list the sins I committed against you. 

If I get anything wrong, please visit me in my dreams and correct me. 

Liv, our marriage was a means for an alliance. 

A union between royalty or high-ranking nobles is far more solid than merely exchanging resources. And since you were set to become a princess, the marriage alliance was, in a way, a natural outcome.

I heard that the Marquis of Bianche strongly opposed this marriage. But since you were the noblest unmarried woman in your country, your nation had no choice but to send you to an allied state to secure the alliance.

When I heard the news that the alliance was confirmed, I thought this: 

That you were pitiful.

I pitied you for having to come to my country because Frenchia sought an alliance. 

Of course, my country also gave a princess to marry the second prince for the alliance, so on the surface, the two nations exchanged something comparable. 

Am I rambling too much? 

You already know all this, but I just wanted to reflect on these events one by one. 

Where was I? 

Ah, that I pitied you.

I neither had a pleasant personality nor knew how to treat women. I was certain that you, who had been raised in Frenchia surrounded by love, would only get hurt if you came to me.

So, foolishly, I decided to keep my distance from you. I believed that would help you adapt quickly. 

The reason I didn’t spend the wedding night with you and slept separately was because I was afraid you’d be frightened. 

Your husband is quite the coward, isn’t he?

Liv, I didn’t understand the misery you must have felt. 

I’m truly sorry. 

I can’t call this atonement, but I hope it eases your heart, even just a little. I hope it washes away some of those tears from back then. 

You will be, now and forever, my first and my last.

At the end of June 1820」 

Only then did Olivia exhale. 

She realized she hadn’t been breathing the entire time she read the letter. 

After taking a few deep breaths, Olivia glared at the letter and shouted. 

“What kind of idiot writes something like this!”

She couldn’t remember anything from the earlier parts of the letter that the nameless gentleman had written. Only the part about not spending the wedding night kept echoing in her head.

Though she had never been engaged or married, she knew enough to recognize how incredibly rude his actions were. 

She wasn’t the ‘Olivia’ who had experienced it, but somehow, she felt humiliated right alongside her. She couldn’t begin to imagine how lonely the Olivia who married into a foreign land must have been.

If that Olivia had been, like herself, a woman who grew up dearly loved by her whole family, then she must have cried herself to sleep every night.

Running her hands roughly through her hair, Olivia sat at her desk. Then, filled with anger, she began to write a reply. 

She poured into the letter all the anger, shame, and sadness that ‘Liv’ must have felt. 

She even detailed the parts he, as a man, couldn’t possibly understand. 

By the time she finished writing the letter, the sun was rising outside the window. 

Olivia sealed the letter tightly in an envelope. Placing it on the desk, she called for her maid and went to the bathroom with her. 

Sunlight filled the room after she left. 

***

When Olivia returned, dressed neatly, her gaze immediately fixed on the desk. 

The pink letter she had written was gone, replaced by a letter bearing the royal seal. 

“What is this?” 

Standing before the desk, Olivia asked her maid with a displeased expression. 

“It’s a letter from the Second Prince, Your Ladyship. He asked me to deliver it to you.”

“What about the letter I left here on the desk?”

Olivia looked around the desk, trying to find the letter. But there was nothing—not even a trace of it. 

“It wasn’t there when I arrived. Shall I check if any letters were sent out?” 

“……No.” 

Suppressing her unease, Olivia opened the letter from the Second Prince. 

For such a fancy letter, its contents were brief. 

「Olivia,

There are more and more talks of marriage alliances among the nobles. But don’t worry.

You won’t be part of a political marriage.

I’ll stop it, no matter what.

Once I resolve this situation, I’ll come propose to you again. Just wait a little longer.」

Olivia frowned. 

The sudden content made her wonder if part of the letter was missing. She even flipped the paper to check for more, but there was nothing else. 

Seeing the Second Prince’s name at the end of the letter only soured her mood further. 

The letter from the unnamed gentleman she had received earlier that morning may have surprised her, but it didn’t leave her feeling like this. 

Olivia let out a short sigh. Royal letters couldn’t be discarded carelessly. Though she resented having to keep this unpleasant letter, she had no choice. 

A bit irritably, she folded the Second Prince’s letter and tucked it into a drawer. 

***

Even during the family meal, Olivia couldn’t focus. 

She picked at her food and poked at it listlessly. After repeating this behavior several times, 

“Via, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” 

Only then did Olivia, who had been absentmindedly prodding her duck with a fork, notice her family’s concerned gazes. 

The moment she met her father Peter Bianche’s eyes, the unnamed gentleman’s letter came to mind. 

“Father.” 

“Yes, Via.” 

“Is there perhaps another country called Frenchia? And could there be a Marquis family with the surname Bianche there, with someone named Olivia?”

Her sudden question made him tilt his head. 

“What an odd question to ask first thing in the morning.” 

Olivia’s insatiable curiosity was well-known, so her family didn’t think much of it. 

“Maybe across the sea, there could be.” 

It was as good as saying no. 

Hearing her father’s nonchalant answer, Olivia pouted. 

“Then, is there going to be a war? One so big that we need an alliance with another nation?”

Her question was strangely unsettling. 

The atmosphere in the dining room grew cold. 

The Marquis, taken aback, opened and closed his mouth silently, and even her usually argumentative brother, River Bianche, stared at her without a word. 

Abigail Bianche tilted her head, puzzled by her husband and son’s strange reactions. 

Meanwhile, Olivia, who had dropped a bombshell of a question, seemed entirely unbothered. 

“What are you talking about?” 

It was River Bianche who first regained his composure and pressed Olivia for an explanation. Surprised by their extreme reaction, she widened her eyes. 

“No, it’s just…” 

She had asked the question under the assumption that the letter came from another world—or the future—but their reactions were far beyond what she anticipated.

Olivia grew curious. 

If the letter was from another world, would this world follow a similar trajectory? 

Or, if it was from the future, would a war break out as he had written, sending me to a foreign land? And would it end in my death? 

Amused by her father and brother’s ominous demeanor, Olivia asked, 

“Are you really preparing for something?” 

“Well, as technology has advanced, there have been continuous small and large conflicts among neighboring nations.” 

The Marquis of Bianche chose his words carefully. 

“More and more countries are forming alliances, so there’s been talk about how we need to act quickly as well. But nothing is certain yet—not war, not alliances. Don’t worry about it.”

He seemed eager to end the conversation, quickly wrapping up his explanation. Just as he was about to suggest they finish their meal, Olivia asked again. 

“If we do form an alliance, is it possible there’ll be a political marriage between noble families? Since Frenchia doesn’t have a princess and the Duke’s daughter is only three years old, so if it came to that… wouldn’t I be the most likely candidate?”

The dining room atmosphere grew even colder than when she had mentioned war. 

Her family, who were accustomed to her lively demeanor, grew increasingly uneasy as they saw this calm version of her. 

“Stop with the nonsense, Via.” 

The Marquis of Bianche’s lips tightened into a firm line. 

It was a stark contrast to the way he usually indulged his daughter’s every word. With a frightening expression, he abruptly stood up. 

Without so much as a farewell, he left the dining room. 

River followed him out, leaving only Olivia and her mother behind. 

“Via, where did you hear such odd things to be saying this morning? Are you upset about all the talk of noble daughters needing to marry? Is that why you’re acting out?” 

Her mother asked gently. 

She could tell that something about Olivia was off.

Even when there were talks of arranging her engagement, or four years ago when she was told she might become a princess, she had never behaved this calmly.

…No, was she really calm?

Despite speaking of such dreadful things, her expression almost seemed excited. The Marchioness of Bianche deliberately ignored the slight upward curve of her daughter’s lips.