Olivia was quite immune to handsome men. It was because of Rafael, the eldest son of the Russell family, who had conquered the social world with nothing but his beauty. But even Olivia could not help but be dazed for a moment upon seeing this man’s face.
“……I’m alright.”
“It’s dangerous, so it would be best to stand on the inner side of the road.”
This is a statue. A crystallization containing the wishes of countless women that it should be theirs! It was not that she thought she must have it, but Olivia had more than enough aesthetic sense to judge what was handsome and beautiful.
“I……”
An accident of almost being hit by a carriage could not compare to the shock of seeing this man’s face. It was her turn to express her gratitude for saving her. But the man, after confirming that Olivia was unharmed, immediately ran to the overturned carriage and devoted himself to rescue efforts.
“Savior of my life. That much seems fitting.”
“Young Lady!”
Because of the carriage shattered with a tremendous crash, the dust that rose completely blocked the road. Olivia, seeing Masha running toward her beyond the bent streetlamp, raised her hand slightly.
“A-are you alright? I almost fainted watching from inside the shop!”
“For that, you seem a bit late.”
“Getting through the crowd was a miracle in itself. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. That gentleman over there saved me.”
“What gentleman?”
By the time Masha turned her head, the man was no longer visible in Olivia’s sight either. Only after confirming that Olivia had not received a single scratch did Masha let out a small breath of relief.
“Indeed. I couldn’t even ask his name. Oh, the desserts?”
“……I’ll have to, line up again.”
The road was on the verge of paralysis from people pouring out of every shop. Masha, seeing the line inside the shop in disarray, looked at Olivia with a baffled face. There was no reason to be stubborn in a situation like this. Olivia picked up her hat and said to Masha.
“Let’s come back next time. I think I should get examined.”
“What? You were hurt earlier? Oh no!”
When Olivia, whom she had thought was fine, brought up the examination first, Masha’s face turned pale. Olivia, meanwhile, merely placed her hand gently over her chest with a calm face.
* * *
Dr. Robert, the Russell Count family’s physician, was an old gentleman on the verge of retirement. Having rushed over at Olivia’s call, he could not hide his shock at the news that Olivia had almost been caught in a carriage accident that afternoon.
“Shortness of breath, a rapid heartbeat……. And a bit of nausea.”
Robert, repeating Olivia’s described symptoms as if mulling them over, nodded and spoke.
“It is a stroke of luck.”
At Robert’s words, Olivia tilted her head and asked back.
“Did I catch some terminal illness? And found out about it early?”
“Young Lady!”
When Masha was appalled, Robert stroked his gray beard and laughed softly.
“That’s not it. I mean that you avoided the carriage rushing toward you.”
“Ah……”
“Whether trampled by hooves or crushed by the falling carriage, it would have been difficult to survive.”
“That’s true.”
“Having avoided that danger, how startled you must have been.”
Olivia came to realize that her abnormal symptoms were ultimately because of that accident. She had called Robert for the first bodily abnormality she had ever experienced, but she had been thinking that perhaps she had made a fuss over nothing since she had not been directly hit.
“I will prescribe a sedative, so for the time being, take one pill whenever the symptoms you mentioned appear.”
Olivia nodded. Robert handed the prescription to Masha and exchanged a light greeting. As he left the drawing room, Olivia finally thought of something she had forgotten to say.
“I should have told him not to inform the other family members.”
“Why? Such a big incident!”
“It’ll only increase the nagging for no reason.”
Olivia, who had been sitting upright on the drawing room sofa, leaned back languidly against the backrest and crossed her arms. Masha tilted her head at the somehow un-Olivia-like, unladylike posture.
That Olivia’s worries were not unfounded was confirmed a little later. It was mealtime, when the four family members had gathered in one place for the first time in a long while.
Madam Russell, having heard of Olivia’s accident, asked whether she had been disgraced, and Count Russell, who was pathologically obsessed with Olivia’s health, disapproved of her having been prescribed a sedative. Rafael, the black sheep of the count’s family who was alone in feeling uncomfortable in this situation, finished the suffocating meal and immediately followed Olivia up to the second floor.
“Did you tell Alex?”
“Why would I?”
“Use this as an excuse to ask him to visit you while you’re ill.”
“Annoying.”
“He’s the man who will become your husband. You should get closer to him starting now,”
“Brother. I am becoming the Young Duke’s wife, not him becoming my husband.”
At Olivia’s words, which scolded him as if asking whether he still did not understand that, Rafael furrowed his brow and raised his voice.
“What’s the difference?”
“It means the duty falls only on me.”
Because of Olivia, who had brought out such an enormous statement as if it were nothing, Rafael stood blankly staring at the closing bedroom door like a fool. Then, suddenly coming to his senses, he wedged his foot into the door gap.
“Wait.”
“What.”
“I’m different from Mother and Father. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“You don’t have to choose a path where you won’t be happy.”
“What path is better than becoming a Duchess?”
This time, Rafael truly could not find anything more to say. Olivia, looking at Rafael trying so hard, briefly felt a pang of pity, wondering how such a person had been born into a family like this.
“Brother, I’m sorry, but I’m going to live the rest of my life stiffly and old-fashionedly.”
“Olivia.”
“While being very grateful that I was born as the one and only Young Lady of the Russell Count family.”
How much could the world change in her lifetime? Olivia could not find a reason to long for freedom to the point of giving up this life.
* * *
It happened a few days later, during an afternoon walk. At Olivia’s words that she would stop by the bookstore, Masha welcomed it noticeably, for once.
“Masha. What is the name of the book you want to buy?”
Arriving at the bookstore, Olivia asked Masha, who was anxiously scanning the shelf where new releases were placed. Without a moment’s hesitation, Masha whispered softly to Olivia.
“The Duchess’s Three Men.”
“……The title alone is quite vulgar.”
“It’s a popular new release these days.”
She even learned that it was a completed trilogy, and the servants were restless because they could not get the last volume. Just then, Olivia spotted the book faster than Masha. Unable to locate the third volume, she called a staff member and quickly left the spot.
“I’ll go over there for a bit.”
“Yeees.”
Olivia had never been very interested in romance novels since childhood. Perhaps that was fortunate. It meant she could avoid nagging about the Russell family’s dignity and whatnot. The place she sought out was in front of a shelf full of travel books.
“Hmm. Even if the author changes, the content isn’t much different.”
Olivia, rapidly flipping through the pages, let out a small sigh.
“The added content is far too far-fetched……”
The famous travel books at home had already been published well over twenty years ago. She had looked for something newer, but had been disappointed that the content did not meet her expectations.
“It’s not land a noble lady would typically be interested in, but are you interested?”
Olivia looked at the man one step away who lightly took off his hat and put it back on, acting as if he knew her. Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump. Was this the moment Dr. Robert had spoken of? Olivia took a small breath and stepped back one pace.
“A little. I dislike the cold, but I’m curious about landscapes covered in snow.”
“A typical southern lady’s way of thinking. To be curious about the trash falling from the sky.”
Unlike her first impression, Olivia did not like the man’s attitude, which seemed to subtly look down on people. Having stopped trying to engage further, Olivia called to him, thinking she should quickly convey her thanks and leave.
“Excuse me,”
“Young Lady, I found it! Volume three!”
Just then, Masha ran up to Olivia, and both of their gazes turned to the book she was holding. Startled, Masha tactfully stepped away, and the man laughed softly and spoke.
“I see. For a modest young lady, a ducal bedroom suits you better than the desolate North.”
“N-no. That’s not what I was going to read,”
At the obvious mockery, Olivia, rarely flustered, swallowed her excuse and spoke calmly.
“Alright. I don’t care about that, so would you give me a chance to express my gratitude?”
“Gratitude?”
“The last carriage accident. You saved me. I truly thank you.”
“Ah.”
“If it’s not rude, may I ask which family you are from and your name?”
The man, with a face that said this had become troublesome, pondered for a moment and then spoke.
“……Winston. Just know it as that.”
The dignity ingrained in his body could not be erased even if one tried, and the clothes and ornaments he wore were all luxury items. The man deliberately erased his family. Olivia returned home full of nothing but questions, and the next morning. She found him in the newspaper placed in the drawing room.
“Ha, Winston Greenwood?”
Greenwood, the most venerable bloodline in this kingdom. Winston Greenwood was the king’s younger brother and the Grand Duke of Libien.
