Late at night in the Grand Duke’s drawing room.
"The lady has fallen asleep."
After delivering her report, Hannah left.
Alone in the sitting room, the Grand Duke exhaled slowly.
Only now did his razor-sharp nerves begin to unwind—little by little.
Because Olivia Madeleine is asleep under my roof.
At sunset, he had left for Tiase Palace.
Upon arrival, the first report he heard was this: Olivia had disappeared.
The prince’s fiancée, gone from the heavily guarded imperial palace without a trace.
For a split second, his vision went white.
His knights scoured the capital.
When they finally found her, Olivia’s light had gone out of her eyes—and she had looked up at him and asked:
"Why are you here?"
Her face had been pale. Her trembling hands had clutched the hem of her robe.
Recalling that voice—shaking as it held back tears—darkened his red eyes.
He’d almost left her to cry alone, in that alley.
Just the thought was unbearable.
Then one day, he saw Jade Madeleine—hotheaded vice-captain of the Imperial Knights—tearing up a letter in a blaze of fury.
Jade’s anger was nothing new. But the look on his face after the rage passed was.
He looked... heartbroken.
It wasn’t hard to learn who’d sent that letter.
The illegitimate daughter of Duke Madeleine.
Half Madeleine.
The Crown Prince’s fiancée.
In the barracks gossip, Olivia Madeleine was always painted in the worst light.
Arrogant. Shameless. Always coveting what belonged to others.
Or so they said.
He’d assumed that was the end of it.
Until the day two sponsor letters arrived at once.
For a moment, he’d simply been surprised—two deliveries on the same day?
Then he saw the mistake.
One letter was addressed to him, from Liv Green.
The other—a letter from Olivia Madeleine to Jade Madeleine.
On luxurious stationery, written in that same neat hand.
When he finally pieced it together—that Liv Green, who had hidden her personal story so carefully, was Olivia Madeleine—he did not rejoice.
He felt sick.
Liv Green, whose lines glowed with small, everyday contentment—was the same Olivia dragged across the Empire’s gossip as an unrepentant villain.
The two images clashed violently in his mind.
He wasn’t sure how to respond.
Before he could decide, orders came down: he had to move to another front.
He sent one last note asking if something was wrong—but no reply came.
After the war ended in victory, he wrote a final letter to his mysterious patron.
He told her he would like to meet her “by chance” on Rahein Street.
It was all right even if the letter never arrived.
Because once she entered society, he would find her.
He went to the rendezvous with almost no expectations.
Then, unexpectedly, he saw her.
A young lady whose green eyes stole his breath from the first glance.
When he realized she was Olivia Madeleine—Liv Green—something inside him thrilled.
The idiot in the palace, who’d grown up lacking nothing, couldn’t tell what was truly precious.
But I can.
If she came to his side, he was sure—he would treat her with more care and honor than anyone else ever could.
His red eyes gleamed more brightly at the thought.
---
It was a dim dawn when Hannah opened my door and peeked in.
"Miss?"
"Morning."
I sat on the bed, smiling awkwardly.
Hannah blinked rapidly.
"You’re already awake? You came home so late yesterday..."
I shrugged.
Early mornings were habit.
I’d had too much to do and only one body to do it with—sleep had always been the first thing cut.
This was the first morning I’d spent... doing nothing.
I usually check the Duke’s ledgers, the Crown Princess’s accounts, my schedule... It feels strange to sit here with empty hands.
"Shall we go to breakfast? The chef was overjoyed to hear you’d be eating here."
"What do you serve most often?"
Hannah brightened, happy to be useful.
Eating breakfast I hadn’t personally inspected felt... surreal.
I parted my lips slowly.
"Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"Thank you... for taking me in yesterday."
I tried to sound as clear as possible.
I knew I should meet his eyes when giving thanks, but shame kept pulling my gaze down.
"I’m not sure how much of my situation you know—but I think I’ll be a burden to you for a while."
"..."
"If there’s any work I can do while I’m here—please tell me. I promise I won’t be useless."
I’d managed the finances of the Duke’s house and Tiase Palace. I’d solved problems for the Crown Princess.
So I spoke with a confidence I didn’t quite feel—while the Grand Duke looked oddly conflicted.
For a moment, fear stabbed through me.
Did I say something wrong again?
Then his face softened.
Laughter rolled into the dining room.
Startled, I turned toward the entrance.
Servants stood lined up there—including the brown-haired knight from before.
Most of them struggled to hold back their amusement.
Only the brown-haired knight was laughing openly—nearly in tears.
"It was so hard just to drag him back here—"
"...Winster Calter. What are you doing here?"
The Grand Duke ground out the name.
Winster froze mid-laugh.
"Ahaha... I simply came at the perfect time to greet the lady... ha ha..."
"Really. Try listening properly when it matters."
The Grand Duke ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.
Black strands slipped between his fingers, soft-looking even in annoyance.
Then he faced me again.
"I told you yesterday, didn’t I? Everyone at my estate has been eagerly waiting for you."
As if to prove it, Hannah and the others looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Their open curiosity and welcome made me laugh—small, but real.
---