Giovanni, Duke of Madeleine, could not bring himself to finish speaking.
He released a shuddering breath and dragged his hand across his face. The reason his precious, jewel-like daughter had been avoiding him—it was because of Olivia.
The moment he confronted the truth he had been desperately pretending not to see, his breathing became labored, as though invisible hands were closing around his throat.
It was beyond miserable. It was unbearable.
To what extent does that girl intend to make me unhappy?
"...Whatever she may have said to you—it does not matter. Ethella."
Giovanni spoke slowly, gathering his scattered thoughts. Those words were meant for Ethella, but they were also words he spoke to himself.
Everything Olivia says is meaningless.
"Madeleine, everything. I will erase it."
Words about erasing Madeleine.
"I did not make the Duke unhappy."
Words Olivia had spoken as though to provoke him. Such claims meant nothing.
The reason she made me unhappy did not begin the moment she arrived at the mansion. It began that night, twenty-one years ago—when her mother, a dancer who sold her body, shared a drink with me.
That night, when I had a private meeting with the Duke of Elkin, head of the noble faction... she has been a source of misfortune ever since.
Her only utility was to bring her to the imperial palace in Ethella's place.
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