Chapter 45
Dimidius took a short breath, then exhaled deeply.
“Huff… I’ve been scolded before for getting the dining etiquette wrong. But there were also times when I had this whole place to myself.”
Olentia nodded, imagining the slightly stiff atmosphere at the dining table.
“I’ve eaten alone here before, too. It was really lonely and depressing.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No! I didn’t mean for you to apologize.”
As Olentia waved her hand in embarrassment, the Crown Prince Regalis and his friends appeared. It was the moment when Dimidius had just opened up about his inner thoughts, so Olentia felt a twinge of regret but greeted them politely.
“You’ve arrived? Did you rest well?”
Regalis smiled brightly, tugging at the corners of his lips in response to Olentia’s formal question.
“Yes! Thanks to you, I rested well. And thank you for preparing this dinner, Madam.”
Olentia shook her head slightly and spoke to Regalis, seated across from her.
“It’s only natural since we have an important guest. I hope the food suits your taste.”
“Don’t worry. I tend to like Northern cuisine.”
His straightforward answer was pleasant. Regalis seemed to have some sense of tact—he didn’t bring up the conversation they had when alone in front of Dimidius. He hadn’t been tipped off by anyone either, which Olentia found rather remarkable.
Olentia nibbled on the appetizers: escargot and canapés. They went perfectly with the lightly sweet aperitif.
Then Regalis spoke to her while eating.
“What do you usually do at the Grand Ducal Palace?”
Since she wasn’t the actual duchess and didn’t manage the palace, Olentia felt a little embarrassed and blushed. She really didn’t know what to say.
She forced herself to come up with an answer.
“I do embroidery or painting.”
During her month-long stay at the Grand Ducal Palace, Olentia had genuinely tried to discover a hobby. She usually embroidered flowers or painted with oil colors.
Regalis’s expression filled with curiosity, and his already high-arched smile widened further.
“Would you show me sometime? I’m very curious.”
“Oh, it’s nothing special. I’d be embarrassed to show it.”
“Even so, managing the palace must keep you busy. It sounds like a wonderful hobby.”
‘Well, that’s only possible because I’m not actually managing the palace…’
But she couldn’t say that.
Seeing Olentia smile awkwardly, Dexter, who sat next to Regalis, chimed in.
“I’m curious too. You must show us.”
They kept asking, so Olentia couldn’t keep refusing. She nodded and moved on to the main dishes: meunière-style flatfish, steak, roasted lamb, and turkey, among others. They weren’t insisting on strictly Northern cuisine.
Regalis and his friends seemed to enjoy the meal. Of course, it was odd that Dimidius hadn’t said a word, but they didn’t seem to mind much.
Honestly, just having Dimidius come to the banquet and dine together felt surprising enough.
Regalis swirled his wine glass and addressed Dimidius.
“Eating together like this brings back old memories.”
Dimidius put down his cutlery and sighed deeply.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve had formal dinners with my family before. It reminds me of those times.”
Olentia anxiously glanced between the two. She wondered what had happened during those formal dinners to make the atmosphere so tense.
Then Dimidius dropped the first bomb.
“I can’t forget how you sneered at me every time you saw me.”
Olentia looked at Regalis in surprise. She couldn’t judge Regalis based on just one person’s words, but she didn’t think Dimidius was lying. Dimidius would never be that kind of person.
Seeing Olentia’s gaze sharpen, Regalis shook his head.
“No, Madam. My brother misunderstood. I was just worried, that’s all.”
Regalis frowned slightly as if aggrieved, though it seemed a little exaggerated. She couldn’t tell if he was genuinely amused when he smiled, and she realized she still didn’t know much about him.
Olentia swallowed a bite of meat and said to both of them.
“You two need to handle your issues yourselves. I don’t know about them. After all, it’s not something I could know everything about.”
She couldn’t intervene recklessly, nor did she want to get involved in their quarrel.
The atmosphere became quiet, and soon silence fell over the table.
Feeling parched, Olentia asked a servant for cold water and drank it greedily.
Dimidius spoke in a voice full of concern.
“If you keep drinking only cold water, your stomach will hurt.”
Olentia fidgeted with her hands and avoided his gaze.
“I’m fine.”
She had just been drinking out of frustration. Olentia then watched as the maids brought out dessert, feeling a little energized at the thought that she could return to her room afterward.
Olentia happily ate a crêpe cake. It was so sweet it melted in her mouth. The stress from the banquet eased somewhat after indulging in the dessert.
Seeing this, Regalis immediately smiled brightly again.
“You like dessert, Madam Duchess.”
Not untrue, so Olentia nodded.
“Yes, I do. I like it.”
Then Dimidius looked directly at Regalis.
“How long do you plan to stay?”
Olentia realized she didn’t know the duration of their visit either. She gazed at Regalis, curiosity written all over her face.
After a moment, Regalis spoke.
“I’d like to stay about a month.”
“That’s not acceptable. The Grand Ducal Palace isn’t your playground.”
Dimidius rejected him immediately.
Olentia also didn’t want to witness this scene for a whole month. She might suffocate from it.
Noticing her expression, Regalis rolled his eyes briefly.
“It seems my words were unwelcome to both of you. How disappointing.”
At his comment about disappointment, Olentia paused for a moment. She had just met the revered Saint Daphne, so she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
In the end, the evening banquet ended with the awkward atmosphere still lingering. Dimidius left without a word, and as Olentia rose to leave, she said to Regalis.
“If anything makes you uncomfortable, please feel free to tell me.”
As the Duchess, that much she could do.
Regalis stepped closer and whispered quietly.
“There’s something I need to talk about. Could you come to the indoor garden on the second floor when you’re alone? I’ll wait.”
Before she could respond, Regalis moved on, joking with his friends as he left, making it impossible to stop him.
‘Why is he always so secretive? What could he possibly want to say to me?’
Olentia felt she shouldn’t keep meeting Regalis like this. Even if it was a contractual marriage, meeting him alone as a married woman was too uncomfortable.
‘I need to make this clear this time.’
That night, after watching Podion leave, Olentia headed alone to the second-floor indoor garden. The terrace there was beautiful, and she often visited. Regalis was standing there, hands clasped behind his back.
“Your Highness, Crown Prince.”
At Olentia’s greeting, Regalis uncrossed his hands and laughed heartily.
“You’ve come! The indoor garden is truly beautiful.”
Olentia hesitated briefly, then spoke cautiously.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t call me out like this. I know you mean well, but it makes me uncomfortable.”
Regalis furrowed his brows for a moment, then quickly relaxed. She felt she had seen a fleetingly stern side of him—so brief, only three seconds. He was truly unpredictable.
He spoke with a slightly urgent tone.
“I see. But I was worried.”
“What kind of worry?”
“That it might look like you’re being forced into this marriage, and I feel sorry for you.”
‘Did I really look like that?’
Olentia looked at him, surprised. She wasn’t being forced into the marriage; she would divorce in four months. Dimidius was always busy and didn’t trouble her. If anyone was being bothersome now, it was Regalis.
She shrugged.
“I’m not forced into this marriage. If it looked that way, it’s a misunderstanding.”
Regalis, arms crossed, paused, then spoke seriously.
“I don’t think it’s a misunderstanding. I’ve also heard about it from Saint Daphne.”
Olentia realized he knew about the prophetic dream that she and Saint Daphne had agreed to keep secret.
She asked sharply.
“You know about the prophetic dream?”
“Yes. I know. Saint Daphne’s visions have never been wrong. So, you should get a divorce.”
She couldn’t understand why everyone insisted so firmly on divorce.
She couldn’t say she would divorce in four months, and it was frustrating.
‘Why didn’t the Saint keep this secret?’
Olentia felt betrayed and held her forehead. Her head seemed to burn suddenly.
Regalis looked at her with concern.
“You must have been shocked. But isn’t it fortunate that you learned it in advance?”
Olentia shook her head.
“No. I don’t think Your Highness would betray me.”
She couldn’t see any reason why he would. She also still remembered the happy dream she had experienced herself.
While she didn’t dismiss Saint Daphne’s visions, she couldn’t force Dimidius into trouble by divorcing him immediately.
She hugged her shoulders and said to him.
“I’ll handle it myself, so don’t worry about the vision. And please, don’t call me out like this again.”
With that, Olentia left the indoor garden. Regalis insisting on divorce felt nothing but burdensome.
‘Why is he acting like this toward me? Has he always been this meddlesome?’
Olentia’s mind was full of questions.
