The Eldest Daughter Walks Down The Flower Path - Chapter 188

※ Regarding the length of the chapters, you may refer to the translator's note at chapter 1.

Chapter 188

Translator: Yonnee

—

Olivier could not understand why this crow-like Marquis Russell was doing his best to become a nuisance now.

But the next moment, Yves Russell acted beyond Olivier’s comprehension.

He also flopped down to the seat on the other side of Radis.

With a stupid grin on his mouth, he spoke.

“And a certain someone might be jealous, hm?”

At those words, Olivier narrowed his eyes, a hint of a tension rising into the air.

Meanwhile, as Radis was tightly snug between Olivier and Yves—two men who were by no means small—the only thought that could pass through her mind was this:

‘It’s hot…!’

Quite honestly, she’s been feeling warm since a while ago.

The dress she was wearing was made from comparatively thin fabrics since the seasons were changing, but it was still inevitably warm because there were so many layers in this dress.

Besides that, she felt even more warm from the onslaught of blushing that had wracked her from when Olivier had borrowed her lap.

So now that she’s trapped between two men while she was still feeling very warm, she felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

In the end, as Radis could no longer endure, she sprang up from her seat.

“Pardon me.”

She walked towards a window and opened it.

A cool breeze blew in from outside.

Radis then sat down again, but this time, in an empty seat opposite the sofa where Olivier and Yves were sitting side by side.

Now sitting by the window on a spacious seat, she felt like she could live now.

While sitting before them, Radis realized that Olivier and Yves were watching her.

The two men just sat there next to each other, staring at her without a word until Radis spoke up again.

Feeling as though she had done something wrong, Radis murmured an excuse.

“Because it’s hot.”

Yves smiled broadly at her words.

“Well done, Radis.”

“……?”

As Yves had shot her a random smile, Radis looked at him with suspicion lacing her gaze.

Now that she thought about it, the Marquis… must have been feeling jealous…?

Was he feeling jealous of her? Did he want to sit next to His Highness all this time?

Radis looked between Yves and Olivier alternately.

Yves looked so pleased at this moment, but contrasting this, Olivier had returned to his usual expressionless demeanor.

‘Aha. Y’know, Marquis, I’m good at reading the room, too.’

It seemed like Yves was giving her a signal right now—that he wanted to use this opportunity to be more acquainted with Olivier.

‘Marquis, I’m sure you’ve been waiting for this day, huh?’

Radis looked at Yves and gave him a determined look.

It seemed like Yves understood what that look meant, too, because he raised one corner of his lips sharply into a smirk.

Radis then stood up and said,

“Ahh, I’m. feeling. a. bit. thirsty.”

Realizing just how awkward she sounded just now, she coughed a little to cover it up.

“I, um, need to get something to drink.”

Thereafter, she stiffly walked out of the drawing room like a wooden doll.

* * *

As the door closed, heavy silence settled upon the drawing room.

Olivier turned slowly and leaned against the armrest of the sofa, staring intently at Yves Russell.

Receiving that kind of look was impossible to be pleased about, but Yves Russell nonetheless put on a pleasant business smile.

“Your Highness did say that you’ll be seeing me again soon, but I wasn’t expecting to see you this soon.”

Then, Olivier opened his lips.

“Five years.”

“……?”

“I will reinstate House Russell as a dukedom within five years.”

Yves Russell’s smile hardened.

Olivier continued.

“It was twenty-two years ago when the conflict between the kingdoms of the northern region was at its highest. So, Emperor Claude had summoned the six dukes to start a war.”

Olivier remained expressionless as though he was wearing a mask, yet there was an uncharacteristic fire burning behind his gaze.

“Lebeloia, Coban, Rothwell, Viard, Glover… and Russell.”

No matter how many changes the empire had gone through over the course of its long history, the names of the six founding contributors had not changed, as if their names had been engraved onto a monolith.

That is, until twenty-two years ago.

“However Noah Russell, the Duke of Russell at that time, did not respond to the Emperor’s call to arms, even to the bitter end.”

Yves’s lips, which had hardened, finally opened.

“…At that time, Duke Russell had been suffering from a chronic disease.”

Olivier tilted his head to the side slightly.

“Of course, there must have been a good reason for the former duke’s absence. However, it was due to his absence of the Russell Duchy and the opposition of the Velleius faction… that the Emperor’s plans fell through.”

After a deafening sigh amidst this silence, Olivier continued.

“Right after that, the Hart Kingdom called to negotiate peace. The Emperor managed to save face, but in any case, he was discouraged and furious. He poured down his anger towards Duke Russell, who had refused to comply with the call to arms. As a result, House Russell suffered the humiliation of being demoted from their illustrious rank of Duke, which they had been guarding for nearly half a millennium.”

Yves Russell was no longer smiling.

Between the gaps of his long, black fringe, the golden sheen of his eyes were reminiscent of hot, molten gold.

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