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Chapter 205
An Insurmountable Wall
Olivia was blinking like a fool.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't understand.
Weren't two high-ranking noblewomen conversing, not just two young ladies chatting?
Circling around and around, somehow maintaining decorum while fighting—that was their way.
Olivia had naturally come expecting that fight, and intended to fight to the end.
W̃ еḃ nо̌v̂е l Е ňu̇ m̂ а
But she crumbled because of a single sentence just now.
'She called me because she wants to become beautiful and smart like me?'
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
That's it?
Couldn't there be an ulterior motive to land a blow?
She tried to think that way, but couldn't get a read on it at all.
The more information piled up, the more its shape became a mass of contradictions.
Е n̂ ú m̌â . і̊ḋ
'A dragon like a thoughtless young lady...?'
Even a willful dragon like Storeus calls her childish, but she isn't actually a child.
His words always contained messages only dragons understand.
Olivia's head spun faster than ever before.
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What if that childish behavior is a strategy to make her let her guard down?
What if "that's all" is a lie, a move to make her drop her guard?
Е̄nu m̈ å. i d̈
What if the moment she probes her intentions and shows favor, she'll go for the throat?
She keeps building countermeasures.
The more complicated her thoughts, the more hideously those horns gleam.
"Are you hot?"
Everything stops at that one sentence.
Her emotional turmoil made her armpits and forehead damp.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
>The makeup on her sensitive areas threatens to melt away.
"I apologize. I've had a constitution prone to sweating since long ago......"
"Wait a moment. Ruri."
Ruri handed Olivia a glass of water with ice.
Wind spirits circled around her, cooling the air.
Olivia drank the ice water and cooled her head.
Е n̂ů m å
Just as she tried to think again,
"I'm sorry."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"...Yes?"
The dragon apologized.
"I heard a Princess was coming, so I chose a fitting venue, but my thinking was shallow. I didn't think you'd be sensitive to heat."
"It's not that. It's partly because this girl was too nervous, so please don't mind it."
Ẅе̇b̌ n о v̀ ê l Е̄n üm a
"You were nervous. Hmm......"
Valdrova showed signs of contemplating something.
The message thrown by silence becomes another information bomb tormenting Olivia.
Then she looked toward her attendant.
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The attendant merely stood still with eyes closed.
But that alone must have been sufficient conversation, for Valdrova immediately took action.
Е̇ñ ũ m̈ a
Valdrova removed her mask and revealed her face.
"Will this...... ease your tension......?"
And she threw all her conjectures into the trash.
The face hidden behind the mask was unexpected for Olivia.
It was an exceedingly gentle face smiling awkwardly.
Round eyes and cherry-glossed lips held bashfulness.
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She was one of the most beautiful women Olivia had ever seen.
If she were simply beautiful, Olivia wouldn't have been this shocked.
Because it was an impression utterly unbefitting a dragon's dignity.
Every time she saw those hideous horns, it felt like a knife at her throat, but seeing her face, that knife isn't felt.
Despite the overwhelming aura unique to dragons, one wonders if this woman really is a dragon.
"Is your tension a bit eased now?"
Ě ń u ḿа .і̊d
"...Yes."
"That's a relief."
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Valdrova smiled brightly, gaining one more piece of information.
That she was a woman whose expressions were easy to read.
"I was truly curious how one could become beautiful and smart like you."
Perhaps because of that, now Olivia was the one having a hard time.
Е̇ nu ḿ ä
She was certain that without her long-honed social skills, she would have stammered unsightly.
"There's nothing special. Since I'm dull-witted, I don't know what part made you feel that way, and I'm floundering like this, so how can I be called intellectual?"
"Hmm, that...... what was it......? Was it 'embodying the divine appearance'? How can one say such a thing?"
"It's not a phrase I made. It's embarrassing, but it's just a quote from a famous philosophy book."
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"Isn't philosophy about making iron?"
"The dictionary definition is the academic discipline of deeply exploring the world and human life. But as Your Highness says, it's like making iron. Forging the mind endlessly, tempering it into a tool."
Wе̄ b nǒ.v̂ӗ l̄ Еǹ u mà
Valdrova's golden eyes sparkled.
"I see. If I read that book, can I speak smartly too?"
"Of course."
"Philosophy...... wait a moment. Ruri."
She gestured for something to write with.
Ruri quietly replied with a nuance of displeasure.
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"This girl will remember it."
"But...... no, that's not the attitude of a learner, is it?"
"....."
What Valdrova said was what Ruri had said.
Ruri, not expecting to have it turned back on her like this, maintained a businesslike expression with effort and handed her paper and a pen.
"Could you perhaps recommend which books to read?"
W е b́ nо̂ v̈_è ĺ Ѐn̂ ù m̌ а
There's no dignified voice anymore.
Olivia answered.
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"It would be good to read light Meditations and Dialogue Records. The Meditations contains many thought-provoking questions, how philosophers thought, and throws answers, so you'll find it interesting to read."
"I see. Meditations and...... Dialogue Records...... That...... Could you tell me what that means too?"
"Of course."
Olivia explained step by step.
Ѐn ü_m̌ а
When she made a difficult-to-understand expression, she explained once more, unraveling it until she understood for certain.
It was a truly bizarre situation.
Teaching the dragon everyone fears.
She was definitely conversing with a dragon, but that unique pressure was gone.
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It felt like talking with a child.
So she was simultaneously scared.
Ӗ n.u̇ m a .і̀ d́
Whether this situation truly has no hidden intent.
Or whether she hasn't realized it even now.
Rather, Olivia's mind went blank.
She was being helplessly drawn into Valdrova's pace.
When a brief silence came, Olivia reflexively spoke while watching Valdrova write.
"Your handwriting is extraordinarily beautiful."
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"Right?!"
Valdrova's face brightened as if the sun had risen.
"I practiced a tremendous amount. Writing characters is easier than expected, but writing well is really hard."
"But is there a need to do such things deliberately?"
She quickly recovered what could have been a rude remark.
"With my shallow knowledge, I think it would be better to have a proxy do it rather than Your Highness going to such trouble, so I dare ask."
W ӗ bñ о̊v̊ ӗl E ñu m̃å
"Mm, that's true."
Valdrova agreed too.
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Where would one use such handwriting after learning it?
She didn't particularly try to learn it, nor had interest.
"I wanted to show these characters to Ferda. I thought if I showed him prettily written characters, he might like it......"
"Is that all?"
W̄е̊b n̂ ov̈ӗl̆ Е̇n̈u̇ m ä
"That's all."
She laughed like a fool.
"Because that's my everything right now."
"Is...... that so?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"So I kept wanting to learn more. If I learn like this and become smart, I thought standing beside Ferda wouldn't be shameful......"
Valdrova looked at Olivia again.
Ѐ n̈ü m а . і̌ d
"So I wanted to talk too."
"....."
No matter how she thinks, it doesn't make sense.
Why would a dragon try to look good to a mere human?
That such a petty bourgeois idea exists in a dragon who's lived since the primordial era is unbelievable.
She inadvertently meets eyes once more.
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Vertically slit pupils within golden irises.
What's felt is pure admiration.
Exactly like when the Empire's children looked at her.
It's Valdrova who averts her eyes bashfully.
"I want to learn even more from now on."
"If Your Highness wishes, this girl will teach you anytime."
Е ṅ u m а . і d̆_
"So......"
Valdrova's face gradually reddened.
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With fidgeting lips, she carefully drew out her words.
"Olivia...... can you become my friend too?"
Olivia answered that question.
"Of course, Your Highness."
Е ǹ u m̆ а̃
* * *
After finishing the tea party with Valdrova, Olivia came outside.
She had excused herself saying she needed to go discuss diplomatic issues with Ferda.
In truth, it wasn't that urgent an issue.
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Since leaving first could be seen as rude, Olivia rarely says she's leaving first.
But she did it.
Е̌ṅ ú m̈ à
Being in the same room as Valdrova was too difficult.
When outside, Olivia always smiles brightly and hides her emotions, but now only a subtle, awkward smile remained on her face.
What's shaking Olivia this much is a two-syllable word.
'Friend......'
A word all too familiar in high society.
'What is a friend?'
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But to Olivia, it's an infinitely distant word.
Beyond simply knowing each other, someone who stays by your side in joy and hardship, respects each other, gives and receives help—was that it?
'......Could I have made a friend?'
She suddenly recalled the first time she was slapped.
The one who did that bold thing was Crown Prince Alexander Arken's first wife.
Though she was a detestable relative by blood, she was a righteous woman.
Ĕ n̊ ǔ.m̊ а̀
When she formally married and entered the palace, she tried to lessen the tragedy Olivia felt and genuinely tried to get close.
Olivia too had harbored hope that she might be able to consider her an eonni.
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That became her first and last chance to make a friend.
Hope was always cruel to her.
It didn't take long for the first wife, who always smiled and joked, to hate Olivia.
With mascara smeared into a ghostly visage, she approached and slapped Olivia's cheek.
Ёn ū ṁ а . ì ḋ
-You bitch...... Because of you......!
Receiving only incomprehensible hatred, the first wife disappeared forever.
She later learned why she was so angry.
The problem was that despite sleeping with Alexander many times, she couldn't have a child.
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Because her body couldn't bear children, she was pointed at, and eventually decided to be deposed.
She couldn't help but be angry.
We bǹо̀v е l Е̌ n̄um̃ӓ
Because the problem wasn't her, but Alexander.
She learned that the only woman Alexander sees as a woman is Olivia.
Since she couldn't slap the man who would soon be Emperor, the arrow turned to innocent Olivia.
Olivia felt terribly sorry for the Crown Princess.
But she didn't feel sorry.
Such resentment echoes endlessly even in places she can't hear.
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If only the Princess didn't exist, the person I like would look at me.
If only the Princess didn't exist, my fiancé would cherish me more.
'They're all just excuses.'
Olivia thought they were lazy people's excuses.
She considered them fools who only hate and rage, trapped in the past.
Would things really change if I weren't here?
Ё ǹú mа̂
If I don't have it, I make it; if it's not there, I cultivate my strengths.
Olivia had always lived that way.
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She never once neglected the strengths she possessed, and if there were lacking parts, she strove to develop them even by cutting sleep.
That's how she reached the position of Princess that everyone envies.
She never doubted that she was right.
At least until today.
Wӗb̊ ǹ ӧ vе̄ ľ Ѐ n úṁа
-Can you become my friend?
The moment she heard those words, Olivia felt from Valdrova what she lacked.
-I like you, a pure person.
The words she said when first meeting Ferda overlapped.
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She was an incredibly pure person.
Speaking indirectly is hard, hiding emotions is hard.
Ẅ e b̄ṅо̌ v̊ӗ l̈ Еn̈u.m ă
Yet she's careful not to trouble anyone, and if there's something she likes, she loves it without reserve.
She's immature, but that immaturity couldn't be laughed at.
Because no matter how many thousands of masks Olivia makes and wears, she could never act that true nature.
'So this is what it felt like.'
Olivia unconsciously clenched her fist tight.
She could understand a fragment of what the first wife felt.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Looking up at a realm that can never be reached no matter how much effort is made.
That it was this painful.
That frustration is boiling in Olivia's chest right now.
Olivia was jealous of someone for the first time.
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