A Marriage Alliance for Revenge - Chapter 5

Baron was about to pose another question when his gaze shifted down to the woman who was uttering something he couldn’t figure out.

 

The aroma of savory soup wafted to his nostrils.

 

Emerging from the kitchen, a maid entered the room, dragging a tray.

 

“You’d better eat first.”

 

Baron saw the soup in the concave bowl and turned.

 

The maid who had been following his instructions took notice and soon joined him outside.

 

“You’re hungry, aren’t you? Eat slowly. If there’s not enough, just ask.”

 

The maid had large hands and brought out what looked like enough for two full-grown men.

 

Tsk.

 

The petite maid blushed and moved in front of Olivia.

 

She pulled a table out from under the bed, worried that she didn’t have a proper table.

 

“Here, come on.”

 

She placed a steaming bowl of soup on the table and placed a large spoon in Olivia’s hand.

 

“Enjoy your meal.”

 

The end of her sentence had a touch of awkwardness due to the absence of a familiar honorific.

 

The maid’s grin radiated warmly upon Olivia, with freckles on her nose bridge twitching in an adorable manner.

“When you’re done, I’ll help you bathe. I’ve cleaned you up a bit, but don’t you think you could use a bath?”

 

The clothes she’d been wearing were replaced. Memories of running barefoot through the streets came rushing back to her.

 

It was funny how just moments ago; she hadn’t registered the pain, yet now that awareness had returned, discomfort surged through her.

 

Olivia nodded wordlessly.

 

‘Was the soup actually this good?’ 

 

From Marquise to Empress.

 

Olivia had always eaten and worn only the finest things.

 

But she couldn’t remember ever eating anything so delectable.

 

Olivia rapidly downed the soup and eagerly consumed it.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

“What?”

 

Lucas’s eyebrows arched intensely.

 

“The Golden rose comes to greet the Black Wolf under the moon. That’s what she said.”

 

Under Lucas’s piercing gaze, Baron flinched. 

 

Cold sweat ran down his back, followed by a sudden denial from Lucas.

 

“Ha!”

 

Lucas flung the papers from his desk.

 

A full departure from his customary demeanor, where he usually reined in his emotions.

 

The Golden Rose and the Black Wolf.

 

A sense of unease engulfed him as memories inundated his mind.

 

Vinter, akin to a specter, noticed Lucas’s demeanor and positioned a cold water pitcher on the edge of his desk.

“That’s what she said?”

 

In the sunlight, black eyes sparked fiercely.

 

His dark eyes resembled those of a wolf deciding on its adversary.

 

“Yes.”

 

Baron wasted no time in answering.

 

If he delayed, the wolf would tear him to pieces, starting from the nape.

 

“It can’t be!”

 

Lucas called out to Vinter, unwilling to accept the Baron’s answer.

 

The woman that had jumped into the carriage’s way during his early morning ride home—nothing more than a mere accident, he initially assumed.

 

However, the notion of her being a spy dispatched by Gusto occurred to him—perhaps remaining inactive due to the Empress’s pregnancy.

 

“Gather information about her.”

 

“Of course.”

 

A gust of fierce air swept through the room.

 

It was Lucas, who had seldom unveiled his emotions since assuming leadership of the household.

 

His intensity caused the office’s occupants to shudder, exchanging apprehensive glances.

 

“Let’s take a thirty-minute break.”

 

Lucas turned away from the office, positioning himself by the window.

 

His aides scuttled out of the room as the his intensity waned.

 

Dullness prevailed, settling upon the office as its bustling ambiance subsided.

 

It was one that most resonated with his dark features.

 

“The Golden Rose and the Black Wolf.”

 

Lucas glanced at the Viterpan coat of arms on his desk.

 

A tiny crescent moon shone beyond the fierce black wolf that symbolized the family.

 

It had been more than five months since he had been in the capital.

 

At the Emperor’s command, he had been at his beck and call, like a dog rolling in the mud.

 

He didn’t expect Gusto to keep his word.

 

But he hadn’t expected him to so easily break a promise made with the word of an emperor.

 

“Curse it.”

 

Lucas gritted his teeth in his empty office.

 

He’d been stripped of the throne and lost his sibling.

 

His parents, the previous Emperor and Empress, were long dead.

 

Since the night of the coup, everything changed around him in the name of revolution. 

 

The Emperor had been beheaded; he himself had been disowned, ensnared by Gusto’s machinations, while his younger sister had been abducted alive.

 

And Lucas held the title of duke in name only, manipulated like a hound by the Emperor.

 

“The Golden Rose.”

 

No one was allowed to say those words in his presence. At least not in this manor.

 

He recalled the woman who had jumped fearlessly into the carriage’s way at dawn.

 

She was dressed scantily, but she looked desperate, and he hadn’t anticipated to do this—her knife in his back.

 

Nonetheless, Gusto, having dispatched numerous women and spies before, was entirely capable of orchestrating scenarios similar to the incident at dawn.

 

Even on the frontier, where barbarian raids were not uncommon, it wasn’t above Gusto to make attempts on his life.

 

Had the empire not been rejoicing over the Empress’s pregnancy, he would have attempted assassination on his life multiple times.

 

“Ugh.”

 

A savage sound emerged from Lucas’s lips.

 

So potent was it that each knuckle protruded prominently from his clenched fist.
His pent-up rage was visible. 

 

Finally, Lucas shouted out loudly to those outside.

 

“Baron, where is she now?”

 

He had to see for himself. How dare she come before him, the words ‘Golden Rose’ being uttered by her tongue?

 

Lucas slammed his office door shut.

 

The aides, who had been resting in the next room, rushed out. So did Baron.

 

“Lucas!” Baron called.

 

“I want to see her. Now!”

 

At Lucas’s words, Baron took the lead.

 

Nothing could impede him now.

 

A large shadow followed his strides as he advanced toward Olivia’s quarters.

 

At the same time.

 

Olivia found herself left alone in an unfamiliar room.

 

When the maid left to prepare her bath, she was left in solitude, and she slowly slumped to the floor.

 

She struggled, believing she was still alive.

 

She wanted to examine her unfamiliar body more closely, but there wasn’t even a mirror in the room.

 

Windowless chambers were unlikely to have mirrors. She wandered through the dreary space, which resembled a dungeon where wrongdoers were confined.

 

Bang!

 

The door swung open without a knock.

 

‘Knocking must be foreign to this household.’

 

Olivia, who was standing with her back to the door, turned around.

 

To her astonishment, it was Lucas.

 

“Huh?”

 

Her deep green eyes widened in surprise.

 

Baron trailed behind him, appearing perplexed.

 

Evidently, her words had gotten through to Lucas. Still seething, Lucas approached her.

 

“You dare to mention the Golden Rose in my presence?”

 

A protracted shadow shot out, followed by Lucas’s hand.

 

The sensation of strangulation was not her mind playing tricks. His calloused hand, accustomed to wielding a sword, seized her throat unceremoniously.

“Ack.”

 

‘Was it just a whirlwind of emotion, and he lost control? Or is he really trying to kill me?’

 

The moment his hand closed around her throat, her breath was cut off.

 

Lucas eased his hold until her face turned blue from lack of breath.

 

However, his hand remained firmly on her throat.

 

Baron, who had been watching from behind, was ready to intervene.

 

“She hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

 

“Get out.”

 

There was no hesitation.

 

Obeying Lucas’s command, Baron glanced at Olivia, who seemed on the brink of breathlessness, and then averted his gaze.

 

Thud.

 

The door slammed shut, sealing tight a world distinct from the outside.

 

At least in this room, if a murder occurred, Lucas wouldn’t be blamed.

 

Exhaling the held breath, Olivia locked eyes with the black wolf’s gaze.

 

“Answer me.”

 

The growl resembled the howl of a black wolf on a moonless night, seeking its enemy’s throat.

She had to.

 

No wonder he was infuriated now that she’d used his pseudonym.

 

Olivia blinked slowly.

 

Each blink was met with darkness—both the artificial darkness she had conjured with her words and the obscurity emanating from Lucas’s eyes.

He gazed at Olivia, unwavering.

 

Swallowing with a dry throat, she finally made her decision.

 

Her lips, still chapped, parted gradually.

 

“Your Majesty, Lucas.”

 

“What?”

 

“No, ‘Your Majesty’?”

The fingers that had slackened tightened once more at Olivia’s words.

 

Undaunted, Olivia maintained her gaze even as the grip tightened.

 

The night of the coup.

 

Had Golden Rose not abandoned the Black Wolf, he might have ascended to the throne.

 

Choosing honor over life would have meant the eradication of her family, but it would have also meant that the Black Wolf would have avoided Gusto’s manipulations.

Slowly, Olivia lifted her hand, her focus fixed on Lucas, who stared at her with lethal intent.

 

“The Golden Rose comes under the moon, and here I stand, ready to greet you.”

 

Lucas’s hand cut off her words, stealing her breath mid-sentence, yet Olivia concluded her statement.

Now, only his choice remained.

 

“Peculiar woman, I didn’t expect to hear those words coming from a mouth of someone I met by accident on the streets.”

 

She’s been giving me strange looks since we met.

 

This time, Gusto won’t save you.

 

“Ha! Hahaha.”

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

Encountering her deep green eyes, an oddly serene feeling enveloped him.

 

He clenched his teeth and squeezed her slim neck harder, but it was futile.

 

His eyes gleamed as vividly as they had upon their first meeting.

 

Finally, Lucas had no alternative but to release his grip.

 

“Ack, Augh.”

 

Free from Lucas’s grasp, Olivia coughed harshly.

 

She leaned back, muffling the sound with her hand.

 

Her delicate frame swayed with each cough, reminiscent of a flower swaying in the breeze on a spring day.

 

Raising her head, he met her tearful, dark green eyes.

 

Olivia brushed them away with the back of her hand and faced Lucas.

 

An empty, grayish room.

 

A towering man.

 

Olivia felt trapped, akin to being confined in a cell.

 

Should Lucas decide, she could easily find herself in a genuine prison.

 

His gaze never left her.

 

Just a few feet apart, the scene from a moment ago could easily replay itself.
“Who owns you?”

 

“No one.”

 

“You’re quite the enigma. I haven’t heard that title in a long time.”

 

At Lucas’s self-deprecating voice, Olivia’s head snapped up.

It was his hereditary title. A title he should have been called by.

 

It was all rightfully his, something Olivia understood better than anyone else.

 

“If you quietly depart back to where you came, I will spare your life.”

 

Typically, this proposition would be unthinkable.

 

Entering the mansion in a daze was a mystery, though.

 

A well-trained assassin could have easily deceived Lucas’s perception.

 

“‥‥‥The Empress has died.”

 

“What?”

 

With his back turned, Lucas had been running his hand through his hair, but he swiftly faced Olivia.

 

His eyes reflected a myriad of emotions.

 

Shock.

 

Confusion.

 

And yearning.

 

Taken aback by the unforeseen sentiment in Lucas’s eyes, Olivia swallowed her forthcoming words.

“What do you mean!”

 

Lucas demanded, gripping Olivia’s shoulders and shaking her forcefully.

 

He seemed poised to sprint to the palace at any moment.

 

“Lou, Lucas.”

 

Shaken vigorously by Lucas, Olivia couldn’t look away from his gaze.

 

The emotion she had perceived earlier had vanished, supplanted by anger.

 

“Tell me, what happened?”

 

“Her Majesty, the Empress has died.”

 

“Ha!”

 

Lucas slowly withdrew his hand from Olivia’s body, as though confronted by an implausible reality.

 

His gaze wandered aimlessly.

 

“She was pregnant.”

 

The last time he saw her at the dinner table.

If he had realized it would be their last shared moment—her caressing her pregnant abdomen—he would have etched it into his memory.

“The Emperor himself‥‥‥ended the Empress’s life.”

 

Lucas’s head turned sluggishly.

 

His startled expression revealed he had heard her correctly.

 

With a composed tone, Olivia recounted her experience.

 

Though her body trembled, this wasn’t the time to dwell on the past or succumb to fear.

 

“That’s inconceivable.”

 

“I’ll return the crown back to you, Your Majesty.”

 

“‥‥‥.”

 

“So please, marry me.”