Chapter 4
Episode 4
It was by chance that Olivia discovered the power of that jewel box.
In her first life, she spent nearly twenty years in this annex. Despairing, despairing, finding life so burdensome she could barely breathe, yet too cowardly even to take her own life, she lived praying for the day she would simply die on her own.
Then one day, pushed by a furious Roela, she crashed into this fireplace and died.
“I am the Empress, and I am his wife! How dare you, of all people!!!”
That anger was unjust toward Olivia. She had never resented Ezekiel, nor had she ever welcomed this life of confinement.
“You shameless woman! Only Count Rutgart is to be pitied! To risk his life for a woman like you!!!”
Olivia couldn’t make sense of it. Why Theodor? No, in fact, she didn’t even know if the Count of Rutgart at that time was Theodor or not. She had lived for over twenty years in confinement, completely cut off from the outside world.
It seemed she had unconsciously clutched this jewel box in her hand as she was dying. Olivia still remembered the vivid pain and blurred vision from that moment. The jewel box, fallen into the blood she had spilled, was glowing.
And when she woke up, she had been transported back to a day in her twenty-second year.
At first, she thought her previous life had been a dream. A ridiculous nightmare.
But the things she had thought were just strange fantasies born of a dream soon began to unfold in reality. The letter from Count Rutgart that she had read in her dream actually existed, and she realized once again that she was indeed a real princess.
After reading that letter, she fled immediately. Without giving any thought to how far she would go or how she would survive, she left everything she loved—and everyone who loved her—taking only a small amount of pocket money she had saved and a few changes of clothes.
But her fate as a princess caught up with her all too easily. Not long after the death of the previous Count of Rutgart, the House of Schwaben learned of Olivia’s survival and tracked her down to capture her, seeking to eliminate the variable.
Once again, Olivia became Ezekiel’s plaything.
She endured it for about three years. Fearing that if she were to commit suicide, they would take revenge on Rutgart, she accepted becoming his mistress.
Unable to see anyone, not even permitted to walk in the garden, she lived in this annex like a caged animal—eating the food Ezekiel gave her, wearing the clothes he chose, pretending to be affectionate and kissing him as he commanded, and spreading her legs whenever he desired.
Without any certainty, she fiddled with this jewelry box for three years. She wished to start over, yet held back that wish...
But in the end, Ezekiel killed Theodor.
On the day of his execution, Ezekiel came to see her with a more cheerful expression than usual, presented her with a gift, and made love to her with greater tenderness than ever before.
And then, with a smile on his face, he told her, as she lay there exhausted.
“Theodor Rutgart was executed today.”
“What… what do you mean? You said you wouldn’t kill me! You said you’d spare Rutgart if I cooperated…”
“Even so, I can’t just let a traitor go free. If I release a traitor just because the government is pressuring me, what will become of the country?”
As she cried out, trembling, Ezekiel kissed her with a satisfied expression and said,
“I was keeping you alive even though you’re a traitor who should have been killed from the start, Via. Hiding you was an act of treason in itself. And yet you dared to raise an army.”
“You said you’d spare him. You said you’d let Rutgart go if I did as I was told.”
That was the only thing Olivia could say.
Why had she endured a life devoid of hope? Why had she lived, smiling at a man she hated?
It was solely because she wanted Rutgart to be safe.
All the good times in her life had been with Rutgart. Count Rutgart had raised her like a daughter, and those memories were what had sustained her.
That was why she had endured it. Even though she knew Theodor despised her. Even though she could imagine what the people back home would think of her, living as the Emperor’s mistress.
And Ezekiel must have known that too, yet he said it with a mocking smile.
“Yes, since you’re here, I’ll execute only Theodor and spare the rest. What’s with that defiant look, Via? You should be thanking me.”
Olivia’s eyes widened; she couldn’t even shed a tear, only choking back sobs. Yet she had no choice but to thank him and kiss the top of his foot. There must still be survivors in Rutgart.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t accept it.
Loyal Theodor would never commit treason. It was clearly a frame-up, or Ezekiel had cornered him into it.
In the end, clutching the jewelry box, she slit her wrist. She barely felt the pain.
If she could really go back, that would be fine. If not, she would just die. She couldn’t go on living after letting Theodor die like that. Even if everyone else in Rutgart were to be sacrificed, she could not bear it any longer.
She thought it would have been better if she had just died long ago. If she hadn’t even thought of running away and had simply died right then, Rutgart—and Theodor—would have been fine.
She couldn’t tell if her vision was reddened by tears of blood or because the blood she had spilled had stained everything around her.
And this time, she remembers clearly that the jewel box had glowed.
And she was given another chance.
Realizing that she couldn’t run away alone this time, she told Theodor everything she knew—from the fact that she was actually a princess to the conspiracy of the Duke of Swabia.
I knew he hated me. I had already received a once-in-a-lifetime favor simply by being protected by the previous count; it was unfair to burden him with this as well.
But there was no one else I could turn to for help.
I thought everything would work out this time. I believed that since Theodor was a wise and strong man, he would surely be able to protect me and safeguard Rutgart.
And this is the outcome.
In the end, it was her fault again. Because of her, Theodor had once more been branded a traitor and killed, and Rutgart had been destroyed.
Olivia held the jewelry box and stared down at it silently. Perhaps her tears had all dried up; though her eyes stung, no tears welled up.
“I won’t fail this time. I will survive. I will save him.”
To hold this in her hands once more, she did not flee but walked willingly into Ezekiel’s grasp.
And she endured. To start over once more.
A painful sigh passed through her parched chest.
“I’m okay.”
She repeated to herself. She would be okay, no matter how long it took. She had been able to start over before, and she had been able to protect the people she cherished.
This time, she would definitely succeed. She wouldn’t run away, nor would she rely on others; she would save them with her own strength.
Herself, Theodor, and Rutgard.
Olivia walked toward the bedroom, clutching the jewelry box. She figured that would make less noise than breaking a window.
She shoved the glass table in the bedroom, sending it crashing to the floor.
Crash—!
The table shattered with a loud crash.
She cut her leg on the flying shards of glass, but she didn’t care at all. She wrapped the sash of her robe around her hand to protect it and picked up a sharp piece of glass. If she injured her hand first, it would be difficult to cut deep enough to reach an artery.
There was plenty of time. Roela’s agitation wouldn’t subside easily, and the maid wouldn’t come into the bedroom. After all, very few people were allowed to enter the area where Olivia was.
So all she needed was her willpower.
This wasn’t her first time. Olivia used the shard of glass to precisely slit the artery on her wrist. Once, twice, three times... She moved her hand repeatedly, as if that were her sole duty.
Finally, three hours later, when Ezekiel reached an agreement with Roela, took a brief rest, and came to the annex, what he found was a woman lying in a pool of blood, her skin turned deathly pale, breathing her last breath.