Reunited with the Elk Bandit Leader, Olivia (1)
The Marquis smiled as he handed the letter back to me. “If I had to choose between Espera, His Majesty, and our three families, even I would naturally accept His Majesty’s proposal. After all, he holds the greatest power. Accepting his offer would mean the other two families could simply be ignored. Yet here you are, still looking after our family and Adelia. Seeing that, I can trust everything you’ve said so far.”
He added with a pleased expression, “You should have shown me this sooner. Thank you for thinking of Adelia.”
“I accept your suggestion to keep the engagement confidential.”
It was a remarkably swift change in attitude. I should have shown him the letter from the beginning.
Now only the Penclau family remained. But since their goal was to adopt me as a son, I couldn’t think of any clear way to persuade them. After all, I had absolutely no intention of becoming anyone’s adopted son.
If there were a way to maintain friendly relations with all three—the Hildegart family, the Penclau family, and the Franz royal family—I would gladly do so. But wanting to get along well with all three at once was nothing more than my own selfish wish.
The three families stood in clear opposition when it came to political interests and ideologies. It would be difficult for houses with such different beliefs to unite as one. In other words, choosing one meant giving up on another.
Therefore, having chosen the Franz royal family and the Hildegart family, I decided to keep my distance from the Penclau family. Once you pick a side, you must go all in and act decisively. Only then can you earn the trust of others.
That was why I resolved not to visit Marquis Espera. If it became known that I had secretly negotiated with him as well, Marquis Gregory would be displeased, and the trust I had barely gained would crumble. On top of that, I would undoubtedly be seen as either a spineless opportunist or a con artist.
After leaving Marquis Gregory’s office, I met Adelia, who had dressed up neatly, and we sat together in the reception room drinking tea while discussing our plans for the future. When it was time for me to leave, she looked deeply reluctant.
She even wanted to follow me home. “Can’t I come with you?”
“There are too many people at my house. It would be uncomfortable for everyone. You’d feel awkward, and the others would be uneasy with a high-ranking noble suddenly showing up. I’ll come see you again tomorrow, so I’ll head back for today.”
“But Princess Dana is there too. Doesn’t she make them uncomfortable?”
“Dana’s already familiar with them, so everyone gets along well with her.”
“Are you already discriminating between your legal wife and your concubine? Hmph.”
I barely managed to soothe Adelia, who was throwing a tantrum out of reluctance to part, before bidding her farewell.
On the way back home, Olivia suddenly appeared and blocked my path. She wore a splendid wool tunic embroidered with the family crest—a blue eagle on the chest—and black tights that clung to her legs.
“Have you given up on becoming my little brother?”
I reflexively reached for the Shai dagger at my waist and quickly scanned the surroundings. Olivia laughed and spread both hands open.
“I didn’t come to capture you. I came alone.”
I carefully examined her hands, waist, and thighs. Aside from her slender waist and long, elegant legs, she was unarmed. Yet the relaxed smile on her face looked not just arrogant, but downright wicked.
Wary that she might be up to some other trick, I stared at her with guarded eyes. “Have you been following me?”
“I don’t particularly care what you do, but I need to know what it is. Because…”
“Because I’m your property?”
“Wrong. Because you’re my little brother.”
I sharply retorted, as if violently denying it. “I have not the slightest intention of entering the Penclau family as an adopted son.”
“Do you really think Marquis Gregory can protect you from my father?”
Olivia’s eyes gleamed with confidence. “There are two ways for the three families to obtain Princess Dana. One is to acquire her without bloodshed—by taking you, Hyunwoo. The other is to spill blood. If they can’t claim you, they simply send assassins to eliminate you. The reason the three families haven’t tried to remove you is simple. First, they want to avoid conflict with the other families, and second, they don’t want to upset Princess Dana. However.”
She continued. “What happens when one of the three families is neglected or driven into a corner? A family abandoned by you would have no other options left, so they would resort to the final measure. And that final measure is eliminating you. Once you disappear, the connection between the other two families and Princess Dana would naturally be severed.”
She was right. If the three families simply removed me, they could claim Dana with ease. The only reason they hadn’t done so was because Dana wasn’t three separate people. If one family took her, the other two would have to give up. On the other hand, as long as I existed, at least two families could amicably share her.
“I sympathize with what you’re saying, but it’s too late to turn things back now,” I concluded firmly. “I have already chosen the Hildegart family, and I cannot grow close to the Penclau family from now on.”
“I know.” Olivia looked at me with a regretful gaze. “It’s unfortunate that things didn’t go as I wished, but that doesn’t mean there are no options left. Make a deal with me. In return, I will protect you from my father. As long as we stay connected, the Penclau family won’t turn all of its people against you.”
“Protect me? How exactly would you protect me?”
“If my father tries to harm you, I can at least give you advance warning. I can’t openly step forward to help you. As you know, if I or my family publicly intervene, both King Mikelan and Marquis Gregory would become suspicious of you.”
In a situation where the families were already keeping each other in check, if I made contact with all three at once, they would feel used and stop trusting me. I was grateful that Olivia had considered that point, but a question suddenly rose in my mind.
“Why are you being so good to me? Even back when I was in the bandit group, you never opposed anything I did and always nodded along. What exactly is your reason?”
“Because I like you.”
Instead of feeling dumbfounded, a chill ran down my spine. I had never expected such sweet words as “I like you”—the kind a delicate young lady might say—to come from the mouth of the charismatic and dignified Olivia. Judging by her strong-willed appearance alone, she didn’t seem like the type to confess to anyone.
“Think of me as one of the many women who love you, Hyunwoo. It’ll be easier to understand if you see my goodwill as something that comes from having feelings for you.”
Me dating Olivia? Just imagining it felt so mismatched that it gave me goosebumps. I spat out in disgust, “Don’t lie to me. Not once have any of the women who liked me ever used the direct expression ‘I’ve fallen for you.’ Stop trying to gloss over it and tell me the truth. The more lies you pile up, the less I’ll trust you.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s true that I feel a personal liking toward you.” Olivia flashed a wide smile. To me, it looked quite mischievous.
“Hmm…” She crossed her arms and pressed her thumb against her chin, pondering for a long time as if searching for an excuse. I couldn’t tell if she was taking so long because she was trying to come up with a plausible reason for her obsession with me, or if she had been following me without any real reason from the start. Either way, the way she seriously contemplated it looked so innocent that it made me angry. Just as I was about to shout at her to stop playing around, Nancy suddenly came to mind.
“By any chance… do you know Nancy’s true identity?”
“Nancy? Ah, of course. That girl from the 8th squad? Why are you suddenly asking about her identity?”
After a brief pause, I said, “Nancy already knew that you were a noble, Captain.”
“Haha. Is that so?” She laughed as if surprised, then widened her eyes slightly and asked, “Did Nancy say anything else?”
Strong curiosity was clearly visible in her eyes. From that expression, I could tell she knew something about Nancy.
I stared at Olivia with sharp eyes. “If you want to hear more, you speak first. I want to know why you’re so obsessed with me.”
Olivia smiled gently. “It seems Nancy has been spouting unnecessary things to you. I suppose there’s no helping it now. Yes, I’ll be honest. The reason I’m interested in you and Nancy’s existence are intertwined.”
“So besides hiding your noble identity while living with the bandits, you deceived me about other things too?”
When I furrowed my brows in displeasure, Olivia replied in a soft voice as if it were no big deal. “My eyes and actions toward you have always spoken the truth. I tried my best to cherish and protect you.”
“Then tell me the reason.”
“Where should I even begin? It’s quite a long story.”
“Start by telling me what Nancy’s identity is.”
“That girl is a subordinate of an organization called Nadal’s Rib. She was sent to monitor me.”
“And you still accepted her into the bandit group even though you knew that?”
“No.” Olivia slowly walked forward and gazed at the distant scenery. Her jet-black hair, tied back in a single tight bundle, fluttered in the wind, and my eyes were fixed on her back.
“At first, I didn’t know. I only realized that Nancy wasn’t an ordinary member right before Orleans attacked our bandit group. By then, it was far too late.”
Olivia began telling me the story of that day, something I had never known. At the time, I had been heading into the city to rescue Adelia from the assassin sisters Eda and Rita, while Orleans was leading his troops toward the Elk Bandits’ mountain stronghold.
A major incident had occurred in the mountain camp. A murder had taken place among the members of the 8th squad, which was in charge of intelligence activities within the bandit group. It had all started from surveillance records concerning the bandit leader that were found among Nancy’s belongings. One of the squad members had discovered them by chance and immediately reported it to the squad leader, Gladia.
Gladia had promptly captured Nancy and interrogated her, demanding to know why she had been investigating the leader. But Nancy seized an opportunity, killed Gladia and two other squad members, and fled the mountain camp.
“I was able to hear the full story from the surviving members of the 8th squad. I was just about to gather all the members to urgently pursue Nancy. But right at that moment, Orleans appeared.”
Olivia, who had been looking at the distant landscape, turned around and smiled at me. “That was when I learned Nancy’s true identity. I only realized she belonged to Nadal’s Rib after finding a small token among the belongings she had left behind. Those Nadal’s Rib bastards each carry a pebble engraved with a bizarre pattern.”
“What kind of organization is Nadal’s Rib? And why were they monitoring you, Captain?”
Olivia placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Instead of talking about this in the middle of the street, shall we move to a quieter place? While we’re at it, I’d like to see your room, Hyunwoo.”