“I have something I want to ask you, Olivier,” he said.
“What is it?”
“Are you truly alright with Emilia?”
“Yes, of course. More importantly, Mother wishes for us to live together. Father, you even approved of it.”
Olivier understood her father’s concern as he tried to reconfirm, but she had already made up her mind with her mother, and had no intention of changing it now.
If Emilia wished it, they would live together. That was their decision.
“I did approve. But I want you to remember that I was against it at first. Your and Hannelore’s decision is right and courageous. I even respect it, but—isn’t it too difficult?”
“Is that why you tried to make us give up by setting conditions that seemed impossible?”
“That’s right. However, you accepted those conditions. As a father, I am proud of you, but I’m also bewildered.”
Olivier smiled at her sighing father.
Her father, with his bitter expression, truly worried about her mother and herself. And he worried about Emilia just as much.
Until now, she hadn’t noticed her father’s clumsy affection, but thanks to meeting Jared, she had gained the emotional space to recognize it.
“To me, both are compliments.”
“Is your decision unchanged?”
“Of course.”
“Then I will leave Emilia to Hanne and you. As for Tobias, leave him to me.”
Olivier, entrusted with her younger sister, nodded firmly.
“Yes. As an older sister, I will take good care of her. By the way, Father…”
“Yes?”
“Did you know that Jared’s mother—Master Liz Murphy—is the daughter of Wahash, the head of Waalsheid?”
Olivier could tell her father’s breath hitched at her question.
Observing him, he seemed truly surprised.
“…Where did you find out?”
“Wahash himself appeared and told Jared he was his grandfather in front of him.”
“I see, something like that… While I was distracted by Cornelia, I never expected that man to appear. Honestly, it’s surprising.”
“Judging by your reaction, you knew about it after all?”
Her father nodded.
Olivier had expected it, but she couldn’t hide her surprise. She had never dreamed that the top of the organization that targeted her mother and her fiancé would be grandfather and grandson.
But even her father knew this fact.
“Let me tell you, I only recently learned that Cornelia used Waalsheid.”
Harald knew of Waalsheid’s existence. He had connections to it. And he had known from the beginning that the head of the organization was Liz Murphy’s father, and Jared Murphy’s grandfather.
However, he only learned that Waalsheid was targeting Hannelore when he heard that Jared had confronted them in his territory.
He had a bad feeling about it. He had sensed that one day Jared’s secret would be revealed when Waalsheid appeared.
But he never thought that the secret Baron Daum had concealed would be revealed in such a manner.
“Perhaps, the true reason for choosing Jared as my fiancé was—”
“What you’re thinking is not correct. I had hidden the birth of his mother from many, not just you, but it is irrelevant. The Daum Baronial Family and we have a deep connection. It’s not just a superior-subordinate relationship; it’s a deeper blood tie.”
“A blood tie?”
“Yes. Baroness Daum is my older sister.”
“—Ah, I didn’t know.”
Olivia was surprised again by this newfound fact. This meant that Jared and Olivier had some degree of blood relation.
“Although she was treated unfairly due to being the child of a lover, she was precious to me, and the family member I admired most. It was precisely because she was Baroness Daum that I could entrust my precious sister to her.”
Harald narrowed his eyes as if recalling the past.
“I thought that Jared, who inherited the blood of my precious sister and a trustworthy knight, might be able to help you… that’s what I thought.”
“In fact, we were saved by Jared.”
“Ah, yes. I never expected him to be such a savior. It’s a truly happy miscalculation. You’ve changed too, become incomparably brighter than before. I’ve heard that Jared also influenced Emilia not to cross that final line. And I envy the liveliness of that mansion. As a father and as a husband, I am immensely grateful to him.”
Olivier felt relieved. Relieved that the reason her father chose Jared as her fiancé wasn’t just out of calculation.
Olivier, who genuinely admired him, felt a sense of obligation, even though Jared didn’t seem to mind. If all of this had started from her father’s calculation, she wouldn’t have known how to apologize.
There was likely some calculation involved. She understood that. Such were noble marriages. But it was important that it wasn’t *only* calculation.
“Father, please tell me one last thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you know the reason why Master Liz Murphy passed away?”
Then, Olivier learned a surprising truth from her father.
The truth about his mother’s death that she hesitated to tell Jared.
Jared, who was bright and optimistic, might change—just as her father had once thought, his daughter now thought the same.
“I forbid you to speak of it now. However, if he learns of it from someone else, you must support him. Understood?”
“I understand. But why can’t I tell Jared now?”
“I am verifying whether the information I obtained is truly factual. No, I have already done so, but I cannot tell Jared until I am convinced. However, now that Wahash has appeared, the time when I can say this may be limited… but I need more time. It will be difficult for you too, but please wait until I can be convinced that this information is indeed true.”
Olivier hesitated. If she could, she would tell Jared immediately, driven by impulse.
However, at the same time, she also wanted to keep it from Jared and take it to her grave.
Thinking of her beloved fiancé, Olivier decided to obey her father after much deliberation.
But perhaps—Olivier’s actions might have been a form of evasion.
