Olivier stopped, about to say something to Veronica after hearing her thoughts clearly.
Though Olivier and Veronica loved the same man, their approaches were different.
Olivier yearned to be loved and cherished, wanting him all to herself if possible. Veronica, on the other hand, was content as long as she was the one who loved him the most.
Of course, Veronica also wished to be loved by the boy she longed for, but she insisted it wasn’t necessary for her to be his first choice.
In a way, Veronica was like royalty, while Olivier, though a noble, was not.
“Hey, Olivier. Are you aware that you’re causing a bit of trouble right now?”
“I’m causing trouble?”
“I don’t like saying this, but many people think you’re monopolizing the future Court Mage. While there is a consort, Yeny Daum, she’s essentially just an extra from the same Daum Baronial Family. You’re practically keeping Jared all to yourself.”
“…That’s not…”
She couldn’t finish the denial.
From the outside perspective, the situation surrounding Jared indeed seemed that way. Fortunately, neither Jared, Yeny, nor the Daum Baronial Family were dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.
“I’m not saying you’re wrong. Wanting to keep the person you love all to yourself is natural for anyone.”
Veronica looked fondly at Olivier, who, despite being born into a Ducal Family, had grown up in a less than noble manner. She could only imagine the hardships her cousin had endured for years, staying with the three people she trusted most to protect her mother from her father. Because of this, it was clear Olivier cherished her family deeply.
And Jared and Yeny were also precious family to her.
That was precisely why she didn’t mind Yeny becoming a consort. She couldn’t steal the man her esteemed older brother admired from a girl she saw as a younger sister.
If Olivier had only just met Jared, she might have felt differently. Back then, when she hadn’t opened her heart to him and had no intention of marrying him, she would have been unfazed by the talk of consorts.
“But, there are those who don’t think favorably of such natural feelings for a woman. If that were to eventually have a negative impact on Jared, could you forgive yourself?”
“…So, what are you trying to say?”
“Increase the number of your consorts. Otherwise, you’ll face trouble eventually.”
“…So, that must be you, Veronica.”
“I don’t want to say this, but if I were pushed two undesirable women, sympathy would grow, wouldn’t it? There are already rumors that you were handed over from the Alway Ducal Family as an unwanted burden.”
Olivier scowled at her childhood friend’s words. While the Duke’s daughter wasn’t actively involved in noble social circles, she wasn’t naive. She had always kept up with information gathering, and even if she stayed confined to her mansion, gossip would inevitably find its way to her. Especially recently, she had been dealing with many people who approached Jared, with members of an Assassination Organization and Jared’s friends coming and going from the mansion, so she lacked no information.
“I’m aware of all that. How rude.”
She knew what people were saying about her fiancé, who was set to become a Court Mage. While he was currently praised for his many achievements, before that, he was known as “the pitiful boy to whom the Duke saddled his unwanted burden.” Coupled with Olivier’s own negative rumors, most of the sentiment was pity, though he was also derided as a pathetic man unable to defy his fiancée.
Even so, those rumors disappeared when Jared became a Court Mage Candidate, only to be replaced by whispers of “the Duke snatching up a promising young man by burdening him with his outdated fiancée.” In reality, Duke Harald Alway had no such intention, but since the outcome matched the rumors, he couldn’t refute them.
Jared, the center of the rumors, seemed completely uninterested in what others said and paid no mind to gossip. Olivier had followed his lead and ignored it, but as her fiancé’s achievements grew, more people tried to get close to him, and those who were envious and spread malicious rumors appeared more than ever. Currently, not only Olivier, but also her parents and even their maid Trane were at a loss over the public’s opinions regarding Jared and Olivier. They often grumbled that they should have dealt with the situation earlier.
“I understand what Veronica is saying. I understand that I should compromise and allow consorts. But even if I understand it intellectually, it’s difficult emotionally. I want Jared to be mine, and mine alone.”
