“The Duke Hagedorff wishes to meet with Olivier-sama… it’s at a time when Jared-sama isn’t around. There must be something going on.”
“I agree. I’m not a fool; I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet Cassandra-sama, even if she were the one calling.”
Olivier, who had captured her fiancé, was not so short-sighted as to readily go meet the very person responsible. She wanted to complain to her face, even slap her cheek. However, she was well aware that acting on impulse would inconvenience everyone.
“I’m relieved you say that.”
“Oh? Did you truly think I would meet Cassandra-sama on a whim?”
“To be honest, I had a slight, unpleasant premonition that you might.”
“Hmph, you’re quite bold, aren’t you? I admit I can be impetuous, but I wouldn’t do something like that in this situation.”
She sighed, casting a stern look at Trane, who was like a younger sister to her. It wasn’t that she was particularly adept at rational action, and her temper was flared by her fiancé being unjustly detained. Still, she wasn’t so foolish as to push herself further into a corner.
—But I do often act on my emotions.
Whether it was when she was trying to protect her mother, or when she first met Jared, Olivier had often acted according to her feelings while trying to be rational. Nothing major had happened, largely because her much younger fiancé had helped her out.
“By the way, what do you think of Cassandra-sama?”
“Hmm. I haven’t met Duke Hagedorff much, so I can’t say. However, Olivier-sama once called them her ideal.”
“…Yes, that’s right. I did see Cassandra-sama as an ideal.”
This was from when she was alone, protecting her mother from the machinations of a consort. With no one to show her weakness to but Trane, she had to act strong. The model Olivier had looked up to was Cassandra Hagedorff, whom she had known since childhood.
Cassandra had been treated unfairly by her siblings and family simply because of her mother’s low birth. The more her father, the head of the household, loved her, the worse she was treated by the rest of the family. Yet, Cassandra was strong. She acted bravely and stood her ground. This didn’t change even after her mother died.
Eventually, she became a formidable woman who seized the position of head of the ducal family with her own hands. Olivier, who held both admiration and respect for Cassandra, strove to be as strong as her. Without relying on anyone, without even confiding her troubles to Cassandra herself, she fought a lonely battle, determined to protect her mother alone.
The Olivier who existed now was thanks to meeting Jared. She had been able to change because of that boy, who despite being younger, was mature yet childlike. She wondered what would have become of her if she had remained as she was back then, without any charm. In that sense, she couldn’t help but wonder if Cassandra had someone by her side to be a catalyst.
—No, that’s not right. It’s precisely *because* Rasmus was by Cassandra-sama’s side that she became who she is now.
Cassandra, lost after losing her mother, was told by Rasmus, who couldn’t bear to see her plight, that her mother’s origins were special. This was the turning point. Olivier had thought she had overcome her mother’s death, but she had only recently learned that this wasn’t the case.
She regretted not knowing her hardships, despite being her childhood friend. However, that didn’t mean she could agree with Cassandra’s scheme. The reason for trying to revive the Progenitor was unclear, and she had no idea what would happen in a world after the Progenitor’s revival. That was precisely why she, her family, and others had decided to accept Rasmus’s wish and stop her.
“But I don’t see her as an ideal anymore. Because she neglects those who love her and worry about her.”
“…I see.”
Rasmus genuinely worried about Cassandra. Even though he had his lifelong objective of killing the Progenitor, he said he would abandon it for her sake. Yet, Cassandra was trying to achieve the Progenitor’s revival, even if it meant confronting Rasmus. Olivier couldn’t understand that, and likely never would.
“I wish she would explain her reasons, just once. As it is, I can’t even bring myself to resent her.”
Perhaps, somewhere in her heart, she wished Cassandra had a grand reason. She might want to be told, “Ah, if there’s such a big reason, then aiming for the Progenitor’s revival is unavoidable.” Even if her fiancé was to be detained, or the revival of the Progenitor was planned behind her back, Olivier still couldn’t see Cassandra Hagedorff as a clear enemy.
Just then, a voice was heard from outside the mansion. Peeking through the window, she saw… Jared’s classmate, Crysta Oken.
