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Chapter 7
An Unexpected Truth (2)
“Before that, you had never collapsed even once. So I can’t help thinking that part of it was my fault.”
“Even if it truly was partly your fault, I have no intention of blaming others for my condition.”
Elia barely managed to suppress her disbelief and answered calmly.
If he really thought it was his fault, shouldn’t he be trying to stay out of sight instead?
How shameless could he be to show up here so boldly?
“As you said yourself, we are already broken off from our engagement.
I think it is rather rude to suddenly visit without even sending a single letter first.”
“My, it seems Your Highness is still deeply hurt. I apologize for coming without informing you first. However, I rushed here because I wanted to see Your Highness so badly. I hope your generous heart can understand.”
What kind of nonsense was this?
Elia forced the frown from her face and smiled instead.
“You keep saying things I cannot understand. Did you not say it yourself? That we are no longer engaged?”
“In truth, breaking off the engagement was a decision made for Your Highness’s sake.”
“…Pardon?”
Now he was trying to shift the blame?
The situation was so ridiculous she almost laughed out loud, but she desperately hid it.
He seemed like the type to misunderstand even the smallest reaction.
“But now I understand. Breaking off the engagement was not truly for Your Highness after all.”
Elia quietly listened, wondering what nonsense he planned to say next.
As if deliberately trying to look handsome, Livius rested his chin on his hand and gazed directly at her.
“How about we start over again?”
He should have been bowing on the floor begging for forgiveness, yet instead he had the nerve to suggest getting back together so shamelessly.
How could she destroy him with words while still maintaining elegance?
“Ha…”
Dignity. Elegance.
Repeating those words in her mind, Elia slowly steadied her breathing before speaking.
“I’m sorry. I have no intention of doing that.”
“Of course, I expected— …Excuse me? Could you repeat that?”
Livius had looked completely calm, as though he expected that answer, but a moment later he finally realized what she had actually said and hurriedly corrected himself.
Apparently, he thought he had misheard her.
Yet the smile still remained on his face.
“I have no intention of becoming engaged to you again. Nor do I wish to marry you.”
“You mean… you truly have no intention of seeing me again?”
He looked genuinely shocked.
It seemed he had naturally assumed she would accept him again.
Where exactly did that confidence come from?
Even if her fiancé looked half as good as Aaron, she would still hesitate before accepting him.
But Livius?
Absolutely not.
“Yes.”
At her firm answer, Livius’s expression hardened.
His pride had clearly been wounded.
Well, that made sense.
Livius was the type who practically lived off his pride.
While reading the novel, Elia had often wanted to crush that endless arrogance of his at least once.
But she never imagined it would happen this early.
He had practically walked over himself asking to be stepped on.
For that much at least, she felt grateful.
“It seems Your Highness was deeply hurt because I unilaterally broke off the engagement.”
“No, not at all. Since you said it was for my own sake, I will accept it that way.”
Cutting him off before he could continue, Elia ended the conversation firmly.
Why is he clinging so desperately?
Swallowing a sigh, she lifted the teacup before her and took a sip.
When she lowered her gaze briefly and looked back up at him, the smiling mask on Livius’s face had already cracked.
Only a twisted expression remained.
Had Elia originally been an easy person to manipulate?
Or had she truly loved Livius enough to overlook everything?
“I truly did it for Your Highness. Please believe me.”
Judging by his reaction, the original Elia must have been someone who could not even say words like these to him.
Although he acted as though he was humbling himself, irritation still showed through his pitiful expression.
Even Livius himself seemed annoyed that he had to lower himself this far.
Then why was he trying so hard to get her back?
The reason Livius abandoned Elia had probably been simple.
She was an Imperial Princess in name only and had no real power.
Someone as obsessed with power and status as Livius would never keep a useless princess beside him.
Of course, when she was healthy, she must have seemed like a very desirable match.
But once she became sick and completely disappeared from society like now, the title “the Imperial Princess’s fiancé” probably stopped looking impressive.
She could already picture it clearly.
“Yes, perhaps your words are correct. And perhaps your choice was the right one as well. Which is why I am saying there is nothing more to discuss.”
“…Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
After speaking this much, he surely would not come again.
With Livius’s pride, there was no way he would continue clinging to her.
“I will come again another time, so please think about it carefully. I believe Your Highness is only reacting emotionally because you still resent me.”
Contrary to her expectations, Livius continued stubbornly pushing forward.
What exactly had happened before the original story began?
Why was the man who broke off the engagement now trying to restore it?
Although she knew only a tiny part of the truth, one thing was certain:
She absolutely could not trust Livius’s words.
There had to be some benefit he would gain from reconnecting with her.
“My feelings will not change. But if that is what you wish to believe, then please leave now. I am tired.”
“Please make a wise decision.”
Livius walked over beside her and lowered himself.
Before Elia could avoid him, he grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss against the back of it.
Goosebumps spread across her entire body.
Since he realized she would not obey him easily, he was suddenly pretending to be some ridiculous romantic.
It was completely different from the arrogant way he had practically proposed earlier.
She almost cursed at him before hurriedly stopping herself and pulling her hand free from his grasp.
“I will not see you out. Please leave safely.”
That was the greatest kindness she could offer him.
“Next time, I hope you will remember the name Livius Paolo.”
After saying that, Livius finally turned around and left the room.
Perhaps he thought she had deliberately avoided saying his name.
Or perhaps he had been testing whether she truly lost her memories.
Only at the very end did he properly introduce himself.
Watching the door close behind him, Elia reached out and touched the teacup resting on the table.
The tea was still slightly warm, meaning not much time had actually passed.
“Marquis Livius truly is rather inconsiderate.
He did not even drink a single sip of the tea prepared for him.”
When Elia said that and looked toward the maid, the maid immediately flinched and lowered her head deeply.
The trembling maid looked rather cute.
For a moment, Elia wondered if she had ever appeared in the original novel, but that was not important right now.
“I’m sorry, but please throw away the remaining tea along with the teacup.”
“Yes!”
The maid hurriedly brought over a tray and collected the cup.
Soon after, from the next room where Livius had disappeared—
Crash!
The sound of breaking porcelain echoed loudly.
Although she had borrowed the maid’s hands to do it, this was the very first act of rebellion Elia had committed inside the Imperial Palace.
* * *
“I have just returned from meeting Imperial Princess Elia.”
Livius opened the door familiarly and entered while speaking with a cold expression.
It was the only place inside the Imperial Palace where he could move freely without restrictions.
“And?”
At Livius’s voice, the silver-haired man seated behind the desk slowly lifted his head.
Red eyes appeared.
It was Llewellyn’s study.
Llewellyn pushed aside the documents he had been reading, straightened his posture, and met Livius’s gaze as he sat across from him as though the place belonged to him.
“It seems she truly lost her memories.”
“Really?”
Llewellyn looked at him with interest, silently urging him to continue.
Memory loss had not originally been part of the plan.
However, after seeing the Emperor pay more attention to Elia, Llewellyn had realized it could become useful for Livius and passed the information along to him.
As long as the Emperor continued supporting Elia, her value still remained limited.
“She acted rather boldly. It almost felt like seeing the old Elia again. Before collapsing, she had become so pathetic and dull.”
Heh.
Livius let out a quiet laugh as though amused.
He did not particularly like her arrogant attitude, but breaking a woman like that into submission was entertaining.
And once a woman had already submitted once, there was no reason she could not be forced to submit again.
“Bold, huh…”
Unlike Livius, whose face still carried amusement, the smile slowly disappeared from Llewellyn’s face.
Ever since Elia became terminally ill, she had gradually lost all confidence.
So hearing that she had seemingly returned to how she once was was not pleasant news for Llewellyn at all.
After all the effort I spent crushing her spirit.
“It became troublesome… but because noona lost her memories, we’ve gained another opportunity. If she causes problems while suffering memory loss, His Majesty will naturally keep watching her carefully. Though that period will not last long.”
“We should take advantage of the Emperor’s renewed interest in Elia. Even if only to crush the noble families who support her.”
At Livius’s words, Llewellyn lifted one corner of his lips before letting it fall again in a cold smile.
The families who supported Elia.
“Once you marry noona and continue openly supporting me, their opinions will eventually change as well.
In the end, I am the one who will ascend the throne.”
