TPWTL 45

#45. Look at Me.

No sooner had Bonita closed her mouth than Olivia responded brightly.

“That’s right. He is my knight.”

“Your Highness, he belongs to the Norden Kingdom—”

Olivia cut her off before Bonita finished speaking.

“That will change soon.”

It wasn’t a wish or a prophecy. It was simply an announcement that the Norden Kingdom had yet to hear. Bonita looked at Olivia with eyes that held an unreadable meaning. Olivia, skillfully brushing off that gaze, said:

“There’s no need to waste time on a power struggle with the Marquis.”

Her slender fingers picked up a sugar cube.

“Didn’t Your Majesty say so?”

Olivia added the sugar cube to her moderately cooled tea and continued speaking.

“I will respect the will of the knight who is a guest of the princess.”

Bonita bowed her head, her face still stern.

“Yes. That is what was said.”

“Right. So that’s why he came to see me.”

Since the princess declared him as a guest, the Marquis could not command him to come or go at will. Of course, if he were just a mere ‘guest’ from another country, the Marquis could have easily made prior arrangements to meet him. But in this case, rumors had already spread that the princess held this guest in special regard, so that was impossible.

“My apologies.”

“That’s enough. Since the Marquis was not present at the martial arts tournament, this must be my first time seeing him.”

At Olivia’s words, Bonita picked up a teaspoon without further reply. Olivia, who didn’t want to linger long with her, didn’t bother waiting for a response and raised her hand.

“You came in such a hurry, so we can’t afford to waste time.”

Olivia pulled the cord on the curtain, and shortly after, a knock sounded.

“Come in.”

Without a sound, Cryer appeared behind the silently opened door. Olivia’s arm went goosebumps as she watched Cryer show the utmost respect toward the princess. If a hundred people saw Cryer now, every one of them would think “knight.” His solid, sturdy physique, upright posture, precise movements, and profoundly serious expression—he was the very image of a knight straight out of a novel or a fairy tale. Yes. So excessively knightly that it made one tilt their head in doubt… Olivia rubbed her goosebumped arm and gestured.

“Marquis Bonita Hynder. And this is Cryer.”

Olivia deliberately paused for effect and added:

“He is my knight.”

Bonita’s stubborn jaw twitched slightly, but only for an instant. Cryer bowed to Bonita, but she did not look at him; she simply put down the teaspoon. Watching the two, Olivia spoke again.

“As I said before, there’s no need to waste time. We’re all busy people.”

With her silent consent, Bonita’s tightly closed lips parted heavily.

“Yes. No need to waste time.”

No sooner had Bonita finished than Olivia turned to Cryer.

“I will ask you.”

Olivia leaned comfortably deep into the sofa as if she already knew the answer.

“Will you remain in the Empire, or return to the Norden Kingdom?”

It was a straightforward question. No promise of reward if he stayed in the Empire, no threat of penalty if he returned to Norden—just a simple inquiry. Cryer’s tightly closed lips parted.

“I will remain in the Empire.”

His answer was as brief and clear as the question. No sooner had Cryer spoken than Olivia looked at Bonita.

“Marquis, is there anything else to debate?”

Bonita glanced at Olivia briefly, then shook her head.

“No. That is sufficient, Your Highness.”

Her flat voice and calm answer marked an anticlimactic end to the early morning’s unexpected visit. Before Olivia could even issue a dismissal order, Bonita rose without looking at Cryer once more and left the princess’s palace. How much time had passed since Bonita disappeared?

“This is strange.”

Olivia tilted her head and looked down at Bonita’s half-empty teacup.

“What is?”

Cryer sat across from Olivia and crossed one leg. His posture was impudent and disrespectful—nothing like the knight they had seen when Bonita was present—but Olivia nodded approvingly.

“Yes, Cryer should be like this. Earlier, it was too creepy…”

“You seem to be letting your true feelings slip.”

Cryer smiled lightly, and Olivia put her hand seriously on her chest.

“I mean it. It really gave me chills earlier.”

Cryer relaxed his leg and lightly flicked Olivia’s nose. Then he asked again.

“Enough white lies. What’s strange?”

“Ah, um, it’s just… he’s not that kind of person.”

Though the comment seemed random, Cryer caught on immediately.

“He treated me like I didn’t exist. Was it different before?”

Indeed, Bonita had never once looked at Cryer, as if he were something beneath her to be ignored. Come to think of it, from the moment Cryer appeared until she left, she never once made eye contact with him. Isn’t that extremely unnatural?

“That’s right. That’s what’s so strange.”

Although Marquis Hynder and Bonita had met many times in official settings, Olivia had never felt that he ever treated anyone differently based on rank or status.

“The Marquis never discriminated based on family, status, or rank.”

“Could it be that he didn’t know until now?”

“Of course, it’s possible he’s that shallow.”

Olivia shrugged and continued.

“But why would he show that low nature right in front of me? To call me early in the morning just to say unpleasant things to the Empire’s princess?”

Besides, hadn’t Bonita already met the Emperor earlier?

“Whether Marquis Hynder’s personality is despicable or not, there’s no doubt about her competence. So…”

“You mean the Marquis’s behavior is strange?”

Cryer accepted Olivia’s words, and she narrowed her brows sharply.

“Yes, and also because she accepted so quickly and left.”

For someone who came early without prior notice, meeting the Emperor and then coming to the princess’s palace, her reaction was far too bland.

“Come to think of it, the Marquis is right.”

Cryer twisted his lips.

“Well, for now, he belongs to the Norden Kingdom.”

“That’s right. When I went to Norden, the Crown Prince himself mentioned your return, but I ignored it. That was a pretty big problem.”

Olivia raised her chin arrogantly.

“If not for me, no one could have done that. It would have become a matter of national pride between countries.”

“Indeed.”

Cryer rested his elbow on the armrest and tilted his head crookedly.

“That’s outright tyranny.”

“That’s just the way power works…”

Olivia suddenly blinked and shook her head. Standing before the monster who single-handedly toppled the Empire and ended the continent’s war, she quietly lowered her raised chin and complained:

“Thanks to that tyranny, you’re still in the Empire. Don’t call it tyranny; I don’t like hearing about tyranny when I’m the one being tyrannized.”

Though she was the one repeatedly calling it tyranny, Cryer didn’t point out the contradiction. Olivia’s pretentiousness was just too cute.

“Anyway, the Marquis was right, and I was the one being unreasonable. Maybe if it was the Crown Prince of Norden, but someone like Marquis Hynder could have pressed harder with smooth talk.”

“Even though it was the Emperor’s order and I made the choice accordingly?”

“The Marquis has the moral high ground. You’re a knight after all.”

Cryer responded to Olivia.

“You must obey the orders of your master. I am neither a knight nor anything else—I am a slave.”

His voice was low, coming from a well so deep it seemed bottomless, as if he were staring not at the present but far into the past. His empty, dark red eyes gazed into the distance. Olivia, staring silently at those glassy eyes, suddenly stood up.

There had been moments like this before, and there would be more in the future: the moments when he sank into himself, standing alone in a place where anger, hatred, resignation, and despair had all vanished. The distortion around Cryer was no mere illusion—his murderous intent, far beyond human, rose from his entire body like a faint shimmering heat haze. Even the strongest individuals on the continent would feel maddening terror the moment they came into contact with that killing intent. A normal person would likely perish on the spot. But Olivia, physically just slightly below average, hesitated not at all and reached out to him.

“Cryer.”

Olivia grasped his cheeks with both hands, and from her blue eyes blossomed a fire that began to bring flowers to the barren, dark red land that was his gaze.

“Look at me.”

With the familiar pain of the brand, Cryer focused on that small touch and almost inaudible whisper.

“I will live. And you will be free.”

Though uncertain of everything, Olivia spoke with conviction. Her voice, more intense than ever, and the scent of roses penetrating beneath her skin, along with her hands, so soft and unlike his own—all his senses turned fully toward her. At that moment, she alone became his entire world. Cryer could not even recall if this sensation was love, for even in his lost past he had never known love. Yet she was like a lightning bolt—unexpected, unforgettable—a blue lightning striking through him. How long had an instant felt like an eternity for Cryer? Olivia released his cheeks and stepped back.

“All right, you seem to have come to your senses.”

For her, that was probably all there was—just an attempt to bring him back to reality from his daze. But… watching her small figure turn away, Cryer’s Adam’s apple moved greatly. It was only a few steps, but the distance made his mouth feel burning dry. Then, his dark red eyes sank deeply, profoundly. Olivia, having turned her back on him, naturally did not see those eyes, and when she sat back down facing him, his eyes were already the usual ones.

“Let’s keep in mind that Marquis Hynder is suspicious. About that incident yesterday.”

Having said this much, Olivia stood.

“Let’s go to the office. The documents related to yesterday’s matter have already been submitted.”

Olivia’s expression, as she calmly headed for the door, suddenly changed.

“What’s this all of a sudden?”