Olivia walked through the quiet hallway calmly after changing out of her training clothes.
Her hair was still slightly messy from the fight, and small bruises had already started forming around her wrist from blocking Peter’s strikes.
But her expression remained peaceful.
The servants bowed as she passed, though many secretly stared at her with admiration now.
The Grand Duchess who once only followed the Duke around desperately…
had stood equally against Sir Peter himself.
Olivia finally reached her room.
The moment she pushed the door open—
“Why did you do that?”
Peter’s voice stopped her.
Olivia looked back calmly.
Peter stood at the end of the hallway, still wearing his training uniform.
His expression was unusually serious now.
No teasing.
No laughing.
Only frustration.
Olivia entered her room casually.
“If you came to complain about winning, then leave.”
Peter followed her inside before shutting the door behind him.
“You lost intentionally.”
Olivia walked toward the table and poured herself water.
“And?”
Peter stared at her in disbelief.
“And?!”
He stepped closer.
“You were about to corner me.
Your rhythm suddenly changed at the end.
You lowered your guard on purpose.”
Olivia drank quietly before answering.
“Yes.”
Peter’s jaw tightened.
“Why?”
Olivia finally looked at him directly.
“Because you needed the win more than I did.”
Silence filled the room instantly.
Peter looked genuinely stunned.
Olivia sat near the window calmly.
“You are a knight captain.
The knights trust your strength.
If I defeated you publicly…” she shrugged lightly, “…your authority would weaken.”
Peter frowned deeply.
“You think I care about pride that much?”
“No,” Olivia replied immediately.
“But the knights do.”
Peter fell silent.
Because she was right.
Some of the older knights already looked shaken watching her match him equally.
If she had won…
rumors would spread through the entire empire within days.
Peter slowly exhaled.
“But you still could have finished the fight.”
Olivia smiled faintly while looking outside the window.
“I already got what I wanted.”
Peter narrowed his eyes.
“And what was that?”
Olivia’s fingers tapped lightly against the cup.
“The children saw courage.”
Peter froze slightly.
Olivia continued quietly,
“They saw that losing is survivable.
That fear is survivable.
That standing proudly matters more than victory.”
Her voice became softer.
“If children grow up terrified of failure… they become adults who never challenge anything.”
Peter stared at her silently.
This woman…
kept saying things he never expected.
Olivia suddenly laughed lightly.
“Besides, your face when you realized I threw the match was entertaining.”
Peter finally scoffed.
“There she is.”
Olivia smirked.
“You should thank me.”
“For what?”
“For protecting your reputation, Sir Peter.”
Peter crossed his arms.
“You make it sound like you pity me.”
Olivia tilted her head casually.
“Maybe I do.”
Peter stared at her for a moment before unexpectedly laughing.
A real laugh this time.
“You are unbelievable.”
Olivia smiled lazily near the window as the evening light fell across her face.
Peter looked at her quietly after that.
And once again—
He understood why Lucas looked so restless lately.
Because Olivia had changed so much that being around her felt dangerous.
Not because she was cruel.
But because people slowly started revolving around her without realizing it
Olivia had just entered her room when the door suddenly opened again.
Peter stepped inside with a frustrated expression.
“You still have not answered me properly,” he said.
“Why throw the fight?”
Olivia removed the gloves from her hands slowly.
“I already told you.”
“No,” Peter replied immediately.
“You gave me a political answer.
I want the real one.”
Olivia looked at him for a moment before walking toward the window.
Outside, the evening wind moved quietly through the estate gardens.
“This was good for the children too,” she finally said.
Peter frowned slightly.
“The children?”
Olivia nodded.
“Tomorrow’s tea party will not be easy.”
Peter’s expression slowly changed.
Especially when Olivia quietly added—
“Especially for Mike.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Silence filled the room.
Peter’s eyes darkened slightly.
The world still did not know Mike was his son.
Officially, Max was the noble child.
Mike…
was still only seen as a commoner boy taken in by the duchy.
And noble children were cruel.
Sometimes crueler than adults.
Olivia leaned against the window calmly.
“At the tea party, they will compare them.”
Peter clenched his jaw slightly.
“They will praise Max.”
Her eyes became colder.
“And they will test Mike.”
Peter looked away bitterly because he knew she was right.
Some nobles would ignore Mike completely.
Some would mock him politely behind smiles.
Others would try separating him from Max naturally.
That was how noble society worked.
Olivia continued softly,
“That is why today mattered.”
Peter stayed silent.
“The boys needed to understand something before entering that battlefield.”
Olivia’s voice remained calm but firm.
“That standing proudly matters more than winning.”
She looked toward Peter directly now.
“I want both of them standing side by side tomorrow.”
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
“No noble child should be able to make Mike feel smaller while Max stands above him.”
Peter’s chest tightened unexpectedly.
Olivia smiled faintly.
“I want them protecting each other equally.”
For a moment, Peter imagined it clearly.
Max refusing to leave Mike alone.
Mike refusing to bow his head.
The two children standing together proudly despite the nobles around them.
And suddenly— he understood why Olivia intentionally lost earlier.
She was teaching them.
Not through lectures.
But through example.
Peter slowly exhaled.
“You think about them too much.”
Olivia blinked once.
Peter looked strangely annoyed now.
“Everything becomes about the children with you.”
Olivia looked confused.
“They are children.”
“Yes, I know that,” Peter muttered.
“But still…”
He stopped talking halfway.
Because he suddenly realized something embarrassing.
He sounded jealous.
Jealous…
of children.
Olivia tilted her head slightly.
Peter rubbed his forehead irritably.
“You fight well, and instead of caring about yourself, you only think about what lesson the children learned.”
Olivia looked at him quietly before smiling softly.
“Someone has to.”
That answer irritated him even more for some reason.
Because she said it so naturally.
As if protecting the children was the most obvious thing in the world.
Peter stared at her for a long moment.
Then suddenly asked quietly—
“And who protects you?”
Olivia froze slightly.
Just for a second.
A small silence passed between them.
Then Olivia laughed lightly and turned away toward the window again.
“I am strong enough.”
But for the first time—
Peter did not completely believe her.
The room became quiet after that.
Only the soft sound of the evening wind moving through the curtains remained.
Peter stood there silently, still staring at Olivia’s back.
She looked calm.
Too calm.
As if carrying other people’s pain had become something ordinary for her.
“You should sleep early,” Olivia suddenly said without turning around.
“Tomorrow will be exhausting.”
Peter scoffed softly.
“You are dismissing me now?”
“Yes.”
That simple answer made him let out a quiet laugh despite himself.
But before he could say anything else—
Knock knock.
The door suddenly opened.
“Grand Duchess.”
Mike stepped inside first.
He paused near the entrance carefully, shoulders slightly tense as if he was unsure whether he was disturbing something.
Behind him came Max.
Quiet as always.
Max held a small wooden sword against his chest while silently walking straight toward Olivia without hesitation.
Max naturally gravitated toward Olivia.
Mike watched first before moving.
Always cautious.
Always guarded.
“Grand Duchess,” Mike said again politely after noticing Peter.
“Sir Peter.”
Peter’s eyes narrowed slightly at the distance in his voice.
Olivia noticed it too.
But she simply smiled warmly.
“You are both still awake?”
“We practiced.”
His voice remained calm and soft, but his eyes quietly searched Olivia’s face for approval.
And Olivia noticed that too.
A smile instantly softened her expression.
“Really?”
Max nodded once.
Mike crossed his arms quickly, pretending indifference.
“I was better.”
Max glanced at him calmly.
“No.”
“You fell twice.”
“You fell three times.”
Mike looked offended immediately.
“That last one did not count.”
Peter almost laughed watching them.
The difference between the boys was obvious.
Max was quiet water.
Still on the surface, but deep underneath.
Mike was rougher.
Sharper.
He acted tougher than he truly was, always speaking defensively before anyone could look too closely at his feelings.
And somehow—
Olivia handled both of them perfectly.
She opened her arms slightly.
“So my two knights were training?”
Max moved first without hesitation, standing beside her closely.
Mike resisted for exactly three seconds before slowly walking over too.
Peter noticed it immediately.
Mike wanted warmth desperately also.
He just did not know how to ask for it.
Olivia looked between them dramatically.
“Oh no…”
The boys blinked.
“If two terrifying knights like you appear at tomorrow’s tea party…”
A tiny smile appeared on Max’s lips immediately.
Mike tried hiding his own smile by looking away.
“The nobles will probably faint from fear.”
Mike snorted softly despite himself.
Peter leaned quietly against the wall, watching Olivia carefully now instead of the children.
The way she touched their hair naturally.
The way her voice softened for them without becoming fake or childish.
The way she listened seriously even to their smallest worries.
Nothing about her warmth felt forced.
And somehow…
That was exactly what made it dangerous.
Mike suddenly spoke again, quieter this time.
“Grand Duchess…”
Olivia immediately looked at him fully.
“Yes?”
Mike hesitated before speaking.
“If people say things tomorrow…”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“…about me being common-born…”
The room became still.
Peter’s expression darkened instantly.
Max’s fingers tightened around the wooden sword silently.
Olivia, however, stayed calm.
She gently pulled Mike closer until he stood near her knee.
“You do not need to become smaller because someone else is cruel,” she said softly.
Mike slowly looked up at her.
“And you do not need to bark loudly just to prove your worth either.”
Mike’s eyes widened slightly.
Because somehow…
it felt like she understood him perfectly.
Olivia brushed his messy hair back gently.
“The strongest people are the ones who remain proud without letting others decide who they are.”
Mike swallowed quietly.
Beside him, Max moved closer silently until his shoulder lightly touched Mike’s.
A small gesture.
Easy to miss.
But intentional.
Max never showed affection loudly.
He showed it through presence.
Through staying.
Through silently choosing someone again and again.
“If someone insults him,” Max said quietly, “then they insult me too.”
Mike immediately looked at him in shock.
Max avoided eye contact slightly after saying it, ears faintly red.
But he did not move away.
Peter stared at the scene silently.
And Olivia…
Olivia looked at Mike with such soft warmth that Peter’s chest tightened unexpectedly.
Not because of the children.
But because of her.
Because every time she looked at them— it was as if she was giving them something they had never received before.
Safety.
Mike suddenly muttered awkwardly,
“…You sound stupid.”
But his voice lacked its usual sharpness.
Max answered calmly.
“You are still standing close to me.”
Mike instantly looked away.
Peter laughed quietly under his breath.
Olivia covered her smile gently with one hand.
The atmosphere felt unbearably warm.
And Peter realized something dangerous then.
His eyes kept drifting back to Olivia.
To the softness in her gaze.
To the calm patience in her voice.
To the way she made wounded children slowly lower their defenses without even noticing.
Olivia was not drawing people toward her with beauty.
Though she was beautiful.
She was pulling them in with warmth.
And Peter was beginning to understand why Lucas looked so restless lately.
Because once someone experienced that warmth— walking away from it became difficult.