# Chapter 63: 63
Sitting comfortably and leaning on the high-backed chair, which was the seat reserved for the imperial family, Empress Adrianne opened her lips to speak.
—What a crude work, and it's based on a romantic novel or something like that. It will be popular for a moment and then it will disappear. Don't you believe it, Olivier?
Oliver nodded. He was sitting gracefully on a small chair, legs crossed.
—Your Majesty is right.
At his response, the empress smiled slightly.
What an adorable thing.
As far as I knew, this was Olivier's second time seeing a play.
And besides, I knew I read the original romance novel a lot.
It was a very nice pastime for a man who had already reached adulthood.
He must do that because he doesn't want to be hated by me. How adorable, this doll. Really.
All kinds of rumors were circulating about Empress Ziartine's son, the third Prince Olivier, and the current Empress Adrianne.
However, Adrianne wasn't interested in those rumors.
For her, only the truth mattered.
And the truth was that Olivier followed her like a loyal dog.
Poor child.
Olivier lost his mother as soon as he was born.
So, the unfortunate Olivier was terribly despised by his father, the emperor.
I can't believe you don't have a mother or father. It's a life I don't even want to imagine.
In that unimaginable life, Olivier was seriously injured and completely ruined.
Before confronting Olivier for the first time, Adrianne thought that Olivier could become a political rival against her son Charles, who was the first prince of this empire.
But that was not so.
Growing up without a mother or father, without affection from the cold employees of the icy imperial palace, Olivier had simply become an empty shell, devoid of any emotion.
It was all as simple as giving some scraps of affection to that empty shell of a doll and making it yours.
—But since we've come this far, let's enjoy it. There must be a reason why all the ladies say it's so much fun.
After hearing her words, Olivier turned his head and looked at the stage.
Adrianne smiled as she watched him.
Olivier was loyal to Charles as he was to her.
If Olivier, the son of the former empress, supported Charles as he did now, Charles's position would be strengthened even further.
We have "that" too, and it should be enough, but... the more cards, the better.
The stage curtains opened, and soon the actors appeared.
Adrianne looked at the stage, a benevolent and dazzling smile, fit for an empress, on her lips.
However, that smile didn't last long.
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With emotionless eyes, Olivier looked at Adrianne.
Adrianne was no fool.
Halfway through the play, Adrianne could no longer maintain that smile.
He probably noticed what that work meant.
And that was part of his plan.
This is just the beginning.
No one would ever notice.
Because everything was moving under seemingly calm waters.
His mask, which was the cause of the movement of all those things, was perfect, just like his plan was foolproof.
He looked towards the stage without enthusiasm, but his gaze suddenly stopped in one place.
That red, flame-like hair caught his attention immediately.
—…!
It's her.
Their clothes were completely different, but he could recognize them with just a glance.
The woman he met at his nineteenth birthday banquet at the Marquis Russell's estate.
Leaning on the railing of the seats in the box, she was sitting on a balcony obliquely below the seats reserved for the imperial family.
As?
But the question was answered quickly.
The man behind her, who had his legs crossed while sinking deeply into his chair with no intention of hiding his boredom, was definitely Marquis Russell.
So that's His Highness's preference?
The strangely honeyed voice of Yves Russell at that time resonated in Olivier's ears.
Did that man discover me? I must have been too careless because I was outside the capital.
Unhappy at having been discovered by the 2nd Marquis Russell, Olivier walked away from him.
Then, he stopped.
He had no choice but to do it.
Because…she was smiling.
The moment he saw her smile, he could feel something like a breeze or a wave sweeping away everything inside Olivier.
The voices of the actors, the audience filling the theater, and the empress behind him. Everything disappeared.
And while everyone else disappeared, only she remained.
With hair so red that it seemed as if the hand shared the same color when touched, a pale complexion that rivaled the light of the moon, cheeks that looked like roses when blushing.
And a smile shining without hesitation.
Valiz