Episode 17

When Leonard's gaze met Olivia's, she became so nervous that she didn't see where she was stepping and tripped over her dress; but before she could fall to the ground, the duke caught her. She hated dresses for this very reason; she had always been clumsy and kept tripping over them all the time. Leonard asked her,

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied.

Leonard helped her stand up and offered his arm for her to hold onto. Olivia gratefully accepted; she was afraid she would fall again. As they left the house, a large black carriage with the insignia of an eagle, which was the emblem of the Forest family, awaited them.

Leonard helped her climb into it and they seated facing each other. Olivia had never left the mansion since their marriage. Her palms were sweating from anxiety. Sensing her discomfort, Leonard took her hand and pulled her onto his lap.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Leonard said,

"You don't have to be so nervous. If someone dares to offend you, do not hesitate to tell me. I will handle it."

Feeling the heat from Duke's body, Olivia felt more relaxed. Upon arriving at the palace, the crowd turned to see who was stepping out of the carriage arm in arm with the duke.

Entering the ballroom, their names were announced, and the room fell into complete silence. All eyes were on the ducal couple that had just arrived. The attention made Olivia extremely nervous.

They descended the staircase and paid their respects to the royal family. Olivia barely dared raise her head. She curtsied as Sir Wilson had taught her, and then clung to Leonard's arm.

Everyone in the hall was watching Olivia; the ladies with envy for having married the duke, and the older women were pitying her for having married the Duke of Forest.

Several people approached them to greet them, but rarely said anything more due to Leonard's intimidating aura. The only one who approached with a smile and gave Leonard a few pats on the back was the crown prince. On spotting Olivia, he observed her closely and said,

"You must be the young Duchess of Forest. You're even more beautiful than I had imagined."

Oliva curtsied and introduced herself, "My name is Olivia Carter, a pleasure to meet you."

As soon as she finished speaking, both Leonard and the Crown Prince turned to see a beautiful blonde woman in a pink dress with ruffles and laces. She intertwined her arm with the prince and said,

"Darling, don't bother the ducal couple."

The crown prince placed a kiss on her forehead and replied, "I'm not doing that."

Looking at her accusatory gaze, he seemed a bit nervous since he did intentionally come over to tease Leonard. It appeared this woman was the Prince's wife. The princess turned to them and introduced herself,

"Oh! I apologize for my rudeness. My name is Leticia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Duchess."

Olivia curtsied and replied, "The pleasure is mine, your majesty."

"You don't have to be so formal. You can call me Leticia. I'm glad he could attend the party; I heard your health was poor."

"Yes, fortunately, I'm much better now."

"I hope the Duchess could attend the tea party I'm hosting in a few days."

"I'd be delighted to attend."

Several noblemen approached Leonard and the Prince, while Olivia was talking to Leticia and a group of ladies clustered around her. Each one of them was asking questions and Olivia ended up feeling dizzy from the barrage of inquiries.

Seeing Olivia's pallor, Leonard came to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She startled, but relaxed a bit when she saw it was him. However, so many people staring at her was making her dizzy again. Everyone present was surprised to see Leonard's display of affection for her. He told the women surrounding Olivia,

"I apologise for the interruption, but my wife seems to be unwell. I'm taking her to get some fresh air."

The other women didn't have a chance to say anything before Leonard took Olivia and they headed to the balcony. Olivia felt better as soon as she felt the cool air on her face.

"Are you alright? You looked pale back there."

"Sigh, I'm much better now, thank you for bringing me out here," Olivia replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

Leonard moved behind Olivia and wrap his large arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, he commented,

"You look very beautiful tonight."

Feeling Duke's warm breath on her ear, Olivia shuddered at his words. They stood there for a while, admiring the garden, until Olivia felt better. The music drifted over from the ballroom, and they returned to the salon. Several pairs were already dancing and Leonard, bending at the waist, asked her,

"Would you honour me with a dance?"

Olivia stiffened at this proposition as she was terrified of dancing. But, before she could refuse, Leonard pulled her onto the dance floor.

Olivia froze in place. Sensing her apprehension, Leonard wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered into her ear,

"Relax, you will do fine."

Olivia was doubtful, but since being on the dance floor, it would be rude to leave Duke alone. She did as Sir Wilson had taught her and placed one hand on Leonard's shoulder. She spent the entire time looking at her feet, fearing she might step on him. Leonard lifted her face and told her,

"You should be looking at your partner when dancing, not your feet."

"But I'm afraid I might step on you."

"You're so light that even if you did, it wouldn’t hurt me. So, don't worry about that."

Feeling much more relaxed after hearing Duke's words, Olivia stopped paying attention to her feet and started focusing on her husband's handsome face.

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