Odalisque - Chapter 120 - Eternalune Translations

Honestly, seeing Dimus’ face now, Liv understood why the maid was so terrified. Due to his sleepless nights, Dimus was carrying all the adjectives of ‘handsome,’ ‘pale,’ and ‘fierce.’

Once, his beauty had been almost unreal, enough to make people lose themselves in admiration. Now, though, he looked pretty but a bit… ghostly, perhaps even eerie.

“Have a safe trip.”

Listening to Adolf’s farewell, Liv thought to herself. What a strange routine this was.

How could she define this? It was neither here nor there. It felt like a lingering issue, something left unfinished, covered up just enough to seem peaceful, but ultimately wasting time.

Yet again, she wasn’t sure if it was right to bring up the problem and shatter this strange day-to-day life.

On the way to the riverside, Liv stared silently out of the carriage window. As always, Dimus quietly watched her. Unable to endure his gaze, Liv finally spoke, still looking out the window.

“Why not get some sleep, even for a short while, on the way?”

“I’m fine.”

“If you’re going to say you’re fine, then at least have a face that matches it.”

Dimus frowned at her remark. It was clear from his expression that he had no intention of accepting her criticism. Liv glanced at him briefly before turning her gaze back to the window.

“Anyone can see you’re not in good health, Marquis.”

“If you’re saying that because you want to get away from me…”

“I gave up on that hope long ago.”

“So you did hope for it at some point.”

Liv was at a loss for words. As if he’d hit the mark, she fell silent, and Dimus let out a mocking laugh. Still, he didn’t make any more sneering remarks, instead returning to silently watching her.

After a moment, Liv broke the silence between them once again.

“Do you realize how strange you’re acting right now, Marquis?”

Her voice carried a trace of irritation, though she couldn’t fully explain its cause even to herself.

The one thing she knew for sure was that they couldn’t continue living like this forever. For Liv, honestly, this prolonged situation wasn’t necessarily harmful, but for Dimus, it was different.

Being by his side, she couldn’t ignore how his hollow face revealed just how badly insomnia was tormenting him and how much his health was deteriorating. Moreover, from Adolf’s occasional frustrated complaints, she could guess that even his aide Charles was struggling to handle all the work in his absence.

If Dimus was truly staying here only because of her…

If that were the case, it made no sense that he hadn’t already declared his intention to take her back to Buerno. It was understandable that, right after their reunion, he might have lost his head and not considered anything else, but now, enough time had passed for him to regain his senses.

“Do you remember what you once told me?”

Liv, lost in thought as she vaguely gazed out the window, turned to look at Dimus reflexively.

“A broken rose branch eventually withers.”

Her eyelashes trembled. Dimus, recognizing that she remembered their past conversation, crookedly lifted the corners of his mouth.

“You were right.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I understand your words now.”

“The words I spoke then…”

What Liv had said back then was a bold declaration that perhaps she could have some influence over him. That if she dared to reach out, even at the risk of being hurt, he too wouldn’t remain untouched—a naive challenge.

So Liv couldn’t help but doubt whether Dimus truly understood what she had meant.

“If I had known it would come to this, I should have told you to put it in a vase.”

With that cryptic remark, Dimus turned his gaze away from her. Now, he was looking out the window, while Liv found herself staring at him.

Her lips moved, struggling to form words, until she finally spoke in a subdued voice, “You said that reckless courage is just foolhardiness.”

Once, when Liv had been curious about Dimus, when she wanted to reach out to him, to learn more about him—he had been the one to draw the line, dismissing her desires as absurd.

“You said that recklessly displaying courage is mere folly.”

Once, when Liv had been curious about Dimus, when she wanted to reach out to him, to learn more about him—he had been the one to draw the line, dismissing her desires as absurd.

“When I was greedy for the rose, that’s what you told me.”

When her eyes met Dimus’ piercing blue ones, memories of their past encounters flashed vividly through her mind.

The indifferent words he had said to her, the distances that had never been permitted to close, all the moments when she had anxiously hesitated alone.

“Then why say such things now?”

Unable to help herself, Liv felt a pang of resentment. Her voice was sharp because of it. But instead of getting angry, Dimus’ eyes seemed to soften.

“It’s better this way.”

“What is?”

“Resentment is better than indifference.”

Liv opened her mouth in disbelief, her expression incredulous.

Dimus, seeing her reaction, spoke in an even tone, “I know better than anyone that there’s something wrong with me…”

He trailed off, his blue eyes shifting away from hers, as if to avoid her gaze.

“I’m in the process of accepting defeat.”

That was the last thing Dimus said. Liv, too, had nothing more to say.

***

As Philip had suggested, the riverside was truly beautiful.

The entire area was covered in yellow flowers of unknown name, and the sunlight shimmering on the water’s surface made the ripples sparkle magically, creating a breathtaking sight.

Even Liv, who had been feeling weighed down by their conversation in the carriage, couldn’t help but be captivated by the brilliance of nature. She let out an unintentional gasp of awe and found herself wandering, almost entranced, through the flower field.

And Dimus watched her from a distance amidst the scene.

This was how it had been for him lately. Quietly reflecting on his defeat as he watched Liv go about her day in the mansion and as she wandered through all these beautiful places.

“You already know, Master, that some problems can only be resolved by accepting them, even if they are difficult to admit.”

The greatest defeat Dimus had ever felt in his life was when he had been betrayed by Stephan, whom he had thought of as a fool. That defeat had brought about intense humiliation and anger, bruising his pride and causing him to shut himself away for a while.

But how was this defeat?

Now, he found himself at a loss for what to do as he was swayed by a woman he had believed he could control at his whim. A woman who didn’t even seem to realize she had won.

He had never experienced a defeat quite like this before.

From the start, he hadn’t even considered it a fair fight. He had seen it as a one-sided relationship—so he had let his guard down and never taken it seriously.

While staying in the Adelinde mansion, Dimus began to retrace every moment since he had first met Liv. From the moment he had been captivated by that terrible nude painting to finally sitting the model herself in front of him.

At that time, he had believed everything was going according to his plan. Liv had moved exactly as he had anticipated, and she had needed what he had expected.

But had it been wrong from the very beginning?

Even the thought of that hurt his pride. Nevertheless, the defeat he now felt led him to repeatedly doubt the confidence he had once had. Surely, at some point, he had made a wrong judgment—some mistake that had led to this outcome.

“Where you place Miss Rodaise is your choice, Master. However… in my life experience, there are rare times when the conclusion is already set.”

A predetermined conclusion.

Perhaps, in this relationship, his defeat was inevitable from the start?

While Dimus was lost in these thoughts, he suddenly saw Liv’s body sway among the flowers. Without a second thought, he rushed to her.

“Ah!”

Dimus caught her arm just as she lost her balance. He checked her footing.

They were closer to the riverside than he realized, and the ground was soft. Her leg had sunk into the squishy mud. It was obvious that her shin was quite deeply stuck.

Liv, having narrowly avoided falling thanks to Dimus, looked embarrassed as she tried to brace her leg. But the ground was far from solid, making it difficult for her to free her leg on her own.

Without any hesitation, Dimus bent down, supporting her back and the crook of her knees, and easily lifted her into his arms.