Episode 104: I Am Your Barrier
Mrs. Seymour also hurried out of the department store, leaving Countess Timberline in despair.
She felt a little uneasy about having said presumptuous things to the Princess consort in a fit of anger, but she figured there was nothing to worry about since she hadn't ridiculed or insulted her in front of everyone.
It would be very awkward to harp on something without evidence.
Besides...
"I wonder how displeased the proud Prince Noah must be with a Princess consort who is merely a target of Shine Party..."
Mrs. Seymour's lips slowly curved upward.
By the time she arrived at the Count's residence, her unease had completely evaporated, leaving only a sense of satisfaction. Mrs. Seymour went straight to find her daughter.
"Isabel!"
Her daughter was putting the final touches on the dress she had ordered for tomorrow's event. The highly saturated blue dress contrasted with Isabel's hair color, making her look vibrant and beautiful.
"Oh, my goodness!"
Mrs. Seymour exclaimed, taking off her hat.
"I chose a somewhat flashy and vibrant color because the event is being held against the backdrop of the beach."
"All eyes will be on you tomorrow, my dear. Everyone will be looking at you."
At her words, Isabel only offered a self-deprecating smile. The thought of having to attend the event holding Jackson Coleman's hand made her feel no joy at all.
Moreover, the thought of the Princess consort appearing with Noah made her heart feel as if it were burning fiercely in a fiery pit.
Mrs. Seymour, who was keenly aware of her daughter's feelings, sent all the maids out. She personally removed each of her daughter's hair ornaments, whispering in her ear.
"I met the Princess consort today."
Isabel's movements stopped abruptly at her mother's whisper. Mrs. Seymour gently stroked her daughter's hair, continuing with affection.
"She's such a clueless fool, not even knowing what a Shine Party is. And the Prince appeared and took his wife away..."
"The Prince himself?"
"How wounded must that proud Prince have been, seeing his wife being targeted by a Shine Party?"
The mother and daughter looked at each other through the mirror.
Mrs. Seymour gazed at her daughter's figure with a look of rapture, smiling deeply.
"Isabel, men are very visual creatures. And they are obsessed with maintaining their position. The moment they feel that their wife is a parasite who diminishes their status, rather than being a benefit from their in-laws, love will crumble like sand and disappear like dust. Although, I don't even know if there was any love to begin with."
"..."
"The Princess consort will slowly wither away, and the Prince will regret it. It won't be long."
"Did it seem that way?"
"Go and see for yourself tomorrow. Ah... perhaps the Prince won't even bring the Princess consort to tomorrow's event. He seemed very hurt today."
Isabel, who had been looking in the mirror, slowly turned her head to look at her mother.
Mrs. Seymour saw her daughter's blue eyes gradually hardening. She couldn't tell if it was venom or elation, but what did it matter?
It was much better to be filled with venom and be strong than to be consumed with heartache over a mere commoner.
"Is that really the advice a mother should give her daughter?"
The Princess consort had asked innocently, but Mrs. Seymour thought she could give the same advice to her daughter with just a slight twist.
Wasn't it realistic?
'If you want to enjoy an affair with the Prince, go ahead and enjoy it. Just don't get caught. It's all just youthful folly anyway. It's better to enjoy it and move on than to have regrets for the rest of your life.'
"You can do whatever you want. Just don't get caught. Understand?"
Mrs. Seymour believed that her daughter would never get caught. She had an empirical conviction that Noah Astrid, disillusioned with the Princess consort, would eventually fall for her daughter.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Noah was submerged in the deep sea.
Powerful pressure poured down, threatening to crush his entire body in a space without currents or light. He sat blankly, focusing only on Olivia.
She had a fever that rose and fell, and she coughed convulsively. Her ragged breaths were filled with an undeniable pain, and tears kept slipping from her closed eyes.
Then Noah would gently wipe her eyes. There was nothing else he could do.
Meanwhile, the moon slowly slipped away and disappeared, and before he knew it, the thick darkness began to gradually fade from his ankles. As the faint light of dawn broke, the outlines of objects slowly emerged, and the whole world was tinged with a pale silver-gray.
Noah rose again and wiped Olivia's eyes with a dry towel. She kept crying, as if she was so sad or in so much pain.
"...ah..."
Noah's movements stopped at the sound that escaped from her dry lips. He held his breath and looked at her lips.
Soon, Olivia moved her lips again.
"Grandmother..."
"..."
Noah slowly lowered his hand.
The old house that was slowly collapsing. The house that stood in a remote place that could hardly be called a village. The house where she had to live with anxiety, unable to leave despite feeling her life was threatened.
"...Why are you wandering around there?"
Noah bit his lip and slowly stroked her cheek.
At that moment, Betty entered with a soft knock. She glanced at the Prince, who was still only looking at his wife, and moved cautiously. Then, she placed a cup of hot tea and a morning newspaper on the side table and retreated.
Noah felt the scent of tea tickling his nose and sank deeply into the chair. His tired gaze passed over the side table without interest, then stopped at one point.
Pale sunlight, shattered by the window, created sharp patterns on Noah's face.
His clear green eyes were fixed on the front page of the newspaper, unable to move. The hand that lifted the newspaper was strained, veins bulging, and his thick eyebrows were a mess.
[Princess Consort Appears at Bianca Department Store.]
Olivia's picture was plastered all over the front page. Beneath the picture of her smiling as she accepted a candy from a commoner girl, a long article bordering on praise followed.
The doctor's voice, saying that she must have been in pain with every breath since at least yesterday, echoed in his ears like a hallucination.
Noah slowly lowered the newspaper and looked at Olivia, who was sleeping with a gaunt face.
"Your Highness!! Please look over here!!"
"Your Highness!!"
The voices of the public calling her, the merciless flashes of cameras, and the crowds filling the streets.
The weary past rushed in like a tidal wave, pushing Noah back.
"Prince! Prince!!"
"Look over here, Prince!!"
Noah pressed his eyes shut and desperately tried to calm his ragged breathing. He swallowed his emotions as if forcing down a stone, and then finally opened his eyes.
He murmured in a deeply submerged voice, as if making a vow.
"I will not throw you to the public like bait, Olivia."
Only those who have experienced it know how hellish it is.
"I will not throw you to the nobles as a laughingstock, nor will I leave you alone like someone walking in the bitter cold."
She was someone he brought in for the benefit of the royal family, but now the benefit of the royal family was not on his mind.
No, to be honest, the benefit of the royal family was never important to him from the beginning.
Noah rose from his seat and leaned toward the sleeping Olivia. He slowly kissed her cold forehead, which had cooled down from the fever, and then whispered in her ear as if casting a spell.
"I am your barrier."
A barrier that blocks all the flowing earth and the overflowing sea.
"You only need to bask in the warm sunlight by my side for the rest of your life."
If you smile without any worries, look at me with your laughing, dark eyes, and call me in a bright voice...
"Noah!"
"Then, I think I will be at peace too."
So, don't wander around that house in Pulder, even in your unconsciousness.
Perhaps his words, filled with longing, flowed into Olivia's ear.
Olivia's eyelids, which had been still until now, twitched slightly as if by a lie. Noah, who had been leaning toward her, held his breath and watched the scene.
Long, neat eyelashes fluttered, and soon round, black eyes slowly appeared. Noah's chest tightened as he faced the sight.
He had been waiting for this moment all night.
Noah grabbed her cheeks and focused her unfocused, hazy eyes on him.
Once, twice.
She blinked slowly, and then her gaze met his.
The moment their eyes met, the many shells that had been surrounding Noah were stripped away at once, leaving only her.
In the desolate gray world, only she had color and sparkled.
"...Noah."
At her small, faint call, Noah finally exhaled the breath he had been holding. His shoulders, which had been tense until now, slumped down.
As a weak hand reached up to touch his cheek, Noah regained his composure and held her hand in return. As he carefully smoothed her tangled hair, Olivia's eyelids kept closing again, perhaps due to the medicine.
Noah gently stroked her hair and whispered.
"Sleep more. Don't worry about anything."
She slowly nodded and soon fell asleep.
Noah gazed at the sleeping Olivia for a long time.
