Chapter 105: Confirmation of Punishment
Just as Prince Noah had spent a sleepless night, so too had Beatrix tossed and turned.
There were two reasons for this, one of which was, of course, the matter of Noah and Olivia.
While she was hearing the full story of the incident from Methone, who had come to see the physician, Countess Timberline had arrived, pale as a ghost, to see her. Beatrix had sent her straight back.
"Tell her I will hear the story from the Princess Consort first, and to return later."
And according to the physician who had arrived at the Prince's residence late at night to examine the Princess Consort, she was suffering from Corset Sickness.
Beatrix heaved a deep, long sigh.
Olivia, enduring the pain as she attended her lessons, came to mind, and her own heart ached.
"I made the wrong choice..."
Belated regret washed over her.
"I think I made the wrong choice too, Trixie."
Hearing the Queen Consort's muttering from the bed, King Leonard retorted gruffly.
When Beatrix turned her head, Leonard was constantly checking and rechecking documents, his hand pressed to his forehead.
He was the biggest factor keeping her up at night these past few days.
"Stop it, Leonard. You know how much Lucy likes it, don't you?"
"... "
"I don't know how many times she's tried on her uniform."
"That uniform, too. It's going to get cold in a month, and the coat is too thin!"
That the King of a nation, with so much to do, was worrying about the material of his daughter's uniform.
"She'll be traveling by carriage and going straight into the classroom. She has to handle everything herself in the classroom without attendants. Are you going to make her wear bulky fur?"
"That's what I don't like. What if something happens to Lucy when she's alone in the classroom, Trixie?"
Did he think the place Lucy was going to was a battlefield, not a school?
When Noah had gone to his first naval battle, her husband had said to her, who was unable to sleep with anxiety:
"Considering all possibilities, Noah will return without a scratch. Don't worry."
Herot, the King of Herot, who viewed everything in the world with the cold detachment of chess pieces, lost all sense of reason when it came to Lucy. Beatrix let out a sigh that was almost a lament and gently stroked her husband's shoulder.
"Leonard, why would Lucy be alone in the classroom? There are other friends her age, and teachers too."
"..."
"It was the same when Usher and Noah went. They both graduated without any problems. Don't be anxious."
It was said that all ten fingers hurt when bitten, but for Leonard, his youngest daughter, whom he had late in life, could not even be compared to his two grown sons.
Leonard was constantly anxious, grumbling, and tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
It was only after Beatrix snapped at him that he calmed down a little.
"Stop it! If you're going to keep tossing and turning, go sleep somewhere else! I need to get some sleep too!"
The next day.
Unfortunately, what awaited Beatrix, who had been tormented by her husband all night, was her son, who was just like his father.
But her son was surprisingly calm. To the point of feeling cold.
He was wearing his naval uniform, considering the nature of the event, and the Emblem of Duke Rosemond on his right chest gleamed in the early morning sunlight.
Beatrix sat across from Noah and asked.
"How is Olivia?"
"She woke up briefly at dawn, but fell back asleep under the influence of the medicine. Her fever is still fluctuating, though."
Beatrix took a short breath and then apologized directly.
"I chose the wrong person. I'm sorry."
But Noah remained silent, as if he didn't want to hear her apology. Beatrix dismissed even the Head Maid who was beside her, then lowered her voice and said.
"The punishment will be carried out discreetly. Punishing them publicly would also tarnish Olivia's reputation."
Only then did Noah, who had been looking down, raise his eyes. He slowly exhaled and then opened his mouth.
"It will be difficult for you to punish those who were there."
"...Yes. That will be difficult. But I promise to punish Countess Timberline. It goes without saying that she will be dismissed from her position as Olivia's etiquette teacher."
Noah, whom she had expected to be furious, surprisingly nodded obediently.
"I understand."
He was very calm and polite. He did not exude a fierce or aggressive energy, nor did he act rudely.
But strangely, even she, his mother, felt her heart beat uneasily as she faced him.
Noah... no, Duke Rosemond slowly blinked and then rose from his seat. His face, with its sharp lines as if carved with a sharp chisel, felt unfamiliar, as if he were not her son.
"The Princess Consort will not be attending today's event. Please convey this to His Majesty on my behalf, Mother."
"Alright. I will go and see the Princess Consort."
"I'll be going then."
He gave a polite bow with a soldierly, precise gesture, then disappeared without looking back.
Beatrix, staring blankly at the place where he had disappeared, stroked her chin, feeling a creeping unease.
"Noah specifically came to see me this morning..."
Muttering absentmindedly, Beatrix belatedly realized the purpose of his visit.
"Could it be..."
He had not come to inform her that the Princess Consort would not be attending. Nor had he come to insist that Countess Timberline not be appointed as her etiquette teacher.
Those two things were simply obvious.
Rather,
"He came to confirm how I would punish those involved."
Beatrix's flustered voice seeped into the empty sunlight and disappeared.
Noah had no intention of forgiving Countess Timberline, nor any of the noble ladies who had ridiculed Olivia at the Shine Party.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Countess Timberline, who had spent a sleepless night, headed to the Queen Consort's palace early in the morning. She had clung to her brother, Marquess Letium, last night, weeping and begging, but the Marquess had coldly pushed her away.
"I was uneasy from the moment you said you would be the Princess Consort's etiquette teacher. You can't even tell right from wrong. What on earth have you been doing?! Make sure that Letium has no connection to this matter, do you understand?!"
She had considered visiting the Princess Consort, but Prince Noah's sharp face came to mind, and she couldn't bring herself to do it.
So, when she met him at the Queen Consort's palace, where she had gone to avoid the Prince, what must her feelings have been?
"..."
Mrs. Timberlin's gray eyes darted around rapidly. She instinctively looked behind her as she watched Noah descend the stairs, one step at a time.
The etiquette teacher who had pointed out even the slightest movement of Olivia's fingers was now behaving in a manner completely contrary to etiquette in the face of a ferocious beast.
She couldn't even offer a greeting, nor could she assume the elegant posture she had so emphasized.
Noah approached her with a leisurely gait, like a lion toying with its prey.
He couldn't help but feel disgusted at how pathetic she looked, unable to even meet his eyes. He was unbearably angry at the fact that someone like this had tried to play with Olivia.
It seemed the label of "commoner" felt bigger than the name "Rosemond Astrid."
"Did you sleep well, Countess Timberline?"
Noah whispered lowly, stopping one step in front of her. His voice, so low it could be heard from the heart, was filled with undisguised hostility.
Mrs. Timberlin trembled her lips slightly and then cautiously raised her eyes.
The Prince's eyes, which she had thought were green, looked unusually red today. He was surprisingly wearing a friendly expression, but he muttered words that were far from friendly.
"I clearly warned you. I wonder if you thought my warning was a joke, or if you just couldn't understand it."
He clearly felt no need to mince words.
The moment the light in his eyes, which had been feigning friendliness, froze over, Countess Timberline shuddered, feeling as if she had been caught by the scruff of her neck in the jaws of a lion.
She wanted to disappear and hide anywhere. But she couldn't move even a single step.
"Your Highness, Prince Noah, please listen to me..."
Countess Timberline barely managed to open her mouth with all her strength, but she soon realized that she could not excuse herself with any words.
What could she say to the Prince, who had recognized at a glance that the place had been a Shine Party?
Noah, staring at her silently, chuckled and muttered.
"How boring."
"..."
"Oh, and don't even think about visiting the Princess Consort. I've already told them not to let even your shadow cross the walls of my house."
Then, leaving the despairing Mrs. Timberlin behind, he leisurely walked away. Noah didn't even look back, even as he heard the sound of her collapsing to the floor.
A moment later, Beatrix greeted Mrs. Timberlin with a cold expression. Yesterday, she had sent her back, saying that she would hear the story from the Princess Consort first, but she had allowed the meeting after hearing that she had met Noah in the hall.
Mrs. Timberlin looked half out of her mind, and very flustered. The noble lady, who valued elegance as her life, was blinking her eyes distractedly and constantly wetting her dry lips.
But Beatrix didn't feel even a shred of sympathy for her.
"I'm sorry about what happened yesterday."
"Your, Your Majesty, Queen Consort..."
"Do you have anything to say?"
"I, I cannot deny that I was at a different table from Her Highness, the Princess Consort... and it is certainly something I should apologize for. But that the place was a Shine Party... Absolutely, absolutely not. You are mistaken."
At Mrs. Timberlin's earnest words, Beatrix lowered her eyes and nodded slightly.
Mrs. Timberlin, who had been plunged into the darkness of despair by her appearance, felt as if she had found a ray of light. Just as she was about to straighten her back, thinking that there was a way out, the Queen Consort opened her mouth in a monotonous voice.
"The Princess Consort has been unconscious all night."
