Chapter 113: Countess Seymour's Ordeal
Count Seymour returned straight to his mansion and sought out his wife.
"You!!"
"What's all the commotion about!"
Countess Seymour retorted angrily, and the Count tore off his jacket as if ripping it apart, shouting.
"Commotion?! What's going on?! What in the world have you been up to!!"
Countess Seymour was speechless, only blinking her eyes.
"I... what..."
"You met the Princess consort at Bianca Department Store!!"
"......"
"And that day, you met Prince Noah, too?"
Countess Seymour's heart began to pound violently. She blinked her eyes much faster, and her lips moved as if her mouth was parched.
"What exactly did you say to the Princess consort? Prince Noah told me to find out what you said to her."
"......"
"Damn it, what did you say!!"
The words she had whispered to the Princess consort echoed in Countess Seymour's ears.
"Sleeping with the housemaids or actors doesn't even count as infidelity. They casually engage in affairs with mistresses from promising families, so sometimes you have to sit at the same table as your husband's mistress and smile."
"In times like that, there's only one solution. Have a son as soon as possible."
As she recalled her own words, a chill ran down her spine.
But... how could they punish her for that! There were no witnesses!
"I didn't say anything much!"
Countess Seymour insisted firmly, and the Count beat his chest as if he was about to explode with frustration.
"I'll decide whether it's 'nothing much' after I hear it, so spit it out!"
"No, even if I did say something, what does it matter?! Even if I spoke rudely to the Princess consort, no one heard it! If I deny it, even the royal family can't punish the Seymours recklessly!"
So, she did say something rude.
The Count barely managed to hold onto his fading sanity and spoke calmly.
"Prince Noah has notified me that he will cancel the investment he was going to make in our hotel."
"...Prince Noah was going to invest?"
"......"
"You never tell me anything about business, so how would I know?!"
Count Seymour slumped onto the sofa as if all his strength had left him and said with a sigh.
"It's not royal-level retaliation, but Prince Noah is retaliating personally, so it doesn't matter who heard or didn't hear. This is something that doesn't require witnesses."
"......"
"The important thing is to change Prince Noah's mind. Tell me what you said."
Even so, Countess Seymour remained silent, and Count Seymour shouted angrily.
"If this isn't resolved properly, our hotel will simply go down the drain!! We've already broken ground! To fill it back in, we'd have to sell this mansion and move to the countryside!!"
"T-to the countryside?!"
"Yes, to the countryside that you despise so much!! Why did you have to bother the Princess consort who was minding her own business!!"
Countess Seymour was dumbfounded, only opening and closing her mouth before confessing in a barely audible voice.
"I just... told her to have a son..."
"...That's all?"
"That's all..."
Count Seymour felt as if all the blood in his body was draining down to his feet, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
"You... you're not the Queen Consort, and you dared to tell the Princess consort to have a son or not..."
He staggered to his feet and confirmed in a tired voice.
"That's really all?"
"...Yes."
"It had better be all. Prince Noah will find out soon enough if he asks the Princess consort."
"......"
"Prince Noah is the son of King Leonard, who is persistent and quick-tempered. He's the kind of person who will find out every single word you said, no matter what it takes."
Countess Seymour's hands trembled like aspen leaves, and the Count, seeing her, murmured as if begging.
"So, don't hide anything, tell me now."
A short while later.
The Seymour family's carriage came to a screeching halt in front of the Norfolk Investment Company's main gate. The Count and Countess, pale as ghosts, rushed into the building, and the guards who were guarding the company's main gate looked at the couple's flustered backs with suspicion.
Count Seymour ran up the stairs several steps at a time to the floor where Prince Noah's office was located, and the Countess desperately chased after her husband, panting.
Just as the two arrived at the magnificent hallway, a heavy black door that looked like the heart of the building slowly opened. And from within the opened mouth, long legs gracefully appeared first.
Count and Countess Seymour stopped, gasping for breath.
Prince Noah stood in front of the door, silently watching the disheveled couple.
Countess Seymour felt a deep despair as she faced Prince Noah, who easily overwhelmed the atmosphere of the magnificent hallway.
"Did you come to tell me something?"
The low question was filled with an undeniable dignity.
"Yes. That's right, Your Highness!"
The Count, regaining his senses, hurriedly approached him, and Prince Noah silently turned and disappeared beyond the door.
Prince Noah sat in the seat of honor on the reception sofa, not even removing his gloves. He crossed his long legs gracefully and gestured for Methone, who was waiting, to leave.
As the Count and Countess slipped in, Prince Noah pointed to the sofa on his right and said.
"Please understand that I cannot offer you hospitality. I have to return to the mansion soon, so please state your business briefly."
The overall dark tone of the office, the Prince in a jet-black suit.
Countess Seymour felt as if she had been dragged before the judgment seat of hell.
As neither of the couple spoke first, Prince Noah's brow slowly furrowed.
So, she had dared to pour out such outrageous words to Olivia that they couldn't even open their mouths in front of him.
Prince Noah raised the corners of his lips into a smile and stared intently at Countess Seymour.
"Countess, what did you say to my wife that day?"
Then Count Seymour quickly looked at him and said urgently.
"Your Highness, my wife presumptuously told the Princess consort... that she hoped she would have a son. But since our daughter is getting married soon, my wife said it as if she were looking at her daughter..."
"Ah... as if looking at her daughter?"
Prince Noah asked slowly, and the Count trailed off.
"I see."
But there was a hint of laughter in the Prince's words.
Countess Seymour, who had been looking down because she couldn't bear to look at the Prince, suddenly raised her eyes. Prince Noah met her eyes with a light smile on his face. The energy that had been strangling people's necks had completely disappeared.
"It's good that you told me honestly first. Didn't you give any other advice, as if advising your daughter?"
Countess Seymour, feeling even friendly, involuntarily looked at her husband. The Count blinked his eyes as if he was thinking hard about something and then winked at his wife.
He had come because he thought it would be better for Countess Seymour to confess and apologize rather than hearing it through the Princess consort.
The Prince's reaction was not as bad as he had expected, so he thought it would be right to confess and smooth things over.
Countess Seymour also felt a strange courage welling up inside her.
She swallowed hard and carefully opened her mouth.
"I... I told her about some customs... no, bad habits of the aristocratic society."
Prince Noah hated beating around the bush, but he waited without urging her.
"Bad habits?"
"Yes. Uh... usually... after marriage... I mean... in many cases..."
But the more she spoke, the more she felt like she was sinking into a swamp. Prince Noah nodded gently and urged her to continue.
In the end, the Count, unable to watch any longer, subtly added.
"Ahem. So, Your Highness, well, after marriage, secretly... well... don't they sometimes have affairs?"
"Affairs?"
"Yes... well, it's a kind of affair. This person seems to have wanted to advise the Princess consort about the reality of marriage. ...As if to a daughter."
After listening to his lengthy explanation, Prince Noah slowly nodded and said lightly.
"So, you're saying that I might have an affair someday, so she should have a son before that, is that it?"
The Count and Countess closed their mouths and lowered their eyes at the blunt but accurate words.
Prince Noah chuckled. Then he slowly stroked his sharp chin and stood up. The Count and Countess also hurriedly stood up, following him.
"I apologize, Your Highness. I apologize for the rudeness I committed against the Princess consort."
The Count poked his wife in the waist, and Countess Seymour quickly said.
"I will personally visit the Princess consort and apologize, Your Highness."
"No, there's no need for that."
"Please, Your Highness...!"
The Count begged in a pale face, but Prince Noah decided to never let Countess Seymour appear in Olivia's sight again.
He didn't want to give her a chance to apologize. Because Countess Seymour was a person who couldn't tell right from wrong when she got excited, and she must have had a grudge against Olivia.
"Mrs. Seymour."
"Yes?"
Her face was already covered in tears, but Prince Noah spoke other words with a face devoid of even a shred of mercy.
"Instead of presumptuously advising the Princess consort, why don't you properly advise your daughter? Since you're talking about affairs..."
"......"
At the sudden mention of her daughter's name, not only Countess Seymour but also the Count froze and looked at the Prince.
His face, which had been smiling just a moment ago, was now radiating an arctic chill, and he spoke cruelly.
"Seymour Young Lady came to find me at the warship construction event and suggested that we have that affair together."
Countess Seymour turned so white that she was pale.
"I told the Young Lady that day as well, but I have no intention of committing that bad habit you mentioned while having my wife. So, Mrs. Seymour."
"......"
"Advise your daughter. Tell her not to commit bad habits if possible. Even if she does, she should do it wisely, looking at the person, as you said, after getting married and having an heir."
"......"
"If you don't want to ruin your family."
The handsome Prince's face looked like a demon. He dug into the hearts of the Count and Countess with his gentle words. He even crushed the will to apologize to the Prince and receive the investment, which they had desperately wanted to achieve.
Prince Noah indifferently watched the two people slowly slump onto the sofa before leisurely turning around.
