124. They'll Rumor I'm Your Sugar Daddy, Your Highness!
Meanwhile, Olivia, having seen the same newspaper page as King Leonard, discerned that it was an article designed to provoke conflict between the King and the commoners.
Olivia glanced at Noah, who was still asleep, and quietly took the newspaper and headed to the study.
Before sunrise, Olivia crossed the hallway and opened the study door. As the startled servants rushed to light the fireplace in the study, Olivia lit a lamp and sat at the desk.
‘A link between the Royal Family and the commoners.’
Olivia had never forgotten the reason King Leonard had chosen her as his Princess consort. She quietly took out her scrapbook and opened it. Articles related to the recently controversial establishment of the Royal School were arranged in chronological order.
After calmly reading about Princess Lucy's incident, Olivia reviewed the articles related to the Royal School.
"It feels like someone is trying to drive a wedge between the King and the commoners."
She had a hunch that the person who kept mentioning these two incidents was the same. And she felt like there was something she could do within these events.
Meanwhile, Noah, awakened by Olivia's departure, lazily rose as she quietly left the room.
"Busy from the morning."
He muttered in a hoarse voice, then looked around aimlessly before getting up. After lightly rinsing his mouth with water, he stepped out of the room.
The servants tidying the hallway were startled and blinked in surprise when the Princess consort and then the Prince emerged from the bedroom so early in the morning.
"Where did the Princess consort go?"
To his usual question, 'Where is the Princess consort?'—a question that had become a habit—the servants hurriedly reported her whereabouts.
"She is in the study."
"This early?"
"..."
Noah frowned slightly and thought as he walked, 'Should I move the study by knocking down the wall next to the bedroom...?'
When he leisurely arrived at the study, Olivia was deep in thought at the desk, surrounded by several newspapers. She was so focused that she didn't even notice him entering.
Noah leaned against the door and watched her.
Her straight back, her flawless forehead, her intellectually sparkling black eyes, and her tightly closed lips in concentration.
Methone had given him sincere advice as he bought all sorts of luxury goods for her.
"They'll rumor I'm your sugar daddy, Your Highness."
Indeed. He was buying so many treasures that he was likely to be called a sugar daddy.
The thought of that elegant face contorting made him feel like he could sell the crown on his head.
But even giving her treasures that would make the Queen Consort envious, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. He didn't know where the emptiness came from, but it was there.
Noah knocked on the door to make Olivia, who still hadn't noticed his presence, aware of him. Olivia finally looked up from the newspaper.
"Noah! You're awake?"
Noah walked over leisurely and scanned what she was looking at.
"What are you working so hard on this early in the morning?"
"I'm reading this and that, and also preparing what to teach Princess Lucy."
"Are you starting today?"
"Of course."
Noah looked at Olivia with a disgruntled expression. He was beginning to understand why his father had been keeping Lucy from going outside the Royal Palace lately.
It's cold, why bother.
What if she had an accident like Lucy yesterday?
But he couldn't bring himself to stop Olivia from going to the Royal Palace.
"...Don't overdo it."
"I won't. Oh, Noah."
"Hmm?"
Olivia met Noah's gaze with a serious look and showed him the front page of today's newspaper.
Noah obediently took the newspaper from her and frowned deeply as he checked the front page.
"This is too much... They're even turning Lucy's accident into a strange article."
But at that moment, Olivia asked a sharp question.
"Was that article published by Herald Beum, the leader of the Ruble Party?"
Noah paused at her question and quickly reread the article. Herald Beum's name was nowhere to be found in the article.
"Herald Beum seems to want to drive a wedge between the Royal Family and the commoners. The Royal School articles, Princess Lucy's article... Is he behind it? I heard he's been clashing with His Majesty over recent tariff issues."
It was an astonishing question. Noah looked at Olivia with a bewildered expression and asked.
"How did you figure that out?"
"I inferred it from the newspaper."
Olivia said it as if it were obvious, about something that could never be taken for granted.
"This is an unfair world."
Noah's muttering made Olivia smile. It was a smile that sparkled more than when she had received a large diamond as a gift.
"Does that mean I'm right?"
"Yes, you're right. The major newspapers are affiliated with the guild alliance, so Herald Beum has quite a bit of influence. But why do you ask?"
Olivia shrugged and looked over the newspaper again.
"I was just curious as I was reading."
Noah raised his eyebrows as if he were dumbfounded, then walked around the desk and approached her. As Olivia tilted her head in confusion, Noah bent down and kissed her lips as if he had been waiting for it.
He was displeased that she was so busy by herself, being curious about unnecessary things.
Seeing the black eyes sparkling so close, Noah delved deeper into her lips and traced the curve of her ear and the nape of her neck with his fingers, where Olivia was particularly sensitive.
Then, as he gently stroked the collarbone visible through the gap in her gown, Olivia flinched.
"Why are you so busy by yourself, my Princess consort?"
"Haa... What do you mean, busy by myself...? You're busy too."
"Should I not be busy? Should we go to Hamuel? I'll go with you to Cosmos Hill this time."
The voice that flowed out between their touching lips was sensual.
As her black eyes became turbid, Noah's stomach churned. As a tingling sensation spread from his lower abdomen to his back, he lifted Olivia and sat her on the desk.
Noah carefully stroked the bulging curve that was barely visible through her gown and whispered in her ear.
"Just say the word. If you just say the word, I can give up everything and go to Hamuel with you."
No, he wished she would.
Olivia met the green eyes that were a mixture of sensuality and possessiveness. In moments like these, he acted as if he were the only light in the world. It had been a long time since they had kept to their agreed-upon schedule.
Olivia put her arms around his neck and laughed. Then Noah raised one corner of his lips and muttered.
"You're really driving me crazy from the morning."
The name of an ancestor who had been deposed for being obsessed with women flashed through his mind. The blood of the deposed ancestor must be flowing through his veins.
Noah was glad that he wasn't the King and kissed Olivia's lips again.
His lips, which had slipped from her lower lip to the tip of her chin, brushed against her hollow collarbone and flowed down. Noah, supporting Olivia's back with his strong arms as she threatened to collapse, leaned over her and whispered in a seductive voice.
"Tell me, Liv. Let's give up everything and go to Hamuel."
He kept thinking about the few days they had spent there, the time when they had escaped from day and night, convention and custom. He felt like he could stay there all winter.
Olivia's gradually rougher breathing was only sweet. Noah pulled back his chin and looked at her, like a beast pouncing on its prey.
Noah Astrid was reflected in the black eyes he met. He, who had never belonged anywhere, now belonged to Olivia.
"Noah."
At the whispering voice, his reason finally disappeared.
Noah plunged into Olivia fiercely. The warm and soft embrace, the desperately clinging hands, the voice trembling with pleasure felt like the reason for his life.
The ennui that had suddenly appeared without warning and slowly devoured Noah gradually fell away from him. The season that had been stopped finally flowed, and vitality finally returned to a life that he had not regretted dying in.
"Olivia..."
Olivia's heart fluttered at the sight of the man who seemed to be the most perfect in the world collapsing under the weight of his desire. She felt a sense of elation as if she had the whole world in her hands at the low voice that articulated her name.
She desperately hoped that she wasn't just the heavy responsibility placed on his two shoulders...
Her heart tingled. There was something she really wanted to say.
"I..."
But why was it so difficult to say? It only formed at the pit of her stomach and wouldn't come out.
The desk shook and trembled with the increasingly intense movements. The words that had formed at the pit of her stomach were scattered by the intense tremors that shook her brain.
"Ah, Liv..."
Pleasure soared to its peak, and the two reached their climax at the same time.
From the precipitous peak, the two collapsed together like the rubble of a collapsed castle wall. Olivia hugged his back and breathed heavily.
And after a while, Olivia, who had regained her composure, looked at the messy desk with embarrassment and muttered.
"I don't think the desk is a good idea."
Even the brazen Noah was silent this time.
Because dozens of newspapers and her scrapbook were tangled in a mess.
Olivia was a diligent and responsible person.
Noah watched Olivia's carriage drive away and sighed briefly. She had been rolling around with him in pleasure, but when the time came, she had left the pleasure alone as if nothing had happened.
Saying, 'I have to take care of things now!'
She must have just ignored his words about going to Hamuel.
Noah aimlessly scanned the mansion. People already called his mansion the Prince's Palace instead of his mansion, but Noah still felt like something was missing.
"Should I build another fountain?"
The servants who heard the Prince's muttering trembled and looked at him fearfully.
"No... How much more are you going to decorate here..."
Fortunately, someone's muttering did not reach the Prince's ears.
