Chapter 128: Olivia's Efforts and Noah's Anxiety
Leonard's expectation that Noah would come the next day was spectacularly wrong.
Seeing Duke Rosemond, who seemed furious and coldly subdued, the aides regretted not leaving work early.
Even in the midst of all that, Leonard was constantly giving them glances.
"Noah, come in."
Leonard greeted him with feigned innocence, but Noah abruptly cut to the chase.
"Isn't the agreement different?"
Leonard immediately retorted as if expecting it.
"What's different?"
"Didn't we agree that the Princess consort and I would not attend any events except those that are absolutely necessary?"
"Did we?"
"Yes."
"So, should I refuse even when the Princess consort volunteers first?"
Leonard gestured to his aides as he said that. The aides reluctantly nodded, and Noah chuckled.
The aides, feeling a chill down their spines, desperately tried to avoid his gaze. It would have been good if the Crown Prince were here, but he happened to be away.
Noah's heart was a swamp, a mess of resentment towards his father and the lingering shadows of the past. The sneer on his face twisted into a grotesque expression.
"Is it Olivia now, instead of me?"
"……."
"Is it not enough with just me, that you have to use Olivia as a stepping stone for the Royal Family to feel satisfied?!"
At that, Leonard slammed his desk and stood up abruptly.
"I've been listening and listening!! Did I drive you to your death?! Or did I send Olivia unarmed into the heart of enemy territory?!"
At his father's words, Noah laughed in a hollow manner. His broad shoulders shook as he laughed for a long time, and there was even a hint of madness in his appearance.
Sweat trickled down the backs of the aides who were huddled in the corner, holding their breath. Even Leonard was at a loss for words.
Eventually, Noah, having composed his laughter, slowly scanned his face and said.
"It's easy for you to say. As if you've been inside my heart and come out, knowing whether it's a death trap or not."
"……."
Noah spoke in a calm tone, as if he had never shouted.
"I will never endure that hell again. I've done enough, and I think I've paid the price."
"……."
"My wife, of course, is the same. Your Majesty."
The King's office fell into an icy silence.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Olivia was pacing around the room, unable to take off her clothes.
Noah had clearly left in anger. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't understand why he was angry.
Had she done something wrong?
What had she done wrong?
She hadn't endured and persevered, which he hated so much, today. There hadn't been any friction with the noble ladies, and she certainly hadn't done anything that a Princess consort shouldn't do.
Olivia stared blankly at her notes.
"Did he get angry because I said I would do this……?"
But why?
She wandered around the dark room for a long time, when she heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance. She ran out of the mansion in one breath, and Noah, darkened and exhausted, was arriving.
Olivia hesitated, unable to approach him.
Noah looked at Olivia, who was still in the same clothes as when he had left, and approached her.
"What were you doing without changing your clothes?"
"No……."
"Let's go inside. It's cold."
Unlike before, his voice was softer.
Strangely, she felt like bursting into tears, but Olivia suppressed her tears, grabbed his sleeve, and asked.
"Did you get angry because I said I would give the congratulatory speech?"
The anxiety in her pale face was pitiful.
"……."
Noah looked at her face and thought.
You just need to spend the money I earn, enjoy the status I provide, and be happy in the paradise I created without any worries.
He couldn't understand how that was connected to his happiness. That was just how he felt.
"…Noah."
She called him again, sounding anxious.
Everyone in the world was curious about Olivia in his paradise.
He had burned countless invitations, turned down events, and built the mansion's walls so high that even paparazzi couldn't peek over them.
But if she tried to go outside the walls on her own, what should he do?
Noah suppressed his seething anxiety and asked quietly.
"Do you really want to do it?"
Olivia gripped the sleeve she was holding a little tighter and nodded.
"Yes. I want to do it."
"……."
Wouldn't Olivia's mind change after facing reporters who rudely thrust cameras in her face a few times?
The relentless attention of people she didn't even know was like a strangling hand.
"Okay. Then do it."
"…Really?"
"Yeah."
Olivia slowly took a breath and said.
"I'll do my best."
"You don't have to."
"……."
"You don't have to do your best, Liv."
The atmosphere between the two, which had been relaxed for a moment, tightened again.
As Olivia's hand lost strength, his sleeve slipped from her grasp. Noah glanced at it and took her limp hand.
The warmth transmitted through her palm and his cold, indifferent gaze plunged Olivia into increasing confusion.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Meanwhile, Leonard slipped into Beatrix's bedroom and nonchalantly took a seat.
"Trixie."
"……."
Outside the bedroom, they were King and Queen Consort, but in their private space, they were just a couple. Beatrix did not respond to her husband's call and lay in bed.
Leonard sighed softly and finally got to the point.
"Olivia came to see me today."
Beatrix, who had been stubbornly keeping her eyes closed, opened them wide.
"I thought she had come to ask me to send Lucy to school, but she said she wanted to attend the Royal School founding anniversary."
"…Olivia?"
Beatrix sat up.
"She even wrote a congratulatory speech. She seemed to have grasped the political situation on her own, and she wrote it incredibly well without anyone's help."
Leonard, who had been speaking with a chuckle, grew somber.
He was angry at Noah's impudence, but Noah's hollow laughter lingered in his ears.
His children had been so vehemently opposed to him today that even he, who was always strong, felt his heart waver.
"I expected Noah to come, but he rushed over as soon as he heard the news from Olivia."
"What did Noah say?"
"What do you think he said? He foamed at the mouth. Asking if I wasn't keeping my promise properly."
Leonard's expression was very dark. Beatrix stared at her husband's face and asked.
"Why do you have that look on your face?"
The King of Herot took a deep, long breath and asked languidly.
"…Should I not let Olivia give the congratulatory speech?"
"……."
Beatrix was overcome with an inexplicable unease. She was lost in thought for a while, and then she realized the reason for her unease and turned to her husband, opening her mouth.
"Why? Because Noah doesn't like it?"
Leonard met her gaze.
"If this is something you secretly ordered Olivia to do without Noah's knowledge, and if you plan to put Olivia in front of the media instead of Noah in the future……."
"No. Of course, it would be nice if that were the case, but."
"In the end, Olivia came and asked on her own. That means that child has been constantly worrying on her own. About what she should do as a Princess consort."
"It's a job that suits the title of Princess consort."
"Then let her do it."
"Noah is making such a fuss."
Beatrix's eyes darkened. Because the rumors she had heard were added to it.
She had heard that the noble ladies of the capital had been sending Olivia a tremendous number of invitations recently. But not a single reply had been returned.
Beatrix was convinced that her son was secretly intercepting all the invitations sent to his wife and throwing them away.
Excessive protection becomes a shackle.
"I'll talk to Noah. Proceed with Olivia's congratulatory speech as planned."
"Should I?"
"And Lucy will be sent to school as soon as her eczema heals, so keep that in mind."
However, Leonard did not answer that.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Olivia woke up before dawn. She turned her head and saw Noah still sleeping. She was concerned that his mood was so low.
But the more she felt that way, the more responsible she felt to do this well. As his wife, as a Princess consort, she wanted to do well.
To be honest, she also wanted to show him. That she could do this well.
She put on her gown and carefully left the room. Perhaps because she had been getting up early for several days, the servants had already lit the fire in the study.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, Your Highness."
In the study with its soft light, Olivia carefully reviewed the draft she had written yesterday. She hadn't had time to prepare last night, so she had to work hard now.
The King had told her to memorize it as it was, but she could see things to fix here and there. After making a few revisions, she quickly put the contents into her head.
In the meantime, Olivia's stiff mouth softened. When she reached the stage where she could recite the contents perfectly without looking, Olivia stood up and practiced as if there were an audience in front of her.
"Distinguished guests……."
A lecture demonstration is a required item in the university professor appointment exam. Based on her memories of that time, she paid attention to the pitch of her voice, eye contact, and the control of her tone, practicing alone over and over again.
She became more and more immersed. The passage of time and the constraints of space disappeared, and at some point, she was standing in front of an audience.
It was a joy she hadn't felt in a long time.
Her heart grew hot, and her eyes sparkled with life.
She didn't even notice that the pale dawn was wetting her toes and the golden sunlight was sinking deep into the study.
"…No. The wording isn't smooth."
Even as she shook her head, the smile on her lips didn't disappear.
"How long has she been doing that?"
Noah, standing at the door, asked Betty, and she replied with a proud face.
"She woke up at 4:30 a.m."
Noah looked at Olivia through the open doorway. With the golden sunlight haloing her, she was as beautiful as a goddess of the early morning. So much so that he wanted to hide her in his paradise and look at her alone.
Would the public leave that beautiful prey alone?
Anxiety surged, but he couldn't tell Olivia, who was so engrossed, to stop. Noah stared at Olivia for a long time, then quietly closed the door and turned away, instructing.
"Before going to the Royal Palace, be sure to take care of the Princess consort's breakfast."
"Yes, Your Highness."
And a little later, Olivia, belatedly realizing that Noah had left for work, hurriedly ran outside, but his carriage was already far away.
"Ah……."
A short breath escaped, and her breath shattered whitely.
"Your Highness, please come in and have breakfast."
Betty draped a shawl around her and said kindly, and Olivia smiled awkwardly and turned around.
Then she turned back again, staring in the direction Noah had disappeared.
