Chapter 14
Episode 14: Event Hell
Noah's prediction was spot on.
Leonard burst into hearty laughter at the affectionate photo on the front page of the newspaper.
In the royal family, the role of the Queen Consort is very important, as she must attend all sorts of events and work for the authority of the royal family.
However, 23 years ago, the Queen Consort gave birth to Usher in January and then Noah in December of the same year. Overwhelmed by successive difficult births and suffering from puerperal fever, the Queen Consort became weak, even struggling with the flash of cameras. Giving birth to Lucy was almost a miracle.
So, who would take over the Queen Consort's role?
Crown Prince Usher was mostly excluded from events under Leonard's iron rule that mystery creates authority.
Leonard's only siblings were Marguerite and Walter, but one was a rebel and the other a disaster, so the King always put Noah in front of the media.
That wasn't easy either.
Noah attended because it was the King's order, but he often made reporters sweat with the various curses he spewed with his eyes and expressions.
But what about Olivia?!
Olivia Liberty was like a guaranteed box office hit.
Within two days of meeting her, Leonard was seriously considering offering her the position of spokesperson for Herot Palace.
Of course, it was realistically difficult, so it remained just a thought.
"Add one more event today. And move up the Royal Library charity event scheduled for the week after next. So we can take Olivia Liberty."
The secretary nodded, quickly noting the King's instructions.
"Understood. Or perhaps we should order Miss Liberty's departure date to be postponed a bit?"
At that, Leonard shook his head with a regretful expression.
"Margo warned me, as if she saw I was about to do that. She said she would return together on the scheduled date, so don't even think about postponing it."
At the name 'Margo,' the secretary didn't add any more.
Marguerite Astrid. If the royal family's spirit, which had even coldly rejected the late King's will, declared so, it could never be reversed.
"Then, I will prepare Miss Olivia Liberty."
There was no choice but to choose the easier option.
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Excessive. And autocratic.
That was Olivia's impression of Leonard.
Intelligent, quick-witted, and humble.
That was Leonard's impression of Olivia.
The King led Olivia to one event after another as if he had been waiting for this day.
As Margo put it, Leonard was like "a ghost who died without attending enough events."
At first, Olivia was overwhelmed by the thought of spending the whole day with the King of Herot, but she quickly adapted.
You can only be nervous for an hour or two; after spending several hours together, you have no choice but to adapt.
In addition, King Leonard was very quick-tempered and said everything that came to his mind, which made it easier, and decisively, he was very satisfied with Olivia's interview.
The greeting that started with, "Miss Liberty, that was a very satisfactory interview,"
Changed to, "That's right, that's right! That's how interviews should be done!"
And then evolved into, "Hahaha! Olivia, how can you speak so well?! Very well done! The newspaper tomorrow will be worth reading?!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."
When Olivia bowed politely, the King laughed heartily and praised her contribution once more.
The two, who had left the palace early in the morning, returned to the palace only at sunset. Margo, who had been loitering near the fountain because Olivia hadn't returned, saw them and quickly ran over.
Seeing Margo running towards him, Leonard quickly turned and disappeared as if fleeing, and Olivia approached Margo with a smiling face.
"Professor!"
"Ha, really!"
Margo looked back and forth between the King's receding figure and Olivia's tired face, then grabbed her arm.
"You've suffered. This is too much. How many events did you attend today?"
"Um… six?"
"He must be crazy."
"It wasn't that bad. Everyone was kind."
"Let's go back right after attending the Maze Garden Party. It's your hometown with precious memories, so we can't let the image be changed to event hell."
Olivia burst into laughter at Margo's words, and Margo smiled too.
That evening, after a warm bath, Olivia turned on a flashlight and opened her notebook. She was so tired that she wanted to fall asleep right away, but since there wasn't much time left at Herot Palace, she couldn't miss a single day.
As Olivia slowly looked back on the day, she unknowingly thought of him.
Noah Astrid.
A prince more difficult than the King. The man who had escaped alone from the masterpiece called 'Comfort and Love' and disappeared without looking back.
A person she was curious about what kind of life he had lived.
She thought it would be better if he wasn't there because she got nervous when he was around, but today Olivia glanced back all day.
But she didn't see him.
The reddish-green eyes, the smooth, straight fingers revealed when he took off his gloves, made her heart flutter for no reason.
"What are you thinking?"
Olivia shook her head with an absurd laugh. Then she quickly began to record the day.
A diary like a record of visits, moving from this event to that event, continued for quite a while.
Unfortunately, Olivia's notebook contained a diary like a record of visits the next day and the day after that.
And on none of those days was Noah Astrid seen.
As time passed, it was the day before the Maze Garden Party. It had been five days since the guest had arrived at Herot Palace.
Usher, who was riding in a carriage with Noah to the naval headquarters, unfolded the newspaper.
Olivia's face was on the front page, as well as pages 2 and 3. Recently, Herollington was buzzing with her story.
Still, why make the newspaper like a photo album?
Usher laughed in disbelief and opened his mouth.
"My aunt is very angry. She says His Majesty is dragging Miss Liberty around everywhere without leaving her alone for a moment. And do you know what? Father is calling her Olivia."
Noah, who was looking out the window, glanced at Olivia's photo displayed in a store stall and chuckled.
"Why wouldn't he? He wants to postpone her departure by even a day. People don't even mention Uncle's name."
"It's impossible with my aunt around."
With Usher's words, the brothers were lost in their own thoughts for a moment.
As the carriage sped along and the Magic Dome began to appear in the distance, Usher spoke.
"Reading the interview, I can understand Father's feelings. Besides, she seems to be much less nervous than I expected. That's not easy."
"……."
"I'm talking about Miss Liberty. Even though Polder is a republic, there's still a lot of discrimination based on status and gender, but she still managed to graduate from Herollington University before she was even twenty. I think that's amazing."
At Usher's honest words, Noah, who had been looking out the window, rolled his eyes and looked at him.
Usher was quietly looking down at a photo of Olivia smiling brightly. His brother's face, with his eyes lowered, was very gentle and affectionate, so Noah tilted his head.
"Why, did you fall for her or something?"
Usher, who had been looking down at Olivia's photo, frowned at Noah's sarcastic tone and looked up.
"Can't I just admire her honestly without you having to say it like that?"
Noah crossed his arms and legs. His long legs were almost touching Usher's shins across from him.
"You understand Father's feelings? That woman must have participated in at least fifteen events in three days. And that's just what I can infer from the newspaper. She's probably exhausted by now. Even if she's smart and has some backbone, you're dragging a commoner, not even your child, around like that, Usher."
Of course, he was the one who called that woman to Herot to use as a shield, so he had no right to say that.
"That's not what I meant, Noah."
Usher replied calmly.
"I didn't say it was okay for Father to drag her around so much. I really just said it because I think she's amazing."
Then Noah narrowed his eyes, raised one corner of his mouth, and asked languidly.
"Did you really fall for her?"
"Stop being sarcastic, Noah Astrid."
Eventually, Usher's tone became sharp.
The brothers stared at each other's faces. Vulgar curses could be felt in each other's eyes, but neither of them uttered them.
Noah shook his head and turned his gaze to the window first. It was he who had provoked Usher as if he was upset for no reason. Why did he get upset for no reason? There was no reason to.
Beyond the momentarily stopped carriage, he sees her face again.
Olivia Liberty. A name that shakes up so many people.
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Event hell.
Leonard finally held Olivia's event until the morning of the Maze Garden Party, and was confronted by the outraged Margo and the Queen Consort.
"Why are you doing this, Your Majesty?! Olivia has an event scheduled until this morning?! Tomorrow is her departure date, surely you haven't scheduled an event for tomorrow as well?! Since when has Astrid treated guests like this?!"
"Quiet, Margo! And Olivia didn't seem to be having a hard time! I was watching her condition……."
When Leonard burst out in anger, Queen Consort Beatrix stepped in.
"What disrespect are you showing the Princess?! What she said is right! I wanted to give Miss Liberty a wonderful dress as compensation for Lucy's mistake, but do you know that it was difficult to fit the dress because of all the events? This is really too much."
"Ahem."
"Even if we spend all morning fitting, there won't be enough time, so stop now. Lucy wanted to meet Miss Liberty so much, but how can you do this every single day? Besides, how tired must Miss Liberty be?"
"She didn't seem that tired, Trixie……."
"Don't call me by my nickname!"
At Beatrix's usually gentle but fierce scolding, the secretary quickly took out his notebook and drew long lines through the events with Olivia's name on them.
Wow, there were three in the morning alone. The sound of Leonard's sigh, who had been excited to create even non-existent events, was like an auditory hallucination.
The King always argues that he has no choice but to attend events for the sake of the royal family's prestige, but frankly, at this point, you have to agree that he loves the events themselves.
"Let's go, Princess."
The Queen Consort turned around majestically and left the King's office, and Margo followed behind her. The King's aggrieved groan was heard from behind, but the two women didn't bat an eye.
