150. Duke Rosemond
The extra edition released around midnight caused a huge stir. People woke up their neighbors to spread this shocking and sensational news.
Lanterns began to light up, one by one, on the night streets of Herot, which had been steeped in darkness.
"No, so you're saying the Princess consort was involved with Ansen Wilhelm?!"
"Ah, that's right. Look at this photo. It says 'hotel.' What reason would a young man and woman have to meet at a hotel?!"
"Oh, how embarrassing! Then how did she end up marrying our Prince?"
"Perhaps she thought our Prince was a better marriage prospect than Ansen Wilhelm, so she left him behind? In exchange for marrying our Prince, she escaped that wretched home and even ascended in status, didn't she?"
"Is that why Ansen Wilhelm isn't fixing the Magic Dome?"
The favorable attitude towards the Princess consort changed in an instant, like flipping a palm. It was like a surging wave, flooding and overflowing to overturn everything that existed.
This news naturally reached Leonard as well.
The King and Queen, who were about to go to bed, immediately changed their clothes and rushed to the study, summoning their aides. At the same time, they issued summons orders to all newspaper publishers in Herrington.
A deathly silence fell upon the King's study. No one dared to even breathe.
Beatrix gazed at Olivia, who was smiling with Ansen, for a long time. Then, she shifted her gaze to the two people sitting opposite each other in what appeared to be a hotel lounge.
As she looked at the two photos with a heavy heart, Leonard spoke.
"Call Olivia here immediately."
It was the dead of night, and Olivia had drunk quite a lot of wine that day. But even Beatrix could not refute Leonard's words.
Even if they summoned the main newspaper publishers and forcefully silenced them, there was no way to stop the extra edition that had already been released. By tomorrow, regardless of the newspapers, all of Herot would be in an uproar over this matter. It was necessary to summon Olivia, the person involved, to get a clear answer about these photos.
"Understood."
One of the aides who received Leonard's order quickly turned around. The moment he opened the door to leave, the door creaked open from the outside.
The startled aide flinched.
Noah Astrid, who had dared to open the King's study door as if to break it down, blocked the aide from leaving and spoke to the King.
"You cannot summon Olivia."
The aide blinked in confusion and looked back at Leonard. Leonard let out a sigh-like breath and asked incredulously,
"What? Cannot summon her?"
"I am speaking not as a Prince, but as Duke Rosemond. Your Majesty."
Noah Astrid, no, Noah Rosemond, maintained an extremely calm demeanor and said coldly.
"The Duchess of the Rosemond Duchy cannot be summoned arbitrarily, no matter who you are, Your Majesty."
In exchange for the Duke's loyalty to the King, the King acknowledges the Duchy and does not infringe upon it.
It was a clause that now only existed in name. For currently, the duchies of Herot's Dukes only encompassed the mansions they owned.
However, because of this clause, Leonard, as Noah said, could not issue an arbitrary summons order to Olivia, who was inside the mansion. Unless she came out of her own volition.
Usher, standing by the window, cautiously spoke on behalf of his father, who was speechless with disbelief.
"It's not that you want to interrogate the Princess consort, Noah. At the very least, we need to know what kind of photos these are, what happened, and if the articles are true, so the Royal Palace can respond."
"I do not engage with things that are not worth a response."
Noah threw out a concise remark and then looked alternately at the King and Queen.
"Before the marriage, you ignored countless rumors about me under this very principle, didn't you?"
"Is a few lines of text with no photos the same as this?!"
"You investigated thoroughly."
"……."
"You searched Olivia for even the slightest flaw, and concluded there was none, didn't you?"
At that moment, Beatrix, who had been sitting silently, stood up.
"Even if Olivia had some connection with Ansen Wilhelm, that is a past event and there is no reason to be interrogated."
Beatrix watched a flame ignite in Noah's eyes at her words.
"So listen carefully, Noah. I am not trying to shift blame by interrogating Olivia. Trust me. I will protect Olivia, staking my title. However, this is Olivia's matter, and I am suggesting we discuss it together to resolve it."
"……."
He remained silent for a long time.
Noah turned his gaze from his mother to the darkness beyond the window. Rumors would spread like wildfire across a dry field, burning at a terrifying speed, until eventually, no one would know the origin.
"People are not interested in whether this is true or not. They simply need a sensational event to gossip about."
"……."
"Discussion? The end of that discussion would ultimately be for Olivia to explain herself, wouldn't it? Olivia's single word will be exaggerated into a hundred. Every breath, every facial expression will be imbued with meaning and exaggerated, and then she will be asked to explain that too."
She would have to stand in the middle of enemy territory, exposed, with nowhere to hide.
Noah turned his head to look at Leonard and declared,
"You cannot summon Olivia. She will not meet with any newspaper, and she will certainly not offer any explanation. I will take responsibility for all related matters and resolve them. If anything is needed, call me."
"Responsibility? You are not representing the Royal Palace, so what kind of responsibility can you take?"
"If necessary, I will even relinquish my title."
"...What?!"
As Leonard, indignant, roared in anger, Usher approached Noah and said,
"They are releasing Olivia's photos one by one. No one knows which photos are left!"
At that, Noah nodded as if he understood and said,
"I have an idea who might be holding Olivia's photos, so I'm going to go find them now."
"……."
"Your Majesty. I will resolve this within the next 12 hours, starting now."
Noah bowed respectfully to the stunned King and the worried Queen, then turned without hesitation and left the study. There was much to be done on this night while Olivia slept.
As Noah stormed out of the Royal Palace, a man dressed in black work clothes quickly followed him and reported,
"Methone has succeeded in apprehending the man who supplied the newspapers."
The Prince's hunting dog. That was how Meson Loktar was referred to in foreign lands.
He had finally achieved a result befitting his reputation. If only he had been a little faster.
Noah habitually took out a cigarette and commanded,
"Tell them to bring the captured man here."
"Understood."
"You left the door to the thief's den open, didn't you?"
"Of course."
Noah, who was about to light his cigarette, paused. He glanced down at the cigarette, then put it back.
Then, he leaped onto the waiting black horse, pulling the hood of his cloak over his head. Dressed in darkness from head to toe, he spurred the horse on without a moment's hesitation.
By the time Ansen sensed something was wrong, the lock on the door to his bedroom had already been opened.
The moment he saw the door opening silently, his sleep vanished, and a chill ran down his spine. Ansen quickly retrieved the pistol he kept in his nightstand and rose from his seat.
He was aiming his pistol at the slowly opening door and loading it when a voice spoke.
"Put the gun down. It would be troublesome for me if you died here."
The tone was casual, as if speaking to a friend, but the meaning behind the words was fierce.
The rude intruder in the middle of the night quietly closed the door and stepped out, one step at a time, from the pitch-black darkness. The moonlight filtering through the window slowly revealed the intruder's form from the ankles up.
When the intruder calmly revealed himself completely, Ansen felt a sensation like sharp thorns pricking his throat.
"It's been a while, Ansen Wilhelm."
Noah greeted him kindly, his handsome features, like those of a god, curving into a smile. Ansen, lowering his loaded gun, returned the smile.
"Indeed, Your Highness. It has been a long time. This is a most perplexing encounter."
Noah chuckled and dragged a nearby chair over, tossing it near the bed before sitting down elegantly. The coexistence of raw power and elegance seemed natural, like Noah's very identity.
Noah gazed intently at Ansen's face and cut straight to the chase.
"It's you."
"What is?"
"Les Duing."
"Well, I'm not sure what you mean."
"I figured you'd say that, so I'm digging through everything one by one. So, say whatever you want."
Ansen immediately furrowed his brow and sat up.
"Are you saying you are currently searching buildings owned by Wilhelm Corporation without permission?!"
"Uh-huh."
At the nonchalant reply, Ansen's voice rose.
"Can you handle the consequences?!"
Then, the feigned smile vanished from Noah's face. Noah leaned towards Ansen and struck him with his elegant voice.
"You're a thief, so if you were scared, you should have hidden. How dare you crawl out of your place without knowing your station."
"What?"
Noah recited the name he had held in his heart like a spell.
"Oliver."
"……!!"
Seeing Ansen's eyes widen in surprise, Noah sneered.
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
"……."
"I know what you took from Olivia, and why you're doing this."
Just then.
A dull roar was heard, and the firmly closed bedroom door was flung open as if to be smashed.
"Heeeee... Please, save me..."
A sound like an animal's groan echoed eerily from the darkness. Ansen sprang from the bed, aiming his gun towards the darkness.
"What is this?!"
To the enraged and convulsing Ansen, Noah whispered softly,
"Put the gun down. My bodyguards have little patience, much like myself. I don't care where you die, no, I'd prefer you die anywhere, but not now."
The Prince's hunting dogs fully revealed themselves in the darkness. A man with grey eyes that appeared black at first glance, Meson Loktar, the leader of the hunting dogs, held in his hands parts of a printing press that had not yet been discarded and unfinished copies of the Les Duing newspaper.
