Episode 172. Essence
“So Princess consort Herot made the Magic Dome? Does that make sense?”
“What’s so unbelievable? It’s information Princess Marguerite leaked.”
“The names are similar too. Olivia, Oliver.”
The reporters, gathered in front of the courthouse and chatting in small groups, pulled out their notepads as they saw a carriage entering through the main gate.
“Hey, hey! Camera ready, ready!”
Amidst a palpable sense of tension, one photographer muttered,
“Prince Noah came with her, right?”
“Probably.”
But contrary to their expectations, the ones who opened the carriage door and stepped out were a man and woman who looked like lawyers, and the Princess consort.
The Princess consort, dressed in a jet-black suit, slowly raised her head and looked up at the magnificent courthouse. The photographers snapped pictures like mad, flashes erupting from all directions.
Jonan, who had been ordered not to stop the reporters from taking photos today, merely watched the scene.
Olivia, who had been looking up at the courthouse, lowered her gaze and met the lights head-on. She began to ascend the courthouse steps with an unruffled demeanor, as if those flashes were nothing.
The reporters had many questions, but they dared not ask, intimidated by the Princess consort’s strangely calm and composed attitude.
Yes, she was like a lioness leisurely navigating through a pack of hyenas. Two burly bodyguards and the lawyer couple followed behind her.
As the reporters, who had blankly watched Olivia pass by, regained their senses, she had already reached the top of the stairs.
“Duchess Rosemond!”
One reporter, mustering courage, called out to Olivia.
Olivia, stopped at the top of the stairs, the highest point, looked down. The reporter raised his hand as if to indicate he had called her and asked,
“You are royalty, why are you not wearing a hat?”
She had inwardly expected a direct question like, ‘Did you design the Magic Dome?’ but the reporter’s question was entirely different.
Olivia gazed down at him and replied lightly,
“This is the second time I’ve climbed these stairs today. The first time I climbed them, I was Olivia, and now, I am simply Olivia. While the environment surrounding me is not entirely the same as then, my essence remains the same.”
“……”
“And the rights I intend to claim have not changed either. So, aren’t you curious?”
Olivia turned her head to look at the massive courthouse.
“Whether Pulder Court’s answer to me will be the same as it was then, or different.”
The glint in her dark eyes shone brighter than the midday sun.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
While Olivia was at the courthouse, Noah entered Olivia’s house.
The first impression of this house was that it was too inadequate to even protect Olivia properly, but upon entering, it was quite cozy.
Sunlight streamed deeply into every corner of the house, which was filled not with grand masterpieces, but with delicate crocheted lace and paintings drawn with clumsy hands.
Noah approached a framed picture on a small cabinet. The painting depicted a vast field with small flowers blooming. The painting, with a smiling young Olivia, seemed to contain her parents and grandparents.
A girl who lost both parents and was left with her grandmother.
You who had to overcome a world that denied you, all alone.
Noah turned his head, looked down the hallway, and walked on. With each step, he felt as if he were entering her life.
Noah headed straight for the bookshelf. He pulled out a stack of books and opened one.
It was a diary.
He couldn’t bring himself to read it, so he closed it and took out another book. Fortunately, it was a textbook.
The textbook was filled with an overwhelming amount of notes. Was this one book like this? No. All textbooks, regardless of grade or subject, were the same.
Then, he encountered a page that was bumpy, as if water had been spilled and dried on it. Noah read the tiny inscription written in the corner.
“Kites fly high in headwinds. This pain cannot kill me; it will only make me stronger.”
Noah quietly looked at the words and then checked the book’s cover.
Roughly calculating, Olivia would have been around twelve when she used this textbook.
“Twelve.”
What was he doing at that age?
Wasn’t he playing in the vineyards with Usher?
Noah felt a lump in his throat and opened another book. This one had quite a lot of things tucked inside. As he quickly picked up papers that were falling to the floor, Noah realized they were all awards.
“Ha… really……”
He could almost see Olivia, who, knowing everyone denied her, never gave up.
And amidst them, Noah discovered an unexpected letter. He tried to ignore it, thinking it was from Olivia, but his gaze was inevitably drawn to it. The recipient of the letter was none other than Susanna Liberty.
[To my children in heaven, James and Sylvia.]
Noah knew those names now.
With a heavy heart, he read the letter.
[…I want to raise Olivia to be someone who stands as firmly on her own as I am, but seeing her in such pain, I always worry if my choice was wise. Am I doing well, James, Sylvia?]
His grandmother seemed to have been constantly tormented.
[But still, Olivia must live a different life than mine. Unlike me, who was deprived of everything due to lack of education, she will surely live a free life. A life where she does what she wants, goes where she wants, and fully utilizes her abilities.]
“……”
[That is why I gave her the new name, Liberty.]
“Liberty… freedom.”
Noah felt as if someone were embracing his shoulder. As if possessed, he turned his head and looked at the sofa by the window, and he seemed to hear a stern voice of an old lady.
‘Child. How could you presume to define my granddaughter’s happiness as you pleased, after how I raised her.’
He had presumed to define her past, acted as if he understood her deficiencies, and thus offered selfish love.
Tears fell down his cheeks, soaking his clothes.
Therefore, in the end, it would be right to apologize not only to Olivia but also to her grandmother.
“I’m sorry……”
Then, he thought of Olivia.
What must she be feeling today?
Where would she go, and whom would she want to meet?
Noah wiped the tears from his cheeks and stood up. Without hesitation, he headed somewhere.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Filing a constitutional petition was incredibly simple. The official in charge ran out to meet Olivia before she even entered the civil service office and guided her to a VIP room that seemed prepared for her.
Somehow, the documents related to the constitutional petition were neatly prepared. She only had to fill in the relevant details.
A high-ranking court official personally came to greet her.
Olivia exchanged mechanical greetings with him and then observed the scene with the detached perspective of an outsider.
What had changed from the past?
Something very significant had changed, yet, at the same time, the most important thing remained unchanged.
Olivia felt a pang of sadness for some reason.
She filed the petition and left the courthouse without speaking a single word, except for the greetings.
As if sensing her somber mood, even the reporters, who had swarmed like bees, could not bring themselves to ask her questions.
Olivia boarded the carriage.
“Shall we go home, Her Highness?” Jonan asked before closing the door. But Olivia could not answer easily.
Her heart was tangled like a ball of yarn.
After a long moment, Olivia slowly opened her mouth.
“No… to the church in Sector 2, on the outskirts of Pulder.”
As Jonan nodded and stepped aside, Rick Winford, who was supposed to have parted ways with her at the courthouse, took out a document from his bag and handed it to her.
“Princess Marguerite asked me to give this to Her Highness. She said not to think it’s too late, as she waited for your recovery. I will see you again tomorrow.”
“Thank you. See you tomorrow.”
As the carriage door closed, Olivia turned over the first page of the document.
“……”
Her expression remained unchanged. She simply read through the documents, page by page.
Finally, when she finished reading all the documents, Olivia saw the back of a young girl leaving the school grounds, looking dejected.
Her smooth face, devoid of any emotion, contorted horribly.
The lava-like rage buried deep in her chest erupted.
“Ansen… you went this far to…!”
It was a life of utter rejection. The reason for rejection was so simple. Her efforts, made with all her might, were so futile in the face of that simple reason.
And today, because the reason for rejection had disappeared, she received such extreme treatment.
No matter how unfair the world was, this was wrong. This shouldn’t be happening.
Olivia crumpled the documents she held in her hand.
Upon arriving at the church, Olivia kicked open the carriage door.
She couldn’t run due to her abdomen, but she moved at the fastest possible speed, passing the church and heading towards the cemetery.
Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma!!
She climbed the cemetery hill with all her might, fueled by desperation, and stopped in front of her parents’ tombstone.
“……!”
Someone unexpected was kneeling there.
Sensing her presence, Noah turned his head and saw her.
The moment their jewel-like eyes met, the sorrow she had suppressed burst forth uncontrollably. Olivia buried her face in her palms and sobbed.
Seeing her like this, Noah sprang up and rushed over. He then pulled Olivia into a tight embrace.
“Olivia! What’s wrong, what happened?!”
Noah gently stroked Olivia’s dry back.
“Noah, Noah……”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Do I seem like a different person to you than I was before marrying you?”
Noah pulled away and stared at her, then smiled. He gently stroked her cheek and said,
“I loved you because you are Olivia.”
Olivia stared blankly at Noah, then wiped her face. She then turned her head to look at her parents’ tombstone and said,
“Why are you here like this?”
Noah quietly gazed at Olivia’s profile. Sunlight reflected on the teardrops clinging to the tips of her eyelashes.
“I’m sorry.”
For hurting you in the name of love.
“Stop saying that now.”
When Olivia turned her head, Noah was looking at her parents’ tombstone.
“I came to apologize to them too.”
For presuming to dictate your life as I pleased.
A teardrop formed at the tip of Noah’s long eyelashes. Olivia looked at the transparent drop and raised her hand to wipe his cheek.
His tears stained her fingertips. As the tears that wet her fingers spread to her heart, strangely, the raging anger and sorrow seemed to gradually subside.
The two looked at each other.
Spring sunlight silently crept between them as they gazed at each other with tear-filled eyes.
