Chapter 174. Astrid’s Black Lion (2)
She spat out the fierce words with a monotonous, icy expression.
A low growl seemed to emanate.
Olivia presented a document to Ansen. Ansen gazed at it blankly before opening it with a heavy hand.
What lay within the thin paper was something too heavy to hold with both hands. Everything contained on the paper was a list of the sins he had committed against Olivia, and Olivia's pain.
Olivia asked softly, her voice low and muffled.
“What did you want me to do?”
“Olivia…!”
As Ansen called her name familiarly, Jonan sharply rebuked him.
“How dare you carelessly utter the name of the Princess consort!”
The tableware trembled slightly at the roar-like shout.
“Jonan, that’s enough.”
Jonan reluctantly stepped back at Olivia's dissuasion, but not without glaring at Ansen.
“Tell me. What did you want me to do that made you interfere with everything I did, at every turn?”
“……”
Olivia laughed a long, drawn-out laugh at the silent Ansen.
“In the end, you wanted to place the yoke named Oliver around my neck and manipulate me as you pleased. Isn’t that right?”
You must have watched, one by one, how much I suffered.
Olivia spoke honestly, enduring the pain that churned in her gut.
“You were once a person I was very grateful to.”
Ansen’s eyes turned a burning red at Olivia’s words.
The past where they had laughed and put their heads together. Ansen was once her colleague, her friend.
“While realizing the Magic Dome with you, I felt happy for the first time in a long while.”
A tiny seed of hope stirred within Ansen’s chest. Yes, there was such a time. A simple yet happy time when they put their heads together every day, filled with hope.
Unfortunately, Ansen realized at that moment that these faded, sepia-toned moments were strangely clearer than any brilliant memory.
And that he himself was the one who had burned those affectionate photographs.
Ansen gathered all the strength in his body and managed to say,
“Please, just one more chance…”
“What chance?”
“The offer I made before… if your proposal to join Wilhelm Corporation is still valid, I will give you the position of co-CEO. Wilhelm Corporation already has the facilities and personnel in place, so becoming co-CEO wouldn’t be a bad thing for you. Of course, I will also divide the shares in half.”
This was the best he could do for now.
However, Olivia did not give his last hope even a moment’s consideration.
“I don’t want to, CEO Wilhelm.”
It was a simple and light refusal.
Just as he had done to Olivia in the past.
Ansen was about to say something, but Olivia spoke first.
“Not only do I not want to be involved with you in any way any longer, but I have also made a decision.”
“A decision…?”
Olivia slowly looked around the drawing-room. The drawing-room was just as she remembered. Even if the small decorations had changed, the essence remained the same.
The Ansen before her was the same, and so was Olivia herself.
Looking at Ansen, Olivia declared,
“I have decided to become an influential person.”
“……”
“And so, I have decided to throw a stone at this unfair world where Olivia Liberty is not, but Olivia Rosemond Astrid is.”
“……”
“Ansen, watch closely. I haven’t changed. If anything has changed… it’s only the way you look at me.”
It was the moment Ansen was stammering.
Bang!
Suddenly, the flash of a camera exploded, and a startled Ansen turned his head towards the camera.
Bang!
“What, what are you…!”
“Since you arbitrarily made me a mistress, I suppose I have to offer an explanation, don’t I?”
Olivia said gently and rose from her seat. Then, she elegantly took out a business card from her bag and placed it on the table.
“I request the return of unpaid royalties. This is my lawyer’s business card. If they are not returned properly, I intend to file a lawsuit, but I would prefer it if this could be handled without any fuss.”
As she turned away with a composed demeanor, Ansen could not bring himself to stop her.
She was someone he thought he could hold in his hand and manipulate…
Had she changed, or had his gaze changed?
Ansen dared not even follow her out.
Olivia, who had left the drawing-room, walked across the familiar hotel corridor. After walking for a long time down the corridor that stretched out like an arcade, she stopped as she spotted a familiar woman at the end of the hallway.
A lavishly adorned noblewoman was looking at her with an indescribable expression.
“It’s been a while, Mrs. Wilhelm.”
Mrs. Wilhelm’s eyes trembled violently. But she remained silent, as if she could not bring herself to address Olivia respectfully.
As Jonan stirred, Olivia lightly restrained him and smiled softly.
“Do you believe me now? That I had something to discuss here with your son?”
At this, Mrs. Wilhelm bristled and raised her voice.
“The Magic Dome belongs solely to Ansen!”
“We shall see if that is indeed the case.”
“I cannot accept that!”
Olivia calmly replied to Mrs. Wilhelm’s tearful cry.
“Your acceptance is not necessary.”
“……”
Olivia turned leisurely, then brushed past her, offering a final farewell.
“I wish you well, Madam. It seems we will not meet again.”
The Princess consort, who had been like a lion, disappeared, and Mrs. Wilhelm eventually collapsed to the floor, trembling.
However, there was not a single person to help her up.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Noah squinted and looked up at the dazzling, almost blinding sunlight of Pulder. Then, he shifted his gaze to the envelope in his hand.
“How badly did Ansen Wilhelm mistreat the key technical staff for it to take less than a day to persuade so many of them? Even though the trial isn’t over yet!”
“I haven’t persuaded everyone yet. Half of them asked for time to think. Oh, and of course, the half who agreed to persuasion are contingent on winning the trial.”
“Ah, but half is still something.”
Noah had decided to bring the key technical staff of Wilhelm Corporation to Herot. And so, he had persuaded them; half readily agreed on the spot, and the other half deferred their answer.
The reason Noah was able to meet with them so quickly was that they had formed a retiree solidarity.
As Methone murmured in admiration, Noah shrugged.
“He probably thought he’d monopolize them his whole life. I’m just glad it’s convenient for me.”
Since Olivia had said she would build Herot’s Magic Dome, his task was clear. As clear as the bright sunlight shining on him now.
“Jonan followed, right?”
“Yes. I told him not to hold back if they talked nonsense. He said not to worry.”
Noah had rescinded his order for Olivia’s every move to be reported. Therefore, he would not hear about what had happened.
Noah loitered in front of his house.
Perhaps because it was unusually warm, a few wisteria blossoms had bloomed out of season. Noah sat down on a low chair for a moment. Although it was the hardest chair in the world, it wasn’t as bad as it used to be.
Noah rested his elbows on his knees, stretched his legs out, and sat, watching only the direction from which Olivia would arrive.
Just then, Margo, who had glimpsed him through the open window, shouted,
“This is ridiculous! What are you doing there? Who knows when Olivia will arrive!”
She herself had rushed over, concerned by the news that Olivia was meeting Ansen.
“Yes, yes.”
Noah replied perfunctorily, and Margo’s sigh of exasperation was like a response.
Noah stood up from the chair, sat down, and paced repeatedly. Yet, he did not grow bored.
Then, it was when even Methone, who had been guarding his side, had gone somewhere.
He saw a carriage approaching from afar, kicking up dust.
A smile flickered across Noah’s lips. He unnecessarily adjusted his clothes and tidied his hair. As the carriage finally arrived in front of the house, he rushed to it and opened the door himself.
And he extended his hand to the woman who filled his world.
Olivia’s eyes widened, then she smiled and took his hand, stepping out of the carriage.
“Did you smash it to pieces?”
To his playful question, Olivia glanced at Jonan and replied,
“Ask Jonan.”
“I’ve decided not to do that anymore.”
Still, when Olivia remained silent, Noah looked at Jonan. Jonan stretched his lips into a long smile and gave a thumbs-up.
Noah’s face became one of immense pride.
“She was definitely a rabbit, but she’s become a lion.”
He casually offered the envelope he was holding to Olivia, who was giving him a coy look.
“What is this?”
“A gift.”
“A gift?”
As Olivia stopped and tried to open it, Noah gently blocked her hand.
“Huh? You said it was a gift.”
When Olivia tilted her head and looked up at him, Noah winked like a fox determined to seduce her and said,
“A conditional gift.”
“Conditional?”
“Cancel your statement about wanting a divorce.”
Even while winking, his heart was pounding, but the answer that came out was strange.
“Divorce her, Olivia!”
At the thunderous voice, the couple’s faces turned simultaneously. Margo stood at the entrance, hands on her hips, watching them.
“If it’s a gift, it’s a gift, what kind of condition is that! Divorce her! I’ll give you a gift twice as good as that one!”
Noah’s face contorted.
“Divorce her!”
“Aunt!!”
Noah’s veins bulged, but for some reason, Olivia burst into laughter.
As she chuckled, both Margo and Noah looked at her. At that moment, Mrs. Betty shouted from beyond the window.
“Your Highness~! Please come in and eat~! Princess, Your Highness, Lord Methone, Lord Jonon! Everyone, please come in! It’ll get cold!”
Olivia smiled and pulled Noah’s hand, which she was holding.
“Let’s go!”
Noah quickly followed her and whispered,
“Just open it. It’s a gift, a gift.”
“I know.”
“But let’s cancel that, okay? If you like it after you see it, cancel it, alright?”
“Don’t cancel it!! Divorce her!!”
“Ah, really, Aunt!!”
Noah’s angry shout, Margo’s nagging, and Olivia’s laughter filled the small, old house.
“Noah, I’m sorry for saying that. I didn’t mean it.”
At Olivia’s small whisper, Noah’s laughter finally spread too.
It was an afternoon when clear, bright sunlight warmly cast itself upon the small house, and a single, out-of-season wisteria blossom peeked out.
