181 - Chapter 181
Extracurricular 3
Usher and Olivia had already been the subjects of thousands of commemorative photos, but neither of them showed any sign of it and obediently followed the King's words. When the King and Queen of Holland stood side by side, Usher naturally went to the King's side, and Olivia went to the Queen Consort's side.
"Then, I'll take the picture!"
As the photographer announced in a clear voice, the four of them simultaneously wore gentle smiles.
The next moment, flash! The flash went off.
And after a while.
"No... I'm here, and so is His Highness, the Crown Prince of Herot..."
Usher simply shrugged at the King of Holland's dumbfounded murmur.
"It's not just Your Majesty who experiences this, so I hope you don't take it too personally."
The King's gaze flicked to Usher and then back to Olivia.
Newspapers pay a lot of sponsorship money to the royal family to be invited to such events. Because it was a position barely won with huge donations, the reporters' focus naturally turned to the 'most profitable' thing. And, of course, the 'most profitable' thing was related to The Princess of Herod.
Dozens of reporters surrounded Olivia, moving their pens as if they didn't want to miss a single word she said. And the Queen Consort of Holland was also sitting next to Olivia, her eyes sparkling.
"No, why is the Queen Consort over there doing that..." "It will be packaged nicely, so don't worry."
When the King looked at Usher as if possessed, Usher calmly said, counting the number of reporters.
"But isn't it better here? At least it's not blinding. It seems like there are a lot more reporters than you told me in advance." "......" "I clearly asked you to adjust the number of reporters and photographers when I was parading through the streets... Well, I guess it would have been a little difficult to adjust everything one by one." "Ahem."
Usher Astrid was a person who hit the nail on the head in a different way from his father, King Leonard. He even thought that King Leonard, who would rather say what was on his mind bluntly, was more comfortable. Usher chuckled and took a sip of the wine in his hand.
"It'll be similar tomorrow, won't it?"
Since they received something, they can't take it back.
Usher Astrid's gentle cynicism was exactly like his father. When the King of Holland frowned, Usher smiled a little more gently.
"I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow's parade. And the customs treaty that will follow." "Ahem. Of course, I know."
The King of Holland turned his gaze from the suddenly awkward Usher to Olivia. Then, naturally, the Queen Consort came into view.
Because of the label of being an actress, she had not been able to adapt to aristocratic society at all, and she had envied Princess Olivia, who was succeeding as a commoner. The King's words that he was scrapbooking photos in the newspaper were not false.
Was it because she actually met the person she had only seen in photos? The Queen Consort's expression and actions were a bit excessive. She was stuck next to Olivia like a person in love, endlessly looking at her.
The worried King was about to give a hint to his secretary next to him.
"You don't have to worry, Your Majesty." "......?" "To put it more bluntly, Princess Olivia will take care of the packaging herself. There will be no malicious articles about Her Majesty the Queen Consort."
The King looked at Usher with wide eyes, but he didn't add anything more. Instead, he simply turned his gaze to Olivia, who was surrounded by reporters, and the King also turned his eyes following his gaze.
Olivia's expression suddenly turned cold as she continued to answer questions from reporters. The reporters paused at the change in Olivia, who had been consistently kind. Olivia's cold gaze was on the chest of the reporter in front of her.
"Um... what's wrong?"
When the reporter asked cautiously, Olivia took a low breath and said in a firm tone.
"I'm sorry, but I respectfully decline your question." "...Yes?!"
From the reporter's point of view, who had been waiting for the interview moment, it was like a bolt from the blue.
"C-can I ask why?" "I'm very sorry for you who have been waiting for the interview, but I have repeatedly said that I will not interview newspapers that have betrayed my trust." "...T-trust?" "The conditions for my interview are always the same."
At that moment, Astrid's black lion revealed its teeth.
"Never write about my husband's private life." "......" "But your newspaper broke its promise. I still don't understand how the pet name between my husband and I is a newspaper article. You wouldn't call that 'the right to know', would you?"
Olivia showed no mercy when it came to Noah. Currently, Noah Astrid's name has completely disappeared from newspapers in Herot as well as the Norfolk Continent. It was all thanks to Olivia standing like a wall and taking away the attention.
Of course, it wouldn't have worked if she didn't have the power. But who is Olivia now? There was no media anywhere on the continent that could arbitrarily treat the head of Magic Dome, who held enormous wealth and power in both hands.
The reporter bowed his head, cursing the colleague who wrote such an article.
"I'm sorry." "It's not something I should be apologizing to you for. I'm sorry for not giving you an answer for your wait."
He was overwhelmed by the kind but clear tone. The sight of him stepping back with tears in his eyes was firmly etched in the minds of everyone who had gathered.
Meanwhile, Olivia glanced at the Queen Consort of Holland, who was looking at her with such shining eyes that it was burdensome. She was worried because there were so many rumors about her background.
After a moment of contemplation, Olivia turned her body completely towards the Queen Consort and smiled brightly at her. Then the Queen Consort smiled brightly as if she had been waiting for it, and Olivia took the Queen Consort's hand and said in a rather loud voice.
"I'm so excited and happy that Her Majesty the Queen Consort is looking at me so warmly. You don't know how happy I am to be able to see Her Majesty the Queen Consort on this tour." "Oh... really?" "Of course."
Then, she slowly looked around at the reporters who were flashing their cameras and said.
"You'll write about the pure intentions purely, right?"
The reporters who met her eyes nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, of course!" "You two look really good together!"
Astrid's black lion smiled brightly at the reporters' noisy shouts.
Olivia glanced at Usher, who was sitting across from her in the carriage. He looked very tired, leaning his back and the back of his head and letting out a languid sigh.
"The tour is not an easy task."
At Olivia's words, Usher nodded and took off his gloves, which felt stuffy.
"That's why His Majesty is trying so hard to send me." "I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Your Highness."
When Usher closed his eyes and chuckled, Olivia also laughed and added.
"Of course, if I told His Majesty, he would say, 'Are you saying something obvious?'"
Usher's laughter grew louder. Olivia, who was laughing with him, took off her gloves and wiped her hands with a prepared wet towel, then suddenly said.
"I have a favor to ask."
When Usher opened his languid eyes, the two people's eyes met. Olivia looked at Usher's shaded eyes and carefully opened her mouth.
"About that earlier. Could you take measures to prevent it from being published in the newspaper?"
Usher, who had been silent for a moment at Olivia's request, tilted his head as if he knew everything and asked back.
"Why? Are you worried Noah will find out?"
Then Olivia blinked a couple of times and turned her head to look out the window. It was nothing special, but she felt embarrassed.
Olivia, seen up close, was by no means an easy person. The only person who showed such a reaction was Noah Astrid.
"I was wondering if I should give a hint to the reporters earlier..."
She had spoken about the Queen Consort of Holland first. In such a situation, warning them not to publish another article could be seen as an abuse of power.
Olivia looked back at Usher and continued.
