198 - Chapter 198
Extracurricular 20
As expected, the place they arrived at wasn't Duke Rosemond's mansion. Ansen looked up at the sleek, modern building with the Herot Magic Dome Company logo emblazoned on it and smiled wryly.
"Figures."
Ansen straightened his suit and confidently strode through the back door as if he were entering his own company.
However, the Hunting dog led him to a deserted staircase instead of the perfectly functional elevator. He was driven up and up the stairs by the Hunting dog. Curses welled up, but he could only grit his teeth in the face of those merciless gray eyes.
Just as he was about to run out of breath, the stairs came to an end. As he stepped through the door opened by the Hunting dog, a wide, magnificent hallway appeared. Gleaming marble floors, golden autumn sunlight streaming through the large windows, oriental vases as tall as a person...
But none of the elements that made up the hallway caught Ansen's eye.
A man leaned casually against the white double doors at the end of the hallway, staring intently at him. He had his hands in his pockets and his chin tilted as he looked at him.
Huff, huff.
The relaxed posture, in stark contrast to his own ragged breathing, made him grit his teeth. Ansen ran a hand through his hair with an irritated gesture and began to stride towards Noah Astrid.
The face that grew closer with each passing moment was as infuriating as ever.
Noah, who had been leaning back leisurely, straightened up and took his hands out of his pockets when Ansen came within ten steps.
The approaching face was quite a sight.
The mouth that had babbled about spring flowers and love was still frivolous, and the eyes that didn't know their place were blazing.
"Long time no see?"
Ansen Wilhelm, who had stopped dead at the curt words, looked the Prince up and down and then laughed. As he let out a hollow laugh, Noah also smiled. His magnificent face was as dazzling as a blooming peony. With that dazzling face, he murmured venomous words.
"Let's skip the 'how have you been,' since neither of us means it."
As even the hollow laughter disappeared from Ansen's face, Noah strode towards him. He stopped a step away and whispered.
"You must have been busy." "..." "Writing. Right?"
Like a dagger suddenly thrust out and stabbing him in the chest, those words pierced Ansen's heart and turned his insides out.
"Is the publication going well? When and where is it coming out?"
Ansen's eyes flashed at the mocking words.
"You dirty bastard."
Methone, who was standing behind Ansen, immediately raised his hand to grab him by the scruff of the neck, but Noah stopped him with a smile.
"Why, is it not going well?"
Ansen thrust his face close to Noah's and snarled.
"You think I'll just stand by?" "..." "I'm not some idiot who's intimidated by your status. How far, how long do you think your precious status can protect you?" "..." "Even now, I can meet with Pulder's political and business figures with a single phone call. I'll expose everything, how the Prince of Herot used his status to shake up Pulder's publishing houses, and even seriously infringed on the freedom of the Pulder people." "Then you should voice your grievances there, why crawl all the way here."
The voice that had been growing louder was trampled by Noah's quiet words.
"Freedom this, status that. You should resolve it there, why take the time and spend the money to come all the way here..."
Noah's expression changed so much that it made his previous smile seem meaningless. His raw expression was full of disgust and contempt.
"I thought you just didn't know your place, but you're a shameless bastard who doesn't know shame or decency. How dare you try to meet Olivia?"
A sneering smile formed on Ansen's face, which had faltered for a moment.
Figures.
There's no way you've changed.
Poor Olivia. She must still be trapped inside the hypocrite's castle. Olivia probably doesn't know that I came here, or that I wrote such a thing. Because the vile hypocrite in front of me is thoroughly blinding her.
"Why, can't I?"
The Prince's face, which was turning expressionless, was quite a sight.
"Do you know why I'm trying to publish that piece?"
Ansen intended to push Noah as far as he could. If he could shake him down with money, he wanted to shake him down no matter how much it cost.
He was putting his life on the line, but there was nowhere else to retreat.
"You stole my piece, didn't you? If you read it, you should know, right?" "..." "It's a letter. From me to Olivia."
After spitting out the words inside, his breathing was ragged.
He was reminded of the night he was mercilessly beaten by Noah. The thug, enraged to the point of madness, would trample him mercilessly again this time. Then he would get the value for that as well. Very thoroughly.
Ansen glared at Noah with the determination to die.
He expected a fist to fly at any moment, but Noah stared at Ansen with his dark pupils as if to swallow him whole, then raised his head to look at the ceiling. The thick blood vessels on his neck pulsed. Noah, who had been looking at the ceiling, lowered his head to look at the floor, then rubbed his forehead with his hand and let out a thin laugh.
Black impulses raged inside a thin, fragile membrane that seemed about to break. Noah endured it by putting his hands in his pockets.
"Okay. Then go meet her." "...What?"
Ansen asked back a beat late at the unexpected words. Noah's eyes, which had been looking at the floor, slowly rose.
The moment his eyes met Noah's, Ansen sensed that something was wrong.
Meet who? You're allowing me and Olivia to meet?
"Olivia is waiting." "..." "The letter you wanted to deliver so much."
His beautiful eyes curved into a long smile.
"Try handing it over yourself."
The magnificent white double doors opened without a sound. Ansen, who had shouted so confidently that he would meet Olivia, crossed the door slowly, like a person who could hardly take a step.
The top floor of Herot Magic Dome Company.
Ansen had assumed that it was Noah Astrid's office. It was so obvious that he didn't even doubt it.
But it wasn't Noah's office.
Beyond the rows of tall windows, the Herrington sea stretched out. Herot was famous for its bad weather, but today it was clear without a single cloud. The blue sky and the sea that touched it were like a mirror reflecting the sky.
Within the frame of the window, the blue horizon, and the three white Magic Domes drawing a vertical line on it, were like an abstract painting.
Below the window that held the Magic Dome, was the seat of the person in charge of this place.
Ansen looked at the woman sitting at the huge desk.
This was Olivia's office.
She seemed to be reviewing documents. Whether she knew he had entered or not, her calm gaze was only on the documents.
As he blankly stared at Olivia, a woman who appeared to be a secretary approached. Then, with a businesslike attitude, she guided him. A cup of coffee was already prepared at the seat he was guided to.
Coffee that seemed to have cooled down.
He had a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen this scene somewhere. But he couldn't remember where he had seen it, so he sat on the sofa and just stared at the coffee in the cup.
His mind went blank, and he couldn't figure out what to say or how to say it.
All the way to Herot, he had been thinking about how to get money from the Prince. There were many scenarios. No matter how the Prince reacted, he was confident that he could extort money. The worst case scenario was just death, so there was nothing to fear.
But the worst case scenario wasn't death.
When Ansen lifted his eyes from the smooth surface of the black coffee, he met eyes as dark as the color of the coffee.
"..." "..."
Everything faded into the background.
The jet-black eyes, submerged in silence, evoked the cold and dry interior of a winter cathedral.
The interior of a winter cathedral where cold and desolate winds seeped through the gaps in the stone walls worn by time. A place where the cold never disappeared no matter how much the fireplace was lit.
Olivia's black eyes, which he had met after several years, even contained the quiet and desolate atmosphere of an old cathedral.
Olivia stared intently at Ansen, who couldn't utter a single word, and took a sip of the cold coffee.
What should I say?
When she first saw Ansen's piece, it was as if a white flame had ignited in her head. It was a feeling of being so white and hot that she couldn't see ahead.
Spring flowers, love, how could you spout such words.
Until the very end, how could you do that.
