Chapter 26
Chapter 26: A Splendid Substitute
Flash! Flash!
Noah, enduring the blinding camera flashes, finally shielded his eyes with his hand. The reporters, who had been enthusiastically snapping photos, immediately stopped and stared at him.
The reporter conducting the interview beside him gave a troubled smile and glanced at him cautiously.
"Your Highness?"
Noah lowered his hand and slowly looked at the reporter. The reporter, intimidated by the profound weariness in the prince's eyes, couldn't meet his gaze and lowered his own.
Noah sighed and took out his pocket watch to check the time. It had already been two hours since this tedious interview began.
"Let's wrap it up here."
The royal family's golden boy had been acting strange lately.
He had never been particularly cooperative with interviews, but in the past year, he had become even less so.
The reporter, feeling desperate, shifted in his seat and quickly asked, "Just one more question, please. Is your fundamental reason for retiring from the navy due to managing Norfolk Investment Company, which you are currently operating?"
Noah chuckled at the question.
Was this some kind of hearing?
Noah stood up and stared down at him. The reporter, suddenly aware of his considerable physique, swallowed nervously.
Noah, feeling disgusted by the reporter's impudent question, spat out each word as if chewing them.
"I've stated in numerous interviews that I retired because my mandatory service period as a royal had ended. It's even in today's newspaper, so please check it."
"H-However, the suddenness of your retirement has caused considerable concern among the kingdom's citizens. Shouldn't you consider their worries? If Your Highness, the navy's greatest asset, resigns..."
Noah, who had been about to walk around the sofa and leave, finally stopped and turned back.
Now he wasn't just trying to interview him, but to lecture him.
Noah had no patience for that.
"Herot seems greatly concerned about the nation's defense, but rest assured, our defense won't crumble just because I'm gone."
With that, he turned sharply and strode away.
The reporter, unable to utter another word to the prince, slumped his shoulders and wore a crestfallen expression.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Isabel entered the polo club with her brother, Matt.
Isabel Seymour, who had become a rising star in society since her debut last season, had rejected all the love letters and proposals and suddenly started frequenting the polo club.
When Isabel appeared at the polo club, a social venue primarily for male aristocrats, everyone initially looked at her with puzzled expressions. However, soon after, aristocratic young ladies who had heard the rumors began to visit the polo club with their male family members.
The polo club wasn't a secret place, and there was certainly no rule prohibiting women from entering.
The men seemed to welcome the women's presence, so the polo club gatherings had become a trend over the past year.
When Isabel entered, several young ladies were already gathered, chatting.
"Miss Seymour!"
One young lady, looking delighted, rushed towards her, and the other young ladies surrounded Isabel.
With her red hair cascading down to her waist and her light blue eyes sparkling, Isabel was a vibrant and charming lady. Not only the young ladies but also the young gentlemen were eyeing her with admiration.
"It's been a while."
"We've been waiting for you. Come over here."
However, the person Isabel was waiting for was nowhere to be seen.
A young lady nearby whispered, "He hasn't arrived yet."
"How do you know who I'm waiting for?"
"Rumor has it that the prince is deeply in love, Miss Seymour. I envy you."
At the young lady's words, Isabel smiled shyly and covered her mouth with her hand.
Rumors about who Prince Noah was dating had always been rampant. So much so that even a fleeting glance could spark a rumor.
However, this time it was different.
Firstly, the rumored partner was Isabel Seymour.
"Oh, I wonder when he'll arrive."
How long had they been exchanging meaningless pleasantries while she smoothed out her beautifully tailored dark blue dress?
The heavy black door opened, and a different atmosphere washed over her. Even without looking, she could sense that he had arrived.
Isabel took a breath and carefully counted the approaching footsteps, as if engraving them in her mind. After meticulously adjusting every strand of her hair, she looked up, only to see him passing by her indifferently.
A black frock coat that perfectly accentuated his slender figure, flawless strides as if measured with a ruler, swept-back blond hair, and a face with razor-sharp features.
Noah Astrid had arrived.
The musk scent he wore in winter brushed against her nose with a gentle breeze.
Isabel cautiously followed him, and people glanced at Isabel and subtly moved away.
Meanwhile, Noah took off his coat, casually draped it over the back of the sofa, and leaned back languidly. Isabel, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, brought him the cocktail he always ordered.
Unfazed by the attention she was receiving.
Isabel smiled, her eyes crinkling prettily.
"It's been a while, Your Highness."
Noah took the cocktail from her.
Late last year, she had made a rather audacious proposal.
"Your Highness, would you like to make a deal with me? It's not difficult. Just sit at the same table as me at the polo club."
Noah, taken aback by the proposal, tilted his head and chuckled.
"A deal? Why?"
"I don't want to be married off like merchandise in the marriage market. There's someone who has recently proposed to me, and I can't seem to shake him off. If rumors spread that there's something between you and me, he'll back off."
Isabel lied, even though there was no such person. She knew that the indifferent prince wouldn't bother to verify such things.
"What do I gain from this?"
"Aren't you also under pressure to marry, Your Highness? If rumors spread about us, you'll have some peace for that period. I'll be your shield."
This was a scheme devised by Mrs. Jubeun, who had accurately assessed Noah's weariness.
"I may be fine with it, but your reputation could be tarnished. I won't be concerned about that."
Indeed. He looked like he wouldn't care at all.
"Don't worry about my reputation. I'll take care of it myself."
Noah stared intently into Isabel's eyes, as if trying to gauge her intentions, and after a moment of silence, he casually accepted her proposal. Well, similar rumors circulated every day anyway.
"As long as you don't involve me in any way regarding your reputation... it wouldn't be so bad."
If Mrs. Seymour had heard this, she would have grabbed Isabel by the hair and yelled, "He's not the one!"
"But I have one condition."
"Speak."
"I will definitely get married within two years, so please don't have your wedding before me."
Because I will definitely marry you within two years.
"You don't want to be the woman who was dumped?"
"Yes."
She was planning to raise her value by spreading rumors with the prince, but if she became the woman who was dumped, her value would decrease instead?
Noah found her calculation quite amusing and nonchalantly agreed.
"Very well."
And so, the two shared the same table occasionally under a secret agreement. The rumors had already spread so far that even the Queen Consort had asked him about his relationship with Isabel.
There were so many people who were interested in other people's lives.
She shared the same table but didn't bother him, and she didn't want anything more than that.
She would simply bring him the two cocktails he always drank or, occasionally, fetch his mallet before a polo match. Noah only had to receive them.
So, from Noah's perspective, this agreement was very convenient.
"Lady Seymour, remember this well. Prince Noah is a man who is weary of life. He despises anything bothersome. Give him the impression that you are comfortable to be around. Forget about romance. He's not that kind of man. Approach him as if you're dating after marriage. Understood?"
Whether Isabel was sitting across from him or not, whether dozens of eyes were on them or not, Noah leaned back languidly as he always did, drank just the amount of cocktail he needed, and then stood up neatly.
Then, he simply nodded to Isabel and left without looking back.
That heartlessness made her feel inexplicably sad, but it also gave her the confidence that she could win him over.
Yes. She just had to marry him and make him fall in love.
The important thing was that she would have that man.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
The carriage carrying Noah crossed the dark Herolington city.
Isabel Seymour.
Not a bad choice. Give what you have to give, take what you have to take. Neat.
Certainly, since the rumors had spread, the King's nagging about marriage had decreased.
_'The Seymour family? ...Well, they have a lot of money, but they're not a particularly good family. Oh well...'
He wasn't the crown prince, nor was she a princess with value in the marriage market, just a prince's rumor, so the King lost interest at that point.
"Either way, get married within two years. I won't say anything more."
But who would he marry within two years? He had a feeling that he might end up marrying Isabel Seymour.
"Isabel Seymour..."
It wouldn't be tiring. She wasn't a woman who would bother him.
Just then, the carriage was passing near Central Park, and the dazzling Golden Lion Statue, as Noah called it, could be seen a few blocks away.
Noah suddenly took out the flashlight from his inside jacket pocket.
He thought he would forget her name in a year, but perhaps because the name was common, or perhaps because of this object, he hadn't forgotten it. Or maybe it was because of Lucy.
"Olivia Liberty..."
Liberty... Freedom...
Noah put the flashlight back in his jacket and chuckled.
That's right. Olivia had brought him freedom.
