Chapter 30
Episode 30: The Contract with Isabel Seymour
The playboys, who were just about to start a Polo game, stared at Noah with puzzled faces at his sudden appearance.
Noah casually loosened his glove buttons and asked abruptly, "Are we playing a game?"
"Oh! Looks like you've found some time for once?"
Before even reaching the locker room, Noah had already taken off his jacket and instinctively held it out to his right, expecting a servant to approach and take it.
"Have my horses prepared."
"Yes, I'll pass it on."
Suddenly, Noah, who had been striding forward, stopped abruptly and turned his head.
He had naturally assumed it would be a servant, but instead, a woman with red hair stood there, holding his clothes and gloves, smiling brightly.
It was Isabel.
Before he could say anything, she handed Noah's clothes and gloves directly to the servant, took the riding gear from him, and offered it to Noah.
Noah chuckled at her bolder actions, took the clothes, and went into the locker room.
He couldn't help but wonder if all she wanted from him was just the rumors.
When Noah came out after changing, Isabel, who had been waiting, handed him his mallet. As the playboys' subtle glances and brief cheers followed, she blushed as if shy.
Noah, as if it were natural, whispered to Isabel, who was following beside him, in a cold tone, "I told you I wouldn't be responsible for your reputation."
"Yes, I know."
Glancing at her, Isabel simply smiled.
Noah, with an expressionless face, mounted his horse, and Isabel stepped back a few paces.
Soon, as the gate to the field opened, he spurred his horse as if he had been waiting for it, galloping onto the vast grass field. Without giving her even a glance, he rode away mercilessly.
Isabel stared blankly at his departing figure before turning around.
The human heart is truly fickle. The joy of simply being the only woman circling around him had, one day, become routine, and she began to crave greater stimulation.
What would it feel like if he looked at her and smiled?
Could she really marry that man?
Since the rumors had spread, she hadn't received any marriage proposals. Recently, even her parents had subtly inquired whether she had received a proposal from the Prince.
Feeling a sense of despair, Isabel deliberately tried to think positively.
According to Mrs. Jubern, the Queen Consort was already aware of the rumors between him and her. She had apparently asked the Prince about it several times. So, he must have considered marriage in some way. He must have, at least once, considered her as a potential wife.
As she entered the club, a servant was just about to hang Noah's jacket on a hanger.
"Leave it. I'll do it. Organize the clothes in the locker room."
Even the servants who were doing other tasks glanced at her, as if she were acting like a wife, but soon averted their eyes. They had been witnessing Isabel acting like Noah's lover and Noah accepting it without a word for months.
Isabel took his jacket and slowly ran her fingertips over it. When he wore it, he looked sleek like a panther, but when she wore it, it was so large that it covered her shoulders and then some.
What would it feel like to be held in his arms?
Isabel bit her lip and neatly straightened the jacket before hanging it up.
As she was about to step back, something sticking out of the pocket caught her eye.
"……?"
Just as she was about to push it in, thinking it was a fountain pen, a conversation with her brother, Matt, flashed through her mind.
"Is there anything Prince Noah is obsessed with? Anything he cherishes?"
"The word 'obsession' is the least fitting word to describe him. So, there's nothing he particularly cherishes. He doesn't even name his Polo Ponies."
"Really?"
"But recently, there's something he carries around every day. Has it been a little over a year? He carries something strange in his jacket?"
Isabel's heart pounded.
The 'strange thing' her brother mentioned must be this. She glanced around cautiously before carefully taking it out.
The silver object, about the size of her palm, was unfamiliar even to her, the eldest daughter of the Seymour family.
"What is this?"
Isabel examined it from every angle and noticed that the upper part was designed to be turned. But even when she turned it, there was no reaction. Furthermore, nothing was engraved on it.
Not a case, not a cigarette, not a seal.
"Why is he carrying this around?"
Unable to figure out its purpose, Isabel quickly put it back in its place, conscious of the servants' eyes.
But it felt unsettling.
It was clearly nothing… but still…….
There was no way Noah Astrid would carry around something that was nothing every day.
The Polo match, consisting of six Chukkas, came to an end.
The game had been so intense that the horses' rough breaths and hot air reached the riders' faces.
"...Ugh. Noah, what's wrong with you today?!"
Lawrence complained with a disgusted look, and Iel, who was nearby, agreed.
"I'm telling you. It's a miracle the mallet didn't break. You should have told us to wear faceguards, Your Highness! I almost died playing Polo!"
Noah responded with a sarcastic sneer.
"You've all become weak from sitting indoors all day, drinking."
"Ah, it's too much to say that!"
Noah jumped off his horse, patted the guy's neck, and headed straight for the showers.
His whole body was drenched in sweat, but he felt somewhat alive.
He had wanted to escape the royal family, but there was no way to escape. The King pretended to listen to his opinion of reducing the amount of events even a little to compromise, but when the Polia incident broke out, he increased them again.
He understood the situation, but it was driving him crazy. Frankly, he didn't even want to understand.
He was so sick of standing in front of the media.
Some might say, what's the big deal? But everyone has something they can't stand.
He was filled with anxiety that he might have to live a life like a glamorous slave forever, unable to escape this tiresome life.
Noah stayed under the cold water for a long time before coming out.
He thought he would just drink and go back to rest.
The flickering candlelight subtly illuminated the dimly lit interior of the club.
The playboys were already drinking around the sofa where he usually sat. And Isabel was also there.
As Noah sat on the sofa, Isabel handed him a cocktail as if she had been waiting. He took the glass familiarly, but suddenly, a familiar yet unfamiliar name was heard.
"Olivia Liberty has become Professor Herrington, I heard?"
Noah, holding the glass, rolled his eyes and looked at the person who had brought up the topic.
"You're just finding out now? It was in the newspaper."
"Oh, really? I didn't know."
As he shrugged awkwardly and blinked, Lawrence, who was across from him, leaned in and lowered his voice as if telling a secret.
"My cousin does business in Pulder, right? He came to my house yesterday since he was in Herot? He told me an interesting story."
"Why, is it about Olivia Liberty?"
Isabel clicked her tongue at the playboys' dissolute expressions and got up from her seat.
"I really can't listen to this."
"Ah, Lady Seymour. I'm sorry."
As Lawrence exaggeratedly apologized, Isabel sighed deeply and glanced at Noah. She had been maintaining a certain line for months, but now, shouldn't she cross that line a little?
That strange object had amplified her anxiety. And that anxiety made her impatient.
"Your Highness, shall we go over there?"
Instantly, the playboys stared at the two of them with fiery eyes, as if witnessing an interesting event.
But Noah found her actions simply absurd.
As he stared at her with a frown, Isabel realized that she had been hasty and quickly backed off.
"Ah, now that I think about it, the ladies would be surprised if you went over there. It would be right for me to go alone."
She quickly turned around, her heart pounding fiercely.
His gaze towards her was so cold and indifferent. She felt like she was about to burst into tears.
"Forget about dating. He's not that kind of man."
Isabel clutched her skirt, recalling Mrs. Jubern's words. After circling around him for months, she had gradually become greedy.
What would it be like to date that man?
What would it be like if that man moved at her word? Such greed.
Isabel gracefully moved towards the ladies who were looking at her with an air of leisure.
"The gentlemen are uncomfortable because I'm here."
Meanwhile, as Isabel walked away, the playboys pressed Lawrence.
"Ah, so?"
Noah also held his glass and stared intently at Lawrence's seemingly sly mouth.
Lawrence licked his thin lips slightly and opened his mouth with a subtle expression.
"Ansen Wilhelm, the CEO of Wilhelm Corporation, has his eyes on Olivia Liberty."
Instantly, a brief silence fell over the playboys' heads.
"Wow, really?"
Someone blurted out, and Lawrence nodded.
"Apparently, they went to university around the same time? Even after Ansen Wilhelm dropped out, he often visited Olivia."
"Hmm, I get the gist. Pulder is also controlled by nobles in the political and business circles anyway, right? In that situation, Olivia Liberty is a bit too low-class to take as a wife, so he probably just wanted to enjoy dating."
"But now that woman has become a professor anyway, right? You never know. Olivia Liberty might become Olivia Wilhelm."
Just then, Noah got up from his seat. He put the empty glass on the table and ordered a servant to bring him his coat.
"Are you leaving already? After only one drink?"
"You guys have nothing better to do. Talk about things across the sea to your heart's content."
Noah didn't even put on the jacket that the servant handed him, just casually draped it over one shoulder, and brushed past them.
As a cold wind blew, Lawrence scratched the back of his head and muttered to himself.
"Why is he in such a bad mood?"
"Leave him be. He's been off since Polo earlier."
