Chapter 43
Chapter 43: A Shabby and Faint Woman
As he left, Ansen opened his mouth first with a social smile.
"It seems he has something important to attend to."
"Not at all. Let's continue our previous discussion. It was about the upgrade, wasn't it?"
Ansen immediately started talking, sensing the line being drawn as if to say, 'Don't ask any further.' And the more he spoke, the more bored Noah became.
All his attention was focused beyond this uncomfortable room.
When Ansen emphasized several times how difficult it was to balance innovation and stability, Noah had to work hard to suppress his temper.
If he had his way, he would have cut him off, saying, 'I understand, so let's stop.'
However, he had no intention of hiding his displeasure, so the prince's expression changed coldly from moment to moment.
Eventually, Ansen stopped making excuses and apologized politely.
"I am sorry for not keeping my promise."
Stopping the excuses at that point was a very wise move.
Noah stroked his smooth chin and sighed briefly.
"That's a shame."
"However, as I mentioned, this is the result of focusing on safety. The full upgrade will take a little longer, but the capacity of the converter has been increased, so the attack power upon impact is incomparably higher than before. If you trust our Wilhelm Corporation, you will see a more advanced Magic Dome in the near future."
Only then did Noah, who had been coldly hardening his expression, smile faintly.
He had no intention of recovering his investment in Wilhelm Corporation right away anyway. Even if the upgrade failed, the existing Magic Dome wouldn't disappear.
With a smile, Noah wiped his lips, which had only touched the tea, with a napkin. It was a kind of signal to end the meeting at this point.
In aristocratic culture, it is very natural for a person of high status to determine the beginning and end of a gathering.
The two men wished each other well, without meaning it, and naturally rose from their seats.
"Then, Your Highness, please call me whenever you need me. I will see you off when you leave."
"There's no need to come out. I appreciate the thought. Contact me if you come to Herot."
As Ansen was about to turn around, Noah suddenly spoke.
"Ah, there's one thing I'm curious about."
"Yes, please tell me."
"The documents list a person named Oliver as a co-developer, but there is no one with that name among the executives or researchers. Who is he?"
"Ah… you mean Oliver."
At Noah's question, Ansen put on a seemingly sad expression. Then, in a choked voice, he replied.
"That friend… unfortunately passed away around the time I started the company."
At that answer, Noah's eyes narrowed, but he tilted his head slightly to hide his expression.
"Oh, dear. I asked something unnecessary."
"No, it's a question that investors often ask. Does that answer your question?"
When Noah nodded, Ansen greeted him again and turned away.
"Then."
"……."
The moment they were free from each other's sight, the expressions of the two men turned endlessly cold.
The true intentions they had tried to hide behind their smiles for their own benefit surfaced.
Noah watched Ansen's neat back view and slowly took out a cigarette.
Uncomfortable, obnoxious, and unpleasant.
Anyway, he's a son of a bitch I don't like.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Arriving at the Ritz Hotel, Olivia hesitated for a moment before approaching the front desk and saying.
"I'm here to see Prince Noah Astrid. Could you please tell him that Olivia Liberty is requesting a brief meeting?"
Even to her own ears, it sounded like a reckless request, so she cautiously watched the employee's reaction. But surprisingly, the employee immediately came around the front desk and guided her as if they had been waiting.
"This way, please. I'll show you."
He led her to a lavish reception room that was no less splendid than the Royal Palace of Herot.
The reception room, as if a corner of Norfolk's ancient palace had been moved intact, was a work of art in itself.
As Olivia carefully sat on the chair that the employee pulled out for her, another employee appeared and politely offered her a drink.
How long had she waited in the reception room?
Just as the hotel employee was placing a drink in front of her, a man came to greet her.
"Good morning, Miss Liberty."
His face, as he lightly bowed, was affable.
Olivia, instinctively feeling that he was sent by the prince, immediately rose from her seat and greeted him in return.
"Hello? My name is Olivia Liberty."
He smiled, crinkling his soft brown eyes, and introduced himself gently.
"It's an honor to meet you. I am Methone Roktar, His Highness's secretary. I will guide you personally. Let's go together."
Methone turned his body slightly to the side and politely inclined his head. Olivia nodded slightly and followed him.
Methone walked ahead at a moderate pace, glancing at Olivia.
"He is currently having breakfast. You may have to wait a little while."
"I came without an appointment. I only came to make an appointment and leave."
At Olivia's soft words, Methone smiled and wrinkled his nose.
"I think he'll be finished soon, so please wait a moment."
Olivia glanced at his profile.
The somewhat playful and light atmosphere she felt from him was unexpected. She had thought that the prince's secretary, who seemed overbearing and perfect, would be like him.
Methone spoke with his usual sociable smile.
"I saw you order coffee earlier. I'll tell them to prepare the same thing. I came before you could even take a sip, didn't I?"
At that, Olivia smiled slightly and nodded.
"Thank you, Sir Roktar."
"Ah, I'm not a knight. Mr. Roktar… is a bit much, and Roktar-gun… isn't right either. Um… just call me Methone."
After tilting his head and pondering alone, he finally asked her to call him by his name. Then, before Olivia could even answer, he threw open the antique dark brown door.
"Please come in."
Unlike the dazzlingly splendid reception room of the hotel, a calm and weighty air gently washed over Olivia.
Olivia slowly scanned the room with her eyes and took a deep breath.
The pulse that had calmed down for a moment began to throb again.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
"……?"
Ansen, who had been striding down the hotel hallway, suddenly stopped. His thick eyebrows twitched. He turned his head sharply and stared at the opposite hallway, then finally changed direction.
"Sir?"
His secretary called him as if puzzled, but Ansen was relentless.
He turned the corner of the hallway with hasty steps. In that instant, something familiar flashed into his view. The faint scent that lingered in the hallway was also familiar.
Olivia.
Ansen ran with all his might towards the corner of the hallway where she had disappeared. His gaze relentlessly followed her.
Soon, he turned another corner of the hallway where she had disappeared.
"……!"
Ansen's eyes narrowed.
Through the slightly clearer vision, he saw the figure of a woman straightening her back and entering somewhere.
Olivia Liberty.
It was definitely her.
It was quite a distance away, and she disappeared soon after, but he could tell what clothes she was wearing, what kind of hairpin she had on.
An old jacket that seemed to have gone out of fashion half a century ago, a faded green skirt that had lost its elasticity after hundreds of washes, black shoes, and a navy blue ribbon that was the same material as the jacket.
Why is that woman here?
"Is she planning to work at the hotel now, Olivia?"
Then Ansen slowly scanned the hallway he was standing in with his eyes.
This is an area where only VIPs can enter. Even if she was trying to get a job as a hotel employee, there was no way she would be in this hallway.
A creeping unpleasantness surged up.
Ansen slowly stroked his chin and asked the secretary who approached him.
"Has the person I sent to Olivia returned?"
"I was just about to report that."
When Ansen turned his head, the secretary took another step closer and whispered in his ear.
"Last night, Adam McDowel tried to break down Olivia Liberty's door and was arrested by the police."
"Adam McDowel?"
When Ansen frowned and asked back, the secretary nodded. Ansen recalled Olivia's crumbling house and muttered.
"That idiot. So?"
"So, Olivia Liberty didn't return home. He returned without meeting her."
Well, yeah. It would be strange to go back to a house where a stranger tried to break down the door.
But still, to come back empty-handed?!
"She must have been staying in some cheap lodging, right? You should have found her!"
"It seems she is staying at Princess Marguerite's house."
"……."
Ansen's brow furrowed like a piece of paper.
Marguerite Astrid's house was the only house he couldn't visit. Moreover, the words the secretary conveyed next plunged his mood even further into the mire.
"Last night, Prince Noah Astrid appeared at the police station and took her there."
"...Noah Astrid?"
"Yes. He said he was running an errand for Princess Marguerite."
An errand?
The prickly and sensitive prince went to the police station in the middle of the night to run an errand?
Even a passing dog would laugh.
The face of the unlucky man who seemed like he would cause a huge loss at any moment lingered like an afterimage.
Ansen creaked his head and looked at the door where Olivia had disappeared.
"She's here. Should I tell her I'll contact her later?"
"No, tell her to wait a moment."
A cold laugh flowed from Ansen's mouth. He slowly put his hands in his pockets, leaned against the wall, and tilted his head back.
After slowly catching his breath, he finally gave the order in a sinister voice.
"Put surveillance on Professor Marguerite's house, and put surveillance on Prince Noah as well. Find out why Olivia and Prince Noah met."
"Understood."
A shabby and faint woman.
Why did that woman, who I wanted to live as if dead behind the name of Oliver, come to meet Noah Astrid?
