Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Peace Held in Embrace
Having come to meet him, I had the very strange thought that I didn't want him to appear.
Olivia was exhausted by the throbbing pulse that ran at a bizarrely slow pace before suddenly surging intensely. Her stomach was so cold that she, who always drank iced coffee, ordered a hot one.
She hadn't been this nervous and jittery even before her professorship exam.
Methone, who had been waiting on one side, watched Olivia, who was visibly tense, and pressed down on his twitching lips.
'There's no need to be so nervous! The one who's actually more eager is His Highness the Prince!'
If someone were to ask why the Prince was the eager one, Methone would say it proudly.
If he wasn't eager, Noah Astrid wouldn't have crossed the sea to propose in person.
He would have just sent someone with a proposal letter.
Olivia barely sipped the coffee in front of her and rubbed her palms on her handkerchief several times.
After a while, the sound of neat shoes reached her sensitive ears. The sound of wide strides, muffled by the plush carpet, gradually grew closer.
Holding her breath, she raised her head toward the door, and with a knock, the door opened.
And he appeared.
As perfect as ever.
Olivia reflexively stood up. This time, she wasn't late in offering the Herot greeting first.
As she straightened up after bending her knees, her eyes immediately met his piercing green gaze.
Noah approached slowly, looking into her eyes. Olivia lowered her gaze to his tie.
She worried that her heart would burst from the violent throbbing.
Noah stood opposite Olivia, who was stiff and avoiding eye contact, and stared intently at her. Then, he greeted her politely.
"Sit down."
As Noah offered her a seat, a waiting attendant quickly approached from behind them and pulled out a chair. Then, he placed a steaming cup of tea in front of him and stepped back.
Noah leaned back in his chair and slowly exhaled.
Perhaps it was because he had just met someone who made him uncomfortable just by being in the same room, but he was quite pleased with this arrangement.
He had been inwardly worried about making her wait too long, about his own patience. He was satisfied that she had come so quickly.
"I'd like to talk in private. What do you think?"
At that, Methone's gaze flew over before Olivia's.
Oh, Your Highness! Really!
Methone looked at Olivia and desperately hoped.
Please say that a conversation alone is too much to ask! Let me see too!
But even Olivia shattered his expectations.
"Yes, that's fine."
At her answer, Noah gave Methone a light nod. The intention in his cool gaze was clear.
Don't dawdle and get out now.
"Yes..."
In the end, Methone had no choice but to slump his shoulders and slip out among the attendants.
The door closed slowly.
Then, a silence that felt almost desolate pressed in suffocatingly. He didn't seem to have any intention of saying anything first, maintaining his silence.
Olivia's gaze, which had been stubbornly wandering around the edge of the table, finally crept up slowly.
Immediately, her eyes met his. He seemed to have been watching her all along.
This time, Olivia couldn't avoid his gaze. Or, more accurately, she was captivated by his piercing, intense gaze.
When Noah saw her large black eyes turn to him, he finally opened his mouth slowly.
"Have you thought about it?"
Facing his dry tone and refined expression, Olivia mustered her courage. Meeting his captivating, unavoidable eyes, she cleared her throat and braced herself.
Her red lips slowly parted. Noah's gaze left her eyes for the first time.
"If I were to marry Your Highness, what would I do in Herot?"
His gaze, which had been lingering on her radiant rose-like lips, quickly shot upward. The face he met was quite serious, which was astonishing.
"I never offered you a job, did I? I offered you a proposal, though."
"You said it was necessary."
"I asked if it was necessary."
"Which isn't wrong."
"..."
When was she ever unable to meet his eyes and wandering around? Now she's not giving an inch.
Noah wore a cynical smile and crossed his long legs. Then, he muttered sarcastically.
"Should I have brought a flower or something when I proposed?"
Indeed, blood is thicker than water.
If he didn't like something, he immediately became cynical and sarcastic, just like Margo.
"I'm sorry if I offended you. But..."
"But?"
Olivia lowered her gaze and calmly chose her words.
She needed courage. She also needed the will to overcome her shame.
Then, her pulse slowed down remarkably.
Olivia slowly raised her gaze and looked directly at Noah. Noah's head, which had been tilted in displeasure, turned back.
"I have nothing to give you, none of my possessions. Except for myself."
Noah's eyes narrowed slightly.
Why did such a simple statement sound so obscene?
"So it's only natural that I need to know what I should do. For Your Highness's sake, and for my own."
"What if I tell you something? What if I tell you something very difficult?"
"If it's something I absolutely can't do..."
As soon as he saw her trailing off, Noah understood her unspoken words.
"You would refuse?"
"..."
Looking at her stubborn black eyes, Noah chuckled. Ah, now I understand a little why my aunt dotes on her.
Noah uncrossed his legs and leaned his elbows on the table. He leaned forward, getting a little closer to her elegant face, and whispered.
"Have a wedding so grand that all of Herot is abuzz, and come out in front of everyone and kiss me. I want the world to know that you are my wife."
Olivia stopped breathing. She felt the heat rising, her cheeks flushing.
Noah thought her flushed face looked like a newly bloomed flower.
"The very fact that Olivia Liberty married me is my need for you."
"..."
Amid the rising heat, a cold and cool reason penetrated.
He said that the purpose was the marriage itself. So it was clear.
A commoner turned royal.
The royal family had chosen her as someone who could serve as a bridge to boost public sentiment.
The numerous events and interviews she had attended with King Leonard flashed through her mind.
Then, he stood up and approached her. She thought he would stop, but when he closed the distance to within a step, Olivia quickly stood up in surprise.
And the moment she tried to take a step back, he politely extended his hand.
Tilting his broad, massive shoulders slightly, he entangled her with his captivating eyes.
This man bewitches people.
He must know that no one can refuse when he extends his hand with that face.
Olivia thought as she raised her trembling hand and placed it on his outstretched hand. Then, he gently grasped her hand.
Then, he slowly lowered his head.
"—!!"
Olivia widened her eyes and stopped breathing.
Noah lightly kissed the back of her hand, as he would to a noblewoman. The hot, soft sensation touched and left the back of her hand.
He seemed to raise his head very slowly. He looked up at Olivia with his eyes raised, like a beast of prey holding its catch and watching the front.
A lion vaguely came to mind.
"Please, accept my proposal."
Olivia felt like she was being strangled and couldn't utter a word.
Looking at Olivia like that, Noah impulsively uttered a word he had occasionally rolled around in his mouth. Just like that night in the carriage when the moonlight was pale.
"Olivia."
Like a flower that briefly faded and then bloomed again, heat gradually spread.
Then, the lion that had been lying down rose and smiled.
As the corners of his lips curved beautifully, his neat teeth seemed to be visible. The impression of his face changed drastically just by the slight tilt of his delicate and graceful eyes.
'How can it be so unfair.'
Olivia stared blankly up at him and thought. Why did God pour everything into this man?
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Methone was thinking the same thing as Olivia.
The Prince had finally succeeded in his proposal.
Even after making a proposal like a creditor coming to receive payment! Ha, what a truly unfair world.
Then, Noah, having completed the letter by pressing the royal seal onto the sealing wax, handed the letter to him.
"Put this on the clipper ship today and send it to the King."
"Understood."
"And let's prepare to return as well."
"With Miss Liberty as well?"
"..."
A look of disdain immediately flew over. Methone shrugged his shoulders and muttered.
"Yes. I'm excluded from that 'we,' I was presumptuous."
"Don't talk nonsense and move quickly. I can't stand the Pulder sun any longer. I feel like I'm going to burn to death."
"Come on. You look the sturdiest."
"..."
"I'll go now."
"We'll leave within a week. Send someone to Olivia to help with the preparations."
Methone paused at the name that had come out so casually and blinked.
'You're already calling her by her first name?'
He wanted to ask abruptly, but if he did, the Prince's aura would surely become ominous.
And he would surely send him to Herot first with this letter! A clipper ship is just a ship that carries luggage! With seasickness as a bonus!
Methone bowed politely.
"I will prepare without any setbacks, Your Highness!"
"..."
"Why?"
"Did you... do something wrong?"
"No?"
"Spit it out."
"I told you, no?"
"Spit it out."
"I have nothing to spit out?!"
Because he was glaring so fiercely, Methone stumbled backward before running away.
"I'll be back~~"
Noah looked at the place where he had disappeared and shook his head slightly.
Leaning deeply against the backrest, he tilted his head back and retraced the moments that had passed.
She said that she had nothing but herself, that she could only give herself. So it was only natural to ask what she should do.
Noah thought that sounded strange.
What should she 'do'?
In fact, she doesn't need to do anything.
Noah truly wanted nothing from her. Other than marriage.
Olivia is peace itself.
But Noah cunningly didn't say those words.
'In exchange for marrying you, I can escape the hell of endless events.'
But what does it matter?
Doesn't she also gain peace?
If she marries him, she no longer needs to live in a shack, nor is there any reason to.
At least she won't have to listen to the absurd abuse that McDowell, that uncultured woman, spewed out for the rest of her life.
"…Okay."
The faint voice that barely flowed out pierced his eardrums.
Noah smiled languidly.
He abruptly lifted the peace that had been hanging on the edge of a cliff and finally held it in his arms.
The peace that he thought had fallen far beyond the boundless sea and disappeared forever, the peace that he thought he could only see in the unpleasant dreams that plunged him into hell.
