Chapter 65
Episode 65: My Body Is Not My Own
The King and Queen Consort, seated on their chairs, were looking at her with gentle faces, and the Crown Prince and Princess, standing on either side of them, were also looking at her with smiles.
Her nerves, which had been on edge, gradually eased, and the anxious frown on her forehead slowly smoothed out.
Olivia bowed her head again and carefully opened her mouth.
“It’s been a while, Your Majesty. I hope you have been well.”
Beatrix, who had been gazing at Olivia, rose from her seat. Perhaps because she had been hearing news of her, she didn't feel estranged despite not having seen her in a long time.
Beatrix approached, meeting Olivia’s clear white face and the dark pupils set within, and affectionately took her hand.
“Welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.”
At the Queen Consort’s warm greeting, Olivia was at a loss for what to do, but she raised the corners of her lips and said in a whisper.
“Thank you for the welcome, Your Majesty.”
Noah, who was watching, chuckled, and Beatrix did not miss her son’s reaction.
Now that the Queen Consort’s greeting was over, it was the Crown Prince’s turn. As Beatrix stepped back, Usher, who had been standing in place, approached.
Usher exchanged a light nod with Noah and then offered a formal greeting to Olivia.
“It’s been a while. Welcome to Herot Palace.”
Olivia, whose tension had eased somewhat, responded more comfortably to Usher’s greeting.
“It’s been a while, Your Highness. Thank you for the welcome.”
Noah, watching Olivia exchange greetings with Usher, gestured to Lucy, who was looking at her with shining eyes.
“Lucy.”
Lucy, at her brother’s call, quickly grabbed her skirt and approached. The girl had no interest in her brother, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time. She was simply gazing at Olivia with an excited look.
Noah could only chuckle at his sister’s behavior.
Olivia, looking at the sparkling blue eyes, bent her knees.
“It’s been a while, Liv!”
Her cheerful voice made it feel as if Herot’s gloomy sky was clearing up. Olivia smiled brightly at the Princess, who had grown noticeably taller.
“I really wanted to see you, Princess. Have you been well?”
The lips of the four royals, watching the two, turned upwards.
Lucy’s gaze landed on Olivia’s headband. Noticing the Princess’s gaze, Olivia quickly added.
“Thanks to you, I’ve been able to go around looking fabulous.”
“It suits you, Liv.”
Lucy smiled bashfully and looked up at Noah. Noah, meeting his sister’s eyes, raised his eyebrows, and Lucy pretended not to notice.
With Lucy’s greeting, the simple welcoming ceremony came to an end, and Beatrix, as if she had been waiting for this, looked at Noah and Olivia with a determined glint in her eyes.
Then, she smiled and asked confidently.
“You both are prepared, aren’t you?”
Noah, who disliked the word ‘prepared,’ frowned and immediately asked back.
“What preparation are you referring to?”
At that, the Queen Consort shook her head slightly and shrugged her shoulders.
“You will be very busy from now on, so for the time being, think of it as your body not being your own.”
At the Queen Consort’s warning, Noah and Olivia simultaneously looked at each other and then at the Queen Consort. The Queen Consort smiled even more deeply at their reaction.
Leonard, standing behind her and intently watching his son, also smiled and his eyes gleamed with a sly look.
Look at that.
I knew it from the moment he readily agreed to go and immediately boarded the ship, but who knew he would show up with such a sweet(?) face!
He’s even matching her walking speed, and it seems he’s already using nicknames!
Heh, amazing!
“Alright, alright! Olivia, come here. There are piles and piles of documents to sign!”
At Leonard’s words, Olivia’s eyes widened, and Noah whispered to her.
“I told you, he’s more impatient than I am.”
The day before leaving Pulder, Olivia had subtly asked Margo.
"Professor, what should I do when I arrive at Herot?"
At her question, Margo narrowed her eyes and shattered Olivia’s worries in one go.
"That’s a useless worry."
"Pardon?"
"Because the moment you arrive, you won’t even have time to worry about what you should do."
Margo’s words were absolutely correct.
Leonard first handed her a piece of paper out of the blue and told her to choose the one she liked the most.
As she dazedly accepted the paper, he then rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a fountain pen. As she looked in surprise at the heavy pen of the King of Herot that had somehow ended up in her hand, Leonard tapped the paper as if to say she should look at that first.
“Choose. The one you like the most.”
On the paper that Leonard pointed to, five elegant forms of writing were drawn side by side, all signatures made using Olivia’s name.
“You can no longer use the signature you’ve been using. Furthermore, the signature you choose now is the one you will use until you die, so choose carefully.”
Olivia responded quietly to the King’s advice, then quickly scanned the signatures and carefully chose one. It was round and graceful, but it didn’t give off a weak feeling.
“I will choose this one.”
Leonard glanced at her fingertip and quickly ordered.
“Practice.”
Olivia slowly traced the handwriting, then memorized it and repeated it several times. In just a few minutes, her own signature was completed, and Leonard retrieved the paper and handed it to a servant.
“Burn it.”
Originally, royals cannot sign carelessly. Because they can only sign royal documents, the paper with Olivia’s signature had to be discarded. Of course, she wasn’t a royal yet, but still.
Once the signature was completed, a vast amount of documents was placed in front of Olivia. All of them were official documents required for marriage to a royal.
In the past, Beatrix and Leonard’s marriage required at least twice as many documents, and it took three days because both families had to gather. In Olivia’s case, because she had no family, it was simpler.
Looking at the documents, Margo’s voice suddenly overlapped in her mind.
"You’ll be waiting for verbose documents that are impossible to interpret. I’ve never seen them, but the Queen Consort said that no matter how much she read them, she couldn’t understand them."
"……."
"So just sign."
Olivia nodded her head without realizing it as she looked at the documents presented to her. The documents written in ancient language seemed to have been created centuries ago, and the spacing was so narrow that it was difficult to read.
More than anything,
“Here.”
“Here.”
“There.”
“That’s right.”
The solemn Monarch of Herot was standing there, personally (and very quickly) pointing out where to sign, so she could only move the pen quickly.
Moreover, not only Leonard but also the Queen Consort, the two princes, and the Princess were gathered around her, watching the moment Olivia signed.
In particular, Lucy’s face got closer and closer each time Olivia signed. Eventually, Noah grabbed his sister’s shoulder altogether.
Finally, when all the documents were signed, Leonard smiled like someone who had been waiting for a very long time and said heartily. Of course, from Leonard’s point of view, he had been waiting for a very long time.
“Welcome, Olivia!”
Lucy, who was also excited by her father’s voice, leaned on the high desk and raised her voice.
“Welcome, Liv!!”
Olivia looked at the royals, including the King and Princess, with a dazed expression and responded.
“Thank you for the welcome.”
The Queen Consort and the Crown Prince smiled gently with similar faces.
Olivia’s gaze slyly reached Noah. When their eyes met, he smiled at her, almost imperceptibly.
The document signing was just the beginning of the grand wedding preparation process.
In the meantime, many people related to the wedding expressed that ‘a week is impossible,’ but the Monarch of Herot didn’t care.
In the end, many things were only half-finished, waiting for the main characters of the wedding.
Beatrix introduced Olivia to a middle-aged woman. She was none other than Mrs. Lehman, the Princess Lucy’s nanny.
“Olivia, this is Mrs. Lehman, Lucy’s nanny.”
Mrs. Lehman smiled gently and bowed her head.
“I am Julia Lehmann, Miss Olivia. Please call me Mrs. Lehman.”
“Hello, Mrs. Lehman.”
Olivia greeted her politely, and Beatrix nodded, observing Olivia’s appearance with a keen eye.
“Mrs. Lehman will be teaching you about court etiquette for the time being. She taught Lucy’s etiquette as well, so trust her and learn.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Also, I will try to accompany you throughout the wedding preparations, but when I can’t, Mrs. Lehman will accompany you.”
Olivia, carefully listening to the Queen Consort’s explanation, nodded her head slightly and said politely to Mrs. Lehman.
“Please take care of me, Madam.”
Olivia’s appearance, giving a modest greeting, exuded dignity.
The Queen Consort and Mrs. Lehman looked at each other, smiled, and then looked at Olivia at the same time.
“Mrs. Jane Winifrede, who came with you from Pulder, has also been invited to the wedding. She will be staying at the Royal Palace until then, but it may not be easy to meet her. Because you will be very busy.”
Beatrix placed her hand affectionately on Olivia’s shoulder and gently turned her body to the right.
There, Jane Ambrose, who had tailored her blue dress two years ago, was waiting for her, along with a very long and gorgeous pure white wedding dress.
“First, let’s start with the most urgent dress fitting.”
