Chapter 70
Episode 70. A Peach I Want to Devour
Olivia unknowingly swallowed hard as she faced him directly. In the dim light, his figure seemed much larger than usual.
Unable to meet his gaze, Olivia lowered her chin and fixed her eyes on his chest. Her eyes were tinged with red.
Noah, who had intended to end this with just a pretense, felt his mouth dry at the shyness in Olivia's eyes.
"You have to look at me to kiss me."
At the words that fell from above, Olivia slowly took a breath and mustered the courage to tilt her head back.
But at that moment, ridiculously, Mrs. Lehman's words flashed through her mind.
"Try not to move your neck too much, as the Tiara may fall."
At the same time, the image of Queen Beatrix handing over the splendid Tiara came to mind.
"It's something I cherish very much."
Olivia opened her eyes wide and hurriedly spoke.
"Your Highness, I'm going to wear the Tiara that Queen Beatrix lent me tomorrow, you know?"
What does that have to do with kissing?
Noah grumbled inwardly, meeting her dark eyes, from which the shyness that had lingered for a moment had completely evaporated.
But Olivia was serious.
"If I tilt my head back... what if the Tiara falls off?"
"...What?"
Her clear eyes sparkled like beads.
"Queen Beatrix said she cherishes it."
Noah blinked in bewilderment at the unexpected worry, but at her utterly serious expression, he finally burst out laughing.
"Heh heh. Why are you worrying about the Tiara?"
Olivia, watching Noah tilt his head back as if it were a habit, cover his eyes, and heave his chest, retorted as if frustrated.
"Your Highness, the Tiara is quite heavy! Mrs. Lehman told me not to move my head too much! If I drop it during the wedding..."
Noah chuckled and wiped his face before staring intently at Olivia.
Her flushed face was like a ripe peach.
A peach so sweet and delicious that he wanted to devour it in an instant.
The heart that was supposed to end with just a pretense changed like flipping a hand, and a rough impulse arose.
The verdant eyes, which had been filled with laughter, instantly sank deep and dangerously stirred.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine if we do it like this."
Noah reached out and gently cupped Olivia's ears with both hands. And at that moment, Noah realized.
That he wouldn't be able to end it with just a pretense, and that it would end up like this after all.
Noah lowered his shoulders like a thirsty man and hurriedly tilted his head.
Whether everything flowed away or not, the waves finally surged on the island where she stood alone.
Looking at the widened dark eyes from close range, Noah kissed her lips. Her tightly closed lips, unable to utter even a squeak, were surprisingly hot and soft.
A sweet fragrance emanated from the fair skin that touched the tip of his nose.
At the unfamiliar sweetness and soft touch, Noah felt a fierce thirst, like a hungry lion about to sink its fangs into the neck of its prey.
At the same time, it felt as if Olivia and he were isolated from everything else in the world. Noah, who had always wanted to step back from the world, put more strength into the fingertips that supported Olivia's head. A desire surged to pull her closer and delve deeper.
The fierce and thirsty desire shook Noah's neck, which had always been indifferent and languid, and at that moment, Olivia gasped for breath.
The heat in his body soared even higher at the sharp sound, but at the same time, his mind returned.
Noah slowly exhaled his suppressed breath, lightly sucked on the corner of her lips, and slowly raised his body.
As the lips that had been pressed together without a gap parted, Olivia finally gasped for breath. Her ragged breaths flowed from her transparently wet and reddened lips, and the dark pupils trapped in her reddened eyes were blurred and trembling.
Looking at her eyes, into which the dim golden light seeped, Noah vividly felt the desire that had been smeared and unresolved rising again.
Noah slowly stroked the black hair that was wrapped in his hand. He liked the smooth sensation that brushed between his long fingers.
As Olivia's blurred eyes gradually regained focus, Noah said.
"Don't worry about the Tiara. I can hold it with my hands."
Only then did Olivia's cheeks flush as her mind returned. As she felt her ears turning red, she wanted to disappear somewhere immediately.
Looking at her, Noah was tormented by the urge to kiss her again. Her flushed red face and ears, and her eyes blinking as if she were about to cry, were secretive.
Noah tilted his head and spoke softly.
"You can't have this face at the ceremony tomorrow."
Even though he himself knew that he shouldn't be like this at the ceremony tomorrow, he whispered so, and Olivia flashed her eyes and met his gaze.
Even in moments like this, Noah Astrid seemed only perfect, and Olivia felt like she was going crazy. She desperately tried to calm herself and murmured softly.
"Then... you, you shouldn't kiss me like this."
"...What?"
Noah asked back in bewilderment at the unexpected words, and Olivia retorted in a faint voice.
"Mrs. Lehman said... it's part of a solemn ceremony where you just touch your lips for a moment and then separate in less than a second. She said you wouldn't even know if you touched them or not..."
But no matter how she thought about it, the kiss he had just given her had a great discrepancy with solemnity.
However, Olivia couldn't continue speaking. That's because Noah started laughing again, heaving his chest.
Olivia, watching the prince laugh as if he were about to suffocate, scolded him with a small sigh.
"Your Highness, I'm serious, why do you keep laughing..."
At the voice that tickled his ears, Noah looked at her with a face full of laughter. For some reason, even the slight grumbling on her small and pretty face was funny, so he turned his gaze away. Then, he blamed Mrs. Lehman for no reason.
"Mrs. Lehman doesn't know much."
"......?"
"It was solemn enough."
At Noah's murmur, Olivia opened her mouth halfway and glared at him. Noah, facing such Olivia, decided that it would be better to leave this room.
He artificially adopted a polite attitude.
"Anyway, I understand what you mean, so I will be more solemn at the ceremony tomorrow."
Then, before Olivia could even react, he bent down, took her hand, and kissed it. Then, he neatly let go of her hand, straightened his back, and lightly greeted Olivia, who still looked dumbfounded.
"Then rest, Liv. See you tomorrow."
As Olivia quickly bent her knees and greeted him, Noah strode across the room with a smile and walked away.
And as he disappeared, Olivia unknowingly touched her lips before burying her face in her palm.
As the many types of bedtime routines that she had solemnly pushed into her head popped out at will, Olivia groaned and murmured.
"What should I do..."
In the end, Olivia stayed up all night and barely fell asleep at dawn.
And just as she seemed to have fallen asleep, Mrs. Lehman woke her up.
"Miss, wake up. You need to get ready."
The words pierced Olivia's ears like a spell and awakened her mind.
"Yes, I'm awake."
Olivia opened her eyes wide and jumped out of bed as if she were springing out.
The maids skillfully dressed her. Olivia had been thinking about this moment in her head for the past week, so she waited for the next step even before the maids told her to.
Her face was beautifully made up, and her glossy black hair was braided from either side of her ears and then twisted and intertwined like rose vines.
Around the hair strands fixed at a position lower than the height of her ears, in consideration of wearing a Veil, elegant lily-shaped pins with small diamonds studded in them were placed. It was a decoration for when she took off the Veil after the ceremony.
The face makeup and hair styling that began around the time when the sky was faintly dawning ended around the time when the morning sunlight entered deep into the room.
The maids stared blankly at Olivia, who had blossomed like a flower, and then smiled.
"You're beautiful."
Olivia also looked at her reflection in the mirror and felt dazed.
"Thank you."
"Now, it's time to put on the dress. Get up."
Jane Ambrose approached Olivia with a bright smile. Recalling the blue dress she had made for her in the past, Jane Ambrose personally put the Corset on her.
"I made it a little looser because you were uncomfortable with the tightening."
Even so, Olivia's breath was slightly taken away by the pressure on her chest and abdomen.
"How is it? Are you okay?"
She wondered how people could wear something like this, but Olivia quickly nodded.
"I can handle this much."
Jane Ambrose smiled brightly and stepped back. Olivia turned her body and carefully walked towards the dress that the maids had spread out. She should have been embarrassed by the attire that was no different from underwear, but she didn't have time to feel such emotions.
Olivia took Jane Ambrose's hand and carefully stepped into the open skirt. As she balanced herself and stood alone, the maids grabbed the skirt and pulled it up, put her arms through the sleeves, and finally fastened the many buttons on her back one by one.
At the same time, the maids in charge of royal reports placed a thick pearl necklace around Olivia's neck. The two-strand pearl necklace was prepared by Queen Beatrix's family, and she also wore this necklace at her wedding with Leonard II.
After wearing the necklace and earrings, the Tiara finally appeared.
The Tiara, which shaped roses that revealed their faces from among the vines, was an artwork in itself. Hundreds of large and small diamonds were densely embroidered on the elaborate platinum crown, shining brilliantly.
The maids carefully placed the Tiara on Olivia's head and then secured it with dozens of pins.
Olivia slowly took a breath, estimating the heavy weight she felt on her head.
Finally, after fixing the transparent and long Veil behind the Tiara, not only Mrs. Lehman and the maids, but even Jane Ambrose, who designed the dress, stared at Olivia in a daze.
