Chapter 71
Episode 71: Soft and Luscious
Olivia's wedding dress was a reverent design with no exposure except for the square neckline that slightly revealed her collarbone. Made of white silk with a subtle ivory hue, the dress was elegant yet somehow unconventional.
The bodice clung to Olivia's slender waist, emphasizing it, and flared out from the hip bones, cascading down like thick waves rather than gentle ripples.
Embroidery, commonly used, was nowhere to be found on the dress. Instead, thousands of tiny pearls were scattered widely between the undulating folds of the skirt, like the remnants of shattered waves.
Bathed in the clear sunlight that streamed deep into the room, the thousands of tiny pearls on the dress shimmered like dewdrops.
But even more captivating was Olivia herself, wearing the Tiara. Her dark hair and dark eyes harmonized exquisitely with the simple yet extravagant dress.
Jane Ambrose, gazing at the completed masterpiece with admiring eyes, clasped her hands tightly together.
"Perfect."
It was a statement that shouldn't have been made to someone who was about to become a Princess consort, but no one could disagree with her opinion.
Mrs. Lehman smiled gently at the stiff and frozen Olivia and asked politely.
"Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Olivia, clasping her gloved hands together, carefully turned her head to face her.
"No. It's perfect as it is."
At her words, Mrs. Lehman checked her watch. The preparations were finished just in time.
Mrs. Lehman smiled, raising her lips, and handed her the Bouquet herself. It was a splendid Bouquet adorned with lilies, lilies of the valley, myrtle, ivy, and white orchids.
Olivia grasped the Bouquet in her left hand and carefully held the dress with her right.
"Well, shall we go to the Main Royal Palace to see His Majesty?"
No sooner had Mrs. Lehman finished speaking than the maids rushed forward to help Olivia move. As two maids lifted the long train of the dress, Olivia slowly began to walk.
Even so, she did not forget to nod lightly to Jane Ambrose, who was watching her with fervent eyes.
Her heart was pounding as if it would burst, but strangely, her mind was clearer than ever. Olivia walked gracefully, mindful not to make any mistakes.
Jane Ambrose watched her go, as if engraving her image in her mind. Then, she whispered secretly to her assistant beside her.
"Watch carefully. This will be a dress remembered for generations to come."
At her words, the assistant hesitated for a moment, and when all the Royal Palace staff had disappeared, she opened her mouth in a very low voice.
"But since you took on the design of that dress, all the nobles have stopped coming. Sales have halved."
"But Prince Noah asked us to fill the Princess consort's dressing room after the wedding, didn't he?"
"……."
When the assistant remained silent, Jane Ambrose patted her shoulder and smiled, pulling up the corners of her lips.
"You probably think that will reduce our sales in the long run."
"...Yes."
"I don't think so. Didn't you see the Princess consort's figure just now?"
At her question, the assistant nodded involuntarily.
"The nobles who saw her dress today will think, 'I want to wear that dress too.' They'll find fault with it outwardly. But if the Princess consort's wedding photos are in the newspapers for almost a month, it will change to 'I have to wear that dress too.'"
The proud Herot and Herrington nobles had stopped visiting altogether, as if to say they would not use the same boutique as a commoner Princess consort.
If Jane Ambrose had never seen Olivia Liberty, she too would have been anxiously stamping her feet.
But two years ago, her masterpiece that Olivia wore was still the motif for countless dresses.
How long could the Herrington nobles hold out when the trend was changing?
Surely, before long, those who wanted to order a dress of the same design as the Princess consort would be crowding at the door.
In that sense, Jane Ambrose intended to pour her soul into Olivia's clothes.
And not only in that sense, Olivia was a muse who inspired her in herself. She had already sketched several outfits with her in mind.
"Today will be a very historic day."
At Jane Ambrose's confident words, the assistant nodded.
"I think so too. Judging from the cheers at the entrance of Hamel Cathedral, it sounds like it's reaching here."
As she said, the distant cheers cut across the bright sunlight and finely shook the air of the Royal Palace.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
As the magnificent Royal Palace carriage, supported by large wheels, arrived at the entrance of the cathedral, a thunderous cheer erupted. The sound was so loud that it even felt as if the carriage was shaking back and forth.
Noah and Usher, who were facing each other inside the carriage, couldn't help but chuckle and look out the window.
"There are even more people gathered than I thought?"
Usher said to Noah, but when he couldn't even hear his own voice, he shook his head slightly.
Soon, as the carriage came to a stop, the brothers simultaneously put on their ceremonial hats and picked up their swords, as if by appointment.
The coachman, who had been standing behind the carriage, quickly got down and opened the carriage door. Usher got out of the carriage first, and the guards who were waiting saluted him all at once.
They remained motionless until Noah got out of the carriage, and lowered their hands when he had completely stepped out of the carriage.
Noah slowly scanned the crowd cheering for him. Just as the pouring flash baptism of flashing cameras made it difficult to see, he turned and stepped onto the steps of the splendid yet neat Hamel Cathedral.
Countless reporters were busy taking pictures of the brothers' backs as they climbed the steps side by side as if they had made an appointment, and the crowd cheered with all their might for the two men, who were so cool that they were mesmerizing to look at.
When the Crown Prince and the Prince reached the entrance of the cathedral after climbing numerous steps, the guards waiting at the entrance saluted them.
At that moment, the nobles who had been buzzing inside the cathedral all closed their mouths.
Noah looked inside the cathedral through the open door. Far away, Lucy, wearing a flower girl dress, raised her feet and greeted him, and he smiled at his younger sister.
Noah pulled the focus that had been on Lucy a little further back and looked at the entire cathedral.
Under the unusually bright sky, the sunlight that passed through the glass of the ceiling was clearly split and brightly illuminated the inside of the cathedral, and the colorful light that passed through the stained glass on the walls was combined, making the old cathedral, which always felt gloomy, look bright and radiant.
Noah, who didn't really like Hamel Cathedral because it was dark and humid, thought it looked a little better today.
Noah took a light breath and exhaled, then turned around. The barricaded street came into view at a glance, and the Golden Lion Statue was visible nearby.
Usually, people would think of the Royal Family when they saw that lion statue, but what Noah was thinking of was not the Royal Family. Of course, she would be a part of it from today, so it wasn't really a wrong expression.
Memories connected like tentacles popped up randomly.
Noah recalled the sunset yesterday afternoon.
The reddish sunset reminded him of a flushed face, and soon the sensation that was as warm and soft as could be spread over his lips.
At the same time, as he recalled the scent that touched the tip of his nose and the smooth texture that brushed his fingertips, his pulse rose strangely fast, like a teenager.
Nevertheless, his face remained as calm as ever.
Noah walked to the end of the high steps and stood motionless. He clenched and unclenched his fist with the hand that was not holding the sword, and waited for the priest.
"Control your expression, Isabel. Turn your gaze away."
Isabel bit her lip at her mother's whisper. Isabel desperately calmed her breath and lowered her gaze.
Today was a gathering of most of the capital's nobles and the royal relatives and great nobles of each region.
Because so many nobles were gathered that the great chapel of Hamel Cathedral, the largest in the Norfolk Continent, was full, it was only a matter of time before any action that could turn into a scandal would spread throughout Herot.
For example, if she, who was not even his sister, shed tears in this place.
"You shouldn't even glance at the Prince today. There's nothing to be gained by getting involved with him, so keep that in mind."
Mrs. Seymour said to her daughter in a earnest tone. She would have preferred not to have brought her at all, but that also had the potential to fuel unfounded rumors, so she had no choice but to come with her.
Count Seymour didn't even glance at his daughter and was only indifferent.
But despite her mother's advice, Isabel's gaze could not help but flow to him like iron filings clinging to a magnet. It was not something she could control.
Noah Astrid, dressed in his grown-up attire and holding a ceremonial sword in one hand, was waiting for his bride in the clear sunlight.
He was proud like a ruler with the world at his feet, and at the same time, he was so enchanting that men and women alike would be willing to die for him.
Not only her, but countless nobles were looking at him.
But Noah's gaze was only on the bottom of the stairs. Soon, when his bride arrived, it would reach her.
She wanted to be the woman who received that gaze.
She wanted to, and the only reason she had approached him with a gamble, even at the risk, was only for that one reason.
"I told you that great rewards come with great risks. You assured me that you could handle it when you started, so now it's your turn to keep that promise."
Mrs. Jubern's words cruelly dug into her heart.
Isabel's blue eyes trembled finely. The hand clenched into a fist wrapped around the hem of her skirt was filled with strength.
Indeed, how much did his bride, who would appear holding the Prince's hand, pay as a price? What on earth did she pay as a price to be able to obtain Noah Astrid?
The question without an answer was burning the heart of Seymour's eldest daughter.
