Episode 12. Red Fingertips Between Thin Threads
“Liv?”
While everyone paused for a moment at the unfamiliar name, the person who was most flustered was Olivia.
You want to ride in a carriage together? Then which carriage should we take?
Olivia quickly looked at Madame Lehmnan. And Madame Lehmnan looked at the Queen.
Beatrix nodded with a smile at Lucy's innocent appearance.
“Then, Lucy, get into Princess Marguerite’s carriage with Madame Lehmann.”
But Lucy's demands didn't end there.
"I want to ride in the carriage I originally came in. There's so much I want to show Liv!"
Olivia looked reflexively at the carriage where the two Princes were waiting.
Princess, I don't think that's right.
“It’s difficult because it’s a carriage for four people.”
Olivia secretly breathed a sigh of relief at Mrs. Lehmann's restraint. But Lucy wasn't so easily persuaded.
“Then the nanny can come with my aunt in a carriage.”
“No, that can’t be.”
“Mother, I want to go back in the carriage I came in with Liv! Liv, come back with me!”
At that point, Beatrix blinked with an embarrassed expression and asked Olivia.
"Miss Liberty, how are you? Would it be all right for Lucy and you to go in that carriage over there?"
The moment she asked that question, the answer was practically certain. She felt like she was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
Olivia answered with a face that wasn't a smile.
“Yes, of course.”
“Wow!!”
Although it was quite embarrassing, she didn't feel bad seeing the girl's face so happy.
“Let’s go, Liv!”
Lucy was so excited that she led Olivia to the royal carriage.
But the moment Olivia turned around and saw Noah and Usher standing in front of her, she wanted to run away somewhere.
Suddenly, the road to the palace felt really long.
The servants lowered the carriage steps and opened the door.
Usher extended his hand to Lucy with a smiling face, and Lucy took his hand and was the first to get into the carriage.
As Olivia followed suit and was about to board the carriage, someone reached out from her right. The sleek black gloves felt familiar.
Olivia glanced up and saw Noah there. His expression was mechanical, emotionless, as if he were simply observing proper etiquette. Indeed, he had looked like this when he had extended his hand at the banquet yesterday.
To dance, even for a moment, with such an indifferent and cold-faced Prince? Could this really have been a dream?
Olivia carefully placed her hand on top of his as she climbed the carriage steps.
She felt a bit embarrassed by her bare hand resting on his, and she even thought about wearing gloves.
The interior of the carriage was cozy, with light cream curtains and sky blue sofas, giving it a very similar feel to the room I had stayed in.
“Liv, sit here!”
Lucy pointed to her with a puzzled expression. She'd said she had a lot to show her, and indeed, there were two large baskets beside her.
Olivia sat down next to Lucy, while Noah and Usher entered the carriage and sat opposite her. The carriage wasn't very spacious, so Olivia quickly adjusted her posture to avoid crossing her legs.
Olivia bowed slightly to Noah, who was sitting in front of her, and Usher, who was sitting diagonally across from her, then quickly turned her gaze to Lucy.
It was really uncomfortable.
It would have been unbearable if the silence had continued, but fortunately, Lucy had begun to lay out a lot of her things.
“Liv, let me introduce you... This is something Usher bought me at Porcelain, and this is something my father bought me, and this is... This is a rabbit that changes clothes like this.”
The Princess, who had never played with her peers, constantly offered up items and explained things. Olivia, finding this easier than facing Princes, nodded and followed suit. Furthermore, the adorable Princess dolls captivated Olivia's heart.
Olivia was genuinely impressed by the bunny doll wearing an intricately crafted tiara.
“Oh my goodness, it’s so cute. And it looks just like the dress the Princess is wearing.”
As Olivia spoke with wide eyes, Noah, who was looking out the window, and Usher, who was reading a book for a moment, glanced at the two of them.
"Right, right?! Liv, you can put this cloak on that rabbit, too! Just pull the ears out here!"
“Let me try it on. It’s so cute!”
Olivia's blue skirt was adorned with several dolls. She seemed to be really enjoying playing with them, carefully examining each one in her hands.
Noah chuckled and turned his gaze back out the window. The smile vanished for a moment.
The carriage was running peacefully towards the palace.
Just as Olivia was beginning to forget her initial awkwardness and discomfort, an unexpected problem arose.
After Lucy finished introducing the doll, she pulled out a long string.
“Liv, do this with me!”
Noah, who was leaning his elbow on the window and resting his chin on his hand, just rolled his eyes and watched the scene.
Lucy, who had recently become interested in cat's cradle, was quite adept at weaving yarn by hand and handing it to Olivia.
“...”
But Olivia was overcome with confusion as she looked down at the threads woven in a pattern she had never seen before.
What is this? What do you want me to do?
Olivia, who had spent her school days like a war among boys, also had no chance to play with her peers.
Olivia, who had been thinking for a moment, decided that the Princess who had been showing off her doll was finally showing off her skills.
...clap clap clap.
Lucy's face turned bewildered when Olivia suddenly clapped.
“...Pfft.”
At the same time, a stifled laugh erupted from one side. Olivia instinctively turned her gaze to find Noah staring at her, one hand covering his mouth.
Faced with dark eyes filled with bewilderment, Noah finally covered his eyes with the hand that had been covering his mouth and tilted his head back. His red lips were curled upwards, needless to say, and his broad chest heaved intermittently.
The Prince barely managed to hold back his laughter. No, he burst out laughing.
“Noah.”
Usher, who couldn't stand to watch, tapped him on the shoulder to warn him, but his expression was also on the verge of bursting into laughter.
“...Isn’t this it?”
“Heh heh heh.”
As Olivia asked Lucy, Noah's barely suppressed laughter grew louder. He tilted his head back, his pointed chin bobbing up and down.
This time, even Usher couldn't stop him. He was laughing too.
"Is this a traditional royal game? How would I know?" A nagging thought crossed her mind, and the Princess muttered in embarrassment.
“He said this was a game that all Herod’s girls knew...”
Noah, who had been laughing with his eyes covered, held out his hand to her, suppressing his laughter.
“Lucy, hold it out for me.”
At her brother's suggestion, Lucy weaved the yarn again with her hands and handed it to Noah. Noah removed the gloves he was wearing and deftly handled the yarn with his bare hands.
The long, straight index finger and thumb curved elegantly as they grabbed the thread and gently spun it.
Then, surprisingly, the thread took on another shape and took its place on his hand.
As Lucy tangled it with her hands and formed another shape, Olivia heard applause in her ears like an auditory hallucination.
I applaud you for seeing this.
Even she covered her mouth with laughter.
The three royals' gazes fell on her, who was smiling with wide eyes.
Olivia looked at the thread on Noah's finger and then opened her mouth to Lucy.
"Princess, I haven't been in Herod for long. I thought you were truly creating a masterpiece to show me."
“Heh heh.”
The royal family eventually laughed, the occasional laughter mixing in. Lucy assumed a feigned seriousness, clutching the thread tangled with Noah's hand.
“Did you really show me this as a work of art?”
“I see. I’m sorry. But I really can’t figure out what you’re trying to do.”
Then Usher, who had been listening, explained in a soft tone.
“It’s called cat’s cradle, a game where you weave a string with your hands and keep passing it back and forth.”
Olivia nodded slightly at Usher, then turned to Lucy and spoke briskly.
“Please teach me. I’ll learn it quickly.”
Lucy proudly weaved the thread and held it out in front of Olivia.
“You see that place where it intersects with an X? With your thumb and index finger, right? Hold it like that, pull it down, and then bring it back up again.”
“...Like this?”
And after a few attempts, the Herrington top graduate finally managed to visualize the shape of the thread and create an astonishing shape Lucy had never seen before.
“This is the first time I’ve seen something like this...”
“Let me try it.”
Olivia, who was about to take the thread out of her hand at the sight of Lucy looking embarrassed, turned her head at the sound of a soft voice coming from in front of her.
He pointed to Olivia's hand with his long, ungloved fingers.
Surprisingly, it was Noah, not Usher, who played well with Lucy, and in that sense, Noah was much better at Cat's Cradle than Usher.
Olivia hesitated for a moment before extending her hand, entwined with the thread. Noah looked at the thread with a serious expression. He then wove the thread back and forth with his fingers before taking it from Olivia's hand.
Olivia, who had been staring at the Prince's graceful fingertips with fascination, looked genuinely surprised at the thread that had been reborn on his fingers. It was incredibly complex.
“Can you do it?”
When Lucy asked with an excited face, Olivia nodded with a determined expression.
"Wait a minute."
Noah glanced at Olivia, who was staring intently at his finger. Her dark eyes, beneath delicate eyelashes, were quite serious.
A fleeting moment passed, and Olivia seemed to have found the answer, carefully entangling her slender fingers between the threads. Her pink-tinged fingertips were absurdly small.
Still, the fingers dug into the complex thread and skillfully unraveled it, causing Lucy to exclaim in admiration.
At the same time, the carriage slowed down and eventually stopped.
It seems that she was so focused on the thread that she didn't even realize that she had arrived at the palace.
“I think we’ve arrived, Princess.”
As Olivia pulled the thread from her fingers and placed it in the basket, Lucy's expression darkened. But the young Princess knew she couldn't continue her complaint.
Usher looked at his younger sister with pity, then, as the door opened, he was the first to exit the carriage. Noah followed, and then Olivia.
And this time, as always, Noah extended his hand to her. The Prince's hand, extended out of courtesy to his guest, made Olivia feel smaller. The touch felt awkward and embarrassing.
After carefully getting out of the carriage and slightly bending her knees to greet him, he nodded his head faintly.
Olivia took a few steps back, her right hand still clenched behind her back.
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