Episode 40. Marry Me
The moment she tried to escape from her life alone.
A dark shadow loomed from Mrs. McDowell's left and grasped her sharp hand by the chin.
Olivia's hazy gaze, which had been blankly observing the situation, reached the hand holding Mrs. McDowell's wrist.
Olivia's eyes narrowed slightly.
The hand, clad in luxurious gloves, seemed familiar. Her eyes traced his hand and forearm, finally settling on his face.
“...”
Olivia's eyes gradually grew wider.
Her chest shrank, and she couldn't breathe, as if a giant had stepped on it.
Why now, of all times?
Olivia felt a surge of resentment, wondering why, out of all the times and moments, she had to meet this person only at this moment.
And at the same time, her hearing and sight, which had been distant, returned.
“It seems like there’s no restraint in assaulting people at the police station, funny enough.”
Few people can use such a humiliating honorific.
“W, what the hell are you doing...!”
Mrs. McDowell's movements suddenly stopped as she glared back, pulling her caught arm away violently.
With his golden hair that exuded a sense of dignity and his strikingly handsome features, Mrs. McDowell was daunted by the domineering gaze of a man born to rule.
“Who, who are you...”
Noah smiled gently and shook off the hand he was holding.
“For a matriarch of a family so poor that she can’t even recognize my face, she’s quite the tyrant.”
Mrs. McDowell swallowed hard and turned her head to look at her husband. Henry McDowell approached her and called out to her.
“Your Highness.”
Noah watched coldly as Henry McDowell politely bowed his head. Henry, flustered, gave his frozen wife a sharp nudge in the waist.
“What are you doing?! Why don’t you greet His Highness, Prince Herod, right away?”
The Prince before her was also a major shareholder in the civil engineering company he ran. Startled, Mrs. McDowell quickly gave a Herodian salute. Her voice cracked and trembled in shock.
“I apologize for not noticing you sooner, Your Highness.”
Noah took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth with a leisurely attitude.
"It's been a while, Sir McDowell. I didn't expect to see you here."
At that moment, the police chief came rushing in, his uniform looking disheveled and out of place, as if he had just woken up from sleep.
“Your Highness, Lord McDowell. What brings you here?”
Noah glanced at the police chief with a pitiful expression and spoke quickly and concisely.
“Don’t make a fuss about my coming. I’m just here to run a little errand.”
The police chief's eyes shook violently.
What kind of nonsense is this? Herod's Prince is running an errand.
Whether he was confused or not, Noah spoke to Olivia, who was standing to one side.
“Miss Liberty, please finish filling out the paperwork.”
For a moment, all eyes were on her. But no one dared to speak to her.
Even Mrs. McDowell, who had tried to stop her from writing the papers, looked at her with a rather pitiful face.
Just because Noah Astrid came.
He stood in front of her like a barrier blocking the oncoming mudslide.
"...Yes."
Olivia turned and picked up the fountain pen. She pressed her trembling wrist with her left hand and wrote as quickly as she could.
In the silence, only the sound of the pen nib scraping against the paper continued.
As Olivia finally put down her fountain pen and handed the documents to the officer in charge, Noah stubbed out his cigarette. He then took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Mrs. McDowell.
“What is this...”
Noah remained silent and just looked down at her coldly.
When Mrs. McDowell opened the envelope with trembling hands, she was greeted by a notice of her son's expulsion, signed by Marguerite herself.
"Oh, no, this can't be happening, Your Highness. Adam worked so hard to get into school. What did he do wrong..."
Half-crying, she tried to cling to Noah, almost pleading. Her husband tried to stop her, and Noah, indifferently, drew a line, pulling back.
"For the sake of Herrington College's reputation, you can't allow a criminal to remain, can you, Mrs. McDowell? And since I didn't issue that notice, you should go and plead with President Marguerite."
“You’re calling him a criminal before the verdict has even been reached! My child is...”
“Oh, you mean the good son who tried to break down the door because he wanted to talk?”
“...”
Noah looked back and forth between the speechless couple, smiling faintly.
"Even if it weren't against the laws of the Pulder, I'm not sure. I wouldn't allow someone like that to be in the Herrington family's name. It's something even a city official wouldn't do in Herod."
He scoffed sharply in a light tone, then looked at Olivia.
“Let’s go, Miss Liberty. My aunt asked me to bring you.”
In a very light and comical way, the noblewoman who had been pushing Olivia so viciously backed away, unable to look at her any longer.
Olivia took a step toward him, as if possessed. Noah stared blankly at the woman approaching him, then turned around first.
Two years ago, a maze on an autumn night came to mind, and he shortened his stride slightly. He could hear the sound of small footsteps following behind him, intersecting with his own.
Olivia walked, looking at his strong, sturdy shoulders.
He was perfectly dressed for this ambitious occasion.
As she followed him through the main gate of the police station and reached the carriage, he turned around and held out his hand.
In a monotonous and plain manner, as if observing proper etiquette.
Olivia stared blankly at his hand, then raised her gaze to meet his. His sunken eyes, darkened by the darkness, seemed black. What was he thinking?
“I said just grab it.”
“Just grab it.”
Does this guy know?
How sweet the hand extended to her, the seemingly indifferent suggestion felt.
How much does it make her want to hang on?
Olivia carefully lifted her hand and placed it on his palm.
A warm, firm hand beneath the soft silk felt, firmly supporting her cold hand.
Without the slightest shaking.
As if to tell her that holding this hand is the safest thing to do.
The carriage moved smoothly.
Olivia folded her legs a little closer to the chair so they wouldn't overlap his long legs.
“Surely you don’t want to go back to that house. I’m going to Princess Marguerite.”
He sat up straight and gave a light announcement.
Olivia simply expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you."
“...”
“Did you... report it?”
Noah cocked his eyebrows and tilted his head.
“My bodyguard, to be exact.”
Despite the many questions she could have asked, such as why there were bodyguards around her house, Olivia was too exhausted to think deeply.
“I should also thank him. I owe him so much in so many ways.”
The face that lowered and raised its head was pale and white even in the darkness.
Noah's eyes sank like the deep, cold abyss.
Adam McDowell was arrested for allegedly trying to break down her door with a hammer. What a nice kid, damn it.
She must have expected something like this to happen, so he desperately suppressed the urge to ask why she hadn't come out of the house.
Maybe it's because of some old-fashioned reason.
If there was no reason, there would be no reason to live in that sparsely populated house.
Noah's gaze fell on her haphazardly tied black hair. Her disheveled shirt, her wrinkled skirt, her pale face.
The person he proposed to.
"Ha..."
Noah closed his eyes and let out a short sigh.
His aunt, who cherished her so much, had never visited her home. Or perhaps she had never considered how the nobles of Pulder viewed her.
That's a great favor.
At the same time, he was shocked at how many things he would have to worry about if she accepted his proposal and became his wife.
Herod's nobles would be no more or less than those of Pulder.
Noah frowned and suddenly opened his mouth.
“By the way, did you read the proposal I gave you earlier?”
“No matter what kind of proposal you make... do you always propose like a creditor?”
Noah cursed inwardly at Meson's gruff voice as he came in, tearing his hair out.
When no answer came quickly, Noah looked at Olivia with a dry gaze.
“...”
Even though he referred to it as a 'proposal', there was not the slightest blush or excitement on her face.
He, too, for some reason, did not like that calm demeanor on such a topic.
Meanwhile, Olivia found the darkness, with only faint lights scattered about, more comfortable.
It was fortunate that his expression was not clearly visible, and therefore, her expression would not be so clearly visible either.
After a moment of hesitation, he opened his mouth cautiously.
“May I ask why you suddenly proposed to me?”
“Is it because of the proposal?”
“Is this along the same lines as the invitation I received from the Herod royal family two years ago?”
The answer to the businesslike proposal was equally businesslike.
Noah's eyes darkened a little.
Indeed, Olivia Liberty is smart.
After a moment of silence, he leaned closer to her, resting his elbows on his knees.
He asked, revealing his bare face as he got closer.
"Then."
Despite his cold, inhuman expression, she simply stared at him calmly. Even though she looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
“Do you need me?”
The two people's gazes were tightly locked.
At this moment, the loud sound of horse hooves shattering the still air seemed distant from the two of them, and the moonlight streaming in through the window seemed meaningless.
Noah looked at her with such intensity that he seemed to be tying her up, and whispered as if reciting a spell.
“Yes. I need you.”
Could this be what a devil who deceives people looks like? She couldn't tear herself away from those beautiful green eyes, tinged with crimson.
“I need you, Olivia.”
His fingers curled at the name that rolled off his tongue, and a tingling sensation ran down his spine.
“I will protect you so that you never end up like that again.”
Noah Astrid slyly noticed that Olivia's dark eyes were throbbing violently.
He instinctively knew that this was her sore spot and that she would never be able to refuse this offer.
How could I have come to see her at such an incredible moment?
It was really easy to suddenly lift the little woman, barely dangling from the edge of the cliff, and hold her in his arms.
He whispered in a seductive voice, as if trying to seduce him.
“Marry me.”
The moment she tried to escape from her life alone.
A dark shadow loomed from Mrs. McDowell's left and grasped her sharp hand by the chin.
Olivia's hazy gaze, which had been blankly observing the situation, reached the hand holding Mrs. McDowell's wrist.
Olivia's eyes narrowed slightly.
The hand, clad in luxurious gloves, seemed familiar. Her eyes traced his hand and forearm, finally settling on his face.
“...”
Olivia's eyes gradually grew wider.
Her chest shrank, and she couldn't breathe, as if a giant had stepped on it.
Why now, of all times?
Olivia felt a surge of resentment, wondering why, out of all the times and moments, she had to meet this person only at this moment.
And at the same time, her hearing and sight, which had been distant, returned.
“It seems like there’s no restraint in assaulting people at the police station, funny enough.”
Few people can use such a humiliating honorific.
“W, what the hell are you doing...!”
Mrs. McDowell's movements suddenly stopped as she glared back, pulling her caught arm away violently.
With his golden hair that exuded a sense of dignity and his strikingly handsome features, Mrs. McDowell was daunted by the domineering gaze of a man born to rule.
“Who, who are you...”
Noah smiled gently and shook off the hand he was holding.
“For a matriarch of a family so poor that she can’t even recognize my face, she’s quite the tyrant.”
Mrs. McDowell swallowed hard and turned her head to look at her husband. Henry McDowell approached her and called out to her.
“Your Highness.”
Noah watched coldly as Henry McDowell politely bowed his head. Henry, flustered, gave his frozen wife a sharp nudge in the waist.
“What are you doing?! Why don’t you greet His Highness, Prince Herod, right away?”
The Prince before her was also a major shareholder in the civil engineering company he ran. Startled, Mrs. McDowell quickly gave a Herodian salute. Her voice cracked and trembled in shock.
“I apologize for not noticing you sooner, Your Highness.”
Noah took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth with a leisurely attitude.
"It's been a while, Sir McDowell. I didn't expect to see you here."
At that moment, the police chief came rushing in, his uniform looking disheveled and out of place, as if he had just woken up from sleep.
“Your Highness, Lord McDowell. What brings you here?”
Noah glanced at the police chief with a pitiful expression and spoke quickly and concisely.
“Don’t make a fuss about my coming. I’m just here to run a little errand.”
The police chief's eyes shook violently.
What kind of nonsense is this? Herod's Prince is running an errand.
Whether he was confused or not, Noah spoke to Olivia, who was standing to one side.
“Miss Liberty, please finish filling out the paperwork.”
For a moment, all eyes were on her. But no one dared to speak to her.
Even Mrs. McDowell, who had tried to stop her from writing the papers, looked at her with a rather pitiful face.
Just because Noah Astrid came.
He stood in front of her like a barrier blocking the oncoming mudslide.
"...Yes."
Olivia turned and picked up the fountain pen. She pressed her trembling wrist with her left hand and wrote as quickly as she could.
In the silence, only the sound of the pen nib scraping against the paper continued.
As Olivia finally put down her fountain pen and handed the documents to the officer in charge, Noah stubbed out his cigarette. He then took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Mrs. McDowell.
“What is this...”
Noah remained silent and just looked down at her coldly.
When Mrs. McDowell opened the envelope with trembling hands, she was greeted by a notice of her son's expulsion, signed by Marguerite herself.
"Oh, no, this can't be happening, Your Highness. Adam worked so hard to get into school. What did he do wrong..."
Half-crying, she tried to cling to Noah, almost pleading. Her husband tried to stop her, and Noah, indifferently, drew a line, pulling back.
"For the sake of Herrington College's reputation, you can't allow a criminal to remain, can you, Mrs. McDowell? And since I didn't issue that notice, you should go and plead with President Marguerite."
“You’re calling him a criminal before the verdict has even been reached! My child is...”
“Oh, you mean the good son who tried to break down the door because he wanted to talk?”
“...”
Noah looked back and forth between the speechless couple, smiling faintly.
"Even if it weren't against the laws of the Pulder, I'm not sure. I wouldn't allow someone like that to be in the Herrington family's name. It's something even a city official wouldn't do in Herod."
He scoffed sharply in a light tone, then looked at Olivia.
“Let’s go, Miss Liberty. My aunt asked me to bring you.”
In a very light and comical way, the noblewoman who had been pushing Olivia so viciously backed away, unable to look at her any longer.
Olivia took a step toward him, as if possessed. Noah stared blankly at the woman approaching him, then turned around first.
Two years ago, a maze on an autumn night came to mind, and he shortened his stride slightly. He could hear the sound of small footsteps following behind him, intersecting with his own.
Olivia walked, looking at his strong, sturdy shoulders.
He was perfectly dressed for this ambitious occasion.
As she followed him through the main gate of the police station and reached the carriage, he turned around and held out his hand.
In a monotonous and plain manner, as if observing proper etiquette.
Olivia stared blankly at his hand, then raised her gaze to meet his. His sunken eyes, darkened by the darkness, seemed black. What was he thinking?
“I said just grab it.”
“Just grab it.”
Does this guy know?
How sweet the hand extended to her, the seemingly indifferent suggestion felt.
How much does it make her want to hang on?
Olivia carefully lifted her hand and placed it on his palm.
A warm, firm hand beneath the soft silk felt, firmly supporting her cold hand.
Without the slightest shaking.
As if to tell her that holding this hand is the safest thing to do.
The carriage moved smoothly.
Olivia folded her legs a little closer to the chair so they wouldn't overlap his long legs.
“Surely you don’t want to go back to that house. I’m going to Princess Marguerite.”
He sat up straight and gave a light announcement.
Olivia simply expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you."
“...”
“Did you... report it?”
Noah cocked his eyebrows and tilted his head.
“My bodyguard, to be exact.”
Despite the many questions she could have asked, such as why there were bodyguards around her house, Olivia was too exhausted to think deeply.
“I should also thank him. I owe him so much in so many ways.”
The face that lowered and raised its head was pale and white even in the darkness.
Noah's eyes sank like the deep, cold abyss.
Adam McDowell was arrested for allegedly trying to break down her door with a hammer. What a nice kid, damn it.
She must have expected something like this to happen, so he desperately suppressed the urge to ask why she hadn't come out of the house.
Maybe it's because of some old-fashioned reason.
If there was no reason, there would be no reason to live in that sparsely populated house.
Noah's gaze fell on her haphazardly tied black hair. Her disheveled shirt, her wrinkled skirt, her pale face.
The person he proposed to.
"Ha..."
Noah closed his eyes and let out a short sigh.
His aunt, who cherished her so much, had never visited her home. Or perhaps she had never considered how the nobles of Pulder viewed her.
That's a great favor.
At the same time, he was shocked at how many things he would have to worry about if she accepted his proposal and became his wife.
Herod's nobles would be no more or less than those of Pulder.
Noah frowned and suddenly opened his mouth.
“By the way, did you read the proposal I gave you earlier?”
“No matter what kind of proposal you make... do you always propose like a creditor?”
Noah cursed inwardly at Meson's gruff voice as he came in, tearing his hair out.
When no answer came quickly, Noah looked at Olivia with a dry gaze.
“...”
Even though he referred to it as a 'proposal', there was not the slightest blush or excitement on her face.
He, too, for some reason, did not like that calm demeanor on such a topic.
Meanwhile, Olivia found the darkness, with only faint lights scattered about, more comfortable.
It was fortunate that his expression was not clearly visible, and therefore, her expression would not be so clearly visible either.
After a moment of hesitation, he opened his mouth cautiously.
“May I ask why you suddenly proposed to me?”
“Is it because of the proposal?”
“Is this along the same lines as the invitation I received from the Herod royal family two years ago?”
The answer to the businesslike proposal was equally businesslike.
Noah's eyes darkened a little.
Indeed, Olivia Liberty is smart.
After a moment of silence, he leaned closer to her, resting his elbows on his knees.
He asked, revealing his bare face as he got closer.
"Then."
Despite his cold, inhuman expression, she simply stared at him calmly. Even though she looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
“Do you need me?”
The two people's gazes were tightly locked.
At this moment, the loud sound of horse hooves shattering the still air seemed distant from the two of them, and the moonlight streaming in through the window seemed meaningless.
Noah looked at her with such intensity that he seemed to be tying her up, and whispered as if reciting a spell.
“Yes. I need you.”
Could this be what a devil who deceives people looks like? She couldn't tear herself away from those beautiful green eyes, tinged with crimson.
“I need you, Olivia.”
His fingers curled at the name that rolled off his tongue, and a tingling sensation ran down his spine.
“I will protect you so that you never end up like that again.”
Noah Astrid slyly noticed that Olivia's dark eyes were throbbing violently.
He instinctively knew that this was her sore spot and that she would never be able to refuse this offer.
How could I have come to see her at such an incredible moment?
It was really easy to suddenly lift the little woman, barely dangling from the edge of the cliff, and hold her in his arms.
He whispered in a seductive voice, as if trying to seduce him.
“Marry me.”
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