Episode 101. Noah's Wrath
"Of course. Please sit down."
Olivia sharpened her hearing, which was gradually becoming dull.
Mrs. Seymour glared at the Princess's face, which was pale to the point of staring, then averted her gaze and caught her breath. She wondered if there was anything on earth that Isabelle was inferior to her in.
Prince Noah was completely out of his mind.
How could you have been so infatuated with a woman like this that you pushed my daughter away so cruelly!
Mrs. Seymour spoke in a low voice, feeling a seething malice. She had no desire to use flowery language, so she abruptly got to the point.
“Your Highness, since you have come to such an informal social gathering, would you like to hear some informal advice?”
"What do you mean by informal advice?"
"It is very secret advice that a mother gives to her daughter. However, since it is advice that a mother-in-law can never give to a daughter-in-law, you probably have never heard it before."
Mrs. Seymour stared intently at the slowly blinking black eyes and whispered with a fervent wish.
"Many of Herod's male aristocrats naturally keep mistresses after marriage."
“...”
“Sleeping with household maids or actresses doesn’t even count as having an affair. They frequently have romantic entanglements with the wives of prominent families, so there are times when you find yourself laughing and dining at the same table with your husband’s mistress.”
Mrs. Seymour smiled cruelly, pulling up her red lips.
“In times like that, there is only one solution. Have a son as soon as possible.”
Seeing that her dark eyes seemed to waver for some reason, Mrs. Seymour leaned in and whispered maliciously into the Princess's ear.
"Before the Prince took a mistress."
Watching from a distance, the Marchioness Letium covered her mouth with a fan and intently scrutinized the Princess's expression. She had accompanied the hot-tempered Countess Seymour, anticipating that she would inevitably hurl abusive words at the Princess.
Not only her, but the attention of all the noble ladies was focused on the two of them.
It would be fun if the Princess cried right here. I wonder what to do?
However, Mrs. Seymour's expression, which had been leaning toward the Princess, suddenly froze.
Mrs. Seymour was left speechless by the Princess's voice flowing into her ears.
“Is that really advice a mother gives to her daughter?”
As Mrs. Seymour slowly stepped back, the Princess looked at her coldly. Her blazing blue eyes and her deep black eyes, sunken like the ocean, met tightly without yielding an inch.
Olivia gasped for breath rapidly. Each time, it felt as if a sharp knife was pricking her chest.
There was no longer any reason to stay in this place. To remain seated after hearing such things would certainly not be an act of humility.
Olivia stood up from her seat, keeping her gaze fixed on Mrs. Seymour. She put all her strength into her legs, feeling as though she would collapse at the slightest moment of carelessness.
When the Princess, who was expected to freeze and cry, rose from her seat, not only Mrs. Seymour but also Mrs. Timberlin, who had been watching from a distance, was taken aback.
It was just as they suddenly felt a surge of anxiety, realizing that the Princess's condition seemed serious, that they sprang up from their seat.
“I wonder why the Princess’s etiquette teacher is sitting at a different table.”
The voice of someone who absolutely should not be here flowed chillingly into their ears.
It was a very sudden attack, like a lion approaching silently and snatching the nape of the neck.
Mrs. Timberlin quickly turned around. That moment of turning her body around felt incredibly long.
And when she turned completely around, someone she never thought would be in this space was standing there, as if by magic.
“Wow, Your Highness... Th-that...!”
“If you’re going to make excuses or offer explanations, don’t even open your mouth.”
“Oh, a misunderstanding...”
A green gaze filled with a ferocious and ill-tempered aura flew in as if to tear Mrs. Timberlin apart. As Mrs. Timberlin, who was being strangled, merely opened her mouth, Noah spat out a warning.
"I said shut your mouth."
Noah coldly walked past Mrs. Timberlin, who was flustered and at a loss for what to do, and approached Olivia, who was standing there with a face that looked like she was about to die.
His pale face looked just like the way he looked back then, weeping alone while walking along the old stone path.
He never wanted to see this pitiful, shabby, and sickening sight again.
Never again.
Noah's heart grew cold like the abandoned, parched, frozen earth of the polar regions. At the same time, it burned with a brittle, hot sensation like the equatorial desert.
An intense, violent impulse arose within him to grab the hair of everyone gathered here and throw them to the ground.
Noah forcibly chewed and swallowed his unresolved emotions, like someone shoving a large block of ice he could not swallow down his throat. A sense of unease, as if he would shatter at the slightest touch, surged from the Prince, who was barely holding onto a precarious silence.
"Your Highness..."
When Olivia called out to him in embarrassment, Noah curled his lips into a crooked smile and held out his hand.
"I'm late."
Amidst everyone freezing in the bitter cold created by Noah, the Princess approached the bitter snow.
He looked so fragile, as if he would explode at the slightest touch. His shadowed, dark eyes were so cold that she forgot the piercing pain in her chest before she knew it.
Olivia quickly took the hand Noah extended.
"I was just about to get up and leave. Nothing special happened. It does feel like I went through something ridiculous, but since I've experienced it once, next time..."
"Let's go."
Noah smiled and put his arm around Olivia's shoulder.
He stared intently at Mrs. Seymour, who stood there flustered with his arm around his wife's shoulder. With a murderous look that seemed ready to bare his claws at any moment, not only Mrs. Seymour but also the other ladies dared not even approach him to greet him.
Noah looked at Mrs. Seymour silently, then spoke with a sneer on his face.
“Countess Seymour, excuse me now. It seems you have finished speaking with my consort.”
“Yes...? Ah, yes, Your Highness.”
"It seems your family is unusually interested in the Princess, but excessive interest is burdensome, so please tone it down."
Mrs. Seymour turned pale at the very blatant warning.
With not a shred of manners, the Prince coldly turned his head toward the ladies inside the cafe. Then, he scanned them very slowly, as if imprinting the presence of those in the room onto his mind.
“Noah...”
As Olivia rustled and tried to slip away from his embrace, Noah held her immobile with great force. It was a strength strong enough to make her shoulder tingle.
Eventually, Noah, having imprinted everyone inside the cafe in his mind, slowly took a step.
Inside the spacious cafe, only the sound of his shoes and Olivia’s hurried footsteps hurriedly following behind him echoed, and the ladies seated at the tables could not even breathe.
Just as Noah was leading Olivia across the threshold of the cafe, Mrs. Timberlin, having barely regained her senses, ran over, clutching the hem of her skirt.
“Your, Your Highness!”
However, she had no choice but to stop in her tracks at the Prince's sharp gaze flying over his shoulder. The Prince held his wife in his arms, blocking her from even seeing her face, and then sneered sharply.
"It seems like you really enjoyed the Shine Party, so enjoy it even more."
“...A, a Shine Party?! W-Your Highness, I, I absolutely did not mean it. It’s not like that...!”
Mrs. Timberlin turned deathly pale as if she were about to faint and was at a loss for what to do, but Noah mercilessly turned his head away. Faced with that cold, heartless attitude, Mrs. Timberlin did not dare call out to Olivia or follow her.
Everything went dark ahead, and she involuntarily slumped onto the floor. However, no one could comfort or support her.
"It seems like you really enjoyed the Shine Party, so enjoy it even more."
Noah Astrid realized the moment he saw this place. The fact that they had been mocking the Princess.
And he was terrified by that fact.
“What do I do now...”
Someone's trembling voice gently shook the fragile, anxious air of the cafe.
As Olivia was led out of the cafe by Noah's hand, the knights and Meson, who were waiting outside, quickly followed. Even the good-natured Meson could not dare to greet the Prince, who had such a fragile aura.
No, there wasn't even a chance to hand it over.
Bodyguards in pitch-black suits followed closely behind, guiding Noah and Olivia to one side.
“Come this way.”
The direction the bodyguards were guiding her was the exact opposite of the stairs she had come up, and before long, Olivia realized the reason.
“He’s out! Over there, over there!”
“Oh, I see they aren’t coming this way!”
Below the VIP floor on the fifth floor, countless people had gathered, leaving no room to even set foot. They were people who had flocked there upon hearing the news that the Princess had appeared. It was incomparable to the crowd she had encountered before entering the cafe.
Noah quickly went down the stairs, gripping Olivia's hand tightly. Since it was a staff-only passageway, the stairs were rough and uneven.
"Watch carefully and come down."
At the chilling tone, Olivia quickly clutched the hem of her skirt and checked her feet. After passing through a long, musty, and dark passageway that was completely out of character for Noah Astrid, a monotonous black door appeared.
As the bodyguards flung open the door ahead, Noah pressed the front of Olivia's hat, who was standing beside him.
"Follow me with your eyes covered."
She knew what that meant as soon as the door opened completely.
Bang, bang, bang!!
Intense camera flashes fired wildly, showing not a shred of mercy. For a moment, her vision flickered white. Olivia involuntarily lowered her head and gripped Noah's hand even tighter.
"He's here!!"
“Your Highness!! Please look over here, Your Highness!!”
“Your Highness!! Your Highness, over here too!!”
Compared to the shouts of reporters smothered in obsession and the merciless flashes of cameras from all directions, the barrage of photos during the wedding procession felt quite polite.
People hanging from the tops of buildings and walls were screaming at the top of their lungs.
“Your Highness!!”
“Those crazy bastards!”
Noah finally muttered a curse and pulled Olivia by the shoulder. The knights stood shielding Olivia's back and her empty left side with their bodies, and Meson quickly ran out and opened the carriage door.
Noah practically wrapped his arms around Olivia's shoulders to lift her into the carriage, then quickly climbed in and slammed the door shut. He then pulled down all the curtains.
Then the two of them were cut off from everything in the world.
Only Olivia and Noah remained in the small, dark square space.
Lights were still bursting outside, and voices calling her could be heard, but all of Olivia's attention was fixed on her husband right in front of her.
Even after the carriage moved, Noah just sat there in the dim light.
“Noah...”
Don't say anything.
A low voice tightened its grip on Olivia.
"Of course. Please sit down."
Olivia sharpened her hearing, which was gradually becoming dull.
Mrs. Seymour glared at the Princess's face, which was pale to the point of staring, then averted her gaze and caught her breath. She wondered if there was anything on earth that Isabelle was inferior to her in.
Prince Noah was completely out of his mind.
How could you have been so infatuated with a woman like this that you pushed my daughter away so cruelly!
Mrs. Seymour spoke in a low voice, feeling a seething malice. She had no desire to use flowery language, so she abruptly got to the point.
“Your Highness, since you have come to such an informal social gathering, would you like to hear some informal advice?”
"What do you mean by informal advice?"
"It is very secret advice that a mother gives to her daughter. However, since it is advice that a mother-in-law can never give to a daughter-in-law, you probably have never heard it before."
Mrs. Seymour stared intently at the slowly blinking black eyes and whispered with a fervent wish.
"Many of Herod's male aristocrats naturally keep mistresses after marriage."
“...”
“Sleeping with household maids or actresses doesn’t even count as having an affair. They frequently have romantic entanglements with the wives of prominent families, so there are times when you find yourself laughing and dining at the same table with your husband’s mistress.”
Mrs. Seymour smiled cruelly, pulling up her red lips.
“In times like that, there is only one solution. Have a son as soon as possible.”
Seeing that her dark eyes seemed to waver for some reason, Mrs. Seymour leaned in and whispered maliciously into the Princess's ear.
"Before the Prince took a mistress."
Watching from a distance, the Marchioness Letium covered her mouth with a fan and intently scrutinized the Princess's expression. She had accompanied the hot-tempered Countess Seymour, anticipating that she would inevitably hurl abusive words at the Princess.
Not only her, but the attention of all the noble ladies was focused on the two of them.
It would be fun if the Princess cried right here. I wonder what to do?
However, Mrs. Seymour's expression, which had been leaning toward the Princess, suddenly froze.
Mrs. Seymour was left speechless by the Princess's voice flowing into her ears.
“Is that really advice a mother gives to her daughter?”
As Mrs. Seymour slowly stepped back, the Princess looked at her coldly. Her blazing blue eyes and her deep black eyes, sunken like the ocean, met tightly without yielding an inch.
Olivia gasped for breath rapidly. Each time, it felt as if a sharp knife was pricking her chest.
There was no longer any reason to stay in this place. To remain seated after hearing such things would certainly not be an act of humility.
Olivia stood up from her seat, keeping her gaze fixed on Mrs. Seymour. She put all her strength into her legs, feeling as though she would collapse at the slightest moment of carelessness.
When the Princess, who was expected to freeze and cry, rose from her seat, not only Mrs. Seymour but also Mrs. Timberlin, who had been watching from a distance, was taken aback.
It was just as they suddenly felt a surge of anxiety, realizing that the Princess's condition seemed serious, that they sprang up from their seat.
“I wonder why the Princess’s etiquette teacher is sitting at a different table.”
The voice of someone who absolutely should not be here flowed chillingly into their ears.
It was a very sudden attack, like a lion approaching silently and snatching the nape of the neck.
Mrs. Timberlin quickly turned around. That moment of turning her body around felt incredibly long.
And when she turned completely around, someone she never thought would be in this space was standing there, as if by magic.
“Wow, Your Highness... Th-that...!”
“If you’re going to make excuses or offer explanations, don’t even open your mouth.”
“Oh, a misunderstanding...”
A green gaze filled with a ferocious and ill-tempered aura flew in as if to tear Mrs. Timberlin apart. As Mrs. Timberlin, who was being strangled, merely opened her mouth, Noah spat out a warning.
"I said shut your mouth."
Noah coldly walked past Mrs. Timberlin, who was flustered and at a loss for what to do, and approached Olivia, who was standing there with a face that looked like she was about to die.
His pale face looked just like the way he looked back then, weeping alone while walking along the old stone path.
He never wanted to see this pitiful, shabby, and sickening sight again.
Never again.
Noah's heart grew cold like the abandoned, parched, frozen earth of the polar regions. At the same time, it burned with a brittle, hot sensation like the equatorial desert.
An intense, violent impulse arose within him to grab the hair of everyone gathered here and throw them to the ground.
Noah forcibly chewed and swallowed his unresolved emotions, like someone shoving a large block of ice he could not swallow down his throat. A sense of unease, as if he would shatter at the slightest touch, surged from the Prince, who was barely holding onto a precarious silence.
"Your Highness..."
When Olivia called out to him in embarrassment, Noah curled his lips into a crooked smile and held out his hand.
"I'm late."
Amidst everyone freezing in the bitter cold created by Noah, the Princess approached the bitter snow.
He looked so fragile, as if he would explode at the slightest touch. His shadowed, dark eyes were so cold that she forgot the piercing pain in her chest before she knew it.
Olivia quickly took the hand Noah extended.
"I was just about to get up and leave. Nothing special happened. It does feel like I went through something ridiculous, but since I've experienced it once, next time..."
"Let's go."
Noah smiled and put his arm around Olivia's shoulder.
He stared intently at Mrs. Seymour, who stood there flustered with his arm around his wife's shoulder. With a murderous look that seemed ready to bare his claws at any moment, not only Mrs. Seymour but also the other ladies dared not even approach him to greet him.
Noah looked at Mrs. Seymour silently, then spoke with a sneer on his face.
“Countess Seymour, excuse me now. It seems you have finished speaking with my consort.”
“Yes...? Ah, yes, Your Highness.”
"It seems your family is unusually interested in the Princess, but excessive interest is burdensome, so please tone it down."
Mrs. Seymour turned pale at the very blatant warning.
With not a shred of manners, the Prince coldly turned his head toward the ladies inside the cafe. Then, he scanned them very slowly, as if imprinting the presence of those in the room onto his mind.
“Noah...”
As Olivia rustled and tried to slip away from his embrace, Noah held her immobile with great force. It was a strength strong enough to make her shoulder tingle.
Eventually, Noah, having imprinted everyone inside the cafe in his mind, slowly took a step.
Inside the spacious cafe, only the sound of his shoes and Olivia’s hurried footsteps hurriedly following behind him echoed, and the ladies seated at the tables could not even breathe.
Just as Noah was leading Olivia across the threshold of the cafe, Mrs. Timberlin, having barely regained her senses, ran over, clutching the hem of her skirt.
“Your, Your Highness!”
However, she had no choice but to stop in her tracks at the Prince's sharp gaze flying over his shoulder. The Prince held his wife in his arms, blocking her from even seeing her face, and then sneered sharply.
"It seems like you really enjoyed the Shine Party, so enjoy it even more."
“...A, a Shine Party?! W-Your Highness, I, I absolutely did not mean it. It’s not like that...!”
Mrs. Timberlin turned deathly pale as if she were about to faint and was at a loss for what to do, but Noah mercilessly turned his head away. Faced with that cold, heartless attitude, Mrs. Timberlin did not dare call out to Olivia or follow her.
Everything went dark ahead, and she involuntarily slumped onto the floor. However, no one could comfort or support her.
"It seems like you really enjoyed the Shine Party, so enjoy it even more."
Noah Astrid realized the moment he saw this place. The fact that they had been mocking the Princess.
And he was terrified by that fact.
“What do I do now...”
Someone's trembling voice gently shook the fragile, anxious air of the cafe.
As Olivia was led out of the cafe by Noah's hand, the knights and Meson, who were waiting outside, quickly followed. Even the good-natured Meson could not dare to greet the Prince, who had such a fragile aura.
No, there wasn't even a chance to hand it over.
Bodyguards in pitch-black suits followed closely behind, guiding Noah and Olivia to one side.
“Come this way.”
The direction the bodyguards were guiding her was the exact opposite of the stairs she had come up, and before long, Olivia realized the reason.
“He’s out! Over there, over there!”
“Oh, I see they aren’t coming this way!”
Below the VIP floor on the fifth floor, countless people had gathered, leaving no room to even set foot. They were people who had flocked there upon hearing the news that the Princess had appeared. It was incomparable to the crowd she had encountered before entering the cafe.
Noah quickly went down the stairs, gripping Olivia's hand tightly. Since it was a staff-only passageway, the stairs were rough and uneven.
"Watch carefully and come down."
At the chilling tone, Olivia quickly clutched the hem of her skirt and checked her feet. After passing through a long, musty, and dark passageway that was completely out of character for Noah Astrid, a monotonous black door appeared.
As the bodyguards flung open the door ahead, Noah pressed the front of Olivia's hat, who was standing beside him.
"Follow me with your eyes covered."
She knew what that meant as soon as the door opened completely.
Bang, bang, bang!!
Intense camera flashes fired wildly, showing not a shred of mercy. For a moment, her vision flickered white. Olivia involuntarily lowered her head and gripped Noah's hand even tighter.
"He's here!!"
“Your Highness!! Please look over here, Your Highness!!”
“Your Highness!! Your Highness, over here too!!”
Compared to the shouts of reporters smothered in obsession and the merciless flashes of cameras from all directions, the barrage of photos during the wedding procession felt quite polite.
People hanging from the tops of buildings and walls were screaming at the top of their lungs.
“Your Highness!!”
“Those crazy bastards!”
Noah finally muttered a curse and pulled Olivia by the shoulder. The knights stood shielding Olivia's back and her empty left side with their bodies, and Meson quickly ran out and opened the carriage door.
Noah practically wrapped his arms around Olivia's shoulders to lift her into the carriage, then quickly climbed in and slammed the door shut. He then pulled down all the curtains.
Then the two of them were cut off from everything in the world.
Only Olivia and Noah remained in the small, dark square space.
Lights were still bursting outside, and voices calling her could be heard, but all of Olivia's attention was fixed on her husband right in front of her.
Even after the carriage moved, Noah just sat there in the dim light.
“Noah...”
Don't say anything.
A low voice tightened its grip on Olivia.
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