Episode 102. That Squalid Thing
Sitting in a long line, he slowly caught his breath and swept her hair back. The deep weariness etched on his handsome features weighed down on Olivia's shoulders.
Olivia, who had become a sinner without having done anything wrong, gasped for breath and only moved her lips.
Noah looked at his wife's face, which was pale and looked as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.
Anger seethed.
To be precise, he was angry at the vulgar people sitting in the cafe, but he was also angry at Olivia, who was somehow holding on in the midst of it all.
If he hadn't come after receiving Mrs. Betty's call, how much longer would Olivia have intended to stay there?
Even though he emphasized that there was no need to go to such trouble, why does she act so foolishly and tire people out?
It didn't matter if she walked out right away or even screamed on the spot. If Olivia had done it, he felt like he could happily handle the aftermath, even if blood was shed on the spot.
He told her that if she felt bad, it meant the other person acted like a dog, but what else was she worrying about with that little head of hers?
Noah strangely hated the fact that she was holding back and enduring.
Did she try to hold out today, too?
“...I was just about to get up.”
The area beneath her wide-open eyes was sunken and hollow. Seeing this, Noah roughly ran his hand across his face and spoke as if spitting it out.
“Do you know what’s important?”
“...”
I'm saying you didn't do anything wrong.
Right. Olivia is not at fault.
“What did you do wrong...”
Noah trailed off for a moment, then quickly blurted it out.
“You improve by holding on, enduring, and persevering. But it’s not your fault, Liv.”
If she has any fault, it is that she was born a commoner.
“You’ve felt that your whole life, and you still don’t understand?”
Noah's words became a thorn that pricked Olivia's heart. The pain she had momentarily forgotten rushed in intensely and shook Olivia to her core.
Heat surged in her eyes, and her vision became blurry.
“Enduring, holding on, and holding on. Aren’t you sick and tired of it?”
Even though Noah knew that his sharp words were tearing Olivia's heart apart, he ended up blurting out his last words.
“I’m asking if you really want to do that filthy thing right next to me, Olivia.”
The clear tears rolled over the low wall before they could even gather. Olivia reflexively lowered her head and raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
She desperately raised her hands because she didn't want anyone to see jer crying, but her body wouldn't obey.
Her ears went numb, and it felt like her head was being crushed. The breath escaping was so hot that she suspected her throat might have been burned black.
No, I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be doing this because I'm in pain right now.
Olivia's mind slowly became hazy. Her back buckled at the sharp pain tearing through her chest. Breathing shallowly in an attempt to somehow lessen the pain, her body slowly tilted to the side.
No. I'm going to sit down...
Consciousness flowed slowly.
"Olivia!!"
Amidst her fading consciousness, she heard Noah's voice. As her senses gradually faded, she saw his hurried face through jer slowly opening eyes.
I don't want to show you me crying.
Tears keep falling in drops along the corners of her eyes.
As a tear finally fell from Olivia's eye, Noah cursed inwardly. Seeing a few more drops fall from those big eyes before they could even gather, Noah let out a deep, heavy sigh.
When Noah looked back at Olivia after roughly wiping his dry eyes, he realized that she was strange.
He thought she had lost strength as her shoulders slumped and her posture collapsed, but wasn't her body slowly leaning to the side?!
"Olivia!!"
Startled, Noah sprang to his feet and picked up the collapsing Olivia. Her body slumped limply like a puppet with its strings cut. As her hat rolled off, fully revealing Olivia's face, a sudden surge of heat washed over him.
Startled by the unexpected heat, Noah quickly examined her face. Upon closer inspection, not only were the corners of her eyes red, but her lips were also extremely dry.
Noah hurriedly bit off the glove with his teeth and placed his hand on Olivia's forehead.
“...!!”
Startled, he gasped and cupped her cheek with his hand while glaring. Her fever was shockingly high. It was so hot that it was practically boiling, enough to make him suddenly terrified.
“Olivia, snap out of it! Olivia!!”
“...”
He shook her cheek and urgently called out to her, but her unfocused eyes were only hazy. Even in the midst of that, tears kept streaming down the corners of her eyes.
Noah instinctively pulled her into his arms and roughly opened the window.
“Meson!!!”
As he called out to Meson while shielding his eyes from the rushing wind with his hand, the startled Meson quickly drove his horse to the side of the carriage.
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“Go to the palace right now and bring a doctor. Right now!! Tell them Olivia has a fever!”
Meson glanced at the Princess slumped in the Prince's arms and hardened his face.
“Yes, I’ll be right back!”
As Meson moved away, Noah called his guards and gave orders.
“Run to the mansion, tell the Princess that she is ill, and order the bedroom temperature to be turned up!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
"Increase the speed of the carriage!"
Noah, having given the order, hurriedly closed the window where the wind was blowing in.
His eyes trembled uncontrollably as he hurriedly turned his head to look down at Olivia. While he briefly gave orders to the knights, his eyes, which had been half-awake, closed shut.
Noah was rarely flustered.
He unbuttoned Olivia's coat without even realizing his fingers were trembling. As his gloved hand kept slipping, he irritably tore off the glove and quickly stripped off the coat. At that moment, the intense heat trapped inside the coat rushed out.
"Shit!"
Her whole body was a ball of fire.
How on earth did you become like this, and why did you even come here in a body like this!
“Ugh...”
As Olivia, who had been lying limp, curled up and groaned, Noah pulled her into his arms.
Since there was nothing he could do, he had no choice but to hold her close so she wouldn't fall out of his arms.
Tears kept seeping into the fingers cupping Olivia's cheek. Even when he wiped her face, the tears kept slipping through his fingers.
Noah clenched and unclenched his fist tightly, then leaned in, pulling Olivia closer into his embrace.
"Don't cry."
“...”
"Don't cry, Olivia."
Noah Astrid, who had been indifferent to who was sick or who was crying, lost his composure in front of Olivia, who was crying from a fever.
He certainly brought her here for his own peace, but he never imagined that his peace would be placed in the palm of her hand.
His heart pounded painfully, as if it were being crushed.
The Prince's mansion was turned upside down.
This is because the Princess, who showed no signs of illness until the morning, returned unconscious after just half a day.
The Prince personally embraced the Princess and laid her down in the bedroom, then stood guard beside her, unable to move.
However, his expression was so cold and heartless that, at first glance, it felt as though he were merely annoyed and bothered rather than worried about his sick wife.
Noah's silence, which had been barely maintained, was shattered by Meson's awkward words.
“She's sick, so what does it matter if it’s a woman or a man! Bring someone else here right now!!!”
The servants flinched at the Prince's thunderous roar echoing through the hallway. Meson bit his lip and tried to calm him down.
“For now, I have obtained some fever reducers. After all, even if a doctor comes, doesn't he prescribe medicine first? He will bring the fever down first. The time it takes to convince the male doctor to treat Her Highness will be about the same as the time spent waiting for the doctor.”
“...”
Noah stood silently in the dim light. He would rather have let his anger run wild and scream than be afraid of silence.
Meson could not even bring himself to look up at him and just kept moistening his dry lips.
A short while later, Noah called Mrs. Betty and handed her the medicine.
"Feed them."
And as she entered the room, she asked in a low voice.
"It takes exactly a few hours for the doctor to come."
"Since you mentioned going to the Osolo area, I estimate it will take anywhere from three to four hours."
Noah took out his watch and checked the time.
Meson cautiously raised his gaze to look at him. There was not a trace of humanity in any of his features, making it seem as if he were looking at a statue. It was a face that felt unfamiliar even to Meson, who had served him for quite a long time.
Noah closed the clock lid and spoke quickly.
"The Princess will not be attending tomorrow's event. I will be traveling by horse instead of carriage, so I will depart one hour later than originally scheduled. I will stop by the Royal Palace briefly, so please tell Mother that I will visit her at 8 a.m. tomorrow."
“Understood, Your Highness.”
After finishing his words, Noah turned around and went into the bedroom.
Meson finally slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding without realizing it. Cold sweat trickled down his back, soaking his shirt.
Meson glanced at his watch and headed back to the royal palace, earnestly hoping that the doctor would arrive on time.
Sitting in a long line, he slowly caught his breath and swept her hair back. The deep weariness etched on his handsome features weighed down on Olivia's shoulders.
Olivia, who had become a sinner without having done anything wrong, gasped for breath and only moved her lips.
Noah looked at his wife's face, which was pale and looked as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.
Anger seethed.
To be precise, he was angry at the vulgar people sitting in the cafe, but he was also angry at Olivia, who was somehow holding on in the midst of it all.
If he hadn't come after receiving Mrs. Betty's call, how much longer would Olivia have intended to stay there?
Even though he emphasized that there was no need to go to such trouble, why does she act so foolishly and tire people out?
It didn't matter if she walked out right away or even screamed on the spot. If Olivia had done it, he felt like he could happily handle the aftermath, even if blood was shed on the spot.
He told her that if she felt bad, it meant the other person acted like a dog, but what else was she worrying about with that little head of hers?
Noah strangely hated the fact that she was holding back and enduring.
Did she try to hold out today, too?
“...I was just about to get up.”
The area beneath her wide-open eyes was sunken and hollow. Seeing this, Noah roughly ran his hand across his face and spoke as if spitting it out.
“Do you know what’s important?”
“...”
I'm saying you didn't do anything wrong.
Right. Olivia is not at fault.
“What did you do wrong...”
Noah trailed off for a moment, then quickly blurted it out.
“You improve by holding on, enduring, and persevering. But it’s not your fault, Liv.”
If she has any fault, it is that she was born a commoner.
“You’ve felt that your whole life, and you still don’t understand?”
Noah's words became a thorn that pricked Olivia's heart. The pain she had momentarily forgotten rushed in intensely and shook Olivia to her core.
Heat surged in her eyes, and her vision became blurry.
“Enduring, holding on, and holding on. Aren’t you sick and tired of it?”
Even though Noah knew that his sharp words were tearing Olivia's heart apart, he ended up blurting out his last words.
“I’m asking if you really want to do that filthy thing right next to me, Olivia.”
The clear tears rolled over the low wall before they could even gather. Olivia reflexively lowered her head and raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
She desperately raised her hands because she didn't want anyone to see jer crying, but her body wouldn't obey.
Her ears went numb, and it felt like her head was being crushed. The breath escaping was so hot that she suspected her throat might have been burned black.
No, I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be doing this because I'm in pain right now.
Olivia's mind slowly became hazy. Her back buckled at the sharp pain tearing through her chest. Breathing shallowly in an attempt to somehow lessen the pain, her body slowly tilted to the side.
No. I'm going to sit down...
Consciousness flowed slowly.
"Olivia!!"
Amidst her fading consciousness, she heard Noah's voice. As her senses gradually faded, she saw his hurried face through jer slowly opening eyes.
I don't want to show you me crying.
Tears keep falling in drops along the corners of her eyes.
As a tear finally fell from Olivia's eye, Noah cursed inwardly. Seeing a few more drops fall from those big eyes before they could even gather, Noah let out a deep, heavy sigh.
When Noah looked back at Olivia after roughly wiping his dry eyes, he realized that she was strange.
He thought she had lost strength as her shoulders slumped and her posture collapsed, but wasn't her body slowly leaning to the side?!
"Olivia!!"
Startled, Noah sprang to his feet and picked up the collapsing Olivia. Her body slumped limply like a puppet with its strings cut. As her hat rolled off, fully revealing Olivia's face, a sudden surge of heat washed over him.
Startled by the unexpected heat, Noah quickly examined her face. Upon closer inspection, not only were the corners of her eyes red, but her lips were also extremely dry.
Noah hurriedly bit off the glove with his teeth and placed his hand on Olivia's forehead.
“...!!”
Startled, he gasped and cupped her cheek with his hand while glaring. Her fever was shockingly high. It was so hot that it was practically boiling, enough to make him suddenly terrified.
“Olivia, snap out of it! Olivia!!”
“...”
He shook her cheek and urgently called out to her, but her unfocused eyes were only hazy. Even in the midst of that, tears kept streaming down the corners of her eyes.
Noah instinctively pulled her into his arms and roughly opened the window.
“Meson!!!”
As he called out to Meson while shielding his eyes from the rushing wind with his hand, the startled Meson quickly drove his horse to the side of the carriage.
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“Go to the palace right now and bring a doctor. Right now!! Tell them Olivia has a fever!”
Meson glanced at the Princess slumped in the Prince's arms and hardened his face.
“Yes, I’ll be right back!”
As Meson moved away, Noah called his guards and gave orders.
“Run to the mansion, tell the Princess that she is ill, and order the bedroom temperature to be turned up!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
"Increase the speed of the carriage!"
Noah, having given the order, hurriedly closed the window where the wind was blowing in.
His eyes trembled uncontrollably as he hurriedly turned his head to look down at Olivia. While he briefly gave orders to the knights, his eyes, which had been half-awake, closed shut.
Noah was rarely flustered.
He unbuttoned Olivia's coat without even realizing his fingers were trembling. As his gloved hand kept slipping, he irritably tore off the glove and quickly stripped off the coat. At that moment, the intense heat trapped inside the coat rushed out.
"Shit!"
Her whole body was a ball of fire.
How on earth did you become like this, and why did you even come here in a body like this!
“Ugh...”
As Olivia, who had been lying limp, curled up and groaned, Noah pulled her into his arms.
Since there was nothing he could do, he had no choice but to hold her close so she wouldn't fall out of his arms.
Tears kept seeping into the fingers cupping Olivia's cheek. Even when he wiped her face, the tears kept slipping through his fingers.
Noah clenched and unclenched his fist tightly, then leaned in, pulling Olivia closer into his embrace.
"Don't cry."
“...”
"Don't cry, Olivia."
Noah Astrid, who had been indifferent to who was sick or who was crying, lost his composure in front of Olivia, who was crying from a fever.
He certainly brought her here for his own peace, but he never imagined that his peace would be placed in the palm of her hand.
His heart pounded painfully, as if it were being crushed.
The Prince's mansion was turned upside down.
This is because the Princess, who showed no signs of illness until the morning, returned unconscious after just half a day.
The Prince personally embraced the Princess and laid her down in the bedroom, then stood guard beside her, unable to move.
However, his expression was so cold and heartless that, at first glance, it felt as though he were merely annoyed and bothered rather than worried about his sick wife.
But,
"Please change the water again. Adjust the temperature to be similar to body temperature."
"Lower the room temperature a little more than this."
With a face as cold and blue as lead, he examined the Princess's condition and issued detailed orders.
Noah was in such a sensitive state that even Mrs. Betty, who was accustomed to him, was nervous. Like people walking on thin ice that would shatter at any moment, the maids carefully undressed the Princess, holding back even their breathing.
"Oh, my god..."
Olivia's body was hot enough for someone to let out such a remark even in such a state of sensitivity. As one of the maids stripped off her dress, Noah, who had been staring intently at Olivia, furrowed his brow mercilessly.
That damn thing was shackling even the ragged breaths she was letting out in agony.
"Take that off right now."
If someone were to tell her to wear clothes like that for the rest of her life, she would surely die. The corset, tightly binding her abdomen and chest, was suffocating just to look at.
At Noah's impatient voice, the maids' hands quickened. As the corset that had been tightly constricting her chest disappeared, her breasts, which had been rising and falling rapidly, relaxed and settled.
Wondering if it wasn't awkward even for a married couple, Mrs. Betty hurriedly dressed the Princess in her nightgown while glancing at the Prince. However, Noah showed no intention of leaving this place tonight.
She was afraid to even dare to guess what was seething inside those eyes, which appeared pitch black in the shadow of the lamp.
However, something unexpected happened.
"What?"
Meson, who had gone to the royal palace to call a doctor, appeared empty-handed.
Three of the four female doctors at the royal palace are away attending to the Grand Madam, and Madam Holland is absent due to household matters. She has sent someone urgently and asks that he wait just a little longer.
“Those aren’t the only council members here. Bring in some others.”
“...Your Highness, royal women receive medical treatment only from female doctors, don’t they...”
"Please change the water again. Adjust the temperature to be similar to body temperature."
"Lower the room temperature a little more than this."
With a face as cold and blue as lead, he examined the Princess's condition and issued detailed orders.
Noah was in such a sensitive state that even Mrs. Betty, who was accustomed to him, was nervous. Like people walking on thin ice that would shatter at any moment, the maids carefully undressed the Princess, holding back even their breathing.
"Oh, my god..."
Olivia's body was hot enough for someone to let out such a remark even in such a state of sensitivity. As one of the maids stripped off her dress, Noah, who had been staring intently at Olivia, furrowed his brow mercilessly.
That damn thing was shackling even the ragged breaths she was letting out in agony.
"Take that off right now."
If someone were to tell her to wear clothes like that for the rest of her life, she would surely die. The corset, tightly binding her abdomen and chest, was suffocating just to look at.
At Noah's impatient voice, the maids' hands quickened. As the corset that had been tightly constricting her chest disappeared, her breasts, which had been rising and falling rapidly, relaxed and settled.
Wondering if it wasn't awkward even for a married couple, Mrs. Betty hurriedly dressed the Princess in her nightgown while glancing at the Prince. However, Noah showed no intention of leaving this place tonight.
She was afraid to even dare to guess what was seething inside those eyes, which appeared pitch black in the shadow of the lamp.
However, something unexpected happened.
"What?"
Meson, who had gone to the royal palace to call a doctor, appeared empty-handed.
Three of the four female doctors at the royal palace are away attending to the Grand Madam, and Madam Holland is absent due to household matters. She has sent someone urgently and asks that he wait just a little longer.
“Those aren’t the only council members here. Bring in some others.”
“...Your Highness, royal women receive medical treatment only from female doctors, don’t they...”
Noah's silence, which had been barely maintained, was shattered by Meson's awkward words.
“She's sick, so what does it matter if it’s a woman or a man! Bring someone else here right now!!!”
The servants flinched at the Prince's thunderous roar echoing through the hallway. Meson bit his lip and tried to calm him down.
“For now, I have obtained some fever reducers. After all, even if a doctor comes, doesn't he prescribe medicine first? He will bring the fever down first. The time it takes to convince the male doctor to treat Her Highness will be about the same as the time spent waiting for the doctor.”
“...”
Noah stood silently in the dim light. He would rather have let his anger run wild and scream than be afraid of silence.
Meson could not even bring himself to look up at him and just kept moistening his dry lips.
A short while later, Noah called Mrs. Betty and handed her the medicine.
"Feed them."
And as she entered the room, she asked in a low voice.
"It takes exactly a few hours for the doctor to come."
"Since you mentioned going to the Osolo area, I estimate it will take anywhere from three to four hours."
Noah took out his watch and checked the time.
Meson cautiously raised his gaze to look at him. There was not a trace of humanity in any of his features, making it seem as if he were looking at a statue. It was a face that felt unfamiliar even to Meson, who had served him for quite a long time.
Noah closed the clock lid and spoke quickly.
"The Princess will not be attending tomorrow's event. I will be traveling by horse instead of carriage, so I will depart one hour later than originally scheduled. I will stop by the Royal Palace briefly, so please tell Mother that I will visit her at 8 a.m. tomorrow."
“Understood, Your Highness.”
After finishing his words, Noah turned around and went into the bedroom.
Meson finally slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding without realizing it. Cold sweat trickled down his back, soaking his shirt.
Meson glanced at his watch and headed back to the royal palace, earnestly hoping that the doctor would arrive on time.
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