Episode 104. I Am Your Barrier
Mrs. Seymour also hurriedly left the department store, leaving the despairing Countess Timberlin behind.
Although she felt quite uneasy about having spoken presumptuously to the Princess in a fit of anger, she thought there was nothing to worry about since she hadn't mocked or insulted her in front of everyone.
It is extremely unpleasant to dwell on something without evidence.
On top of that...
“How displeased must proud Prince Noah be with a Princess who is merely subjected to a Shine Party...”
Mrs. Seymour's lips slowly curled upward.
Thus, by the time she arrived at the Count's mansion, the unease had completely evaporated, leaving only a sense of triumph. Mrs. Seymour went straight to find her daughter.
“Isabelle!”
Her daughter was doing a final check on the dress ordered for tomorrow's event. The high-saturation blue dress contrasted with Isabelle's hair color, making her look lively and beautiful.
“Oh my god!”
Mrs. Seymour took off her hat and let out a burst of admiration.
Since the event is being held by the seaside, she chose a color that is a bit flashy and vibrant.
“Tomorrow, all eyes will be on you, my daughter. Everyone will be watching only you.”
At her words, Isabelle wore only a self-deprecating smile. She was not happy at all at the thought of having to go to that event holding Jackson Coleman's hand.
Even the thought of the Princess appearing holding Noah's hand made jer feel as if her heart were blazing in a fire pit.
Mrs. Seymour, who had uncannily sensed her daughter's emotions, sent all the maids out. She personally removed her daughter's hair ornaments one by one and whispered into her ear.
"I met the Princess today."
Isabelle's movements stopped for a moment at her mother's whisper. Mrs. Seymour gently stroked her daughter's hair and continued speaking with love.
“She was just a fool who didn’t even know what a Shine Party was. And then the Prince appeared and took his wife away...”
"The Prince himself?"
“How deeply wounded must that proud Prince have been, seeing his wife being subjected to a Shine Party?”
The mother and daughter looked at each other through the mirror.
Mrs. Seymour gazed at her daughter's figure in rapture and smiled broadly.
“Isabelle, men are very visual beings. And they are obsessed with maintaining their positions. The moment they feel that their wife is a parasite eroding their status, far from benefiting from their family, love will shatter like grains of sand and vanish like dust. Though I don't know if love ever existed in the first place.”
“...”
"The Princess will slowly wither away, and the Prince will regret it. It won't be long."
"Did it look that way?"
“Go and see tomorrow. Ah... the Prince might not bring the Princess to tomorrow’s event. She looked very hurt today.”
Isabelle, who had been looking in the mirror, slowly turned her head to look at her mother.
Mrs. Seymour saw her daughter's blue eyes slowly harden. She could not tell if it was malice or ecstasy, but what did it matter?
It was much better to see someone hardened and filled with venom than to be rotten inside out, hurt by someone of mere commoner origin.
“Is that really advice a mother gives to her daughter?”
The Princess asked naively, but Mrs. Seymour thought she could sufficiently do it for her daughter by slightly altering the content.
Isn't it actually more realistic?
'If you want to enjoy a romance with a Prince, go ahead. Just don't let you get caught. It's all just the folly of your youth. It's better to enjoy it and let it go than to harbor regrets for the rest of your life.'
“You can do whatever you want. Just don’t get caught. Got it?”
Mrs. Seymour also hurriedly left the department store, leaving the despairing Countess Timberlin behind.
Although she felt quite uneasy about having spoken presumptuously to the Princess in a fit of anger, she thought there was nothing to worry about since she hadn't mocked or insulted her in front of everyone.
It is extremely unpleasant to dwell on something without evidence.
On top of that...
“How displeased must proud Prince Noah be with a Princess who is merely subjected to a Shine Party...”
Mrs. Seymour's lips slowly curled upward.
Thus, by the time she arrived at the Count's mansion, the unease had completely evaporated, leaving only a sense of triumph. Mrs. Seymour went straight to find her daughter.
“Isabelle!”
Her daughter was doing a final check on the dress ordered for tomorrow's event. The high-saturation blue dress contrasted with Isabelle's hair color, making her look lively and beautiful.
“Oh my god!”
Mrs. Seymour took off her hat and let out a burst of admiration.
Since the event is being held by the seaside, she chose a color that is a bit flashy and vibrant.
“Tomorrow, all eyes will be on you, my daughter. Everyone will be watching only you.”
At her words, Isabelle wore only a self-deprecating smile. She was not happy at all at the thought of having to go to that event holding Jackson Coleman's hand.
Even the thought of the Princess appearing holding Noah's hand made jer feel as if her heart were blazing in a fire pit.
Mrs. Seymour, who had uncannily sensed her daughter's emotions, sent all the maids out. She personally removed her daughter's hair ornaments one by one and whispered into her ear.
"I met the Princess today."
Isabelle's movements stopped for a moment at her mother's whisper. Mrs. Seymour gently stroked her daughter's hair and continued speaking with love.
“She was just a fool who didn’t even know what a Shine Party was. And then the Prince appeared and took his wife away...”
"The Prince himself?"
“How deeply wounded must that proud Prince have been, seeing his wife being subjected to a Shine Party?”
The mother and daughter looked at each other through the mirror.
Mrs. Seymour gazed at her daughter's figure in rapture and smiled broadly.
“Isabelle, men are very visual beings. And they are obsessed with maintaining their positions. The moment they feel that their wife is a parasite eroding their status, far from benefiting from their family, love will shatter like grains of sand and vanish like dust. Though I don't know if love ever existed in the first place.”
“...”
"The Princess will slowly wither away, and the Prince will regret it. It won't be long."
"Did it look that way?"
“Go and see tomorrow. Ah... the Prince might not bring the Princess to tomorrow’s event. She looked very hurt today.”
Isabelle, who had been looking in the mirror, slowly turned her head to look at her mother.
Mrs. Seymour saw her daughter's blue eyes slowly harden. She could not tell if it was malice or ecstasy, but what did it matter?
It was much better to see someone hardened and filled with venom than to be rotten inside out, hurt by someone of mere commoner origin.
“Is that really advice a mother gives to her daughter?”
The Princess asked naively, but Mrs. Seymour thought she could sufficiently do it for her daughter by slightly altering the content.
Isn't it actually more realistic?
'If you want to enjoy a romance with a Prince, go ahead. Just don't let you get caught. It's all just the folly of your youth. It's better to enjoy it and let it go than to harbor regrets for the rest of your life.'
“You can do whatever you want. Just don’t get caught. Got it?”
Mrs. Seymour believed that her daughter would never be caught. This was because she was convinced from experience that Noah Astrid, disillusioned with the Princess, would eventually fall for her daughter.
***
Noah was submerged in the deep sea.
A powerful pressure poured down onto the space devoid of flow and light, threatening to crush his entire body. He sat there motionless, taking in only Olivia.
Her fever rose and fell, and she coughed as if in a seizure. Indelible pain was embedded in her ragged breaths, and tears kept sliding down from her closed eyes.
Then Noah gently pressed and wiped the corners of her eyes. There was nothing else he could do.
Meanwhile, the moon slowly slid away and disappeared, and before he knew it, the thick darkness began to fade slowly from the ankles. As the dawn broke faintly, the outlines of objects gradually became visible, and the whole world was tinged with a pale silver-gray.
Noah sat up again and wiped Olivia's eyes with a dry towel. She kept crying, whether she was so sorrowful or in so much pain.
"...you..."
At the voice that escaped from between her dry lips, Noah stopped moving. He held his breath and stared at her lips.
Eventually, Olivia parted her lips again.
"Grandma..."
“...”
Noah slowly lowered his hand.
An old house is slowly falling into disrepair. A house standing in a remote place is hardly worthy of being called a village. That house where one had to live with anxiety, unable to leave despite feeling threatened with one's life.
“...Why are you wandering around there?”
Noah bit his lip and slowly stroked her cheek.
Just then, Mrs. Betty entered with a soft knock. She glanced at the Prince, who was still gazing only at his wife, and moved cautiously. Then, she placed the cup of hot tea and the morning newspaper she had brought on the bedside table and withdrew.
Noah sank deep into the chair, savoring the scent of black tea wafting to his nose. His tired gaze carelessly crossed the side table, stopping at a single spot.
The pale sunlight shattering on the window created sharp lines on Noah's face.
His clear green eyes were fixed on the front page of the newspaper and refused to move. He gripped the newspaper with such force that his veins bulged, and his thick eyebrows were contorted into a mess.
[The Princess appearing at Bianca Department Store.]
On the front page, a huge photo of Olivia was featured. Below the picture of her smiling as she accepted candy offered by a commoner girl, a long article bordering on praise followed.
The voice of the doctor, who said that she must have been in pain every time she breathed since at least yesterday, overlapped with his mind like a hallucination.
Noah slowly lowered the newspaper and looked at Olivia, who was asleep with a gaunt face.
“Your Highness!! Please look over here!!”
“Your Highness!!”
The voices of the public calling for her, the mercilessly exploding camera flashes, and the crowds filling the road.
The dreadful years of the past surged in like a tidal wave and pushed Noah forward.
“Your Royal Highness!! Your Royal Highness!!”
“Look here, Your Highness!!”
Noah squeezed his eyes shut and desperately tried to compose his ragged breathing. Swallowing his emotions as if forcibly swallowing a stone, Noah finally opened his eyes.
He muttered in a deeply subdued voice, as if making a promise.
“I’m not going to throw you out to the public like bait, Olivia.”
Those who haven't experienced it wouldn't know how hellish it is.
“I won’t cast you aside as a laughingstock before the nobles, nor will I leave you to walk through the bitter cold all alone.”
She was brought in for the benefit of the royal family, but now the royal family's interests were of no concern to him.
No, to be honest, the royal family's interests were not important to him from the beginning.
Noah stood up and leaned toward the sleeping Olivia. He slowly kissed her forehead, which was cold now that her fever had cooled, then whispered into her ear as if casting a spell.
"I am your barrier."
A barrier that blocks both the incoming sediment and the overflowing sea.
You just need to stay by my side and receive nothing but warm sunshine for the rest of your life.
When you smile without a care, look at me with dark eyes full of laughter, and call me in a bright voice...
“Noah!”
Then, I think I would be at peace too.
So don't wander around that house in Pulder, even if only unconsciously.
Did the words whispered with a wish flow into Olivia's ears?
Olivia's eyelids, which hadn't moved a muscle until now, twitched slightly as if by magic. Noah, who was leaning toward her, watched the scene while holding his breath.
The long, neat eyelashes twitched, and soon the round, black pupils were slowly revealed. Facing that sight, Noah felt a pang in his chest.
He waited all night for this moment.
Noah grabbed her cheek and met her unfocused, dreamy eyes.
Once, twice.
She blinked slowly, and soon their eyes met.
The moment their eyes met, the countless shells surrounding Noah peeled off all at once, leaving only her behind.
In a desolate, gray world, only she shone with color.
“...Noah.”
At her small, faint call, Noah finally let out the breath he had been holding. His shoulders, which had been tense until now, slumped.
As a weak hand touched his cheek, Noah composed himself and held her hand. As he carefully smoothed her disheveled hair, Olivia's eyelids kept closing again, perhaps due to the effects of the medicine.
Noah whispered as he gently stroked his hair.
"Sleep more. Don't worry about anything."
She slowly nodded her head and soon fell asleep.
Noah gazed at the sleeping Olivia for quite a while longer.
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