Episode 115. Isabelle's Ordeal
At his words, Olivia moved her lips and finally spat out the words she wanted to say through her teeth.
“No. I don’t want to.”
“...”
“Don’t have a mistress while I’m still around. I don’t want to see you in love with another woman besides me.”
The eyes that had been spreading red and shimmering suddenly turned hard.
As possessiveness flickered in her eyes, Noah's heart swelled with heat.
Noah is not unaware of why Olivia feels small and why she suffered in silence from such words, even though she has become his wife.
Noah opened the drawer and took out the ring he had pinned to her on their wedding day. Then, he took Olivia's hand and slowly slipped the ring onto her ring finger, just as he had done that day.
He looked at Olivia, who was gazing at the sparkling ring, and recited the vow he had made again.
"I, Noah Astrid, take Olivia Liberty as my wife and swear to cherish and love her for the rest of my life."
Olivia slowly raised her head at the marriage vows flowing into her ears.
He looked very calm.
Eyes firmly set in neat features, and a spirited soul residing within those eyes. At this moment, Olivia fully realized.
It wasn't because he appeared like a savior the moment she was standing on the edge of a cliff, but simply because she loved him from the very first moment they met.
Olivia reached out her hand. Then, she carefully cupped his cheek with her palm and gently pulled him closer. She lifted her head, raised her feet, and kissed his lips.
Noah froze as he watched Olivia press her lips against his, just like on their wedding night.
He was mesmerized by the soft touch of the voluptuous lips touching him, but his reason shattered like foam at the small bud carefully digging between his teeth.
She really had a knack for driving him crazy.
Noah hugged Olivia tightly from behind. As he ferociously dug into and rummaged through her parted teeth, he suddenly felt the mark left by the feverish crack.
Noah slowly rubbed the mark remaining on the corner of her lips. He felt the distinctive stinging taste of a wound on the tip of his tongue.
He was sad to see her body burning up, but he couldn't push Olivia, who hadn't even fully recovered yet. He could feel her lower back beneath his palms, too, parched.
Noah kissed her lips several times, then lifted his head.
The clear, round eyes and wet, red, rubbed lips kept stimulating Noah, but he gathered all his patience and suppressed his desire. Then, just as he had done for the past few days, he simply lifted Olivia up and headed to the bedroom.
It seemed certain that she hadn't eaten properly, so he sat her down and planned to feed her something.
On the other hand, Olivia thought, "Ah, we're going to bed right now." So she stayed obediently in his arms without saying a word, but lo and behold, he was trying to put her down on a chair!
Saying things like, “You didn’t eat properly, did you?”
The desire that gnawed away at reason and the boosted courage made her bolder. Olivia stealthily raised her arms and tightly hugged Noah's neck.
“...??”
Noah stared blankly at Olivia, who was suddenly wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, with her face turning increasingly red, she whispered softly.
"Um... sometimes, wouldn't it be okay even if it's not the agreed-upon time?"
Seeing passion swirling in his calm green eyes, Olivia pulled him closer and kissed him again.
Noah growled fiercely as he felt the thin thread of reason snap.
"I tried to hold back, but you're the one who egged me on."
At those words, Olivia lifted her head and burst out laughing.
“The person who hates enduring the most in the world?”
“You really...”
Noah laughed along and headed to the bed as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Meanwhile, when Juliana Timberlin returned to the capital looking pale, Marquis Letium glared at his sister as if he wanted to kill her and shouted.
“Even when your parents were alive, you committed so many acts out of shame, yet even at that age, you still haven’t been able to change your ways!!”
“Oh, big brother!”
“The royal family is still the royal family. You thought it was funny that the Princess is of commoner origin, didn't you? That was only for a moment.”
The Marquis slowly gasped for breath and gave an order.
“Go see the Princess Consort tomorrow and beg unconditionally.”
“...”
“Beg unconditionally and make the Princess change the Prince's mind. Understand?”
“I, I would go that far...!”
“...If you don’t do it properly, your son won’t be able to get into Heritage School.”
At those words, Mrs. Timberlin screamed.
“Brother!! Eric is your nephew too, so how could you...!”
The Marquis ran his dry hand over his face and spoke fiercely.
"Nephew or not, the family is on the verge of ruin. Got it, Julie? You clean up the shit you made."
Around that time, Count Seymour's mansion also became a scene of chaos.
This is because, unlike the Marquis of Letium, who still had a glimmer of hope, the cancellation of the Prince's investment was confirmed as a fait accompli for the Count Seymour family.
Since the amount to be repaid starting next week was astronomical, the Count ordered that any farmland available for sale be put up for quick sale, and the Countess looked completely exhausted as she tried to find a place to borrow money.
Isabelle, who was distressed by the conversation with Noah, was annoyed by the chaotic atmosphere in the house.
“Why is it so noisy?!”
At that, her brother, who had been pacing around with an irritated look on his face, suddenly lost his temper.
“Don’t you know?! What Noah Astrid, whom you’re head over heels for, did to us?!”
"What?"
Isabelle suddenly recalled the incident at the warship construction ceremony.
“Um, His Highness, why...? How?! Tell me quickly!!”
“Ah, seriously!! It seems Mother hurled abusive language at the Princess Consort!! Seriously, what kind of abusive language did she say, and in what way!! From what I overheard, we might have to sell the mansion in the capital and move to the province where the main family lives.”
“Th-then what about... my marriage?”
“...”
“What about my marriage!!! Does the Coleman family even know about this?!”
As her brother, enraged by her remarks, was raising his voice, the maid cautiously entered.
“Miss, the Count is calling for you.”
Count Seymour, who didn't even have the strength to get angry, lay half-reclining in a chair and called his daughter.
Isabelle, who had been furious with her father for choosing Jackson Coleman as a son-in-law and hadn't even wanted to look at his face recently, rushed over now out of fear that even that marriage might fall through.
"Father!!"
The Count let out a long sigh as he glanced at his daughter, who had rushed over in a panic.
The daughter, who was quiet when she was growing up, became even harder to handle than the son once she became entangled with Prince Noah.
“Do you still have Prince Noah in mind?”
Isabelle was speechless at her father's sudden question.
The Count looked back at his daughter and asked.
"Around the time rumors about Prince Noah were circulating, were you really dating him?"
At her father's question, Isabelle clenched her fist tightly.
“Are you sure you were dating? You both did things you couldn't take responsibility for, and then the Prince mercilessly abandoned you? Did he promise to marry you?! Did he even give you a hint of that?!”
If that were the case, the Count intended to report the Prince's insulting behavior to King Leonard, even at the risk of his family's ruin.
However, the reason he could not say a single word in response to the Prince's insulting behavior just moments ago was because of the information he had gathered.
Isabelle merely clenched her fists and could not bring herself to answer. The Count, who had been enduring her silence, finally spoke.
“After gathering the rumors, I heard that the Prince accepted and drank the cocktail you offered him inside the Polo Club and shared a table. That was all. No one saw you two engaging in any physical contact, and I heard that you two didn't even speak. And certainly no one saw you two meeting outside the Polo Club.”
"Stop it!"
"Judging by the situation, it is certain that there was something between you and the Prince, but I am convinced that it was by no means a romance. Perhaps it was a plan between you and Lady Zubern."
"Father!!!"
"You suggested having an affair with the Prince at the warship construction ceremony, didn't you?"
Isabelle's eyes widened at the sudden question.
“Th-that...!”
“If it weren’t for you, who would have told me that?”
Noah's face, which had looked like a demon, flashed through Isabelle's mind. Her heart trembled.
Even so, did that man really say something like that to her parents?!
The Count, having peered into his daughter's mind, suppressed his rising anger and pressed her.
"Because of you today, I had to listen to the Little Prince telling me to raise my daughter properly!!"
“...S-Surely, the Prince didn’t do anything to the family because of that?!!”
The Count waved his hand as if to say stop talking nonsense and continued speaking.
“Isabelle Seymour, take this to heart, even now. Prince Noah has not the slightest affection for you. He... was solely obsessed with the pain we had inflicted on his wife.”
“...”
“Your mother gave presumptuous advice to the Princess Consort, and because of that, the Prince has vowed retaliation against our family. And in the midst of all this, you propose a romantic relationship to him? I’ve really ended up looking ridiculous.”
The Count took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and muttered despondently.
“No, wait, this has really become ridiculous. Ha...”
He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, and Isabelle, suddenly frightened by the sight of her father's weakened state, gripped his arm tightly.
“Ah, Father! Then what about my wedding? I, I have to go to the countryside too?! What?!”
“...”
Count Seymour was ultimately unable to give any answer to his daughter as she burst into tears.
All he does is endlessly repeat the question of where things went wrong.
The next day.
Noah headed to the royal palace early in the morning after receiving an urgent summons from King Leonard. On the way, he left his bodyguard Jonan by Olivia's side.
Leaving behind the words, “Bring Jonan along no matter who the guest is today.”
And a short while later, when the pale Countess Timberlin and the Marchioness Letium came to see her and bowed respectfully, Olivia instinctively knew that Noah had done something.
Jonan straightened his broad shoulders even further and stood as if guarding Olivia's back.
Mrs. Letium and Mrs. Timberlin glanced at Jonan and looked around with fearful eyes. They were afraid that the demonic Noah Astrid might be watching them from anywhere with a gleaming gaze.
Olivia wondered what on earth her husband had done to make those proud women tremble like this.
"His Highness is not here."
As Olivia spoke calmly, the two people looking around turned their heads in surprise.
At his words, Olivia moved her lips and finally spat out the words she wanted to say through her teeth.
“No. I don’t want to.”
“...”
“Don’t have a mistress while I’m still around. I don’t want to see you in love with another woman besides me.”
The eyes that had been spreading red and shimmering suddenly turned hard.
As possessiveness flickered in her eyes, Noah's heart swelled with heat.
Noah is not unaware of why Olivia feels small and why she suffered in silence from such words, even though she has become his wife.
Noah opened the drawer and took out the ring he had pinned to her on their wedding day. Then, he took Olivia's hand and slowly slipped the ring onto her ring finger, just as he had done that day.
He looked at Olivia, who was gazing at the sparkling ring, and recited the vow he had made again.
"I, Noah Astrid, take Olivia Liberty as my wife and swear to cherish and love her for the rest of my life."
Olivia slowly raised her head at the marriage vows flowing into her ears.
He looked very calm.
Eyes firmly set in neat features, and a spirited soul residing within those eyes. At this moment, Olivia fully realized.
It wasn't because he appeared like a savior the moment she was standing on the edge of a cliff, but simply because she loved him from the very first moment they met.
Olivia reached out her hand. Then, she carefully cupped his cheek with her palm and gently pulled him closer. She lifted her head, raised her feet, and kissed his lips.
Noah froze as he watched Olivia press her lips against his, just like on their wedding night.
He was mesmerized by the soft touch of the voluptuous lips touching him, but his reason shattered like foam at the small bud carefully digging between his teeth.
She really had a knack for driving him crazy.
Noah hugged Olivia tightly from behind. As he ferociously dug into and rummaged through her parted teeth, he suddenly felt the mark left by the feverish crack.
Noah slowly rubbed the mark remaining on the corner of her lips. He felt the distinctive stinging taste of a wound on the tip of his tongue.
He was sad to see her body burning up, but he couldn't push Olivia, who hadn't even fully recovered yet. He could feel her lower back beneath his palms, too, parched.
Noah kissed her lips several times, then lifted his head.
The clear, round eyes and wet, red, rubbed lips kept stimulating Noah, but he gathered all his patience and suppressed his desire. Then, just as he had done for the past few days, he simply lifted Olivia up and headed to the bedroom.
It seemed certain that she hadn't eaten properly, so he sat her down and planned to feed her something.
On the other hand, Olivia thought, "Ah, we're going to bed right now." So she stayed obediently in his arms without saying a word, but lo and behold, he was trying to put her down on a chair!
Saying things like, “You didn’t eat properly, did you?”
The desire that gnawed away at reason and the boosted courage made her bolder. Olivia stealthily raised her arms and tightly hugged Noah's neck.
“...??”
Noah stared blankly at Olivia, who was suddenly wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, with her face turning increasingly red, she whispered softly.
"Um... sometimes, wouldn't it be okay even if it's not the agreed-upon time?"
Seeing passion swirling in his calm green eyes, Olivia pulled him closer and kissed him again.
Noah growled fiercely as he felt the thin thread of reason snap.
"I tried to hold back, but you're the one who egged me on."
At those words, Olivia lifted her head and burst out laughing.
“The person who hates enduring the most in the world?”
“You really...”
Noah laughed along and headed to the bed as if he had been waiting for this moment.
***
Meanwhile, when Juliana Timberlin returned to the capital looking pale, Marquis Letium glared at his sister as if he wanted to kill her and shouted.
“Even when your parents were alive, you committed so many acts out of shame, yet even at that age, you still haven’t been able to change your ways!!”
“Oh, big brother!”
“The royal family is still the royal family. You thought it was funny that the Princess is of commoner origin, didn't you? That was only for a moment.”
The Marquis slowly gasped for breath and gave an order.
“Go see the Princess Consort tomorrow and beg unconditionally.”
“...”
“Beg unconditionally and make the Princess change the Prince's mind. Understand?”
“I, I would go that far...!”
“...If you don’t do it properly, your son won’t be able to get into Heritage School.”
At those words, Mrs. Timberlin screamed.
“Brother!! Eric is your nephew too, so how could you...!”
The Marquis ran his dry hand over his face and spoke fiercely.
"Nephew or not, the family is on the verge of ruin. Got it, Julie? You clean up the shit you made."
***
Around that time, Count Seymour's mansion also became a scene of chaos.
This is because, unlike the Marquis of Letium, who still had a glimmer of hope, the cancellation of the Prince's investment was confirmed as a fait accompli for the Count Seymour family.
Since the amount to be repaid starting next week was astronomical, the Count ordered that any farmland available for sale be put up for quick sale, and the Countess looked completely exhausted as she tried to find a place to borrow money.
Isabelle, who was distressed by the conversation with Noah, was annoyed by the chaotic atmosphere in the house.
“Why is it so noisy?!”
At that, her brother, who had been pacing around with an irritated look on his face, suddenly lost his temper.
“Don’t you know?! What Noah Astrid, whom you’re head over heels for, did to us?!”
"What?"
Isabelle suddenly recalled the incident at the warship construction ceremony.
“Um, His Highness, why...? How?! Tell me quickly!!”
“Ah, seriously!! It seems Mother hurled abusive language at the Princess Consort!! Seriously, what kind of abusive language did she say, and in what way!! From what I overheard, we might have to sell the mansion in the capital and move to the province where the main family lives.”
“Th-then what about... my marriage?”
“...”
“What about my marriage!!! Does the Coleman family even know about this?!”
As her brother, enraged by her remarks, was raising his voice, the maid cautiously entered.
“Miss, the Count is calling for you.”
Count Seymour, who didn't even have the strength to get angry, lay half-reclining in a chair and called his daughter.
Isabelle, who had been furious with her father for choosing Jackson Coleman as a son-in-law and hadn't even wanted to look at his face recently, rushed over now out of fear that even that marriage might fall through.
"Father!!"
The Count let out a long sigh as he glanced at his daughter, who had rushed over in a panic.
The daughter, who was quiet when she was growing up, became even harder to handle than the son once she became entangled with Prince Noah.
“Do you still have Prince Noah in mind?”
Isabelle was speechless at her father's sudden question.
The Count looked back at his daughter and asked.
"Around the time rumors about Prince Noah were circulating, were you really dating him?"
At her father's question, Isabelle clenched her fist tightly.
“Are you sure you were dating? You both did things you couldn't take responsibility for, and then the Prince mercilessly abandoned you? Did he promise to marry you?! Did he even give you a hint of that?!”
If that were the case, the Count intended to report the Prince's insulting behavior to King Leonard, even at the risk of his family's ruin.
However, the reason he could not say a single word in response to the Prince's insulting behavior just moments ago was because of the information he had gathered.
Isabelle merely clenched her fists and could not bring herself to answer. The Count, who had been enduring her silence, finally spoke.
“After gathering the rumors, I heard that the Prince accepted and drank the cocktail you offered him inside the Polo Club and shared a table. That was all. No one saw you two engaging in any physical contact, and I heard that you two didn't even speak. And certainly no one saw you two meeting outside the Polo Club.”
"Stop it!"
"Judging by the situation, it is certain that there was something between you and the Prince, but I am convinced that it was by no means a romance. Perhaps it was a plan between you and Lady Zubern."
"Father!!!"
"You suggested having an affair with the Prince at the warship construction ceremony, didn't you?"
Isabelle's eyes widened at the sudden question.
“Th-that...!”
“If it weren’t for you, who would have told me that?”
Noah's face, which had looked like a demon, flashed through Isabelle's mind. Her heart trembled.
Even so, did that man really say something like that to her parents?!
The Count, having peered into his daughter's mind, suppressed his rising anger and pressed her.
"Because of you today, I had to listen to the Little Prince telling me to raise my daughter properly!!"
“...S-Surely, the Prince didn’t do anything to the family because of that?!!”
The Count waved his hand as if to say stop talking nonsense and continued speaking.
“Isabelle Seymour, take this to heart, even now. Prince Noah has not the slightest affection for you. He... was solely obsessed with the pain we had inflicted on his wife.”
“...”
“Your mother gave presumptuous advice to the Princess Consort, and because of that, the Prince has vowed retaliation against our family. And in the midst of all this, you propose a romantic relationship to him? I’ve really ended up looking ridiculous.”
The Count took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and muttered despondently.
“No, wait, this has really become ridiculous. Ha...”
He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, and Isabelle, suddenly frightened by the sight of her father's weakened state, gripped his arm tightly.
“Ah, Father! Then what about my wedding? I, I have to go to the countryside too?! What?!”
“...”
Count Seymour was ultimately unable to give any answer to his daughter as she burst into tears.
All he does is endlessly repeat the question of where things went wrong.
***
The next day.
Noah headed to the royal palace early in the morning after receiving an urgent summons from King Leonard. On the way, he left his bodyguard Jonan by Olivia's side.
Leaving behind the words, “Bring Jonan along no matter who the guest is today.”
And a short while later, when the pale Countess Timberlin and the Marchioness Letium came to see her and bowed respectfully, Olivia instinctively knew that Noah had done something.
Jonan straightened his broad shoulders even further and stood as if guarding Olivia's back.
Mrs. Letium and Mrs. Timberlin glanced at Jonan and looked around with fearful eyes. They were afraid that the demonic Noah Astrid might be watching them from anywhere with a gleaming gaze.
Olivia wondered what on earth her husband had done to make those proud women tremble like this.
"His Highness is not here."
As Olivia spoke calmly, the two people looking around turned their heads in surprise.
Comments
Post a Comment