Episode 130. The God of War and Lust
Olivia doesn't know what state of mind she was in when she left the royal palace.
She felt like her heart was floating halfway.
"You worked hard. I was very satisfied."
The King's praise kept shaking her.
At some point, Olivia's efforts felt hollow. She was always anxious because the cycle repeated itself, where things seemed to bear fruit only to crumble one day. She agonized over when the tower she had painstakingly built would collapse.
Olivia hugged the bag tightly.
She wanted to deliver this congratulatory speech well, no matter what.
Shortly after, when the carriage arrived at the mansion, Mrs. Betty and a few maids greeted her with bright faces.
"Welcome, Your Highness."
Just like yesterday, and today as well, it felt like she was being welcomed with unusual enthusiasm.
“I’m back. How is His Highness?”
"He is here."
As she looked up, light was seeping out of the bedroom. Olivia took off her hat and gloves, handed them to Mrs. Betty, and hurried across the entrance.
She quickly climbed the stairs, rounded the landing, and walked down the quiet hallway. After carefully knocking on the bedroom door and opening it, she could smell Noah's unique scent amidst the warm air.
Her heart, which had calmed for a moment, started beating again. Through the slowly opening door, she saw him sitting on the sofa.
He was drinking alone.
With darkness wrapped around his back, he slowly raises his eyes to look at her. It felt as if a cool breeze was clinging to the edge of his gaze.
His aura and the way he looked at her had clearly changed. Olivia, who was sensitive to the gaze of others, clearly felt that subtle difference.
And she had already faced this gaze.
At the department store cafe, in the carriage on the way back.
“Liv.”
Noah called Olivia.
Olivia put down the bag she was holding and cautiously approached him.
At some point, she stopped even coveting birthday presents. This was because the word "covet" was far too extravagant for her.
But this time, she got greedy.
She wanted both his warm gaze and the work of a Princess.
Olivia went and sat beside Noah instead of across from him. Noah looked at her puzzledly as if asking what was wrong, but Olivia carefully took his hand.
He looked at Olivia's hand, then looked up. The eyes that met hers were cold.
“Why... why are you so angry at me?”
“...”
Because it was dark and she couldn't see his face clearly, Olivia tilted her head a little more.
“Huh? What’s wrong...?”
He looked down at her without a word. Feeling uneasy about that, Olivia moved a little closer to him.
“Noah...”
A strong scent of wine wafted from him as she drew closer. Fortunately, he did not push her away. Instead, he slowly moved closer as if to kiss her.
However, it seemed that Noah would never answer why he was angry or what he disliked.
She had a sad thought that perhaps that was an act of consideration.
Yes. It would be even sadder to hear it from his own mouth.
Just before his lips touched hers, Olivia took out the sincerity she had kept deep within her heart and whispered it.
"I will ensure that your honor is not tarnished because of me."
It was a thought Olivia had pushed into her subconscious, a thought she never wanted to bring out again.
The first commoner Princess.
People focused on the phrase 'commoner Princess,' overlooking the existence of the Prince hidden behind it. If there was a first commoner Princess, wouldn't there also be a 'Prince who was the first in the royal family to be forced to marry a commoner'?
What must Noah have felt having to take her as his wife? How heavy must have been the weight of the pride and honor he had to lay down by being bound together with her under the same name, Rosemond Astrid?
The barrier of social status she experienced was high and solid.
Status is connected to birth and is the cornerstone of existence, built up from the deepest recesses of the unconscious. Status is just as distinct as the distinction between men and women.
Noah would have had to put it down.
If the love that the world talks about had been the bond between them, they would have felt more at ease. But there was no such bond.
Olivia knew that the flashlight she had given him two years ago was not in the mansion. It wasn't broken or malfunctioning and stuck somewhere; it was simply not there.
She deliberately didn't ask Noah. She knew that asking about the whereabouts of the flashlight would only hurt her for no reason. After all, wasn't it an item she had practically forced upon him in the first place? He might not even remember.
It seems that when you are in love, you want to stand in the same place.
Olivia spoke, swallowing the tears welling up inside her.
“I’ll endure, hold on... and never do anything so pathetic again.”
“...”
Noah was silent for a moment, then spoke in a suppressed voice.
“...I’m not angry at you. I...”
“...”
"I... I’m just worried about you."
Olivia stared at him blankly.
Through the thick curtain of darkness, for some reason, it felt as though the corners of his eyes were turning red.
It is she who is heartbroken by the word 'shabby,' so why...
Why does he look like he is hurt?
Olivia reached out unconsciously and slowly stroked his hair. As she gently tucked the golden hair draped over his forehead to the side of his ear, he closed his eyes as if feeling her touch.
Dim lighting, his body scent mixed with musk, and the sweet scent of wine clinging to every languid breath.
Before she knew it, Olivia was leaning closer to him. She gazed intently at his prominent nose, which cast a sharp shadow, and then kissed his lips.
His lips seemed soft, yet the tips were rough. Recalling the kisses he had given her so far, she slowly licked his lower lip. She could feel his body, pressed against hers, instantly harden.
The scent of alcohol leaked out through his parted lips along with a hot breath. Her head felt dizzy, as if she were getting drunk even though she hadn't consumed any alcohol.
Wanting to get a little closer to him, Olivia moved closer, and before she knew it, she was sitting on his thigh.
"Ha..."
He let out a languid groan.
Olivia pulled her lips away and looked down at Noah. Leaning the back of his head against the sofa backrest and looking up at her, he was infinitely erotic and sensual. His long, alluring eyes were distorted with passion, and the color of his wet lips was deep.
As she shifted her gaze a little further down from his lips, she saw his head tilted back, revealing his sharply protruding Adam's apple.
As Olivia slowly stroked his Adam's apple with a hazy touch, Noah closed his eyes, and his heart heaved.
"Ha..."
Olivia realized why the god who governs war and lust is the same.
The vulnerable crack revealed by the strongest was sensual in itself.
She kissed his neck as if entranced. She left a mark on the most vulnerable part of the man who seemed the most perfect in the world.
"Noah."
As Olivia took her lips off his neck and called his name, he slowly lifted his eyelids.
In those beautiful eyes, which held the shimmering golden light, lay a passion that desired only her.
The look in the eyes at the department store cafe was nowhere to be found.
Olivia looked down at him and slowly took off her coat. As she unbuttoned her white blouse one by one, his gaze toward her surged roughly.
Olivia felt him slowly crumbling. Just as he unbuttoned the last button of his blouse, he instantly pulled her in and pushed her onto the sofa.
He ripped off the blouse that was precariously hanging on and kissed her lips roughly. His hand, burrowing between the hem of her skirt, was also rough and impatient.
Amidst the chaos, Olivia examined his eyes again. His gaze was still filled only with passion.
Thank god.
"...Why?"
Noah paused, perhaps laughing without realizing it, and asked.
Hoping he would crumble even more toward her, she whispered like a seductress.
"Kiss me."
At that, Noah's face stiffened for a moment, then contorted slightly. At first glance, he appeared to be holding back, or perhaps he looked angry.
Olivia's heart pounded at that small change.
Olivia clung to him out of fear and desperation.
"Kiss me."
For a moment, it seemed as though she were muttering something softly. Before she could even realize if it was a curse or what, he dug between her lips and stirred. He acted like someone trying to swallow every last breath.
Noah's voice drifted into her ears as she gasped for breath.
“You... make a mess of me.”
What could that mean?
However, Olivia could not continue her thoughts.
That night was long and intense.
After the lovemaking that continued until dawn, Olivia eventually fell asleep as if she had fainted.
She wonders how long she slept like that.
Olivia opened her eyes wide. Startled, she checked the clock, and fortunately, it was early morning. However, feeling a strange sensation, she quickly turned her head to find that Noah was not by her side.
That is understandable. He might have arrived at work early because he was busy, or perhaps he just went to the restroom for a moment.
But strangely, she felt a chill down jer spine.
Olivia cautiously reached out and traced the spot where he had been lying.
"...Ah."
There wasn't even a little warmth left on the bed.
As if no one had ever been here.
“Your Highness, is something bothering you?”
"...Hmm?"
When Olivia suddenly came to her senses, Lucy was standing before her with a worried expression.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Princess. It’s nothing.”
The girl with blue eyes blinked her tilted eyes and then grinned as if to say, 'cheer up.' However, the smile soon vanished from her face as well.
Olivia and Lucy looked at each other with similar expressions.
A short while later, as Olivia came out after finishing her lesson with Lucy, Jonan, who was waiting, quickly approached her side.
This morning, Noah was not there, and instead, Jonan was there.
“Starting today, I have been assigned to provide close protection for Your Highness. It is an honor.”
Olivia gently refused the hand reaching out to take her bag and asked.
"You've been waiting a long time, haven't you?"
“No, Your Highness.”
"Thank you for your hard work."
At her praise, Jonan grinned like a boy, baring his teeth. Olivia turned around with a smiling face.
But the moment she turned, the laughter vanished. Just as Lucy had said, her mind had been elsewhere all day. Emotions kept rushing in and receding like waves, dragging her into the deep sea.
As she walked along the long path leading to the main palace, several nobles approached and spoke to her.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I am...”
However, all of those things were merely meaningless afterimages forming on the retina and vanishing. Olivia smiled at them all and engaged in light conversation, but nothing had actually taken place within her consciousness.
The only one occupying her consciousness was Noah Astrid.
Her thoughts went in circles. Just as she finally reached the thought, "Was giving a congratulatory speech a mistake in itself?", she was standing in front of the King's office.
The attendant opened the door without even informing him, as if it were now a matter of course.
Olivia gathered her groggy mind and opened her eyes wide.
As the heavy air rushed in from beyond the opening door and enveloped Olivia, Noah's face, which had dominated her mind until now, vanished for a moment.
And when she crossed the door, Olivia was startled.
"Welcome, Olivia!"
Leonard welcomed her more warmly than ever, and the King was not the only one waiting for Olivia.
“Greetings, Your Highness, the Princess.”
"Hello?"
Unlike yesterday, when only the staff were present, today even the officials were positioned around the King.
Olivia doesn't know what state of mind she was in when she left the royal palace.
She felt like her heart was floating halfway.
"You worked hard. I was very satisfied."
The King's praise kept shaking her.
At some point, Olivia's efforts felt hollow. She was always anxious because the cycle repeated itself, where things seemed to bear fruit only to crumble one day. She agonized over when the tower she had painstakingly built would collapse.
Olivia hugged the bag tightly.
She wanted to deliver this congratulatory speech well, no matter what.
Shortly after, when the carriage arrived at the mansion, Mrs. Betty and a few maids greeted her with bright faces.
"Welcome, Your Highness."
Just like yesterday, and today as well, it felt like she was being welcomed with unusual enthusiasm.
“I’m back. How is His Highness?”
"He is here."
As she looked up, light was seeping out of the bedroom. Olivia took off her hat and gloves, handed them to Mrs. Betty, and hurried across the entrance.
She quickly climbed the stairs, rounded the landing, and walked down the quiet hallway. After carefully knocking on the bedroom door and opening it, she could smell Noah's unique scent amidst the warm air.
Her heart, which had calmed for a moment, started beating again. Through the slowly opening door, she saw him sitting on the sofa.
He was drinking alone.
With darkness wrapped around his back, he slowly raises his eyes to look at her. It felt as if a cool breeze was clinging to the edge of his gaze.
His aura and the way he looked at her had clearly changed. Olivia, who was sensitive to the gaze of others, clearly felt that subtle difference.
And she had already faced this gaze.
At the department store cafe, in the carriage on the way back.
“Liv.”
Noah called Olivia.
Olivia put down the bag she was holding and cautiously approached him.
At some point, she stopped even coveting birthday presents. This was because the word "covet" was far too extravagant for her.
But this time, she got greedy.
She wanted both his warm gaze and the work of a Princess.
Olivia went and sat beside Noah instead of across from him. Noah looked at her puzzledly as if asking what was wrong, but Olivia carefully took his hand.
He looked at Olivia's hand, then looked up. The eyes that met hers were cold.
“Why... why are you so angry at me?”
“...”
Because it was dark and she couldn't see his face clearly, Olivia tilted her head a little more.
“Huh? What’s wrong...?”
He looked down at her without a word. Feeling uneasy about that, Olivia moved a little closer to him.
“Noah...”
A strong scent of wine wafted from him as she drew closer. Fortunately, he did not push her away. Instead, he slowly moved closer as if to kiss her.
However, it seemed that Noah would never answer why he was angry or what he disliked.
She had a sad thought that perhaps that was an act of consideration.
Yes. It would be even sadder to hear it from his own mouth.
Just before his lips touched hers, Olivia took out the sincerity she had kept deep within her heart and whispered it.
"I will ensure that your honor is not tarnished because of me."
It was a thought Olivia had pushed into her subconscious, a thought she never wanted to bring out again.
The first commoner Princess.
People focused on the phrase 'commoner Princess,' overlooking the existence of the Prince hidden behind it. If there was a first commoner Princess, wouldn't there also be a 'Prince who was the first in the royal family to be forced to marry a commoner'?
What must Noah have felt having to take her as his wife? How heavy must have been the weight of the pride and honor he had to lay down by being bound together with her under the same name, Rosemond Astrid?
The barrier of social status she experienced was high and solid.
Status is connected to birth and is the cornerstone of existence, built up from the deepest recesses of the unconscious. Status is just as distinct as the distinction between men and women.
Noah would have had to put it down.
If the love that the world talks about had been the bond between them, they would have felt more at ease. But there was no such bond.
Olivia knew that the flashlight she had given him two years ago was not in the mansion. It wasn't broken or malfunctioning and stuck somewhere; it was simply not there.
She deliberately didn't ask Noah. She knew that asking about the whereabouts of the flashlight would only hurt her for no reason. After all, wasn't it an item she had practically forced upon him in the first place? He might not even remember.
It seems that when you are in love, you want to stand in the same place.
Olivia spoke, swallowing the tears welling up inside her.
“I’ll endure, hold on... and never do anything so pathetic again.”
“...”
Noah was silent for a moment, then spoke in a suppressed voice.
“...I’m not angry at you. I...”
“...”
"I... I’m just worried about you."
Olivia stared at him blankly.
Through the thick curtain of darkness, for some reason, it felt as though the corners of his eyes were turning red.
It is she who is heartbroken by the word 'shabby,' so why...
Why does he look like he is hurt?
Olivia reached out unconsciously and slowly stroked his hair. As she gently tucked the golden hair draped over his forehead to the side of his ear, he closed his eyes as if feeling her touch.
Dim lighting, his body scent mixed with musk, and the sweet scent of wine clinging to every languid breath.
Before she knew it, Olivia was leaning closer to him. She gazed intently at his prominent nose, which cast a sharp shadow, and then kissed his lips.
His lips seemed soft, yet the tips were rough. Recalling the kisses he had given her so far, she slowly licked his lower lip. She could feel his body, pressed against hers, instantly harden.
The scent of alcohol leaked out through his parted lips along with a hot breath. Her head felt dizzy, as if she were getting drunk even though she hadn't consumed any alcohol.
Wanting to get a little closer to him, Olivia moved closer, and before she knew it, she was sitting on his thigh.
"Ha..."
He let out a languid groan.
Olivia pulled her lips away and looked down at Noah. Leaning the back of his head against the sofa backrest and looking up at her, he was infinitely erotic and sensual. His long, alluring eyes were distorted with passion, and the color of his wet lips was deep.
As she shifted her gaze a little further down from his lips, she saw his head tilted back, revealing his sharply protruding Adam's apple.
As Olivia slowly stroked his Adam's apple with a hazy touch, Noah closed his eyes, and his heart heaved.
"Ha..."
Olivia realized why the god who governs war and lust is the same.
The vulnerable crack revealed by the strongest was sensual in itself.
She kissed his neck as if entranced. She left a mark on the most vulnerable part of the man who seemed the most perfect in the world.
"Noah."
As Olivia took her lips off his neck and called his name, he slowly lifted his eyelids.
In those beautiful eyes, which held the shimmering golden light, lay a passion that desired only her.
The look in the eyes at the department store cafe was nowhere to be found.
Olivia looked down at him and slowly took off her coat. As she unbuttoned her white blouse one by one, his gaze toward her surged roughly.
Olivia felt him slowly crumbling. Just as he unbuttoned the last button of his blouse, he instantly pulled her in and pushed her onto the sofa.
He ripped off the blouse that was precariously hanging on and kissed her lips roughly. His hand, burrowing between the hem of her skirt, was also rough and impatient.
Amidst the chaos, Olivia examined his eyes again. His gaze was still filled only with passion.
Thank god.
"...Why?"
Noah paused, perhaps laughing without realizing it, and asked.
Hoping he would crumble even more toward her, she whispered like a seductress.
"Kiss me."
At that, Noah's face stiffened for a moment, then contorted slightly. At first glance, he appeared to be holding back, or perhaps he looked angry.
Olivia's heart pounded at that small change.
Olivia clung to him out of fear and desperation.
"Kiss me."
For a moment, it seemed as though she were muttering something softly. Before she could even realize if it was a curse or what, he dug between her lips and stirred. He acted like someone trying to swallow every last breath.
Noah's voice drifted into her ears as she gasped for breath.
“You... make a mess of me.”
What could that mean?
However, Olivia could not continue her thoughts.
That night was long and intense.
After the lovemaking that continued until dawn, Olivia eventually fell asleep as if she had fainted.
She wonders how long she slept like that.
Olivia opened her eyes wide. Startled, she checked the clock, and fortunately, it was early morning. However, feeling a strange sensation, she quickly turned her head to find that Noah was not by her side.
That is understandable. He might have arrived at work early because he was busy, or perhaps he just went to the restroom for a moment.
But strangely, she felt a chill down jer spine.
Olivia cautiously reached out and traced the spot where he had been lying.
"...Ah."
There wasn't even a little warmth left on the bed.
As if no one had ever been here.
***
“Your Highness, is something bothering you?”
"...Hmm?"
When Olivia suddenly came to her senses, Lucy was standing before her with a worried expression.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Princess. It’s nothing.”
The girl with blue eyes blinked her tilted eyes and then grinned as if to say, 'cheer up.' However, the smile soon vanished from her face as well.
Olivia and Lucy looked at each other with similar expressions.
A short while later, as Olivia came out after finishing her lesson with Lucy, Jonan, who was waiting, quickly approached her side.
This morning, Noah was not there, and instead, Jonan was there.
“Starting today, I have been assigned to provide close protection for Your Highness. It is an honor.”
Olivia gently refused the hand reaching out to take her bag and asked.
"You've been waiting a long time, haven't you?"
“No, Your Highness.”
"Thank you for your hard work."
At her praise, Jonan grinned like a boy, baring his teeth. Olivia turned around with a smiling face.
But the moment she turned, the laughter vanished. Just as Lucy had said, her mind had been elsewhere all day. Emotions kept rushing in and receding like waves, dragging her into the deep sea.
As she walked along the long path leading to the main palace, several nobles approached and spoke to her.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I am...”
However, all of those things were merely meaningless afterimages forming on the retina and vanishing. Olivia smiled at them all and engaged in light conversation, but nothing had actually taken place within her consciousness.
The only one occupying her consciousness was Noah Astrid.
Her thoughts went in circles. Just as she finally reached the thought, "Was giving a congratulatory speech a mistake in itself?", she was standing in front of the King's office.
The attendant opened the door without even informing him, as if it were now a matter of course.
Olivia gathered her groggy mind and opened her eyes wide.
As the heavy air rushed in from beyond the opening door and enveloped Olivia, Noah's face, which had dominated her mind until now, vanished for a moment.
And when she crossed the door, Olivia was startled.
"Welcome, Olivia!"
Leonard welcomed her more warmly than ever, and the King was not the only one waiting for Olivia.
“Greetings, Your Highness, the Princess.”
"Hello?"
Unlike yesterday, when only the staff were present, today even the officials were positioned around the King.
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