Episode 148. Since That Autumn Night, You
It was a word that crumbled inside her mouth and leaked out softly, but Pierre heard it clearly. The moment he was about to say something to Olivia, someone grabbed his arm tightly and stopped him.
As he turned his head sharply, Jonan glanced somewhere and dragged him backward.
From afar, Noah appeared wearing only a shirt and no jacket, striding briskly across the pitch-black darkness.
"Olivia."
Olivia, who had been gazing at the warship, paused. The name held within the voice, which was as cold as a deep valley, felt incredibly special. As the voice that had flowed into her ears settled in her heart, she felt something sink with a thud inside her.
Olivia turned her head toward the direction of the sound.
Gorgeous blonde hair that overshadowed the dim light, cool eyes, like the incarnation of royalty... my...
"Noah."
Her heart fluttered when he called, and because her heart fluttered, she wanted to see him.
She felt a contradictory sensation of burning with longing to see it, even though she was already watching it.
He was her husband, but it still didn't feel real. Of everything she had, he was still the unfamiliar presence.
Noah stopped in his tracks and did not move. His eyes, already sunken and shadowed, stood out particularly today.
Suddenly frightened, Olivia deliberately smiled brightly at him. Perhaps because she had laughed so much today, smiling felt easy.
"It's a good evening."
At that, he furrowed his brow and muttered something. He approached urgently, making his previous stillness seem pointless. Then, he snatched the shawl from Olivia's hand, draped it over her shoulders, and tied the ribbon around her neck himself.
“Oh, it’s not cold?”
As she looked up at him, who had come very close, Noah blinked his narrowed eyes and asked.
"Did you drink?"
Olivia chuckled while looking up at him, as he seemed somehow dumbfounded.
"A little?"
Noah turned his head sharply to look for Jonan, but he had already disappeared with his companions.
In the meantime, Olivia untied the ribbon that felt stifling.
"It's hot, so hot."
Noah quickly wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulder to stop her from taking off her shawl.
"You're just feeling hot because of the alcohol. It's not hot at all."
“Huh? And Noah, you’re actually just wearing a shirt! Is it okay to say you’re cold dressed like that?”
"Just how much alcohol did you drink?"
Is it because I'm drunk? Or is it because he always confuses me?
The utterly chilling voice sounded affectionate. Borrowing the effects of alcohol, Olivia wanted to lean on his tenderness.
Olivia rested her head against Noah's chest. She could feel his chest harden. Leaning against him, Olivia lifted her head. His face, shrouded in thick darkness, looked as if he were angry, yet also flustered.
The drunken mind muttered.
What does that matter?
Olivia smiled with all her heart and whispered.
"I came because I missed you, Noah."
“...”
"Because you left like that and didn't come back."
"That-."
Noah looked straight ahead, moistened his dry lips, and his chest heaved.
Olivia turned her gaze to follow him and spoke whatever came to mind.
"I’d like to visit your office."
“...Yes, let’s do that.”
It sounded somewhat like a sigh, but Olivia was simply glad to go to his office.
The breeze brushing against her cheeks felt refreshing, and she even met Noah, whom she had been wanting to see. As she walked, thinking how glad she was to go out today, Noah suddenly stopped.
"Does your leg hurt?"
Normally, she would have said it was fine, but Olivia nodded and answered honestly.
"My heels hurt, maybe because I'm wearing new shoes. They sting."
He remained silent for a moment, then let out another sigh.
"Don't drink alcohol anymore."
Then, he lifted Olivia up in his arms. Olivia gasped for breath, but soon burst into a bright laugh and wrapped her hands around Noah's neck.
"Enough, Liv."
Olivia's laughter subsided at the voice, which sounded like a sharp chisel scraping a rough surface. The warmth of their bodies felt unbearably good, so she buried her nose in his chest and took a deep breath.
A pungent smell of cigarettes wafted through the thick musk scent. Olivia watched the world whizzing past over Noah's shoulder and muttered.
"Do you smoke a lot?"
“...Why. Do you dislike the smell of cigarettes?”
As he strode up the stairs, he asked, and Olivia thought for a moment before nodding.
“I don’t like it because it’s pungent. And it’s bad for your health.”
"...Yes."
That's strange. It's a cold and heartless voice, but why does it feel so sweet?
Olivia tightly hugged Noah's neck and buried her face in his chest. Just as the hand holding her tightened its grip, a growling sound was felt like a vibration.
The speed increased so rapidly that she wondered if she might fly away, and soon the sound of a door being roughly opened and closed was heard.
And almost simultaneously, her head was thrown back as hot lips met. It felt as if the hot, rough sensation seeping through her teeth was thrillingly awakening the hazy senses throughout her entire body. He entwined with her, sucked her in, and drove on.
He pulled her close by the nape of her neck with one hand, and Olivia clung to him even more. The kiss, which had seemed ferocious, suddenly turned soft and soothing.
She loved moments like this unbearably. Because in moments like this, she truly feels like she deserves it.
A moment when it feels like everything has been rubbed away and only the two of them remain. A moment like this, when a sliver of hope arises that perhaps he loves her, too.
Just then, Noah, who had been violently digging into the gap between her teeth, paused and slowly raised his head. Olivia could see his pupils trembling slightly.
Noah, looking down at her with eyes filled with complex emotions, walked over to the sofa and set her down. It was only when he wiped her cheek with his hand that Olivia realized she had been crying.
"Don't cry."
As she nodded, tears splattered down, wetting the back of his hand. Noah's eyebrows twitched, and his expression hardened.
He slowly exhaled, knelt down, and lifted her foot. The neat black shoe was small, just slightly larger than his palm. As he unfastened the button and took the shoe off, a small, white foot wrapped in a stocking was revealed.
Noah looked down at her feet and muttered as if scolding.
“Why did you stay there even though your feet hurt?”
Olivia, who had been leaning against the sofa staring blankly at the scene, suddenly remembered the Queen's words and smiled. Noah glanced at her briefly and shook his head.
"Laughing, crying, and laughing again. You have quite a drunken temper, Princess."
“No, that’s not it... Her Majesty the Queen mentioned that when she was young, she used to roam around that vast vineyard picking and eating grapes. She said that on days she returned from the vineyard, she was so full that she went straight to sleep without even eating dinner.”
"Mother said all sorts of things."
Noah placed her other foot on his thigh as well and unbuttoned her shoes.
The touch was delicate and careful. Olivia's inner self, watching him, suddenly whispered.
'Did he love Isabelle?'
''What am I to Noah? A nuisance? A heavy responsibility?'
But why are you so affectionate? Then you turn away coldly.
But, I...
"Noah."
Noah, who had just been taking off her shoes, looked up. Olivia slid her gaze along the lines of her handsome husband's face and spoke with sincerity, word by word.
"I know that I am a heavy responsibility resting on your shoulders."
The moment Noah's face turned pale, Olivia's vision also flickered hazy.
“What thoughts must have gone through your mind as you crossed the vast ocean to propose to the woman you met fleetingly one autumn night? ...Perhaps I was like a yoke from which I could not escape.”
She felt him gripping her foot tightly.
“What the...,”
"But to me, you are."
As the tears that had welled up in a hazy cloud flowed away along the path, she met eyes of verdant green, resembling full-fledged autumn.
A man standing on an old stone road.
If the person standing on that road at that time had been someone else, would they have followed?
The emotions that had been built up layer by layer were so colorful that she dared not express them.
Olivia smiled, her eyes curving, and whispered sincerely.
"I love you."
Olivia, having said those words, could not bear to look at Noah, so she looked up at the ceiling. Tears seeped through the sharp corners of her eyes and flowed into her ears.
“A crumbling house, people’s consistent disregard... Even though those things weighed down my life... I didn’t follow you solely out of a desire to escape from there.”
As water flowed into her ears, she felt as if she were submerged in the deep sea. Then, she felt her already hazy mind slowly settling down.
Olivia decided to let her consciousness fade away. She closed her eyes and spoke slowly.
“Because you were the one standing on that road that day... that is why I... decided to follow you.”
"...Why."
Olivia smiled quietly at the small question that sounded distant.
“Well... ever since that autumn night, you...”
He, who was looking down at her under the bright moonlight as if she were pathetic.
He, who walked at her pace despite clearly looking extremely annoyed,
“I kept thinking about it...”
The slow words eventually faded faintly and disappeared.
And Noah watched the moment she fell asleep with a precarious, crumbling expression.
It was a word that crumbled inside her mouth and leaked out softly, but Pierre heard it clearly. The moment he was about to say something to Olivia, someone grabbed his arm tightly and stopped him.
As he turned his head sharply, Jonan glanced somewhere and dragged him backward.
From afar, Noah appeared wearing only a shirt and no jacket, striding briskly across the pitch-black darkness.
"Olivia."
Olivia, who had been gazing at the warship, paused. The name held within the voice, which was as cold as a deep valley, felt incredibly special. As the voice that had flowed into her ears settled in her heart, she felt something sink with a thud inside her.
Olivia turned her head toward the direction of the sound.
Gorgeous blonde hair that overshadowed the dim light, cool eyes, like the incarnation of royalty... my...
"Noah."
Her heart fluttered when he called, and because her heart fluttered, she wanted to see him.
She felt a contradictory sensation of burning with longing to see it, even though she was already watching it.
He was her husband, but it still didn't feel real. Of everything she had, he was still the unfamiliar presence.
Noah stopped in his tracks and did not move. His eyes, already sunken and shadowed, stood out particularly today.
Suddenly frightened, Olivia deliberately smiled brightly at him. Perhaps because she had laughed so much today, smiling felt easy.
"It's a good evening."
At that, he furrowed his brow and muttered something. He approached urgently, making his previous stillness seem pointless. Then, he snatched the shawl from Olivia's hand, draped it over her shoulders, and tied the ribbon around her neck himself.
“Oh, it’s not cold?”
As she looked up at him, who had come very close, Noah blinked his narrowed eyes and asked.
"Did you drink?"
Olivia chuckled while looking up at him, as he seemed somehow dumbfounded.
"A little?"
Noah turned his head sharply to look for Jonan, but he had already disappeared with his companions.
In the meantime, Olivia untied the ribbon that felt stifling.
"It's hot, so hot."
Noah quickly wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulder to stop her from taking off her shawl.
"You're just feeling hot because of the alcohol. It's not hot at all."
“Huh? And Noah, you’re actually just wearing a shirt! Is it okay to say you’re cold dressed like that?”
"Just how much alcohol did you drink?"
Is it because I'm drunk? Or is it because he always confuses me?
The utterly chilling voice sounded affectionate. Borrowing the effects of alcohol, Olivia wanted to lean on his tenderness.
Olivia rested her head against Noah's chest. She could feel his chest harden. Leaning against him, Olivia lifted her head. His face, shrouded in thick darkness, looked as if he were angry, yet also flustered.
The drunken mind muttered.
What does that matter?
Olivia smiled with all her heart and whispered.
"I came because I missed you, Noah."
“...”
"Because you left like that and didn't come back."
"That-."
Noah looked straight ahead, moistened his dry lips, and his chest heaved.
Olivia turned her gaze to follow him and spoke whatever came to mind.
"I’d like to visit your office."
“...Yes, let’s do that.”
It sounded somewhat like a sigh, but Olivia was simply glad to go to his office.
The breeze brushing against her cheeks felt refreshing, and she even met Noah, whom she had been wanting to see. As she walked, thinking how glad she was to go out today, Noah suddenly stopped.
"Does your leg hurt?"
Normally, she would have said it was fine, but Olivia nodded and answered honestly.
"My heels hurt, maybe because I'm wearing new shoes. They sting."
He remained silent for a moment, then let out another sigh.
"Don't drink alcohol anymore."
Then, he lifted Olivia up in his arms. Olivia gasped for breath, but soon burst into a bright laugh and wrapped her hands around Noah's neck.
"Enough, Liv."
Olivia's laughter subsided at the voice, which sounded like a sharp chisel scraping a rough surface. The warmth of their bodies felt unbearably good, so she buried her nose in his chest and took a deep breath.
A pungent smell of cigarettes wafted through the thick musk scent. Olivia watched the world whizzing past over Noah's shoulder and muttered.
"Do you smoke a lot?"
“...Why. Do you dislike the smell of cigarettes?”
As he strode up the stairs, he asked, and Olivia thought for a moment before nodding.
“I don’t like it because it’s pungent. And it’s bad for your health.”
"...Yes."
That's strange. It's a cold and heartless voice, but why does it feel so sweet?
Olivia tightly hugged Noah's neck and buried her face in his chest. Just as the hand holding her tightened its grip, a growling sound was felt like a vibration.
The speed increased so rapidly that she wondered if she might fly away, and soon the sound of a door being roughly opened and closed was heard.
And almost simultaneously, her head was thrown back as hot lips met. It felt as if the hot, rough sensation seeping through her teeth was thrillingly awakening the hazy senses throughout her entire body. He entwined with her, sucked her in, and drove on.
He pulled her close by the nape of her neck with one hand, and Olivia clung to him even more. The kiss, which had seemed ferocious, suddenly turned soft and soothing.
She loved moments like this unbearably. Because in moments like this, she truly feels like she deserves it.
A moment when it feels like everything has been rubbed away and only the two of them remain. A moment like this, when a sliver of hope arises that perhaps he loves her, too.
Just then, Noah, who had been violently digging into the gap between her teeth, paused and slowly raised his head. Olivia could see his pupils trembling slightly.
Noah, looking down at her with eyes filled with complex emotions, walked over to the sofa and set her down. It was only when he wiped her cheek with his hand that Olivia realized she had been crying.
"Don't cry."
As she nodded, tears splattered down, wetting the back of his hand. Noah's eyebrows twitched, and his expression hardened.
He slowly exhaled, knelt down, and lifted her foot. The neat black shoe was small, just slightly larger than his palm. As he unfastened the button and took the shoe off, a small, white foot wrapped in a stocking was revealed.
Noah looked down at her feet and muttered as if scolding.
“Why did you stay there even though your feet hurt?”
Olivia, who had been leaning against the sofa staring blankly at the scene, suddenly remembered the Queen's words and smiled. Noah glanced at her briefly and shook his head.
"Laughing, crying, and laughing again. You have quite a drunken temper, Princess."
“No, that’s not it... Her Majesty the Queen mentioned that when she was young, she used to roam around that vast vineyard picking and eating grapes. She said that on days she returned from the vineyard, she was so full that she went straight to sleep without even eating dinner.”
"Mother said all sorts of things."
Noah placed her other foot on his thigh as well and unbuttoned her shoes.
The touch was delicate and careful. Olivia's inner self, watching him, suddenly whispered.
'Did he love Isabelle?'
''What am I to Noah? A nuisance? A heavy responsibility?'
But why are you so affectionate? Then you turn away coldly.
But, I...
"Noah."
Noah, who had just been taking off her shoes, looked up. Olivia slid her gaze along the lines of her handsome husband's face and spoke with sincerity, word by word.
"I know that I am a heavy responsibility resting on your shoulders."
The moment Noah's face turned pale, Olivia's vision also flickered hazy.
“What thoughts must have gone through your mind as you crossed the vast ocean to propose to the woman you met fleetingly one autumn night? ...Perhaps I was like a yoke from which I could not escape.”
She felt him gripping her foot tightly.
“What the...,”
"But to me, you are."
As the tears that had welled up in a hazy cloud flowed away along the path, she met eyes of verdant green, resembling full-fledged autumn.
A man standing on an old stone road.
If the person standing on that road at that time had been someone else, would they have followed?
The emotions that had been built up layer by layer were so colorful that she dared not express them.
Olivia smiled, her eyes curving, and whispered sincerely.
"I love you."
Olivia, having said those words, could not bear to look at Noah, so she looked up at the ceiling. Tears seeped through the sharp corners of her eyes and flowed into her ears.
“A crumbling house, people’s consistent disregard... Even though those things weighed down my life... I didn’t follow you solely out of a desire to escape from there.”
As water flowed into her ears, she felt as if she were submerged in the deep sea. Then, she felt her already hazy mind slowly settling down.
Olivia decided to let her consciousness fade away. She closed her eyes and spoke slowly.
“Because you were the one standing on that road that day... that is why I... decided to follow you.”
"...Why."
Olivia smiled quietly at the small question that sounded distant.
“Well... ever since that autumn night, you...”
He, who was looking down at her under the bright moonlight as if she were pathetic.
He, who walked at her pace despite clearly looking extremely annoyed,
“I kept thinking about it...”
The slow words eventually faded faintly and disappeared.
And Noah watched the moment she fell asleep with a precarious, crumbling expression.
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