Chapter 150. Duke of Rosemond
The extra edition released around midnight caused a huge stir. People even woke up their sleeping neighbors to share this shocking and sensational news.
One by one, lamps were lit on Herod's night streets, which had been shrouded in darkness.
“Wait, so you’re saying the Princess Consort was in a relationship with Ansen Wilhelm?!”
“Ah, right. Look at this photo here. It says ‘Hotel.’ What reason would a young man and woman have to meet at a hotel?!”
“Oh my, how embarrassing! Then how did she end up marrying His Royal Highness the Prince?”
“Maybe she abandoned him because she thought His Royal Highness the Prince would be a better marriage partner than Ansen Wilhelm? In exchange for marrying our Prince, she escaped that wretched house and even rose in social status, didn't she?”
"Isn't that why Ansen Wilhelm isn't fixing the Magic Dome?"
The favorable attitude toward the Princess Consort changed in the blink of an eye. It was like a surging wave, rushing in and overflowing, overturning everything that had existed before.
This news was, of course, conveyed to Leonard as well.
The King and Queen, who were just about to go to bed, immediately changed their clothes, rushed to their office, and summoned their staff, while simultaneously issuing a summons to all the newspaper presidents in Harolington.
A death-like silence settled in the King's office. No one dared to even breathe.
Beatrix gazed for a long time at Olivia, who was laughing with her head pressed against Ansen. Then, she turned her gaze to the side and watched the two of them sitting opposite each other in what appeared to be a hotel drawing room.
As she gazed at the two photos with a heavy heart, Leonard spoke.
"Call Olivia right now."
It was a pitch-black night, and above all, Olivia had drunk quite a lot of wine today. However, even Beatrix could not refute Leonard's words.
Even if the presidents of the main newspapers were summoned and silenced with a stern attitude, there was no way to stop the extra edition that had already been released. By tomorrow, the entire Herod would be in an uproar over this matter, regardless of the newspapers. It was necessary to summon Olivia, the person directly involved, and get a clear answer regarding this photograph.
"All right."
One of the aides, acting on Leonard's orders, quickly turned around. Just as he was about to open the door and leave, it rattled open from the outside.
The surprised aide shrugged his shoulders.
Noah Astrid, who had dared to open the door to the King's office as if to break it down, blocked the door to prevent the aide from going outside and spoke to the King.
"You cannot summon Olivia."
The aide blinked in confusion and turned to look at Leonard. Leonard let out a sigh-like breath and asked back as if dumbfounded.
“What? I can’t summon her?”
“I am not speaking as a Prince, but as the Duke of Rosemond, Your Majesty.”
Noah Astrid, or rather Noah Rosemond, spoke coldly while maintaining an extremely calm demeanor.
“You may not summon the Duchess of Rosemond without permission, even Your Majesty.”
In exchange for the Duke pledging loyalty to the King, the King recognizes the duchy and does not infringe upon it.
It was a clause that had now become nothing more than a nominal title. After all, the duchies of the Herodian Dukes today are limited solely to the mansions they own.
However, due to this pretext, Leonard cannot arbitrarily issue a summons to Olivia inside the mansion, as Noah said. Unless she comes out of her own accord.
Usher, who was standing by the window, spoke cautiously on behalf of his father, who was speechless with disbelief.
“I’m not saying we’re going to interrogate the Princess, Noah. At the very least, we need to know what kind of photo this is, what happened, and whether the article’s contents are true so that the Royal Family can respond.”
"I do not speak to things that are not worth answering."
After uttering a brief remark, Noah looked back and forth between the King and the Queen.
"Before our marriage, didn't you ignore the countless rumors about me under this principle?"
“Is this the same as having nothing but a few lines of text without a single picture?!”
"You already tried shaking it out, didn't you?"
“...”
"Didn't you scrutinize Olivia just in case there was even the slightest flaw, and then conclude that there wasn't?"
At that moment, Beatrix, who had been sitting in her seat, stood up.
“Even if Olivia had some connection with Ansen Wilhelm, that is a matter of the past, so there is no reason to question her.”
Beatrix watched as flames rose in Noah's eyes at her words.
“So listen carefully, Noah. I am not trying to interrogate Olivia and shift the blame onto her. Trust me. I will protect Olivia under my title. However, since this is Olivia’s business, I am suggesting we discuss it together to resolve it.”
“...”
He remained silent for quite a while.
Noah turned his gaze away from his mother and looked at the darkness beyond the window. The rumor would spread in an instant, like a fire kindled on a dry field. It would burn with a terrifying speed, and in the end, no one would know where the epicenter was.
"People don't care whether this is true or not. They just need a sensational incident to chew on and tear apart."
“...”
“Discussion? Won’t the end of that discussion ultimately be Olivia explaining herself? Every word Olivia says will be blown out of proportion into a hundred. They will attach meaning to every breath and facial expression, exaggerate it, and then demand an explanation for it.”
She will have to stand naked in the middle of enemy territory with nowhere to hide.
Noah turned his head to look at Leonard and spoke as if making a declaration.
“You cannot summon Olivia. She will not meet with any newspaper, and naturally, she will not offer any explanations. I will take full responsibility for resolving everything related to this, so please call me if you need anything.”
“Responsibility? You aren’t even representing the royal family, so what kind of responsibility are you talking about?”
“I will even relinquish my position if necessary.”
"...What?!"
While an indignant Leonard was shouting angrily, Usher approached Noah and spoke.
“They are releasing the Princess’s photos one by one. No one knows which photos are left!”
Then Noah nodded as if he understood and spoke.
"I have a hunch who might have Olivia's photo, so I'm going to go find them now."
“...”
“Your Majesty. I will resolve this within exactly 12 hours from now.”
Noah politely greeted the stunned King and the worried Queen, then turned and left the office without hesitation. This was because there was much work to be done tonight while Olivia was asleep.
As Noah stormed out of the royal palace, a man in pitch-black work clothes quickly followed him and spoke.
"It is said that Meson succeeded in capturing the man who was supplying the newspapers."
The Prince's hound. That was how Meson Loktar was referred to in other countries.
He eventually achieved results worthy of his reputation. It would have been better if it had been a little sooner, though.
Noah habitually took out a cigarette and gave an order.
“Tell them to bring the guy who captured him.”
"All right."
“I’ve left the door to that thieves’ den open.”
"Of course."
Noah, who was just about to light a cigarette, paused. He glanced down at the cigarette and put it back in his pocket.
Then, mounting the waiting black horse as if flying, he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. Curved in darkness from head to toe, he rode the horse without the slightest hesitation.
By the time Ansen sensed something was off, the lock on the door leading to his bedroom had already been unlocked.
The moment he saw the door open silently, his sleep vanished instantly, sending a shiver down his spine. Ansen quickly took the pistol he had tucked into the bedside table and stood up.
It was the moment he was loading his pistol while staring at the door as it slowly opened.
“Put your gun down. If you die here, it’s going to be trouble for me too.”
The tone was light, as if spoken to a friend, but the meaning behind the words was extremely fierce.
The rude intruder in the middle of the night quietly closed the door and walked out of the pitch-black darkness, step by step. Under the moonlight streaming through the window, the intruder's figure slowly emerged from the ankles upward.
When the intruder leisurely revealed himself in his entirety, Ansen felt as if sharp thorns were pricking his throat.
"It's been a while, Ansen Wilhelm."
Noah greeted him warmly, curving his divinely elegant features. Ansen also smiled back as he put down his loaded gun.
“Indeed, Your Highness. It has been a long time. This is indeed a very awkward encounter.”
Noah chuckled, dragged a nearby chair over, tossed it onto the bedside table, and sat down elegantly. The coexistence of reckless strength and elegance seemed natural, as if it were Noah's identity.
Noah stared blankly at Ansen's face and spoke bluntly.
"It's you."
“What do you mean?”
"Les Duans."
“Well, I’m not sure what you mean.”
"I expected you to say that, so I'm digging through everything one by one; go ahead and babble whatever you want."
Ansen immediately sat up, his brow furrowed.
“Are you saying that you are rummaging through a building owned by Wilhelm Company without permission?!”
"Yes."
Ansen's voice suddenly grew louder at the nonchalant answer.
"Can you handle the consequences?!"
At that, the artificial smile that had been on Noah's face vanished completely. Leaning toward Ansen, Noah struck him with an elegant voice.
“You little thief! If you were scared, you should have hidden. How dare you climb up without knowing your place?”
"What?"
Noah murmured the name he had kept in his heart like a spell.
"Oliver."
“...!!”
Noah sneered as he looked at Ansen's face, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
“...”
“I know what you took from Olivia and why you are doing this.”
It was right then.
Just as a dull thud was heard, someone threw open the firmly closed bedroom door as if to break it down.
“Hooooh... Please, save me...”
As a sound like a beast's groan echoed bizarrely in the darkness, Ansen sprang out of bed and aimed his gun at the darkness.
“What on earth are you doing?!!”
Noah whispered softly to Ansen, who was having a fit of rage.
“Put your gun down. My bodyguards have little patience, just like me. I don’t care where you die—no, I wish you would die anywhere—but not now.”
The Prince's hounds fully emerged from the darkness. In the hands of Meson Loktar, the leader of the hounds and a man with gray eyes that appeared black at first glance, were printing press parts that had not yet been discarded and unfinished copies of the Les Duants newspaper.
The extra edition released around midnight caused a huge stir. People even woke up their sleeping neighbors to share this shocking and sensational news.
One by one, lamps were lit on Herod's night streets, which had been shrouded in darkness.
“Wait, so you’re saying the Princess Consort was in a relationship with Ansen Wilhelm?!”
“Ah, right. Look at this photo here. It says ‘Hotel.’ What reason would a young man and woman have to meet at a hotel?!”
“Oh my, how embarrassing! Then how did she end up marrying His Royal Highness the Prince?”
“Maybe she abandoned him because she thought His Royal Highness the Prince would be a better marriage partner than Ansen Wilhelm? In exchange for marrying our Prince, she escaped that wretched house and even rose in social status, didn't she?”
"Isn't that why Ansen Wilhelm isn't fixing the Magic Dome?"
The favorable attitude toward the Princess Consort changed in the blink of an eye. It was like a surging wave, rushing in and overflowing, overturning everything that had existed before.
This news was, of course, conveyed to Leonard as well.
The King and Queen, who were just about to go to bed, immediately changed their clothes, rushed to their office, and summoned their staff, while simultaneously issuing a summons to all the newspaper presidents in Harolington.
A death-like silence settled in the King's office. No one dared to even breathe.
Beatrix gazed for a long time at Olivia, who was laughing with her head pressed against Ansen. Then, she turned her gaze to the side and watched the two of them sitting opposite each other in what appeared to be a hotel drawing room.
As she gazed at the two photos with a heavy heart, Leonard spoke.
"Call Olivia right now."
It was a pitch-black night, and above all, Olivia had drunk quite a lot of wine today. However, even Beatrix could not refute Leonard's words.
Even if the presidents of the main newspapers were summoned and silenced with a stern attitude, there was no way to stop the extra edition that had already been released. By tomorrow, the entire Herod would be in an uproar over this matter, regardless of the newspapers. It was necessary to summon Olivia, the person directly involved, and get a clear answer regarding this photograph.
"All right."
One of the aides, acting on Leonard's orders, quickly turned around. Just as he was about to open the door and leave, it rattled open from the outside.
The surprised aide shrugged his shoulders.
Noah Astrid, who had dared to open the door to the King's office as if to break it down, blocked the door to prevent the aide from going outside and spoke to the King.
"You cannot summon Olivia."
The aide blinked in confusion and turned to look at Leonard. Leonard let out a sigh-like breath and asked back as if dumbfounded.
“What? I can’t summon her?”
“I am not speaking as a Prince, but as the Duke of Rosemond, Your Majesty.”
Noah Astrid, or rather Noah Rosemond, spoke coldly while maintaining an extremely calm demeanor.
“You may not summon the Duchess of Rosemond without permission, even Your Majesty.”
In exchange for the Duke pledging loyalty to the King, the King recognizes the duchy and does not infringe upon it.
It was a clause that had now become nothing more than a nominal title. After all, the duchies of the Herodian Dukes today are limited solely to the mansions they own.
However, due to this pretext, Leonard cannot arbitrarily issue a summons to Olivia inside the mansion, as Noah said. Unless she comes out of her own accord.
Usher, who was standing by the window, spoke cautiously on behalf of his father, who was speechless with disbelief.
“I’m not saying we’re going to interrogate the Princess, Noah. At the very least, we need to know what kind of photo this is, what happened, and whether the article’s contents are true so that the Royal Family can respond.”
"I do not speak to things that are not worth answering."
After uttering a brief remark, Noah looked back and forth between the King and the Queen.
"Before our marriage, didn't you ignore the countless rumors about me under this principle?"
“Is this the same as having nothing but a few lines of text without a single picture?!”
"You already tried shaking it out, didn't you?"
“...”
"Didn't you scrutinize Olivia just in case there was even the slightest flaw, and then conclude that there wasn't?"
At that moment, Beatrix, who had been sitting in her seat, stood up.
“Even if Olivia had some connection with Ansen Wilhelm, that is a matter of the past, so there is no reason to question her.”
Beatrix watched as flames rose in Noah's eyes at her words.
“So listen carefully, Noah. I am not trying to interrogate Olivia and shift the blame onto her. Trust me. I will protect Olivia under my title. However, since this is Olivia’s business, I am suggesting we discuss it together to resolve it.”
“...”
He remained silent for quite a while.
Noah turned his gaze away from his mother and looked at the darkness beyond the window. The rumor would spread in an instant, like a fire kindled on a dry field. It would burn with a terrifying speed, and in the end, no one would know where the epicenter was.
"People don't care whether this is true or not. They just need a sensational incident to chew on and tear apart."
“...”
“Discussion? Won’t the end of that discussion ultimately be Olivia explaining herself? Every word Olivia says will be blown out of proportion into a hundred. They will attach meaning to every breath and facial expression, exaggerate it, and then demand an explanation for it.”
She will have to stand naked in the middle of enemy territory with nowhere to hide.
Noah turned his head to look at Leonard and spoke as if making a declaration.
“You cannot summon Olivia. She will not meet with any newspaper, and naturally, she will not offer any explanations. I will take full responsibility for resolving everything related to this, so please call me if you need anything.”
“Responsibility? You aren’t even representing the royal family, so what kind of responsibility are you talking about?”
“I will even relinquish my position if necessary.”
"...What?!"
While an indignant Leonard was shouting angrily, Usher approached Noah and spoke.
“They are releasing the Princess’s photos one by one. No one knows which photos are left!”
Then Noah nodded as if he understood and spoke.
"I have a hunch who might have Olivia's photo, so I'm going to go find them now."
“...”
“Your Majesty. I will resolve this within exactly 12 hours from now.”
Noah politely greeted the stunned King and the worried Queen, then turned and left the office without hesitation. This was because there was much work to be done tonight while Olivia was asleep.
As Noah stormed out of the royal palace, a man in pitch-black work clothes quickly followed him and spoke.
"It is said that Meson succeeded in capturing the man who was supplying the newspapers."
The Prince's hound. That was how Meson Loktar was referred to in other countries.
He eventually achieved results worthy of his reputation. It would have been better if it had been a little sooner, though.
Noah habitually took out a cigarette and gave an order.
“Tell them to bring the guy who captured him.”
"All right."
“I’ve left the door to that thieves’ den open.”
"Of course."
Noah, who was just about to light a cigarette, paused. He glanced down at the cigarette and put it back in his pocket.
Then, mounting the waiting black horse as if flying, he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. Curved in darkness from head to toe, he rode the horse without the slightest hesitation.
By the time Ansen sensed something was off, the lock on the door leading to his bedroom had already been unlocked.
The moment he saw the door open silently, his sleep vanished instantly, sending a shiver down his spine. Ansen quickly took the pistol he had tucked into the bedside table and stood up.
It was the moment he was loading his pistol while staring at the door as it slowly opened.
“Put your gun down. If you die here, it’s going to be trouble for me too.”
The tone was light, as if spoken to a friend, but the meaning behind the words was extremely fierce.
The rude intruder in the middle of the night quietly closed the door and walked out of the pitch-black darkness, step by step. Under the moonlight streaming through the window, the intruder's figure slowly emerged from the ankles upward.
When the intruder leisurely revealed himself in his entirety, Ansen felt as if sharp thorns were pricking his throat.
"It's been a while, Ansen Wilhelm."
Noah greeted him warmly, curving his divinely elegant features. Ansen also smiled back as he put down his loaded gun.
“Indeed, Your Highness. It has been a long time. This is indeed a very awkward encounter.”
Noah chuckled, dragged a nearby chair over, tossed it onto the bedside table, and sat down elegantly. The coexistence of reckless strength and elegance seemed natural, as if it were Noah's identity.
Noah stared blankly at Ansen's face and spoke bluntly.
"It's you."
“What do you mean?”
"Les Duans."
“Well, I’m not sure what you mean.”
"I expected you to say that, so I'm digging through everything one by one; go ahead and babble whatever you want."
Ansen immediately sat up, his brow furrowed.
“Are you saying that you are rummaging through a building owned by Wilhelm Company without permission?!”
"Yes."
Ansen's voice suddenly grew louder at the nonchalant answer.
"Can you handle the consequences?!"
At that, the artificial smile that had been on Noah's face vanished completely. Leaning toward Ansen, Noah struck him with an elegant voice.
“You little thief! If you were scared, you should have hidden. How dare you climb up without knowing your place?”
"What?"
Noah murmured the name he had kept in his heart like a spell.
"Oliver."
“...!!”
Noah sneered as he looked at Ansen's face, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
“...”
“I know what you took from Olivia and why you are doing this.”
It was right then.
Just as a dull thud was heard, someone threw open the firmly closed bedroom door as if to break it down.
“Hooooh... Please, save me...”
As a sound like a beast's groan echoed bizarrely in the darkness, Ansen sprang out of bed and aimed his gun at the darkness.
“What on earth are you doing?!!”
Noah whispered softly to Ansen, who was having a fit of rage.
“Put your gun down. My bodyguards have little patience, just like me. I don’t care where you die—no, I wish you would die anywhere—but not now.”
The Prince's hounds fully emerged from the darkness. In the hands of Meson Loktar, the leader of the hounds and a man with gray eyes that appeared black at first glance, were printing press parts that had not yet been discarded and unfinished copies of the Les Duants newspaper.
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