Episode 155. The Most Important Thing to You
It was a laugh that was inappropriate for the time and place, but no one could blame her for it.
“One day, when even my memory is hazy, my parents and grandfather passed away, and I went to Pulder with my grandmother. There were countless invisible walls. For I was an immigrant, a commoner, and nothing more than a girl with my grandmother as my guardian.”
Tears trickled down over a faint smile and fell along the tip of the chin.
“I walked and walked along a rough path. I walked without even realizing how difficult it was. Then, by the time I sought recognition as the developer of the Magic Dome... I think I was just too exhausted. The wall was so impossibly high that I couldn't even dare to cross it... so I turned a blind eye to my own rights.”
Beatrix came over and wrapped a handkerchief around her cheek.
Olivia looked into her blue eyes and brought out the true feelings she had been holding back.
“I was foolish. I shouldn’t have given up so easily...”
Beatrix embraced her without a word. Olivia leaned against the Queen's chest, her voice trailing off.
Beatrix patted the frail, trembling shoulders for a long time before taking a step back. Olivia, having calmed herself for a moment in her arms, wiped her wet face and looked up.
Leonard was staring directly at her. Olivia met the King's gaze and spoke in a much firmer voice.
“I wish to correct my foolishness, even now. I am prepared to endure any path, Your Majesty.”
“You intend to build Herod’s own magic dome?”
In response to the King's question, Olivia spoke clearly with determination.
“I can do it. I will make it happen.”
Leonard pulled one corner of his mouth into a smile.
His laughter, which at first glance seemed like a mockery, felt like a bright smile to Olivia.
“Is it possible for you to fix the Magic Dome yourself?”
Just by listening to the sound the Magic Dome makes, she knows where the problem is and how to fix it. It is like how parents can guess what the issue is just by listening to their child's breathing.
Leonard crossed his arms, fell into thought for a moment, and then asked.
"So you must have been the one who fixed the ship-shaped magic dome, too."
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Leonard gestured toward Olivia after hearing her answer without a moment's hesitation.
"Come closer."
“...?”
As Olivia's dark eyes widened, Leonard spoke sarcastically with a somewhat nasty look on his face.
"Shouldn't we give that fearless thief a proper smack on the back of the head?"
A moment later, Olivia walked down the long corridor where darkness had seeped in.
Looking down the hallway, shrouded in dim light, she was reminded of the moment she was heading to the room where Noah was waiting on her wedding night. That moment, when it felt like she was cutting across her life, where she couldn't see an inch ahead.
Noah, who was at the end of the hallway that day, was a miracle that entered her life.
And now she was walking a path exactly opposite to what that miracle wanted.
When will I ever come to have the guts to remain composed and courageous in any situation?
Perhaps such a moment does not come to everyone. It is simply that in the same situation, each person makes a different choice.
Run away in terror, or walk silently, holding onto that fear.
Olivia clutched the King's order in her hand tightly. Then, she quickly crossed the hallway and went down the stairs.
After turning around the landing and reaching the first floor, she paused when she saw someone waiting for her.
“Your Highness, I have come to escort you.”
Jonan stretched his massive body flexibly and took a step toward her. Behind him, the coachman and Mrs. Betty were seen bowing their heads.
Olivia stood on the stairs and looked down at him. How could she have thought this face looked like a boy's?
Olivia tightened her grip on the king's order.
Then, turning her gaze away from him and looking straight ahead, she calmly walked down the stairs. She felt sorry for him for coming all the way here to find her, but she would not apologize.
Olivia brushed past Jonan and stopped in front of Mrs. Betty and the coachman.
"You two, please return to the mansion. Thank you for your hard work carrying out my orders."
Unlike the coachman who quickly bowed his head, Mrs. Betty followed behind Olivia as she walked again.
“I will go with you, Your Highness.”
Jonan, walking behind Olivia, spoke in a low voice.
"Let's go to the mansion."
It was an intimidating voice bordering on a command, but Olivia did not reply and stepped into the open carriage. As Mrs. Betty followed her into the carriage, Olivia stared directly at Jonan through the window and gave an order.
Just as Jonan narrowed his eyes and was about to say something, Olivia held out the King's order to him through the window.
“It is His Majesty’s order, so obey.”
Before the King's seal, vivid in the moonlight, and before eyes darker than the night of the new moon, Jonan dared not offer any rebuttal.
Meson quickly reported, feeling a cold sweat run down his spine.
“It is said that Her Highness was at the royal palace. Jonan went to escort her personally.”
Upon hearing his report, Noah nodded slightly, then sank deep into the sofa and slumped down. Meson quickly left the room, and Noah gazed at the world, which had already grown dark.
The moment he heard the report that Olivia had disappeared from the mansion, he truly felt the meaning of the saying that the sky had fallen. His mind went white, and he experienced everything in the world drifting far away.
Even as he handled his duties, his mind was focused on finding the whereabouts of the missing Olivia. Even as he mechanically signed documents and gave interviews, he kept glaring at the door. He felt like he was going crazy with curiosity over the news coming from beyond.
If the news hadn't spread quickly, he would have personally wandered the entire capital searching for Olivia.
Olivia.
The broken words from the corners of the lips flowed into the heart and pooled.
The sweet confession that spilled out from lips red like a lush rose colored him once again.
"I love you."
When he heard those words, Noah froze. Frozen in place, he just stared at her blankly.
He thought that even if they kissed and their bodies touched, he would never hear those words from Olivia until the day he died.
Why did Olivia marry me?
At first, the answer to this question was simple. Then one day, he felt sad and afraid.
And as his fear grew, Noah became obsessed with her. He bought dresses and filled his jewelry box to the point where his father subtly warned him to pay attention to the rumors. If he could, he wanted to keep Olivia's toes from even touching the ground.
He thought that if a child were ever born, he hoped they would resemble Olivia. Noah intended to give everything he had to their child.
Nevertheless, he couldn't dare expect that word.
"I love you."
A sweet voice flowed further into his dazed ears.
“Because you were the one standing on that road that day... That is why I... decided to follow you.”
"...Why."
Even if Usher had left, wouldn't you have followed him? Because that was the situation. And perhaps that would have been better for you.
However, Olivia's answer was different.
“Well... ever since that autumn night, I... kept thinking about you...”
That autumn night.
She was so gorgeous and delicately pretty, like a deep blue rose, that, ridiculously enough, he couldn't look at her properly.
They said she was leaving in a few days, so he was just killing time alone, wondering what kind of absurd feeling that was. When he came to his senses, he found himself wandering through a lightless maze.
In search of her.
An autumn night when his heart fluttered at the sound of footsteps rustling beside him.
He hoped that that autumn night wasn't special only to him. He wanted her to remember that night, too.
Love.
The name, which was difficult to define by anything, was named by him as the atmosphere of that moment.
At that moment, Olivia's expression, atmosphere, temperature—everything—was defined by the name of love.
Noah ran his hand over his face and looked at the back of his hand. Even after returning from monster hunts, the back of his hand had never been this damaged.
However, it did not matter whether he was bruised a deep blue or not. As the moment of crisis arrived, all the shells in his life were completely stripped away. In the place where the shells had vanished, only she remained, resembling the scent of fresh cosmos flowers.
Just then, Ansen's voice interrupted, as if mocking his sincerity.
"To Olivia, you and I are the same kind of guy."
Noah froze, holding his breath for a moment. He gasped for air, clutched his chest, and contorted his face. But Ansen's voice did not let him go.
No."
Noah suddenly shook his head.
Because that bastard of a dog was spouting nonsense.
Noah muttered curses and tried to erase the curse-like words from his mind, but he simply couldn't get rid of them.
Noah took out a medicine bottle as if possessed.
“Since the newspapers stopped coming to the mansion... and since Your Highness went to Hammington, I believe. It hasn’t been long since I noticed the medicine bottle.”
He slowly collapsed with a distorted face.
"To Olivia, you and I are the same kind of guy."
No matter how much he cursed and shook his head, there was no room to refute those words.
Isn't this the medicine she was looking for in that life-threatening moment in a collapsing house?
However, she ate this next to him.
“I was promised peace in exchange for marrying you. I extracted a promise from my father that I would never again stand before that dreadful press. So do you understand what I have to receive in exchange for marrying you, and what you have to pay me in return?”
“...You idiot.”
He shouldn't have said that. He regretted it the moment he saw the emptiness in Olivia's eyes, but he didn't correct her. No, he couldn't correct her and ended up running away.
Noah got up from his seat and headed to the window.
The Magic Dome and the warship came into view at the same time.
The magic dome that Ansen Wilhelm took from Olivia.
It was only after Noah came face-to-face with Ansen that he realized the true purpose of Ansen's visit to Herod.
"Olivia is more stubborn and free-spirited than you might think. And she... does not forgive those who infringe upon her freedom."
Olivia did not forgive Ansen for taking the Magic Dome away. So she completely forgot about him, and Ansen must have come all the way to Herod to find her, struggling with lingering feelings.
“You’re saying that in exchange for me setting things right, you’ll pretend not to know that Olivia is Oliver. Does Olivia know this?”
Driven solely by the desire to protect Olivia, he failed to consider what was truly important to her.
Noah closed his eyes and gasped for breath.
“The most important thing to her...”
Noah became confused by that question.
This was because he didn't know a single thing properly, such as what was most important to her or what she truly liked.
Just then, with the sound of hurried footsteps, the door burst open, and Meson burst in.
To Noah, who turned his head in surprise, Meson delivered words that would shake his world.
“Her Royal Highness the Princess, is here right now. She has summoned the person in charge of the Magic Dome. She stated that she will repair Magic Domes 2 under His Majesty's orders...”
Meson could not finish his sentence. This was because Noah kicked the door and ran out before he could even finish speaking.
It was a laugh that was inappropriate for the time and place, but no one could blame her for it.
“One day, when even my memory is hazy, my parents and grandfather passed away, and I went to Pulder with my grandmother. There were countless invisible walls. For I was an immigrant, a commoner, and nothing more than a girl with my grandmother as my guardian.”
Tears trickled down over a faint smile and fell along the tip of the chin.
“I walked and walked along a rough path. I walked without even realizing how difficult it was. Then, by the time I sought recognition as the developer of the Magic Dome... I think I was just too exhausted. The wall was so impossibly high that I couldn't even dare to cross it... so I turned a blind eye to my own rights.”
Beatrix came over and wrapped a handkerchief around her cheek.
Olivia looked into her blue eyes and brought out the true feelings she had been holding back.
“I was foolish. I shouldn’t have given up so easily...”
Beatrix embraced her without a word. Olivia leaned against the Queen's chest, her voice trailing off.
Beatrix patted the frail, trembling shoulders for a long time before taking a step back. Olivia, having calmed herself for a moment in her arms, wiped her wet face and looked up.
Leonard was staring directly at her. Olivia met the King's gaze and spoke in a much firmer voice.
“I wish to correct my foolishness, even now. I am prepared to endure any path, Your Majesty.”
“You intend to build Herod’s own magic dome?”
In response to the King's question, Olivia spoke clearly with determination.
“I can do it. I will make it happen.”
Leonard pulled one corner of his mouth into a smile.
His laughter, which at first glance seemed like a mockery, felt like a bright smile to Olivia.
“Is it possible for you to fix the Magic Dome yourself?”
Just by listening to the sound the Magic Dome makes, she knows where the problem is and how to fix it. It is like how parents can guess what the issue is just by listening to their child's breathing.
Leonard crossed his arms, fell into thought for a moment, and then asked.
"So you must have been the one who fixed the ship-shaped magic dome, too."
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Leonard gestured toward Olivia after hearing her answer without a moment's hesitation.
"Come closer."
“...?”
As Olivia's dark eyes widened, Leonard spoke sarcastically with a somewhat nasty look on his face.
"Shouldn't we give that fearless thief a proper smack on the back of the head?"
A moment later, Olivia walked down the long corridor where darkness had seeped in.
Looking down the hallway, shrouded in dim light, she was reminded of the moment she was heading to the room where Noah was waiting on her wedding night. That moment, when it felt like she was cutting across her life, where she couldn't see an inch ahead.
Noah, who was at the end of the hallway that day, was a miracle that entered her life.
And now she was walking a path exactly opposite to what that miracle wanted.
When will I ever come to have the guts to remain composed and courageous in any situation?
Perhaps such a moment does not come to everyone. It is simply that in the same situation, each person makes a different choice.
Run away in terror, or walk silently, holding onto that fear.
Olivia clutched the King's order in her hand tightly. Then, she quickly crossed the hallway and went down the stairs.
After turning around the landing and reaching the first floor, she paused when she saw someone waiting for her.
“Your Highness, I have come to escort you.”
Jonan stretched his massive body flexibly and took a step toward her. Behind him, the coachman and Mrs. Betty were seen bowing their heads.
Olivia stood on the stairs and looked down at him. How could she have thought this face looked like a boy's?
Olivia tightened her grip on the king's order.
Then, turning her gaze away from him and looking straight ahead, she calmly walked down the stairs. She felt sorry for him for coming all the way here to find her, but she would not apologize.
Olivia brushed past Jonan and stopped in front of Mrs. Betty and the coachman.
"You two, please return to the mansion. Thank you for your hard work carrying out my orders."
Unlike the coachman who quickly bowed his head, Mrs. Betty followed behind Olivia as she walked again.
“I will go with you, Your Highness.”
Jonan, walking behind Olivia, spoke in a low voice.
"Let's go to the mansion."
It was an intimidating voice bordering on a command, but Olivia did not reply and stepped into the open carriage. As Mrs. Betty followed her into the carriage, Olivia stared directly at Jonan through the window and gave an order.
“Please follow the signs to Magic Dome 2.”
“It is His Majesty’s order, so obey.”
Before the King's seal, vivid in the moonlight, and before eyes darker than the night of the new moon, Jonan dared not offer any rebuttal.
***
Meson quickly reported, feeling a cold sweat run down his spine.
“It is said that Her Highness was at the royal palace. Jonan went to escort her personally.”
Upon hearing his report, Noah nodded slightly, then sank deep into the sofa and slumped down. Meson quickly left the room, and Noah gazed at the world, which had already grown dark.
The moment he heard the report that Olivia had disappeared from the mansion, he truly felt the meaning of the saying that the sky had fallen. His mind went white, and he experienced everything in the world drifting far away.
Even as he handled his duties, his mind was focused on finding the whereabouts of the missing Olivia. Even as he mechanically signed documents and gave interviews, he kept glaring at the door. He felt like he was going crazy with curiosity over the news coming from beyond.
If the news hadn't spread quickly, he would have personally wandered the entire capital searching for Olivia.
Olivia.
The broken words from the corners of the lips flowed into the heart and pooled.
The sweet confession that spilled out from lips red like a lush rose colored him once again.
"I love you."
When he heard those words, Noah froze. Frozen in place, he just stared at her blankly.
He thought that even if they kissed and their bodies touched, he would never hear those words from Olivia until the day he died.
Why did Olivia marry me?
At first, the answer to this question was simple. Then one day, he felt sad and afraid.
And as his fear grew, Noah became obsessed with her. He bought dresses and filled his jewelry box to the point where his father subtly warned him to pay attention to the rumors. If he could, he wanted to keep Olivia's toes from even touching the ground.
He thought that if a child were ever born, he hoped they would resemble Olivia. Noah intended to give everything he had to their child.
Nevertheless, he couldn't dare expect that word.
"I love you."
A sweet voice flowed further into his dazed ears.
“Because you were the one standing on that road that day... That is why I... decided to follow you.”
"...Why."
Even if Usher had left, wouldn't you have followed him? Because that was the situation. And perhaps that would have been better for you.
However, Olivia's answer was different.
“Well... ever since that autumn night, I... kept thinking about you...”
That autumn night.
She was so gorgeous and delicately pretty, like a deep blue rose, that, ridiculously enough, he couldn't look at her properly.
They said she was leaving in a few days, so he was just killing time alone, wondering what kind of absurd feeling that was. When he came to his senses, he found himself wandering through a lightless maze.
In search of her.
An autumn night when his heart fluttered at the sound of footsteps rustling beside him.
He hoped that that autumn night wasn't special only to him. He wanted her to remember that night, too.
Love.
The name, which was difficult to define by anything, was named by him as the atmosphere of that moment.
At that moment, Olivia's expression, atmosphere, temperature—everything—was defined by the name of love.
Noah ran his hand over his face and looked at the back of his hand. Even after returning from monster hunts, the back of his hand had never been this damaged.
However, it did not matter whether he was bruised a deep blue or not. As the moment of crisis arrived, all the shells in his life were completely stripped away. In the place where the shells had vanished, only she remained, resembling the scent of fresh cosmos flowers.
Just then, Ansen's voice interrupted, as if mocking his sincerity.
"To Olivia, you and I are the same kind of guy."
Noah froze, holding his breath for a moment. He gasped for air, clutched his chest, and contorted his face. But Ansen's voice did not let him go.
No."
Noah suddenly shook his head.
Because that bastard of a dog was spouting nonsense.
Noah muttered curses and tried to erase the curse-like words from his mind, but he simply couldn't get rid of them.
Noah took out a medicine bottle as if possessed.
“Since the newspapers stopped coming to the mansion... and since Your Highness went to Hammington, I believe. It hasn’t been long since I noticed the medicine bottle.”
He slowly collapsed with a distorted face.
"To Olivia, you and I are the same kind of guy."
No matter how much he cursed and shook his head, there was no room to refute those words.
Isn't this the medicine she was looking for in that life-threatening moment in a collapsing house?
However, she ate this next to him.
“I was promised peace in exchange for marrying you. I extracted a promise from my father that I would never again stand before that dreadful press. So do you understand what I have to receive in exchange for marrying you, and what you have to pay me in return?”
“...You idiot.”
He shouldn't have said that. He regretted it the moment he saw the emptiness in Olivia's eyes, but he didn't correct her. No, he couldn't correct her and ended up running away.
Noah got up from his seat and headed to the window.
The Magic Dome and the warship came into view at the same time.
The magic dome that Ansen Wilhelm took from Olivia.
It was only after Noah came face-to-face with Ansen that he realized the true purpose of Ansen's visit to Herod.
"Olivia is more stubborn and free-spirited than you might think. And she... does not forgive those who infringe upon her freedom."
Olivia did not forgive Ansen for taking the Magic Dome away. So she completely forgot about him, and Ansen must have come all the way to Herod to find her, struggling with lingering feelings.
“You’re saying that in exchange for me setting things right, you’ll pretend not to know that Olivia is Oliver. Does Olivia know this?”
Driven solely by the desire to protect Olivia, he failed to consider what was truly important to her.
Noah closed his eyes and gasped for breath.
“The most important thing to her...”
Noah became confused by that question.
This was because he didn't know a single thing properly, such as what was most important to her or what she truly liked.
Just then, with the sound of hurried footsteps, the door burst open, and Meson burst in.
To Noah, who turned his head in surprise, Meson delivered words that would shake his world.
“Her Royal Highness the Princess, is here right now. She has summoned the person in charge of the Magic Dome. She stated that she will repair Magic Domes 2 under His Majesty's orders...”
Meson could not finish his sentence. This was because Noah kicked the door and ran out before he could even finish speaking.
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