“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Very.”

“Let’s go. I already told them to bring some fried fish to your room.”

Olivia felt the tension in her stiff back that had been present until now relaxed with her words.

“Thank you, Professor! Still, is it okay to leave like this?”

“Well, of course.”

As Margot strode out of the hall with majestic steps, the nobles around quickly stepped back. It dawned on her again that Margot was a member of the Herod royal family.

Olivia followed her for a while before sneakily turning her head to glance at the hall.

The splendid arches adorned with marble and gold looked like a picture frame, and beyond the arches, the chandeliers glistened with red, and the jewellike nobles from beyond the arch felt like a scene from a famous painting.

It was difficult to believe that she was a part of this famous painting.

“Olivia!”

“Ah, yes!”

At Margot’s call, she quickly turned and descended the stairs.

The grand party, where too much had happened in such a short time, came to an end just like that.

Noah pushed through the crowd and headed for the terrace, but the prodigal sons who had lost Olivia to him swarmed around.

“Is that a bit too much?”

“Is it appropriate to whisk her away like that, Your Highness?”

Noah opened his mouth, calmly surveying the complaining nobles.

“Astrid’s guests are treated as Astrid.”

Although his tone was light, without a hint of coercion, the prodigal sons softened their expressions to his words.

Noah took out a cigarette from his pocket and placed it in his mouth. As the sharp glint behind the leisurely smoke looked dangerously menacing, the prodigal sons quietly took a step back out of Noah’s sight.

“No matter how un-Astrid-like the guest might be, if Astrid invited them, they should be treated accordingly. Don’t you agree?”

“….”

“Why engage in such unruly behavior?”

“I apologize.”

Even if they hang out together and have fun with you all, they still have to maintain some decorum.

“Be careful. There are many watching eyes, you know?”

Noah passed the nobles with a disdainful attitude and made his way to the terrace.

The remaining nobles coughed in embarrassment and dispersed aimlessly. Meanwhile, from the grand column gap, Isabel Seymour watched with a glint in her eye, precisely the terrace where Noah Astrid had vanished to.

“Madam Duverne.”

“Yes, Lady Seymour.”

“What should I do to marry Prince Noah?”

The newly nineteen-year-old girl gazed boldly at Madam Duverne, a legendary figure in the chaperone world.

Madam Duvene, after gazing at the terrace where Noah had vanished for some time, nodded slightly.

“Well, I suppose I’ll need to think about it. If it’s Prince Noah… well, it might be a bit difficult through conventional means. It might take some time, but would that be alright?”

Isabel nodded to her question with a smiling face.

“Of course. Take your time to think it through.”

Isabel and Madam Duverne turned around gracefully with smiles on their faces.

Olivia rode a carriage inside the palace to go back to her accommodation. Her designated accommodation was a guest room with a window facing the main fountain of the Herod Palace, personally selected for her by the queen.

Margot, clearly tired, left with a word to meet again tomorrow while Olivia followed the maid and entered the room assigned to her.

And the moment the maid lit the lamp, Olivia couldn’t help but reflect on how they referred to this room as a mere accommodation. Even in the soft light, everything in the room felt like exquisite luxury. However, nothing was overly extravagant, creating a comfortable atmosphere.

The maid briefly explained the necessary items to Olivia as she surveyed the room.

“…If you need anything, just pull this cord.”

In the meanwhile, the attendants had set up the table with fried fish as the main attraction on the table, and Olivia happily sat down in front of it.

“Then, I’ll be back shortly.”

The maid said after lighting the candles on the table and quietly stepping away.

Olivia watched her graceful departure, almost like flowing water, and found herself silently admiring the maid’s back. It seemed there was no one who lacked elegance in Herod Palace.

Her brief thought was interrupted by the aroma stimulating her appetite.

“Shall we try it?”

She eagerly cut into the fried fish and took a bite, relishing the crispy exterior and the tender, savory flesh of the fish.

“So delicious.”

She murmured as she quickly finished her plate. With her hunger satisfied, the next step was a warm bath.

After she emerged from the bathroom, she found the table had been neatly tidied up. Olivia climbed onto the cozy bedding, the faint scent of soap lingering in the air, and rested her head on the plush pillow.

Taking slow breaths, she glanced around the cozy and magnificent room.

“Wow… I’m really here in Herod Palace.”

She let out a laughter that seemed to be carried by the wind.

Her nostalgia for Herod brought her to the Herod Palace. Just like how one would carefully fold and reread a page in a book stained with fingerprints, she would undoubtedly fold this moment carefully and revisit it multiple times.

Olivia wearily got up and retrieved her notebook, pen, and the magical flashlight she had designed herself from her bag, placing them on the table. Instead of the flickering candlelight, she turned on the steady flashlight and hung it slightly on the candlestick, then opened her notebook and began to write in her diary.

As she wrote, starting from the moment she arrived and entered the palace in the carriage, she paused at a certain point. The sharp tip of her pen hesitated to write something, then hesitated to continue.

She briefly put down her pen and wrapped her right hand around her left shoulder.

As the sensation of the large, firm touch that had enveloped her back came to mind, she instinctively lowered her hand and blinked her eyes, recalling that moment for no apparent reason. Even the embarrassing moment of being surrounded by nobles seemed to linger in her thoughts.

Olivia then took up the pen again and, as if determined, wrote down the words she had been hesitating to write.

“…Noah Astrid.”

Rolling the exquisite name on the tip of her pen with a smile in her eyes, she filled her diary with the events of the day.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The next day, as Leonard checked the newspaper first thing upon waking up, he burst into a hearty laugh upon seeing the headline.

[ Leonard II Invites Herod’s First Herodington Female Student, Olivia Liberty, to the Autumn Ball ]

As Walter Lightwing’s disgusting face disappeared from the front page, he felt like he was going to fly away. His resemblance to Walter made it feel like he was dragged in the mud every time he looked at the newspaper.

Leonard pointed to the picture of the royal family and Olivia with his finger.

“Do you see it? Walter’s face has finally vanished from the front page! Uahahaha!”

It had become Leonard’s lifelong wish to capture and kill the inventor of the cursed camera and the newspaper executives.

Ironically, he was more obsessed with the newspaper than anyone else.

With the increase in the number of wealthy commoners, an era had arrived where one had to be mindful of their opinions. The existence of the Pulder Republic further intensified this era. Still, couldn’t he persuade the newspaper executives?

Surely, there must be such a way. However, the newspaper executives were more concerned with circulation numbers than the king.

Leonard got up from his seat and commanded the attendants.

“Alright, today, let’s all go to Herolington Bay together! Take a picture with the Magic Dome in the background! Also, take one in front of the Golden Lion statue in the bustling park where the commoners gather! Hurry and contact the reporters!”

The attendant quickly responded, offering Leonard a refreshing drink.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will inform it.”

After taking a long sip, Leonard wiped his mouth with a towel and added with enthusiasm.

“If Margo is tired, tell her it’s okay not to come and to rest well. Also, make it very clear to Walter that he is not to set foot anywhere near Herolington today.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

And so, around ten a.m., Margot and Olivia boarded a carriage bound for the royal family’s private villa located on Herolington Bay.

__