Chapter 42: 41

***

(*Admiral Winston Claire is Celine and Diana’s father. The first half chapter focused on him and the Queen)

Sitting alone on the couch in his quarters, Admiral Winston Claire crumpled his forehead at the news that Diana and Noah had arrived safely in Medea.

The letter in his hand was distorted in the same way. This letter was sent as a prompt by Princess Erica.

He had expected their handling on Progen’s part, but they were very prepared and cleverly slipped through the cracks. Now that they had already gone to Queen Medea, there was nothing Progen could do about it.

This was a country where ethnic ties run deep and people were willing to go to war for the sake of a single Medean. The story of how they sent battleships and fighter planes to a country that had detained and killed a Medean archaeologist and his family, and turned it into a colony, was well known.

“I will accept the price of taking the entire country hostage for the death of Medea’s descendants.”

This was the declaration of war by Queen Grace II, who was very angry at the time. The Queen, who was usually said to be merciful and generous, also had a frighteningly ruthless side, like the two sides of the moon.

Moreover, Diana was close to a pure-blooded Medean in appearance alone, which was reason enough for her to receive the kingdom’s protection.

‘So that was your plan after all? What was your suggestion to keep your mouth shut? Was it just a bluff?’ (One time, Noah said he would not tell the Queen about Diana if the Admiral let her go)

Nevertheless, given that there was no issue in Medea yet, it seemed that the Duke (Noah) had not taken any action. He couldn’t understand the insane Duke of it all.

There was only one reason why Noah was willing to abandon everything and take Diana, even to the point of dying under the stigma of being a traitor.

To reveal Diana’s true identity to the Queen. If that happened, all his (the Admiral’s plans) plans would be thwarted. A deep worry crept over the Admiral’s forehead as he held his temples with his hands.

He thought of the past.

“I betrayed you? You tricked me into doing that! That’s not what it’s all about for me!”

His young voice was as raw as if it were yesterday.

He didn’t have a choice. Maybe it was because he was serious at the time, but the response that came back was human contempt. Pieces of the revived afterimage flooded in like a tidal wave with various emotions and quickly escaped.

He will have to live with it for the rest of his life, giving it back to the poor Celine. He buried the guilt that surfaced as he rationalized it as it was for his daughter.

***

Tempshire Palace, the Queen’s office.

Queen Grace II was sipping bergamot-scented tea and conversing with Baron Zelda Mason.

She smiled kindly at the Baron standing before her, but there was something cold about that smile. As the elegant movement followed, the earrings on her ears sparkled and shook weakly.

“Zelda, the child that Count Noah saved is the daughter of Admiral Belford.” (The Queen gave Noah the Count title in the last chapter)

Baron Mason pondered for a moment who the Count was, then nodded, remembering that Noah had received an honorary knighthood from the Medea.

“You mean the woman the former Duke rescued? That’s right. But seeing as she uses another surname, it seems she was excommunicated.”

“Did Admiral Claire marry a Medean woman and have a child with her?”

“The Admiral’s wife has been dead for quite some time. The girl, Diana, is probably the child of his second wife. We have no information on the second wife, and she is currently deceased. Looking at her appearance, it’s clear that Diana’s maternal lineage was more of Medean bloodline.”

The Baron’s report made the Queen feel unpleasant. Unable to hide the mixture of disgust and disdain on her face, she bit her lower lip to soothe her emotions. She gracefully set down her teacup, maintaining her dignity.

“We have a duty to protect our people, but why did Noah do it? It’s not in his nature to help people for no reason.”

Baron Mason, who stood quietly with his hands together, looked at the tips of his shoes for a moment, troubled, and then smiled brightly.

“I think it’s love. He might have fallen in love with her at first sight when he met her by chance.”

By chance? There must be a reason for everything. Nothing happens by chance. The Queen’s brow furrowed slightly, not liking the word.

Immediately she suppressed the unpleasant memory and adjusted her expression. It was strange that this Noah Rothsilde would fall in love with an ordinary man. It had been strange since the beginning, when he had made such a big deal about getting married.

He had always been strange since he was a child.

The Queen’s green eyes went to the Baron.

“Zelda. You know very well why I helped Progen.”

“To defeat Belford and divide and rule.”

The Baron answered the Queen’s sudden question in a standardized manner and probed her intentions. The Queen smiled without incident, hiding her inner thoughts. Superficially, that was true. In reality, it was a personal vendetta.

“When will Diana come to meet me?”

“I’ll tell her to come and see you as soon as possible.”

Baron Mason retreated politely, and the Queen, with her cheeks propped up, gazed at the flowery scent of tea water in the cup. There was a strange thought in her calm gaze.

There was a time when the Medea and Belford were in an alliance.

Winston Claire, a promising young Belford man, was a naval captain at the time and stopped in Medea for a while, where he happened to meet Queen Grace when she was a Princess. Coincidence can be the fate of the century or a powerfully intertwined bad relationship.

He was a young man who was born the third child of a marquis family and was ambitious, and the girl who was born into royalty and had power. Their meeting was the beginning of a very bad relationship.

(*Is Diana the daughter of the Queen and the Admiral? I still don’t know about the dad but Diana is the Queen’s daughter for sure.)

***

Lenny, dressed in her maid’s uniform, came to my room to tell me that Noah had returned from the Tempshire Palace.

After a long time of lounging around in my warm bed all day, enjoying my indoor instincts, I slowly woke up. As I wrapped my blanket around me and made my way downstairs, I saw Noah entering the front door.

As he took off his cloak and handed it to the servant, Noah looked up at me as I stood at the top of the stairs. The moment we exchanged glances, there was a stillness in the air that I could not have known. I smiled awkwardly at him, but for some reason he didn’t smile at me.

“You’re back, sir”

“Yes.”

I could feel the coldness on his expressionless face. His sullen voice was as cold as a winter breeze.

The man who was firmly sulking at me passed by me and strode up the stairs. I looked back to see what I had done so wrong, but all I was guilty of was telling him that I would not sleep with him from now on. I walked into his room. It was a little painful, like I had a blister.

“Noah, did something bad happen?”

Noah loosened his tie as he looked back at me. He had the same expression on his face as before as he spoke.

“It’s bad enough……”

While staring somewhere, I carefully reflected on what he said, and Noah finally chuckled. At first glance, it sounded like a drowsy laugh.

Suddenly, Noah came up to me and leaned over to look down at me.

A corner of his lips tilted, which was different from his normal appearance and looked dangerous. It was that look he used to show in the beginning of the game.

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He wrapped the tie he had removed around his hand and unbuttoned one or two buttons on his collar. His long slender fingers didn’t stop there, but gradually moved down to the third and fourth buttons.

With a constant sound, I backed away, startled by the ever-widening gap in the collar of his shirt. The sight as it was to my eyes was very unnerving.

I closed my eyes as if I had witnessed the moment when a forbidden secret that I was not supposed to know was revealed. A calm and gentle voice rang in my ears.

“Are you going to stay? I’m changing my clothes..

“No, no. I’ll go out.”

I covered my eyes and retreated, intending to leave before his upper body was exposed. But my foot got caught on the threshold in a really conventional way.

With a short scream like a winter migratory bird, my body lost its balance. Fortunately, there was a sturdy, military man in front of me with good reaction time and motor skills.

He grabbed my hand quickly and prevented the back of my head from breaking, and he slowly made eye contact with me. Normally, he would hug me or hold me by the waist in a tango position and ask,”Are you okay?” It’s a classic question.

However, he just held my hand with one hand with a blank expression on his face. I was leaning in an inclined position and holding on like hanging on to his hand.

He didn’t pull me up any further, even though the situation was too hard for me to balance myself. Noah’s grayish blue eyes suddenly narrowed and he smiled bewitchingly.

I put pressure on my toes and finally craned my neck and asked.

“What are you doing?”

It was a genuine question. I didn’t know what this was intended to be. I tried to push up on the ground with one hand, but he pulled it up and my hand was only swinging in the air.

The tie that was wrapped around his hand fell smoothly to the floor. Noah, who saw a sign of embarrassment on my face, tilted his head and smiled.

“Stop joking around.”

I gave him an appropriate response and pulled his hand with both of mine, then he raised me up slightly and dropped me again. My back bent in a curve again and I screamed.

“Arghhhh!”

“Did you do something wrong to me?”

Noah grinned and looked down. It was an evil grin, like, “You shouldn’t have done that to me.”

Is he exhibiting a crazy propensity for not being able to empathize with other people’s pain, but rather being happy about it? How could he use the ‘aesthetics of falling’ to create a romantic situation like this?

“What did I do?”

“You broke your promise.”

“No, no, no! What’s wrong with you!?”

I showed my willingness to let go of his hand, even though I was going to fall backwards, but his hand gripped me rather more firmly.

My backbent more and more dangerously. If I get up, I won’t leave him alone. With a look of resentment in my eyes, Noah gently inclined his head.

“Hmm. The criminal who broke her promise is glaring at me.”

“Please let me up so I can apologize. My back hurts.”

I deliberately gave him a pitiful look and he slowly helped me up, supporting my waist. He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a cold look. I looked this way and that, trying to avoid his gaze, but he insisted on following me and making eye contact.

“I won’t do anything. I didn’t do anything until now, right?” (Noah)

The problem was that he hadn’t done anything from the beginning. It’s the old idea of a scruffy adult. We were in a healthy relationship without even kissing properly. He continued to urge me to do so.

“Huh? I wish we could sleep together.”

His hand lightly swept my back, making my neck numb. He shouldn’t show such sweet words and attitudes but control them when they were important. I frankly refused with a hint of appropriate Confucianism.

“I’m sorry, but no. We’re not even married yet.”

“We’ve already slept together.”

“Others won’t think soundly.”

“We are promised to be married, right? What does it matter what others think?”

I wasn’t sure I could win this argument, so I kept my mouth shut. Noah, who had been waiting for a while, eventually took out his secret weapon. He looked at me with a pitiful face with his eyes down sadly.

“Do you not want to sleep with me? I even give you an arm pillow and pat you on the back.”

It was a unique poor cat face that inevitably weakened the viewers.

Of course, the fierce beast was pretending to be a cat. Under the assumption that I was the king, and if he was to ask me to stop the war with that expression and voice, I think I would listen to him.

“No …….”

The “no?” question and that look were also my greatest weaknesses.

In the past I had coldly left him and he thought I left because I didn’t like him. So I thought the word “no” was thoroughly off limits to him. As much as I hate to say it, the ability to properly operate on someone’s weaknesses should be highly valued.

“Are you scared of me?”

He asked in a whisper, and his eyes stared at me clearly. I felt distracted, so I nodded and tried to regain my composure.

“No.”

“I don’t have anything else on my mind, so don’t worry. It’s just that I like being together.”

His kind words made me cry from the bottom of my heart. I really wanted to cry. Can you please make your other thoughts a little vigorous?

“Okay.”

Eventually, I nodded. The lips of the man who got what he wanted drew a smile of satisfaction.

Of course, I could tackle this aggressively first, but it wouldn’t be easy. I didn’t have the courage to confront this elegant man, whose sanctuary will never be broken.

“Well, that’s it then……”

For now, I was going to go back to my room and avoid him, even if I had to pretend to be in pain or to go to bed early. But I inadvertently forgot that he was five steps ahead of me.

Noah’s hand overlapped over my hand holding the doorknob to sneak out. He closed the door.

I gulped down my saliva as I was trapped in his arms. The murky blue eyes, which turned fierce, were subtly curved.

His hot breath reached close to my cheek. His lips grazed my ear, and he whispered in a voice as low as the sound of his breath.

“I don’t think you can get out of my room until morning.”

The voice subdued me and bound me. I was ineffectual and he was demanding.

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