Chapter 6

A woman suddenly appeared, eerily drawing the eyes of all the aristocrats in the room.

“She hasn’t changed a bit,” Leonard murmured at the sight of Margo’s face.

Beatrix jabbed him in the side.

For the first time in a while, Noah had to agree with his father. Princess Margaret was exactly the same as she had always been. Her cold, piercing blue eyes flashed like ice as she stepped into the banquet hall. Her blonde locks were swept into a flawless updo, not a single hair out of place.

His gaze then slid to the petite and exotic-looking woman who appeared behind her.

The first thing that caught his eye was the woman’s white blouse, buttoned up to her chin. It was nothing like the low-cut dresses of all the other ladies in attendance. His eyes then traveled up her long and slender neck to arrive at her delicate face, her skin even fairer shade than the color of her blouse.

His eye was drawn to her pale green hairband. It contrasted strongly with her black waves and kept the fine flyaway hairs completely clear of her round forehead. Her eyes were directed downward. From a distance he could see that they were large and doe-like, yet still perfectly balanced with the rest of her features.

As the woman followed Margo, she gave off a cautious but somewhat cheerful impression, perhaps because of the way she walked. Her skirt ended just above her ankles, and as the prince watched her small black pumps busily scurrying after the princess, he couldn’t help but smile.

Olivia, meanwhile, was a bit frazzled by all the attention. Having attended a school full of men, she had believed that she was used to being stared out. But she now realized that her prior experiences were nothing—for here, in the glamorous and historic royal palace of Herod, the eyes on her belonged to aristocrats who were polished as beautifully as jewels.

The anticipation she’d felt upon passing the palace’s gold window grates had only been possible because of her own ignorance. It was already too late, but she was beginning to question whether it had even been the right choice to accept the royal invitation just to visit Herod.

She also regretted forgoing the dress that the palace employee had brought her in favor of her usual campus attire. She felt especially conscious of the modest black pumps that kept peeking out from under her skirt.

She made a conscious effort to slowly inhale and exhale, calming her shaking breath. Keeping her eyes glued to the back of Margo’s skirt, she matched her own footsteps to her professor’s as if her life depended on it.

She simply couldn’t believe that the royal family would be waiting for her at the end of this walk. She found herself wishing they would never reach the end, but she watched with resentment as Margo stopped in her tracks.

Struggling to keep her breath even, she cautiously raised her eyes just like she’d practiced. At the same time, she froze.

Standing before her was a man who looked like the human incarnation of the word “royalty.” If she were asked to choose which face among the hundreds in the room best represented the royal family, she would have selected this man without hesitation every time.

One didn’t have to look closely to know what a fine specimen he was. Despite his towering height and broad chest, he appeared graceful. Even his forehead, highlighted below his neatly combed dark blond hair, seemed sculpted to perfection. The moment her eyes landed on his green gaze, she hastily looked down.

“Olivia,” Margo called softly, pulling her back to reality and saving her from committing a horrible faux pas in front of the royal family.

She hurriedly paid her respects by bringing her left leg behind her right as she bent her knees. Thanks to all her practice, she was fortunately able to perform the traditional Herod-style curtsy without any mistakes.

After casting her a quick glance, Margo turned to Leonard.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”

The king took a step forward. “You’ve come a long way, Princess Margaret,” he replied.

Now it was Olivia’s turn.

After a look at the king and queen, she bowed her head. “Thank you for inviting me to this banquet, Your Majesty. My name is Olivia Liberty.”

At the surprisingly low voice, Noah’s eyes trailed from Margo to Olivia.

Queen Beatrix, meanwhile, noticed how nervous the girl seemed. She greeted her even more warmly than usual.

“Welcome, Miss Liberty. It’s lovely that you’re here. I’ve always wanted to meet the young lady from Faulder, Herolington University’s valedictorian.”

Olivia shyly hung her head, but Margo placed a hand on her back, signaling for her to keep looking forward.

The young woman suddenly found this whole situation unbearably awkward and felt a strong urge to flee. The banquet was beginning to seem like it would be hopelessly long.

The king quietly cleared his throat and turned away. “Now, we should head over to the reporters waiting for us. I hope you all enjoy the banquet.”

As Margo followed the king with a sardonic smile, the queen pulled Olivia along. “Come with me, Miss Liberty.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” As she followed, she could feel Arthur and Noah trailing behind. Their presence somehow made her ears tingly and numb.

“We’re on our way to take some pictures,” the queen explained. “Think of it as a souvenir.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she answered shortly, not knowing what else to say.

Arthur strode to the queen’s side then gave Olivia a small smile. “I hear you were an engineering major. Is that true?”

Olivia finally got a good look at the crown prince. The princes were so similar that if they were in the street, and not at the palace, she would have quickly spun around to compare the two. For now, the only difference she noticed was that Arthur’s eyes were blue rather than green.

She suddenly recalled that Margo had mentioned it earlier.

“The two princes look alike, but I assure you, you won’t mix them up. Crown Prince Arthur has blue eyes, while Prince Noah’s are green.”

So this blue-eyed man had to be Crown Prince Arthur, and the gigantic presence to her left was Prince Noah.

At Arthur’s question, Olivia nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. I’m researching ways to convert mana into mechanical power.”

“Wow, really?” remarked the queen in astonishment.

At their encouraging reactions, the young woman finally felt like she could breathe again.

Noah continued to cast furtive glances down at Olivia, who kept her back to him as she addressed Arthur and the queen. Now that they were standing close to each other, he could see that the top of her head barely reached his chest and that her small shoulders were only about as wide as the breadth of both his hands. Her voluminous black hair, styled in a pretty braid and topped with a light green hairband, kept drawing his eye.

He slowly strode after her. He was rather amused by the rhythmic way she bounced like a squirrel, her shoulders bobbing up and down with each step.

How grateful he was for her too. From the day she accepted the invitation, the number of events on his calendar had dropped. For the past few days, he hadn’t needed to attend a single one. As someone who’d been living in an event-filled hell, Noah couldn’t help but see this small woman as his personal salvation.

At that moment, he felt an intense stare coming from the head of their procession. He looked up to see his Aunt Margo—the princess most greatly feared by every man in Herod—giving him a stern and penetrating look.

He shrugged and flashed her a smile. Why does everyone look at me like that? All I try to do is live an honest life, he thought.

King Leonard took his place in front of an artfully arranged backdrop at one end of the autumnal garden. The queen stood to his left.

Olivia approached, wondering where she should stand when a chamberlain kindly offered her directions. “You can stand next to His Highness Prince Noah,” he explained, guiding her to her place.

The king and queen were at the center of the display, while Arthur and Margo stood on the king’s right side. To the left of the queen was Noah, and then Olivia herself.

The green-eyed prince’s shadow was even larger and more pronounced under the bright lantern light. He was already firmly in place, so Olivia moved two paces away to stand slightly behind him.

She was determinedly looking forward when she heard a deep, chilling voice from above her. “Come a little closer.”

Startled, she snapped her head to the right and saw that the prince was watching her. He gazed into her wide, dark eyes.

“Come a little closer. To balance the photograph,” he repeated.

“Oh, of course!”

She took a step closer to him.

Apparently, she was still too far. “Right here,” Noah instructed, pointing to his side. His voice had a certain force she couldn’t quite explain.

The spot he was pointing to was close enough for their bodies to nearly touch. She took another step closer, careful not to brush against him, then faced toward the camera again.

She soon realized with dread that it wasn’t just her eyes, ears, and skin that were picking up his presence. A gust of wind swept through the dry autumn trees, passing Noah before grazing the tip of Olivia’s nose. The smell of crisp autumn leaves was tainted ever so slightly with the scent of cologne.

She forced herself to remain facing forward and watch the photographer twiddling with his camera, but all her vision could make out was a meaningless blob of color. Against her will, all of her senses were focused to her right side. It seemed the anxiety she had felt and the reason she had wanted to escape the banquet was standing right beside her—the incarnation of royalty, Noah Astrid.

“Relax. Smile for the camera,” he said.

“What?” At the prince’s sudden voice, Olivia whipped her head to the side to look at him.

The photographer, who was just about to take their picture, shook his head and tutted.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered.

Noah snuck a peek at the girl. Her face was flushed in embarrassment, her ears even redder than her cheeks. He noticed her inching away from him, but it occurred to him that if he asked her to return to her position, her face might darken to the color of her ears. Instead, he opted to lean toward her to balance out the picture.

Satisfied with the symmetry, the photographer cried, “Look this way, please!”

A flash of light burst from the camera, thus capturing the very first photograph of the royal family alongside Olivia Liberty—Prince Noah’s savior.