Chapter 18
****
Sponsored by Elizabeth. Thank you ? (½)
***
“It’s a special day and we’re going to do something special.”
Noah spoke in a slightly excited voice. I think I can see nine tails wagging gracefully behind him.
Is he really going to marry me?
At this point, I’m not sure if he’s serious or if he’s just obsessed with fact-checking, or if he’s just insane possessiveness.
I have no idea if he’s not aware of the method or the purpose. After all this, he may suddenly lose interest and demand a divorce. He may shock me emotionally by breaking off the engagement the day before the wedding. He was an unpredictable man.
The reason for thinking negatively about the subject with a little certainty and anticipation, what to do then, is because of fear.
I was afraid of the end with Noah before I knew it. Because I think my heart will definitely hurt then. It’s even more shocking to see something unexpected, like being in an accident. If I want to make it a little less painful, should I kick him first?
“Do you not want it?” (Noah)
Noah smiled, his eyes like a crescent moon. I quickly lowered my eyes. It was selfish but I couldn’t even get angry.
“No, it was sudden.” (Diana)
“I was trying to surprise you.” (Noah)
“Yes, you really did surprise me. Are we really going to get married?” (Diana)
I felt as if my soul had been drained, and Noah tilted his head, looking rather surprised.
“You said you were going to do it first, didn’t you?” (Noah)
“When did I?” (Diana)
He chuckled.
“I did. Since I’m fickle, I’m also going to do the engagement ceremony beforehand. I’m afraid you might not want to do it suddenly.” (Noah)
I don’t know. What should I do? Why is he spewing out my own worries that I’ve been doing? This man couldn’t say no, and the answer was fixed. And instead, he accused me of being capricious and struck me with great certainty.
The amazingly crazy man smiled beautifully, even though he pushed his way through on his own, using the surprise event as an excuse. He made it impossible for me to refuse. Perhaps I will pretend that I have lost and accept it.
***
On December 25, a large crowd of people rushed into the grand banquet hall where the coming-of-age ceremony was held. Most of them were men in military uniforms, and I saw few women, except for those in military uniforms. Even Countess Moray, who was a close friend of mine, did not come.
I wondered if it was because Noah was in the military so his connections were all military, but he seemed to have friendships with people like senators, bank presidents, Supreme Court justices, and businessmen.
“Why are they all only military men?” (Diana)
“If they talk to my princess, I’m going to give them a military tribunal.” (Noah)
Noah said something outrageous to my question.
I thought that Princess Medea, who had a dirty temper, might come in, saying, “This engagement is invalid!” but it seemed that she had pride and didn’t come.
Inside the lavishly decorated banquet hall, long tables covered with white tablecloths were laden with drinks and a gorgeous dinner. An orchestra played gentle tunes, and people came up to me and congratulated me in elegant tones.
No one asked who I was, where I was from, or about my family lineage. The ceremony was going to take quite a while, in the order of the coming of age ceremony, followed by a time for a ball and then the engagement ceremony.
I heard strangers talking here and there, and my mind went blank. Actually, this was my home too, but I wanted to go home. One officer, who was about forty, caught me and explained to me in a perfunctory manner about becoming a true adult.
At that moment, I suddenly realized that my hands were cutting a fancy three-tier cake. The people stood up in five rows and applauded. I felt like I was receiving some kind of military award.
The gifts that people had brought were piled up. After people had enjoyed the ball for a while, the servant announced that the engagement ceremony was about to begin.
Noah came up to me and wrapped a white fur around my shoulders. He wore a three-piece suit of dark gray fabric with thin stripes and diamond-studded cufflinks on the sleeves. On one of his arms was a coat that he had taken off.
Noah, who put the white fur over my shoulders, laughed jokingly.
Would I be engaged to this woman? I can’t believe this reality easily.
“Princess, it’s too crowded and troublesome. Let’s run away with me for a while.”
What is he talking about when he invited so many people himself? I grabbed the hem of my skirt and Noah’s hand pulled me towards the outside of the banquet hall.
As we walked out into the snow-covered garden and went around the mansion, I could see a fountain stand that looked like a sculpture made of ice carved from water frozen in place. Noah stopped in front of the fountain stand and smiled, his eyes folded as he looked at me. The faint moonlight was shining finely on his silvery-white hair, stained by the dark night sky.
“Diana.”
I was dazed for a while by the dreamy atmosphere, when Noah called my name clearly in a low, somber voice.
“Yes?”
“Can I say what I want?”
“Okay….”
Noah hesitantly closed his lips and lowered his gaze.
Words stopped and the silence that flowed made me unbearably nervous. Noah’s mysterious blue eyes met mine again.
“Can I hug you?
“Oh?”
Was a hug what he wanted to receive?
We were “in love”, but we had never hugged or done any kind of loverly skinship. I coughed, cleared my throat, and nodded.
With my permission, Noah’s hands carefully pulled on my arms. His firm arms were wrapped around my waist. I didn’t know where to put my hands, so I clenched my fists tightly and put them quietly in front of my chest.
Noah, who held me tightly in his arms, sighed. His firm upper body movements of his chest rising and falling were felt directly on my chest, which was in close contact with his.
It was just a hug, but I felt like I was going to melt into the scent and warmth of his body and pass out like this. I’ve been in love and had skin-to-skin contact in my previous life, but I’ve never felt anything like this. What in the world is this overwhelming feeling in my heart?
“Thank you, princess, for all your hard work in becoming an adult.”
Noah whispered in an affectionate voice and patted me lightly on the back. The remnants of my emotions that had sunk to the floor soared at once, filling me with sadness.
I hid my expression in Noah’s chest. No one hugged me sincerely, and no one told me this. Even though I struggled to become an adult, no one worked hard. No one ever told me I did well.
Instead, I was angry that I could no longer do as I wanted, and even my difficult grandfather, who was the only one who protected me, died soon after I became an adult.
“Thank you, Noah. You did a great job.”
I replied, clenching and unclenching my fists. Maybe it was because we had a similar childhood. The past described in the book was only a small part of it, so I couldn’t guess all of it, but I could tell that sometimes Noah had the same expression I did.
I wonder if he also has the obsessive side because he was trying to protect his position and what was his. Noah took off his coat and laid it down on the marble fountain for me to sit. He gently wrapped my pitch-black hair around his fingers and asked.
“Now that you’re an adult, it’s okay, right?”(Noah)
Could it be that just because I haven’t reached the age of adulthood, he hasn’t touched me until now? I nodded pleasantly, even though from the start this could have been my real birthday.
“Yes, it’s fine.” (Diana)
“Are you sure?” (Noah)
“Of course. You don’t have to ask.” (Diana)
“You mean I can kiss you without asking?” (Noah)
Was that the word? My shoulders flinched. My heart was running to the limit again. I might really pass out at this rate.
“Right now….it’s lethal………” (Diana)
When I finally managed to talk, Noah smiled, titling his head.
“Shall I go easy on you?” (Noah)
I didn’t want the look I was making now to be discovered. I couldn’t believe I was showing this side of me with so much experience in dating. I grabbed Noah’s collar and nodded.
“I’m not going to let you go anymore because we’re both adults now.” (Noah)
I heard a playful, but sincere voice and Noah’s hands wrapped my cheeks. I turned my eyes with nowhere to go. My heart suddenly fell and seemed to roll somewhere in my stomach.
Noah’s warm breath touched my cheek on the way to choking me to my ears as the intervals between my breaths became shorter and shorter in and out. I could see his flawless smooth face closely.
I felt dizzy, so I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes tightly. By the way, how do we kiss? It’s okay to do this, right? My mind went blank and my thoughts became distant.
“Master!”
A man’s urgent voice suddenly cut through the heightened atmosphere and jumped out. Startled, I tried to pull myself away from Noah, but strong arms and hands gripped me to keep me from falling.
“Why?” (Noah)
Noah said with a grim look on his face. I had my back turned so I couldn’t see who it was, but it sounded like a servant. The servant, gasping and catching his breath, spoke again.
“I’m afraid you have to come for a while. Princess Medea came and fell down the stairs.”
“Am I a doctor?” (Noah)
Noah’s nervous voice rang as if growling.
“I tried to help, but they told me I can’t touch her. She’s bleeding, and no one can touch her but the Duke.”
“Let her die of excessive bleeding then.” (Noah)
His voice was serious as if it didn’t matter. I tapped Noah lightly on the shoulder.
“Come on, go and say no.” (Diana)
“Why are you sending me to another woman?” (Noah)
“Please go make sure, otherwise it will continue to be the case. I will wait here.” (Diana)
He stood up, grabbed my shoulders and smiled affectionately.
“I’ll do as you say, princess. I’ll be done in a minute, so you have to stay right here. It’s a misunderstanding.” (Noah)
“Okay.” (Diana)
I didn’t want to follow him and see it, and I couldn’t let him see my red face in the light now. I need to calm my mind and prepare to accept his industry award, or rather his lips.
“Diana.”
Noah smiled sweetly, took off his uniform coat and gently placed it over my head.
“We’ll continue when I’m done.” (Noah)
I watched Noah’s back as he quickly left moving away, feeling my face flush even more. As I rubbed the back of my stiff neck, I felt a thin metal string wrapped around my fingers.
Wearing a dress that covered my neck, so I didn’t wear a neck. How? I looked down at what I held in my hand. There was a pink rose diamond necklace around my neck.
“Did he secretly put it on me while hugging me?”
I think it was his present for me becoming an adult. It was kind of cute that he gave it to me like this.
“Pretty. Are roses one of the Coming-of-Age Day gifts?”
A rose necklace, perfume, and a kiss. And so a kiss…… Is he really serious about me? I don’t know why.
My heart was beating wildly again, so I calmed down and got my thoughts in order. I was not sure if it was the proximity of where I was standing to the orchestra inside the building or the faint sound of the piano playing, as if carried by the wind. I listened for a while, somewhat accustomed to the sad and beautiful piano melody. I have heard it before.
The moment I realized it was a certain music, my heart fluttered in a different way.
I felt the blood drain from my face and vaguely remembered the title of the familiar performance.
‘This is not a song for engagement.’
It was music that actually existed in the world I was in, a song by Chopin titled . It was a world created by the original author, so the actual one could exist with a different meaning. ………….
My throat began to choke at the ominous feeling that was secretly occurring. I remembered that even though this was a fictional country, it used my language and had an imperial palace that looked like a winter palace in a country that actually existed.
The rest of the story, other than what was mentioned in the original work, could have been filled with what the writer actually experienced or impressively saw or knew when he was alive. The writer died in the 20th century.
Again, that song was about separation. There was no way the orchestra would have chosen a song like that for an engagement ceremony.
What kind of signal could that be?
When my thoughts reached that point, I felt horrified and goosebumps appeared on my neck.
“No.”
A feeling of anxiety came over me as if I were witnessing my most dreaded accident. I got up from my seat, grabbed Noah’s coat and started running towards the entrance of the banquet hall. The hem of my long skirt kept catching on my feet, and the high heels of my shoes were completely buried in the snow, and I fell a few times, but I didn’t know that it hurt.
The sound of the music got louder and louder. White snow was slowly falling from the dark night sky. The sound of the performance, which had been building to a screaming climax, ceased for a moment. There was a strange silence, amplifying anxiety.
Bang!
A sharp gunshot sounded from inside the mansion.
Every sensation in my body screamed and shivered. Starting with a single gunshot, I soon heard a confusion of noisy sounds, the sound of something breaking, and a rain of gunfire.
Numerous thoughts collided with each other, making it impossible to move my legs properly. My hands waved in the void as the snowy sky filled my vision in the blink of an eye. As if an altruistic force had been applied, my knees bent and collapsed.
“Why in the world?”
They can’t be coming for me. If they did, they came to kill me. I don’t even know the detailed reason why the Admiral (Her and Celine’s father) would want to kill me so much. As if in answer to an unanswered question, someone’s warm hand grabbed my hand.
“Oh.”
I thought it was Noah and looked up with relief, but my vision blurred as I saw a tall, well-built man with pitch-black hair and straight blue eyes standing there.
“Miss Claire, you’re here. I’m here to rescue you.”
It was Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Grenendall of Belford.
I recalled that this was a world created by the writer. The Lieutenant Colonel was supposed to come to the rescue of the “abducted girl”. Just as it was supposed to be.
So did fate turn out to be a coincidence, leading me to meet Jeffrey? The gaps in the text were filled in, the content reestablished, and whoever it was that was abducted.
And in the end, the protagonist would be Celine. Did fate, through the medium of the abduction, inevitably try to bring the two together, regardless of the pain and emotions of the supporting characters?