***
Logan Field, the capital of Medea, was much warmer than the countries we’ve been through. They had warm winter weather with a few days that dropped below freezing, so it rained a lot.
The sound of rain tapping on the morning window was quiet. The scenery of the garden formed in a circle in the water droplets sliding under the window.
The floor of the garden, where sugar maple, ginkgo, and raspberry trees were evenly planted, was colored with fallen leaves, and the mother persimmon tree had brownish fruits hanging from it. There were obvious signs that the leaves had been hurriedly cleared away on the path.
The gray sky, with its heavy wet rain clouds, was a very different color from the smoky sky of the lonely war.
It seemed that Noah had gone to the Tempshire Palace early this morning to see the Queen.
Yesterday I had barely succeeded in getting Noah out of my room.
He huffed and puffed and choked in a lonely voice, “Didn’t you promise to always sleep with me?” but I still lack the experience to sleep with a cute, sexy man.
I stretched lazily. It had been a while since I had a good night’s sleep and my body felt light.
I changed into my plain, everyday clothes, a striped silk blouse and a long, monochromatic skirt after my bath. Wrapping the shawl around me and going downstairs, the maids smiled and asked about the food.
It seemed that Molly was now more of a secretary than a maidservant, like Vincent. I heard that Vincent was also in Medea, but I hadn’t met him yet.
I asked Molly about how she was able to serve the evil employer who had shot her arm. She gave a materialistic answer, “He gave me a lot of money.”
I’m sure the secretary did the same. So this is how the voluntary slaves of capitalism are born.
I went to the dining room and ate a simple meal of buttered white bread and drank a cup of coffee. The square radio on the dining table was playing a jazz-like song that was popular here.
There was also a dial telephone on the first floor, at a time when communication and radio wave technology was being actively developed. It was like experiencing modern civilization firsthand, which was new to me.
“This place is developing so fast.”
The maid, who often smiled at my monologue-like words, looked at me and smiled innocently. The wrinkles on the tip of her nose were quite cute.
“I bet they’ll fly to the moon someday.”
I asked with a chuckle as the servant replied as if it were a line from a fairy tale.
“Lenny, how old are you this year?”
“Sixteen, my lady.”
“If they do well, Lenny will see them fly to the moon while you’re still alive.”
Lenny opened her eyes wide and smiled. She brushed a strand of neatly combed hair in disbelief.
“Is it that fast?”
“It could be faster.”
Who said that even if there’s another world, history will all flow similarly as long as mankind dominates it.
“How can the Lady’s hair so black? It’s like the pure bloodline of Medea. Normally only high class nobles and royalty with bloodlines have perfect black, most are dark brown or dark chestnut.”
Lenny stared at my hair and marveled at it. To the human eye, it may look the same black hair, but there were slight differences between individuals.
“I don’t know. My father is Belfordian. I’ve never seen my mother before.”
“I see. Your skin is too white. It’s fascinating.”
The women in Medea were Snow White wannabes and prefer pitch black hair and pale white skin. So they use cosmetics such as white lead and mercury to whiten their skin, and dye their hair black with sulfur, lead and lime…….
Today, this would be astonishing. Mercury and lead poisoning may cause early death. Fortunately, Noah had only dyed his hair once and hadn’t done it since. It was gradually turning ash gray and I could see the color fading.
But when is Noah coming?
***
Noah was at the Tempshire Palace with Vincent. When Noah saw that Vincent was sweating and nervous, which was unlike him, he tilted his head curiously.
“Why are you so nervous?”
“I can’t believe I’m about to meet the Queen in person.”
“Why are you so nervous? She’s not a tyrant.”
“Isn’t she so beautiful? I saw her from afar when she was in Progen for a while, and she was glowing……”
“Yes, she’s pretty. Just like Diana.”
“The Queen is more beautiful.” (Vincent )
When Vincent came to the door of the audience chamber, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, coughed loudly, and adjusted his voice. His light brown hair was tousled and his eyes trembled shallowly.
The door to the audience chamber crafted with pumpkins, slowly opened and Vincent gazed breathlessly ahead.
Queen Grace II, wearing a crown, sat in a luxurious armchair with a dazzling smile on her face. She was wearing a fancy dress, white fabric with a sash of royal blue, the symbolic color of Medea’s royal family.
“May God bless Her Majesty Queen Grace II, the Eternal Sun of Medea.”
Vincent bowed nervously, but Noah only smiled.
“It’s been a while.” (Noah)
Vincent’s eyes widened and he bowed deeply. He looked alternately at Noah and the Queen with a look of disbelief.
‘It’s been a while?’ What is this crazy Duke saying? What kind of arrogant attitude is that to the Queen! No, he’s just a crazy man because he doesn’t even have a title.
“How are you?” (Queen)
“Good. How is the Queen?” (Noah)
The two of them converse like long lost siblings. The man even uses a half-hearted honorific for the Queen.
Vincent had heard that the two were close friends, but he was nervous and looked around, wondering if this was the right thing to do. He was afraid that he would be arrested together for being rude, but that kind-hearted and graceful Queen just accepted it with a generous smile. God.
“I heard that the girl you brought is sick. Is she okay?”
“She had a fever, so I let her rest. I’ll bring her back next time.”
“I see. I heard you’re engaged to be married. Erica is crying and stuff. That girl has to have what she wants or she’ll lose her mind.”
‘…… My Goddess is talking like a normal human being.’ Vincent looked at the Queen’s beautiful face in a daze.
Her light blue jewel-like eyes, her pure white face without a single wrinkle, and her well-defined features like a doll can be seen as being in her twenties.
Her long white neck stood out with neatly tied up pitch black hair. She blinked her long lashes and looked at Vincent.
“Vincent Ford?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I understand that you have helped Duke Rothsilde and the child of Medea. I hope you stay comfortable in Medea.”
“Yes, yes. Your grace is like a river, Your Majesty.”
Queen Grace smiled gently at Vincent’s faltering words. Noah stared at her smile with a complicated look on his face.
“Since you’ve already been stripped of your dukedom, I’ll give you a title in Medea. You will be Count Noah Rothsilde.”
Noah nodded at the Queen’s words.
“Thank you.”
“You’ve already become such a wonderful young man. It seems like only yesterday that you were a young boy, but now you’re getting married.”
Drenched in sentiment, the Queen rested her elbows on the chair’s armrest and sighed shallowly. Vincent elaborated on each of her noble actions with a glance, with the face of an admirer of a masterpiece.
‘When is she not beautiful? This year, she’ll be mid thirties. But she just gets more beautiful as she ages.’
Her husband, who was about to become the state secretary, died early, and since then the world has been saying that she never had a lover. The royal family always married early, so it was not surprising that they had a grown daughter.
“Now let’s get to the point. Let’s talk about the Progen Empire.”
Noah straightened up and smiled lazily. Queen Grace, who had been resting on her cheek, raised both ends of her lips gently as she looked at Noah.
“We have formed a coalition and we have given our support, but we do not want such an undignified and barbaric nation to become the mainstay of the world. But the prolonged war has diminished Progen’s national strength.”
“I will leave it to Progen to take control of it with their military power. Belford has already lost so much to the Progen that there is no need to worry about it any more.”
“Why is that?”
“As long as they have a strong hegemony, they will get drunk on the strength they have and abuse their power senselessly, only to be considered a ‘public enemy’ and isolated in the middle of the world at a later date.”
“Oh.”
Queen Grace let out a short exclamation, as if she understood. They will be eliminated with the whole world as their enemy. The surrounding powers were already showing signs of restraint.
Vincent, who had been peering at the Queen’s beauty in the midst of it all, swallowed his saliva at Noah’s strong statement. It reminded him of the massacre of the Essat once committed by Progen.
It was an unethical criminal act in flagrant violation of international wartime law, and was both grounds and reason for international condemnation and judgment.
Noah’s mother was an Essat who was subjected to genocide, and Noah’s father, Noel Rothsilde, saved her from the camp and even married her.
This was worthy of the Emperor’s wrath, but he even got the Archbishop’s official permission, saying it was just “love” rather than rebelling against the state or challenging it politically.
His statement, “Is there a reason for love?” left everyone speechless.
The former Duke withdrew from the imperial line of succession, renounced his right of succession, and called himself a loyalist. At the time, the military forces that he had led the fierce war to victory had a strong influence in their country, so they could not openly touch him.
In the end, the former Duke and Duchess died in an “accident”.
The coercive rule wielded by an empire was always a target that must be eliminated, buying the fear of those around it, rather than working back and manifesting in revenge, hatred and anger.
Noah’s coming to Medea and attempting to make Progen go into decline may seem to be one of those chain effects of a similar nature, but the reality was otherwise.
It meant that the madman, not wanting to be disturbed in what he was doing with the woman Diana, wanted to make an example out of the empire and put Medea on top.
Vincent, who was well aware of his intentions, was looking at Noah with a look of boredom.
“Queen. I’ll tell you my future plans.”
Noah smiled at the Queen.
***
Princess Erica hurriedly dressed up at the news of Noah’s arrival at the Tempshire Palace and headed for the audience chamber. She had visited the Queen and was coming out, when she saw a dark-haired Noah walking down the archway.
She shooed away the servants, hiding the signs of her impatience as she approached.
“Noah, you’ve made it.”
“I’m seeing Princess Erica.”
Vincent greeted her, but Noah only looked at the princess with a blank expression.
“Would you excuse us, please? I have something to say to Noah in private.”
When Princess Erica asked with her haughty, cat-like blue eyes, Vincent glanced sideways at Noah and left. Noah looked at the Princess with an uninterested expression.
“What is it you want to talk about?”
“Are you going to keep talking informally to me?”
“What is it?”
“Ha.”
The Princess, her mouth twisted, fanned her hands and stifled her anger. However, that senseless face was handsome, she couldn’t give up on him who was even rude.
“I have no intention of becoming queen.”
“So what?”
“I’m going to throw it all away. That’s what you said, didn’t you? You told me to throw it all away.”
“Did I say that?”
“You’re trying to make sure if I’m really going to throw it all away, aren’t you?”
“I wasn’t trying to make sure of anything.”
Noah, who had been looking blankly at Princess Erica, who was straining her ego with her short-tempered tone, smiled. Thinking it was a smile for her, the princess looked at Noah with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
“I heard that when my mother had me, you promised that you would protect me and marry me.”
“No, that wasn’t you.”
“I definitely heard that. That’s what you said when you were young.”
“That’s true.”
“You’re trying to push me into a corner with your engagement. I think you are urging me to renounce the throne as soon as possible. You just want to check how I feel!”
Noah, who had been looking at her in silence for a while, opened his mouth.
“You’re clever, too. You should do well.”
At Noah’s gentle words, Princess Erica raised her clasped hands and looked back at Noah’s back as he moved away, holding her reddened cheeks.
He really was a strange man. After putting her through so many trials and tribulations, yet leaving everything behind to come to Medea.
The Princess, who had fallen into a strange illusion, bit her lip and mumbled to herself.
‘What are you doing, Admiral (Diana’s father)? If you don’t hurry with your task, (Noah)he’ll even marry that woman (Diana).’
Noah, who had turned away from the Princess and was walking down the hallway, covered his mouth with his smooth hand and laughed quietly.