Chapter : 2. A Remarkable Yet Pitiful Woman
The era in which social status guaranteed wealth was coming to an end.
Wealthy commoners and lower-ranking nobles, weary of discrimination based on status, boldly left the Norfolk Continent and founded a new nation on the New Continent.
The Pulder Republic.
Pulder became a symbol of an age in which the barriers of class were beginning to crumble. Though it had existed for less than a century, the young nation had grown at an astonishing pace, reaching a level where even the mighty Kingdom of Herotāthe strongest power on the Norfolk Continentācould no longer afford to dismiss it.
Rather than treating Pulder as a rival, Herot’s previous king chose cooperation. As a token of friendship, he established a campus of the prestigious Herrolington University, the cradle of Herot’s finest scholars, in Pulder.
Around the time Noah was heading toward the royal palace, a young woman sat alone in the reception lounge of a hotel on the outskirts of Pulder’s capital.
Her name was Olivia Liberty.
The simple cotton blouse and modest skirt she wore looked completely out of place in the luxurious hotel, which catered exclusively to distinguished guests.
If not for her appointment with that man, Olivia would probably never have set foot in such an expensive establishment.
Seated on a large velvet sofa, she repeatedly sipped water to moisten her throat while carefully rehearsing what she wanted to say.
By the time the waiter had refilled her glass twiceā
“Olivia.”
A deep, gentle voice came from above her. Looking up, she found a tall, handsome young man standing before her.
He was Ansen Wilhelm, the head of Wilhelm Company, whose revolutionary inventionāthe Magic Domeāhad earned him immense wealth and worldwide fame.
“Ansen.”
As Olivia began to rise from her seat, he smiled softly and gestured for her to remain seated.
“There’s no need to stand. Stay where you are.”
Ansen sat in the chair the waiter pulled out for him and removed his gloves before giving Olivia a quick glance.
Her cobalt-blue headband framed her thick black hair beautifully. Her fair, rounded forehead, elegant nose, and graceful lips created a face that looked almost like a work of art.
Dressed in a white short-sleeved blouse and a blue flared skirt, she truly resembled a painting.
Seeing her in person, Ansen immediately understood why newspapers across the sea in Herot had been covering her story for days.
With a warm smile, he pointed toward her glass.
“You like iced coffee. Why didn’t you order some?”
He turned to the waiter.
“One iced coffee and one hot coffee, please.”
“Certainly. It will be ready shortly.”
When the waiter walked away, Olivia quietly met Ansen’s brown eyes.
Although she maintained a calm expression, she felt as though she were sitting on a slab of ice. Her stomach churned with discomfort.
The awkwardness was even greater because this meeting came immediately after Olivia Libertyāthe hidden designer behind Wilhelm Companyāhad publicly declared that she no longer wished to remain in the shadows.
“…”
An uncomfortable silence settled between them.
Ansen simply looked at her with the same gentle expression that resembled a carefully crafted mask.
In the end, Olivia was the first to break the silence.
“So… it’s impossible?”
Ansen frowned apologetically and gave a small nod.
“Yes.”
It was such a simple, effortless refusal.
“Olivia, there aren’t any women working at the company. Especially not among the research staff. If you officially joined, life would only become harder for you. Just keep drawing the blueprints as you always have. I’ll review them and pay you accordingly. Isn’t that practically the same as being employed?”
At that moment, the waiter returned, placing their coffees before them before quietly leaving again.
Olivia stared at the black coffee and floating ice cubes in the white cup before lifting eyes darker than the coffee itself toward Ansen.
“It’s not the same, Ansen. You shouldn’t say it is.”
“…”
“I designed the Magic Dome. Yet everyone believes its creator is Oliver, not Olivia. Asking to join the company means I don’t want to hide anymore.”
“That’s why I gave you joint patent rights under the name Oliver.”
“You didn’t ‘give’ them to me. They were mine by right.”
Ansen’s expression immediately hardened.
Leaning back in his chair, he replied,
“You haven’t forgotten that I took a considerable risk by doing that, have you? Pulder’s Patent Office doesn’t recognize patents held by women. Besides, if people found out that a military invention like the Magic Dome was designed by a woman, sales would plummet. It sells because everyone believes I designed it.”
Olivia felt as though she were trapped inside a dense fog.
It became difficult to breathe.
She had endured endless discrimination as the only female student throughout her years at university. She had comforted herself by believing everything would improve once she graduated.
Instead, she discovered that discrimination outside school was far more elegant…
…and far more absolute.
And there was another reality she couldn’t ignore.
She needed a steady income every month.
“Now that you’ve graduated, I suppose losing your fixed scholarship has made things difficult.”
At Ansen’s gentle voice, Olivia stopped breathing for a moment.
“I figured there had to be a reason you suddenly wanted to become an official researcher.”
But a company releasing products developed by a female engineer as one of its lead researchers…
Even in a world where class distinctions were slowly disappearing…
Well…
Ansen quietly shook his head.
Softening his gaze, he reached into his coat and held out a thick envelope.
Olivia’s eyes slowly fell upon it.
The fist resting on her lap turned pale as it trembled uncontrollably.
Watching her stare at the envelope with a bloodless face, Ansen whispered sweetly,
“Let’s keep things the way they are. I’ll make sure your living expenses never become a problem.”
Olivia understood perfectly what he truly meant.
“So just stay hidden behind the name Oliver… quietly.”
How little must he think of her to say something like that so confidently?
“Don’t call this living expenses.”
She slowly raised her head.
She tried to appear strong, but to Ansen she only looked painfully fragile.
Even so, despite trembling from head to toe, Olivia spoke firmly.
“This isn’t living expenses.”
“It’s compensation.”
“Compensation you are obligated to pay me.”
She opened the envelope and quickly counted the money.
After placing only the amount she was actually owed into her bag, she pushed the rest back toward Ansen.
She had gone through this kind of absurd situation countless times.
Yet somehow…
She still couldn’t get used to it.
“I’ve received my answer.”
“I’ll be leaving now.”
Olivia rose as calmly as she could.
Then she turned and walked toward the door.
Her bag felt unbearably heavyā
as though the weight of contempt itself clung to the money inside.
She barely remembered leaving the reception room.
After passing through the grand doors, she wandered down the corridor until a noblewoman standing near the hallway called out to her.
“Miss Liberty.”
A chill ran down Olivia’s spine.
Startled, she turned around.
Standing there was a middle-aged woman who bore a striking resemblance to Ansen Wilhelm.
“…Good afternoon, Mrs. Wilhelm.”
Mrs. Wilhelm, Ansen’s mother, slowly looked Olivia up and down.
Seeing how much more beautiful the young woman had become, her eyebrows arched with displeasure.
After making sure no one else was in the corridor, she finally spoke.
“It’s becoming rather unpleasant to keep running into you.”
Olivia was too exhausted to answer.
“Oh dear. I tried to be subtle, but you still don’t understand. I didn’t want to say this so directly, but listen carefully.”
Her face became frighteningly cold as she pronounced every word with icy precision.
“A respectable young woman shouldn’t be wandering in and out of hotels. If my daughter behaved like youācoming to hotels to meet menāI certainly wouldn’t tolerate it.”
Olivia answered with a pale face.
“I came because I had business to discuss with your son. The reception rooms here are primarily for business meetingsā”
“What business could you possibly have with my son?”
Mrs. Wilhelm fixed Olivia with a merciless stare.
“Go ask anyone on the street. Do you think they’ll believe you came here for business… or that you’re simply trying to get close to the head of Wilhelm Company by any means necessary?”
“Mother.”
The moment Ansen spoke, Mrs. Wilhelm’s severe expression melted into unbelievable warmth.
“Oh, Ansen. My dear son.”
Taking a step away from Mrs. Wilhelm, Olivia spoke calmly.
“Mrs. Wilhelm, ask your son whether I truly had business to discuss with him.”
Before the older woman could interrupt, Olivia turned to Ansen.
“Next time, please don’t ask me to meet somewhere like a hotel. I’ve ended up being falsely accused because of it.”
“…No.”
“I don’t suppose there will be any reason for us to meet again.”
“Goodbye.”
“How dare you!”
Mrs. Wilhelm immediately raised her voice.
Olivia ignored her and walked away.
Her legs shook violently.
But she refused to collapse in front of either of them.
“What a stubborn girl.”
Mrs. Wilhelm glared after Olivia with open contempt.
She had never approved of a poor commoner graduating from Herrolington University, a place attended almost exclusively by nobles.
How relentless must such a woman be to accomplish something like that?
And she disliked even more the fact that such a woman kept lingering around her son.
What displeased her most, however, was Ansen himself.
His eyes.
His tone.
His behavior.
She couldn’t point to anything specific, but a mother’s intuition told her he treated Olivia differently.
“Ansen, if you truly want your business to grow, you mustn’t become attached to a girl as insignificant as that.”
Ansen remained silent.
Mrs. Wilhelm grasped his hand tightly.
“Pulder may be a republic, but social class still exists. Every influential figure in politics and business comes from noble families.”
“Don’t lose sight of that.”
If Mrs. Wilhelm ever learned that the “insignificant girl” she despised was actually the genius behind the Magic Domeāthe very invention that formed the foundation of Wilhelm Company’s successā
What expression would she make?
Probably none at all.
She would likely laugh and say,
“Who would ever believe that?”
Ansen let out a quiet chuckle and nodded.
“You’re worrying unnecessarily, Mother.”
“Let’s go inside.”
As he escorted his mother down the corridor, his eyes naturally drifted toward the window.
Outside…
Olivia was just climbing into a carriage.
The beautiful Olivia.
A tragic genius.
* * *
Inside the dim carriage, Olivia struggled to forget the cruel insults Mrs. Wilhelm had hurled at her.
Her hand gripped her bag so tightly that it trembled pitifully.
But she had no one with whom she could share the sorrow welling inside her.
So she swallowed it all.
For Olivia, having no parents and no wealth meant having no warm shelter to rely on.
When she fought through life on her own, she managed to forget that loneliness.
But on days like this…
She missed them with an ache that pierced her heart.
Staring blankly out the window, she reached into her bag and pulled out an old notebook.
Opening the first page, she found the original blueprint of the Magic Dome she had drawn years ago.
As she gazed at it, the image of a younger Ansenāthe boy who had once leaned over those drawings beside herārose vividly in her mind.
“Using the attractive force between magical energies to strike monsters? Then mages wouldn’t have to defeat them one by one anymore!”
“Exactly. With the mana of a single mage, it could eliminate hundreds of monsters. That’s why I’ve already decided what to call it.”
“What?”
Young Ansen leaned forward eagerly, his eyes sparkling.
Olivia smiled mysteriously.
“Magic Dome.”
The memory caused Olivia’s eyes to turn red.
“Don’t cry, Olivia.”
“You mustn’t cry.”
But as she looked at the crumpled bundle of money before her…
She finally buried her face and wept in silence.
