Chapter : 3. The Royal Invitation
“Get out!!! How dare you come in here! Get out this instant!”
The furious roar echoed through the corridor, making the waiting attendants flinch.
“One, two, three.”
As Noah leisurely walked down the sunlit hallway, counting under his breath, the door suddenly flew open as if on cue, and a man came stumbling out.
It was his uncle, Duke Walter Lightwing, his hair completely disheveled. He stamped his feet in panic before the closed door and cried out desperately,
“Your Majesty!!”
“That useless, brainless idiot is absolutely no help! Throw him out of the royal palace immediately! Right now!!”
The king’s enraged voice thundered through the heavy doors.
Walter squeezed his eyes shut.
Noah slowly approached the royal family’s greatest disaster. Stopping at a suitable distance, he gave a quick nod.
“Good day, Uncle.”
Without waiting for a response, he continued walking.
Unsure whether that had even counted as a greeting, Walter blankly followed his nephew with his eyes.
“Noah!”
Just as Noah reached the door, Walter hurriedly called after him.
Having accumulated more than enough resentment toward his uncle, Noah merely turned his head to look at him.
If Walter had even the slightest bit of conscience, he’d apologize.
Instead—
“Please put in a good word for me with His Majesty. Hmm?”
Noah had to clench his jaw to stop himself from laughing.
Conscience? Walter, the royal family’s walking catastrophe, had no such thing.
“Yes, Uncle.”
Coldly turning away, Noah stepped into the open doorway.
The king’s office was thick with cigarette smoke.
Even Noah couldn’t help frowning.
The first person he made eye contact with was Crown Prince Usher.
Usher subtly gestured in greeting, and Noah responded with a nod.
Just then, Leonard II hurled a newspaper against the wall in a fit of rage.
“Why did that lunatic get drunk and refuse to pay for his drinks?! Huh?! Why the hell did he have to start talking about being royalty in a tavern?!”
A few days earlier, after receiving a letter from his only daughter cutting ties with him, Walter had drowned himself in alcohol.
Ignoring his aides’ attempts to stop him, the drunken Walter had caused a massive disturbance, shouting,
“Why should I pay when I’m drinking in my own country?!”
“The people of this nation exist to serve the royal family!”
Unfortunately for him, reporters had happened to be present.
Walter’s declaration that “The people exist for the royal family” immediately made the front page of every newspaper, sending public opinion into an uproar.
The worst part was that this wasn’t the first time he’d caused such a scandal.
“That complete idiot… To think I’d get dragged into something so utterly ridiculous.”
As Leonard groaned while clutching his head, Noah walked over and threw the windows wide open.
“Close them!!”
Everyone else had silently endured the smoke.
Noah hadn’t.
“I think the room could use some fresh air, Your Majesty.”
Usher nodded in agreement and personally opened another door.
“Please calm yourself.”
Faced with the advice of his grown sons, the king’s fury finally subsided somewhat.
Usher spoke first.
“First, issue an official statement. Remaining silent won’t solve anything. Punish Duke Lightwing appropriately, and publicly state that the royal family does not share his views.”
“…”
Looking at his father, Noah smiled faintly.
It wasn’t that the king didn’t know that was the correct course of action.
He simply didn’t want to do it.
Crossing his arms and leaning casually against the windowsill, Noah said,
“I attended seven public events yesterday, yet not a single newspaper printed my photograph. I don’t think something like that will smooth this over. I believe Your Highness the Crown Prince’s suggestion is the best course of action.”
The king’s secretaries nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Leonard collapsed onto the sofa like a defeated general and lit yet another cigarette.
Only after smoking it to the very end and rinsing his mouth with water did he mutter,
“Then how am I supposed to restore the royal family’s image? We’re planning to raise taxes early next year. After Walter has destroyed our reputation like this, do you think it’ll pass?”
He then looked directly at Noah.
What was he expecting?
Was Noah supposed to strip naked next and distract everyone’s attention?
Feeling increasingly irritated by his father’s gaze, Noah suddenly remembered a small photograph.
After lowering his eyes in thought for a moment, he walked over to the secretary holding the newspaper Leonard had thrown away and held out his hand.
“May I have the newspaper?”
The secretary handed it over.
Noah flipped to the page featuring Olivia Liberty.
A neatly dressed young woman smiled gently from the photograph.
He quietly looked at Olivia for a moment before placing the newspaper in front of Leonard.
The king examined it with a puzzled expression.
Noah calmly offered his opinion.
“Isn’t it about time we congratulated Herot’s youngest and most outstanding female university student from a commoner background?”
The king considered it briefly before nodding.
“Yes… That’s a good idea.”
He immediately jumped to his feet, hurried to his desk, and barked orders at his secretaries.
“Quickly! Bring me stationery and an envelope! There’s a ship leaving for Pulder today, isn’t there? Contact them immediately and make sure my letter goes with it!”
Two Weeks Later
Olivia quietly walked down a corridor, reading a letter with troubled eyes.
“…Should the opportunity arise, I sincerely hope we may meet under happier circumstances next time. Unfortunately…”
She had been attending job interviews for months, even before offering Ansen a full-time position.
But every single interview ended the same way.
Rejection.
She had hoped this one would finally be different.
That desperate hope shattered like white sea foam.
“…Rejected again.”
Olivia lowered the letter with a vacant expression.
This time she had even submitted Professor Marguerite’s recommendation letter.
She had truly believed she had a chance.
Each successive failure made her heart feel smaller.
Grandmother would surely ask about the result.
How was she supposed to tell her?
With heavy hands, Olivia folded the letter and placed it into her bag.
By then, she had arrived before a grand black door.
Marguerite Astrid.
The younger sister of Herot’s current monarch, Leonard II.
Rather than remaining in Herot, she served as the President and Emeritus Professor of Herlington University in the Republic of Pulder.
Marguerite—known simply as Margo—was the very embodiment of sarcasm.
As she critically read one of Herot’s major newspapers, she clicked her tongue at the article describing her younger brother, Duke Lightwing’s latest disgrace.
“That idiot is still pulling this sort of nonsense at his age.”
Knock. Knock.
A steady knock sounded.
“Come in.”
As she removed her glasses, the door opened.
The person she had been waiting for entered.
“Come in, Olivia. Sit down.”
“Good afternoon, Professor.”
Walking around her desk, Margo took the seat of honor on the reception sofa.
Watching Olivia carefully sit nearby, Margo suddenly frowned.
“Has something happened?”
Faced with the piercing question, Olivia quickly smiled and shook her head.
“Nothing’s wrong. Really.”
“…”
Margo silently examined Olivia’s face with her cold, piercing blue eyes before folding her arms in dissatisfaction.
She failed another job interview again.
Those blind fools. None of those companies know quality when they see it.
“If they’re run by idiots who have eyes but cannot see, then you’re better off not working there. Don’t let it trouble you too much.”
Olivia smiled awkwardly at the sharp-edged comfort and nervously smoothed her skirt.
“I’m sorry you even wrote me a recommendation letter.”
“At times like this, you don’t apologize.”
Margo snorted.
“The nerve of them. I wrote that recommendation myself, and they still rejected you? Just you wait.”
Unfolding her arms, she picked up a thick, luxurious envelope resting on the side table and handed it to Olivia.
This envelope was the real reason she had called her today.
Receiving it with both hands, Olivia tilted her head.
The elegant wax seal bore the magnificent crest of the Royal Family of Herot.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Because it’s addressed to you. Open it.”
Inside was a stiff invitation card.
Written across the top in beautiful flowing script was Olivia’s name.
Her eyes widened as she quickly read through it.
Margo explained the situation in her usual blunt manner.
“Because of Duke Lightwing’s disgrace, the Herot royal family is in a difficult position. His Majesty intends to use you to change the public mood. The invitation gives respectable reasons, but that’s the real purpose.”
Olivia continued staring at the card.
She was bewildered by the completely unexpected invitation.
Yet something inside her heart stirred.
Herot…
To Olivia, it was the homeland of cherished memories.
A place she missed dearly.
Whenever life’s storms battered her from every direction, she always found herself thinking back to the warmth and comfort of Herot.
Today was no different.
When her grandmother had suggested she go out for a change of scenery, Herot had naturally come to mind.
“So? Do you want to go?”
Olivia looked up at Margo.
She had already been considering asking her grandmother if she might visit Herot someday now that she was an adult.
Of course…
Her grandmother would almost certainly object.
And then—
A royal invitation from Herot arrived.
But…
Gathering her courage, Olivia spoke.
“Professor… I don’t have enough money to travel to Herot right now. And if I leave, my grandmother would have to stay home all by herself…”
Margo let out a dismissive snort.
“Olivia, what you’re holding is an invitation from the royal family. And until last year, your grandmother was still your legal guardian. You were the one who needed looking after.”
“Even so…”
Seeing the heavy burden Susanna Liberty had placed upon the young girl’s shoulders filled Margo with displeasure.
Clicking her tongue, she continued,
“If you truly want to go, I’ll send someone to Lady Liberty’s house. They’ll check on her every morning and evening, so stop worrying about that.”
Olivia’s heart stirred even more.
But the worries of a poor commoner did not end there.
“If I accept this invitation and go to Herot… will it cause any trouble? It is a royal invitation, after all.”
“It’ll probably be a bit of a nuisance.”
“So… you’re saying it won’t actually cause any serious problems, Professor?”
“They’re not going to eat you, are they?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Margo suddenly frowned.
She immediately snatched the invitation back from Olivia and read it more carefully.
“The Autumn Banquet?”
She had assumed they merely intended to invite Olivia, take a few photographs, and send her home.
Instead—
The event they had invited her to was the Autumn Banquet, the debut stage of Herot’s high society.
“…!”
Even Leonard, selfish as he was, had made this far bigger than she had expected.
