[TKOSINM] 35 - An Unexpected Development

         However, no response came from him. Irene, who was looking down, could see Noel’s hand had clenched into a tight fist. She slowly looked up at Noel.

         At first glance, Noel’s face seemed calm, but his expression was stone cold if she scrutinised closely. Perhaps Noel was feeling anger, humiliation, and misery toward his grandfather with the way he was ignoring him when he brought Irene to meet him.

         Irene, who quietly stared at Noel, softly touched his side. It was a sign of wanting comfort, yet at the same time, she wanted to tell him that she could handle this. Feeling the light nudge, Noel was surprised and looked down at her. She moved her lips silently to signal to him that it was alright to leave the situation to her, then she flitted her eyes towards the door, indicating for him to go out first. Noel looked at her questioningly, but Irene was firm.

         Thus, Noel had no choice but to follow her lead. He left the room after giving a brief final glance at the Great Kristen. The sound of the door shut tightly, but the Great Kristen remained firm.

         As he was the best prosecutor in the Empire, he didn’t have to look back to know that Irene hadn’t left. With his legs crossed and in posture perfect, he sat confident and poised. Nothing she could do would shake him.

 The Great Kristen assumed Irene would start laying on praise or any kind of compliment to win his favour, something to show that she truly “loved” Noel. At the very least, he expected her to introduce herself. And yet...

Irene defied all of his expectations and just silently stood still. The Grand Duke stubbornly kept staring at the wall while Irene glanced at his back. They were two stubborn trees in the forest, and neither of them was willing to yield to the other. There was dead silence as the two equally stubborn people remained conscious of each other.

Time passed; each excruciating moment dragged on in the same manner, and nothing changed. By the time the sun began to set, Noel had come in with a worried face. He couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the sight of the two stubborn people, whose poses remained unchanged from when he had left them as if time had stopped.

“Irene, we have to go back now.”

If they were back too late, they would be caught by the Count. It was something they couldn’t risk. Irene cracked open her lips for the first time since he had left to respond.

“I’ll come back tomorrow. Good night.”

Even though he wasn’t looking, the Grand Duke knew that Irene had left the room with Noel. Only then did the Grand Duke turn around when the door was closed. His expression was unreadable as he stared into the empty room.

“Why did you do that? It was too reckless.”

On the way back, Noel furiously asked Irene in the carriage. Despite his expression, she didn’t seem fazed. Irene awkwardly smiled and answered.

“If the person who doesn’t want to talk is forced to talk, they’ll only have hostility towards me. I wanted to let him know that I’d wait until he was ready.” She raised her head to look at him. A soft, reassuring smile on her face as if she wanted to tell Noel to trust her.

Noel, who had thought of Irene’s behaviour as slightly bizarre prior to this, now comprehended her actions. He turned to her and smiled slightly at her interesting strategy. Irene continued to talk, unaware of his expression, fumbling to get a hold of her embarrassment.

“I don’t think it has worked before, but I don’t want to give up. If possible, I’d like to go back tomorrow. Please help me.” She pleaded. 

She looked up expectantly at him, her hands clasped together as she leaned slightly toward him. Noel was confused for a moment. He wavered and then spoke with a dejected look. 

“You shouldn’t be asking that. You’re the one who is helping me, so those are the words that I should say.” He responded. 

“Ah…” Irene was lost for words.

“Please help me, Irene.” Noel continued. Then his hazel eyes met her olive ones.

Noel beckoned her with both his words and his eyes. Then, she answered with a small nod.

“... Okay.”

Her voice was so quiet and yet so resolute. Noel peacefully smiled at Irene’s answer, which was so feeble that he would have missed it if he didn’t listen closely. He could not refute the determination in her voice, and Noel’s heart throbbed as he looked down at the young lady in front of him.

---