At first glance, Noel's face seemed calm, but his expression was stone cold if she scrutinised closely. Perhaps Noel felt 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. After giving a brief final glance at the Great Kristen, he left the room. 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 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, the Count would catch them. 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.
The next day, Irene and Noel met at the same time and place and headed to the Kristen residence. Fortunately, the second time was a little less stressful than the first time they had gone there. Noel still looked uneasy, but he respected Irene's idea.
"Hello. Did you sleep well last night? The weather is nice today, isn't it."
Irene smiled; the day had just begun.
This time, Irene entered the room alone. Even without Noel by her side, she did not waver. In an attempt to make small talk and initiate a conversation, she brought up a story about a mundane topic, but the Great Kristen still refused to look at Irene. He also refused to respond to any of Irene's words, but she did not give up. She would not yield. She was well aware that the relationship between the Great Kristen and Noel was very much strained. Rumours had even reached her in the Chase mansion about their relationship. It would be a wonder otherwise for Noel to have accepted Irene. Therefore, Irene knew that it must be hard for the Great Kristen to accept her.
Tick tock, tick-tock.
The sound of the clock in the room proved that the passage of time had not stopped. Each tick was like roaring thunder in the thick silence. It built up the anticipation of the storm that Irene was trying so hard to fight against. If not for the clock's sound, the room would seem like a space where time had stopped. There he sat, and there she stood, each iron-willed in their own right. Today was the same as yesterday; the Great Kristen and Irene remained, painfully aware of each other without saying anything.
"Irene."
Noel quietly entered when the sun had set. The look on his face said it all. Yet again, he was crushed. Not just because Irene had stood there for him, but in continuing, that meant his grandfather had still refused to acknowledge him. Yes, he knew that was essentially the equivalent.
I will not accept this woman. I will not accept you.
No matter how much he tried to persuade his grandfather, he felt even more uncomfortable and angrier now because Irene seemed to be suffering so much. It was one thing for him to be ignored, but for her to be subjected to this as well... Noel hated the fact that his grandfather hated him just because Noel had the blood of a commoner. Noel hated society. At the same time, he was filled with resentment at the fact this world would classify one to be tainted if they had commoner's blood in them. Everyone was a human; they were all equal. Why was this divide so strong? Why did he have to conform to a certain standard to prove himself? And at the core of it, Noel hated himself. He hated the fact that the one thing he needed to do, erase the low-born blood that coursed through his veins, was something he could never achieve. As these feelings of hopelessness surfaced in him, Noel sighed.
"Let's go back now, Irene. This was useless to do."
Noel tried to persuade Irene, but she was stubborn. The past two days could attest to this fact. Irene lowered her head toward the back of the Great Kristen. She knew he could not see her, but she still did.
"I'll come back tomorrow. Good night."
As soon as Irene said so, she turned around. Then, for the first time in two days, she heard the Grand Duke's voice.
"Don't come back."
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The Kind Older Sister Is No More
Romance"You're the older sister - just let it go. Can't you even do that for her?" Irene has always been living in the shadow of her ill and frail sister, Riel. She believed that she could and had to do everything for her family... until Riel stole everyth...
