Salvation, About Its Cruelty - Chapter 2
Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi
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Chapter 2
As expected, the perfection of fashion was the face and body.
How could that perfect image be completed in just ten minutes?
Noah, dressed in a white naval officer’s uniform, was sitting upright in the carriage, checking documents. His honey-blond hair, covered in pomade, scattered the sunlight streaming through the carriage window.
Mason lowered his dazzled eyes and watched Noah sign in elegant handwriting.
Even his signature was also elegant. If Mason were to take a picture of this and sell it, it would make a lot of money. Oh, of course, he would die at the Prince’s hands before then.
It seemed that Noah must have felt his gaze as he raised his eyes to look at him.
“What?”
A fragile, sensitive atmosphere strangely permeated his measured, undisturbed demeanor.
Mason hastily shook his head.
“Are you done?”
Putting the fountain pen in his jacket pocket, Noah handed over the documents to him.
“I heard that Wilhelm has a branch in the capital. I will increase the investment further.”
“20%.”
“Understood. And the events you will attend today are one at 4 p.m., one at 5:30 p.m., and one at 7 p.m. There are three.”
Noah swore, but Mason ignored it and continued talking.
“You will go straight from the palace to the naval residence, so I will pick you up at the residence later at 3:30 p.m.”
“…I don’t have to go. Don’t come.”
“You can’t do that.”
Even though Mason’s shoulders stiffened, Noah was silent, looking at the scenery outside the window with bored eyes.
Three things today, too.
If they did not somehow divert the media’s attention and appease the King’s arm, the hell of this merciless event would continue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
When the golden lines of Herod’s palace were visible in the distance, Noah asked Mason.
“Do you know Olivia Liberty?”
Mason, who had been looking at the newspaper, raised his head.
“I know. Is there anyone in Herod who doesn’t know her? It’s provocative, isn’t it?”
Mason happened to be reading Olivia’s article when he pointed to her photo. Noah laughed at him dumbfoundedly.
“Are you provoked by that photo? Do you have a problem?”
“The youngest student from Herod’s commoner to enroll at Herodington University, the first female student, and the top graduate!”
Mason folded his fingers and spoke passionately.
“This alone is tempting, but look at this face! Oh, honestly, is news of Pulder’s university students across the sea something to be published in the Herod Newspaper? But why do you think it was included here? Even the Prince, who attended seven events yesterday, couldn’t make it!”
“….”
Mason, who spread out his seven fingers vigorously, quickly closed his eyes and apologized for the feast of swear words conveyed through Noah’s eyes.
“…Forgive me.”
“So, what are you trying to say?”
The voice that got lower was so cold that it made him startle. Mason looked at Noah and muttered.
“Anyway, she’s popular, Olivia Liberty. There’s no one who doesn’t know. Of course, in a good way. Princess Marguerite is also beautifully photographed here.”
Mason seemed embarrassed and muttered while pointing at Princess Marguerite. Thankfully, the carriage carrying them passed the golden gates of the royal palace at that time. He felt like he was already out of breath.
D*mn it. He wondered why he had to be called in and sort out the situation.
The more he thought about it, the more feverish he got.
The era when status guaranteed wealth was coming to an end. Wealthy commoners and lower-class nobles who were fed up with class discrimination boldly left the Norfolk continent and founded a country in a new continent.
Pulder Republic.
Pulder was like a milestone in an era where social barriers were collapsing. Although it was a new country with less than a hundred years of history, it has grown remarkably and has reached a level where even Herod Kingdom, the strongest kingdom on the Norfolk continent, couldn’t easily ignore Pulder.
Herod’s predecessor chose to interact with Pulder rather than keep them in check, and as a token of friendship, they built the campus of the prestigious Herodington University, the cradle of Herod’s intellect, in Pulder.
At the time when Noah was heading to the palace, a woman was sitting in the parlor of a hotel located near the capital of Pulder.
Her name was Olivia Liberty.
The cotton blouse and simple skirt she wore did not match the parlor of a luxury hotel that catered only to VIPs. If it weren’t for her promise to the man, she probably would never have come to this luxury hotel.
As she sat down on the large velvet sofa, Olivia quenched her thirst with water and picked out what she had to say.
Just as she was about to have the waiter pour water into her glass twice—
“Olivia.”
—A heavy shadow landed on her head, along with a low voice.
When she raised her head, a young man with a tall appearance was standing there. He was Ansen Wilhelm, the head of the Wilhelm Corporation, who made world fortunes with the groundbreaking invention of the Magic Dome.
“Ansen.”
As she tried to get up, the man stopped her with a smile.
“It’s nothing to get up for. Sit down.”
Ansen took off his gloves as he sat down on a chair that the waiter had pulled out for him. Then, he quickly glanced at Olivia.
Her cobalt blue headband, voluminous black hair, white, round forehead, and the line that glides from the bridge of her nose to her lips were elegant. Wearing a white short-sleeved blouse and blue flared skirt, her figure was literally like a painting.
It seemed clear why Herod’s newspaper across the sea had been publishing news about her for several days.
Ansen smiled softly and pointed to her glass of water.
“You like cold coffee. Why don’t you order a drink?”
He spoke to the waiter standing nearby.
“One cup of coffee with ice and one cup of warm coffee.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
As the waiter walked away, Olivia stared into Ansen’s brown eyes.
Even though she was putting on a calm face, she felt bloated and uncomfortable, as if she had been sitting on a cold stone. She was even more uncomfortable because it was a meeting right after Olivia Liberty, Wilhelm’s hidden designer, declared war, saying she no longer wanted to hide.
“….”
There was a desolate and uncomfortable silence. Ansen just looked at her calmly with a mask-like soft face.
In the end, it was Olivia who couldn’t bear the silence.
“No?”
Ansen soon brought his eyebrows together and nodded his head slightly in an apologetic feeling.
“Yes.”
It was a very easy and simple rejection.
“Olivia, there are no women in the company. This is especially true for researchers. It will be harder for you once you join the company. Like now, if you draw a blueprint, I will receive it, review it and you will be paid accordingly. It’s no different from joining a company.”
At that time, a waiter appeared, placed drinks in front of each person, and left.
Olivia, who was staring at the pitch-black coffee and clear ice in the white cup, glanced at Ansen with eyes darker than the coffee.
“It’s different, Ansen. You can’t say they are the same.”
“….”
“I designed the Magic Dome. But people think that Oliver, not Olivia, is the designer. The fact that I said I would join the company means I don’t want to hide anymore.”
“That’s why I even gave you a joint patent under the name Oliver.”
“You didn’t do it for me, it’s a given.”
At that, Ansen’s expression hardened. He leaned his forward, tilting body back.
“You haven’t forgotten that I took a risk even though the Pulder patent office does not recognize women’s patent rights, right? Moreover, if it becomes known that you, a woman, designed the military facility Magic Dome, sales will plummet. I said I designed it, so it sold that much.”
It felt like she was trapped in a thick fog. Olivia was so frustrated that it was difficult for her to breathe.
As the only female student, she suffered from all kinds of discrimination as she went to school. Despite the fact that she consoled herself that things would be much better off once she graduated, the discrimination out of school just grew more graceful and more determined.
Additionally, she couldn’t help but think about her monthly income.
“You don’t have a regular grant after graduating, right?”
She stopped breathing when she heard Ansen’s sweet voice just in time.
“I think there must be a good reason why you suddenly decided to become a full-time researcher.”
However, she was launching a product from a company where a female engineer was their main research team…
It was a world where social status was collapsing, but it was unknown…
Ansen slightly shook his head. He gently tilted his eyes at her and held out the thick envelope to her.
As Olivia’s gaze slowly landed on the envelope as she held her breath, her clenched fist on her lap turned white and trembled.
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