In Order To Meet You, Beloved

The man with a beautiful face, resembling a handsome man, lightly held onto the wrist of the man who was rushing towards Noah and furrowed his brows. With jet-black hair and cold-looking blue eyes, he was a strikingly handsome man that would be hard to forget after just one glance.

The chaotic atmosphere calmed down instantly with his appearance. Amid gazes that seemed to be assessing the situation, the man spoke firmly.

“Everyone, get back to work.”

With those words, he tightened his grip slightly on the man’s wrist. He whispered to the pale figure, who seemed to be broken by pain, and soon turned pale himself.

Liam, the man who was glancing at people avoiding him in a fluster turned to look at Noah… 

“Are you okay?”

A man blending into the crowd looked at them, his eyes shining with interest. It was the first time he’d ever smiled, and he was willing to help Noah, even if it meant losing a player to Liam.

However, as soon as he saw Liam, he withdrew the foot he had stretched forward and assessed the situation.

The man stood still in that spot and looked at Noah for a long while. The emotions contained in his gaze, like sparkling water droplets scattering in the sunlight, shone brilliantly.

“What’s this? I heard Calia went first, so I thought I wouldn’t see you today.”

Returning to the table where he used to stay with Noah, Liam raised one eyebrow in a puzzled manner. Except for Liam, there was no one at the table. People who knew his aversion to crowds understood his temperament well.

‘Liam might be a tricky guy, but he’s trustworthy. Oh, there might be rumors about something between me and him, but that’s just gossip, so ignore it. I don’t have a hobby of messing around with married men.’

“Why are you so down? It’s unlike you.”

Liam Gracia, the Duke who ruled the Selva Territory, and a childhood friend of Cordelia. Well, it’s not like there was a lot of interaction between the territories, but they had a fairly distant relationship.

He hadn’t told Cordelia, but Noah had also seen him. It was about a decade ago when he had been in charge of guarding the current queen. Even though it was quite a while ago.

Having undergone knight training since childhood, his muscular body was well-defined, and his face, which had matured into that of a young adult, had sharpened as he entered his thirties.

He had an overall chilly demeanor, but his atmosphere softened considerably when he smiled. While he had the same hair and eye color, he was worlds apart from himself. Seeing his handsome and striking facial features, Noah found it intriguing that Cordelia would show interest in someone like him.

Noah forced himself to lift his spirits and exaggerated as much as possible.

“What do you mean I’m feeling down? It’s just that my condition isn’t the best right now.”

“What’s going on? You, who always brimmed with energy, what’s the matter?”

Liam called over a passing server who was carrying a tray. The server held a glass filled with opaque white liquor and handed it to Noah.

“Have this and perk up. You like Plauche, right?”

Noah raised his eyebrows as he looked at the glass handed to him. Plauche was sweeter compared to other drinks but had a high alcohol content.

“I’m good for today.”

“What? You’re refusing alcohol?”

Liam, who had been squinting his eyes, suddenly looked up at the sky. Noah questioned him with confusion.

“What are you doing?”

“The sun rose from the west today.”

Mockingly responding, Liam swiftly shifted into a defensive stance to evade an incoming playful attack. However, when he saw Noah standing motionless, his expression turned bewildered.

“What’s going on with you? Why are you so calm today of all days?”

“What do you mean!”

“No, seeing your squeaky voice, it’s like the Cordelia Weichen I knew…”

Noah lightly stepped on Liam’s foot playfully. Despite trying not to hurt him, and even though he had reassured him it was fine, Liam exaggeratedly pretended to be in pain, laughing gleefully.

His casual manner of speech, unparalleled nonchalance, and yet somehow seeming to know the other person well – it all showed that he seemed to have little emotion in that direction. But Noah had a slight inkling why people who had been involved with Cordelia were wary of him.

“By the way, what about that boy…?”

Noah’s gaze turned toward the young boy standing closely by Liam’s leg. The boy with jet-black hair, who might be around three or four years old, had a wary look in his eyes.

“I thought it was about time to bring him along. This is Mikhail Gracia, my son. Mikhail, this is my friend over here. Say hello.”

Despite Liam’s encouragement, the boy known as Mikhail remained tightly gripping his father’s clothing, his lips sealed shut. Liam chuckled and ruffled Mikhail’s hair in an affectionate gesture.

“Sorry, he’s a bit shy. Haha… I wanted to come with Mildred, but she caught a cold.”

Liam’s expression softened like watercolors mixing, mentioning his wife’s name. From that look, one could glimpse his affection for his wife.

If a mere cold was enough to cancel a trip, then the man in front of him must either be extremely devoted to his wife or her health was considerably fragile. In Liam’s case, both were true, of course.

“Must be tough.”

“It’ll get better with some rest. She even held onto my clothes as if worrying about me until I left. You know, there are times when someone’s cuteness is so overwhelming that you just don’t want to go out? I don’t know why she’s holding my collar when she could be holding my hand. It’s cute.”

Even imagining it, the vividly smiling face left an impression. Noah silently recalled what Cordelia had said.

‘He’s not a bad guy, really, but he… has that notorious clinginess. It’s becoming more pronounced as he gets older, which is a bit annoying. Aside from that, he’s fine… Just make sure to keep a balance, or you might end up trapped for hours.’

Indeed, as Cordelia had mentioned, Liam’s focus was entirely on his family. As he held his whining son in one arm and chattered away while comforting him, Noah found himself engaged for quite a while.

Of course, there were advantages too. With Liam around, no one dared to approach them. Watching how other men hesitated to approach even while keeping an eye on them, Noah understood why Cordelia had suggested sticking with Liam.

“By the way, it seems like your sisters have some kind of connection. Even Jerania didn’t look so good today in terms of her condition.”

“Queen… Jerania?”

“Even if she seems that way, she’s generally healthy, right? Of course, there was that time when she was sick…”

Liam’s expression seemed quite serious, but as he was still gently stroking Mikhail’s back as the boy had drifted off to sleep in his arms, the situation appeared rather comical. If it were Cordelia, she would have probably burst into laughter mercilessly, but Noah responded with a subtle glance instead.

And then it happened.

“Greetings.”

At the sound of a refined and polite voice, Noah turned to his side. A middle-aged man in formal attire bowed his head toward Cordelia and Liam.

“Are you Lady Cordelia Weichen?”

“Yes, that’s correct, but…”

“I am Andres Lysen. As the esteemed individual is looking for you, please accompany me.”

Despite his formal attire, the embellishments he wore indicated that he was a courtier. He wouldn’t move unless he held royal authority. After exchanging puzzled glances with Liam, Noah responded calmly.

“Lead the way.”

Cordelia, oblivious to the person coming from the side, almost tripped and stumbled, but she managed to alter her trajectory just in time to evade the collision. However, her sudden movement caught the other person off guard, and he accidentally crashed into a nearby object.

“Ah!”

The bulky middle-aged man collided with Cordelia and ended up sprawling on the ground.

“Where are you looking?!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be on my way now.”

“Stop!”

As Cordelia quickly apologized and attempted to turn away, she was stopped by the man who had regained his composure. She looked around and felt bewildered seeing his attendants blocking her path. When she turned back, the man was frowning and speaking up.

“Because of you, I fell and got my clothes dirty. How do you plan to take responsibility for this?”

“Well… I don’t think I pushed you over. I’m not sure I’m the one who should take responsibility…”

Before she could fully express her thoughts, the man let out a dry laugh and questioned her.

“Did it happen that way?”

“No, it’s not true! It’s him who pushed the Viscount and made him fall!”

As Cordelia watched the attendants respond so vehemently, she was left speechless and astonished. Were they accusing an innocent person like this?

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, a melodious voice reached their ears, and everyone’s gaze shifted to behind Cordelia. When she turned her head, a familiar face was standing there.

“Wow, Queen!”

Following behind her was Jerania, accompanied by her maids. Amidst the commotion and people whispering, Cordelia stood slightly perplexed. Instead of pointing out the rudeness, Jerania asked a question once again.

“Several people were surrounding someone, so I asked what was going on, Viscount Velocen.”

“He suddenly emerged from the corner and made a move as if he was attacking me, which caused my important clothes to get dirty. So, I was inquiring about his responsibility.”

While Viscount Velocen appeared flustered, Cordelia remained composed. Jerania turned to Cordelia this time, demanding an answer.

“Is it true?”

“No. It’s true that I hurriedly moved away, but I didn’t collide with him. He just got surprised and fell to the ground.”

As Cordelia calmly responded, Jerania’s gaze shifted to the author. With his narrowing green eyes, the author stuttered in defense.

“N-No, that’s not true. He’s lying to avoid punishment!”

“I will take care of him. You may leave now.”

As if she had no intention of listening further, Viscount Velocen’s words were cut off. He left with his attendants, his face red, unable to utter another word. Only then did Jerania turn to Cordelia.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, well… I’m fine. Thank you.”

Nodding slightly, Cordelia lifted her gaze to Jerania. Seeing her family, who didn’t recognize her, stirred mixed feelings in her. Even if she wanted to strike up a conversation, they would likely find it suspicious.

Ah, she wanted to wish her a happy birthday, though.

Having averted the crisis, she could have retreated at this point. However, when Cordelia saw the box in Jerania’s hands, she suddenly remembered her purpose for attending this event and exclaimed.

“Oh, that…!”

Quickly closing her mouth, Cordelia had already managed to attract plenty of attention. Jerania’s gaze, filled with curiosity, scanned Cordelia, then sharpened.

“You, stay right there.”

“Yes?”

Approaching with purpose, Jerania reached out and pushed Cordelia’s bangs aside. As her field of vision cleared and her eyes locked onto Jerania’s, Cordelia couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘Sister?’

“How did you end up here?”

Jerania stared at her in disbelief. It was not easy to see such an astonished expression on her usually composed face. Judging by the way she spoke, it seemed that she might somehow know Noah.

But how?

Before Jerania could say more, Cordelia grabbed her arm desperately and leaned in, whispering into her ear.

“Sister, it’s me, Cordelia. The one who knows the true identity of Laurence Blanc.”

As soon as she heard those words, Jerania’s expression shifted drastically. With a single gesture, she silenced the maids who were ready to chastise the intrusion. Then, she whispered back.

“Let’s move to a different place.”