In Order To Meet You, Beloved

Cordelia was taken aback by the words that followed.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. As dangerous as it is, there’s certainly a price to pay… But it’s true that the retired you are, the less attention you receive.”

“Why on earth would the king ask for such a thing?”

Unable to comprehend, Cordelia asked again, and Isaac slowly rubbed his chin.

“Well……. I’m guessing it’s because His Majesty likes to keep his enemies close.”

“But isn’t it dangerous?”

Even though it was a region at the edge of the kingdom, it was a decision not much different from allowing some room for influence from foreign powers.

“He believes he can handle that level of risk.”

With a somewhat mysterious response, Cordelia murmured while leaning back on the sofa.

“Sometimes I don’t understand him. He’s so different from Noah.”

As much as he was her sister’s husband, she had met him privately a few times. His face was dazzling enough to blind someone, but… he gave off an impression of being stern and strict in manners.

In his days as the crown prince, he had a somewhat playful side to him, but at the same time, she felt that his current demeanor suited him much better.

“Well, that’s natural. You can’t expect a greenhouse flower to be the same as a wild poisonous mushroom.”

“A poisonous mushroom?”

“Generally, the more toxic something is, the more colorful it is. The King that I know fits that description.”

As ruthless as his splendid appearance, he was cunning. The storm of bloodshed he unleashed upon his ascension to the throne still lingered among the nobles.

“But he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

Lost in the conversation, Cordelia didn’t catch the subtle discomfort in Isaac’s words. He laid out the pieces of a chess game, absently biting his lip.

“After all, he’s an excellent ruler for the kingdom.”

However, it couldn’t be denied that since the king’s reign, the country had been running more smoothly. Some even attributed it to the influence of his queen, her sister.

Cordelia thought the same way. Her sister’s policies as queen had significantly altered the lives of the common people. Yet, she didn’t view the king negatively either. Above all, her sister genuinely loved the king.

If he wasn’t a suitable match, intertwined in a contractual marriage, she wouldn’t have given her feelings. Cordelia was certain of that much.

“…Yes, that’s true.”

Looking at Isaac with a subtly bitter expression, Cordelia wondered but refrained from asking anything. She now knew that there were times when you had to feign ignorance in the world.

“Anyway, I’ll be here for a while.”

“How long?”

“At least three weeks. That should roughly solve things.”

“Solve what?”

Seeing Isaac’s intense gaze, she felt unease crawl up her skin. Cordelia responded with a teasing smile.

“There’s something I hope Father could help with.”

* **

“You were here.”

Seated on a bench in the garden, Noah, lost in thought as he moved the pen across the paper, turned around. Isaac, standing as if he’d been caught, smiled warmly at him. He gestured as if to say Noah didn’t need to worry when he hurriedly got up from his seat.

“You’re Noah.”

“Yes.”

“Do you draw?”

“I have a little bit of skill, at least.”

Watching him humbly speak, Isaac gave a slight cough.

“Well, ahem. It’s a bit awkward to bring up this kind of question, but…”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Um, it might seem like I’m interfering too much, but… what exactly is the relationship between you and Cordy?”

Isaac continued to nervously scratch the back of his head, but Noah understood his feelings well enough. Given their stark differences in attire and status, how could there seem to be any connection between someone as noble as Cordelia and him? It was more puzzling that there wasn’t any suspicion about a man he had never seen by her daughter’s side.

“I owe a debt of gratitude to Lady Cordelia.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Other than that, there isn’t much of a relationship. There’s no need for you to worry.”

Noah said it as if reassuring, but even so, Isaac couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Noah’s face. Even if his eyes were shaded, he couldn’t hide his tall, straight nose, shapely lips, and sturdy physique.

“Right, if you say so, then that must be it.”

His modest demeanor, not befitting someone with political power, was still intact. Remembering a corner of memories he couldn’t return to, Noah chuckled lightly.

“Your Highness.”

Now he’s tall enough to look down at him, but standing in front of him still felt like he was back to when he was a child.

“Thank you for the hospitality. It must be uncomfortable for you.”

Clear blue eyes, like a clear sky, peeked through his thick bangs. The intense gaze directed at him seemed to know everything, and Isaac momentarily forgot what he wanted to say.

Noah smiled a bit nostalgically, wearing the face of someone who had already resigned to many things.

“You don’t need to worry about anything. I also hope that Lady Cordelia won’t suffer any harm.”

“Well, um…”

“There are circumstances, so we’ll be spending some time together for now, but it won’t take too long.”

Isaac glanced at Noah hesitantly, who was seeking his consent to wait just until then.

Even after a long time, there was no change from the Noah he knew. Isaac quietly responded to the past connection that had grown into a distinct man.

“Your Highness.”

“Please don’t call me that. I’m not royalty anymore.”

He said firmly but then added in a softer tone,

“Just call me Noah. That’s enough.”

“Are you okay?”

“It’s a name given by my mother. Either way, it doesn’t matter what you call me.”

Noah extended a sincere compliment while gathering his pen, paper, and ink bottle.

“It was nice to see your face after so long. I’m glad you’ve recovered.”

Worried that his health might have deteriorated, leading to his retirement, Noah was relieved to see him looking well. He didn’t want someone he knew to vanish from his memory.

Holding his conflicting feelings, Isaac glanced at him, but before he could say anything more, Noah nodded respectfully.

“I’ll go in now.”

Turning his back as if to not disturb their stroll and looking at his broad shoulders for a while, Isaac ruffled his hair in a rather undignified manner only after Noah had moved away quite a bit. His neatly arranged brown hair had turned into a disheveled mess, like a struck field of grass.

“Haah, ugh.”

Exhaling deeply, he wiped his face.

“Why did I get entangled in such a complicated matter?”

Isaac recalled a letter that had arrived a few days ago. It had the royal emblem drawn on it, which was already unnerving, but the content was even more mind-boggling.

The fact that their gold-like youngest was moving together with Prince Ian was enough to make him faint, and the instructions from the king were more than enough to make his neck tense. He was talking in circles, but his intentions were clear. He put down the letter and muttered lightly.

‘It’s unbelievable how he, someone who doesn’t seem like that, can be weak in front of his person.…’

Still, it was fortunate that he now had a reason to be good to him. Despite political entanglements and a less-than-friendly relationship with the late marquis, there weren’t many like Prince Ian in the palace. It wouldn’t be appropriate to coldly ask for help from someone like that.

The only worry was that, even in his memory, the young prince from those days was quite the handsome one. If he hadn’t grown up exactly like the showy handsome King that Cordelia described, then he would have naturally become a splendid beauty just like the king, given how he was described as being like a lily.

Isaac’s expression grew rather serious. Adjusting the thick glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, he mumbled in a worried manner, as if he had embraced all the world’s concerns.

‘…What if he’s Cordy’s preference?’

This was a problem. Furthermore, his personality was gentle and patient. Honestly, except for the background and circumstances, he was a suitable match. No, that’s not it!

A ringing sound echoed in Isaac’s mind. If Rick found out about all this after he left, there would surely be a commotion. He was his son, but he was truly inflexible. How on earth did he end up growing into someone like this?

‘Can’t be helped. It’s a last resort.’

Isaac hurriedly took out a piece of paper from his desk drawer and dipped the nib of his fountain pen into the ink bottle. Once he completed the letter to Sebastian, who was working at the Duke’s residence, he realized that the sun had already set outside. Even though he used to enjoy looking at the scenery, his restlessness seemed to have intensified.

It’s not like he stepped back from his children’s quarrels for nothing.

Anyhow, the king was a person who could easily snap at even retired subordinates like a sword. Grumbling, Isaac cursed the king under his breath.

“Whether I should consider this fortunate or not…”

Stroking his stubbled chin repeatedly, Isaac gazed at the garden. Under the stumbling footsteps, flower petals swayed sadly in the wind.

* * *

“…What’s this?”

Meanwhile, in his room, as Noah was changing clothes, he suddenly turned his head and paused when he saw his reflection in the large mirror.

On the broad back displayed in the mirror, a black mark stretched over his left shoulder blade, right above the straight line of his left scapula. The curve that gently bent as if drawing a circle ended abruptly below his cervical vertebra and around his side, with purplish bruises mottling the inside, making it eerie.

Is it a wound?

He slowly reached out and touched it with his hand. Even when he pressed the slightly rough skin firmly, he didn’t feel any pain at all.

If that’s the case, then what is this?

Although he had a vague idea, instead of voicing his speculation, Noah turned his shirt back over his head. Thanks to the breathable fabric, the white shirt allowed air to circulate and covered his marked back.

He looked down at his right palm. Only four lines remained on the back of his hand where one line had disappeared. Looking at his face in the mirror again, as if making a vow, Noah murmured.

“It’s probably still okay.”

For now.