Despite his gentlemanly expression and smooth, businesslike tone, Cordelia felt an eerie pressure. She swallowed hard.  

 

“I… don’t know anything. What kind of information are you looking for…?”  

 

“Well, for example…” Noah rubbed his eyebrow and smiled.  

 

“About the Marguerite family, perhaps?”  

 

Still confused, she watched as he began to speak almost melodically.  

 

“The Tears of the Mermaid. Heard of it?”  

 

“…!”  

 

She might have been somewhat clever, but the woman before him was naive and young. 

 

Reading the truth in her flustered expression, Noah grinned.  

 

“As the last descendant, you must know. Where it is.”  

 

Care to tell me?  

 

🫧

 

Mother always spoke of the legend of the mermaid. 

 

Our pride, our bloodline, and the resentment of our ancestors.  

 

Cordelia had thought of it as nothing more than a fairy tale—until her mother fell ill, lending the story a sense of reality. 

 

And what made it even more concrete was something else entirely.  

 

The sea queen Calypso gave her youngest and most beloved daughter the ocean’s one and only treasure…  

 

Surprisingly, this fantastical tale was once common knowledge, at least until her great-grandfather’s time. 

 

When the Age of Exploration began and everyone rushed to the sea with new dreams, rumors spread that the prestigious Marguerite family truly possessed the ‘Ocean’s Jewel,’ passed down through generations like an ancient legend.  

 

For generations, they were said to have hidden the greatest treasure of the sea.  

 

Because of these rumors, the Marguerites faced relentless trouble. 

 

People forced their way in seeking connections, sent threats as a matter of course, and at one point, the daughter of the family head was even kidnapped.  

 

Eventually, after much deliberation, the elders decided to donate one of the family’s treasures to a museum in hopes of quelling the chaos.  

 

The aquamarine necklace, no larger than a child’s fist and called the Tears of the Mermaid, was later shrouded in rumors of being the sea queen’s jewel. 

 

To this day, it remains displayed in the Imperial Museum of Katisha.  

 

Everyone believed that the gem was the one from the legend.

 

However, Noah Tudor was now asking where the ‘real’ Ocean’s Orb was.  

 

Cordelia felt her heart pounding as she rubbed her tingling hand against her skirt. She knew all too well that kindness never came without a price. 

 

But she hadn’t expected him to be after that.  

 

“I… I don’t know what you mean. It’s in the museum right now…”  

 

“Miss Cordelia, you have a talent for making me repeat myself.”  

 

His voice, laced with amusement, already had her at a loss for words. In every aspect—age, ability, experience, background, wealth—this man held an overwhelming advantage over Cordelia.  

 

Both of them knew it, and what struck her anew was how deliberately he was indulging her. Not in a way that invited gratitude, but with a polished, almost casual grace.  

 

A sharp pang stabbed her chest—perhaps because she’d forgotten her medication. 

 

Absently rubbing the spot, she hesitated before speaking.  

 

“I… I lost my mother when I was young. I never received proper heir training. So there’s a lot I don’t know.”  

 

“Mm, I’m aware. But you don’t seem to know ‘nothing’, do you?”  

 

The man, with his fox-like, narrowed amber eyes, resembled a devil with a charming face. His mesmerizing gaze felt like it could reach in, gouge out her heart, and lay every truth bare. 

 

Trembling under that fear, Cordelia averted her eyes and muttered, “That’s just an old legend… Why would you look for something like that?”  

 

It might have been a stalling tactic, but surprisingly, Noah Tudor hummed before answering slowly, honestly.  

 

“Well, you see… I’ve been excessively lucky since childhood.”  

 

Was he… boasting? 

 

Tilting her head in confusion, Cordelia watched as he rested his chin on his hand and chuckled.  

 

“I nearly died once—just once. After that, nothing ever failed me. As though a god had opened some door for me.”

 

When he closed his eyes, blue waves flickered in his vision. Along with the sound of desperate screams. 

 

Noah Tudor slowly opened his eyes.  

 

“What I’ve ever wanted has always come easily into my hands. To others, it must seem like an exciting life. But that’s not entirely true. If I had many desires, perhaps—but interesting things weren’t exactly plentiful either. Only a few things have ever deeply captivated me.”  

 

Noah Tudor held up three fingers. 

 

There are exactly three things I’m obsessed with…  

 

“Money, the sea, and beautiful things.”  

 

The man smirked, curling his lips upward.  

 

“And if it’s dangerous, even better.”  

 

That’s why he became a naval officer.  

 

For most ordinary men, their first love would likely be someone they frequently saw nearby—a member of the opposite gender, a renowned socialite, a famous actress, or something of the sort.  

 

But what captivated Noah Tudor was not a person, but the sea. 

 

The vast, endless ocean, the deep blue wilderness, a woman with a thousand faces—embodying adventure, wealth, mystery, and perilous beauty.  

 

A realm of untamed savagery and abundance that could never be conquered, no matter how much of a lifetime one devoted to it. He loved its capricious nature—how it could gently coax as if willing to give everything, only to shift in an instant, destroying and devouring all in its path.  

 

The first fairy tale he ever crawled toward was the love story of a mermaid and a prince. 

 

His first dream was to be a pirate, his entire family later considered it fortunate that he instead became a naval officer. 

 

The most memorable book he ever read was the famous author Farmerson’s 《1,000 Days in an Underwater City》. 

 

His favorite gems were pearls and coral, and what he obsessively collected were the paintings of Feydram, a marine artist who spent his life obsessed with the sea, dedicating himself to capturing its light.

 

The boy who had always been unusually obsessed with the sea, Noah Tudor, could hardly keep his eyes from widening upon hearing the legend tied to the Marguerite family—descendants of mermaids.  

 

Naturally, what caught Noah’s interest wasn’t the mermaid princess’s tragic love story, but the treasure she had supposedly received from her mother, the heir.  

 

In truth, that treasure was the very thing that intensely stirred one of his few desires.  

 

Priceless, like the heart of the ocean—and of course, it had to be beautiful.  

 

But that wasn’t all. The blood, curses, and legends entwined with the rare gem were equally captivating.  

 

Never in his life had he been so excited. 

 

‘I want it! Wasn’t this treasure sent by the gods for me to possess? Who else but Noah Tudor deserves such a treasure?’  

 

Brimming with dreams, the young Noah, with childish audacity, pestered his parents, insisting he wanted it. 

 

Of course, sensible adults balked.  

 

‘That’s already a royal artifact—it can’t be touched.’

 

Even his father, who would normally bend the law to fulfill his youngest son’s wishes, replied with polite hesitation, 

 

“That might be a bit complicated. Do you really need it?” 

 

Instead, he offered to buy Noah an aquamarine mine or a pearl farm.  

 

Despite his love for his son, even when Noah threw a tantrum, rolling on the floor and wailing, one stern look from his wife was enough to make him shake his head in refusal.  

 

In the end, Noah, pouting, held his father’s hand and visited the Imperial Museum to see the infamous ‘Mermaid’s Tear’. The child let out a sigh.  

 

“…Huh?” 

 

Of course, it was beautiful.  

 

Carved from the world’s largest aquamarine rough and polished by a master artisan of the century, the necklace shimmered mysteriously, like the tears of the legendary mermaid.

 

But was it as breathtakingly beautiful as imagined? 

 

That was unclear. This child, born on a bed of wealth, had already seen countless expensive and historic jewels and grown accustomed to them. 

 

Thanks to the emperor and empress, who doted on him like their own son, along with his royal cousins, he had even glimpsed the treasures of the imperial vault.  

 

The father, watching his youngest son’s disappointed little face with arms crossed, spoke up.  

 

“Do you still want it?”  

 

The boy hesitated before slowly shaking his head. Though the gem was pretty, enchanting, and the legends surrounding it appealed to him, it didn’t seem worth the trouble to possess it. If he wanted to see it again, he could just visit the museum. 

 

As if he had expected this, the father smiled faintly.  

 

“Remember today’s lesson well, son. What you truly desire with all your heart—you’ll feel it with your entire being the moment you lay eyes on it.”  

 

Even if you don’t realize it right away, you’ll know instinctively. That it’s the thing that will either save you or destroy you.