“So, you’re jealous of me?”

 

I didn’t want to answer. But my silence was an answer in itself…

 

Oh, how embarrassing. As Cordelia averted his eyes from him, a laugh, surprisingly full of delight, reached her ears.

 

“Ah, so I must seem quite desirable to you, Miss Cordelia.”

 

Could he really be that pleased? 

 

His face, still chuckling as if he found it amusing even after saying it, was so irritating that I pouted. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before blurting out.

 

“You want me to dote on you. Right?”

 

“What?”

 

“You want to be doted on. To overflowing.”

 

I was speechless. Technically, he wasn’t wrong, but I had never asked him for it.

 

But judging by how sweet his offer to dote on me sounded, he might have seen right through my heart, better than I could myself, just like he always did.

 

Noah continued, his manner still cheerful.

 

“Miss Cordelia is like a thirsty tree. It’s nice because you take so well to whatever is given. Is this what it feels like to raise a dog?”

 

“…”

 

Even when saying the same thing, he had a regrettable way of phrasing it. He muttered, pretending to be troubled.

 

“Though, truthfully, I’m already doting on you plenty as it is.”

 

“…”

 

“You want me to do more. That even this isn’t enough.”

 

What a problem…

 

“It wouldn’t be good for you, Miss Cordelia, if you took even more from me.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Are you confident you won’t get sick from overindulgence?”

 

Cordelia’s heart sank at his strange, somewhat chilling tone. 

 

Noah Tudor was watching her, startled self with an expression she had never seen on him before.

 

He whispered sweetly, like a devil, like melted chocolate.

 

“What would you do if I offered it and then took it back? Do you know what the most frightening poison in the world is? It’s called addiction.”

 

Suddenly, I was afraid… His sparkling gaze, which seemed to test or observe me with interest, and his smile, as if he were looking at a slightly cute lab rat.

 

If there was someone who would be destroyed and broken in this relationship, it would almost certainly be Cordelia, not Noah. 

 

Naturally, he knew this fact all too well, and that seemed to please him greatly.

 

This is why, even when he acted affectionately, there was an unsettling feeling, a sense of dissonance that prevented me from feeling completely at ease.

 

There is no meaning behind this man’s affection.

 

He simply gives it because he feels like it. So, there should be no need for any expectations or reading into it…

 

But when someone like this is exceptionally kind only to me, how can I not be affected? Is that even possible? I’m just an ordinary twenty-year-old girl.

 

At the moment of dizziness, Noah’s words snapped her back to awareness.

 

“You must have seen what happened to your father. Alcohol, gambling, and women. Sweet pleasures are truly terrifying. They destroy the mind.”

 

Ironically, while Noah was talking about her father, Cordelia thought of her mother. 

 

It wasn’t her father but her mother who had personally shown her the dangers of addiction. Her mother, who became addicted to the poison called love and died a miserable death.

 

As if splashed with cold water, she came to her senses. 

 

Cordelia, who had just moments ago found his embrace warm and cozy, now felt it was like a murky swamp or the cold scales of a giant snake, and a shiver ran down her spine.

 

Ah, this man is truly dangerous. I almost made a huge mistake just now.

 

“Cordelia?”

 

The playful smile vanished from the man’s face. Noah’s lips slowly curved up as he gazed intently at the woman’s small, expressionless, doll-like face. 

 

It was a cold amusement, different from the affectionate warmth of before. 

 

And perhaps, this was closest to his true nature.

 

“How clever.”

 

His murmur was indifferent, as if he’d seen a tempted prey escape a trap. 

 

Cordelia just blinked. The man gently stroked her pale cheek, sat her down on the bed, and straightened his disheveled tie.

 

“The White Rose Garden is most beautiful under the moonlight. I’d like to show you, but I forgot I have some business to attend to, so I must be going now.”

 

Cordelia listened silently to his polite explanation.

 

“Would you like to see it with Wayne? Or shall we see it together when I have time?”

 

Faced with a choice that felt like a trap disguised as kindness, she looked up at his handsome, smiling face and slowly answered.

 

“It doesn’t matter. The roses will be the same either way.”

 

“…”

 

“Have a safe trip.”

 

Noah silently looked at her sitting there so demurely and raised his lips in a slight smile.

 

‘This is troublesome.’

 

He liked this girl more and more with each passing day.

 

🫧

 

As Cordelia Marguerite came downstairs wearing a jacket, her family, who had been drinking tea, rushed to speak to Noah as if they had been waiting for him.

 

“How is Miss Cordelia? She looked pale.”

 

“Is she all right? It wasn’t indigestion from feeling unwell, was it?”

 

“What about calling Lord Perrot?”

 

Noah clicked his tongue as he accepted the hat and cane handed to him by the butler.

 

“Anyone would think she’s your sister lying ill in bed. Weren’t the two of you meeting for the first time today?”

 

“She’s a young lady. This is just common sense,” Isaac said reprovingly.

 

Philip let out a soft sigh and clasped his hands together.

 

“She seemed even younger than I’d heard. She does seem straightforward, but could just anyone endure being by your side?”

 

“What kind of talk is that? You make it sound like I go out of my way to torment people.”

 

Noah blinked, his eyes wide like an innocent boy, and all three of them looked offended. 

 

Why? When he acted like this, his father would laugh and say he was cute. 

 

Feeling deflated, Noah shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Be good to her. She seems naive and unaware of the ways of the world.”

 

“Hahaha, how amusing. Brother Philip. Why are you being so uncharacteristically nosy?”

 

As Noah adjusted the style of his hat and furrowed his brows, Philip sighed again and answered slowly.

 

“It’s pitiful, isn’t it. In many ways.”

 

“Why? Because she owes me money?”

 

Tilting his head, Noah seemed to genuinely not know the reason. 

 

Ironically, it was that very lack of understanding that allowed Noah Tudor to act most sweetly and affectionately. That’s what made it so fatal. 

 

Perhaps a carelessness closer to malice than to evil itself.

 

Although my aura may be lacking, it’s truly regrettable and hard to understand in this aspect. Philip remained silent, and Isaac frowned uncomfortably.

 

“Don’t casually bother people out of mere curiosity. It’s the first time I’ve seen you act like this toward someone, so I was somewhat expecting it, but seeing your face directly, it’s just not acceptable. Keep your distance. Don’t get too close.”

 

“Why? Am I not enough?”

 

“Don’t be sarcastic when you know that’s not what I meant.”

 

Not swayed by the laughing retort, Isaac cut him off mercilessly. 

 

At the cold, warning tone, Noah smiled with his eyes again and said,

 

“Yeah, I know. So why are you worried about them? That kid is doing just fine.”

 

“Are you asking because you don’t know? People are different from pets. They’re not objects either.”

 

“I have eyes, Isaac.”

 

Cordelia is a very pretty girl. No, is she a woman?

 

Recalling the warmth and shiny hair he had just been touching, he flexed his fingers. 

 

Actually, touching or occasionally brushing against her feels quite nice. Perhaps it’s because she’s soft and pliant, and she smells good.

 

As he was lost in his own appreciation, Wayne, who had been quietly listening to his older brothers, cautiously added his opinion.

 

“So, brother Noah. Even if you act intimately and treat them well without any particular thoughts, the person receiving it might develop expectations. If you don’t want a serious relationship, I think it’s right to keep your distance. A young lady might end up suffering unnecessarily. Of course, if you’re serious and sincere, we wouldn’t oppose it. Rather…”

 

“I’m quite grateful for this. It made me think, ‘So that guy is human after all.’”

 

Isaac took it and spoke.

 

“Why is everyone saying things to me? I’ve never done anything worthy of blame. I’ve never crossed a line.”

 

Of course, there was that incident where he almost dragged her to the bed due to a misunderstanding, but even after that, he frequently felt a sexual attraction towards her, and despite it becoming increasingly common, Noah was brazen.

 

Philip, who had been silent the whole time, retorted somewhat sharply.

 

“Does that mean you haven’t crossed it yet? You looked pretty eager to me.”

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

“Weren’t you alone in her room for quite a long time after arriving today? I won’t ask what you did during that time, or question why you followed her around just now like you’re lovers. You’re both adults. But we’ve never seen you stick so close to a woman before.”