Tail’s Curse Chapter 53

 

Cordelia had so much she wanted to do when she came to Katisha. 

 

The journey, naturally, was one she embarked on alone, and it was unlikely that any part of the process or its end would have been different.

So even if the kind people who had shown her favor suddenly seemed busy, couldn’t she just go out on her own? 

 

No one had left her alone in this mansion or imprisoned her. 

 

No one forced her or anything of the sort…

 

Cordelia’s gaze drifted absentmindedly toward the man watching her intently, and she startled, shocked at the unbidden thought that had surfaced in that very moment. 

 

She quickly immersed herself in the kindness Noah offered and the promise of the enjoyable time ahead, as if fleeing from her own mind. 

 

A natural smile then graced her lips.

Let good things simply be good. Don’t overthink it.

 

“I’m glad. Actually, I was looking forward to it.”

As Cordelia beamed, Noah smiled back at her.

 

“Shall we go see the white roses in full bloom then? Their fragrance is actually at its peak just as they begin to fade. Today is precisely when they’re most beautiful.”

She placed her hand in his pale fingers. 

 

The lukewarm body temperature, neither chilly nor warm, sent an inexplicable shiver through her. 

 

Her stomach was comfortably full, and Noah Tudor, now at ease, treated her with his familiar, playfully teasing humor and uniquely refined etiquette, so by the time they stepped into the white rose garden, illuminated like fairy lanterns, Cordelia’s mood had surprisingly brightened. 

 

It was almost astonishing how simple it could be.

Well, she didn’t know. Perhaps that was just how things were meant to be.

 

“Ah.”

 

Coupled with this, the white roses of night were breathtakingly beautiful, living up to the praise that they were Katisha’s finest splendor. 

 

They were a world apart from the glimpse she’d caught during the day.

 

The pristine white petals glowed like the lingering light of early dawn, as if each bloom were draped in beautiful lace woven by angels. 

 

Grand, luxuriant white roses stretched out like a forest, a breathtaking spectacle. 

 

Their elusive fragrance brushed tenderly against the senses.

 

When Cordelia let out a sigh of pure admiration, Noah chuckled softly.

 

“Beautiful, isn’t it? When I was little, I used to play hide-and-seek here with my brother and nearly got lost more than once. Truthfully, I’d hide and then doze off without meaning to. After that happened about five times, my father almost ordered the entire garden cleared out. He had no choice—my mother adored this place too much. Everyone was in an uproar that day.”

 

Cordelia glanced up at Noah’s cheek as he hummed and recounted his childhood memories, then suddenly spoke.

 

“That sounds lovely.”

 

“What does? Almost having all these roses burned down?”

 

“That your father worried so much over you.”

 

If she were in his place, Cordelia thought she might have been secretly glad even if all these beautiful roses had vanished. 

 

That probably wasn’t a normal reaction, was it? 

 

She realized it only after speaking, but Noah was even more unconventional than she was. He readily agreed.

 

“Mhm. Honestly, I was curious whether the Tudor family would dismantle its symbol just for me. The first time was an accident, but when my dad miraculously found me asleep and carefully lifted me into his arms… it felt so wonderful. So after that, I pretended to get lost on purpose, just to watch. When he threatened to burn it all down, I couldn’t help but wonder—would he really do it? Truly?”

 

The truth is, I…

 

“I would have been glad even if they’d all disappeared.”

 

Even as he spoke words that were a little strange, he broke into a radiant smile. 

 

Watching that lovely, almost devilish face, Cordelia felt she understood, in a terribly contradictory way, exactly why he was so beloved. 

 

Even if she couldn’t put it into words.

 

When she nodded as if to say she understood, he looked back at her with curious, wondering eyes.

 

“People usually find it creepy when I say this, but you really do have some similarities to me, Miss Cordelia.”

 

So, it’s a good thing, Noah said.

 

Now she knows that his attitude and words, exactly as they are, express his current feelings. And that they hold no deeper meaning.

 

For a while, they silently gazed at the beautiful white rose garden.

 

“The last gift my father gave me was also a bouquet of roses. Though it was a very long time ago.”

 

Before her mother passed away, it seemed her father had made some attempt to play the role of a father. 

 

He would pull sweets from inside his jacket, reeking of alcohol, and on the rare occasions he was in a good mood, he would rub his prickly cheek against hers and hug her.

 

Cordelia disliked the smell of night that clung to him, but she endured it. Because she wanted to be loved.

 

“My daughter, when you come of age, I’ll buy you a bouquet even more expensive than this.”

 

His face flushed with drink, the man laughed heartily as he spoke, and amidst her anxiety over her ailing mother, Cordelia was happy. 

 

She thought she would win more money, cure her mother’s illness, and let them live in comfort again.

 

Even though it was clearly a gambler’s empty boast, in that moment, it really felt like they could return to the old days.

 

People are truly strange. 

 

You wish villains would just remain villains, but behind the mask of a villain, many faces exist. 

 

Is there anyone who is entirely bad?

 

To her, who had grown somewhat gloomy, Noah said,

 

“If you intended to curse me for my good fortune, you’ve succeeded splendidly.”

 

“That wasn’t really my intention…”

 

She just thought she envied him. Noah mercilessly jabbed at her soft spot.

 

“Are you playing dumb, you insensitive brat? Is that something to say in front of someone sold off for their father’s debts? Why did you hold back? I was waiting to see when you’d finally speak up.”

 

“…Did you do that on purpose?”

 

“I wouldn’t go that far, but yes, I did expect something. It was strange—you seemed different at first, but the more I saw you, the softer you appeared.”

 

He tilted his head and gazed at her sideways.

 

“You’re what I’ve been most curious about lately.”

 

The more he peeled back her layers, the more he wanted to know.

 

“You cried your eyes out saying you envied me.”

 

“Well, not exactly cried my eyes out…”

 

She mumbled, embarrassed, but Noah ignored it.

 

“Usually, when people envy someone, they start to resent them. If it goes further, they try to remove them from sight or even attack them. That’s how jealousy works. If they can’t have what they want, they want to destroy it. Pathetic, really, but I suppose that’s human nature.”

 

He let out a light laugh.

 

“But all you did was shut yourself in your room and sob? How do you expect to survive in this harsh world if you’re that naive, Miss Cordelia?”

 

His clicking tongue carried an expression that seemed both pitying and playfully stern, mixed with a faint trace of sympathy for something so fragile and harmless. 

 

Cordelia thought he saw her as too weak. She was weak, that was true. 

 

But who wouldn’t seem weak in front of him?

 

“I’m not that good either. I also…”

 

She swallowed hard. Cordelia unconsciously recalled the things she had pushed down—the things she had done. 

 

Attacking Dorea, wanting Morris dead. 

 

Feeling the urge to tear apart the man who tried to violate her. What scared her more was that she didn’t regret any of it. 

 

Only a faint fear lingered from the thrilling rush and satisfaction she felt in those moments.

 

“Noah.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I almost killed someone once.”

 

The confession rose unbidden from somewhere deep inside. 

 

At her unusual admission, Noah replied casually.

 

“Oh? Well, try harder next time. ‘Almost‘ doesn’t count for much.”

 

“…Is that all you have to say?”

 

“What else? After all, a corpse showed up at our very first meeting. Why bring up something so trivial now?”

Oddly enough, his blunt remark—why bother with unnecessary talk—eased a hidden corner of her heart. Then, out of nowhere, he held out to her one large, luxuriantly blooming white rose. 

 

Along with the sweet fragrance of the rose came his voice.

 

“You really are blessed. That’s what makes Miss Cordelia so remarkable.”

 

It felt like a continuation of their earlier conversation. She gazed up at him intently.

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

“If I were you, I wouldn’t have just walked away. I’d have set the place on fire while they were sleeping and then left.”

 

Despite the cruel content, Cordelia kept her eyes fixed on him, his voice still calm. 

 

As expected, Noah knew the rough outline of her family background. Strangely, with this man, she felt she could share things she couldn’t tell others.

 

Instead of asking how he could say such a thing, Cordelia quietly voiced a truth that had long been buried deep within her:

 

“I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in prison.”

 

It wasn’t guilt or lingering attachment to family—none of that. 

 

It was simply a calculation and fear for her own safety. 

 

Terrifyingly, that was the truth.