In Order to Meet You, Beloved - Chapter 121

EPISODE 121

“Really? That’s….”  

Cordelia almost said ‘Because he’s handsome,’ but managed to close her mouth just in time and gave a shy smile. Noah’s face seemed quite awkward, and Aileen’s expression became subtle.  

“At first, I just noticed his face….”  

Answering a bit honestly, Cordelia glanced at the corner of the ceiling with a flustered expression. Soon, she turned back and made eye contact with Aileen.  

“Later, I liked that he recognized me.”  

The only person who saw through her carefully hidden self. She liked that he cherished her essence more than the glamour she possessed. His kindness, always putting others first and not wanting to hurt anyone, was so endearing.  

“So I thought I wanted to be with him. I will.”  

“There’s no need to walk a thorny path.”  

“Thorny path or not, what does it matter? I can just cut off all the thorns.”  

Aileen’s lips twitched slightly as she looked at Cordelia, who spoke so boldly while wearing her son’s face. Cordelia continued without noticing.  

“Honestly, I wanted to come more formally, but somehow it turned out like this.”  

“Right.”  

A lackluster response came back. Silence followed. Cordelia, bracing for an outpouring of words, stared blankly at Aileen.  

“Why is that?”  

“Aren’t you opposed?”  

“Are you hoping I’d be opposed?”  

“No, definitely not, but then, do you like me?”  

Now that it had come to this, it was better to charge forward than to retreat! With a nervous heart, Cordelia asked, and Aileen turned to the side before speaking.  

“If I had to choose, I prefer a calm woman.”  

Ugh, starting from a crisis.  

“…But since my son is already this calm, maybe a partner who speaks a bit more wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”  

Not wanting to use the word ‘noisy,’ Aileen elegantly rephrased, and Cordelia stifled a grin that was about to emerge.  

“Next time, come with Ian. If he permits, it should be possible.”  

“Are you talking about Tyrain?”  

“Right.”  

“Great, I’ll do that!”  

Aileen narrowed her eyes as she watched Cordelia cheerfully exclaim. At that moment, a small voice came from behind Aileen.  

“Um….”  

A maid standing by the door cautiously looked back and forth between Aileen and Cordelia.  

“Master, the washing water has been prepared.”  

“Uh…! Ahem, I’ll be there soon….”  

Cordelia, whose use of honorifics seemed awkward, trailed off as she exchanged glances with Aileen and left the room. Alone in the room, Aileen slowly approached the desk.  

“Still, I wonder if it’s a good match.”  

As Aileen fiddled with a crown-shaped hair accessory, her gaze deepened.  

* * *

After washing up with the water and having dinner, Cordelia felt exhausted. She sat on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.  

Aside from a servant who seemed to come from her mansion visiting in between, nothing particularly noteworthy happened. Thankfully, she had coordinated with the butler in advance, but she felt a bit guilty knowing Noah was probably worrying about her.

Well, it’s not like this is the time for that. Something much bigger has come up!

Feeling full and warm, the facts she had tried to bury began to resurface in Cordelia’s mind. Her expression turned serious as she recalled the people she had met outside the mansion.  

Like a fire igniting at her feet, the troublesome topic of the rebellion plot was suddenly thrown in front of her. Ah, what should she do about this?!  

It was a challenge just to figure out who to tell first. After all, this was a rebellion plot, and with her sister being the queen, Cordelia was not unrelated to the incident.  

It would make sense to tell Noah first. Yet, the dilemma arose because her sister was in the palace.  

Wait, should she tell everyone? Even though she learned this through Noah’s body, does she have the right to decide who to tell?  

Various thoughts tangled in her mind and exploded. Cordelia, expressing her frustration, flailed her arms and legs before stopping abruptly as she remembered her size.  

“I don’t know; let’s just sleep for now.”  

Cordelia lay down and pulled the blanket over her head. Then, she peeked out to look at the ceiling.  

The darkness gradually fading away felt just like her own heart.  

* * *

Of course, despite her worries, she slept exceptionally well.  

“What?! You met that old hag?”  

Cordelia, who had fallen asleep at some point, woke up early the next morning. Although her consciousness was different, she couldn’t help but be fascinated every time she looked around the still-bluish room, following her body’s habits.  

As soon as daylight broke, Cordelia quickly headed to the mansion where she lived. Seeing Noah, who greeted her with a morning smile despite the early hour, left her feeling somewhat complicated, but she joined him for breakfast and tea afterward.  

As she reached for a biscuit, her hand paused in mid-air. By the time Noah finished explaining, Cordelia’s forehead was furrowed with frustration.  

“Wow, that’s reckless. So what now?”  

Crossing her arms defiantly, Cordelia scoffed.  

“Fate and all that aside, if she wants you to make a choice, she needs to explain it properly. Is she kidding us?”  

Though their body had switched, allowing her to meet Noah again, hearing the price involved made it hard to say anything nice. Noah, seeming irritated, poured more tea into Cordelia’s cup.  

“I needed at least a single hair. That’s such a shame.”  

Since they needed a body part from the old woman, having obtained hair would have been incredibly useful.  

“It’s fine. Without magic, how could we deal with her? It would have been tough even in my own body.”  

Cordelia answered nonchalantly while crunching on a biscuit.  

“By the way, this is a big deal. Once we go back to the way things were, we’ll only have one chance left…”  

Cordelia stared quietly at Noah’s worried face, her mouth twitching. She needed to tell him about last night, but the words just wouldn’t come out.  

“Cordelia, did anything happen last night?”  

“Uh, huh?”  

“How did you manage to find the mansion so well?”  

“I—I’m not that forgetful.”  

Cursed.  

Cordelia, who had mumbled without realizing it, glanced down at her teacup and rolled her eyes. Of course, this was information she learned through Noah’s body, so it would technically be right to tell Noah alone, but given the situation, she hesitated about whether that was truly appropriate. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Noah; it was just that this matter was not unrelated to her. After all, her family was in the palace.  

“First, let’s go to the temple and get this bracelet repaired.”  

Extending her arm with the bracelet, Cordelia recalled the draft of the book she had stored in her drawer. If she worked hard for just another three days, she could finish it.  

“Noah, do you have a lot of work?”  

“I can manage for a few days. Right now, I’m just assisting my master.”  

“Then can you spare some time a week from now?”  

“Ah, yes. Should I set aside some time?”  

“Yeah.”  

It would be better to finish the draft and then bring it up. Since she was going to explain, it made sense to do it all at once.  

It felt like putting off an assignment she didn’t want to do, but Cordelia shook her head as if to clear her complicated thoughts.  

Noah observed her closely but then looked away.

* * *

“Well, what on earth happened to break this bracelet?”  

Fortunately, when they reached the main temple, they were able to see Benjamin quickly. After hearing the whole situation, Benjamin clicked his tongue and traced the broken part of the jewel on the bracelet with his finger. Noah scratched his head, at a loss for words.  

“I’m sorry.”  

“It’s alright. By the way, it’s quite interesting to see.”  

“What’s interesting?”  

“That a person’s appearance can change so drastically.”  

Benjamin gently responded to Cordelia’s remark, looking back and forth between the two. Cordelia quickly added.

“No dissection.”  

“What kind of dissection?”  

“Lyneth said that if we get caught in the temple, we might be dissected. Isn’t that right?”  

“There are indeed some who would do such a thing.”  

Cordelia, despite his calm voice implying he was not one of them, felt no relief.  

“I just wanted to say, if something happens to me, our family would… and my sister would somehow intervene…!”  

“Got it, got it. By the way, it’s truly impressive that your condition can be so stable even after your bodies have switched.”  

With curiosity, Benjamin examined them with a peculiar look. When he subtly gestured, a white thread began to extend from the tips of their right pinkies. As he gently reached out to touch the thread, Benjamin muttered.

“Well, we need to remake the bracelet. If we had caught the perpetrator this time, things would have been much easier, but…”  

Benjamin whispered reluctantly.

“If you meet again, please try not to make eye contact. If it’s a spell that disrupts the mind, avoiding eye contact should help mitigate it to some extent.”  

“Understood.”  

“Are you confident you can find the perpetrator?”  

“Yeah. But we’ll have to wait until spring.”  

So she’ll need to explain to Noah how she ended up cooperating with him anyway.  

“For now, even if it’s inconvenient, it’s best for you to stay switched until the bracelet is complete.”  

“I’m fine. What about you, Noah?”  

“I don’t mind either… but how long will it take?”  

“It’ll probably take at least three days.”  

That was just right. Cordelia nodded in agreement.  

“Great! We’ll come back in four days.”  

After parting ways with Benjamin, the two walked side by side down the pristine white corridor. Unlike the surprisingly quiet main building, the annex was a bit more lively and bustling.  

Stepping out into the outdoor corridor and crossing the parched ground, feeling the chilly breeze, Cordelia hinted to Noah.

“Why don’t I stay at my mansion for a bit? I can talk to your mother and Tyrain.”