Previously
Noah brings Cordelia to an upscale Roland seafood restaurant and indulges her appetite while playfully teasing her reactions. Cordelia inquires about Noah's twin brother Isaac, prompting Noah to proudly claim that he is the more handsome and favored son.
Though his expression was gentlemanly and his silky inflection entirely professional, Cordelia felt an uncanny sense of intimidation. She swallowed hard.
“I… I don't know anything. What sort of information do you want…?”
“Well, let's see. For instance…”
Noah smiled, rubbing the outer corner of his brow.
“Something regarding House Marguerite, perhaps?”
As she remained baffled, his voice rose like a song.
“The Mermaid's Tears. Have you heard of it?”
“…!”
She might have had a touch of cleverness, but the woman before him was naive and young. Reading the truth in her startled expression, Noah grinned.
“As the last descendant, you must know. Where it is.”
Why not tell me?
***
Her mother had always spoken of the mermaid legend. Of their pride and bloodline, and the sorrow of their ancestors.
To Cordelia, who had always assumed it was nothing more than an ordinary fairy tale, that story took on reality because of her mother's illness, and gained even sharper truth from something else entirely.
Calypso, Queen of the Sea, gave her most beloved youngest daughter the ocean's sole treasure…
Surprisingly, even up until her great-grandfather's time, this legend-like tale had been widely known. When the Age of Discovery began and everyone leapt into the sea with fresh dreams, rumors circulated that, just like the legend handed down in their storied noble house, House Marguerite truly possessed the 'Orb of the Sea.'
That they had been concealing the greatest treasure of the sea for generations.
Because of that rumor, Marguerite suffered through immense ordeal. Brazen visitors demanding connections or threatening letters arriving were common occurrences, and there had even been an incident where the reigning head's daughter was abducted.
Thus, after prolonged deliberation, the family elders of the time sought to quash the turmoil by donating one piece from their family treasures to a museum.
The fist-sized aquamarine necklace known as the Mermaid's Tears was subsequently rumored to be the Sea Queen's jewel, and remained on display in Katysha's Imperial Museum to this day.
People all believed that jewel was the very one from the legend.
Yet Noah Tudor was now asking where the 'true' Orb of the Sea was.
Cordelia felt her heart thumping and wiped her numb palm against the fabric of her skirt. She knew well that no kindness came without a price. Even so, she had never imagined that this was what he was after.
“I don't… know what you mean. That is in the museum right now…”
“You have a real knack for making me repeat myself, Miss Cordelia.”
Her words caught in her throat at the trace of amusement in his voice. To Cordelia, this man held an overwhelming advantage over her in every aspect—age, ability, experience, background, and wealth.
Both of them knew it, and what Cordelia had belatedly realized was that he had been humoring her the entire time. In a soft, polished manner disguised as lightness, to the point that she could not even dare feel grateful.
Perhaps because she had not taken her medicine, a sharp pang pierced her chest. After rubbing the spot pointlessly, she spoke with hesitation.
“I… I didn't receive a proper education as an heir because my mother passed away when I was young. So I truly don't know much.”
“Yes, I understand that. But it doesn't look like you know nothing at all. Am I wrong?”
With sunset-hued eyes narrowed like a fox's, the man resembled a devil wearing a genial face. Terrified that those alluring eyes would reach out, gouge her heart out whole, and spill every ounce of truth into the open, Cordelia bowed her head to evade his gaze and murmured.
“It is such an ancient tale. It's only a legend… Why are you looking for such a thing?”
Though the question might have seemed like a ploy to buy time, Noah Tudor surprisingly hummed under his breath and slowly offered her the plain truth.
“You see, I have been absurdly lucky ever since I was a boy.”
Bragging out of nowhere? Noah rested his chin on his hand and chuckled at Cordelia, who tilted her head in confusion.
“I almost died just once, but after that, there was nothing I couldn't accomplish. As if God had opened some door just for me.”
When he closed his eyes, azure waves shimmered. Along with frantic screams. Noah Tudor slowly opened his eyes.
“Whatever I wanted always came easily to hand. It must look like an exhilarating life to others. But it's not quite like that. If I had many desires, that would be one thing, yet not many things interested me, either. Up until now, very few things have held a strong fascination for me.”
Noah Tudor held up three fingers. There are only three things I become engrossed in.
“Money, the sea, and beautiful things.”
The man smirked, his lips curling upward.
“And it's even better if it's dangerous.”
That was why he had become a naval officer.
For most ordinary men, a first love was likely someone of the opposite sex nearby, a renowned socialite, a famous actress, or something along those lines.
For Noah Tudor, however, what fascinated him was not a person, but the sea. The vast, endless ocean, an azure expanse, an adventure and wealth, a woman of a thousand faces harboring mystery and perilous beauty—the sea.
A domain of savagery and abundance that could never be conquered in an entire lifetime. He loved its caprice, acting sweet and gentle as though ready to grant anything, only to turn on a dime, destroy, and devour everything in an instant.
The very first fairy tale he had seen while crawling was the love story of the Little Mermaid and the prince; his first dream had been to become a pirate (his entire family later considered it a blessing that he joined the navy); the most memorable book he had read was the famous author Palmerson's 1000 Days in the Undersea City; his favorite gems were pearl and coral; and what he obsessively collected were paintings by the marine artist Pheldram, who had spent his life obsessed with depicting the light of the ocean.
For a boy whose obsession with the sea had been extraordinary from the start, how could Noah Tudor's eyes fail to light up upon hearing the legend of House Marguerite, descendants of mermaids?
Naturally, what caught Noah's interest was not the mermaid princess's tragic love, but the treasure she had received from her mother, the queen.
In truth, that very treasure was the pure crystallization of his few potent desires.
It would be priceless, a treasure like the very heart of the sea, and undeniably beautiful.
And that was not all. The blood, curse, and legend entwined with the rare jewel were utterly alluring.
He had never been so excited in his entire life. I want it! Isn't this an object sent down from God for me to take? Who else but Noah Tudor could possibly claim such a treasure!
Swelling with dreams, young Noah badgered his parents with childish boldness, demanding to have it, and naturally, sensible adults were troubled.
Saying it had already become imperial property and could not be coveted. Even his father, who would have twisted the law if it meant granting his youngest son's wish, gently replied, ‘That sounds rather troublesome. Must you have it?’ and offered to buy him an aquamarine mine or a pearl farm instead.
Adoring his son, the man even contemplated whether he should simply loot the museum when Noah rolled on the floor, weeping and throwing a tantrum, but under a single stern glance from his wife, he ultimately shook his head.
In the end, Noah held his father's hand with a puffy face and visited the Imperial Museum to see the troublesome Mermaid's Tears. The child let out a sigh.
“Is that all?”
It was beautiful, of course.
Chiseled from the world's largest rough aquamarine and crafted by the hands of a master artisan of the century, the necklace sparkled mysteriously, like the tear shed by a mermaid of legend.
Yet was it a peerless beauty on par with his imagination? That was questionable. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the little boy had already seen and grown accustomed to countless priceless, historic jewels. Thanks to his imperial cousins and an Emperor and Empress who doted on him like their own son, he had even gazed upon the treasures in the imperial vaults.
Watching the disappointment on his youngest son's small face with folded arms, his father spoke.
“Do you still want it?”
The boy considered it before slowly shaking his head. It was pretty and charming, and he liked the legend entwined with it, but it hardly seemed worth the trouble of possessing. Whenever he wanted to see it, he could simply visit the museum. As if he had known this would happen, his father smiled with just his lips.
“Take today's lesson to heart, son. When you desire something with all your heart, you feel it with every fiber of your being the instant you lay eyes upon it.”
Even if you don't realize it right away, you know it by instinct. That this thing will make you live and die.