Chapter 47
Roze couldn’t answer Noah’s question, partly because of the tears that wouldn’t stop bursting out, but the bigger reason lay elsewhere.
She didn’t even know why she was crying. Yet at Noah’s question, her tears only flowed harder.
‘Why did I do that…?’
In his arms, Roze cried and cried. Even after finally calming down, she had to stay in Noah’s embrace for a long time.
‘Why did I break down and cry like that there…?’
It was embarrassing. Once the tears stopped, she was so mortified she couldn’t even lift her head.
Still sniffling faintly, Roze pressed her face against Noah’s chest and covered her face with both hands. Her cheeks, already red from crying so hard, burned hot.
‘If anyone saw me, they’d think Noah had just died right before my eyes.’
Otherwise, how could this crying possibly make sense? Laughing bitterly to herself, Roze forced her hands down and slowly raised her head, pretending she wasn’t embarrassed.
“Why did you cry?”
Apparently, the reason for Roze’s tears mattered a great deal to Noah. Even now, as he gently patted her back, the moment their eyes met he asked again.
‘Right. Why did I cry…?’
In that instant, she had been so terrified something might happen to Noah.
But when she thought about it… was the possibility that she might not be able to protect him because of something she didn’t know really such a fatal matter in her life?
‘It’s not like my leisurely cat life hasn’t already gone up in smoke.’
No.
Even if something happened to Noah, Roze was confident she could go on living. It would be sad not to rely on his kindness anymore, but…
‘And if not? Then what?’
If her eyes were the problem, she could simply cross to another continent where they weren’t. Somehow, her life wouldn’t be ruined.
‘So what if something happened to Noah? What difference would it make to me?’
It would just make things a bit more troublesome—yet why had she wept as though the sky had fallen?
Roze didn’t have an answer for that.
“…If you don’t want to tell me, you can say it later. Since you seem calm now, maybe we can get back to why you returned.”
“Why did you come back?”
“I wanted to tell you the garden is being restored.”
“The garden?”
She had realized it back when Noah brought her to the garden.
* * *
The wooden door at the end of the left corridor from the bedroom hadn’t been opened in so long it barely budged.
Letting go of Roze’s hand, Noah pushed hard with both arms until the door creaked open.
“Wow!”
Beyond it stretched a spiral iron staircase descending from the second floor to the ground, and a forest that looked entirely different from the one she had seen when following Oliver last time.
Unlike the overgrown fields and potato patches near Oliver’s house, here the trees were neatly trimmed, their heights and widths carefully matched.
So this was what he meant by “restoration.” He must have let workers in from another entrance.
They seemed to have been sent away for now—there wasn’t a trace of anyone around. Then, with a thud, the door closed behind them.
“Wow!”
Roze felt as if she and Noah had stepped into another world entirely.
‘It’s like a secret forest…’
Could a fairy-tale forest look like this? With the sunset painting the treetops, the woods glowed in a magical, mysterious light.
In another story, this would surely be the place where the heroine and hero created an unforgettable childhood memory.
“You seem to like it.”
Seeing Roze’s eyes sparkle at the secret forest before them, Noah’s lips curved in a small, satisfied smile.
Roze nodded vigorously.
“I love it! It feels like our own secret place.”
At that, Noah gave her a curious look.
“Why don’t you ask?”
“Ask what?”
“At this point, it doesn’t look like a garden at all.”
“Oh… haha, you’re right. Here it’s just a forest, so why call it a garden?”
Noah, patient as ever, explained.
If they followed the little path in the middle, they would find a garden with a striking white marble gazebo. A small stream ran beside it, flowing all the way from a distant river, and further in to the right lay a separate villa.
The reason Roze hadn’t asked was simple—she already knew.
‘This is the place Noah hates…’
That was why she was so moved, even without seeing more.
In the original story, once Noah left this garden, he never returned—
not until it was refurbished for the villainess to live in.
He had no good memories here. The garden was filled with childhood trauma, a place Noah never wanted to face again.
“I thought it would be suffocating if you stayed inside the building all the time. I wanted you to have somewhere you could freely come and go, so I decided to restore this place. The forest and garden are done, and the villa will soon be ready too.”
“You went this far…?”
So Noah had revisited this painful place because of her.
‘Why… for someone like me?’
Even if Roze was special, for him to overcome his trauma—how could she not be moved?
She took his hand and walked toward the garden she could already picture without needing to descend the stairs.
With the rustle of leaves in the wind and the occasional chirp of birds as their background, she matched steps with Noah.
‘I can protect him.’
All the fears that had made her cry earlier melted away.
‘I’ve managed this far, haven’t I?’
It hit her then—why she had cried so much, so fearfully, that something might happen to Noah.
Those tears hadn’t been about her own life at all.
They were purely for Noah.
At first, she had wanted to save him because she didn’t want to lose her easy cat life. She had even pestered Melissa, pretending she was just saving herself.
And yes, she had dreamed of being pampered by a handsome emperor in ways she’d never experienced before.
But now…
“It’s better not to expect much. It’s winter—there aren’t many flowers blooming.”
So what if there were no flowers? Right here, Noah’s eyes shone brighter than the setting sun itself.
Her answer slipped out before she could think.
‘I… like Noah.’
Her life without him? She couldn’t even imagine it. He had become too precious.
Before, when she’d said she “liked” him, it hadn’t necessarily meant in a romantic sense. Sure, how could she not see a man so handsome and devoted as a man… but—
‘I really do like Noah.’
Her feelings ran deeper than mere attraction.
She wanted Noah to be happy, to be good, to be loved and to love others.
It felt like admiring a favorite idol, like treasuring a best friend, like cherishing family.
That was why the thought of Noah being broken, abandoned, or even dying had been unbearable—so unbearable it had brought her to tears.
Roze reached out first and clasped Noah’s hand tightly. Until now, it had always been him who initiated such gestures. This was her first time.
“Noah.”
As she held on and called his name, his gentle eyes turned to her.
“I’ll protect you.”
Looking into eyes that could outshine the sunset, she made her vow.
She would protect his place, his warmth, his gaze—no matter what.
“Whatever you’re suddenly saying, there’s no need. Protecting is my role.”
But Noah, unaware of the future, only smiled faintly, insisting it was his job.
If she argued otherwise, it would just end like that time with the bed dispute, going in circles.
“Fine! Then let’s protect each other. But you should say things like that with a smile.”
Roze lifted her hands and tugged at the corners of his mouth into a smile, while silently vowing again and again:
She would be the one to protect Noah.
