Chapter 22
. What Happened in Ritté
As soon as those words were spoken, silence fell over the room. Unlike the three people who seemed to know something, Cordelia stood up abruptly, as if she were going to explode from frustration.
“What the hell was that just now? Explain it so I can understand!”
Cordelia, shouting boldly with Noah’s face, drew three pairs of eyes to her. With a blank expression, Franz gave Noah a sidelong glance.
“You can’t be serious… You really didn’t tell her anything?”
“…I thought it would be better if she didn’t know. That’s why I didn’t explain.”
“Are you seriously saying that?”
“It’s a relationship I got dragged into, so I thought it’d be better if she didn’t know, if possible. You understand that too, don’t you, Brother?”
Even in the middle of all this, Cordelia voiced her frustration at the king and Noah, who were talking amongst themselves.
“Excuse me? I hate this kind of atmosphere, okay? Everyone knows something, and I’m the only one left in the dark!”
Her voice, initially filled with emotion, gradually settled down.
“If I’m not being excluded on purpose, then hurry up and tell me. It feels like there’s something I really need to know.”
Though she must’ve already suspected, Cordelia clearly showed her determination to hear it directly from him. Noah couldn’t avoid her gaze. Suppressing the urge to lower his head, he answered calmly.
“Lady Cordelia, I am definitely Noah Eperman—but I also have another name.”
“What is it?”
“Ian Boderoa–Rinaen.”
“…What?”
He hesitated for a moment before quietly uttering the royal surname.
“My father is the late King Kendrick Rinaen. My mother… is Iren Boderoa–Rinaen. Although my surname was stripped long ago.”
Cordelia’s eyes changed the moment she heard the name Boderoa. How could she forget the main culprits of the rebellion that had been exposed eight years ago—House Boderoa and the Marquisate of Dijay? The current king executed all the heads of the families as an example and stripped the entire clans of their noble status.
The queen consort at the time, Boderoa, and her first daughter, as well as the young prince, were also stripped of their titles and confined.
“Wait… you mean…”
“I am a prince. Though my mother was different from his.”
The king offered a more direct explanation. Hearing this, Cordelia openly scrutinized his face with shameless intensity. Then she muttered,
“…You really do look alike.”
Although the king had a more elegant presence, their overall features were strikingly similar. Cordelia recalled the face of Queen Iren she had seen at a banquet as a child.
Overlaying that memory with Noah’s face, it finally made sense. And other things began to fall into place as well.
The heavy guard presence at the mansion when she had swapped bodies, the emptiness inside the house due to the lack of servants, the fact that Noah had said he couldn’t go out at night, and how he had tried to stop her from going to the palace…
That mansion really was a prison. The truth she had vaguely sensed hit her like a slap to the back of the head.
“Since I couldn’t use my real name… I created a new one. They made an exception for me, so I was allowed to go outside. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I know there’s no excuse…”
Noah kept lowering his head, stealing glances at her. Cordelia frowned slightly. She strode right up to him, grabbed his cheeks with both hands, and bent down to meet his eyes. Her blue irises, originally her own, were now filled with his face.
“Don’t make that face with my face.”
Unlike Noah’s calm lake-like eyes, Cordelia’s eyes blazed like fire.
“You’re Cordelia Weizen right now. A woman who’s always confident and lives for her own greatness. I won’t allow you to hang your head over something like this!”
Her firm voice held Noah’s head in place. Once he gave the slightest nod, she let go and looked away. The vague unease that had been spreading inside her had finally taken shape.
Noah.
“Your Majesty,” she began.
Were you really planning to never see me again once everything was resolved?
She didn’t even know why that thought felt so much like betrayal. It was ridiculous to feel this way toward someone she’d only known for a week.
Get a grip, Cordelia, she told herself, shaking her head.
Yeah, this was all because of this face.
Cordelia pulled a box containing a bracelet from her bag and held it out to Franz. He took it with a puzzled look.
“What is this?”
“A bribe.”
She spoke boldly, looking him straight in the eye. Since she and Noah were nearly the same height, she had no trouble meeting his gaze.
Franz didn’t comment on how rude she was being, though he clearly noticed. Cordelia continued,
“As Noah said, I came here on my own. And Noah came because I asked him to. So if anyone’s responsible for bringing this body into the palace, it’s me.”
“Lady Cordelia!”
Noah called out urgently, but Cordelia waved a hand, telling him to stop. He lifted his hand toward his ear, then lowered it again.
“That bracelet is made from a gem said to bring happiness if shared with your beloved. Since you accepted it, just pretend you didn’t see anything today.”
She made the shameless request using her brother’s face, and Franz simply shrugged.
“Even without this, I would’ve kept quiet. No need to ruin a joyous day.”
Handing the box back to her, Franz added lightly,
“So you should give that gift to your sister instead.”
Cordelia’s face showed surprise at his indifferent tone, which clearly implied he already knew everything. Then she smiled.
“Thank you.”
Left alone in the parlor, Zerenia glanced sideways at the quietly seated Cordelia.
There are too many people right now. Better to wait a little before leaving. Zerenia, you stay with the young lady. I’ve got business with this guy.
Franz gestured for Noah to follow him, but Cordelia stepped in front of them. Suspicion flashed in her eyes as she looked at the king.
You’re not planning to throw Noah into prison, are you?
Cordelia!
Take him to prison? Princess, have you forgotten whose body Ian is in right now?
Ah…
Even if I wanted to, do you think Duke Weizen would let that happen?
At the mention of Frederick, Cordelia’s expression twisted. Clearly disgusted, she wrinkled her brow. Franz said nothing more and exited the room.
Ever since the two had left, the mood had remained the same. For someone like Cordelia, who considered sitting still to be the worst kind of torture, her silence was shocking. Combined with her serious expression, she looked truly troubled.
Even with her usually upbeat nature, the shock must’ve hit her. Zerenia looked at her worriedly. Cordelia turned to her sister with a grim expression.
“Sis.”
“What?”
“Does this… mess up the family tree?”
The bizarre comment came out of nowhere. Zerenia, caught off guard, blinked.
“What?”
“I mean, he—well…”
“Just call him whatever you want.”
“Okay, Noah! Sure, it happened by accident, but that face is seriously my type. I’ve never seen a man that good-looking in my entire life, and I’ve been settling for less until now.”
She spoke so passionately that Zerenia just nodded in agreement, thinking Cordelia finally sounded like herself again.
“Yeah, right.”
“No wonder he didn’t budge no matter how hard I tried. So this was the reason. Unbelievable.”
Then, like a geyser, her anger exploded again. Zerenia couldn’t follow her sister’s rollercoaster of thoughts, but she silently nodded along.
“Yeah, yeah. He was wrong.”
“Right? Ah, now I feel better. I know the reason, so all that’s left is to deal with it.”
“…What?”
Zerenia thought she misheard at first. But when she saw Cordelia smiling slyly, she realized it wasn’t a joke. Despite having a completely different face from her usual self, it felt strangely familiar.
“Cody, you’re not seriously…”
“You know how I am. I have to do what I want, or it’ll drive me nuts. I finally found the perfect handsome man, and I’m just supposed to give up without even trying? Not happening. Not in the name of Cordelia Weizen!”
Why did she have to invoke her own name for this?
Zerenia was about to say something, but Cordelia grabbed her hand and gave her the biggest puppy eyes.
“So, Sis. You trust me, right?”
Would you?
Her green eyes were full of disbelief, but Cordelia didn’t care.
“To be honest, I thought I was pretty delusional. But reality is stranger than fiction. What if I turned this into a novel? No one would believe it, right?”
“Cody!”
“Just kidding, just kidding.”
Zerenia grabbed her cheeks and pulled.
“Oww! Sis…”
“You’re still joking at a time like this?”
Cordelia blinked in confusion, surprised by her sister’s rare scolding. But Zerenia let go of her cheeks as soon as she saw the pain in Noah’s body.
A gentle sigh escaped her lips.
“Seriously, think about this carefully. I know you’ll handle it your way, but… I can’t help but worry.”
“I’m not marrying him tomorrow. Even if we get caught, people won’t take it seriously because of my… past. If no one starts betting on how long it’ll last, I’ll consider myself lucky.”
Zerenia shook her head at her sister’s self-deprecating tone.
“Don’t say that. Regardless of how things went, you’ve always been serious about every relationship. You and I both know that.”
Her warm voice made Cordelia’s nose sting. She wanted to hug her sister, but held back. After all, it wasn’t her body right now.
“I know I need to think about the future… but I don’t want to act overly cautious. It’s not even Noah—I mean, Ian’s—fault. It’s not right to overreact.”
Facing her own guilt-ridden face felt stranger than she’d imagined. Of course, she understood why Noah had looked so remorseful. It was a situation where most people would avoid him.
But she just didn’t want to.
It wasn’t just about his looks—though that helped. She already knew he was a good person.
He came to the palace only because she asked, yet tried to take full responsibility. How many men around her had that kind of sense of responsibility? The fact that he was so beaten down by something that wasn’t even his fault made her heart ache.
Cordelia spoke as if making a promise.
“Don’t worry. I’ll try not to cause trouble.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“…Alright, I’ll trust you.”
There wasn’t much more she could say. Zerenia called for someone to bring what they needed.
While they chatted for a while, the door opened and Noah peeked in. When asked what they’d talked about, he avoided the question, saying it was the king’s order.
Zerenia, smiling gently, looked back and forth between the confused Noah and Cordelia. Then, laying out the map she had prepared, she said,
“Well then. Let’s make a plan.”
