When Blair sneakily lifted her head, she saw Herdin’s back as he wore a robe as if he had just taken a bath.

He was putting logs into the fireplace. Water droplets clung to his wet hair, sparkling in the light.

Confirming that the logs were catching fire, Herdin turned towards the bed. Blair closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. It seemed necessary.

A silent approach halted in front of the bed, and a shadow was cast before her eyes. Gradually, a weight was felt on the bedside. It was the familiar weight that hugged and comforted her every night.

Blair worried that he might wake her up, but even after a while, Herdin remained motionless.

As she quietly opened her eyes, she saw his face lying still with closed eyes.

That face seemed unfamiliar.

He always greedily understood her, slept after fainting himself, and woke up first.

So, the sight of him lying quietly beside her, here solely for her without any apparent gain, felt incredibly unfamiliar. Just like that night when he lit the fireplace to prove her innocence. On that night too, he stayed by her side.

He is always like this.

When she turns away, no longer wanting to be hurt by his indifference, he approaches like this, shaking her at the moment she needs him the most, when her heart is weakened. He never misses the opportunity to delve into that opening.
Blair realized that her trembling body had calmed down involuntarily and acknowledged that it was thanks to the man by her side. She could no longer deny that fact.

‘Maybe he’s the one who could have killed me.’

Once again, soon, the person who might leave me.

Your indifferent affection is infuriating.

I dislike myself for wavering even though I know that affection is like a spring breeze.

When I miraculously went back in time to the past, I was sure that I would never love you again. But now…

Now I’m a bit uneasy.

How long can I keep hating you?

As the sun completely set, Wesley came out of Lord Baldwin’s side gate. He looked around carefully, then came out onto the main road and grabbed a hired carriage. His appearance was very cautious.

“Take me to the club.”

It was his first outing since the hunting competition.

A few days ago, Blair went missing, and the hunting competition was suspended. Ivan, who was unaware of the circumstances, simply thought it was inconvenient that Blair went missing.

Herdin had been tirelessly searching the forest for Blair, and in the meantime, Wesley found and killed the man who had orchestrated the kidnapping.

Now there would be no way to prove his involvement in the incident.

Although he borrowed money from Rachel, unless she herself confesses to being involved in this case, he won’t be able to ask for the money back.
Herden, too, knew that he couldn’t be punished merely on suspicion, even if he doubted himself.

‘Ultimately, nothing happened to Blair or that woman, and they were both safely rescued. Isn’t that the end of it?’

So, it was just a light happening.

Thinking that way eased his mind.

For the past few days, he had been uneasy, worrying that Herden might come to catch him at the estate, having sobered up from the aftermath.

Of course, the money spent orchestrating the incident was a bit regrettable.

‘If I had used that as gambling stakes, I might have won quite a bit…’

While Wesley was lost in thought, the carriage arrived at the club.

‘Well, if I win today, I can inflate my winnings even more.’

Standing in front of the club, for some reason, an unfounded confidence surged within him that he would be the winner of today’s gamble.

As always, Wesley entered the club with inflated expectations.

“Hey, Wesley Baldwin, the man of the century, has been absent from the club for days. What’s going on?”

“We almost worried that you were sick.”

The familiar group greeted him with cheers.

As they exchanged light banter, they naturally made room and started a card game, as they always did.

Wesley, who received his cards, checked his hand. His eyes widened.

‘My hand is pretty good…?’

Perhaps today, it might not just be wishful thinking, and he could genuinely be the winner.
Thump, thump, Wesley’s heart, swollen with anticipation, began to beat faster. Ironically, he felt more tense than when he had a bad hand.

Wesley anxiously received the final card. The moment he checked the card, joy spread across his face.

This was a hand that was even harder to lose with.

Just as Wesley was trying to calm his heart, which seemed about to burst, and open his hand, a sudden shadow loomed over him.

“Hello, Wesley.”

Wesley’s face turned pale in surprise at Herden’s appearance.

“A dog doesn’t quit barking, how do you expect to quit gambling? Isn’t that right?”

Terrified, Wesley tried to get up and run a
Herden turned Wesley’s head, revealing his true nature, and met his gaze.

“It’s you, the culprit.”

A blue flame flickered in Herden’s eyes. Instinctively, Wesley, overwhelmed by the sharpness in those eyes, flinched, but it was momentary.

“Damn it, do you have any evidence?”

Herden looked at Wesley, who was coming out defiantly, with a peculiar look in his eyes.

Wesley struggled with his caught head, full of resentment.

“If you treat someone who helped you with such disrespect—”

“Rachel Selden.”

In an instant, Wesley’s resistance stopped at the familiar name that flowed from Herde
“Weren’t you the one who met Rachel first…?”

Herden wore a sarcastic expression and, looking at Wesley, who was glaring at him, he offered a chilly smile.

“If you keep talking like that, you’ll lose every bet.”

Losing one’s reason and blowing up with words without verifying the truth. And his emotions were all over his face.

“You, you liar…!”

Herden effortlessly tripped Wesley, who was rushing towards him. Wesley tumbled to the floor with a loud thud, creating a ridiculous scene.

Looking coldly at Wesley in that state, Herden spoke.

“Why. You touched my woman and deceived me, but only I should be straightforward?”

“You…!”

“Don’t act so unjustly.”

He took a small bottle from his pocket and tossed it in front of Wesley. The bottle hit the ground, breaking with a crisp sound, and the liquid inside spilled out.

Suddenly, a sweet and seductive fragrance filled the air.

Wesley’s eyes wavered at the sight.

The contents of the bottle were what the kidnapper had intended for Blair to ingest.

“From the beginning, there was no way out for you.”

Back when they discovered the mansion with Wesley, they found a bottle separated from Blair, along with traces of her.

The worn-out mansion, and the only bottle that seemed new amidst the neglect, looked suspicious at first glance.
Herden instructed to investigate the identity and source of the medicine, and for someone as knowledgeable as Luce, finding the buyer of the medicine was quite easy in such matters.

Knowing Wesley was the instigator, the reason for confronting Wesley was twofold: first, to secure Wesley’s confession, and second, because—

“I saw someone entering the forest with one of the knights earlier.”

It was to firmly establish the suspicion against Rachel Seldon, who had falsely claimed to witness Blair, who was kidnapped, being with another man.

Wesley Baldwin played his part in that regard, and now all he could do was whine.

That would undoubtedly be noisy.

“For now, get some rest.”

Herden firmly grabbed Wesley’s head after he had faithfully fulfilled his role and forcefully slammed it onto the game board once again. Soon, Wesley’s body went limp.

Herden tossed the unconscious Wesley to the waiting knights as if he were a sack of potatoes and turned away.

“Load him onto the carriage.”

It was time to go after another instigator.