Herdin sat on the chair next to the bed, quietly observing the sleeping Blair.

She was peacefully asleep, unaware of his persistent gaze towards her. Her small lips sometimes twitched, and her body tossed and turned, perhaps having dreams.

As a result, the blanket covering her slipped down, revealing her white shoulders and the slender neck that followed.

In that spot, there were clear red marks he left the previous night. His gaze intensified as he noticed them, memories of the previous night flooding back.

The intoxicating scent of her flesh, the tender skin that gently touched, the voice calling his name, and the eyes that looked at him.

Simultaneously, a heat surged in his lower abdomen, a desire unfulfilled despite spending the whole night.

Feeling like a madman getting aroused by his peacefully sleeping wife, he turned his gaze, self-reflecting. Then, he found something on the bedside table.

It was a geography book.

It contained information not only about the nearby Ardell but also about countries on the mainland and island nations across the sea.

Herdin’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the book.

As he was about to open the book, a soft voice reached his ears.

“…Herdin?”

Blair, who had apparently woken up at some point, was looking at him.

Blair, rubbing her eyes still marked with drowsiness, asked.

“Didn’t you say there’s a meeting at the palace today?”

“We have some time left.”
Herdin lowered the book he was holding and sat on the bed. As if following the natural course of events, he leaned down and captured Blair’s defenseless lips.

Soon, Blair’s breath became uneven, and moans that sounded like she was suffering flowed out.

Simultaneously, Herdin’s hand, delving into the blanket, roamed over her body.

Up to this point, it was a familiar morning scene that often occurred.

However, as he completely lowered his inclined upper body onto her, Blair, who was half-asleep, subtly avoided his touch, hiding her body under the blanket.

Instead of asking, Herdin gazed intently at her.

Blair, avoiding his gaze, answered the unspoken question by shrinking her body.

“Just, a little… I’m not feeling well.”

Herdin touched Blair’s forehead. Fortunately, there was no fever, but considering her usually weak condition, it made sense.

Herdin, who had risen, covered her with the blanket.

“I’ll call the physician.”

“Oh, no. It’s not that serious.”

Blair strongly objected, so Herdin briefly observed her complexion and stepped back.

“If your health doesn’t improve, tell me immediately.”

“…I will.”

“I’ll be back.”

As his figure disappeared from her sight, the sound of the opening and closing door gradually reached her ears. The room, now left alone, was filled with silence.

Blair, recalling Herdin’s recent appearance, sank into thought.

‘Around this time.’
He began distancing himself from her.

In his past life, around this time when cherry blossoms fell, Herdin started distancing himself from Blair.

But in this current life, there were no signs of him doing so yet.

I didn’t know the detailed reason why he, who had been pretending to love me to extract the truth, suddenly changed his mind.

‘Did he change the future by agreeing to cooperate in revealing the truth of the Hwanghu Palace incident?’

Although his favor towards me was good, if the future had indeed changed, it was problematic in its own right.

The time when Herdin distanced himself from me coincided with the period when Asiel appeared, some time after.

One night when the rain was falling, heavily drunk and reeking of alcohol, he returned home.

In a state of complete intoxication with an unanswered appearance.

Blair, who happened to come out of the room to go to the library, encountered him, and Herdin brought her to his room and embraced her.

That impulsive night resulted in the birth of a child.

Blair’s precise recollection of the day Asiel was born was also thanks to that.

But if they continued spending every night together like now, it was ambiguous when she should stop taking contraceptive pills. Stopping the pills wouldn’t immediately eliminate their effectiveness.

‘Should I create an excuse to push him away for a while?’
After a moment of contemplation, Blair postponed her thoughts and got up to pull the curtains. She needed to start her day slowly. There was a promise to keep today.

Blair got out of bed, put on her pajamas, and approached the drawer. In it was a note that she received from Mikhail a few days ago.

Herdin seemed reluctant to stir up a scandal as a means of divorce, but there didn’t seem to be any other alternatives.

So, for now, she had to consider this method as the best option.

At that moment, a knocking sound echoed. It must be Lina Meli, who came to fetch the washbasin.

Blair put Mikhail’s note back in the drawer and turned towards the door.

“Come in.”

Two alleys from Jeodo Square led to a deserted street even in broad daylight.

There, various illegal activities such as gambling, drugs, loan sharking, etc., flourished.