As he watched her retreating figure, an eerie sense of anxiety crept over him, as if she would disappear like this under the warm spring sun.

Staring at her figure under the sunlight, Herdin, without realizing it, stepped closer and grabbed Blair’s hand.

“Blair.”

Looking at him with a puzzled expression, Blair willingly released the hand that had been caught. However, the uneasy feeling once held did not easily fade away.

After concluding their afternoon walk, the two returned to the mansion.

As soon as they arrived at Bibi’s room, Herdin pulled off the harness Blair held and casually threw it away. Then, closing the door behind them, he immediately pressed his lips against hers.
Blair, who seemed momentarily surprised, as always, soon closed her eyes and accepted him.

“Mmm…”

Herdin, desperate as if tormented by long-lasting thirst, urgently opened Blair’s lips and tangled his tongue with hers.

The more their moist flesh entwined and collided, the more heat surged through their bodies, intensifying the thirst. Even devouring the entire field she was cultivating with each breath seemed insufficient.

Although Blair was undoubtedly within his embrace, sharing breath at this very moment, the anxiety that she might disappear persisted.

The anxiety that seized him fueled his desire.

Confining her beneath him, overlapping their bodies so she couldn’t escape, and feeling her warmth seemed to be the only way to ease his mind.

Herdin’s large hand, holding Blair’s waist, naturally descended. In the moment when the distance between the two closed, Blair detached her lips.

“Herdin.”

Blair instinctively pushed away his firm chest, intending to overlap their lips again, but Herdin caught her hand and restrained her.

The moment he finally stopped was when Blair avoided his lips.

His fiercely craving azure eyes stared at her as if they would devour her at any moment.

Blair looked at him, pleadingly.

“I still don’t feel well and want to rest.”

Herdin’s lips twisted at Blair’s words, expressing her desire to stop.

After the conflict over Mikhail’s issue, she hadn’t uttered a word about not wanting this every night. Now, when even such words were unwelcome to her, she stubbornly kept her lips sealed.

Although Herdin found her refusal pronounced at an inconvenient moment, he managed to suppress his desires.

Swallowing a painful sigh, he let her go. The desire that could burst at any moment scratched through his throat roughly.

“Thank you.”

While her grateful attitude for asserting her natural right to refuse irritated him, a knock was heard.

“Your Highness, are you here?”

It was Mason’s voice.

“Go ahead.”

Blair leaned against the door she had been waiting for. Herdin glanced at her for a moment, then opened the door and went out.

“A messenger was sent from the palace a while ago, and there is an imperial order for you to enter the palace tomorrow afternoon.”

Although Mason’s voice could be vaguely heard through the door, Blair was lost in thought and didn’t catch the content.

It was already the day before the mid-May, and hope had taken root in her eyes as she gazed at the lush scenery outside the window.

‘Tomorrow is finally here.’

The day when Ashaia would appear.

The late spring garden was filled with the fragrance of blooming flowers.

When the scent, so overwhelming it could numb one’s sense of smell, made her miss poetry, a small pond came into view. Imha was waiting in front of the pagoda by the pond.

“You called, Your Highness.”

“Sit.”

As Herdin sat across from her, Si-jong, who brought a tray with tea, placed it down and disappeared.
Ivan observed Herdin’s demeanor beyond the teacup. With a nonchalant expression, he silently followed suit and raised his teacup.

Most nobles would have made efforts to initiate conversation, adjust themselves appropriately, or try to present themselves favorably. However, Herdin seemed to have no such intentions.

‘I already knew he was that kind of person.’

Internally, Ivan clicked his tongue, sipped the tea, and then spoke first.

“It’s been almost half a year since we became family, but I haven’t had the chance to see the face of my esteemed brother, whose affairs have collapsed.”

Time seemed to have passed so quickly.

Herdin pursed his lips, measuring the time. The sound of trees rustling in the nearby forest added a refreshing touch to the summer scenery.

On the day he married his wife, who resembled a fairy of the snow, it snowed. Now, the landscape was entirely different from that day.

“On a day like this, it’s good to build camaraderie by riding through the forest and hunting. The burden of national affairs is quite heavy in times like this.”

“I can’t dare to know how demanding it is to lead an empire, but I understand that you are much busier than I am. Speak briefly, and I’ll listen.”

Ivan read the underlying meaning in Herdin’s words and chuckled sarcastically.

In other words, it meant to speak only about business. He was someone with the skill to package his self-centeredness as consideration for others.

Even though he packaged his words, the fact that he had no intention of hiding his arrogant attitude made him even more detestable.