Blair’s eyes could be seen trembling as they met. The fear filling those eyes as well.

“…Blair.”

Amidst all the commotion around, Herdin’s eyes saw only her.

As if only she and he were left in this world.

What intruded into their world was the arm of a man wearing a hooded robe.

The man whose face couldn’t be seen wrapped his arm around the shoulder of Blair, who was staring blankly at him in a frozen state, and soon she turned her gaze toward the man.

Again, she tries to escape from him.

Noticing this, Herdin gritted his teeth and approached Blair.

At that moment.

“Oh, move aside!”

A carriage blocked Herdin’s path. Through the half-obscured view by the carriage, he could see Blair’s back gradually moving away.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Herdin cast magic to create a foothold and easily leaped over the carriage.

“Di-did you see that just now?”

“What’s with that person? Is he a magician?”

The people around who saw his magic murmured, but such things didn’t even reach his ears.

Herdin continued to cast magic to create footholds above the people, striding toward where Blair had disappeared.

But when he arrived at that spot, Blair had already vanished. Herdin’s lips twisted as he looked around.

Clearly, their eyes had met.

Yet she turned away just like that. Right before his eyes, almost embraced by a strange man.

Herdin gritted his molars, recalling that scene of her disappearing before his eyes. At the same time, his hand clenched so tightly that the veins stood out.

Though he realized what Blair’s action of turning away despite seeing him meant, he chased after her, ignoring that fact.

From the moment he switched out the contraceptive medicine she was taking, her feelings no longer mattered.

For whatever reason, whatever emotion, you must be by my side.

That was all that mattered to him.

“Your Excellency!”

Luth, who had been following Herdin from the cafe out of concern, came running breathlessly after witnessing the recent commotion.

Herdin immediately issued an order to Luth.

“…She’s close by. Find her.”

* * *

As Mikhail had predicted, there were many people out enjoying a summer night’s boat ride on the Maha River.

Countless sky lanterns rose on the cool river breeze, illuminating the summer night and creating a beautiful scene, but Blair had no leisure to appreciate it.

Mikhail laid Blair down under the planks of the ferry.

“It will be uncomfortable, but please bear with it for a little while.”

Saying that, he covered Blair and her bag containing Pipi with a black cloth. And on top of that sat the assistant from Baroness Sionel’s dress shop.

They had just met after receiving Mikhail’s contact and preparing a ferry at the riverside.

Mikhail disguised himself as the boatman, and the assistant as a guest out for a summer night’s excursion by the river.

Mikhail also disliked laying Blair on the bottom of the ferry, but there was no other way as it was too risky to expose her, whose face was known. It was fortunate that it wasn’t too hot since it was night.

Finally, the ferry glided onto the river.

“Peep? Peep!”

“I’m sorry, Pipi. For putting you through this.”

Noticing Pipi squirming in the bag, Blair soothed him gently with an apologetic voice. After sniffing and looking around for a while, the creature soon quieted down.

Blair gazed at the night sky visible through the black cloth. The sight of numerous sky lanterns adorning the night sky was beautiful.

After passing this hurdle, Herdin’s face from their earlier encounter came to mind.

Among the countless people, only he was visible.

Even in that chaos, her eyes found him first. As if by instinct.

The moment she suddenly realized this fact, her heart sank, and Mikhail wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her away.

That’s how she barely escaped from him.

‘I hope to never encounter that person again.’

As she was making that wish while looking at the sky lanterns adorning the night sky, suddenly there was a commotion on the riverside.

It was the Delmark Knight Order.

They began searching the people gathered by the riverside one by one.

At their center stood Herdin, emanating a chilling bloodlust that could be felt even in the darkness.

Seeing this, Blair quickly pulled up the cloth to cover her face and held her breath. Even though there was no way Herdin could hear her breathing from so far away.

Thump thump, her heart began to beat rapidly as anxiety spread. It felt as if Mikhail’s rowing speed had slowed, though it might have been her imagination.

In the meantime, Herdin climbed onto the nearest bridge crossing the river. The knights swiftly followed behind him.

As he approached the center of the bridge, Mikhail’s ferry approached beneath it. It was too late to turn the boat around now without arousing suspicion.

The moment the ferry passed under the bridge, Herdin’s gaze turned toward that boat carrying Blair.

Mikhail skillfully avoided his eyes by pretending to look at the riverside while turning his head.

A moment that felt long passed.

Herdin, who had been staring blankly at the boat gliding over the dark river water, roughly swept up his bangs and turned to look at the knight commander beside him.

“Search thoroughly. Everyone getting off the boats too.”

His low voice, tinged with fatigue and a sigh, stuck in Blair’s ear.

Eventually, the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away.

Blair remained quietly listening to that fading sound, holding her breath within the black cloth.

Until no more traces of him could be heard.

* * *

The place where Mikhail’s boat stopped was the forest on the opposite side of the Maha River.

Crossing this forest would take them beyond the territory. And beyond the forest, a carriage that Mikhail had prepared in advance would be waiting.

“Be careful.”

Blair disembarked from the ferry, escorted by Mikhail.

The assistant of Baroness Sionel, no, Mikhail’s subordinate who had helped the two, bid them farewell.

“I pray for your safe journey.”

“Thank you for everything.”

As Mikhail’s subordinate boarded the ferry again, Blair entered the forest with Mikhail.

It was a bright moonlit night, but traversing the ungroomed forest path was difficult. Especially for Blair, who was not alone.

Noticing her condition, Mikhail extended his hand to Blair.

“I apologize for leading you on such a rough path. If you don’t mind, your hand.”

Blair, who was about to take Mikhail’s hand without thinking, hesitated.

Once they left the territory, she would be alone.

She could no longer take others’ help for granted, and would have to overcome many things on her own.

Blair shook her head.

“I appreciate your kindness, but I can manage on my own. Don’t worry about me and lead the way.”

True to that resolve, Blair did not accept any help from Mikhail until they exited the forest.

After walking for quite some time, the two finally reached the other side of the forest. There, a carriage that Mikhail had prepared in advance was waiting.

After loading Blair’s luggage, Mikhail closed the carriage door and said,

“I have something to discuss, so I’ll ride in the driver’s seat. Please make yourself comfortable. If you need anything or feel uncomfortable, please call for me.”

Blair noticed that he was giving her space to rest comfortably and smiled faintly.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Mikhail climbed onto the driver’s seat, and soon the carriage departed.

Blair leaned her tired body against the carriage and looked at the scenery outside the window.

The dawn twilight was already settling on the distant mountain ridges.

They had finally left the territory.

While excited at the thought of facing a new world, she also felt afraid. And at the same time, a touch of bitterness.

‘Once, I wanted to travel with Herdin.’

When she was young, dreaming of being able to leave the palace and travel the wide world when she grew up.

In her childish heart, she had fantasized about traveling with Herdin.

She thought that if she was with the strong him, he could defeat any scary things they might encounter in the unknown world.

But he was the very person who had crushed and confined her dream, and now she was alone in the world she had dreamed of.

“Alone…”

As she murmured that word which made her feel a bit lonely just by uttering it, Blair suddenly remembered something she had forgotten and paused.

‘No, I’m not alone.’

She habitually caressed her belly, which wasn’t showing much yet outwardly. A smile spread across Blair’s face as she gently stroked her belly.

Now she had Asiel with her.

And Pipi, who was now sleeping quietly in the bag.

She had two lives to be responsible for. The weight of that small yet heavy responsibility strengthened her heart.

‘I think we can live well.’

No, we will definitely live well.

The morning sunlight that began to seep through the window warmly illuminated her.

* * *

“Haah.”

Lina breathed on the window and wiped it until it squeaked.

Through the clean window, the scenery of the duke’s residence was visible. Under the clear sky, the trees were gradually turning red and yellow one by one.

It was a scene of full autumn.

Lina’s expression became gloomy at the sight.

‘This time last year, we were busy preparing for the Lady’s wedding…’

It had already been two months since Blair disappeared.

She had waited with the expectation that perhaps a secret letter would come to her once Blair had settled somewhere, but even after two months, there was still no contact.

‘The weather is getting colder, I hope she’s staying somewhere warm and doing well.’

Just as Lina was trying to compose her gloomy emotions, a small but clear bell sound began to ring out from the center of the mansion.

It was the bell announcing Herdin’s return.