The crimson sunset touched the foot of the bed.

Blair’s eyelids fluttered as she felt the light seeping in, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Blinking blankly, Blair hastily felt her belly as she recalled the memory of collapsing.

A familiar voice was heard beside her.

“The child is fine.”

Only then did Blair breathe a sigh of relief and turn towards the direction of the voice.

In the faint darkness where the sunset hadn’t fully reached, her eyes met blue eyes watching her. He was still dressed the same as in the square.

Blair slowly sat up and asked, examining his condition.

“Are you alright?”

He looked fine on the outside. But instead of answering that he was fine, he let out a bitter laugh. It was a laugh that sounded like crying.

As Blair noticed the subtly changed atmosphere, Herdin opened his tightly closed mouth.

“Do you not hate me?”

Blair blinked, not understanding his sudden question.

Herdin swallowed his rising emotions and added.

“You remember everything. What I did to you in your past life, what kind of wounds I inflicted.”

As the words ‘past life’ flowed from his lips, Blair’s eyes that had been puzzled began to waver aimlessly.

“You shouldn’t have married me again.”

As she regained memories of the past, the things she had said overlapped with the images of her past life, and everything became clear.

‘I prefer relationships with clear beginnings and endings, rather than those that speak of vain eternity. Relationships where you can take care as much as you give.’

Why she had said such words when proposing a contract marriage to him.

‘Asiel…’

Who that man was that she had been desperately searching for in her sleep.

‘That priest from earlier, she’s the woman you’ll fall in love with.’

With what feelings she had said those words when facing Miela.

Now.

Only after inflicting so many wounds on her again.

Despite all of that, the existence of the mark engraved on her collarbone in this life crushed him more devastatingly than any attack.

“Me—”

Herdin closed his eyes, unable to finish his words, as if trying hard to suppress the rising emotions.

Even now, when he closed his eyes, he could see her small body lying cold in his arms, the last image of her that she would remember from her past life.

He opened his eyes, clenching his fist as if to crush it. A choked voice scratched painfully at his throat.

“You should have… hated me…”

Tears dropped from Blair’s blank eyes as she looked at him. Those tears made him feel like he wanted to fall to his knees.

Herdin urgently grabbed Blair’s hand that was clutching the blanket and whispered.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“I’m sorry, Blair.”

The words he couldn’t convey to her in her past life.

“For hurting you like that, for making you lonely.”

“…”

“For loving you even in all those moments…”

He wanted to tell her that he had loved her for a long time, not because of past mistakes.

It was only after Blair spoke that he realized those words were wrong.

“Then, am I supposed to forgive you…?”

Her voice, which sounded like resentment at first glance, was hollow.

Those purple eyes were filled with confused emotions, neither resentment nor joy. But those eyes soon twisted in pain.

“If you say all those actions were because you loved me, does that mean the wounds I received become nothing? Do they become insignificant?”

After returning to the past, she had tried to suppress the past emotions. Now that everything had become nonexistent, those emotions had become meaningless.

But she had never forgotten for a single moment the desperate emotion of that moment when the love she believed would protect her, that trust, shattered. Even after she ended up loving him again.

That emotion pierced and dug into the wound unexpectedly. Like an awl hidden in a pocket.

It couldn’t be forgotten even if she wanted to. Even if everyone else in the world forgot, it was reality for her.

She had lived chewing on those emotions, loving the one who gave her those memories, hating herself for loving such a person, embracing her wounded heart.

But it was strange that all of those things became nothing with just one sentence saying he did it because he loved her. Too strange.

“I… don’t know.”

“…”

“I still hate you. It hurts so much…”

Blair looked at him with resentful eyes and sobbed. Her fragile shoulders, her violet eyes wet with tears, trembled pitifully.

Only upon seeing her like this did Herdin realize his judgment had been wrong.

He thought saying he loved her would be enough. He thought everything would be resolved because he loved her and she loved him too.

It was foolish and stupid arrogance.

There was still a bloody wound remaining in her heart.

Herdin bit his lip and desperately grasped her hand. He buried his face in her small hand and whispered as if sobbing.

“I’m sorry. I… I did everything wrong, Blair.”

His two hands holding her hand, infinitely more fragile than his own, trembled. As if she would disappear if he let go.

“Don’t forgive me.”

Blair just sobbed without pushing away or shaking off his hand. So painfully, so sorrowfully.

At that crying sound, it felt like his world was crumbling.

Herdin hesitantly stretched out his arms and embraced her. The sound of her crying ringing in his ears clawed at his heart.

He desperately patted Blair’s back as she sobbed and spoke as if squeezing out the words.

“Don’t cry…”

He didn’t know how to stop her tears. He also didn’t know how to make her smile. She just didn’t cry because she was by his side, and she just smiled because she was by his side.

But if you don’t smile even when you’re by my side.

Then what should I do?

What on earth should I…

Suddenly, as if realizing something, a painful breath burst through his teeth.

He wanted to take her to the sea. Like that promise he made long ago. But the promise was never kept, and Blair came to the sea alone.

Now he had to accept it.

That a knight to take her to the sea was no longer needed.

That fact constricted his chest, but Herdin promised Blair with the feeling of tearing out the heart he held in his arms.

“After we find the culprit, do whatever you want. Whatever it is.”

So that nothing else will hurt you anymore.

That was all he wished for now.

* * *

Upon arriving at his office, Herdin first lit a cigar and put it in his mouth, then pulled out documents from the drawer.

It was Esmeralda’s documents that an unidentified man had handed to him on the night Blair fled from the Delmark mansion.

He had put them aside temporarily as he immediately pursued Blair afterwards, but he had brought the documents with him when coming to Nerha.

Herdin opened the very last page of the documents. The last page was missing, torn off by someone, just as it had been when he received it from the man.

On that missing last page, there must have been the identity of the culprit who orchestrated all this, or clues to deduce it.

He had ordered his subordinates to search for the missing page while tracking Blair’s whereabouts, but there was no news yet.

It was time to start seriously searching for the true culprit.

‘The method of disguising the deaths of my parents as an accident and the method of killing Blair to make me go berserk match exactly.’

At this point, it would be strange if the culprits of the two incidents were not the same person.

In his past life, he hadn’t discovered the documents Esmeralda left behind, so he hadn’t thought that his parents’ deaths were intentional murders.

So of course, he hadn’t guessed that the mastermind behind his parents’ deaths and the one who cast black magic on him and Blair were the same.

‘The common point among the victims is that they were all masters of Delmark.’

That means the culprit is targeting Delmark.

If he divorced Blair, she would no longer be Delmark, but the problem was the existence of the mark.

As long as the mark remained, she would continue to be used as a medium to kill him.

‘We need to find the mastermind and deal with them, and break the mark.’

Herdin glared at the torn last page as if it were the culprit and exhaled smoke. Just then, a knock broke the silence of the night.

“Come in.”

It was Luth who entered the office.

“You called for me?”

“Send archaeologists to the Elir Plains. Those proficient in demon language. Tell them we’ll cover all the funds needed for the exploration.”

“What? The Elir Plains? Why there all of a sudden?”

Luth expressed doubt at the sudden order. It was the reaction Herdin had expected.

The discovery of ancient ruins in the Elir Plains would happen about a year from now. Currently, the Elir Plains were just a barren field with nothing.

But it was complicated to explain all the memories of the past to Luth. There was no need or reason to do so.

Herdin put out his cigar and answered.

“You’ll find out soon.”

It meant don’t ask any more questions.

Luth was puzzled by his cryptic order, but instead of questioning, he answered.

“…Understood. Is there anything else you’d like to command?”

Instead of giving another order, Herdin stared at the living Luth for a moment.

As Luth was about to ask what was wrong with that incomprehensible gaze, Herdin spoke first.

“I was sorry.”

Luth blinked in considerable confusion at the sudden apology, but soon his expression grew more and more serious as if he was thinking of something.

“There are so many things you should be sorry to me about that I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to, but I hope it’s not something new that I don’t know about.”

Herdin furrowed his brow at Luth’s nonsense.

“It means go to sleep.”

“Yes, sir.”

Luth’s expression was still not entirely convinced, but he left without asking any more insolent questions.

Herdin, who had been watching the closing door, got up from his seat and left the office. His steps that were unconsciously heading towards the bedroom paused.

Blair was sleeping in the bedroom. She who couldn’t turn on the fireplace.