In a previous life, not knowing exactly how the magic circle worked, I blindly distanced myself from Blair. Just being together might disrupt my mana, I feared, and cause it to go berserk.

That’s why I left for the Delmark mansion, leaving her pregnant.

As I began investigating in earnest, I learned about the imprint related to the second constraint, but even after returning to the estate, I had to keep my distance from Blair to sever her emotions.

Now I know that simply being by her side won’t cause me to go berserk.

I also know that hurting her won’t sever her feelings for me.

Of course, until the imprint is completely removed, the lingering anxiety at my feet won’t fully disappear.

But now, I don’t want to make her shiver in the cold for such a trivial reason. One foolish act is enough.

Returning to the bedroom, a chill swept through the cool room. The maids seemed to have warmed it earlier, but it had mostly cooled down now.

Herdin lit the fireplace and approached Blair. As expected, she was asleep.

He blankly gazed at Blair’s peaceful sleeping face, then carefully reached out to touch her cheek. His hand trembled slightly.

Her soft cheek felt warm against the back of his hand. Her breath escaping through slightly parted lips was clear.

She was alive.

Like a miracle.

Suddenly, the memory of the day Blair died flashed through Herdin’s mind, making his breath rough for a moment before steadying again.

In the past, he couldn’t touch her for fear his power might hurt her. Endless nightmares of his father and mother tormented him.

But that terrible nightmare was a weight he alone had to bear. Nothing should be an excuse to make her shiver in the cold.

He realized this fact too late. Only after losing her.

In this life, he would not shatter this miracle.

Herdin stared endlessly at the sleeping Blair, only closing his eyes as the pre-dawn twilight began to settle. Embracing her.

As his eyes closed, Blair quietly opened hers in the dawn scenery.

“…”

Her eyes, tinged with blue twilight, looked cold, or perhaps sad.

Feeling the warmth at her back, Blair blinked slowly before closing her eyes again.

* * *

Early morning, Miela visited the outskirts villa with the knights of Nerha. It was because of the villa collapse accident reported yesterday.

The knights who arrived at the scene clicked their tongues.

“Wow… It collapsed completely. No one could survive being buried under this, right?”

Yesterday, due to the sudden attack of the undead, all knights were mobilized for that, so news of the villa accident only came at night.

However, cleaning up the collapse site at night could potentially cause more casualties, so the knights were only dispatched this morning.

Hearing this news, Miela, reading Raymond’s inner desire for her help, voluntarily came to the accident site.

People tended to view favorably those who acted according to their intentions before being asked.

Raymond was the most influential person in Nerha, and there was no better way to establish a foothold in Nerha than to gain his trust.

Miela approached the scene, pushing through the debris of the terribly collapsed villa. Seeing her, the knights tried to dissuade her.

“Oh, oh! Holy Priestess, please stay back. There’s likely no survivors anyway. You might get hurt.”

“It’s alright. If there are those who have unfortunately returned to God’s side early, it’s also my duty to find them and pray for their souls.”

Angel, she’s an angel.

The usual praise followed Miela.

Miela, leaving behind words that had become so natural and familiar, began to examine the building debris with the knights.

Not long after, one of the searching knights raised his hand and shouted.

“One body found!”

Soon after, a voice came from another direction.

“Two more bodies here!”

“First, recover them and identify them.”

The knights carefully lifted the building debris and recovered the bodies. At that moment, something else was discovered under the building debris.

It was part of a magic circle with black residual mana.

Even the knights ignorant of magic could see at a glance that this was no ordinary magic circle.

“…A black magic circle?”

Due to the building debris covering the ground, only a small part of the magic circle was revealed, but from that small part, one could guess how large the original magic circle was. It matched the size of the collapsed villa.

The sudden attack of undead appearing where they shouldn’t, and the black magic circle found in the vicinity the next day.

Piecing together the circumstances from yesterday to today, one knight deduced a possibility.

“Deputy Captain, could this be…”

The Deputy Captain, guessing what his subordinate was thinking, furrowed his brow with a grim expression.

“…Yes. Perhaps this incident is not just a simple collapse, but related to yesterday’s undead.”

While the knights were preoccupied with the black magic circle they discovered, something caught Miela’s eye as she continued to look around the building debris.

It was a man’s hand sticking out from between the debris.

“He-here too…!”

Just as Miela was about to shout after discovering it, the hand of the man, thought to be dead, twitched slightly.

Miela, with wide eyes in surprise, corrected herself.

“A survivor, there’s a survivor!”

* * *

Early morning, what woke Herdin was the inevitable nightmare.

The image of his father dying by his hands became his mother, and his mother’s image changed again to Blair.

So, the one he killed became Blair.

The dream of the day his parents died had become so familiar it felt tiresome, but the dream of Blair dying never became familiar.

“…Damn it.”

Irritably brushing up his bangs while muttering a curse, Herdin closed his mouth upon seeing Blair sleeping soundly.

He swallowed a sigh and quietly got up from the bed. Then he took the lighter and cigar from the bedside table and went out to the balcony.

As he inhaled the smoke, his terrible mood eased a little. His cooled head naturally extended to one thought.

‘Who could it be.’

The culprit who killed Blair in the previous life.

For now, he could only think of two people.

The person who had been keeping Delmark in check for a long time, and who initiated the political marriage to absorb Delmark’s influence.

‘…The Imperial Family?’

Of course, simply for the sake of checking a political opponent, targeting the Delmark Duchy, which had power comparable to the Imperial Family and was not a minor house, and moreover, aiming for both the Duke and Duchess, was a risky affair.

Especially touching his parents as well as himself and Blair seemed like the tail wagging the dog.

Thinking like that, there was something that didn’t quite add up, but considering Katrina’s nature of even using her daughter’s life, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Herdin’s eyes sank coldly as he considered this possibility.

‘If the Imperial Family really was involved…’

Concern for Blair outweighed his anger towards his parents’ enemies.

Again.

Her family would once again inflict an indelible wound on her in this way.

In the last life, worried about the shock she would receive, he covered up the truth about Esmeralda’s death.

What should he do this time?

As he was pondering at the same crossroads as in his past life, the balcony door opened.

Herdin, turning reflexively towards the sound, saw Blair entering the balcony and stubbed out the cigar he was holding in the ashtray. But he couldn’t remove the smoke already lingering in the air.

“Herdin. Let’s talk for a moment.”

As Blair approached him and coughed from the smoke, Herdin frowned and moved towards her.

“The wind is cold. Let’s talk inside.”

He took Blair inside the room. However, Blair pulled her hand away from his grasp and looked up at him.

“No. I want to go out for a walk.”

Even while thinking it was a useless, meaningless stubbornness, she wanted to go outside when he said to stay inside.

But he would ignore her opinion anyway. Because he was always a person who considered his own emotions, his love, the most important.

Herdin, who had been quietly looking at Blair standing firm, sighed. And as she expected, he walked towards the sofa.

At that moment, as Blair’s eyes sank painfully, Herdin approached her again. In his hands was a thick blanket.

He draped the blanket over Blair’s shoulders and stood facing her.

“Let’s go out.”

Blair blinked her eyes, slightly surprised by his unexpected action, then left the room with him.

The early morning walk was a bit chilly with the sea breeze, but it felt good with the fresh scent of grass mixed in.

After walking for a while, Blair broached the main topic.

“You said you would find the culprit who killed me, right? Let’s talk about it together. I don’t want to just rely on you anymore.”

At that moment, Blair’s slightly rounded belly caught Herdin’s eye. At the same time, his expression hardened.

As expected, this wasn’t something she should worry about. He had to resolve this matter alone.

Just as Herdin was about to dissuade Blair, thinking this, she spoke.

“I know who killed me.”

As the topic of her killer came up, undisguised murderous intent showed on Herdin’s face.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Lord Caligo. He killed me.”

At the unexpected name that flowed from Blair’s lips, Herdin’s eyes were violently shaken.

But soon those eyes were again filled with fierce murderous intent. The mana around him began to ripple with killing intent.

Blair added, as if to restrain him.

“But there must be a mastermind behind it.”

“…”

“I think it could be my mother or brother who moved him.”

Herdin too had suspected the Imperial Family first.

But he couldn’t bring himself to voice his suspicion, fearing it would hurt her. From her perspective, it would mean being abandoned by her mother once again.

However, Blair spoke calmly, without any sign of being hurt. Just like when she faced Katrina directly to clear Esmeralda’s false charge.

Seeing Blair like this, Herdin let out a small laugh.

He had underestimated his wife. She was the most upright and strong person.

At the same time, he realized.

Perhaps, if he had told her the whole truth back then.

Maybe she wouldn’t have been hurt.

That underestimating her had been his mistake in the past life.