The Duke Only Needs My Child - Chapter 169

“……Herdin?”

Blair’s eyes widened in surprise at her husband’s unexpected appearance.

Instead of answering her, Herdin wrapped his arm around her shoulders and spoke to the man.

“If you refuse, won’t it seem like you have other motives?”

Though it sounded like a joke at first, his eyes held not a trace of humor. The pressure emanating from this strange discrepancy weighed down on the man.

Herdin held out a gold coin to him.

“So take it.”

The man unconsciously gulped.

On the surface, the noble gentleman before him was showing excessive kindness, but for some reason, there was an undeniable sense of compulsion.

“Th-Thank you, Your Excellency.”

Unable to refuse a second time, the man accepted the gold coin Herdin offered. However, Herdin’s gaze remained fixed on the man.

Though his eyes were calm and unreadable, the man couldn’t bring himself to meet them and lowered his head.

He felt like prey thrown before a hungry beast.

“Well then… Have a good day.”

The man bowed his head deeply in greeting and then hurried away as if fleeing.

Blair, who hadn’t noticed the subtle tension between Herdin and the man, looked regretfully at the man’s retreating figure, not having had a chance to properly say goodbye. She then looked up at Herdin.

“What brings you here?”

Meeting her eyes, Herdin’s expression softened as if nothing had happened. His naive wife didn’t seem to realize he had come all this way just to see her.

He kissed the back of her hand, which he had already entwined with his, and replied,

“I wanted to see you.”

Oh my.

The ladies who heard his response made a fuss, expressing their envy.

However, the actual recipient of such a husband’s affection was flustered by his blatant display of love and only blushed. It was typical of her, as she was shy about showing affection even in front of their son.

While Blair was unable to say anything out of embarrassment, Herdin asked for permission from Monica, who was standing nearby.

“Then, may I take my wife home now, madam?”

“Oh, of course. If a husband wants to take his wife home, what reason would I have to stop you?”

Monica joked that she should teach her own husband a thing or two about this, and let Blair go.

After bidding farewell to the ladies, the couple went to their carriage together.

Once in the carriage, Herdin brought up something he had overheard during the farewells with the ladies earlier.

“Do you have another engagement tomorrow as well?”

“Yes. We’re going to see an opera.”

As Blair answered, she was holding the sketchbook the artist had given her earlier. She held onto it as if it were a precious gift, not handing it over to her maid.

As the carriage started moving, Blair seemed to remember something and opened the sketchbook to look at the drawings. The sketchbook contained a few more sketches the artist had drawn before.

A faint smile spread across her lips as she looked at them. Herdin’s eyes narrowed as he watched her.

After observing her for a moment, Herdin leaned towards her, about to snatch the sketchbook away.

“Do you want to look together?”

Unaware of his intentions, Blair leaned against his shoulder, pushing the sketchbook towards him.

“Thank you, Herdin. Thanks to you, I was able to have time to reflect on my life.”

Blair looked up at him with a radiant smile.

Herdin stared at his wife for a moment before letting out a wry chuckle.

It was frustrating that his innocent wife was smiling without knowing the twisted thoughts he harbored, and yet, even that sight was beautiful.

When she smiled so prettily, how could he not act the part of a good husband, even if he didn’t want to?

Herdin’s depraved hand, which had been about to untie the laces on the back of Blair’s dress, lost its purpose and dropped.

He couldn’t bring himself to violate his wife who was smiling like a child.

At least not in this moment.

As Herdin quietly watched Blair chattering about the artist’s sketches, he suddenly asked her when she raised her head, noticing his gaze.

“Shall we go together tomorrow?”

* * *

The next day, Herdin had procured tickets for the husbands as well. All of them for private boxes.

Since it wasn’t easy to get private box tickets the day before, the ladies had planned to watch the opera from the general seating. They were delighted by this unexpected offer.

“Asiel would have loved to come too.”

Even in the private space where they could watch the opera alone, Blair thought of their child. Unaware of her husband’s dark intentions in procuring the private box tickets.

Soon, the opera began.

Grand music and singing that filled the entire theater rang out, and the captivating performances of the actors unfolded.

Regardless, Herdin’s gaze remained fixed solely on Blair beside him.

But Blair was so focused on the opera that she didn’t notice his stare. Even when Herdin played with her hair or held her hand to signal her, it was the same.

Eventually, Herdin burst into laughter as he watched his wife’s eyes redden at the protagonist’s hardships.

He felt a sense of dejection, as if he had become a beast in heat, constantly lusting after his wife.

…Well, he was a beast, after all.

His innocent, guileless wife was completely immersed in the opera, with a sexually frustrated beast right beside her. She cried and laughed along with the protagonist.

Since he had been the one to suggest trying various things first, Herdin could no longer interrupt her. He gazed at his wife intently, having half-abandoned his own desires.

He didn’t have a hobby of watching operas. From his perspective, he couldn’t understand crying and laughing over a fictional story that wasn’t about close friends or relatives.

But Blair’s eyes sparkled more than ever as she watched the opera. It was a sight he couldn’t see when they went to plays or concerts with Asiel.

In that sight, Herdin saw her from over a decade ago, when they first met.

The eleven-year-old girl full of dreams who wanted to leave the empire and travel the wider world.

His first love who had asked him to take her to that world.

Seeing that sight, he thought it was good that they had come to see the opera together. He was also glad that other men couldn’t see this side of her.

‘…If you’re happy.’

Herdin decided to postpone kissing her for now as he watched his wife enjoying herself like a child.

However, less than two hours later, Herdin came to regret bringing Blair to the opera.

* * *

After the play ended, the ladies had time to greet the actors. Blair and Herdin joined them.

The ladies flocked to greet the actor who played the male lead.

“My goodness, I was really surprised. How can you sing without wavering while doing such action scenes…”

“And the action doesn’t fall apart either. It’s amazing that you have the stamina to give such a passionate performance for two hours straight.”

“Haha, it’s thanks to my colleagues who supported me well whenever I struggled. Still, I’m glad I could give you ladies an unforgettable performance. Actually, I worked really hard to build up that stamina, so I feel it was worth the effort.”

The actor, who was currently popular in the theater scene, skillfully fielded the ladies’ compliments and led the cheerful atmosphere.

All the while unaware of the sharp glares from the husbands watching their wives from behind.

Herdin paid no attention to the deteriorating mood of their companions.

His quiet wife wouldn’t approach and talk to that actor first no matter how much she liked him. So it had nothing to do with him.

But just as Herdin let his guard down, Blair, who had been quietly observing the situation beside him, headed somewhere.

She approached the actor who had played the villainous supporting male lead.

“I really enjoyed it. Thanks to you, I watched with my hands clenched in tension.”

“Ah…”

The actor, who had naturally assumed no one would pay attention to him as the villain and supporting character, was taken aback by the unexpected praise. But he soon adapted like the professional he was and responded to her greeting.

“Thank you for your kind words, my lady. It’s a great honor for me to have left you with such a good memory.”

The man’s brightly smiling face showed no trace of the villain he had portrayed earlier.

Blair felt she could understand how much effort he had put into this play just from his completely different appearance off stage. Additionally, her heart raced at the feeling of catching a glimpse into the life’s purpose of a complete stranger.

That’s why she wanted to encourage him.

Knowing that her simple words, insignificant as they may seem, could give this person strength to continue giving wonderful performances in future operas.

And hoping that many people would watch this opera and feel the same emotion she did.

However, unlike the cheerful pair, Herdin’s lips twisted as he watched his wife’s unexpected behavior.

“Hah.”

It seemed his wife had a preference for fools who pretended to be innocent and naive like this.

That painter from yesterday, and now this guy.

He watched silently, thinking she would just exchange greetings briefly and be done, but then he saw Blair about to offer her handkerchief after noticing a torn wound on the back of the actor’s hand. His barely suppressed irritation flared up.

Herdin strode over and grabbed her hand. Then he coldly rebuked the actor who was looking at him with surprised eyes.

“If you’re a gentleman, you should know how to refuse favors you can’t return.”

This implied that the actor wouldn’t be able to return Blair’s handkerchief. Because Herdin wouldn’t allow it.

Having unintentionally revealed his sharp emotions, Herdin belatedly chided himself, but it was too late. He found his own behavior unseemly.

Swallowing the emotions that had burst out unbidden, he said to Blair, who was looking at him with startled eyes.

“…I’ll wait outside, so take your time coming out.”

Then he turned away, leaving Blair behind. For the first time since quitting when their child was born, he craved a cigar.