At that moment, the presence of several people was felt not far away. Footsteps were approaching.

Soon, priests appeared in the corridor.

Among those who looked similar in their identical robes, the middle-aged man at their center particularly stood out.

At first glance, he seemed ordinary – a middle-aged man with common black hair and strange green eyes. But he exuded an aura that was unapproachable.

Upon spotting Blair and Herdin, he strode over and greeted them first.

“How fortunate to run into the two of you like this.”

Gerard Lumiel.

The surname ‘Lumiel’ was given only to the Pope, testifying to his life’s journey.

A man born in the red-light district, considered the filthiest of places, who rose to the position of Pope, closest to God.

Not forgetting his childhood, he lived protecting the weak, as if practicing the saying ‘God dwells in the lowest places of the world’.

Thanks to this, he was widely respected and admired by all. Even Katrina trusted and relied on his words.

Some said he was just currying favor with those in power, but others praised him for wisely making the Emperor an ally rather than an enemy.

Regardless of others’ opinions, to Blair he was a benefactor who had saved her when she suffered severe internal injuries in a fire, so she had always lived with gratitude towards him.

Blair and Herdin greeted Gerard.

“We pay our respects, Your Holiness.”

“I heard there was an unfortunate incident at the hunting grounds today, and that Your Grace took the lead in resolving it. I want to express my gratitude to both of you.”

“There’s no need for thanks. Anyone would have done the same if they were there.”

“How heroically magnanimous of you.”

Despite Herdin’s somewhat brusque response, Gerard smiled. He had the composure that came with age and position.

As Gerard was also on his way to offer prayers, the three headed towards the main temple building together.

Gerard looked at Blair and Herdin with fondness as he spoke.

“By the way, you really became a married couple in just a month. To see you both grow up safely and wed, I’m overwhelmed with emotion.”

“It’s all thanks to Your Holiness saving me that day.”

Blair inadvertently mentioned ‘that day’ and belatedly glanced at Herdin. But Herdin’s expression remained impassive.

Then suddenly, she realized that Gerard’s words applied to Herdin as well.

‘When the late Duke and Duchess passed away, His Holiness took the lead in commemorating them, didn’t he?’

Herdin’s mother, the late Duchess Delmark, was known for her devoutness in life.

She built up a reputation for serving and donating to the weak. Among the people of the temple and the common folk, there were even those who quietly revered her as a ‘saint’.

When she, who shared his values, met an untimely death, Gerard grieved deeply and personally officiated the funeral of the Duke and Duchess of Delmark.

For the Pope himself to officiate the funeral of someone other than family was historically extremely rare.

That connection continued to this day, with the Delmark Duchy still making large annual donations in keeping with the late Duchess’s wishes.

‘Come to think of it, it’s quite remarkable.’

That two noble children who had formed special connections with Gerard through unfortunate accidents had now become husband and wife.

Gerard’s words about being overwhelmed with emotion didn’t seem to be mere flattery.

As they conversed, the three arrived at the entrance of the main building.

The entrance was crowded with nobles gathered to offer prayers. They were all murmuring about the events at the hunting grounds earlier that day.

Gerard stopped and said,

“You two go in first. I have some preparations to make outside.”

“Then I’ll visit the temple again soon.”

“Anytime.”

Gerard responded to Blair’s words.

At that moment, a faint magic circle was visible between the folds of Blair’s collar. Noticing this, Gerard’s eyes turned coldly serious.

As he watched the newlyweds’ backs as they headed into the temple, Gerard murmured softly.

“May you two have a blessed family.”

* * *

“Pii― Pi―”

The baby pine marten in the basket cried out, looking at Blair. It was asking to play.

When Blair put her hand in the basket, the marten flipped onto its back as if it had been waiting, gently biting her hand playfully. As the creature, no bigger than her palm, rubbed against her, it tickled and made her laugh.

The marten, which at the New Year’s festival could barely open its eyes and move, had grown rapidly under Blair’s devoted care for two weeks and now had its eyes open. Now it chirped all day long with overflowing energy, asking to play.

Blair offered her hand to the marten, lost in thought.

‘It should be about time for the guild to contact me.’

There had been no progress yet on the divorce preparations and the identity of the assailants that she had entrusted to the guild, and while she was in ongoing dialogue with Agnes about the fire incident, there wasn’t much advancement there either.

As a result, Blair had been spending monotonous days since the New Year’s festival. Taking care of the marten and learning the duties of a mistress from Mason.

Although she had seen Herdin only a handful of times since the New Year’s festival, she felt more at ease not seeing him.

While this uneventful peace was nice, she grew anxious that she might become too accustomed to it and end up settling for this state.

The more she felt this way, the more Blair diverted her loosening resolve by reading books about the country she would live in after the divorce, or studying the duchy’s budget proposals.

“My lady, I’ve brought the milk.”

Blair snapped out of her thoughts at the maid’s voice. The maid who had entered the room nervously held out the milk for the marten.

‘This child is…’

Blair only then realized that the maid was one of the children who had been docked pay for bullying Lina.

The maids who were caught then seemed to have been so scared after the incident escalated to even Herdin’s knowledge that they hadn’t bothered Lina since. They apparently didn’t even speak to her and avoided her altogether.

They couldn’t quite avoid Blair as their master, but they seemed to be trying their best not to offend her mood as much as possible.

Although delivering milk was a simple task, Blair, who had some understanding of their feelings, knew that it must have taken considerable courage for this child to stand before her.

‘Her name was… Melly, wasn’t it?’

What this child had done to Lina was certainly wrong, but that incident had already been concluded with an appropriate punishment.

It was something she had overlooked in her previous life without knowing. As a result, she never grew close to the people of the duchy until her death.

‘But this time, it might be different.’

Now that Herdin had taken on the role of the villain by giving a harsher punishment than she had suggested, she might be able to easily grow closer if she extended a hand.

There was no need to deliberately seek their favor, but there was also no reason to miss an opportunity to grow closer with just a few words. It would be good for Lina too.

Blair took the milk bottle handed by the maid, gently grasping the maid’s hand.

“Thank you, Melly.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. It’s just what I should do.”

Surprised by the unexpected response, Melly bowed her head, flustered.

It was natural for a servant to assist with the master’s tasks, yet she was being thanked. And by someone who she thought would naturally dislike her, or rather, someone who would have every right to dislike her.

‘Come to think of it, I never apologized for what happened then…’

Everyone had been ostracizing Lina, and she had been swept along, standing by. She felt that if she didn’t participate, she would be ostracized herself.

But that was just her own circumstance.

Though late, she wanted to ask for forgiveness now. Both from Lina and from Blair.

But she was afraid to bring up that incident. She was also fearful of disturbing Blair’s now calm mood.

As she hesitated, her lips quivering, a chirping sound came from the basket. Naturally, her gaze drifted to that small, cute creature.

At that moment, Blair spoke to her.

“Do you like animals?”

“Ah, yes…”

“Then, would you mind looking after this little one when you have time?”

“Pardon?”

“I read in a book that pine martens live in groups. So I think it needs friends, but we can’t bring in babies living well with their mothers to make friends for this one, can we? So I thought maybe we could make lots of human friends for it instead.”

“Ah…”

“Of course, only if you’re okay with it.”

“Of, of course. Please leave it to me. I’ve been taking care of the cats in the garden too.”

“Is that so? That’s great.”

Blair smiled brightly at Melly’s answer. Seeing Blair valuing her opinion made Melly feel embarrassed.

Why couldn’t she have made such a simple apology before, over mere words?

Melly bowed deeply to Blair.

“My lady. About that time… I’m truly sorry. I’m just an ignorant commoner who grew up without proper education, and I arrogantly overstepped my bounds. I’m really sorry. I wanted to apologize properly.”

Blair blinked in surprise at the maid’s sudden apology, then smiled gently and said,

“I accept your apology. Will you take good care of this little one in return?”

Melly had been prepared to accept any scolding if Blair had brought up that incident again. But what she received instead was an unexpectedly kind response.

Melly blinked, then nodded her head vigorously.

“Yes! I’ll take good care of it.”

“Oh, by the way, this little one’s name is Pipi.”

“Pipi… sir?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it sound similar to its cry?”

Blair asked with a rather serious face. As if answering to its name, the marten chirped.

‘…Our lady doesn’t have a talent for naming, it seems.’

Melly bit her lip to suppress the laughter that threatened to burst out. Still, the name was quite cute. And the proud lady somehow seemed a bit cute too.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.