Katrina’s birthday banquet was the first event the two attended as a married couple.

It should have been the New Year’s festival banquet, but due to the appearance of monsters, the scheduled banquet afterwards was canceled.

Therefore, Lina and Mellie put their hearts into adorning Blair with a sense of mission.

“Lina, how about this style?”

“Oh, it’s nice.”

The two seemed to have grown quite close, sharing opinions and working together to dress Blair.

Blair watched them through the mirror. Seeing Mellie helping with what Lina used to do alone in her past life made her smile contentedly.

‘Even if I leave this place, Lina will be able to manage well.’

Thinking this way made her feel at ease.

“My lady, it’s done now.”

“How is it?”

Finally, the two’s work was complete. Blair laughed at their eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“I love it. Thank you, both of you.”

It wasn’t just flattery; she truly liked today’s styling, perhaps because of the effort the two had put in.

When Blair finished her preparations and appeared on the stairs, Herdin, who had been waiting on the first floor, sensed her presence and looked up.

His eyes stopped for a moment when he saw her, then followed her as she descended the stairs.

If Blair in her wedding dress had been like a snow fairy, today she was like a flower blooming unseasonably in the depths of winter.

Herdin approached Blair and extended his hand. Blair, who had been looking at him for a moment, placed her hand on his large one.

“Then, have a good time, Your Excellency. My lady.”

The two boarded the carriage, sent off by Mason and the servants. Soon, the carriage departed.

Blair gazed at the passing nighttime scenery outside the window, lost in thought.

‘What happened on this day in my past life?’

With two years of memories, she couldn’t recall every little detail. Only the major or intense events remained in her memory.

But no matter how much she tried to remember, nothing particular came to mind.

‘Fortunately, it seems nothing big happened.’

As Blair was recollecting her past memories, she suddenly remembered talking to Herdin about the future.

After that day when he encountered Miela, he never brought up the topic of the future again.

‘Well, from his current perspective, it must be unbelievable.’

And probably something he doesn’t want to believe.

Either way, it was fortunate that she no longer had to talk about seeing the future or such things.

Thinking this, she unconsciously turned her head, and at that moment, her eyes met Herdin’s, who was sitting beside her. It seemed he had been watching her for quite some time.

‘…Since when has he been looking?’

His blue eyes, immersed in the darkness of the night, were quietly gazing at her. They were deep eyes that seemed overwhelming no matter when she looked at them.

At that moment, Herdin leaned forward towards Blair. The distance between them suddenly narrowed. Close enough to feel each other’s breath.

Blair unknowingly held her breath. But Herdin only closed the window behind Blair’s back and moved away.

As if reading Blair’s embarrassed thoughts, Herdin looked straight into her eyes and asked.

“What were you thinking?”

“…I wasn’t thinking anything.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. You’ve made me out to be a lecher before, too.”

“That’s because you speak ambiguously…”

“Ah, so you did have such thoughts?”

At his teasing tone, Blair glared at him with wide eyes, then abruptly turned her head towards the window. There was no point in arguing further; she would only get caught up in his pace.

She heard his soft laughter from behind.

Since that night, their relationship had changed. Unlike before, they shared at least one meal a day together, and occasionally he would tease her when she showed a weak point.

To be honest, Blair didn’t dislike this change.

‘But when memories of my past life come up, I don’t know how to deal with hating this person.’

He was someone who had inflicted indelible wounds on her, but the him of this time had not yet committed any wrongdoing.

The painful memories of her past life existed solely within her.

The fact that her resentment and hatred towards him couldn’t be justified created a discrepancy in her heart.

The larger this discrepancy grew, the more she resented him for not remembering anything. Even though she knew intellectually that the current him was innocent.

As she was lost in these thoughts, the carriage came to a stop.

“The Duke and Duchess of Delmark have arrived!”

As the two entered the Empress’s Palace, the nobles who had arrived earlier approached them.

A war hero and the only imperial princess.

Their combination was bound to draw attention one way or another.

As the two exchanged greetings with the approaching people, the protagonist of today’s banquet appeared.

“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager have arrived!”

Katrina appeared, escorted by her son Ivan. Currently, with Blair married off and the position of Empress vacant, she was the only one who could receive an escort from the Emperor, the supreme ruler of the empire.

That was her way of flaunting what she possessed, what she had achieved in her lifetime.

“The virtue of a banquet is to enjoy it. I hope you will enjoy yourselves as much as you are celebrating my mother’s birthday.”

With Ivan’s congratulatory speech, the banquet officially began.

Each family approached Katrina in turn with gifts to present.

The gifts were a way of expressing goodwill towards Katrina and the imperial family, including Ivan, as well as a means of establishing the family’s prestige.

Therefore, the nobles competed to present more precious items. It was a ridiculous sight where they spent the money, and Katrina reaped the benefits.

Blair worried that Herdin, who despised Katrina terribly, might openly show his antipathy, but fortunately, her concerns were unfounded.

It was then, as the two were conversing with other nobles after presenting their gift.

“Duke, Duchess.”

A middle-aged woman, adorned with a splendid dress and jewels like Katrina, appeared before them.

It was Countess Magrid, Katrina’s lady-in-waiting.

“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is looking for you both.”

Blair hesitated.

She had always found Katrina difficult to deal with, but today was even more so. After all, every time she had faced Katrina just before and after the wedding, they had only clashed.

“Herdin.”

Blair gently grasped Herdin’s arm. In response, Herdin slightly bent his upper body towards her, bringing his ear closer.

Momentarily surprised by this unexpected consideration, Blair spoke softly.

“You don’t need to try hard to meet my mother and brother’s unreasonable demands. You just need to avoid creating any grounds for disqualification as a husband.”

She said this remembering Ivan and Katrina subtly urging Herdin towards war during the luncheon after the wedding ceremony.

“I don’t want you to suffer any losses because of your marriage to me.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t make deals that result in losses.”

Blair set aside her worries seeing him respond leisurely. As he said, he wasn’t someone who would be swayed by their nonsensical talk.

When the two approached, Katrina was with Baron Valten, her confidant. He was her closest ally who had supported her despite her commoner background and lack of backing.

Blair paid her respects to Katrina.

“You called for me, Mother?”

“It’s hard to see your face, Blair. You should have come to me first when you arrived. After parting like that at the New Year’s festival, you don’t know how much I missed you.”

Despite surely remembering how they had parted just before, Katrina put on a nonchalant expression of disappointment. It was a familiar sight to Blair.

Her mother, who never lost her elegance and dignity in front of others, regardless of her true feelings.

“…I thought I might be interrupting, with so many guests around.”

“No matter how busy, I should see you. We’re family, aren’t we? Now the Duke is my family too.”

While including Herdin as family, she was simultaneously criticizing him for not coming to see her, his family.

Baron Valten defended the two.

“I don’t have a daughter so I’m not sure, but I’ve heard it’s better for newlyweds to visit their maiden home less frequently.”

“That’s true. If they’re getting along well, that’s the best thing. But a mother’s heart worries when the child she kept close leaves.”

Blair let Katrina and Baron Valten’s words wash over her as she searched her memories. No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed there had been no particular incident with Katrina on this day in her past life.

‘Or has it become so different from my past life now that there are many variables?’

As Blair was thinking this, she noticed some young noblewomen approaching.

Their target was Blair.

Katrina, who noticed this faster than anyone, took Blair’s hand and said,

“Go on, Blair.”

As Blair exchanged a nod with Baron Valten and approached the young women, Herdin naturally followed behind her.

At that moment, Katrina’s voice was heard from behind.

“No matter how lovely your wife is, it’s a husband’s virtue to step back from women’s conversations, Duke.”

Herdin’s steps faltered. Though roundabout, the underlying meaning was that she had business with him.

Herdin looked at Blair, who was already surrounded by the noble young women and smiling, then remained by Katrina’s side.

Katrina’s confidants approached her side. They looked at Katrina and Herdin beside her, trying to please both of them.

“It’s admirable how you both decided to break free from the shackles of the past and become family.”

“That’s right. It must have been difficult for both of you, no, for His Majesty the Emperor and the Duchess as well.”

Listening to their words, one corner of Herdin’s mouth curved up slightly.

Now he understood. The reason why Katrina had kept him by her side.