The next morning, Blair came down to the dining room and had breakfast with Herdin as usual. Only the clinking of their cutlery could be heard in the dining room.

In the now-familiar silence, Blair recalled her conversation with Agnes from a few days ago.

After the counseling session, when Blair asked when they could do hypnosis, Agnes replied with a troubled expression.

‘For that part, you need to get His Excellency’s consent first. He ordered so when we started the counseling.’

Blair thought Herdin wanted to observe the hypnosis process like before.

Anyway, since Agnes seemed unwilling to move without Herdin’s consent, Blair withdrew without protest.

But after meeting Katrina yesterday, she became impatient. It wasn’t just because of the contract with Herdin.

She was curious. What was the truth that Katrina feared so much?

“Herdin.”

Instead of answering, Herdin raised his gaze to look at her.

Blair immediately got to the point.

“I was told I need your consent to perform hypnosis. Can you agree to it?”

Herdin’s gaze stopped as he silently listened to her words.

Blair continued.

“Now that you say your condition has improved a lot through counseling, if we try hypnosis again—”

“No.”

Herdin answered firmly before Blair could finish her sentence.

Blair’s puzzled gaze fell on him. It was a silent question asking for a reason.

“I heard you’ve decided to hold a banquet soon. It would be troublesome if you fall ill again like last time.”

Blair then remembered the banquet schedule she had completely forgotten about, distracted by her meeting with Katrina yesterday.

It seemed Mason had already reported to Herdin.

“There’s no need to rush at the expense of other schedules.”

“Then will you allow it after the banquet is over?”

“Well…”

Herdin casually replied as he lifted his water glass to wet his throat.

At his ambiguous answer, Blair’s fine brows furrowed slightly. At the same time, her small lips pressed together in a displeased shape.

It seemed to be an unconscious action.

Herdin’s lips curled up slightly as he watched that expression over his glass, but it was hidden behind the glass.

He added a beat later as he set down his glass.

“We’ll see then.”

Blair appeared displeased with his answer but seemed to give up on persuading him further and resumed eating.

As the meal concluded and they rose from their seats, Herdin spoke.

“Ah, Luth will be helping with the banquet preparations today.”

Blair’s eyes widened at this unexpected news.

* * *

Luth’s expression was dark as he headed towards the reception room where Blair would be waiting. He looked much like a child going to do homework he didn’t want to do.

Luth sighed deeply, recalling his conversation with Herdin just moments ago.

‘Mason has fallen ill. It seems his body isn’t what it used to be.’

‘Well, given his age… Is it serious?’

‘The medicine seems to be working well, so there’s no need to worry about that.’

‘That’s a relief.’

‘Forget about Mason, you’ll need to help Blair today.’

‘Yes. …Wait, what?!’

‘She said she’d start preparing for the banquet from today.’

Luth, who didn’t immediately understand Herdin’s words, blinked his eyes and then gasped as he comprehended a beat later.

He found Blair uncomfortable.

In front of her, he put on a suitably sociable smile and maintained a level of politeness that wasn’t rude, but in any case, she was his superior, so he only gave her the treatment befitting that status.

Blair, whom he had observed over Herdin’s shoulder for the past few months, didn’t seem to be the same type as the existing members of the imperial family. Nevertheless, as a member of the imperial family, she was still someone to be wary of.

Luth disliked this discrepancy. The more he realized that Blair was different from the members of the imperial family, the less he wanted to get close to her.

‘But, but I don’t even live in this mansion?’

‘Not now. But you lived here for a long time. Here.’

It was Herdin’s mother, Eloise, who had brought the child who originally lived as a pickpocket in the back alleys to the duke’s mansion and raised him.

Luth had lived in this duke’s mansion all along, benefiting from her grace. Until Herdin returned from the war, became his aide, and was granted a title to become independent.

Perhaps even more than Herdin, Luth was the person who knew the internal affairs of this mansion best, probably second only to Mason.

‘Well, that’s true, but…’

‘It’s not like you’re going to follow along to hunt demons.’

Herdin was planning to go to the outskirts of the territory today to subdue demons.

As spring approached and the weather warmed, reports came in that demons that had gone into hibernation were waking up.

And so, Herdin left after assigning this uncomfortable task to Luth.

“Haah…”

Having arrived at the reception room, Luth let out a big sigh. And just as he was about to grab the doorknob.

“Lord Luth.”

“Aaah!”

Luth cried out in surprise at the voice that came from right beside him. Blair was equally startled by his noisy reaction.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Luth worried that Blair might have heard his sigh, that she might have discovered his inner feelings of discomfort towards her, but Blair’s expression only showed surprise. Fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t heard.

“Ah, no. I was lost in thought and didn’t notice you coming.”

Luth, who was about to enter the reception room out of habit, realized there was no need and stopped.

“Shall we start by looking around the banquet hall?”

The two began to tour the mansion together. Starting from the banquet hall to the lounges and balconies where guests could rest.

Contrary to Luth’s worry about awkwardness, once the conversation about the banquet started, it flowed naturally.

Standing beside Blair, Luth jotted down in his notebook the parts that needed repair or decorations to be added as she spoke, all while observing her.

Blair was preparing for the banquet much more skillfully and meticulously than Luth had expected.

‘I heard she hardly held any banquets during her time as an imperial princess, but it’s as if she’s done this many times.’

Luth inwardly admired Blair’s handling of the work as he followed behind her.

Next was the gallery where one could get a rough idea of Delmark’s history.

The gallery contained various paintings, from portraits of past Delmark dukes to paintings of the previous duke and duchess and Herdin.

This gallery would also be open when the banquet was held. While the banquet might be just a day of enjoyment for the participants, for the host, it was also a day to showcase their family.

Although not many people showed great interest, it was an important place for the hosting family.

Upon entering the gallery, the first thing visible was a massive tapestry embroidered with the wings of the divine beast.

‘The emblem of Delmark.’

Blair knew the origin of this emblem.

In ancient times, when demons and magical beasts were wreaking havoc in the world.

Divine beasts lived in this world.

Like other magical beasts, they had crossed over from another world, but unlike the chaos-causing magical beasts, they stood on the side of humans, protecting the peace and order of this world.

The world gradually found stability, and the divine beasts, saying their job was done, left this world.

Even though all his kind had departed, the last divine beast who remained in this world out of love for a human woman fell into sorrow after losing his lover in the final war.

Before leaving this world, he wanted to pass on a part of his power to the first emperor, who had been his lover’s comrade. Although his lover had died, he knew she had loved humans.

However, there were two flaws in this strong power.

First, since it was storing power beyond human capacity in a human body, there was a risk of going berserk if not handled properly.

Second, although it allowed one to draw upon power surpassing limits in special situations, the price was the lifespan of a loved one.

It was an unnatural power that disrupted the balance of the world, so such regulations were attached.

But the emperor refused to inherit the power.

The emperor was the center of the country.

If a leader who should never waver at any moment were to be overwhelmed by power and go berserk, it would lead to a crisis for the country.

Instead, he passed on that power to the most trustworthy person. To the first Duke of Delmark, his friend and loyal knight.

Thus, the symbol of Delmark became not the divine beast itself, but its wings. As wings protecting this world that the guardian divine beasts had left.

In this way, the power of the divine beast was passed down to the direct descendants of Delmark.

Then, one of the past Dukes of Delmark, who had lost his beloved due to the price of the power, removed the second restriction.

Hoping that his descendants would not experience the same sorrow as him.

People criticized it as a terribly selfish choice, but they didn’t know how to reattach the restriction that had already been removed.

As a result, while subsequent Delmark descendants could no longer use power beyond their limits, they were still strong because they possessed the power of the divine beast, and Delmark remained robust.

This was the story as Blair knew it.

‘That’s why I was so worried…’

Some might have envied and revered him for having a power that others couldn’t touch, but Blair had worried about him.

The weight of that power given to protect others was too heavy; would it not consume him?

Like his father who met a tragic end crushed by that power, would he not leave her side so sadly?

But knowing it was a wound he didn’t want to recall, it was a worry she couldn’t bring herself to voice.

“This is the first head of the family.”

Luth guided Blair into the gallery, briefly explaining the people in the portraits in order. After all, knowing the history of one’s family was a basic requirement for a duchess.

Of course, Blair, having returned from the future, already knew all of this.

As Luth finished his explanation of that portrait, Blair moved on to the next one.

At the same time, Blair’s steps faltered.

‘This painting is…’