“How can you assert such things when you barely know the author?”
“Because there was nothing between us like what you’re thinking.”
“Maybe not until now, but that’s how it’ll be from now on. That’s how all men are.”
“……”
“All they have in their heads is how to get their hands on that woman.”
Herdin tucked a stray lock of Blair’s hair behind her ear as she pressed her lips together in displeasure, and added:
“The noble princess probably can’t even imagine it.”
Though the gesture seemed gentle at first glance, his eyes looking down at her and the words he uttered were unbearably cold.
“In such a situation, when a pretty, wealthy, and naive woman who treats him like a person appears before him.”
“……”
“Do you think that man would be any different?”
Blair’s eyes, which had been wavering uneasily, finally crumpled as if about to cry. As if she herself had been insulted.
All because of a mere commoner.
“From now on, take a knight with you when you meet that man.”
Herdin concluded the conversation unilaterally and took Blair’s hand. It was meant as an escort, but Blair pulled her hand away from his grasp.
Herdin’s cold gaze turned toward Blair. Blair looked straight up at him and said:
“You have no right to insult that person based on mere speculation.”
The woman’s body trembled as she spoke. Like that time at the imperial palace luncheon when she had rebutted her brother’s opinion.
Her frightened eyes were filled with a sense of justice. She never backed down. Not when she believed she was right.
That sight suddenly seemed ridiculous and irritating.
“I cannot agree with your view.”
Blair, who had expressed her opinion firmly in a quiet voice, turned her back on him and went to the hired carriage she had borrowed.
Herdin let out a mirthless laugh as he watched her carriage depart ahead of him.
* * *
“Shall I put your hair up again today?”
Mellie asked as she seated Blair in front of the mirror. Blair nodded slightly.
“Yes, please.”
Long hair is beautiful but difficult to manage. Today, with many tasks to prepare for the banquet, it was better to put it up entirely so it wouldn’t get in the way.
The peaceful morning room was filled with the soft sound of hair being brushed.
It was a time when Mellie or Lina would brush Blair’s hair, and Blair would review her schedule for the day.
As Blair was mentally organizing her tasks for the day and looking at Mellie’s reflection in the mirror, she suddenly seemed to remember something and called out to Mellie.
“Mellie.”
“Yes?”
Blair’s lips parted as if to ask something she was curious about, but then she closed them again. Instead, she shook her head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
In truth, she wanted to ask if Herdin had left.
Yesterday, after Blair had returned to the mansion first in the hired carriage, Herdin had other business and didn’t return until late at night, long past dinner time. So there was no chance of running into him.
Usually, they would have breakfast together every other day or so, but today she didn’t want to see him.
His insulting Mikhail to his face was something he shouldn’t have done.
Was it just because he had a higher status, and Mikhail was a commoner, that he insulted him like that?
Such behavior was wrong.
It was disappointing that he, of all people, would speak that way.
‘But I shouldn’t show it in front of these children.’
Because that wouldn’t be befitting of her dignity.
“All done, my lady.”
“Thank you.”
Having finished her grooming, Blair left the room and stood on the stairs leading down to the first floor.
When she had descended about halfway down the stairs, she saw Herdin and Luth coming down the opposite staircase.
Noticing that they had spotted her as well, Herdin’s gaze turned in her direction. Blair’s steps suddenly halted as their eyes met unexpectedly.
Herdin’s gaze, which had lingered on Blair for a moment, returned to Luth.
Blair, who had slowly descended the rest of the stairs, arrived on the first floor a beat earlier and waited for him. Although she felt uncomfortable, she couldn’t help but see him off now that they had encountered each other.
Herdin, who had reached the first floor, brushed past her. Just as Blair was about to follow him after receiving an eye greeting from Luth, a cold voice was heard.
“There’s no need for you to come out.”
He strode away with long steps. Though his pace wasn’t particularly fast, the length of his legs carried him far in just a few strides.
Luth, looking even more flustered, bowed slightly and followed after Herdin.
Blair watched Herdin’s retreating back with dissatisfied eyes as he left the mansion, escorted by Mason. Then she turned towards the dining room.
He was the one who had done wrong, and he was the one who had first shown signs of their quarrel in front of others. There was no need for her to go out of her way to match his mood.
However, Mellie’s eyes were filled with concern as she looked at her.
* * *
“This won’t do.”
Lina tilted her head at Mellie’s sudden outburst as they were having lunch on a bench in the garden, enjoying the noticeably milder weather.
“What won’t do?”
“His Grace and my lady. It seems they still haven’t made up, have they?”
Right after the wedding, it was understandable that they were awkward since they had married after only meeting a few times. But after Blair collapsed in front of the fireplace that day, they seemed to be getting along well.
‘For a while, I was even worried about my lady because she wouldn’t come out of the bedroom….’
But from some point on, Herdin stopped visiting the bedroom, and the atmosphere turned ice cold. Anyone could see they looked like a quarreling couple.
Even though it seemed like they had made up on the day they returned from the Empress Dowager’s palace… after observing a bit more, it didn’t seem to be the case.
Especially after the day they visited the art gallery a few days ago, Blair seemed to be deliberately avoiding meal times.
Originally, servants shouldn’t pretend to hear their master’s orders or speak words that weren’t asked of them. But that doesn’t mean they don’t know what’s clearly visible and audible.
The two had a big fight. That was certain.
Even so, it wasn’t for the servants to interfere. A couple’s quarrel was solely between the two of them.
However, as the period stretched to nearly a month, Mellie began to worry about Blair.
After the maids were caught by Herdin while subtly bullying Lina, everyone stopped ostracizing her, even if they weren’t particularly friendly.
‘But if this cold war between them continues like this…’
Mellie didn’t want Blair to go through the same thing as before.
It was partly due to the lingering guilt from the past, and partly due to the genuine affection that had grown for Blair.
But Lina was a staunch opponent of Herdin.
“It’s definitely His Grace’s fault. Definitely! Definitely! My lady is right.”
“No, I’m not trying to judge who’s right or wrong. It’s between them, so it’s not for us to judge. What I’m saying is, it doesn’t seem right to leave things like this.”
“Then?”
“Whether they make up or fight even bigger, don’t they need to see each other’s faces for something to happen?”
But Lina, who was absolutely on Blair’s side, furrowed her brow.
“Why should my lady make such an effort? The one who’s frustrated should do it.”
“My lady is probably frustrated too, even if she doesn’t show it. He is her husband after all.”
Lina couldn’t criticize Herdin any further and kept her mouth shut.
Mellie was right. No matter how close Blair was to her, she was still a mistress and Lina was a maid.
Herdin was the only family Blair could rely on in this mansion.
Lina still didn’t like Herdin, but for Blair’s sake, she decided to listen to Mellie’s idea a little more.
“Anyway, so?”
“How about we create a time for the two of them to be together?”
“How can we do that?”
“Well, that’s…”
Mellie, who had been thinking with a serious face for a moment, let out a small exclamation as if something had occurred to her.
* * *
This was a different development from her past life.
Blair looked with surprised eyes at the scene unfolding before her.
In the reception room of the bedroom where she had been called while preparing for the banquet, Baroness Sionel and her assistants were unpacking and preparing the completed dress and men’s formal wear.
This was the scene Blair had expected until she entered the bedroom.
Except for her husband sitting slightly askew in the seat next to her, watching the same scene.
Blair glanced sideways at Herdin with confused eyes.
‘Why is he here?’
The incident started a week ago.
Baroness Sionel had come to the duke’s mansion to prepare clothes for the banquet.
‘My lady, how about this couple look? It’s all the rage among young couples and newlyweds these days. Even in crowded places like banquets, it shows at a glance that this man is my man.’
The baroness had suggested couple outfits in her past life as well.
Hearing this, Blair had agreed to matching couple outfits. The love-struck new bride was desperate to show off her love and her husband.
But now, having returned to the past, she knew it was all futile.
Blair expressed her wish to make a normal dress, not a couple outfit.
However, Mellie and Lina, who had been listening to their conversation from behind, suddenly interjected.
‘My lady, I want to see you in matching couple outfits.’
‘It’s your first banquet as a duchess, after all. Wouldn’t it be good to dress in a way that makes the two masters of the ducal house stand out?’
After thinking for a moment, Blair gladly accepted the two’s earnest suggestion.
She didn’t particularly want to match outfits, but there was no special reason to reject their request either.
‘And anyway, matching outfits would look good at the banquet.’
Instead, this time she chose a different design from her past life. It would be boring to wear the same design twice.
Regardless of the process, the result flowed the same as in her past life, ending up with matching couple outfits, so she thought the future would follow suit as well.
In her past life, he had only tried on the couple outfit on the day of the banquet.
In other words, him appearing at this fitting session for the completed outfits before the banquet was something that hadn’t happened in her past life.
__________
Male Lead, The Black-Hearted Lotus (Female-dominant)
Short intro by Yuushi L:
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~