Blair, who smiled weakly without even the strength to laugh, leaned her head against the wall.

Her body, frozen by the slowly encroaching cold, could no longer feel the chill. Rather than feeling cold, she felt as if her body was heating up. At the same time, drowsiness washed over her and her consciousness grew distant.

In that moment when she sensed her impending death in the quiet, cold air that now felt almost cozy.

‘…Herdin.’

Truly pathetically, she wanted to see him.

Just as she was about to let go of the lingering attachment she had barely held onto.

The closed door of the cabin opened, and he appeared. Looking unusually disheveled.

“…Blair.”

Ah…

Why do you always appear when I feel like I’m about to fall apart?

* * *

“Blair!”

Herdin rushed over to the unconscious Blair and lifted her into his arms.

Though it was still spring and the fabric wasn’t too thin, he couldn’t feel the warmth a person should have. Like a corpse.

His heart sank.

“…Blair, don’t fall asleep. Wake up.”

But the eyes that had been gazing at him just moments ago remained closed and unmoving. Waves of emotion rippled through his blue eyes as he looked at her.

Herdin wrapped Blair in layers with his outer coat and those of the knights, then quickly rode his horse out of the forest.

At the edge of the forest where darkness had fallen, only the royal knights stationed by Ivan who had heard the news and the Delmark knights Herdin had brought remained.

He ordered one of the waiting Delmark knights.

“Go back to the mansion first, have the doctor on standby, and light the fireplace in the bedroom.”

As Herdin boarded the carriage carrying Blair, the carriage carrying the two of them departed immediately.

Herdin couldn’t put Blair down on the seat across from him and continued to hold her. If he didn’t share his warmth with her like this, it felt like the woman in his arms might really die.

That couldn’t happen.

He still needed this woman.

Herdin took off his gloves and placed his hand on Blair’s cold cheek. Her cheek was colder than his hand that had been in the gloves.

Even though she was buried in so many clothes.

As Herdin checked if Blair was breathing, he reached into the pile of clothes to find her hand. He could easily find that cold hand even in the heat of the clothes.

Grasping her hand, he discovered something she was tightly holding.

She must have been holding it since before losing consciousness in the cabin.

Herdin carefully extracted what was in her hand. His eyes shook violently as he confirmed what it was.

What she had been preciously holding even as she was dying was an old lighter.

‘No way.’

A desperate premonition overcame him.

Slowly pressing the lighter, a flame ignited.

“…Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped Herdin’s lips as he saw it.

His wife didn’t have to end up like this. If only she had lit this lighter, if only she hadn’t lost her body heat.

Then she could have waited for him to find her while warming herself by the fire, in a perfectly fine state. And yet…

You almost lost yourself because of that trauma?

Just because of that.

…Because of me.

Herdin clenched his teeth as he gripped the lighter as if to crush it.

Anger with nowhere to go drifted in the quiet carriage.

* * *

There’s nothing for an aide to do at a hunting competition.

Thanks to that, Luth, who had been loafing around at the residence all day, rushed to the duke’s mansion upon hearing the news that came like a bolt from the blue.

Just then, the doctor who had finished the examination was coming out of Blair’s bedroom.

“Your Grace, I’m going in.”

As he entered the room, a wave of heat that had warmed the room hit him. Blair was lying on the bed in the middle of that warm room.

Her complexion was so pale as she coughed that even Luth’s heart sank. Herdin was alone by her side.

An emotion that made it difficult to approach rippled in his blue eyes as he looked at Blair. It was anger that seemed like it would engulf even himself.

Luth hesitated for a moment, seeing how unstable he looked, then approached from the side. Before he could ask anything, Herdin spoke first.

“…Her body temperature dropped a lot. They said if we had been a little later, it could have been dangerous.”

“Is she alright now?”

Herdin stared at the sleeping Blair for a moment before slowly answering.

“Probably.”

“I heard she was stranded. How did she end up like this?”

“To be precise, she wasn’t stranded, but kidnapped and then escaped.”

Luth’s expression hardened as he heard Herdin’s story.

“Kidnapped? Who would dare to do such a thing…!”

“Who do you think it was?”

Instead of giving the answer right away, Herdin asked a question.

After thinking for a moment, Luth easily deduced the answer.

“Could it be that person from the Boldwin family?”

“Looks like you and I think alike.”

“That slimy bastard…”

Luth unconsciously muttered a curse, then glanced at the sleeping Blair and cleared his throat unnecessarily.

“That fellow probably didn’t move directly, did you catch the kidnappers?”

“No. Finding Blair was the urgent priority.”

Wesley probably found and killed the one in charge of Blair’s kidnapping first.

He knew that but left it alone. He had to deploy as many knights as possible to find Blair.

But he had no intention of letting this matter slide.

“Then what about evidence?”

Herdin took something out of his inner pocket and tossed it to Luth.

“That’s what you’ll be working on from now on.”

Luth skillfully caught what Herdin threw. His eyes sharpened as he saw what landed in his hand.

Luth put it in his pocket.

“I’ll find the answer you want as quickly as possible.”

As Luth left the room, only Herdin and Blair remained. Only Blair’s coughing occasionally broke the silence of the quiet room.

Herdin silently watched her.

Except for the outer coat he had given to Blair and the gloves he had taken off in the carriage, he was still in his outdoor attire.

Though his clothes were damp from running through the forest, making him uncomfortable, he couldn’t leave as he had to watch over the fireplace.

As he silently kept vigil by her side, he took something out of his pocket. It was that old lighter Blair had been desperately holding onto.

Click.

Herdin repeatedly opened and closed the lighter’s lid meaninglessly. The clicking sound echoed in the quiet room.

He stopped making the meaningless noise as he blankly listened to the sound he was creating.

He hated this quiet stillness he was filling alone terribly.

* * *

Blair, who had been in a deep sleep, opened her eyes with difficulty. It was warm, almost hot. It was because of the layers of blankets covering her.

As Blair slowly blinked, trying to focus her blurry vision, she turned her head and saw a familiar face.

Herdin was sleeping uncomfortably, leaning back in the chair with his arms crossed. His clothes were still the hunting competition attire, and his hair was still disheveled.

The warm heat from the fireplace filling the room answered for him. The reason why he was sleeping here without even washing up.

Blair sat up and took his hand.

“Herd—”

But before Blair could wake him, Herdin opened his eyes first, and their eyes met.

Herdin unconsciously gripped Blair’s hand tightly in his. Waves of emotion rippled through his eyes, which rarely showed any agitation.

Blair hesitated for a moment at his appearance, then spoke first.

“I’m sorry, Herdin. For causing a commotion.”

“…”

“I’m fine now, so go and sleep comfortably.”

As she said this, trying to gently pull her hand away, a faint trembling could be felt at the tips of Blair’s fingers.

Herdin’s eyes, which had momentarily shown surprise at Blair regaining consciousness, soon cooled again.

Why is it that even at this moment, this woman’s first words are an apology, pushing him away?

With a face that looked like she could collapse at any moment, why doesn’t she lean on him even once?

I was scared, it hurts, it’s hard…

Not even that one word, not even that momentary vulnerability, does she not want to show him?

“Is that all you have to say?”

At Herdin’s question, Blair blinked. Looking at his eyes, he seemed angry, but she couldn’t guess why. She didn’t know what words he wanted to hear either.

Herdin, looking at Blair like that, let out a quiet sigh and spoke.

“We’re looking for the mastermind behind the kidnapping, so it will be revealed soon.”

When the talk of kidnappers came out of his mouth, Blair’s eyes widened.

Herdin wasn’t at the scene, and she hadn’t told him about the kidnappers, so she thought he only knew about her being stranded.

So she had planned to resolve the matter of the kidnappers on her own.

“…Rest.”

After looking at Blair for a moment, Herdin got up, turned off the fireplace, and left the room.

Blair lay down again and tried to sleep. But sleep wouldn’t come easily. Though the fireplace was off, there was still heat left, and the blanket covering her body was warm.

When she closed her eyes, memories of being kidnapped came back, making her body tremble. Even though she was now in a safe place and no longer felt afraid, her body reacted.

Her body, exhausted from the grueling day, was tired but couldn’t fall asleep.

After tossing and turning for a long time, unable to sleep.

She realized someone had entered the quiet room thanks to the sound of a lighter.

At a time when even the room’s owner was asleep, there was only one person who could come and go without permission.