Herdin sat in a chair beside the bed, staring intently at the sleeping Blair.

Unaware of his intense gaze, she slept peacefully. Her small lips moved slightly and she shifted positions as if dreaming.

The blanket slipped down, revealing her pale shoulder and slender neckline.

There, a red mark he had left last night was clearly visible. His gaze darkened at the sight. Memories of the previous night came flooding back.

The scent of her skin that drove him mad, the soft touch of her delicate skin, her voice calling his name, her eyes looking at him.

At the same time, heat rushed to his lower abdomen again, as if his desire was still unsatisfied after indulging all night.

Feeling like a madman getting aroused while looking at his sleeping wife, he turned his gaze away self-deprecatingly. Then he noticed something on the bedside table.

It was a geography book.

One that contained information not only about countries near Ardel, but also about the eastern continent across the sea and island nations.

Herdin’s eyes turned cold when he saw it.

Just as he was about to open the book, a soft voice was heard.

“…Herdin?”

Blair, who had woken up at some point, was looking at him.

Rubbing her eyes still heavy with sleep, Blair asked,

“Didn’t you say you had a meeting at the imperial palace today?”

“I had some time left.”

Herdin put down the book he had picked up and sat on the bed. Then, as if it were natural, he leaned down and captured Blair’s defenseless lips.

Her breathing quickly became ragged and a moan escaped from between her lips.

At the same time, Herdin’s hand slipped under the blanket, caressing her body.

Up to this point, it was a familiar morning scene that happened often.

But when he shifted his slightly tilted upper body to fully lie on top of her, Blair, who had been sleepily surrendering her body to him, subtly avoided his touch and hid her body under the blanket.

Herdin stared at her intently instead of asking a question.

Avoiding his gaze and curling up her body, Blair answered his unspoken question.

“It’s just… I’m not feeling well.”

Herdin felt Blair’s forehead. Fortunately, there was no fever, but considering her usually weak constitution, it made sense.

Herdin got up and covered her with the blanket.

“I’ll call for the court physician.”

“Ah, no. It’s not that serious.”

When Blair strongly refused, Herdin observed her complexion for a moment before taking a step back.

“Tell me right away if you’re not feeling well.”

“…I will.”

“I’ll be going now.”

His figure disappeared from view, and soon the sound of the door opening and closing was heard. Silence fell over the room left alone.

Blair became lost in thought, recalling Herdin’s appearance from moments ago.

‘It must have been around this time.’

When he started distancing himself from her.

In her previous life, it was around this time when cherry blossoms were falling that Herdin began to distance himself from her.

But in this life, there were no signs of that happening yet.

She didn’t know the exact reason why he suddenly changed his mind, when he had been pretending to love her to uncover the truth from her.

‘Did the future change because I agreed to cooperate in revealing the truth about the empress’s quarters incident?’

It was good that he was being favorable towards her, but if the future had changed, that was problematic in its own way.

The time she conceived Asiel was after some time had passed since Herdin started distancing himself from her.

He had been keeping his distance for a while, but on a rainy night, he came home reeking of alcohol.

It was unlike him, as he could outdrink most people.

Blair, who had just been leaving her room to go to the library, ran into him, and Herdin brought her to his room and embraced her.

The child conceived on that impulsive night.

The reason Blair remembered the exact day Asiel was conceived was because of that.

But spending every night with him like this, it was difficult to gauge when to stop taking contraceptives. The effects wouldn’t disappear right away after stopping the medication.

‘Should I create an excuse to push him away for a while?’

After pondering for a moment, Blair put off the thought and got up to pull the bell cord. She needed to start her day soon. She had an appointment today after all.

Blair got out of bed, put on her nightgown, and approached the drawer. Inside was a note she had received from Mikhail a few days ago.

Although Herdin seemed reluctant to use a scandal as a means for divorce, she couldn’t think of any other alternatives.

If that was the case, she had no choice but to consider this the best option for now.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was probably Lina or Mellie bringing water for washing up.

Blair put Mikhail’s note back in the drawer and turned to look at the door.

“Come in.”

* * *

Just two alleys away from the Institutional Square, there’s a street that’s deserted even in broad daylight.

All sorts of illegal activities like gambling, drugs, and loan sharking thrived there.

Just as the dark side is darkest behind the light.

Befitting a place where illegal activities took place, it was much busier at night compared to the quiet daytime. Of course, shops were kept open during daylight hours for appearances, but there were rarely any actual customers.

Today, as usual, a man was dozing off with the guild door open when he suddenly jumped up at the sound of the bell attached to the door.

“Welco-”

The man’s eyes dulled again when he saw the customer who entered.

The customer who came in broad daylight had their face obscured by a hooded robe, but from the build and glimpse of their features, it was clearly a woman.

The man who had tensed up to greet a customer relaxed.

The requests from young female customers were usually trivial and bothersome.

Things like asking to tail a husband they suspected of cheating, or to gather evidence, or to investigate the other woman.

Moreover, men usually controlled the finances, so women didn’t have much money at their disposal, and naturally, the commission fees were relatively small.

They had to risk getting involved in love affairs for those small fees.

Especially this woman in front of him didn’t seem to be wearing particularly expensive clothes.

Thinking this customer would be the same, the man asked with an obviously annoyed expression while picking his ear:

“What job do you want to request?”

“I’d like you to keep an eye on someone. I’ll pay the fee handsomely.”

The woman immediately placed a heavy pouch on the counter. It was filled with gold coins.

The man’s eyes widened in surprise, having expected only pocket change or a few crude pieces of jewelry.

“This is for the surveillance costs and an advance payment. Additional amounts will be added for each piece of information gathered.”

The man swallowed hard at the large sum for such a request, but couldn’t hide his skeptical gaze as he asked:

“Do you really have the ability to pay more fees?”

In response, the woman silently took something out from inside her robe and showed it.

“Will this suffice as a measure of trust?”

“This is…”

The man was surprised by what the woman presented.

A badge symbolizing the divine.

It was a token bestowed only to priests chosen by the gods, those who possessed divine power.

If she was a priest, her identity was certain as a member of the temple, and she could also prove her ability to pay the fees with the considerable salary she received monthly.

“Who is the surveillance target?”

The man’s tone became suddenly polite.

The woman’s red lips visible under the hood hesitated for a moment before uttering a familiar name.

“Please keep an eye on the current Duchess Delmark, Blair Delmark. Who she meets, where she goes.”

The man gulped. The name that came out of the woman’s mouth was also that of a big shot.

“I’ll come by every week, so you can report then.”

Having finished giving the request, the woman turned and left the guild. The hired carriage that had been waiting in front started moving as soon as she got in.

Only then did the woman remove her robe’s hood. Dazzling silver hair flowed out from between the removed hood.

Miela looked out at the scenery outside the carriage, which had already reached the square.

The sunlight was warm, and the breeze was cool. It felt as if God was watching over her. She had a feeling everything would go well.

‘No one is without dirt when shaken. With this, I’ll be able to find a way to save the Duke from an unhappy marriage.’

Just as Miela was harboring hopeful expectations, the carriage stopped. It seemed another carriage was passing by on the street ahead.

As Miela was casually observing outside the stopped carriage, her gaze inadvertently shifted to the carriage next to them.

And there, she discovered an unexpected figure.

‘…The Duchess?’

Although her face wasn’t clearly visible as she had her head turned while talking to the person next to her, that profile was undoubtedly Blair’s.

And the person next to her was not Herdin, but an unfamiliar man.

The man with unusually handsome features was smiling as he conversed with Blair.

As Miela couldn’t take her eyes off this unexpected situation, she suddenly made eye contact with the man who had been looking at Blair. At the same time, the man’s green eyes turned cold.

As Blair noticed the change in his gaze and was about to turn towards Miela, the man approached and drew the carriage curtain.

Soon after, the stopped carriage started moving and drove away.

Miela, who had been staring blankly at the departing carriage, finally realized.

This was an opportunity.

* * *

The place Blair arrived at with Mikhail was a small villa located in a forest on the outskirts of the capital.

“I hear some nobles rent villas like this under the pretext of work and enjoy their affairs here.”

Mikhail briefly explained to Blair, who was looking around the villa with curious eyes, then got out of the carriage first to escort her.