“Lord Luth, we have arrived.”

Luth, who had been dozing off, opened his eyes wide upon hearing the coachman’s voice.

Gathering the documents he had placed beside him, fatigue was evident on his face as he got out of the carriage.

As always, it was Mason who greeted him.

About to offer his usual greeting, Mason noticed the dark circles under Luth’s eyes that had formed over the past few days and gave a bitter smile.

“Are you alright?”

“…I can’t say I’m fine even as a pleasantry, but fortunately, I’m still alive. How is His Lordship?”

“He is in the bedroom.”

The expected answer that he had been hearing for the past few days came back.

Mason, guiding Luth to the reception room, asked:

“Would you like your usual tea?”

“Ah, I’d like coffee today. Strong, please. Oh, and bring some sugar cubes as well.”

After making his detailed request, Luth entered the reception room and leaned back on the sofa.

Just as he finished arranging the documents he had prepared and placed them in front of him, Mason brought the coffee.

After adding sugar cubes to his coffee and taking a sip, Luth finally looked as if he might survive and turned to Mason.

“By the way, how is the Lady doing?”

After rumors related to the incident from ten years ago spread, public opinion both internally and externally had become fiercely critical of Blair.

Although she had been refraining from going out since the kidnapping incident, recently, the vassals of Delmark had come to the mansion and caused a commotion, so Blair must be aware of the current atmosphere.

That had been weighing on his mind constantly.

“Well, I haven’t seen the Lady’s face for days now.”

Mason replied with a troubled expression.

In other words, it meant that Blair had been trapped in the bedroom by Herdin for days, unable to come out.

Hearing this, Luth’s eyes narrowed.

‘You two said it was a contractual relationship, but it seems quite passionate… Well, in the current situation, it might be for the better.’

It wouldn’t do Blair any good to know about this atmosphere anyway.

As someone who knew the outside situation better than anyone, he had been worried about Blair, who was likely not hearing anything good from anywhere.

That was the reason he had been carrying out all the work without complaint, even though Herdin had been pushing everything onto him for days.

‘Once we catch the mastermind behind the kidnapping and obtain solid evidence of the incident from ten years ago to reveal the truth, at least one side of public opinion should quiet down.’

So he wanted to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

For Esmeralda, who had been buried underground for nearly ten years under false accusations, and for Blair, who was being beaten by public opinion.

It was a bit funny to him that he, who once thought unfavorably of Blair, was now worried about her.

Just as Luth was self-deprecating about his guilt, Herdin, who had entered the reception room unnoticed, sat down across from him.

“Ah, you’re here.”

He barely acknowledged Luth’s greeting as he brushed back his slightly disheveled bangs. Then, after taking a puff of his cigar, he immediately picked up the documents placed in front of him.

A subtle hint of displeasure was evident in his languidly disheveled appearance.

“Is this all the urgent documents?”

“Yes.”

After briefly skimming through the documents, Herdin took the fountain pen Luth handed him and signed immediately.

As Luth was putting away the fountain pen and documents Herdin had returned, he casually began to speak.

“I heard you caught the dark mage who was in contact with the kidnappers last night?”

“Yes. It seemed too dangerous to keep him in the mansion, so I hear they’ve locked him up in a villa on the outskirts.”

“Then we should be able to uncover the mastermind soon.”

They were already certain that the Empress Dowager was behind the kidnapping, but without evidence, they couldn’t clearly reveal it.

If the mastermind behind the kidnapping was exposed, it could serve as circumstantial evidence when linked to the incident from ten years ago. Just like the rumors that were now widespread.

So naturally, he thought Herdin would show enthusiasm at this news. But for some reason, Herdin didn’t seem particularly pleased with this information.

While Luth found this strange, he assumed it was simply because Herdin was in a low mood at the moment, and immediately conveyed the next piece of information.

“And as you’re probably already aware, the public opinion towards the Lady is not good. I think it would be best to negotiate with the Imperial Family as soon as possible once we have a lead.”

Hearing this news, Herdin’s cold eyes sank quietly.

“…I know.”

Now, there really was no time left.

* * *

Blair suddenly felt the emptiness beside her in her sleep and opened her eyes.

Herdin was gone.

Wondering if he might have gone out to smoke a cigar, she looked towards the balcony, but he wasn’t there either. Judging by the quiet in the reception room, it seemed he had left the room altogether.

Blair, who had been unconsciously looking for Herdin, realized she had grown accustomed to his warmth and felt self-deprecating.

For the past few days, Herdin hadn’t left her side for a moment. He had long since abandoned his work, and was with her not only during meals but also while bathing.

Herdin would come onto her even during meals or baths. Even when she had fallen asleep as if fainting and woke up, he was still inside her.

Pushing into her mercilessly, he was like a starving beast. At times, he even seemed desperate.

As if he would die if he separated from her even for a moment.

But seeing how she felt empty in his absence, it seemed that in the end, she was the one who had been tamed by him.

But now this too would end.

Blair carefully touched her flat lower abdomen.

‘Could Asiel have been conceived?’

Asiel had been conceived precisely on that rainy night, and from that day on, they had been joining bodies continuously for days to the point where she felt they couldn’t have tried any harder.

She didn’t know what had stimulated his desire, but for Blair, who had endured this time with the sole intention of definitely meeting Asiel, it was rather fortunate.

That was the reason why she didn’t push him away in the end, even while whimpering that it was difficult.

‘I should start preparing for the divorce from now on.’

If she had conceived Asiel in the past few days, she would probably start experiencing morning sickness from about a month in.

Recalling her memories from her past life, when she was pregnant with Asiel, her morning sickness had been severe. She couldn’t even eat anything, and eventually, she would vomit even if she just drank water.

At first, she could pass it off as indigestion, but beyond that, it would be difficult to deceive the perceptive Herdin.

So, she needed to settle everything before then.

Divorce requires procedures and takes longer than expected.

Since she was advancing the termination of the contract by nearly half a year from the originally scheduled time, Herdin would also need time to prepare.

Just as Blair was organizing her thoughts, she heard the sound of the bedroom door opening.

Herdin, entering the bedroom with his usual cold face, momentarily paused when his eyes met Blair’s, who was lying on the bed looking in his direction.

“You’re up early.”

He approached the side of the bed and pulled the bell rope.

Since they had only called for maids during meal times for the past few days, they would surely take the hint and bring breakfast.

Herdin, sitting on the edge of the bed, played with Blair’s fine hair scattered on the bed sheet, then slowly moved up to gently caress her cheek with his index finger.

Blair, who had been staring at him intently, opened her mouth just as his index finger was about to touch her lips.

“Don’t you have any urgent matters to attend to?”

Herdin’s hand play finally stopped, and a cold light flickered in his eyes for a moment.

Those words sounded exactly like she was trying to drive him away.

“Perhaps.”

Herdin replied perfunctorily and moved his long fingers again to caress her reddish lips.

Blair pursed her lips in response, avoiding his touch. After watching this for a moment, Herdin leaned down and devoured those appetizing lips.

As the lightly touching lips parted, he pulled her slender waist closer, about to join their lips again.

At that moment, Blair stopped him.

“Herdin.”

Instead of answering, he raised his gaze from her lips to meet her eyes.

Blair spoke the words she had been thinking before he came.

“Let’s end our contract here.”

Herdin’s eyes faltered as he looked at her.

“I’ve regained my memories, and I’ve done all I can to uncover the truth of that incident.”

“…”

“So I think it would be good for both of us to start preparing at this point.”

Herdin’s lips twisted at the sight of Blair speaking about the termination of the contract in her characteristic calm tone.

It was laughable that the moment he realized the source of his deep-seated emotions, she announced the end as if she had been waiting for it.

Even in this state, I can’t let you go, yet you say so easily that you will leave me.

As planned, as if you’ve been waiting all along. As if you’re going to leave now that the deal is over.

He found it absurd to see his wife’s innocent eyes firmly believing that he would naturally keep that promise.

Herdin looked down at Blair with cold eyes and opened his mouth.

“There’s still quite some time left in the contract period, I don’t understand why you’re in such a hurry.”

“…”

“Is there a reason you need to run away quickly after the divorce?”

A subtle ripple appeared in Blair’s violet eyes, which had been filled with trust towards him.

It was the look of someone betrayed and caught off guard.

The sight made his mood twist even more.

How can I keep you, who has only been waiting for the day to leave with another man, you who only think about leaving my side.

His cold mind was filled only with that thought.