Focus Only on Me
The person most pleased by his unexpected appearance was not Blair, but Baroness Shionel.
“Oh my, it’s perfect that the Duke has come!
Couple outfits really come alive when both of you try them on together. It’s much easier to do the final check that way.”
Perhaps excited to see her creation worn by the best possible models, she chattered in her characteristically high-pitched voice.
“Now then, girls.
Help the two of them.”
Baroness Shionel snapped the fan she was holding closed with a sharp sound.
As if it were a signal, her assistants immediately led Blair and Herdin to the dressing room.
Lina and Melly exchanged glances and smiled proudly.
Then Lina, whose eyes met Mason’s, gave a thumbs-up.
After all, it had largely been his effort that persuaded Herdin to come here again.
Even seeing that, Mason didn’t show his emotions as usual, but his expression seemed subtly softened.
Just then, while Ruth watched the three of them suspiciously, Herdin emerged first after changing.
Soon Blair also came out of the dressing room.
Both of them were wearing deep navy-blue outfits.
The dark tone made the sharp features of their pale skin stand out even more brilliantly.
It wasn’t a color suited for the bright daytime outside, but it would be perfect for a banquet at night.
Seeing them, Lina thought to herself.
‘Honestly… they do look good together.’
Setting aside background and personality and looking only at appearances, she had no choice but to admit that in the entire empire there was no one more suited to stand beside Blair than that man.
And it didn’t seem to be only Lina’s opinion.
Baroness Shionel, in particular, looked deeply moved by both the clothes she had made and the models completing them.
“Oh my, now that they’re worn by their owners, the clothes finally come alive.
Anyone would think you’re newlyweds deeply in love.”
Just as the baroness finished fussing over them and completed the final check while standing the two side by side, a servant entered with a knock.
“The painter who will draw your portrait has arrived.”
* * *
The two changed into the clothes they would wear for the portrait and came to the greenhouse in the back garden.
Inside the greenhouse, in the sunniest spot among the flowers in full bloom, two chairs had been placed.
Blair looked at that spot with complicated emotions.
In her previous life, Blair had been the one to suggest having their portrait painted first.
Although everyone in the ducal house had disliked her becoming the lady of the house, she had wanted to feel like she belonged to Delmark in some small way.
But this time she had no intention of having a portrait painted.
After all, she would leave this mansion in a few months.
Someone else would become the mistress of this house, so what good would it do to leave behind the trace of a duchess who lasted only half a year?
It would only be uncomfortable.
Yet in this life, Mason had suggested it first.
‘Since this is the first banquet Madam will host, how about having a portrait of the two of you painted and hung up?’
Blair had initially refused for the reasons above, but like the couple outfits, Lina and Melly had wanted it so earnestly that she reluctantly agreed.
But there was something she had failed to consider…
‘Why didn’t I realize I’d have to stay beside this man for hours…?’
Blair glanced sideways at Herdin standing next to her.
Ever since the argument at the café in front of the gallery, Blair had been avoiding him.
And it seemed he didn’t particularly want to see her either.
Yet now they had to sit side by side while their portrait was painted.
They couldn’t just send the painter away after calling him, so there was no choice now.
Blair sat down with Herdin according to the painter’s instructions.
The painter first adjusted Herdin’s pose.
“Your Grace should place your hand on Madam’s shoulder like this… Yes, that’s good.”
Following the instructions, Herdin’s hand wrapped around Blair’s shoulder.
Blair’s body trembled slightly.
In this position it would have been more comfortable to lean fully against him, but Blair sat with her back perfectly straight.
As if she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
Herdin stared at Blair for a moment, but Blair never once looked at him.
She seemed to be deliberately avoiding his gaze.
Watching his wife, Herdin finally turned his gaze forward.
Only then did he feel the small body of his wife release a quiet sigh.
The portrait session lasted for over an hour.
“Would you like to take a short break?”
The moment the painter suggested a break, Blair jumped to her feet as if she had been waiting for it.
Then she hurried out of the greenhouse as if escaping.
Resting his chin lazily on his hand, Herdin watched her retreating figure with cold eyes.
* * *
After leaving the greenhouse, Blair parted ways with Lina, who said she would bring some snacks, and decided to walk around the garden during the break.
In winter, there were usually no guests outside, but since it was a spring banquet, some people might come into the garden.
‘The landscaping is well maintained, and the fountain works properly.’
Blair felt satisfied as she looked over the garden, which had been cared for by herself, Mason, and the gardeners.
As her tension eased, her attention returned to the pain in her back that had been bothering her.
It was a dress she had recently bought from Baroness Shionel, but perhaps because the ribbon tying the open back was pulled too tightly, it kept rubbing against her delicate skin.
Blair moved behind a nearby hedge and looked around.
There was no one nearby.
She tried loosening the ribbon at the back a little and tying it again, but since she couldn’t see behind her, it wasn’t as easy as she thought.
“This isn’t working…”
Blair was struggling with the ribbon when suddenly a familiar voice came from behind her.
“A noble lady wouldn’t possibly be planning to undress here, would she?”
Startled, Blair turned around.
Leaning casually against the wall, Herdin had been watching her for who knew how long.
Just what kind of person did this man think she was?
After belatedly understanding his remark, Blair shot him an annoyed look.
“…Of course not.”
Blair tried to walk past him and return toward the greenhouse.
Or rather, she tried to.
Until his strong arm wrapped around her waist.
A sudden warmth pressed close behind her.
“L-let go.”
Startled by the sudden contact, Blair tried to pull away, but his voice fell over her head.
“Stay still.”
There was no force in his words, yet the moment she heard that voice Blair stopped resisting.
Resisting would be pointless anyway.
Herdin released her waist and touched the loosened ribbon behind her back.
His long fingers brushed the skin revealed between the ribbons.
Every nerve in Blair’s body focused there.
Biting her lip so he wouldn’t notice her reaction, Blair muttered quietly,
“I can do it myself.”
“From the way you’ve been struggling, it didn’t seem that way.”
“……”
So he had been watching from the beginning…
For some reason, that hurt her pride.
Blair retorted so as not to lose to him.
“I can just ask Lina once we go back.”
“Then you plan to show this state to other men?”
His voice had grown slightly lower than before, but Blair didn’t notice while checking her clothes.
Since she had loosened the ribbon entirely, the front of the dress had slipped slightly, exposing her shoulders.
If she returned in that state while Herdin was here, it would certainly invite embarrassing misunderstandings.
In the end, unable to refute his words, Blair fell silent.
Then his question fell over her shoulder.
“How long do you plan to keep avoiding me?”
Blair flinched but immediately tried to deny it.
“…I’m not.”
“Then what about just now, when you tried to run away?”
“I’m just busy.”
As Herdin finished tying the ribbon, one corner of his mouth tilted upward.
What a ridiculous lie.
She had started avoiding him precisely the day after meeting Mikhail.
Of course, that morning he had ignored her when she tried to see him off.
Because it had been obvious from that honest face that she was sending him off only out of obligation.
But after that, Blair had begun avoiding him as if she had been waiting for an opportunity.
She was making it so obvious that she was angry.
There was no way he wouldn’t notice.
“If you’re acting like this just because of some man you claim means nothing, it’s rather laughable.”
If she were simply angry with him, he wouldn’t have cared.
But the fact that the reason she was angry with him was that man Mikhail twisted his mood unpleasantly.
“Do you like him or something?”
“…Is that important to you?”
“It is.”
Letting go of the ribbon he had tied, Herdin added,
“You’re my wife right now.”
“……”
“I don’t like sharing what’s mine with other bastards.
So…”
He wrapped his arm around Blair’s waist again.
Before the startled Blair could escape, his lips descended on the back of her pale neck.
“What are you—!”
Ignoring her resistance, Herdin sucked on her delicate skin, leaving a red mark.
Mine.
He quite liked that mark.
“While you’re by my side, focus only on me.”
With that cold voice, his arm around her waist loosened.
More precisely, he let her go.
As if releasing a beast on a leash