Heredin sat in the chair beside the bed and quietly stared at the sleeping Blair.
Unaware of his persistent gaze, she slept peacefully.
Perhaps she was dreaming about something, as her small lips moved slightly and she shifted her body.
Because of that, the blanket slipped down, revealing her pale white shoulder and the slender nape of her neck.
There, the red marks he had left the previous night were clearly visible.
Seeing them, his gaze deepened.
Memories of last night surfaced.
The scent of her skin that had driven him mad, the soft skin that had pressed against him, the voice calling his name, the eyes that had looked at him.
At the same time, despite satisfying his desire all night, heat gathered again in his lower abdomen as if it were not enough.
Feeling like a lunatic going into heat just by looking at his sleeping wife, he turned his gaze away with a self-mocking smile.
Then he noticed something on the bedside table.
It was a geography book.
It contained information not only about the countries near Ardel but also about the eastern continent across the sea and the island nations.
Seeing it, Heredin’s gaze turned cold.
Just as he was about to open the book—
“…Heredin?”
A quiet voice called out.
Blair had opened her eyes and was looking at him.
Still drowsy, she rubbed her eyes and asked,
“Didn’t you say there was a meeting at the imperial palace today?”
“There’s still some time.”
Heredin put the book back down and climbed onto the bed.
Then, as if it were the most natural course of action, he leaned down and swallowed Blair’s defenseless lips.
Soon her breathing grew ragged, and a soft, suffering moan slipped through her parted lips.
At the same time, Heredin’s hand slipped beneath the blanket and began caressing her body.
Up to this point, it was a familiar morning scene that happened often.
But when he lowered his body completely and moved on top of her, Blair—who had been half asleep and letting herself rest in his arms—quietly avoided his touch and hid her body under the blanket.
Heredin stared at her instead of asking anything.
Avoiding his gaze, Blair curled up and answered his unspoken question.
“It’s just… I’m not feeling very well.”
Heredin placed a hand on her forehead.
Fortunately she didn’t have a fever, but considering how weak her body usually was, it was believable.
Rising from the bed, Heredin pulled the blanket back over her.
“I’ll call the physician.”
“Oh, no.
It’s not that serious.”
When Blair strongly refused, Heredin examined her complexion for a moment before stepping back.
“If you feel worse, tell me immediately.”
“…I will.”
“I’ll be going.”
His figure disappeared from her sight, and soon the sound of the door opening and closing followed.
Silence settled over the room.
Left alone, Blair fell into thought as she recalled how Heredin had looked a moment ago.
‘It should have been around this time.’
The time when he had started distancing himself from her.
In her previous life, around this time when the cherry blossoms began to fall, Heredin had started keeping his distance from her.
But in this life, there was not even a sign of that yet.
She didn’t know the exact reason why the man who had once pretended to love her in order to uncover the truth from her had suddenly changed his attitude.
‘Did the future change because I agreed to cooperate in revealing the truth about the Empress Palace incident?’
It was good that he was being kind to her, but if the future had changed, that would be troublesome in its own way.
She conceived Asiel some time after Heredin had begun distancing himself from her.
After avoiding her for a while, he had come home one rainy night reeking strongly of alcohol.
A man whose drinking capacity few could match had returned in such an uncharacteristic state.
Blair, who had happened to leave her room to go to the library, ran into him, and Heredin had taken her back to the room and held her.
The child conceived that night had been born from a very impulsive moment.
That was why Blair remembered exactly the day Asiel was conceived.
But if she continued spending every night with him like now, it was difficult to judge when she should stop taking the contraceptive medicine.
The effect of the medicine didn’t disappear immediately after stopping it.
‘Should I find an excuse to push him away for a while?’
After thinking for a moment, Blair put the thought aside and pulled the bell rope.
For now, she needed to start the day.
She had an appointment today.
Blair got out of bed in her nightclothes and walked toward the drawer.
Inside was a note she had received from Mikhail a few days ago.
[1 p.m., Vermont Street]
Heredin seemed reluctant to create a scandal as a means of divorce, but she couldn’t think of any other alternative.
If that was the case, she had no choice but to treat this method as the best option for now.
At that moment, a knock sounded.
It was probably Lina or Meli bringing water for washing.
Blair placed Mikhail’s note back in the drawer and turned toward the door.
“Come in.”
* * *
If you go two alleys in from the capital’s central square, you reach a street that remains deserted even in broad daylight.
There, all kinds of illegal activities thrived—gambling, drugs, loan sharks.
Just as the backside of light is the darkest.
True to a place where illegal dealings occurred, it was far busier at night than during the quiet daytime.
Of course, the shops still opened during daylight hours as a formality, but actual customers rarely came.
Today as well, a man who had been dozing while leaving the guild door open as usual jumped up when the bell on the door rang.
“Welco—”
Seeing the customer who had entered, boredom quickly returned to the man’s eyes.
The guest who had come in the middle of the day had her face hidden under the hood of a robe, but from her build and the impression she gave, it was clear she was a woman.
The man who had been tense about greeting a guest quickly lost interest.
Young female clients usually requested trivial and troublesome jobs.
Following a cheating husband, gathering evidence, finding out who the other woman was, and things like that.
Moreover, since men usually controlled the household finances, women rarely had much money of their own, and naturally the commission fees were small.
Taking such small fees meant risking involvement in messy romantic disputes.
Especially the woman before him didn’t even look particularly wealthy.
Thinking this customer would be the same, the man asked while picking his ear with an obviously annoyed expression,
“What kind of job do you want to request?”
“I’d like you to keep watch on someone.
I’ll pay the commission generously.”
The woman placed a heavy pouch on the counter.
It was a pouch filled with gold coins.
The man, who had expected a few small coins or cheap jewelry, widened his eyes in shock.
“This is the cost for the surveillance and the advance payment.
Each time you bring new information, the amount will increase.”
Swallowing hard at the large sum compared to the request, the man asked suspiciously,
“Do you really have the means to pay more?”
In response, the woman silently took something out from inside her robe and showed it to him.
“Would this be enough to prove my reliability?”
“This is….”
Seeing what she held out, the man was startled.
A badge symbolizing the gods.
It was a token granted only to priests who had been chosen by the gods and possessed divine power.
If she was a priest, her identity as a member of the temple was certain, and she received a considerable monthly salary, which proved she could pay the commission.
“Who is the target of the surveillance?”
The man’s tone suddenly became respectful.
The woman’s red lips visible beneath the hood hesitated for a moment before speaking a familiar name.
“Please watch the current Duchess of Delmark, Blair Delmark.
Who she meets, where she goes.”
The man swallowed.
The name that had come from the woman’s mouth belonged to someone of great importance.
“I’ll come by every week.
You can report then.”
After finishing the request, the woman turned and left the guild.
The hired carriage waiting in front departed as soon as she got in.
Only then did the woman remove the hood of her robe.
Shining silver hair spilled out.
Miela looked out at the scenery beyond the carriage as it emerged into the square.
The sunlight was warm, and the breeze was cool.
It felt as though the gods were watching over her.
She had a feeling that everything would go well.
‘No one is completely spotless.
With this, I’ll find a way to save the Duke from his unhappy marriage.’
Just as Miela was filled with hopeful anticipation, the carriage stopped.
Another carriage seemed to be passing on the street ahead.
Looking out of the halted carriage, Miela’s gaze casually shifted to the carriage beside them.
And there she saw an unexpected person.
‘…The Duchess?’
Her face was turned while speaking to the person beside her, so it wasn’t clearly visible, but the side profile was unmistakably Blair.
And the person next to her was not Heredin, but an unfamiliar man.
The man, who was unusually handsome, was smiling as he talked with Blair.
While Miela stared without looking away at the unexpected situation, the man who had been looking at Blair suddenly met her eyes.
At the same moment, his green eyes turned cold.
Noticing the change in his gaze, Blair was about to turn toward Miela—
But the man reached over and drew the carriage curtain.
Soon the carriage that had been stopped began moving again and disappeared into the distance.
Miela stared blankly at the departing carriage before finally realizing something.
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.
“Some nobles rent villas like this under the excuse of work and enjoy affairs here.”
After briefly explaining, Mikhail stepped down from the carriage first and escorted Blair