Chapter 18
Good Person, Bad Person
Following the direction of the sound, Blair walked toward it and saw Heredin in a corner of the garden, vomiting as if his insides were being emptied out.
Blair quickly ran up to him.
“Are you okay—”
But the moment she tried to touch his back, Heredin shoved her away roughly.
“Get lost!”
The force of his emotional outburst sent Blair stumbling backward and crashing to the ground.
Her hip throbbed from the impact, but more than the pain, she was shocked by the situation. This was the first time someone had shown such clear hostility toward her.
Though she felt dazed, worry for Heredin came first. Blair blinked in confusion, then quickly got back up.
“Are you okay?”
For a brief moment, Heredin’s eyes wavered as he looked at her on the ground—but then they turned cold again. He stepped forward even more sharply.
“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to get lost.”
The polite tone he once used for the princess was long gone.
Heredin took another threatening step closer and spat out the words like they were being crushed.
“If you don’t want to die, get lost.”
There was unmistakable killing intent in his voice.
Blair instinctively shrank back at that presence—but the moment she met his eyes, she couldn’t run. No—she didn’t want to.
Even as he spoke harsh words, the boy’s distorted blue eyes looked unbearably lonely.
Suddenly, she remembered what Empress Esmeralda had said the day before.
“He’s not a very warm child. He has many emotional wounds, so he struggles with people.”
It was true that Heredin wasn’t friendly, and he didn’t seem like a “good person” as she had lied before.
But…
He’s not a bad person either.
He was just a boy struggling to endure the sorrow left behind.
“Wait a second!”
Blair looked up at him for a moment, then suddenly turned and ran back into the banquet hall. She quickly grabbed something of her own and rushed back out.
She had been taught that running around so unladylike was improper—but she didn’t care. She was in a hurry, like when she ran to fetch food for a cat hiding in the back garden.
“Haa… haa…”
When she returned to the garden, Heredin was nowhere to be seen.
After searching around, she finally found him on the opposite side of the wall where she had first seen him. He was sitting with his back against the wall, face buried in his knees.
Is he in a lot of pain?
Remembering how he had been vomiting earlier, Blair worried she should bring medicine instead, and carefully approached him.
At that moment, a sigh escaped from the boy, followed by a rough voice typical of an adolescent.
“…Why are you back again?”
He sounded clearly annoyed, but this time his tone was at least somewhat polite.
Before he could push her away again, Blair quickly placed what she had brought into his hand.
“Here. I’ll lend you this.”
Only then did Heredin lift his head and look at it. It was a pair of fur earmuffs.
“They’re rabbit fur earmuffs. If you wear them, you won’t hear things as well.”
They might help block out the whispers. It was winter, so no one would find it strange if he wore them.
“And they’re warm. Really soft.”
Made of rabbit fur, they were fluffy and pleasant to touch. So soft you’d want to keep touching them. Just feeling the texture made her feel a bit better.
Then maybe the Duke will feel better too?
Heredin looked between the earmuffs and Blair’s bright, expectant eyes with a bewildered expression, about to speak—
“Your Highness! Are you here?”
A maid’s voice calling for Blair rang out.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Blair quickly stood up. If they discovered Heredin hiding here, everything he had endured at the banquet would be ruined.
“I won’t tell anyone about today.”
Blair quickly turned the corner and ran back toward the maid, leaving Heredin behind. Her hand felt empty without the earmuffs, but her heart felt strangely lighter.
That night, before going to sleep, Blair made her usual wishes.
Please let Mother love me.
Please let Mother and Her Majesty the Empress become close.
And that day, she added one more wish—for someone else.
She disliked the person who stole the Empress’s attention…
But still, please let the Duke of Delmark be happy.
“So it was Her Late Majesty the Empress who arranged your first meeting with the Duke?”
Agnes listened attentively to Blair’s story, even though it had nothing to do with her.
Blair had only told her about playing cards with Heredin before the New Year’s Festival and that he attended the banquet—nothing more. She did not mention how he had fled the banquet that night.
It was an old incident, and even if people learned of it now, no one could ridicule the current Heredin.
Because he was now the Empire’s greatest knight and a war hero.
Still, even if that night no longer mattered, Blair did not want his pain to become gossip for others.
“To think a connection from childhood became marriage… that’s quite romantic.”
“Is it?”
“Of course. It’s a dream many girls have at least once. And with the Duke, no less… though of course, it was your love that completed that romance.”
Blair looked at Agnes, as if asking what she meant.
“It’s because you remember it, Your Grace. At the New Year’s Festival, there must have been many memories, yet you remember mostly the Duke.”
At Agnes’s words, Blair blinked slowly in surprise. It was a perspective she had never considered.
Agnes smiled gently.
“It seems you loved the Duke very much.”
Blair stared blankly for a moment, then smiled faintly.
Yes… she had loved him. Perhaps, as Agnes said, she had been drawn to him since that New Year’s Festival.
But not anymore.
Still, as the Duchess, she couldn’t say she didn’t love the Duke to a stranger. However, there was one thing she could say clearly.
“…I loved that time.”
The time when she had loved him so purely, when that feeling had not yet been a sin.
Agnes nodded in understanding.
“Happy memories can sometimes give us the strength to live for a lifetime. I hope this year’s New Year’s Festival also gives you such memories.”
This year’s festival… was something Blair had already experienced once before.
Now that I think about it, what happened during that year’s festival?
As she searched her memories, she suddenly froze.
She remembered it then—the accident that had happened during that New Year’s Festival in her past life.
That night, Blair paced around her room, touching her lips with her fingertips. The memory from her previous timeline had resurfaced.
During that New Year’s Festival, there had been an accident.
Monsters had appeared at the imperial hunting grounds where noble families went to gather offerings for the gods.
Blair hadn’t remembered it immediately because she had been too sick to attend the festival that day.
The next morning, she had only heard about it from Lina—how Heredin had slain the monsters, preventing any deaths, though there were injuries. Heredin himself had returned covered in monster blood but uninjured.
What should I do…?
If things followed the same course as before, everything would likely end safely. But what if her interference changed things? What if trying to prevent it made things worse instead?
Countless possibilities tangled in Blair’s mind. She couldn’t tell what the right answer was.
Most of all, she hesitated because she couldn’t explain how she knew this.
Other than saying she had returned from the future.
Would Heredin even believe such an absurd story?
But he believed me about Lina…
He had protected her without question and punished the maids.
So maybe—just maybe—he would believe her again. Even if this was far more unbelievable.
Still, even if he didn’t believe her, she had to tell him.
It was better to act with knowledge than to remain ignorant.
By now, Heredin would have returned to his room.
After much hesitation, Blair went to his door—but even after knocking several times, there was no response.
Is he already asleep?
He didn’t usually sleep this early, but given tomorrow’s schedule, it was possible.
Just as she was about to leave—
“What brings you here at this hour?”
Blair turned toward the voice and met Heredin’s eyes.
He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching her.
He had just finished bathing and wore a loose nightgown.
In the dim light, his blue eyes felt like those of a predator watching prey.
“…I have something I must tell you.”
Blair’s white cheeks were flushed from the cold wind, her expression unusually serious.
Heredin watched her for a moment, then stepped inside.
She followed him into the room. The warm air melted the cold from her body.
Heredin poured himself whiskey in a single stride and turned to her.
“So. What is it you wanted to say?”
“Tomorrow, monsters will appear at the hunting grounds. It would be best to scout the area beforehand and prevent it in advance.”
At her sudden claim, Heredin frowned.
“Where did you hear that?”
It was the reaction she expected.
After a brief hesitation, Blair spoke carefully.
“I… can see the future.”
Heredin stared at her for a long moment, then let out a short laugh. He remembered what Ruth had said the night Blair visited the guild.
Why had she come at this late hour telling such absurd lies? What was she hiding behind that innocent face?
His faint smile vanished, leaving only a cold gaze.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It may sound ridiculous, but preventing it early won’t hurt anyone…”
Before she could finish, Heredin suddenly stepped closer. His presence forced her instinctively backward.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, blocking her retreat.
“H-Her—”
Her protest was cut off as his lips came close to hers—so close she feared even breathing would make them touch.
He stopped just short of contact and whispered:
“Then tell me what I’m going to do next.”
His ice-blue eyes pierced through her like blades.
