~Chapter 13~
The Name of a Strange Man
Herdin looked at that hand, swallowed a sigh, and rose from his seat.
“…Rest.”
Contract.
Contract.
Contract.
Every time she opened her mouth, she talked about the contract. It seemed his fake wife had decided to stake her life on that one-year contract.
Why the fact that had already been set before their marriage suddenly felt so real now—and why it irritated him—he did not know.
Herdin brushed back his bangs somewhat irritably and left the room.
Ruth was waiting outside.
“Fire that hypnotist.”
At his lord’s low command, Ruth’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What?
Didn’t you say to keep him here?”
“Find a new one.
He seems like a quack.”
Herdin walked past Ruth and headed back toward his office, adding,
“And tell that maid from the imperial palace to come to my office.”
Thinking of the maid Herdin meant, Ruth’s expression stiffened involuntarily.
That woman who always looked at everyone in the ducal residence with eyes full of hostility.
He had never even exchanged a word with her, but just from that gaze alone he did not want to speak to her.
“W-why her?”
At Ruth’s question, Herdin turned a cold gaze toward him.
A lord’s command could not be questioned.
“…Your command will be carried out.”
Ruth gave an unusually formal bow and hurried away.
* * *
Suddenly summoned to Herdin’s office, Lina fidgeted with her fingers and stared only at his desk.
Even though other maids would stare blankly at that handsome face whenever they passed him.
Well, that was because she had absolutely no idea why he had suddenly called for her.
The only thought that came to mind was the ridiculous guess, ‘Did he somehow hear me cursing him in my head?’
But there was no need to be scared.
The one in the wrong was the duke who left right after the wedding night, leaving the bride behind—not her, who had faithfully served Blair.
Lina straightened her shrinking posture when Herdin removed the cigar from his mouth and spoke.
“I hear you’ve served my wife for quite a long time.”
Contrary to her earlier resolution not to be intimidated, Lina flinched and answered.
“Y-yes!
That’s right.”
“Does Blair not light the fireplace in her room because she’s afraid of fire?”
On the first night, there had been no fire lit in Blair’s room.
Even though it had been cold enough for snow.
At the time, he had simply thought she disliked stuffy heat.
But the moment he saw Blair suffering after recalling memories dragged out through hypnosis earlier today, he suddenly realized.
“Ah, yes.
So when she’s not in the room we warm it up, but we turn it off when she’s there.
She’s fine as long as she doesn’t get too close, but she still seems uncomfortable.”
“Because of that incident ten years ago?”
“I think so.
She’s never said it directly, but…”
“And the constant coughing?”
“Yes.
I heard her respiratory system became weak as an aftereffect of the accident.”
As expected.
So that was why.
Hearing the confirmation, Herdin twisted his lips.
“You may go.”
Lina left, and the sound of the office door closing echoed.
Just as Herdin unconsciously tried to put the cigar back in his mouth, Blair’s coughing suddenly came to mind.
And the way she had looked at him earlier with dazed eyes filled with tears.
Letting out an irritated sigh, he set the cigar back down.
Then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes irritably.
The sunlight flickering behind his eyelids reminded him of that delicate platinum hair, which annoyed him.
* * *
The next day, Blair fell ill with a fever.
“Sometimes when someone receives a great shock, their immune system weakens and they fall ill afterward.
That seems to be the case for Madam as well.”
The physician gave that diagnosis and left.
Herdin, who had come after hearing the news, looked down at the sleeping Blair with an expression of disbelief.
How could someone be this weak?
By nature, a woman’s body is weaker than a man’s.
But even considering that, his wife seemed far below even the average level of health.
“If you need anything, please call for me.”
Realizing Herdin would not be leaving immediately, Lina quietly left the room.
He stared silently at the sleeping Blair.
In the peaceful scene, the slender woman with slightly parted red lips breathing out heated breaths looked quite distressed.
After standing there for a while, Herdin approached the bedside.
Then he placed the back of his hand against her cheek, flushed with fever.
The breath escaping between the small lips barely touching his hand was still warm, but it had clearly improved compared to earlier.
The fever medicine seemed to be working.
Just as Herdin withdrew his hand with a soft sigh—
“…El.”
A faint voice slipped into the silence.
Herdin looked at the lips from which the voice had escaped.
Blair frowned slightly as if in pain, then moved her small lips with difficulty.
“Asiel…”
The pitiful voice, spoken like a sob, scattered through the quiet room.
The hand he had been withdrawing paused.
Hearing the unfamiliar name from her lips, the image of Blair obsessing over the “contract” suddenly came to mind.
Only then did her actions until now make sense.
Asiel.
It must be the name of the lover she loved enough to want to meet even in dreams, enough to endure recalling those horrible memories just to fulfill the contract.
So the words she had spoken about not believing in love had been a lie to conceal her true purpose.
To hide the existence of that precious lover in case he exposed it to the world?
Herdin let out a dry laugh and stood up.
The hypothesis he had once lightly dismissed had now taken shape, but whoever that fool was who had dared fall into forbidden love with a princess had nothing to do with him.
Even so, the name that slipped from her lips irritated him—perhaps because the woman who had deceived him by hiding her true intentions seemed ridiculous.
Perhaps it also didn’t help that the name happened to be that of a Delmark ancestor.
Herdin left the room immediately.
Ruth, who had come looking for him, flinched in surprise when he saw his lord.
Herdin always wore a cold expression, but right now he looked colder than ever.
Before Ruth could react to that intimidating presence, Herdin spoke first.
“What is it?”
“Baroness Shionel sent a catalog.”
Baroness Shionel was recognized as the greatest fashion designer in Ardel.
Though born a commoner, her talent had been acknowledged by the Empress Dowager Katrina, who even granted her a title.
She had originally been scheduled to come to the ducal residence today to design the formal attire for the upcoming New Year Festival, but Blair’s illness had ruined the appointment.
The servant who had gone to inform her returned with the catalog instead.
Herdin took the catalog Ruth handed him.
“She asked that you choose the fabric first so she can secure any materials that are difficult to obtain.”
Opening the catalog revealed small samples of fabric pasted onto the pages.
Next to them were detailed notes written in small letters describing the advantages, disadvantages, and price of each fabric.
Herdin closed the catalog again and handed it back to Ruth.
“It doesn’t matter which one.
Tell her to secure fabric suitable for keeping warm.”
To the Duke of Delmark, who possessed wealth rivaling the imperial family itself, the price of the fabric was never a consideration.
* * *
A few days later, when Blair’s condition improved, Herdin brought in a new hypnotist.
She was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties with a gentle impression, and she said she belonged to a vassal family of the Delmark house.
The woman who introduced herself as ‘Agnes Loreline’ explained the plan to Blair.
“When someone loses their memories due to a great shock, trying to force those memories out can sometimes cause the opposite effect and bury them even deeper.”
Agnes continued speaking with a gentle smile toward Blair.
“So rather than trying to pull out the memories hastily, I intend to start by slowly helping you become familiar with the memories of that time.”
“In what way?”
“First, would you be willing to have tea with me once a week and tell me stories about your childhood?
Any story is fine.”
Blair faced Agnes with her usual calm expression, but beneath the table her fingers toyed with the hem of her dress.
With Agnes’s method, she would not be able to approach the memories quickly.
There was only one reason she was so obsessed with recovering those memories.
No matter what happened, she had to recover them before she conceived Asiel.
If she could not end this contract marriage even after becoming pregnant, Herdin would learn of the pregnancy.
Moreover, every time she tried to recover the memories, her body suffered, so she would not be able to attempt it after becoming pregnant.
Only about half a year remained before she would conceive Asiel.
It was already a tight schedule just to finish everything here and prepare to leave.
Lost in thought, Blair placed her hand on the table yet continued to fiddle with the rim of her teacup, unable to respond immediately.
As if reading Blair’s thoughts, Agnes spoke again.
“Please don’t rush.
I will certainly help you recover your memories.
Just relax and trust me.”
There was an irresistible power in her gentle gaze.
Could she really speak about personal matters in front of a stranger?
She did not particularly want to, yet strangely she did not feel inclined to reject Agnes’s suggestion.
For some reason.
“All right.”
Seeing Blair finally nod in agreement, Agnes smiled.
“I look forward to hearing what kind of stories you will tell.
By hearing them, I will learn another life.”
Just as the two finished arranging their next tea appointment, the sound of someone approaching came from behind them.
