Chapter 107: Pain
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107: Pain
Beyond the balcony, the garden was a riot of autumn colors.
Two months had passed since Blair left.
By now, her belly must have grown quite large, making it obvious to anyone that she was expecting. Sleep would be difficult, and she would have started to feel the baby move.
And by her side would be another man. Not him.
The image of Blair smiling in another man’s arms sent a chill through his veins. At the same time, the mana in his body began to churn violently.
As the mana writhed within him, Herdin bit down hard on his left hand. His teeth sank into his palm, and scarlet blood dripped onto the floor.
But Herdin’s eyes remained as cold as ice, the pain all too familiar.
Mana was heavily influenced by emotion—especially destructive feelings like anger and bloodlust. This was even more true for the descendants of Delmark, who were born with more mana than most and had more occasion to use its power. In exchange for strength far beyond that of ordinary men, they lived with the constant risk of their mana running rampant.
For this reason, heirs of the Delmark line were taught from a young age to control their emotions and, by extension, their mana. Herdin, too, had mastered this control from childhood. He rarely lost himself to emotion over trivial matters.
But ever since Blair disappeared, controlling the mana that seethed with his emotions had become a struggle. Whenever it threatened to overwhelm him, he would inflict injury upon himself, transmuting his irrepressible emotions into physical pain.
As proof, faded bite marks scarred his palm next to the fresh wound.
As the roiling mana subsided, a question that had haunted him for two months surfaced once more in his chilled mind.
It was a one-sided love from the start.
But that was fine. I was confident I could cherish you, make you happier, and love you more than anyone else.
I believed that if we simply spent our lives together, you would one day come to love me. I truly believed that, but…
Why?
Why did you choose that bastard?
I could have made you happier than that worthless bastard. I could have cherished you more.
I could have loved you more.
He couldn't accept it.
That she had left him. That she didn't love him.
He couldn't stop searching for her, because to stop would mean acknowledging the truth of her feelings.
No, he refused to stop.
“…”
Herdin stared blankly at the scarlet blood flowing down his hand. The greater the pain, the more blood he shed, and the more his seething emotions were strangely quenched.
He watched the scene dispassionately, tasting the metallic tang of blood on his lips. As dusk began to seep in, he rose from his seat. After stanching the bleeding with a handkerchief, he left the room.
On the floor, next to the fresh droplets, were the faint, dried stains of old blood.
*
The harvest season brought an increase in donations to the temple, and with it, a greater number of noblewomen seeking a breath of fresh air on the temple grounds. Today was no different, and the garden behind the grand chapel had become a choice meeting place for the ladies.
After exhausting the usual high-society gossip, their conversation inevitably turned to the favorite topic of the last two months.
“I hear they still haven’t found Duchess Delmark, have they?”
“And how could they? She ran off pregnant with another man’s child. If she’s caught, she’ll be the laughingstock of the entire empire. She won’t be found easily.”
“It’s such a pity for the Duke.”
“Is it? The Duke only needs to wait until she’s been missing for three months. Then he can divorce her and marry whomever he pleases.”
According to the laws of the Ardel Empire, a spouse whose partner has been missing for three months can file for a unilateral divorce.
“It’s His Majesty the Emperor who’s in a bind. He was the one who wanted a union with the House of Delmark. Now the Imperial Family has lost face, all because of his immoral sister.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. His Majesty probably never imagined that the ever-so-prim princess was fooling around with another man behind his back.”
“Be that as it may, who do you suppose will be the next Duchess Delmark?”
“Well… I can’t say who it will be, but I pity her. After being burned by that so-called ‘virtuous’ princess, the House of Delmark will surely vet the next candidate in every way imaginable.”
“At this point, I’m starting to feel sorry for Lady Rachel.”
Just as the ladies were covering their mouths with their fans and laughing, they sensed someone approaching. When they saw who it was, they fell silent.
“What are you all discussing so merrily?”
It was Gerard, the Pope.
The ladies simply offered awkward smiles, unable to answer right away. They felt a bit awkward admitting they had been gossiping about another’s misfortune in front of the benevolent Pope.
“Oh, just the ways of the world, Your Holiness. For women like us, such stories are our only amusement. By the way, will you be presiding over today’s service?”
“With so many esteemed guests gracing us with their presence, I felt I must worship alongside you all.”
Having smoothly changed the subject, the ladies murmured, “Then we shall wait for you in the chapel,” and discreetly excused themselves.
As he watched them retreat, Gerard’s benevolent smile vanished, his expression turning cold.
Two months had passed since Blair had disappeared after causing the scandal.
Useless wench.
The moment he heard the news, Gerard had furiously checked if the imprint binding Herdin and Blair had been broken. He didn't know if the scandal was true, but thankfully, the imprint remained. It was still active two months later.
But that alone wasn't enough to put his mind at ease.
To complete the tragedy he envisioned for the House of Delmark, the two of them had to be reunited—before the imprint faded.
Gerard had sent his people across the continent to find Blair, but contrary to his expectations, the search had proven difficult. She evaded them as if she had anticipated his pursuit. This was impossible, of course. Blair firmly believed him to be her savior.
Still, it should be about time we found her.
He was beginning to grow anxious, worried the imprint might disappear before they could.
“Your Holiness.”
A priest who handled his affairs approached with urgent steps.
“We have found the Duchess.”
*
Nerha, a port city on the eastern coast of the Kingdom of Clania.
A small house with a clear view of the sea served as a school where the village children learned foreign languages. As a port city with routes to other continents, Nerha saw many foreigners. To communicate with them, learning their languages was essential. For that reason, the villagers had established a small school and hired teachers for their children.
However, despite their parents’ investment, to the children, it was just another class they didn't want to attend.
“Ugh, I don’t want to go to school. You guys wanna ditch and go play?” one of three boys walking along the shore asked, letting out a jaw-splitting yawn.
The boy with glasses grimaced. “My mom would be at the school in a second. No way.”
“Tsk. And you call yourself a man? You don't have any guts.” The boy clicked his tongue at his friend's cowardice and turned to the black-haired boy beside him. “Chris, what about you?”
The boy, Peter, assumed Chris would join him. He’d become strangely well-behaved lately, but Chris was usually the one instigating their mischief.
But the answer he received was completely unexpected.
“I’m going.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. If you want to go, Peter, go by yourself.”
Chris replied curtly and headed to school ahead of his friends, a book in the common tongue of the Ardel Empire tucked under his arm.
Peter stared blankly at his retreating back before turning to the boy with glasses. “Hey, Robin. What’s up with Chris these days? Why is he suddenly a different person?”
“We have Imperial language class today.”
“So what?”
“You don’t know? He likes the new Imperial language teacher. That’s why he’s been studying it so hard lately.”
“What?” Peter blinked in astonishment.
But… the teacher is an adult, ten years older than us!
Liking an adult? He really couldn't understand Chris.
Peter shook his head and headed to school with Robin.
Chris, who had arrived at the small school first, was greeting the Imperial language teacher with a politeness that was entirely unfamiliar to Peter and Robin. As Peter and Robin approached, the teacher turned her head, as if sensing their presence.
“Welcome, Peter. Robin.”
“Hello, Teacher.”
Faced with Blair’s bright smile, Peter felt strangely shy, returning her greeting a beat later than Robin.
“Ah, hello.”
Only then did he understand Chris’s feelings a little. The new Imperial language teacher was kinder and gentler than any adult they had ever met. She was also the prettiest person they had seen in their short eleven years of life.
“Teacher!”
Just then, the other children began to arrive one by one. As Blair was exchanging greetings with them, the bell tower in the distance chimed, signaling the top of the hour.
Blair opened the door and guided the children into the classroom. “Alright, everyone, shall we go inside for class?”
“Yes!”
The children scrambled to get inside, and Blair, entering last, glanced back outside.
The blue sea shimmered, just as it always did.
Gazing at the scenery for a moment, Blair smiled faintly and closed the door.
It was the start of another peaceful day, just like any other.