Chapter 29: Because She's So Damn Beautiful
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Because She's So Damn Beautiful
After the nobles surrounding them dispersed, Herdin handed Katrina a glass of wine and broke the silence.
“Are you afraid of me, Your Majesty?”
Katrina, who had just taken a sip of the wine, burst into laughter as if he’d said something deeply amusing.
“Afraid? Me? Of you?”
Looking at her, he could see his wife’s face. Blair resembled her. At least, she resembled the woman Katrina once was—a renowned and devastating beauty.
The moment he made the connection, the woman before him became even more loathsome.
“You’ve been trying to brainwash me, terrified I might uncover the truth,” he said, his voice low. “You keep reminding me that I am the nephew of a sinner, that you were the one who so graciously forgave me and took me in as family. You insist that is the truth.”
Her desperate attempts to crush his spirit were almost comical. His mother-in-law seemed to still see him as a fifteen-year-old boy.
Herdin set his empty glass down on a nearby table.
“But when your intentions are so transparent, all they do is breed resentment.”
The laughter had vanished from Katrina’s face. She stared at him, her expression hardening.
“What you know is the truth. That will never change.”
Her voice was filled with absolute conviction, but Herdin had no desire to deal with her any longer. He gave her a polite bow and turned away.
Slipping into a quiet corner of the banquet hall, Herdin wet his dry throat with wine as he scanned the room.
His eyes, so accustomed to her presence, found Blair in the vast crowd with ease.
She was on the far side of the hall, talking to another woman. They must have been discussing something grave, as both of their expressions were remarkably serious.
But what bothered him more were the bastards lingering near Blair, stealing glances at her.
They were like a pack of jackals, ready to pounce the moment she showed the slightest opening, eager to strike up a conversation or grab her hand.
Just imagining what was running through their filthy minds made his blood run cold.
He hadn’t noticed during the wedding because Blair had stayed right by his side. No matter how brazen those bastards were, they wouldn’t dare approach a bride on her wedding day, especially with her groom standing right there.
But thinking back to the victory banquet, he realized scoundrels had always swarmed around Blair. She was the only one who remained oblivious.
Just as Herdin downed the rest of his wine like a shot of whiskey, a hand landed on his shoulder.
“Do you like her that much?”
It was Johannes Felix, the second son of the House of Felix. He was one of the few oddballs who wasn’t afraid of Herdin and approached him without hesitation. Yohan, as he was called, even went around boasting that they were friends.
Without even glancing at the man who had suddenly appeared spouting nonsense, Herdin asked, “What?”
“Your wife, of course. You denied it at the victory banquet, too, but you couldn't take your eyes off her then, either.”
“Bullshit.”
The reply slipped out smoothly, without a shred of hesitation.
Yohan stared at Herdin, dumbfounded.
Even now, you can’t take your eyes off her? While glaring like you want to murder every man who so much as glances her way?
Unable to comprehend the contradiction between Herdin’s words and actions, Yohan quickly settled on a simple explanation for his friend’s state.
“Well, honestly, she is gorgeous. With a face and body like that, what man wouldn’t fall for her?”
He figured Herdin, like any other man, was simply captivated by Blair’s looks.
Of course, unlike the other guys, he’s attracted to his own wife, so it’s perfectly legal.
Though Herdin had never shown interest in any woman before, his wife was the Imperial Princess, renowned as the greatest beauty in the Empire. It was only natural.
“With a bit of exaggeration, if she wanted to, she could probably bring every man in this banquet hall to his knees…”
Yohan, who had been rambling on as if he understood everything, met Herdin’s gaze—which had grown significantly more murderous—and hastily corrected himself.
“Ah, not me, of course! I have some basic decency, you know? I’m not the kind of bastard who would harbor such dirty thoughts about a friend’s wife!”
Yohan quickly raised his glass, bringing it toward Herdin’s for a toast while laughing awkwardly.
Herdin stared at him with utter disdain. It was absurd how Yohan spoke of something so blindingly obvious as if he were upholding some thousand-year-old oath of loyalty.
Avoiding the attempted toast, Herdin set his glass down and turned away. Yohan’s glass clinked awkwardly against empty air.
“H-Hey, where are you going? Leaving your dear friend behind after we haven’t seen each other in so long?”
“Hey, Your Grace!”
Ignoring Yohan’s calls, Herdin started toward the side of the hall where Blair had been, only to freeze.
In that brief moment, she had vanished.
* * *
“Haa…”
A white puff of air escaped Blair’s lips, blooming in the chilly winter night.
I’m so dizzy…
She’d stepped onto the balcony hoping the cold breeze would sober her up, but instead, the chill seemed to make the warmth of the alcohol spread through her even faster, leaving her mind hazy.
Blair lightly patted her own cheeks and let out a deep sigh.
“What should I do? If I go back into the banquet hall like this, rumors will spread that I’m a drunkard…”
She had a low tolerance to begin with, and the trouble was that she had unknowingly drunk far past her limit while socializing. Though her head was fuzzy, she didn’t feel completely wasted, but she still couldn’t return to the banquet hall in this state.
To the nobility, no matter how festive the occasion, getting drunk and losing control was considered utterly unrefined. Because of this, the wines served at banquets were usually light and low in alcohol.
And yet, she had still managed to get tipsy.
I need to go back soon.
But contrary to her intentions, a wave of drowsiness began to wash over her.
Just as Blair was about to drift off, the door clicked open, and someone stepped onto the balcony.
“…Lina?”
Thinking it was Lina returning with some water, Blair looked up, only to freeze when she saw who was approaching.
“Well, look who it is. If it isn’t our Imperial Princess?”
It was Wesley, the heir of the House of Baldwin. He had always been friendly toward her back when she was the Imperial Princess, but as he strode closer, the strong stench of alcohol wafted from him.
“They say a woman grows more beautiful once she knows a man. Indeed, you’ve become even lovelier since your marriage.”
His staggering gait and half-lidded eyes sent a chill of foreboding down her spine.
“…I should head back inside.”
Blair forced her sluggish tongue to form the words as clearly as she could. There was no benefit in letting someone who was clearly targeting her know that she was drunk.
But Wesley had no intention of letting her go. He blocked her path.
“Come now, it would be terribly cold of you to leave so heartlessly when we’ve run into each other like this. Spare some time for me as well.”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve been away from the hall for too long…”
“My, playing hard to get, are we?”
Wesley roughly snatched Blair’s wrist. Unsteady from the alcohol, she was easily dragged forward by his grip.
Startled, Blair tried to pull her wrist free, but the movement only sent a sharp pain through it.
“Let go of me!”
“It’s not like you’re a virgin anymore, so why act like such an innocent, demure lady? Let’s just be honest with our desires, Duchess.”
Just as Wesley was violently dragging the stumbling Blair, a hand shot out from the open balcony door and clamped around his wrist. It was a crushing grip, strong enough to snap the bone in two.
Unable to bear the agonizing pain, Wesley let go of Blair.
“Ugh… Who the hell—!”
Wesley blindly threw a punch at the owner of the hand, only to freeze when he saw the man’s face. Standing before him was Herdin, his expression colder than the winter wind.
“As for who the hell I am…”
Herdin kicked Wesley square in the stomach. Wesley rolled comically across the balcony floor.
Herdin advanced on the groaning man. Wesley tried to scramble to his feet, but far from launching a counterattack, he was tripped by Herdin’s foot and sent rolling across the floor once more.
Herdin crouched down to meet his eyes and added in a low voice, “I’m this woman’s husband.”
Then, raising his fist, he warned, “Clench your teeth.”
Just as Herdin was about to strike the terrified Wesley…
Hiccup!
A hiccup escaped Blair’s mouth as she stood there in stunned silence. At the sound, Herdin’s fist, poised to crash into Wesley’s face, froze in midair.
“…”
“…”
In the silence, only the rhythmic sound of Blair’s hiccups echoed.
Herdin slowly lowered his hand. Instead, he grabbed Wesley by the hair and whispered in his ear, his voice so low that Blair couldn’t hear it.
“If I ever hear you bark like this again, I’ll make sure that tongue of yours never tastes anything again.”
He released his grip, tossing Wesley aside, and stood up. Blair was still hiccuping. Even now, she was beautiful.
Her large, watery eyes looked as if they would spill tears at the slightest touch. Her pale cheeks were slightly flushed from the cold, and her small lips were parted in surprise.
Looking at her, Yohan’s words suddenly came back to him.
Well, honestly, she is gorgeous. With a face and body like that, what man wouldn’t fall for her?
Yes, that was why.
Because she was so damn beautiful, it had come to this.
When he thought about how every bastard in that banquet hall was probably harboring the same insidious desires as Wesley, mentally undressing and coveting her, he felt an overwhelming urge to gouge out all their eyes.
Before it came to that, he wanted to lock this woman away where only he could see her. A place where no one else could ever look at her again.
Of course, he knew it was an insane thought.
Suppressing his madness and the rage boiling within him, Herdin took Blair’s hand.
“…Follow me.”