Chapter 83: An Empty Bed
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: An Empty Bed
"If that's the case, it seems a bit premature to talk about ending our contract."
"But… there's nothing more I can do to help. That's everything I remember."
"You seem to have forgotten, but you are the sole survivor and witness of that incident. Your testimony at the trial will serve as powerful evidence to uncover the truth behind Her Majesty the Empress's wrongful death."
After thinking it over, the method he had come up with was…
"If you truly cared for Her Majesty, and if you feel even a shred of guilt for your mother's sins."
To deliberately trigger her guilt—knowing she felt a foolishly heavy sense of responsibility for things beyond her control—and make her yield.
Just as he expected, Blair wavered helplessly at his words.
Seeing her pitiable state, Herdin felt a strange sense of relief and pressed his point.
"I trust you will show at least that much responsibility."
"……"
"We will discuss the termination of the contract later," Herdin stated, looking down at Blair.
Blair stared back at him, her eyes momentarily shaken, before lowering her gaze in resignation.
"…I understand. But in return, we must hurry as much as possible."
His relief at her meek response was short-lived; her subsequent words grated on his nerves.
Instead of answering, he immediately pressed his lips to hers. At the same time, his large frame shifted upward, covering her body.
Before the startled Blair could stop him, the blanket covering them rippled violently.
"Mnh…"
Blair furrowed her brow and gasped. Thanks to his thorough attention all night, there was no pain, but it was still overwhelming.
Herdin pulled Blair even closer and glanced at the nightstand.
There sat Blair's medicine bottle, unopened for the past few days. Or rather, he hadn't given her a single chance to open it.
He lowered his gaze to meet hers as she stared up at him with a pitiful expression, then captured her lips again.
His belated reply came in the brief moment they parted.
"Yes. As quickly as possible."
No matter what it takes.
* * *
Returning to his room in the annex after his midday prayers, Gerard paused the moment he opened the door.
A note lay on the floor at his feet.
He calmly stepped inside, closed the door, and picked it up.
[They are on our tail.]
That was the entirety of the note, which bore no recipient, sender, or subject.
As Gerard read the brief message, his expression contorted into something completely unlike his usual gentle demeanor.
"Tsk. Incompetent fools."
The moment he finished reading, the magic cast upon the paper activated, burning it to ash without a trace.
His original plan had been to have Katrina use black magic to completely erase Blair's memories of the incident. At this rate, however, he risked Duke Delmark discovering his identity instead.
Then I must sever the tail here.
The Grand Empress Dowager was a useful pawn, but he had no intention of foolishly holding onto her and ruining his grand scheme.
And above all…
She is a pawn that has outlived her usefulness.
His grand design was already in its final stages.
Now was the time to tie up loose ends and wait quietly for the final pieces to fall into place.
Gerard pulled a pocket watch from his breast pocket.
Three o'clock.
Around this time, his faithful child would likely be offering prayers in the chapel.
Gerard left the annex and walked to the small chapel on the east side of the temple. This was where the children of the Temple Orphanage gathered weekly for service, and occasionally, those who had grown up and left would return to worship.
Upon entering, he saw a familiar back bowed in prayer.
Gerard approached from behind, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"You always come to pray so diligently, Caligo."
At his words, Caligo turned around with a grin, as if he had already sensed his presence.
"Well, didn't I make a promise to Your Holiness?"
"That was over ten years ago. You could easily skip it now, pretending to have forgotten."
"Betraying a faithful servant of God might send me to hell. I'd rather go to heaven."
At Caligo's banter, Gerard chuckled and lightly patted his broad shoulder.
"God will surely be moved by your devotion."
"I certainly hope He notices."
"By the way, I believe you mentioned being busy with a task recently. Has the matter been resolved?"
"No, not yet. I'm working on it day and night, but I can't seem to find an opening."
Caligo glossed over the details, unable to speak about the secret mission Herdin had assigned him. Gerard was his benefactor, the one who had taken him in. But while Gerard was benevolent to everyone, including Katrina, Caligo served Herdin—the man who opposed her.
Gerard gazed at Caligo with gentle eyes, but his expression turned chilling in an instant.
"Then, shall I help you?"
"Pardon? How could you help, Your Holiness?"
Gerard took a step closer to the bewildered Caligo.
"Caligo, my faithful child."
Gerard's eyes turned crimson, and a bizarre, inhuman voice flowed from his mouth.
At that moment, a black magic circle appeared on the back of Caligo's neck, and the focus vanished from his eyes.
Gerard whispered into Caligo's ear in a chilling voice.
"Go to Duke Delmark and deliver the evidence."
"……"
"The evidence that Grand Empress Dowager Katrina killed Deposed Empress Esmeralda."
As he spoke, his eyes gleamed with a bleak, eerie light.
* * *
"So this is the token Marina Florent received in exchange for assassinating Her Majesty the Empress?"
That night, Herdin met Caligo in his office after the man sought him out with urgent news.
What Caligo brought was a coin engraved with a peculiar pattern—evidence related to the fire from ten years ago.
Caligo nodded.
"Yes. When I took it to a pawnshop, they recognized it immediately. They said they had been instructed to pay out the funds to whoever brought this coin."
"Who was registered as the payer?"
"It was registered under Viscount Vernon, the younger brother of Countess Magrid."
Marina Florent had been one of the maids serving Empress Esmeralda at the time of the incident. She was also the maid whose corpse was found right next to Esmeralda's. At the time, it was assumed she had tried to stop Esmeralda from killing Blair, but Blair's newly recovered memories told a different story.
Marina Florent had killed Esmeralda, completely unaware that Blair was there.
Her goal from the very beginning had been to assassinate the empress.
She likely planned to assassinate Her Majesty and flee immediately, taking this coin to the pawnshop to collect the promised payment.
However, caught off guard by Blair's sudden attack, she suffered a fatal head injury and died before she could escape. With Marina Florent dead, the first soldier to arrive at the scene of the fire discovered the coin on her body. The soldier, not knowing its purpose, had initially tried to sell it to a junk shop for drinking money, only to realize it was a crucial clue. Fearing he would be punished for concealing vital evidence, he had hidden it away for ten years…
That was the full story Caligo relayed.
If it were me, I would have thrown the coin into the river the moment I realized what it was.
It was questionable why the man had kept it for over a decade despite his fear. Still, the fact remained that the payer was linked to Katrina, making the coin a decisive piece of evidence. The younger brother of the Grand Empress Dowager's closest lady-in-waiting, no less.
Yet, Herdin's expression was dark as he stared at the coin glinting in the candlelight.
"…You've done well. Go back and rest for today. Tomorrow, find the person who minted this coin and secure their testimony."
At that moment, the black magic circle on the back of Caligo's neck flared briefly before dissolving into dust. Instantly, his unfocused eyes cleared.
"Uh… Pardon?"
The memories of what had just transpired remained intact, but they felt foreign, as if he had experienced them in a dream.
Herdin looked questioningly at the dazed Caligo and repeated himself.
"I told you to go and rest."
"Ah… Yes. Then, have a good night, Your Grace."
Caligo scratched the back of his neck, bowed, and left the office.
Left alone, Herdin stared blankly at the coin in his hand.
Once the testimony was secured, Esmeralda's name could finally be cleared. It was what he had desperately yearned for over the past ten years.
To think he was hesitating because of mere personal feelings, now that the moment to fulfill his long-cherished desire was right before his eyes.
As Herdin scoffed at his own foolishness, the faint chime of a grandfather clock echoed through the quiet mansion.
Suddenly, he remembered Blair, whom he had left in their room before Caligo’s arrival. He had worn her out from morning till night, and she had fallen asleep as if she’d fainted.
Her peaceful, sleeping face, long eyelashes still damp with tears. Her small lips, swollen and red from being kissed and claimed all day. Her soft body, which had snuggled back into the embrace of the very man who had tormented her.
The moment he pictured her sleeping defenselessly in their bedroom, his body reacted instinctively.
"…Ha."
Even now, after taking her so relentlessly, it was absurd how he still wanted her without a hint of exhaustion.
Feeling a tight ache in his lower abdomen, Herdin placed the coin in his drawer, locked it, and hurriedly left the office.
But what awaited him upon his return to the bedroom was…
"…Blair?"
An empty bed.