Chapter 9: The Body’s Uncooling Heat
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: The Body’s Uncooling Heat
Mason readily agreed with Blair.
“I will have the documents ready for your review by tomorrow.”
“I’m aware I have many shortcomings. I’ll be counting on your guidance.”
Mason was inwardly surprised by her attitude.
He had assumed that a pampered princess would never touch anything complex or difficult. Yet here she was, unashamed of her own shortcomings and eager to learn—hardly the behavior of someone raised in the lap of luxury.
Some might have found it undignified, but to Mason, it only made her seem more noble.
“The pleasure is all mine, Madam.”
The Mason Blair knew rarely showed emotion, but for a fleeting moment, she thought she saw his gaze soften.
After taking his leave, Mason departed. Blair finished her bath and returned to her bedroom. It was still too early to sleep.
She decided to organize her plans for the future.
She had proposed a one-year contract marriage to Herdin, but she had actually conceived Asiel in the early summer.
Herdin could never find out about Asiel, which meant everything had to be settled within the first few months of her pregnancy at the latest.
Six months from now.
Before then, she had to resolve three things.
First, recovering her memories of the fire.
Herdin would take the lead on this, so there was nothing she needed to plan separately.
Second, preparing for the divorce.
In the Ardel Empire, a divorce required the emperor’s consent. But would Ivan, who had pushed for this marriage with his own designs on Herdin, ever agree to their separation?
He would certainly never consent to a divorce based on any fault of Herdin’s.
It must be my fault. I have to create a situation where public opinion forces him to approve it.
The brilliant move she had devised was a scandal.
She would start a scandal with another man.
But if such a scandal broke out, that man would be punished. So, Blair decided to scale it up.
If the other party was a single man, all arrows would point to him. But what if there were several?
Then public attention would naturally shift from the men who had committed adultery with a princess to the wanton princess herself, who had dallied with multiple partners while married.
That was the outcome Blair desired.
And if, by some chance, things went awry and Asiel’s existence was revealed, she could claim he was the child of one of those men.
To do that, I’ll have to bribe several men first.
After a divorce born from such a disgraceful scandal, she would no longer be able to live in the Empire—or at least, not in the capital. If she was unlucky, she might even be imprisoned by Ivan or Katrina.
But as long as she was legally the Duchess of Delmark, not even the Imperial Family could touch her. She had to leave the capital the moment the divorce was finalized.
Therefore, she needed a new identity and a place to live in preparation for that time. A place no one knew about.
The only place to acquire all of this was a guild.
I’ll have to visit a guild soon.
And finally, the third task: finding the person who had her murdered in her past life.
The odds were low that the black-masked intruder killed her for personal reasons. There was surely someone behind him.
She had to find the mastermind and learn why they wanted her dead. Because in this life, she would never, ever leave Asiel alone.
For now, I’ll start with what’s closest.
Blair made a plan to visit the knights’ training ground the next morning, then laid down on the bed. Just then, the memory of last night—and the contract—came to mind.
Getting out of bed, Blair retrieved the contract she had placed in the drawer. The signature line was still blank.
* * *
After his bath, Herdin sat in his office, reviewing documents with a cigar in his mouth.
He had already dealt with the most important papers before the wedding, so there was nothing urgent, but he chose work over rest. He needed to forget the thoughts that had been tormenting him since morning.
In the quiet study, shrouded in darkness, only the rustling of paper broke the silence.
Knock, knock—
A sudden knock shattered the stillness.
Is that Mason?
Ruth had been complaining about being overworked during the wedding preparations, so Herdin had sent him home early. He wouldn't be stopping by the office on his own.
“Come in.”
But the person who entered was neither Ruth nor Mason. It was Blair.
Herdin’s eyes froze as he stared at the unexpected visitor.
A rolled-up piece of paper was clutched in her hand.
She gave a light cough from the cigar smoke filling the office, approaching only after it subsided.
“Things were so hectic yesterday that I realized we never finished the contract.”
Herdin looked at the paper Blair placed before him, a dumbfounded expression on his face.
What was so important about this scrap of paper?
She acted as if this document guaranteed her everything.
A naive and persistent woman.
Eager to sign it and send his naive wife back to her room, Herdin picked up a quill.
Just then, Blair caught his hand, stopping him.
“Just a moment, Herdin.”
The hand that grasped his was cold, so cold it was jarring.
“You should review a contract carefully before signing.”
“Didn’t we do that yesterday?”
“I might have changed it to something else entirely in the meantime.”
Was the mouse worried about the cat?
The woman seemed to think she held the power to cause him some great harm.
She, with a wrist so slender it looked as if it might snap if he squeezed it.
I thought she was just a naive princess. But it seems she won’t be so easily fooled.
With that thought, Herdin looked over the contract again.
“There’s an added clause.”
Blair pointed to an item in the contract with a delicate finger.
“When this contract ends, please write a letter of recommendation so that Lina can find a good position.”
“Are you referring to the girl you brought from the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes. She’s sociable and a hard worker, so she’ll do well wherever she goes.”
Herdin’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Blair.
Is she planning to abandon even her one and only confidante?
Was she planning to elope with some hidden lover?
About twenty years ago, a princess in the neighboring Kingdom of Derant had fallen in love with a knight. She rejected the marriage arranged by the king and fled.
The knight was executed, and the princess, having lost her lover, starved herself to death.
Scandals arising from a marriage between a high-status woman and a low-status man weren’t common, but they weren’t unheard of either.
It was possible Blair was the protagonist of such a scandal. Though, considering last night was her first time with a man, perhaps not.
…Either way, it has nothing to do with me.
As long as he could achieve the goal of this contract marriage, he couldn’t care less.
Herdin signed both copies of the contract and handed one back to Blair.
“It’s getting late. If your business is concluded, you should go get some rest.”
It was a polite dismissal.
But it seemed Blair still had more to discuss.
“As you surely know, there’s a luncheon at the Imperial Palace tomorrow.”
It was customary to dine with the groom’s family on the first day of marriage and the bride’s on the second. Herdin was aware of this.
“I remember.”
“You don’t have to attend other banquets or appointments. But I would like you to accompany me to events related to my brother or the Imperial Family, if possible.”
This was a request based on her memories from her past life.
In her past life, after he began to distance himself from her, he had rarely attended banquets or meals with the Imperial Family.
“My brother will have no choice but to agree to the divorce when this contract ends, but only if you have shown no fault as a husband.”
Herdin Delmark may be a war hero, but he was ultimately a subject of the Emperor.
He couldn't dare strip the Emperor’s only sister of her position as Duchess without his permission.
Therefore, the end of this marriage had to be framed as entirely Blair’s fault. For that to happen, it was best for Herdin not to show even the slightest flaw.
He added another impression of Blair to his list, beyond pretty, small, naive, and persistent.
An astute woman.
“That’s a valid point. I will keep that in mind.”
Once her business was finished, Blair promptly excused herself, as if she had been waiting for the chance. She had clearly remembered his earlier dismissal.
“Well then… sleep well, Herdin.”
Blair carefully rolled up her copy of the contract and quietly left the office.
Herdin looked at the contract his fake wife had left behind and let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha.”
He had come to his office to shake off the thoughts that had been plaguing him all day, only for the very source of those thoughts to walk right in.
The source was Blair.
All day long, his mind had been occupied by his fake wife.
Her pale, soft skin, her tear-streaked face and voice, the full breasts that seemed out of place on her slender frame, and…
The dizzying pleasure of her body, which had plunged him into a sweet, bottomless abyss.
It was absurd. She had come to him at this hour without a shred of fear, as if she had completely forgotten what happened last night. And she had done it in a nightgown that so clearly revealed the lines of her body.
She had no idea of the profane thoughts about her running through his mind.
Yet at the same time, a filthy desire to make that pure face cry again, to defile it, stirred within him.
What was he, a fucking dog in heat?
He had thought that if he bit, licked, and held her to his heart’s content all night, his thirst for her would be quenched. But he had been mistaken.
What he had drunk was not water, but seawater. The more he drank, the more he craved.
It had been the same last night.
At first, it was curiosity. He was curious what expressions the doll-like woman would make in bed.
But the moment he held her, curiosity vanished, and only the desire for pleasure remained.
He had ravaged her all night, only coming to his senses at dawn. He had been so appalled at himself for still desiring the woman—who was sleeping as if dead to the world—that he had fled the room.
She was a woman he should hate. The daughter of an enemy he should despise. He must never, ever forget that fact.
But even in this moment, as he reminded himself of that truth, the heat in his body, ignited by the memories of last night, refused to cool.
“…Am I going insane?”
Herdin rose to his feet with an agonized breath. He headed back toward the bathroom.