Chapter 99: Us, Tomorrow
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 99: Us, Tomorrow
"Don't stay out too long. The chill isn't good for you."
Herdin, who had been standing silently by Blair's side, was the first to speak as he turned to leave.
He headed toward Ruth, who was waiting in the distance. It seemed they had something private to discuss.
As Blair stared blankly at his retreating back, Esmeralda's words suddenly came to mind.
'But just because his heart is hurting doesn't mean you have to endure discomfort, Blair.'
'......'
'Because you are just as precious as he is.'
Blair turned her head to look at Esmeralda's tombstone. "If it were you, Your Majesty," she asked quietly, "you would respect my choice, wouldn't you?"
Esmeralda had always taken her side—when Katrina sided with Ivan, when Rachel and her cousins ostracized her, and even against Herdin, whom Esmeralda had cherished so dearly.
Blair felt that Esmeralda, of all people, would understand her, even in this very moment.
The knowledge that someone would always be on her side gave her a sudden surge of strength.
Blair smiled and whispered, "......I miss you."
The soft rustle of her hand brushing leaves from the tombstone was the only sound in the quiet cemetery.
* * *
That night, a small party was held at the Delmark Ducal Mansion to celebrate Esmeralda and the duchy being cleared of false accusations.
'Since it's a day we should all celebrate together, why don't we bring out some alcohol?'
The party, hastily arranged at Blair's suggestion and with Herdin's approval, came to a quiet end, with everyone promising a grander celebration in the near future.
Meli and Lina, who came to help Blair in her bedroom after her bath, were still buzzing with excitement. They chattered away while brushing her hair, completely unaware of the lonely look in Blair's eyes as she watched them in the mirror.
"No, seriously, I was only on my fourth glass! And Sir White, who seemed perfectly fine a moment before, just collapsed right there, glass still in hand."
"......Lina, I can smell the alcohol on your breath from here."
"Oops, can't let the baby hear such things. Madam, you must forget everything you saw tonight, understand?"
While Lina boasted about her drinking prowess—enough to take down a young knight—Meli noticed something and cried out.
"Lina, your skirt is torn."
"What?"
Just as Meli had said, the hem of Lina's maid uniform was ripped, likely from her earlier drunken excitement.
"Argh, what is this? When did this happen?"
Meli laughed at Lina's horrified expression before comforting her.
"I'll sew it for you when we get back to our room."
Blair quietly watched the two of them through the mirror. They were so different, yet it was heartwarming to see how they always helped each other.
"I'm so glad you two get along so well. You'll continue to rely on each other in the future, too, right?"
Though they both sensed something different about Blair's demeanor tonight, they nodded.
"Of course. Don't you worry."
"Why are you suddenly saying things like that? Sometimes you talk as if you're going somewhere far away. It's a little scary."
At Lina's words, Blair neither confirmed nor denied anything, simply smiling playfully. "I'm just worried about someone who can't even tell her own skirt is torn."
As the three of them were chatting, the bedroom door opened and Herdin walked in. He wore a robe, looking as if he had just finished bathing.
Upon seeing him, Meli and Lina fell silent and stopped brushing her hair as if on cue.
"Well then, Madam, have sweet dreams."
"......Yes. Goodnight, you two."
After bidding Blair goodnight, they bowed to Herdin and quietly left the room.
Blair watched the door close behind them before standing up, noticing Herdin had approached the vanity.
"Are you not tired?"
"I'm fine. I didn't do much."
As she answered and turned toward the bed, Herdin gently caught her hand, turning her to face him.
"Then shall we go to the plaza tomorrow?"
The proposal was so unexpected that Blair's eyes widened. He found her surprise adorable.
Herdin pulled her closer by the waist, drawing her into his embrace. "To look at some baby clothes, too," he added.
As he spoke, his hand caressed her stomach. Though it wasn't visible through her clothes, he touched her belly every day and could feel the change. The child in her womb was slowly but surely making its presence known.
Blair quietly stared at his hand on her stomach, then nodded readily.
"......Let's do that. Tomorrow."
A satisfied smile curved Herdin's lips.
He pulled Blair tighter into his arms and kissed her. After a brief hesitation, Blair closed her eyes in consent.
As always, the kiss started gently before growing rougher, as if he meant to consume her entirely.
Herdin gripped Blair's hips, pulling her flush against him. He could feel her body heat and the slide of her soft skin through the thin chemise. The sensation only made him more desperate for direct contact.
"......Blair," Herdin called her name in a low, gravelly voice.
Her body flinched in response.
"I want to be inside you."
"......"
"May I?"
He had to be careful until her pregnancy stabilized, so the most they had done was use their hands or press against each other fully clothed. Every single time, it had been agonizing to hold himself back.
After a moment's hesitation, Blair parted her lips.
"......If you can be gentle."
The moment he had her permission, Herdin scooped her into his arms and strode toward the bed, his lips never leaving hers.
He laid her down on the mattress and persistently licked his way from her palm to the inside of her wrist.
"Ah......"
Blair's body trembled with every touch, her rounded breasts rising and falling sharply. When he gently cupped one through the thin summer chemise, a groan escaped her lips. Herdin immediately captured it with another kiss.
His large hands roamed over her body before sliding her nightgown up. In an instant, the chemise was gone, revealing her pure white, naked form.
Herdin kissed her tender skin. Wherever his lips passed, red flowers bloomed on the pale canvas.
Her sweet scent had only grown richer since her pregnancy. He couldn't even hold her to his heart's content, yet the temptation had become unbearable. She was like a delicious fruit in a painting—enticing but untouchable, and it had driven him mad.
After savoring her body for a long time, teasing her until she was completely wet, Herdin finally positioned himself over her.
"Tell me if you feel even the slightest discomfort."
Blair nodded slightly.
Instead of entering her immediately, he deliberately lingered at her entrance before slowly sliding inside.
"Ah......" Blair gasped at the tight, full sensation. Her body, made hypersensitive by the pregnancy, reacted to him instantly.
Hearing the small sound, Herdin checked on her. "Does it hurt?"
Blair shook her head. "No, it's not that...... It's just been so long."
Her trembling response told him what her words left unsaid. She wanted him, too.
Realizing this, Herdin suppressed his urge to go wild and slowly pushed a little deeper, stopping when her breathing grew ragged. It was far from enough to satisfy him, but he decided to match the pace of his fragile wife.
As he began to move slowly, a pained moan escaped her. "Ah, Herdin."
Though the stimulation was barely enough to sate his own desire, the unfamiliar friction brought a different kind of pleasure. So did her flushed face, which told him she felt the same.
'......She seems different tonight.'
Ever since their argument at the Foundation Festival, she hadn't refused intimacy, but she hadn't responded either. She had simply endured him in silence. Even so, Herdin had held her. He thought that by sharing their body heat, by merging their flesh, they might find their way back to the desire they once shared. And sometimes, it was to soothe the anxiety that she might disappear from his arms, just when he'd finally gotten her back.
But today, Blair was different.
Instead of being passive and unresponsive as he'd expected, she was responding to him, steadily, if a bit clumsily.
The question surfaced in his mind, but the dizzying sensation of his approaching climax washed all thought away.
Finally releasing himself, Herdin kissed Blair's lips and cheeks, waiting for her trembling to subside.
Soon, Blair's heavy breathing evened out, and she opened her eyes. The moment he met her violet gaze, the question from earlier returned. Just as Herdin was about to speak—
"Your Grace."
A knock sounded, followed by Mason's urgent voice.
It was nearly midnight. For an experienced butler like him to intrude upon his master's private time, it had to be an incredibly urgent matter.
Herdin let out a sigh.
"......Go to sleep first. I'll be back shortly."
He kissed Blair's forehead and stood up.
His footsteps faded down the hall, followed by the soft click of the door. The moment it closed, the light in Blair's eyes turned chillingly cold.
The note delivered by Baroness Sionel's assistant yesterday flashed through her mind.
[We will distract His Grace the Duke tomorrow night. At that time, leave the mansion through the secret passage.]
Blair got out of bed and dressed herself. It was finally time to leave.