Chapter 103. Quite a Madman
2023.12.12.
Startled by the knocking sound, Blair flinched, and the old woman set down the food she was holding on the table and approached the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, elder."
Though it was an unfamiliar man's voice, Mikhail seemed to recognize it and gave Blair a look.
"He's my subordinate."
As the old woman approached and opened the door, the man entered the house.
After politely greeting the three people, he looked at Mikhail. Understanding the meaning of that glance, Mikhail said to Blair and the old woman,
"Don't mind me and please go ahead and eat. I'll be back after a brief talk."
Mikhail went up to the second-floor room with his subordinate.
"How's the situation outside?"
"As expected, the knights of the Delmark ducal family are controlling the entrances to the Capital and checking the identities of passersby. And..."
"And?"
"Even before we could make a move, a scandal about the Duchess has already spread."
"A rumor that the Duchess has another man?"
"Beyond simply having an affair, the rumor has even spread that the Duchess is pregnant and that the child is another man's."
Hearing that news, Mikhail's eyes narrowed.
He had originally planned to detonate a scandal about Blair, but he hadn't expected someone else to spread the rumor first.
"...Whoever it is, thanks to them, we've saved some effort on our end."
It was displeasing that it was a rumor spread with insolent intentions, but come to think of it, it was rather a good thing.
If Blair successfully escaped like this, she would bear the stigma of having run away pregnant with another man's child.
If that happened, Herdin would lose the justification to externally search for a wife who had fled even with another man's child.
"Keep watching the Duke's movements and report when there's an opening."
The subordinate, having received Mikhail's order, bowed his head and immediately left the room.
Left alone in the room, Mikhail took out a document from his inner pocket. It was the other half he had smuggled out of Esmeralda's documents that had been delivered to Herdin through his subordinate.
This document listed the culprit who had intentionally murdered the previous Duke and Duchess over ten years ago.
Looking at the document with cold eyes, Mikhail heard the faint sound of chatter coming from outside the room and tucked the document back into his embrace.
It was a truth that must not be delivered to Herdin yet.
* * *
Early morning, as the dawn twilight began to set in.
Ruth climbed the walls of the Capital, breathing in the crisp dawn air. However, unlike the refreshing air, the circles under his eyes were deeply sunken. It was because he had practically pulled an all-nighter.
As he finally finished climbing the wall, he saw Herdin standing conspicuously like a knight guarding the wall, looking down at the entire Capital.
He stood as if frozen within that cold dawn landscape.
So much so that one would mistake it for a painting, if not for the cigar constantly billowing smoke and the hand holding it.
His eyes staring at the entrance below the wall were not sleepy in the least; rather, they were as sharp as a well-honed blade. However, the pile of fully burnt cigars heaped in the empty flowerpot beside him proved otherwise.
That he had stayed here all night long, keeping his eyes wide open.
He didn't overtly display his anger, but the quiet fury undulating within those blue eyes was terrifyingly sinister, as if it could erupt at any moment.
What would happen if Blair appeared before his eyes right now?
Just imagining it made Ruth's mouth go dry. Swallowing a sigh, he carefully approached Herdin.
Still, as his aide, he couldn't just stand by and watch his lord smoke cigars on an empty stomach.
"Your Grace. I've brought some light refreshments, but..."
But Ruth's words were cut off before he could even finish.
"Mikhail Kynes. Did you find him?"
Ruth lowered the sandwich he was about to offer and replied promptly.
"N-no. They said he went into hiding after receiving his unpaid wages from the pub he worked at until a few days ago. No one knows his destination, and since he grew up as an orphan, he has no relatives."
A cold chuckle leaked from Herdin's lips at those words. However, his eyes looking out at the dawn landscape were piercing enough to cut flesh.
He had realized Blair was missing yesterday and visited the guild she had secretly gone to before. But even after turning the place inside out, there was no yield.
The missing Blair. And her fake lover, who disappeared right around the same time.
Was this really a coincidence?
Ruth, who had hesitated for a moment at his appearance—looking like he would kill anyone who offended him right now—carefully broached the subject.
"And, they say there's a strange rumor going around about the Madam recently..."
Judging by the tact he had honed over his years as an aide, telling Herdin this rumor right now didn't seem like a very good idea.
But it was a rumor that was already widespread throughout the Capital anyway.
It was better for him to say it now than for Herdin to hear it muttered from someone else's lips.
Ruth wet his dry lips and continued.
"...The rumor is going around that the Madam had an affair with another man, and that she's pregnant with his child."
Hearing Ruth's words, the certainty set in that Blair and Mikhail disappearing at the same time was no longer a coincidence.
At the same time, the words Mikhail had said when they met at the art gallery flashed through his mind.
'Once this matter is wrapped up, I'm also thinking of leaving the Empire.'
Those words, which had sounded like they contained a subtle intention of planning for a future after his divorce from Blair.
Come to think of it, when Blair was caught being pregnant, she had brought up that bastard's name as the father of the child without a single ounce of hesitation. How dare she.
Recalling the image of Mikhail being with Blair, Herdin twisted his lips and let out a scoff.
So in the end, she ran away with that bastard, carrying my child.
Even spreading this ridiculous rumor that my child, firmly taking root in your womb, is that bastard's.
Did she think I would stop looking for her if she used a trick like this? How cute.
"...Interesting."
Should I have tied her up in the bedroom until her belly swelled? Or should I have locked her in my arms until then? If I had done that, would she have been unable to pull off such a cute stunt?
It was a belated regret now.
Herdin scanned the entire Capital with a chilling gaze, harboring a cold smile.
Standing all night long like a guardian on the wall, or perhaps like a sinister ruler, he finally seemed to have made up his mind as he tossed the cigar he was smoking into the empty flowerpot and turned around.
Ruth hurriedly followed behind him.
"A day has already passed. Should we expand the search area outside the Capital?"
Herdin answered before Ruth could even finish his question.
"No."
With that body, she couldn't have avoided the search and already escaped the Capital.
"Keep blocking the routes out of the Capital. Without a single gap."
* * *
Herdin Delmark was absent from the State Council.
Just as the nobles were whispering while looking at Herdin's empty seat, the council doors opened and Ivan appeared.
Entering while receiving the nobles' greetings, Ivan sensed a strangely different atmosphere than usual and looked around the council hall, discovering that Herdin's seat was empty.
The corners of Ivan's lips softly rose.
'Now might be a good time to slowly bring up the topic.'
Actually, there was another calculation laid beneath Ivan giving a proper judgment regarding the fire incident ten years ago, aside from protecting his own image.
'They say the Duchess seems to have conceived.'
Right after Herdin requested a retrial, Ivan had the ducal family's movements monitored.
As a result, he was able to hear the news of Blair's pregnancy.
Ivan was highly satisfied with that news.
He had brought up divorce to Herdin simply as a threat, but the original purpose of marrying the two was for the Imperial family to absorb Delmark's prestige.
But pregnancy?
Where could there be a more obvious proof of harmony than this?
Thinking of that, he could generously overlook Herdin's unnotified absence.
The image of a husband busy with his wife's pregnancy would highlight the couple's affection, implicitly solidifying the harmony with the Imperial family.
Ivan decided to announce Blair's pregnancy at this point.
"It seems the Duke of Delmark is busy tending to his wife's pregnancy."
As Ivan opened his mouth, the murmuring atmosphere of the hall quieted down.
Thinking they were simply surprised by the unexpected news, Ivan continued.
"It feels a bit strange for me to bring it up rather than the parties involved, but how could I hide such joyous news?"
"..."
"The Duchess has conceived. It's a blessed child that will solidify the bond between the Imperial family and Delmark. I wanted to share this joyous news with you all..."
Ivan, who was mentioning the relationship between the Imperial family and Delmark along with the news of Blair's pregnancy, finally noticed the strange atmosphere and stopped speaking.
Just then, the Chief Steward, who had hurriedly entered the council hall, approached him and whispered in his ear. Ivan's expression slowly hardened as he heard the news.
The State Council ended vaguely in a chilly atmosphere.
On his way back to the Imperial Palace, Ivan recalled what the Chief Steward had just told him and let out a hollow laugh.
'The rumor that the Duchess ran away carrying another man's child is widespread throughout the Capital.'
In addition, news came that the knights of the Delmark ducal family were searching the Capital's entrances.
If so, then the rumor was true. If the child in her womb were truly Herdin's, Blair would have no reason to run away.
"That insolent wench, to backstab me like this..."
He had blathered in front of the nobles without even knowing that his unborn nephew was the bastard of some unknown man, making a fool of himself.
Wondering how to clean up this absurd situation, Ivan arrived at the Imperial Palace and faced Herdin, who was waiting for him.
The quiet fury undulating within those cold eyes was so fierce that it momentarily overwhelmed even Ivan.
Ivan thought Herdin would naturally request a divorce. He couldn't keep as his wife a woman who had fled carrying another man's child.
But the words that came out of Herdin's mouth were completely unexpected.
"Please permit the search of private homes, Your Majesty."
"...What?"
"I must find my wife."
A baffled hollow laugh leaked from Ivan's agape lips.
It was the moment he belatedly realized that he had sent his sister to quite a madman.