Chapter 118. Responsibility for Choices
2023.12.27.
Blair looked at Mikhail with noticeably startled eyes.
"……Mikhail."
Mikhail coaxed Pepe into the bag. Having grown close to him over the past two months, Pepe willingly went inside.
"Since it was a creature you cherished deeply, Madam, I thought you would come to get him before leaving. I didn't expect you to bring them along, though."
Mikhail handed the bag containing Pepe to Blair.
"With that number, I think I can manage to shake them off."
Realizing he was trying to help her escape, Blair hastily cut him off.
"No, it's fine now."
"……Is it because of your physical condition?"
Of course, that reason was significant. But there was another, primary reason she was refusing his help.
"I don't want to drag you into this any further. This is between me and him, and it's a problem I must solve on my own."
At Blair's resolute words, Mikhail's expression hardened.
Her words felt less like concern for him and more like she was drawing a line. A line that said he could never intervene between Blair and Herdin.
"What if I want to get involved in this matter?"
"……."
"Can my feelings for you not be a reason to intervene?"
Just as Blair was about to say something in response, the closed door behind them opened.
The person who stepped through that door was…….
"The Madam claimed you were nothing to each other. But it seems that isn't actually the case?"
"……Herdin?"
Blair's eyes widened at the appearance of the man who shouldn't be here right now.
Only then did she realize why the knights had so readily agreed to her outing. Her every move was being reported directly to Herdin.
Herdin approached Blair and outright turned her body toward him, wrapping her in his embrace. As if unwilling to even let Mikhail see her.
Mikhail looked at Herdin without any sign of surprise and replied.
"We are nothing, indeed. Of course, my feelings are a different matter."
At that answer, a cold murderous intent flickered in Herdin's eyes as he looked at Mikhail.
However, Mikhail calmly continued speaking, undaunted by the hostility.
"It is exactly as Your Excellency heard just now."
"……."
"I dare to harbor affection for the Madam."
At that moment, sharp mana burst from Herdin, flying swiftly like a dagger to graze Mikhail's cheek before embedding itself in the wall.
Startled, Blair grabbed Herdin's arm and called out to him in a high-pitched voice akin to a scream.
"Herdin!"
Blood beads formed on Mikhail's cheek where the mana had grazed it, soon flowing as crimson blood. Blair's face turned pale white at the sight.
Herdin, who was skilled in magic, couldn't have missed and hit the wall by mistake. He had definitely made the attack miss on purpose. It was a clear warning that the next one would aim for his neck.
But Mikhail, the one who had been attacked, was glaring at Herdin without so much as a flinch.
Herdin looked at such a Mikhail and smirked crookedly.
Look at this.
It was a stark contrast to his demeanor when they first met, where he had at least pretended to be amiable in front of Blair.
Well, with that kind of audacity, of course he'd mess with another man's woman. Completely fearless.
"I didn't like you from the first time I saw you."
"……."
"How dare a wretch like you."
"……."
"How should I punish a rogue who dared to run off with another man's wife?"
Once again, Herdin's mana fluctuated ominously in the surroundings.
Mikhail also showed no signs of backing down, and just as the atmosphere between the two was gradually becoming razor-sharp, Blair hurriedly stepped in between them.
"Stop it, please!"
Herdin's mana, which had been swirling as if it would attack Mikhail again at any moment, hesitated. At the same time, Herdin's expression hardened as he faced Blair.
Mikhail's eyes, which had remained calm even in the face of Herdin's vicious murderous intent, also began to waver at her intervention.
Sweeping his front hair back in irritation and swallowing a sigh, Herdin spoke to her in a noticeably softened voice.
"Come here, Blair."
But Blair did not back down. Just as she had always stood her ground when she believed she was right.
"I was the one who said I wanted to run away, I was the one who asked for help, and I was the one who used his feelings."
"……."
"He is my benefactor, and someone I feel sorry toward."
Looking at Herdin with determined eyes, Blair presented her final negotiation offer.
"If you spare him, I'll do everything you want. So please, let me just say goodbye one last time. I'm begging you."
Begging.
At Blair's earnest gaze, Herdin let out a cold laugh.
She had hated and resented him so much all this time, yet now she was pleading with him just to save that bastard.
Whether it was guilt or a sense of responsibility, how was it any different from a woman clinging to him to save her lover?
While he absolutely despised that sight, a dark thought crossed his mind—that if he could use those feelings to keep her by his side, he would gladly do so.
Amidst the taut tension where neither side intended to back down, Herdin finally opened his mouth with a sigh.
"Five minutes."
Simultaneously, his threateningly swirling mana was withdrawn. Blair's eyes widened at that.
"If you take any longer than that, he will die."
Herdin looked at Mikhail, who stood behind Blair, with cold eyes before turning around and leaving the room.
Hearing the door close, Blair turned back to Mikhail. Her eyes contorted in pain as she saw the wound on his cheek.
"……I'm sorry. Because of me."
"It is not your fault, Madam."
"But—"
"And it is nothing much. You know, don't you? That a wound of this degree is nothing to me."
Since Mikhail possessed divine power, he would be able to heal it immediately. But Blair's heart still felt unsettled.
Just because a wound could be healed didn't mean the pain of receiving it was erased.
As if proving it was truly nothing, Mikhail used his divine power to instantly heal the wound and asked.
"Did you decide not to run away because of me?"
Blair shook her head.
"It's not because of you. I just realized it late. That this isn't a problem I can solve by leaning on someone else."
"……."
"Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry."
She finished speaking as if those were the only words she had to convey. Watching her, Mikhail swallowed a sigh.
He had ultimately failed to turn her heart toward him. If Blair returned to Herdin like this, she could be in danger of getting caught up in Jerad's schemes.
But he couldn't tell her about Jerad.
If Herdin found out, confronting Jerad in his current state could cause him to lose control, putting Blair in danger.
Above all, even if the man who was obsessing over her with only his feelings were to learn about the dark magic circle, it didn't seem like he would give her up.
Mikhail buried the truth and asked Blair.
"……Even if it means you might be in danger by staying by his side, will you still go back?"
At the meaningful question, Blair blinked for a moment before falling into thought. The answer came easily.
Even knowing the events of her past life, she had returned to Herdin's side to meet her child, and she had come to love him again.
All of it was the present created by situations she had chosen of her own volition, not forced by anyone else.
In a calm voice, Blair stated the decision she had made this time as well.
"I must take responsibility for that danger as well. Because this is the present my choices have created."
Finishing her words, Blair picked up the bag containing Pepe and quietly turned away.
Mikhail watched her retreating back and moved his lips, but ultimately kept his mouth shut without speaking of the dark magic circle.
Only after the door finally closed completely did he let out a self-deprecating scoff at his own selfishness.
He couldn't tell Blair about the dark magic circle. No, he didn't want to tell her.
He hated the thought of her discovering that that man loved her, and thus having to watch her be happy by his side.
Even if it meant risking her safety.
He had wanted to be a good person, at least to her, but it seemed he couldn't overcome his deeply selfish human nature in the end.
But that didn't mean he intended to stand idly by and watch her get caught up in Jerad's schemes.
Mikhail's eyes glowed coldly as he roughly wiped away the bloodstains remaining on his face with the back of his hand.
There was still one method left to save her.
* * *
Perhaps feeling awkward in the unfamiliar environment, Pepe, who had been fidgeting and rustling the bag constantly, soon quieted down. It seemed he had fallen asleep after exploring his surroundings.
Herdin stared at the quieted bag before turning his gaze to Blair sitting next to him.
Blair was looking out the carriage window, gently rubbing her rounded belly out of habit. Herdin, who had been staring at that sight, asked.
"Is it moving?"
At that, Blair, who hadn't so much as glanced at him the entire time they were in the carriage, looked back at him with puzzled eyes.
Herdin gestured toward her belly with his eyes and added an explanation.
"The child in your womb."
Only then understanding his question, Blair gave a small nod.
"Yes, sometimes."
Just as Herdin reached out to touch her belly, Blair slightly curled her body, shielding her stomach, and added.
"……Faintly. You won't be able to feel it yet."
It was an implicit request for him not to touch her.
Herdin's brow furrowed slightly, having read her intent. He ignored her intention and placed his hand on her belly anyway.
Blair flinched briefly at the touch, but she didn't push his hand away.
Herdin stared down at her as she looked up at him with anxious eyes, then leaned in close to her bright red lips and whispered.
"Kiss me."
At his sudden demand, Blair's eyes blinked in confusion.
"You have to pay the price for granting your request."
The hot breath that escaped along with his low voice dizzyingly brushed against her lips.