Chapter 129. The Promise
Every Wednesday afternoon was the day to attend Esmeralda's tea time.
Herdin, who came to meet her as usual, faced the uninvited guest clinging closely by her side.
The uninvited guest, upon meeting Herdin's gaze, offered a greeting with a delight so brazen it could almost be called shameless.
"We meet again, Duke Delmark."
Ever since the incident with Blair at the New Year's Festival, he would run into her whenever he visited the Empress's Palace.
At first, they crossed paths only occasionally, but at some point, she began showing up at the Empress's Palace every Wednesday like clockwork, taking up a seat. It had reached the point where she no longer felt like an uninvited guest, but rather a regular attendee of the tea time.
The princess's attitude of treating him with strange familiarity since the New Year's Festival was irksome, yet Herdin tolerated the uninvited guest's presence.
Esmeralda adored the princess so, and he didn't entirely dislike the chattering voice that filled the quiet tea time in place of his own stoic silence.
However, that voice fell conspicuously silent the moment Esmeralda stepped away for urgent business.
Without paying it much mind, Herdin began reading the book he had brought. Seeing this, Blair also opened her own book.
Only the silence of turning pages lingered between them. To be precise, only the sound of Herdin's pages turning could be heard.
Herdin sensed Blair glancing at him from over her book but feigned ignorance.
The princess's cautious gaze would reach him, then drop back to her book. Then, noticing she hadn't turned a page in a while, she would hastily flip one. The sight was amusing.
Yet after waiting a long time, the princess still couldn't bring herself to speak to him. Even though her eagerness to strike up a conversation was painfully obvious.
'If she keeps that up, it'll be dawn before she says anything.'
In the end, it was Herdin who spoke first.
"Did you have something to say?"
When he looked up from his book, the violet eyes that met his startled abruptly and swiftly averted their gaze.
Blair, who had been hesitating, caught sight of the book about the Southern Continent that Herdin was reading and finally thought of something to say.
"Um... have you ever seen the sea, Duke?"
"I've been about three or four times. In the summer."
"With your parents?"
Blair, who had asked the question without thinking, clamped her mouth shut a beat later. She realized she had touched upon Herdin's painful wound.
Reading the look of utter mortification on Blair's face, Herdin scoffed inwardly.
He, who had heard far worse things after his parents passed away, was supposed to be wounded just because someone mentioned them?
Her cautious attitude was different from those who consumed his misfortune for entertainment, which he found curious, but also irksome as it made him seem fragile. He felt conflicted.
Herdin replied evenly.
"Yes. With my parents."
Only then did Blair's face relax.
"They say the sea is like a huge, huge lake, right? They say you can't see anything at the end of the sea!"
"It's called the horizon."
Blair's eyes sparkled as she talked about the sea. It was a completely different demeanor from how she had been fumbling just a moment ago, unable to find her words.
"Later, when I grow up, could you take me to the sea?"
At Blair's words, Herdin raised an eyebrow and asked in return.
"Why me?"
Blair, who had expected either acceptance or rejection, pondered the unexpected question for a moment before answering.
"Because you're the strongest person I know, and you've been to the sea...?"
At Blair's innocent answer, Herdin let out a hollow chuckle, feeling his tension drain away.
The young princess didn't seem to realize what it meant for an adult noble lady to leave her hometown with a man who was neither family nor her escort knight.
But there was no need to explicitly refuse her to her face.
"If you wish it, I shall do so."
At his compliant answer, Blair beamed.
"You promised me."
Herdin stared blankly at her bright, smiling face. That face soon faded, and with a blink, the scene shifted to a familiar landscape.
Staring at the ceiling for a moment, Herdin scoffed at the dream he had just had.
Why did that promise, now useless and filled with nothing but hatred, appear in his dream?
Wiping away the lingering image of her face, he rose from bed. It was only the crack of dawn, the grey light just beginning to spread, but he doubted he would fall back asleep if he stayed in bed.
Herdin splashed water on his face, swept his bangs back, and grabbed the cigar and lighter from the side table before stepping out onto the balcony.
With the onset of early autumn, the dawn breeze had grown quite cool. Though it would surely heat up again once the sun rose.
Herdin placed the lit cigar between his lips and mentally reviewed his schedule for the day.
This evening, a victory banquet would be held at the Imperial Palace to celebrate his triumph.
It would be his first official event since the incident at the Empress's Palace years ago. At the same time, it would be the first time he faced Blair since that incident.
What kind of expression will you make when you see me after more than ten years?
Herdin, who had been envisioning what she might look like as an adult, exhaled the smoke he had held in.
Through the dissipating smoke of the harsh cigar, only cold, calculating emotion remained in his blue eyes.
* * *
"Please keep an eye out for a suitable lady at the banquet this time."
On the way to the Imperial Palace where the victory banquet was being held, Ruth urged Herdin with a worried look.
Instead of asking what he was talking about, Herdin simply cast the gaze he had directed out the window toward his aide. Ruth elaborated.
"His Majesty the Emperor is seeking a marriage prospect for Her Highness the Princess. Now that Her Highness has come of age, you see."
"What does that have to do with me scouting for women?"
"At this point, where you have returned from the war with a great victory, who do you think is the most eligible bachelor in the Empire?"
"So, you're saying they might consider me as a candidate for the princess's hand? Me, the nephew of the deposed Empress who dared to attempt the assassination of the princess?"
"The Imperial Family knows of Her Majesty the Empress's false charges, so they won't hold that against you. With your prestige at its peak right now, taking you in as a son-in-law would also elevate the Imperial Family's reputation."
Herdin scoffed at Ruth's words. It was laughable how they had framed Esmeralda as a criminal, yet now sought to foist her daughter onto him.
"And well, even setting that issue aside, it's about time you settled down and started a family. The family's reputation has been restored; now it's time to produce an heir and solidify your standing."
It was a lecture he had heard ad nauseam from his vassals even before going off to war. He had put it off until now, but with Ruth bringing it up as well, it seemed difficult to ignore any longer.
"So please, look for a decent lady. Alright?"
When Herdin brushed off the request with a noncommittal hum, Ruth pressed anxiously for an answer.
The well-intentioned nagging only ceased when the carriage finally arrived at the Imperial Palace.
As he stepped into the banquet hall, the gazes of all the nobles already present converged on him. Just as Herdin was exchanging greetings with them, the doors of the hall opened, and a servant's voice rang out.
"His Majesty the Emperor enters!"
Herdin quietly observed Blair, who appeared from behind Ivan.
Now an adult after more than ten years, the princess looked terrifyingly similar to her mother, who had been called a beauty capable of toppling nations.
The moment a grim smile touched his lips at the sight, Blair seemed to sense his gaze and looked up, meeting his eyes.
She stared back, blinking her large violet eyes, before seeming to recognize who he was late and averting her gaze in agitation.
And then, she didn't look at Herdin even once.
She was the one at fault, yet her avoidance of him sparked a peculiar irritation in him.
While he was watching Blair refuse to look his way, Ivan spoke.
"The first dance of the evening naturally belongs to the guest of honor. Let Duke Delmark, our hero of the day, choose his partner."
At Ivan's words, every eye in the banquet hall turned to Herdin. Even the gaze of Blair, who had been avoiding his eyes.
When Blair's eyes met Herdin's, who had been watching her persistently, she quickly averted them again. The corners of Herdin's mouth twisted as he watched her.
With everyone in the hall watching him, Herdin's feet began to move.
He stopped right in front of Blair.
No longer able to avoid his gaze, Blair looked up at him. All sorts of emotions were laid bare in those large eyes.
Emotions like fear and confusion.
Looking into the eyes he finally met, Herdin pressed his lips to the back of her hand. At that, he could feel her eyes waver, and the delicate hand held in his tremble ever so slightly.
Satisfied with her reaction, Herdin curved his lips upward and spoke.
"Would you do me the honor of being my first dance partner, Your Highness?"
In truth, his partner for the first dance was a foregone conclusion. At a banquet held in his honor, choosing any other noble lady would spark a scandal.
But if he chose the princess, the most prestigious unmarried woman in the Empire, it would simply be seen as a gesture of respect toward the Emperor who had hosted the victory banquet.
She didn't seem to have considered that fact. Or rather, she clearly hadn't expected him to choose her.
After looking at Herdin with trembling eyes for a moment, Blair gave a small nod, as if in resignation.
"Then... please take care of me, Duke Delmark."
Taking Blair's hand and leading her to the center of the hall, Herdin wrapped his arm around her waist.
Their bodies pressed so close that he could hear her breathing. He felt Blair stop breathing altogether. Her attempt to keep even her breath from touching him was rather pathetic.
Soon, the orchestra began to play.
As Herdin led, Blair, who had hesitated briefly, followed his lead with practiced ease.
While he had been rolling in the battlefield, just how many men had she danced with to become so attuned to a partner?
When his thoughts reached that point, the strength in his lips, which held a bitter smile, intensified. At the same time, so did the arm around her waist.
Startled by the even closer proximity, Blair looked up at him with wide eyes. Without relaxing his arm, Herdin looked down at her with cold eyes and whispered.
"Breathe."
But even at Herdin's command—which was phrased as anything but—her breath never reached his neck.
Only her uniquely sweet scent lingered at the tip of his nose. Long after the dance ended, long after the music stopped, for a very, very long time.