Chapter 138. Grace Period
"Three bodies were found. However, they were so gruesomely mutilated... they said it's difficult to identify them. Were the priests who accompanied Your Holiness there by any chance?"
There were four people at the villa at the time.
Gerard and Mikhail in the basement, and two of Gerard's subordinates guarding the villa.
The fact that three bodies were found meant that not only the subordinates but also Mikhail was dead.
Upon hearing the news, the corners of Gerard's mouth slowly curled upward.
"No. Everyone who died there were members of the evil flock."
"That's a relief!"
Miela rejoiced with a bright smile.
Though the dead were evildoers, her delight at the news of people's deaths seemed somewhat bizarre.
While Gerard was pondering his next move, Miela spoke again in a subdued voice.
"By the way, the subjugation of the dark mage isn't over yet, is it?"
Gerard looked at Miela with suspicion as she asked this.
It wasn't the subjugation of a dark mage, but it was true that his 'work' wasn't finished. Her motive for asking was dubious.
Miela smiled faintly and immediately got to the point.
"I think I can help Your Holiness."
"With what?"
"I saw one. A person with a dark magic circle engraved on their body."
As she said this, her golden eyes gleamed eerily.
* * *
As late fall set in, the wind had grown quite chilly, but the sunlight was still warm.
After finishing lunch, Blair took Pipi for a walk.
The maids urged her to rest more, since the undead attack had occurred just yesterday.
However, Blair ignored their dissuasion and came out to the garden. Though her heavy body could barely manage to sit on a garden chair.
As if that were enough, she watched Pipi darting around the garden with a serene smile.
Herdin, who had been silently watching that smile she rarely showed him through the window, suddenly recalled the words she had spoken yesterday.
'Once this matter is over, let's break up.'
She still loves me.
When she had just regained her memories, he couldn't understand her heart—trying to leave him despite loving him.
But the moment he saw her bid him farewell with a relieved expression, he finally realized, albeit belatedly.
If she's willing to break up while still loving me, how great a wound must I have inflicted upon you?
'For my sake, and for your sake as well, I think it's the right thing to do.'
She said the reason for her farewell was for his sake.
Only upon hearing those words did he realize.
How contradictory, how dogmatic and cruel those words were—that "for your sake," which at first glance sounded altruistic.
That it was a convenient and irresponsible phrase, one that granted absolution no matter what hurt it caused the other person.
Even now, he wanted to undo it all. He wanted to hold her back.
But water already spilled could not be gathered again no matter what he did, so he could only stand there helplessly like a child before an overturned bowl.
Once this matter is over.
So this was, the grace period she had granted him.
Not time to hold onto her heart, but time to empty his own heart before the already spilled water.
...He couldn't breathe.
"Your Excellency."
Just as he felt his airway constrict and swept a hand across his mouth, Ruth's voice came with a knock.
"It's time."
He had a lunch appointment with the Lord of Nerha today.
Checking the time, Herdin threw on his jacket and left his office. As he descended to the first floor, he ordered Ruth.
"Tell Kaligo to go to the Elir Plains."
"Sir Kaligo? Wouldn't it be faster to send imperial knights rather than Sir Kaligo? It would take quite some time just to get from here to the imperial capital."
"Many magical beasts appear on the plains, so someone capable is needed. It's better to entrust it to someone reliable if possible."
He gave a plausible reason, but the real reason for sending Kaligo was different.
If he interrogated the mastermind directly or killed him, the mastermind might use methods other than Kaligo.
If that happened, they wouldn't know who was behind this, and Blair would actually be put in danger.
"And attach a reliable watcher."
He planned to send him far away so he couldn't approach Blair, and attach someone to watch him. To see who he made contact with.
Grasping Herdin's intent from the order to attach a watcher, Ruth nodded with a stiff expression.
"...Understood."
Just as he finished speaking and stepped out of the villa, Herdin ran into Blair, who was coming in after her walk.
While Herdin hesitated, not knowing how to react, Blair, who had been quietly watching him, spoke first.
"Come back safely."
Neither past resentment nor hatred could be found on her face as she calmly greeted him.
But her unchanged demeanor only made him more uneasy.
How much time was left that he could face this face, the time she had allowed him?
Once again, his chest felt crushed beneath a stone, and he couldn't breathe.
"Your Excellency?"
At Ruth's questioning voice, Herdin finally snapped out of his thoughts.
He swallowed down the emotions rising to his throat and answered her greeting.
"...I will come back safely."
Having received his farewell, Blair passed by him and entered the villa.
Even after, Herdin fumbled at his tight throat and mouth for a while before loosening his cravat and heading to the manor.
Upon arriving at the manor, the waiting butler guided him to the dining room.
"A massive dark magic circle was discovered in the basement of a villa. It seems to be related to the undead that appeared in the plaza yesterday."
Raymond, who had been receiving a report from a knight who had just arrived, dismissed the knight after seeing Herdin enter the dining room, and offered his greeting.
"Welcome, Your Excellency."
Herdin, who had been listening to their conversation, suddenly recalled something and narrowed his eyes.
The dark magic circle discovered in the outskirts, the undead appearing in areas outside their usual haunts. And... the behavior of the undead that seemed to be exclusively chasing Blair.
"Yesterday was quite chaotic due to the unpleasant incident, wasn't it? Still, thanks to Your Excellency's help in organizing the situation, we were able to minimize casualties and handle it smoothly. Thank you."
"I couldn't help but overhear... A dark magic circle was found at a villa in the outskirts?"
"Ah, yes. It seems to be related to the undead appearance yesterday, but we'll need to investigate further. By the way, you'll be returning soon?"
When Herdin mentioned the dark magic circle, Raymond, who seemed briefly flustered, gave a vague answer and changed the subject.
Herdin saw through Raymond's intentions.
'As a lord, he wouldn't want security issues in his territory to be discovered by an outsider.'
Especially by a war hero of another country.
If the lord of this place didn't want his involvement yet he showed interest, it would look suspicious. With bad luck, he could even be suspected of being the mastermind behind this incident.
Herdin decided to play along and pretend not to know for now.
"Thanks to you, I've seen enough of Nerha. I'm planning to go to Livren now and come up with a more concrete plan."
"The Duchess's due date is approaching, so you'd naturally feel more at ease around your own people rather than in an unfamiliar foreign land."
Herdin's pupils sank quietly at Raymond's casual mention of Blair, but he passed over it without particular reaction.
After the luncheon concluded in a peaceful atmosphere, Herdin stepped out of the manor and quietly commanded Ruth.
"Look into the villa collapse accident that occurred yesterday in more detail. Quietly."
* * *
"Pipi, stop. You can't do that. Come here."
Back from her walk, Blair stopped Pipi, who was wreaking havoc and knocking over everything in her room. But the mischievous beast ignored its owner's words and continued to run around messing up the room.
Just as Blair sighed in defeat.
"Ah..."
The child in her womb started kicking violently. Startled, Blair reflexively wrapped her arms around her belly and sat on the bed.
The child was growing day by day, and the kicking was getting increasingly fierce. Sometimes it hurt so much she couldn't breathe for a moment.
Nevertheless, it was proof that the child was growing healthily, a sign that the day she would meet the child was drawing closer, and Blair was simply overjoyed.
Overwhelmed by the child's continued movement, Blair lay down on the bed.
Then, Pipi, who had been rampaging around the room, seemed to sense its owner's presence, pricked up its ears, and trotted over to her. It circled around the lying Blair, sniffing, then curled up beside her belly.
At Pipi's behavior, as if it knew about the child in her womb, Blair smiled with wonder.
"Pipi, are you waiting for the baby too?"
Pipi lay still, meeting her eyes with its black ones, ears perked up.
"Good. You'll be a very reliable friend."
Smiling serenely as she stroked Pipi's soft fur, Blair suddenly thought.
Pipi was taken in by humans and lost its wildness while living with them. It was for Pipi's sake, but this little beast had no say in the matter.
Similarly, she had decided to break up with Herdin, but she hadn't considered the wishes of the child who would lose a father because of it.
'Is my choice truly for their sake?'
Under the pretext of doing it for the two children, was she committing the same mistake as he had in the past, against these children?
Just as a shadow fell over Blair's eyes lost in thought, a knock sounded.
"My lady. The priest has arrived."
Blair's hand, which had been stroking Pipi, paused.
She had heard that it was Miela who treated her after she was overwhelmed by the undead yesterday. She had probably come to check if her wounds were healing properly.
It was awkward, but she had received help, so it was only proper to express her gratitude.
"Please let her in."
As soon as Blair's permission fell, the door opened and Miela entered. She offered her greeting with her usual smile.
"Hello, madam. How is your body feeling?"
"Thanks to your swift treatment, I'm better now. Thank you."
"That's a relief."
Smiling softly as she sat across from her, Miela looked at Blair with cold eyes, as if she had never smiled, and immediately got to the point.
"Then how about leaving His Excellency's side now?"