Chapter 158.
2024.02.05.
Reading through the letter with her usual calm expression, Blair folded it back up and tossed it into the drawer, just as she had done with the previous one.
Watching her, Heordin opened his mouth.
"If you're ignoring her because of me, you don't have to. The ties of blood are not so easily severed."
Even if Katrina hadn't directly participated in Esmeralda's death, he still hated her.
After all, she had only thought of using even Blair's life to clear her own false charges.
Therefore, his desire for her not to act as family to Blair still remained.
However, apart from those feelings, he didn't want Blair to resent and hate Katrina because of him.
That woman, who was nothing like a mother, shouldn't remain in her daughter's heart even as a sense of guilt.
But contrary to his worries, Blair was resolute.
"It's not because of you, Heordin."
Taking the child who had just let out a cute burp from him into her arms, she continued.
"My mother is a coward. She never apologized to me, nor did she seek your forgiveness, trying to smoothly brush it all over under the pretext of family."
"……."
"Of course, if we are family, minor issues can be reconciled like that, but this is not a problem that can be so easily passed over."
The lonely life she had to endure in her past life was fundamentally due to Gerard's desire for revenge, but Katrina, who buried the truth for her own safety and greed, was also guilty.
Because of that, Esmeralda bore a false charge even in death, and Delmark and Heordin had to bear the brunt of that damage entirely.
"My mother must formally apologize and seek forgiveness from you and the late Empress Her Majesty."
Now, Blair's top priorities were her husband and child.
If Katrina truly loved her daughter, she had to respect her family. She had to discard her pride and sincerely apologize for the wounds she had inflicted.
Just as he had once done to her.
Having spoken of her feelings regarding Katrina with a rather stern face, Blair belatedly seemed to think of something and asked him.
"Will it make things uncomfortable for you?"
At her question, Heordin's eyes widened slightly before he let out a snort of laughter.
Even in the situation he cared about most, his wife considered his position. That very sight was so like her, and thus so lovable.
"Since when have I ever cared about such things."
Looking at his wife and the child in her arms, he added,
"Blair, what you want is what I want."
As if satisfied with that answer, Blair smiled faintly. As long as she and the child were happy like this, nothing else mattered.
However, not long after, he encountered an unexpected obstacle.
* * *
Time flowed quickly, and it was already summer.
Blair and Heordin returned to their townhouse in the capital with Asiel.
Today, a banquet was scheduled to announce their return and simultaneously introduce Asiel to the nobles.
Having finished preparing for the banquet all day, Lina climbed the stairs. Despite the arduous work, her steps were very light.
Finishing her assigned tasks was of course a joy, but the real reason for her excitement was elsewhere.
'How much has our Young Master grown in the short time I was away?'
It was no exaggeration to say that Asiel was the joy of her life these days. To be precise, not just hers, but he had become the joy of most of the resident servants in the mansion.
Lina practically ran to Asiel's room. Perhaps Melly had arrived first, as the door was slightly ajar.
Stepping quietly through the open door, the sweet, milky scent unique to babies wafted over. That scent alone lifted her mood.
Unfortunately, however, there was an uninvited guest who had arrived first.
"He's the spitting image of His Excellency, so how can he be this cute?"
It was Ruth's voice.
Then, Blair's voice answering him was also heard.
"He's cute because he resembles him."
"Um, well... What I meant was, His Excellency is certainly handsome, but he doesn't look cute at all."
"I understood your words correctly. Even he has his cute moments."
Where exactly on His Excellency is...?
Hearing Blair's words, Lina's face contorted comically. Ruth seemed to think the same, retorting quietly.
"...I don't think I'll ever be able to agree with that sentiment of yours, My Lady."
At Ruth's words, Blair chuckled softly.
After Asiel was born, the two had grown noticeably closer.
Ruth originally liked children, and by frequently showing him Asiel, Blair seemed to have developed a sense of intimacy with him. Asiel, caught between them, naturally grew closer to Ruth as well.
And Lina was jealous of their closeness.
Heordin was her husband, and Asiel was her child, so that was one thing, but Blair's most trusted confidante should be herself.
"My Lady."
"You're here, Lina."
Holding Asiel, Blair brightened upon seeing Lina enter the room.
"Abu!"
Now able to distinguish people's faces to some extent, Asiel recognized Lina and flailed his arms and legs.
Lina, who had been sulking out of awareness of Ruth, immediately melted into a wide smile as if she had never been sullen the moment she saw Asiel.
"Oh my, Young Master. Were you waiting for me?"
"Abu."
"I couldn't even do my work because I missed you soooo much, Young Master."
As if understanding Lina's words, Asiel let out a bubbly laugh.
Not only Lina, who was looking at the child, but also Ruth's face naturally broke into a smile.
"Then, My Lady, please leave the Young Master to us and go get dressed."
Reaching his arms out toward Asiel, Ruth naturally grouped Lina and himself as "us."
At that, Lina's eyes narrowed with displeasure. Her plan to monopolize Asiel was going awry.
"Aren't you busy preparing as well, Aide? Please leave the Young Master to me and comfortably go do your work."
"I have no more duties during the banquet."
"You might overdrink today, so how about doing tomorrow's share of work in advance?"
"Thanks for the concern, but I don't drink to the point of ruining the next day's schedule."
Is he sarcastically referring to when I overdrank at the summer retreat last year?
Thus began the sparking war of nerves between Lina and Ruth.
As Blair, who was watching them, burst into laughter, Asiel, who was also blankly staring at the two, giggled along with her.
Just as they were struggling to decide who would play with Asiel.
"You were still here."
Heordin appeared, the one who would put an end to their fierce war of nerves.
Already dressed in his dress coat, he skillfully took Asiel from Blair's arms into his own.
"I'll take Asiel, so go get ready."
Having instantly lost their reason to fight, Ruth and Lina looked blankly at Asiel in Heordin's arms, like a dog that had been chasing a chicken now staring up at the roof.
Their war of nerves seemed to come to an end like that.
Until Asiel, staring blankly at his father's face, burst into tears.
"Waaaaah!"
The four adults panicked at the child's cry.
Ruth and Lina tried to soothe him with their usual skills of comforting Asiel, but it was no use.
The child flailed his limbs toward Blair, and eventually stiffened his whole body and wailed desperately.
As if trying to escape his father's embrace.
Only when Blair finally held him back in her arms and soothed him did Asiel barely stop crying.
"Asiel, our baby. Why are you doing this? Is it because you don't want Mommy to leave?"
Blair looked for the reason elsewhere, but to Heordin, the reason the child was crying was himself.
He had intuited that from the time Asiel started distinguishing people.
The child had become able to distinguish people a while ago. He cried when he saw strangers, and smiled brightly when he saw familiar faces.
Not only his mother Blair, but also the nanny, the frequently seen Lina and Melly, as well as Ruth and Mason.
However, even while smiling and playing well with them, the moment his father picked him up, he would burst into sorrowful tears.
Heordin was the only one among the close people Asiel smiled for who didn't get a smile.
Blair had soothed him, saying it was "just a coincidence of timing," but when that coincidence repeated several times, Heordin had no choice but to acknowledge it.
Asiel wanted to avoid him. Though he had no idea what the reason was.
He wanted to give Asiel the love he couldn't give him in his past life, but the child burst into tears just seeing him, making him burn with anxiety.
Why on earth?
For what reason exactly?
Since he couldn't even converse with the child, he felt like he would go mad from the suffocation.
Moreover, Asiel's eyes when he burst into tears looked exactly like Blair's, so every time he saw the child crying while looking at him, he felt as if his wife was pushing him away.
"Heordin, I'll take Asiel."
As if feeling more apologetic about Asiel's behavior than he was, Blair met his eyes softly and left the room. Lina followed behind her.
Looking at Asiel growing distant in Blair's arms, Heordin swallowed a sigh and stared at his reflection in the glass window.
'...Could it be a rather scary face to children.'
Thanks to his young son, he found himself contemplating his own appearance for the first time in his life.