Chapter 27. A Warm Night
2023.09.27.
"Mmm..."
Hugging the pillow in her sleep, Blair felt a sense of unfamiliarity and snapped her eyes open.
What she had thought was a pillow was Herdin.
The man who became her husband in her past life, and in this life as well.
He was lying asleep beside her. Just like in her past life, when he had pretended to love her.
The warmth radiating from him was warm. So warm that she wanted to fall back asleep just like this.
That was why she hated it.
Afraid she might grow accustomed to this warmth again.
Afraid she might mistake this warmth for love.
Blair tried to get up and escape the bed. At that moment, her eyes caught sight of the fireplace.
Blazing red flames roaring as they consumed the firewood.
Seeing this, Blair gasped involuntarily.
Fire.
The disaster that had burned away her happy days.
A sense of terror that those flames would burn everything she had washed over her. Her breathing gradually quickened, and her vision grew distant.
Just then, a large hand obscured her vision and gently laid her back down.
When Blair finally came to her senses, Herdin's face was right in front of her.
"Are you frightened?"
Normally, she should be. After all, she had a terrible fear of fire.
Yet, her rapidly beating heart gradually calmed down. Her breathing steadied as well.
Simply because of the single fact that he was beside her.
It was strange.
Having checked on Blair's condition, Herdin closed his eyes and spoke in a low, slightly hoarse voice.
"Go back to sleep."
Blair hesitated for a moment before trying to pull away from him, but the arm wrapped around her waist held her tightly, showing no intention of letting go.
Seeing that Blair remained stiff, Herdin opened his eyes and spoke.
"I will invoke the consummation clause stated in the contract today."
Blair flinched at his words.
She had thought that he might demand consummation at some point, but she hadn't expected it to be today. They had just fought and made up today, and she had even fainted and woken up.
However, if that was what he wanted, she had no intention of refusing. When it was time to conceive Asiel, she would have to demand consummation from him, so she had to accept his demands without rejection.
"Then... let me wash up first. I haven't washed since I went out..."
At this, Herdin's eyes, which had been gauging the meaning behind Blair's words, turned coldly stern, and he let out a scoff of disbelief.
"You must think I'm trash who would vent his lust on a patient."
"...I didn't think that. This is part of the contract, so I have to keep my promise—"
"Enough."
That damn contract again.
Herdin's brow furrowed for a moment at the word "contract" slipping from Blair's mouth out of habit, but he soon relaxed his expression.
After all, he was the one who had just brought up that contract clause first.
"What I mean is, let's just sleep together. Literally just sleep."
Why on earth...?
Unable to fathom his intentions, Blair silently questioned him with puzzled eyes.
Herdin let out a sigh and added an explanation.
"You can't sleep alone with the fireplace on."
Blair's eyes blinked slowly as she looked at him.
It was strange. Sleeping together without doing anything brought him no benefit whatsoever.
Therefore, this was solely for her sake.
"I won't do anything, so just go to sleep."
As if his words were sincere, he pulled the blanket back over Blair's body, then let go of her and lay down at a distance.
It was a distance where they would touch if either of them moved even a little, but he truly seemed intent on sleeping like this.
Blair stared blankly at Herdin's side profile as he lay with his eyes closed.
The air in the room, warmed by the fireplace, was cozy, the blanket he had pulled over her was snug, and the warmth of the person beside her, felt even without touching, gave her a sense of security.
Even so, I still hate you.
But today was truly difficult. Because I was so exhausted. So...
'Just for today, it should be fine.'
Blair blinked slowly as she looked at him before finally succumbing to sleep.
It was a warm night, the first in a very long time.
* * *
The next morning, when Blair awoke, Herdin had already left the room.
The fireplace was out, but the room still held residual heat. As if he had been tending to the fireplace until just a moment ago.
Blair pulled the bell rope, and after a short wait, Rina entered carrying a silver basin filled with wash water.
Rina's eyes immediately welled up with tears upon seeing Blair. Her face was a testament to the emotional distress she had endured the previous night.
"Why... why did you do that? You're someone who is terrified of fire... If you wanted the fireplace lit, you should have called me."
"I'm sorry. You must have been worried."
Blair didn't explain what had driven her to light the fireplace herself.
Cursing Herdin would ultimately expose her own weaknesses, and the situation had already been resolved anyway.
After soothing Rina, Blair asked.
"Where's Pipi?"
As a rule, Blair made it a point to feed the baby marten herself.
Rather than a sense of responsibility or obligation, she simply enjoyed watching that little creature, which resembled Asiel, grow up.
"Ah, Meli went to give it some milk a little while ago."
Hearing Rina's answer, Blair asked in return with a slightly surprised expression.
"Have you forgiven Meli?"
"...Should I not forgive her, after all?"
Rina looked ready to kick Meli out this very instant if Blair told her to.
Blair smiled and shook her head.
"No, don't do that. As long as you're okay with it, I'm fine. I want you to get along well with the others, too."
"But she wronged you too, Madam."
Blair took Rina's hand and continued in a gentle voice.
"Rina, everyone makes mistakes."
"..."
"Of course, there are mistakes that cannot be forgiven no matter what you do, but there are also those that can be rectified, even if it's late."
"..."
"If a single mistake determined everything about a person, people would give up everything over a single mistake. Even if they could improve."
"..."
"It's true that Meli did wrong, but I don't think it was an irreparable mistake. And most importantly, she's genuinely remorseful."
The previous night, on their way back to the servants' quarters after leaving Blair's room together, Meli had apologized to Rina.
Recalling that sight, Rina slowly nodded in agreement with Blair's words.
Blair smiled softly and asked.
"So, how about we give her a chance to make things right?"
"Sigh, our Madam is too kind for her own good."
Rina sighed and grumbled, but a faint smile spread across her face as she spoke.
"Well, still... she didn't seem like a bad person, just as you said. She was the one who found you collapsed yesterday and took care of it first."
"Is that so? I should thank Meli then."
She felt a quiet sense of satisfaction knowing that her different actions from her past life were creating different changes.
Blair washed her face with the rose water Rina had prepared while listening to the trivial gossip of the mansion Rina shared.
Just as Blair finished washing her face and was patting it dry with a towel, Rina let out a small gasp as if she had just remembered something.
"Ah, that's right! His Excellency asked me to tell you when you woke up. He wants to have the meal you missed yesterday together."
"...He did?"
Those words meant that Herdin had not yet eaten.
Blair lightly applied her skincare, changed her clothes, and headed straight down to the dining room. Upon seeing her, Mason bowed in greeting and immediately opened the door.
In the dining room sat Herdin, wearing his usual shirt and vest.
"Did you sleep well?"
His attire was impeccably neat, yet tilting a wine glass with a languid expression, he somehow gave off the vibe of a socialite playboy.
Even with proper etiquette and neat clothing, this man's sharp intrinsic nature could not be hidden.
An aura that drew one in precisely because of its danger, even if that danger was known. Or rather, an aura that compelled fascination precisely *because* it was dangerous.
It was an impression largely unchanged from when she had first met him as a child.
Blair realized this anew as she took her seat beside him.
"Yes, thanks to you."
Once Blair was seated, the courses began to arrive. Only the clinking of tableware filled the air during the meal.
Herdin wasn't one to initiate conversation in the first place, so the silence was familiar to Blair. If there was one slight difference from before, it was that the silence wasn't uncomfortable after last night.
Cutting her portion of steak into small pieces and chewing thoroughly while observing Herdin, Blair carefully broached the subject.
"Herdin. About what we discussed yesterday."
Instead of an answer, his gaze turned to her.
"I understand that from your perspective, I could be suspicious enough."
They had talked about it yesterday, but it had ended with his apology. She felt she needed to give her own response to that.
"But I will never do anything to harm you. I stake my everything on it."
Blair's expression as she said this was quite resolute. Looking at her steadily, the corners of Herdin's lips tilted upward.
"Does that 'everything' include yourself?"
"Pardon?"
"Where in this world is anything more precious than 'me'? You say you're staking everything, but if you leave out the most valuable thing when making your vow, it lacks credibility."
Blair stared at him with confused eyes.
He had clearly said yesterday that he wouldn't doubt her anymore, yet he was changing his tune in just a day.
However, seeing his expression more relaxed than usual, he didn't seem to genuinely suspect her or be in a bad mood.
Nevertheless, Blair answered sincerely.
"...Of course it's included. My words about wanting to maintain a good relationship with you are sincere as well."
Herdin smirked as he looked at Blair.
A woman who couldn't tell him everything honestly, yet wanted him to believe her.
It was absurd, but... should he decide to trust her for now? Besides, he hadn't smelled the scent of another man on her yesterday.
Herdin was tapping the wine glass he held as he looked at Blair with an intrigued expression.
With the sound of a knock, Mason entered.
"An invitation has arrived for you both."
The invitation he presented bore the imperial family's crest. It was an invitation to Katrina's birthday banquet.