Chapter 45. The Duchess's Lover
2023.10.15.
He gathered his coldly hardened expression and approached the two.
"You said you had plans with a close friend, so I wondered where you were going, but to run into you like this."
Herdin looked at Mikhail and grasped Blair's hand.
In truth, they had never discussed any plans for today, but at his words, Blair, having noticed the gallery curator, quietly offered her hand.
After all, publicly he was her husband.
But in reality, he was nothing to her.
Just a fake husband by contract, nothing more.
Whoever she met and whatever she did, she had no reason to tell him beforehand, nor any need to explain. As a party to that contract, he knew that fact better than anyone.
Yes, he knew it all, and yet...
"Since we've met like this, it must be fate. If you have time, why don't we exchange greetings briefly."
Why am I so angry.
* * *
The three moved to a nearby café.
"Three coffees."
Herdin ordered from the approaching staff. Then Blair hastily corrected the order.
"Change one to black tea, please."
The staff confirmed the changed order once more and withdrew. Blair added as if explaining to Herdin.
"I can't sleep if I drink coffee."
It was a fact he learned for the first time. Herdin mocked himself at that fact.
Everything was a mess.
The fact that he was only learning this after nearly three months of marriage, and his own feelings too.
Leaning deep into his chair, Herdin swallowed his emotions with a movement of his throat and looked at the man before him. That rather handsome face was displeasing.
Mikhail wore a good-natured smile, but Herdin could see that it was not a smile born of genuine feeling.
"First, shall we introduce ourselves."
Since there was no way he wouldn't know the name of a war hero and the Duke of Delmarch, this was meant to tell Mikhail to reveal his name.
"I am Mikhail Keynes. It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace."
Herdin's eyes grew coldly still upon hearing Mikhail's name.
'Not Ashiel.'
When he had Ruth look into men named Ashiel, there was no man who seemed to have any connection with Blair.
It wasn't a common name to begin with, and in noble families, they rarely used the name of Ashiel Delmarch, the first head of the Delmarch family.
Among commoners, there were occasionally those who used that name, but they had no connection with Blair, which was most important.
So the thought was that perhaps it was someone using a pseudonym. Without evidence or anything, merely a conjecture.
He briefly wondered if this man might be 'Ashiel,' but seeing Blair's attitude, it seemed this fellow was not her beloved lover.
"Keynes... I've never heard of that house."
"You probably haven't. It's not a noble house."
It was a remark that could have wounded pride, but the man smiled without such signs. As if his status couldn't be his flaw.
While the person concerned was indifferent, Blair interjected as if to explain.
"He's the person who will help us fulfill our contract later."
Blair was only revealing that Mikhail was the partner for the scandal, and had no intention of disclosing that he was a guild master.
First, it seemed there was a reason Mikhail hadn't disclosed that fact himself.
Second, she wanted Herdin not to know that fact.
After the divorce, she wanted no one except Mikhail, who was handling this matter, to know her whereabouts. Not even Ivan and Katrina, let alone Herdin.
When that wretched word came from Blair's mouth once again, Herdin's lips twisted.
"...Contract?"
At that moment, the staff brought the coffee and black tea. Blair, who had paused her words, continued after seeing the staff withdraw.
"...Divorce. When the contract ends, we agreed to divorce due to my fault, didn't we."
"Ah, divorce."
Herdin finally realized why Blair had hesitated before bringing it up. She was remembering what he had said a few days ago.
"I fail to see what that contract has to do with this man."
"This person has agreed to become one of the partners in my scandal."
"...Scandal?"
"A scandal that the Duchess had affairs with multiple men."
Herdin let out a hollow laugh at Blair's story. It was rather bold for an idea coming from his naive wife's head.
He hadn't thought about how to end this contract in the first place. Because he wasn't curious.
Why hadn't he been curious sooner. The method to undo a marriage arranged by the Emperor could never be ordinary.
'So, she would bear all that infamy alone and be divorced.'
Does she have no lingering attachment to everything she would lose?
What an ardent love it was. Whoever that fellow named Ashiel was.
Herdin picked up his coffee cup and looked at Mikhail.
As Blair had said, she seemed to have no particular feelings for Mikhail. But the look in Mikhail's eyes as he gazed at Blair was different from how one would treat a client.
He seemed more skilled at hiding his feelings than the other fools who hovered around trying to get a word in with her.
That made him all the more dangerous.
Herdin's lips twisted as he sensed it like the instinct of one born with the same nature.
"Ah, so you're skilled at entertaining ladies because you're an expert in that field."
It was a remark treating Mikhail as a host who entertains noblewomen.
Despite the obvious mockery, Mikhail's expression remained unshaken. For someone who had worked as a bartender for a long time, it was not a striking remark.
But it seemed Blair was not the same, as her lovely brow furrowed deeply.
"Herdin, don't speak like that."
"Aren't you, on the surface, her lover? It was a compliment for doing his job well."
Her face was filled with dissatisfaction, but Herdin ignored it and continued what he had to say.
"Anyway, that plan doesn't seem like a good idea. Did you dismiss what I said a few days ago?"
At Herdin's sharp words, Blair suddenly recalled what he had said a few days ago.
He didn't want a third party to know about the contract marriage. And there was reason in his words.
The more scandal partners there were, the more people who knew the secret would inevitably increase.
As he said, this was a fraud deceiving the Emperor. It was that much dangerous and required that much caution.
But other than this, there seemed to be no alternative to make the divorce with him happen.
Herdin took advantage of Blair being lost in thought and spoke to Mikhail.
"It seems you've been promised quite a large sum. Won't you regret it?"
"..."
"No less than the princess's lover. When that scandal breaks out, what do you think His Majesty the Emperor will do?"
"..."
"I don't want to drag innocent people into our affairs."
At first glance, it sounded like words worrying about Mikhail, but in reality, they were words meant to intimidate.
However, the person who reacted to those words was not Mikhail but Blair.
Her plan was only to use Mikhail and the guild members to lower her reputation, not to have him act as her lover until the end.
Because that was too dangerous.
But if revealed as her lover, they would surely receive the condemnation of many. Just as Herdin had mocked him earlier.
'It doesn't mean it's natural for them to be condemned just because I paid them that price.'
She felt guilty anew. Wondering if she had indeed dragged innocent people in, as Herdin said.
Seeing Blair shaken, Mikhail answered with an unconcerned smile.
"I'm planning to leave the empire once this matter is concluded. I appreciate your concern, but you needn't worry about me."
Look at this.
A cynical smile hung on Herdin's lips after hearing Mikhail's words.
The intention to relieve the guilt he had painstakingly stirred in Blair was clearly visible to Herdin.
Furthermore, those words, which seemed to plan for the aftermath of his and Blair's divorce, sharply grated on Herdin's nerves.
"Well, if you're throwing your life away to help, I suppose I should be grateful."
Herdin deliberately invoked 'life,' assuming when things might go wrong. Even if those words didn't affect Mikhail, they would be enough to shake Blair.
Just then, the faint sound of a bell marking the hour came from the square. Checking his wristwatch, Herdin set down his cup.
"I should be going now."
He stood from his seat and said to Blair.
"Surely you're busy with banquet preparations as well, my lady. I'll escort you to the manor."
Blair still wore a displeased expression, but ultimately she would have no choice but to follow him.
Since he was still, on the surface, her husband.
However, that fact gave him no sense of superiority whatsoever.
"Take care, Your Grace."
Mikhail, who had risen after him, bowed to Herdin. It was a polite but not servile bow.
Herdin turned away first, leaving Mikhail behind. He could hear Blair saying something to Mikhail.
After settling the bill and stepping outside first, Herdin lit a cigar and put it in his mouth.
By the time the cigar was half burned, Blair came out of the café. Seeing her, Herdin spoke.
"Get in first."
But Blair didn't get into the carriage. Instead, she approached him.
On her pale face, her stubbornly closed reddish lips stood out. It was the expression she made when something didn't sit well with her.
"Herdin."
She barely managed to call his name before she started coughing repeatedly, unable to withstand the smoke. Even so, showing no intention of backing down, she continued speaking between coughs.
"That person is not what you think he is."
Blair's eyes as she repeatedly defended her fake lover were quite resolute. Even coughing until her cheeks turned red, she never backed down.
He hated that stubbornness in his wife.
Herdin eventually dropped the remaining half of his cigar to the ground and extinguished it.