Chapter 51. Let's Get Revenge
2023.10.21.
Blair gazed out the window, calming her anxious mind, then turned her head at the sound of a knock.
Lina was entering with a letter in hand.
"My lady, an invitation to the hunting tournament has arrived from the imperial palace."
The hunting tournament was an event that heralded the arrival of spring.
Blair accepted the letter and thought to herself. That she should try to persuade Herdin once more.
* * *
Having parted ways with the noble ladies, Rachel stepped out of the temple with a noticeably relieved expression.
It was far from enough to make her forget the humiliation she had suffered at Blair's hands, but doing this much at least eased her mind a little. Though even this wouldn't last long, of course.
Rachel walked toward the waiting carriage of the Sheldon family. The coachman, who had been waiting for her, climbed down from his seat to open the carriage door.
Just as the coachman was about to open the door, an unwelcome voice called out from behind her.
"Rachel."
Turning toward the source of the voice, she saw Wesley standing there.
Upon spotting him, Rachel's face crumpled violently.
She had known Wesley since childhood, but ever since he got involved in gambling two years ago, he had been going around borrowing money from all his friends, making everyone avoid him.
Not only that, his behavior when drunk was absolutely wretched—he caused incidents everywhere he went. Getting entangled with him would be of no benefit whatsoever.
Rachel swallowed a sigh and gestured for the coachman to wait in the carriage. Once the coachman disappeared, she finally opened her mouth.
"It really has been a long time since I've seen you sober, Wesley. Is the Marquis doing well? He seems to have aged a lot lately because of you."
"The old man? Yeah, he's fine. Are your parents well too?"
"They're well. Unlike someone, they have a daughter who knows how to conduct herself and is smart, so why would they worry?"
At Rachel's words, Wesley chuckled as if he'd heard something amusing. Even that laugh was unpleasant to Rachel.
"Anyway, what brings you here? Don't tell me you came to see me."
"Of course I came to see you. You have to come to the temple to meet our virtuous Marchioness, don't you?"
"If you're here to borrow money for gambling again, get lost. Even if it's something else, get lost. And don't ever come looking for me again."
Rachel shot him down coldly and turned around to open the carriage door. Behind her back, a whistle sounded along with his voice.
"At the banquet hosted by the Delmark Duchy, our Imperial Highness…… no, the Duchess really took a hard hit, didn't she?"
Rachel froze at those words. As she turned to look at him, her eyes were trembling with rage.
Rather than the fear of having been overheard saying those things to Blair, the fact that someone had witnessed her taking a hit from Blair drove her mad.
She had spent her entire life believing Blair was beneath her.
The sight of Blair being swayed by her every word and action had given Rachel an abundant sense of superiority.
By manipulating Blair, she felt like she was a more noble person than even that exalted imperial princess, and that brought her joy.
It was her pride and at the same time her ego. And to think someone had witnessed the moment that ego was brutally trampled.
"They say daytime words are heard by birds and nighttime words by mice, so you eavesdropped like a little rat?"
At Rachel's reaction, Wesley whistled and snickered.
"So why don't we talk before that little rat goes squeaking to someone else?"
Before Rachel could even give permission, Wesley climbed right into the open carriage. Rachel frowned but reluctantly followed him in.
Soon after, the carriage departed.
Rachel glared at Wesley sitting across from her and asked.
"So what's your business? Don't tell me you're going to use that as an excuse to ask me to pay off your gambling debts?"
"I am going to borrow money, but not to pay off debts. I do have some shame, you think I'd ask you to pay those off?"
"Then what do you want?"
"Let's get revenge."
"……Revenge for what?"
"You want to get revenge on the Duchess too, don't you?"
Blair and revenge.
When those words came out of Wesley's mouth, Rachel's eyes changed in a peculiar way.
"Our Lady Rachel Sheldon has taken such good care of Her Imperial Highness all this time, and she doesn't even show any gratitude. Daring to talk back over a mere man?"
"……."
"We should put her in her place so she never shows such insolence again, shouldn't we?"
As he spoke, Wesley's eyes gleamed brightly with madness.
Rachel furrowed her brow as she looked at him.
She could roughly guess why Wesley had such intentions.
He was probably holding a grudge over being struck by Herdin at the Grand Empress's birthday banquet. Since he couldn't take his anger out on Herdin directly—the opponent was too powerful—he had redirected the arrow of his fury toward Blair.
But Rachel had no intention of participating in that.
"Seems you've forgotten, but she's my cousin. No matter how much I hate her, I won't do something like that. If you want to do it, do it alone. Don't drag me into it."
"You're just scared, stop being so self-righteous."
Wesley's mockery, his attitude quickly changing at her uncooperative response, dug right into her weak point.
Wesley didn't miss that opening and kept talking.
"There's no need to be so frightened. We're not trying to do anything to the precious, noble Imperial Highness, just play a little prank. We suffered that humiliation, so we should at least be allowed a prank, right?"
"……."
"The noble Lady Sheldon only needs to lend money without dirtying a single fingertip. I'll take care of everything else."
"……."
"Well? Are you a little interested now?"
Rachel stared at Wesley for a long moment before finally opening her mouth.
"Tell me, your plan."
* * *
In the room heated by the fireplace, the shadows of two people were tangled together.
With one arm wrapped around her waist, Herdin used his other hand to cup Blair's cheek and slipped his thumb into her mouth.
When his suddenly intruding thumb playfully teased the inside of her mouth, Blair bit his finger without thinking.
Herdin let out a soft chuckle. The strength of her bite was so feeble it was adorable.
At the same time, he wanted to see her face.
"Blair, look at me."
But Blair couldn't gather her senses at all.
So Herdin turned her face to make her look at him. He saw a face ruined with tears. Even that sight was beautiful.
Herdin found himself amusing for feeling this way, but unable to overcome his desire, he pressed his lips against her parted ones.
"Hah……."
A kiss followed that seemed as if he would devour her. Then he suddenly pulled his lips away and withdrew his body.
"Her……."
Before Blair could even feel bewildered by his action of stopping right at the edge, Herdin laid her down facing him and embraced her again.
Blair seemed to feel more when she couldn't see his face, but Herdin preferred to see hers.
A woman's face, flushed with heat and on the verge of tears, gave him a dizzying pleasure.
Herdin gripped Blair's shoulders to support her, as she kept sliding up the bed, unable to bear his strength.
At the distance where their breaths brushed, her face came into view. Even without their lips touching, their breaths mingled together.
Herdin gazed into Blair's eyes, contorted as she struggled to receive him.
In the moist, violet eyes of the woman, only his reflection remained. Whenever he saw those eyes, he fell under the illusion that he alone existed in her world.
The voice calling his name half-unconsciously, the small body desperately clinging to him, unable to handle all of this.
If he was the sole existence in that world, it was only right that he possess every moment of the woman by capturing it in his eyes.
Even though they were already pressed so close that they couldn't possibly get any closer, what was this feeling of insufficiency?
Had this woman bewitched him?
Or had he gone mad?
If this unquenchable thirst was desire, then he could somewhat understand the mental state of those fools who lost their minds over a woman.
Herdin stared at Blair as if to carve her image into his pupils, then pulled her even more tightly into his embrace. Along with that, he kissed her and caressed her body as if to calm her trembling form.
A moment later, having caught her breath, Blair slowly opened her eyes. Her brilliant violet eyes captured his image.
Blair, receiving his kiss, carefully opened her mouth.
"……Herdin. Can't we finish quickly today?"
"Quickly?"
"I have to wake up early tomorrow."
"Ah."
It was a deliberately slow exclamation, as if he had only just remembered that tomorrow was the hunting tournament.
He too had briefly considered letting her sleep early today, but that was only before he entered her bedchamber.
Upon seeing her looking at him with those earnest eyes, the sadism dormant within him reared its head.
Perhaps he had simply become amused by watching his wife's face.
A tearful face, a face flushed with heat and not knowing what to do, a face flushed with shame…….
It was fascinating that the doll-like woman who rarely smiled or cried in front of him showed such diverse expressions in bed.
"Then, as my wife wishes……."
Herdin said so and withdrew his body. Or so she thought. The moment Blair let her guard down, he pulled her into his arms again.
"Ah!"
"I will try my best. To finish quickly."
"That's not what I……."
Blair glared at him with eyes full of resentment, but Herdin only pressed his lips to those eyes.