Chapter 53. Blair Who Vanished
2023.10.23.
'Even if you were sincere, nothing changes.'
That feeling will disappear before long. Just like the spring breeze brushing past her cheek at this moment. Therefore……
'I must not waver.'
Leaning on that warmth, that touch alone, getting excited and hurt—she had already endured enough of that in her past life.
Blair turned away, leaving Herdin's back behind her. Just then, Lina approached in a hurry.
"My lady, it looks like teatime is being held over there!"
"Yes, let's go."
Rachel, who had been watching Blair from a short distance as she headed to the teatime venue, rose from her seat and followed the two.
* * *
The peaceful atmosphere of teatime was shattered when a maid from the Seldon household rushed in.
"Joshua is missing?"
The face of the Viscountess Seldon turned pale upon hearing from the maid that the child had disappeared.
Joshua was the son of Viscount Seldon and Rachel's nephew, a boy who had turned four this year.
Usually, at banquets and various events, separate spaces were prepared for children. This was because ruining the adults' social atmosphere was considered uncouth behavior.
And for the children as well, it became a place where they could play away from adults' disapproving glares and engage in their own socializing, making it a good custom for both adults and children.
Even though it was a separate area, nannies and maids kept watch, so there was no chance of losing the children.
Yet, a child had disappeared.
Hearing that news, Blair's heart dropped. It was because she knew a little of what a mother who lost her child felt.
"What…… do you mean, Kasy? Where were you and the nanny all this time, and what were you doing?"
Rachel, also startled by the news, jumped up from her seat and approached the maid.
In doing so, she pushed Blair's teacup, knocking it over. The spilled tea poured directly onto Blair's dress. Fortunately, the tea had cooled to a proper temperature and wasn't hot.
Seeing that, Rachel stopped in surprise.
"Oh my, I'm sorry. Duchess. I was so startled that I…… Are you alright?"
Due to the previous incident, Blair found it awkward to look at Rachel's face, but with a child missing, worry took precedence over any unpleasant feelings toward her.
And spilling the tea in this situation couldn't have been intentional either.
Blair smiled as if to say she was fine.
"I'm alright, so let's go find the child quickly."
The noblewomen gathered around the pale Viscountess Seldon.
Most of them were mothers with children, so they felt pity for the Viscountess Seldon's situation.
"Madam, I'll have our knights search for the child too."
"Our knights will help as well. If many people work together, we'll find him quickly. So please don't worry too much."
"That's right, sister. Our Joshua is a bright boy, so he'll be fine."
Everyone, including Rachel, reassured and comforted the Viscountess Seldon.
Blair was also looking at the Viscountess with worried eyes when Lina, examining Blair's dress, spoke.
"My lady, I think we need to go to the carriage so you can change your dress."
The tea had stained it unattractively, and more importantly, the dress was completely soaked. Besides, it didn't seem like the atmosphere would allow teatime to continue.
Blair quietly excused herself only to the nearby ladies and slipped away from the teatime. But the thought of the Viscountess Seldon's pale face, blue with worry for her child, made her uneasy.
After briefly contemplating, Blair spoke to Lina.
"Lina, could you go call Sir Bane?"
A Delmark knight who had been guarding from a distance approached in swift strides.
"Did you call for me, my lady."
"They say the Viscount Seldon's son has disappeared. Could you help search for him?"
"The Viscount Seldon's son, you say……"
"He is my nephew by relation. The Viscountess seems greatly shaken, and the other noble houses have agreed to help."
The knight recalled Herdin's order to never leave Blair's side.
"But, I was given strict orders to guard you……"
"I'll just be changing clothes in the carriage and staying with the ladies, so nothing will happen."
The knight was in a difficult position.
Looking at the situation over there, just as Blair said, knights from various houses were gathering to prepare for the child's search.
In such a situation, if only the Delmark knights were absent, it would put Herdin and Blair in an awkward position. This was also a matter of Delmark's pride. Especially if something bad happened to the child.
After hesitating briefly, the knight saw Lina beside Blair and the noblewomen dispersing from teatime to return to their respective carriages, and made his decision.
"I shall follow your command, my lady."
The knight led his fellow knights who had been waiting in the distance and went to where the knights of each house had gathered.
Meanwhile, Lina brought out a spare dress.
"My lady, please come into the carriage. I'll help you change."
However, Lina's complexion didn't look good. Noticing this, Blair asked.
"Lina? Are you sick somewhere?"
"Huh? Ah……. I think I ate something wrong for lunch. My stomach hurts a bit."
Blair took Lina's hand. Her hand was as warm as usual, but her complexion was pale.
"Does it hurt a lot? Did you bring any medicine?"
"I don't have medicine, but…… it'll be fine soon."
Lina forced a smile and helped Blair change. But after finishing helping her change, Lina was even breaking out in cold sweat.
Blair looked at Lina's complexion with worried eyes and wiped away her sweat.
"Lina, you really don't seem well. I'll go call the imperial physician……"
"N-no! No. I don't think it's that kind of thing……"
"Hmm?"
Lina, who had been answering in a barely audible voice while clutching her aching stomach, suddenly rose as if she couldn't hold it in anymore.
"M-my lady. Can I please, just for a moment, really just for a moment, step away?"
"Ah……. Yes, don't worry about me and take your time."
Blair nodded, seemingly catching on to the meaning at last. The moment Lina received Blair's permission, she disappeared.
And a short while later, she returned to the carriage with a relieved face.
"Hah…… I thought I was going to die. Is it just me?"
Earlier, when the masters were eating, the maids had eaten together among themselves.
"If they ate the same prepared food, the other girls would be sick too, right?"
That would have caused a commotion, but somehow the other houses seemed quiet and trouble-free.
Tilting her head in confusion, Lina arrived in front of the carriage, and her eyes widened in shock.
"……My lady?"
Blair was nowhere to be seen, having vanished without a trace.
* * *
The forest became noisy.
As the knights began driving the prey, the quiet bushes started to rustle.
The very moment a stag revealed itself.
A single arrow precisely pierced through the stag's neck.
Then, a startled water deer leaped out. It too collapsed helplessly from a single arrow.
Herdin drew the next arrow with eyes devoid of any enthusiasm.
Killing something no longer brought him any excitement whatsoever. It was neither amusing nor terribly unpleasant.
As Herdin turned his horse to move to another spot, Wesley emerged through the forest.
"Oh my, this is too much. How come you don't miss a single one? Are you planning to catch every animal in the forest, Your Excellency?"
Herdin looked at Wesley, who was putting on a brazenly jovial act, with cold eyes.
The feeling that he had been constantly following behind him since earlier—was it simply because his mood was foul?
It was fortunate that he wasn't chasing after Blair, but seeing him constantly hovering in his field of vision was extremely irritating.
"You should intentionally miss one or two, so people like me can at least get a taste of the hunt, shouldn't you?"
"I'm not the type to find fulfillment in yielding what's mine to others."
Herdin replied indifferently and turned away.
At that moment, a rabbit appeared in both men's sight. Spotting it, Wesley's eyes lit up as he raised his bow.
And the moment he drew the string.
An arrow that flew faster by a hair's breadth embedded itself in the tree trunk near the rabbit.
Startled by that, the rabbit fled, and Wesley's arrow embedded itself in the ground nearby, a beat too late.
When Wesley looked in the direction the other arrow had come from, there stood Herdin, lowering his bow.
"My, greed made me miss the mark."
But unlike his words, his expression showed no regret whatsoever.
Wesley realized this wasn't a mistake. The man who had been hunting with perfect one-shot kills all this time wouldn't make such a careless mistake.
It was a completely intentional mistake, designed to not yield even a single catch to Wesley.
Wesley's expression stiffened for a moment, but he soon gathered his revealed emotions and smiled.
"They say even monkeys fall from trees sometimes. It seems even Your Excellency has days when you make mistakes."
Herdin looked at such Wesley with strange eyes.
Something was off.
The guy who had gotten beaten at the banquet yet went around spreading rumors that he struck first, was not avoiding him but instead constantly hovering nearby and fawning over him.
'It's almost like surveillance.'
The thought that had been idly passing through his mind stopped abruptly there.
Herdin ordered the knight order nearby.
"Knight order. We're returning now."
At that, Wesley flinched and approached.
"You're returning already? If you hunt just a little more, victory in the competition is as good as yours."
Herdin ignored him and pulled his horse around.
As he neared the entrance to the forest, an ominous premonition grew stronger and stronger for some unknown reason.
Just as he arrived at the forest entrance, he ran into a knight who was about to mount his horse. It was the knight Bane, whom he had entrusted with Blair's guard.
"Y-Your Excellency."
Facing Herdin, his flustered demeanor was unmistakable. Behind him, the Delmark carriage was visible. Beside it, Lina's pale, bloodless face as well.
But Blair, who should rightfully have been there, was nowhere to be seen.
Instinctively, his heart plummeted.