Chapter 82. Our Contract Ends Here
"Sir Ruth, we have arrived."
Ruth, who had been dozing off, snapped his eyes open at the coachman's voice.
Gathering the documents he had set aside, he stepped down from the carriage, exhaustion written clearly across his face.
As always, it was Mason who greeted him.
He had been about to offer his usual greeting, but seeing how sunken Ruth's eyes had become in just a few days, he swallowed a bitter smile.
"Are you alright?"
"...I can't even say I'm fine as an empty pleasantry, but fortunately, I'm still alive. And His Excellency?"
"He is in the bedroom."
The expected answer came back, just as it had for the past several days.
Mason guided Ruth to the reception room and asked, "Would you like your usual tea?"
"Ah, I'll have coffee today, please. Strong. Oh, and bring some sugar cubes as well."
Having finished his detailed order, Ruth entered the reception room and leaned back against the sofa.
When he organized the documents he had brought and set them down in front of him, Mason arrived with the coffee.
After drinking the coffee with sugar cubes, Ruth finally wore an expression suggesting he might live and turned to look at Mason.
"By the way, how is the Madam?"
After rumors related to the incident from ten years ago spread, public opinion condemning Blair had grown fierce both inside and outside.
She had been refraining from going out since the kidnapping incident, but recently the vassals of House Delmark had even come to the mansion making a fuss, so Blair couldn't be unaware of the current atmosphere.
That had been weighing on his mind constantly.
"Well. It's been days since I've seen the Madam's face."
Mason answered with a troubled expression.
That meant Blair had been held by Herdin for days and hadn't been able to come out of the bedroom.
Ruth's eyes narrowed at those words.
'They said they were in a contractual relationship, but they're quite passionate... Well, I suppose it's rather a good thing given the current situation.'
Even if Blair were aware of this atmosphere, she would only simmer in frustration.
Since she knew the outside circumstances better than anyone, he had been secretly worried about Blair, who couldn't hear good things from anywhere.
That was the reason he was handling all the work Herdin had been pushing onto him for days without complaint.
'Once we catch the mastermind behind the kidnapping and obtain solid evidence about the incident from ten years ago to reveal the truth, the public opinion will quiet down on at least one side.'
So he wanted to wrap up this matter as quickly as possible.
For Esmeralda, who had been falsely accused and buried underground for nearly ten years, and for Blair, who was being battered by public opinion.
It was a bit laughable that he, who had once disapproved of Blair, was now worrying about her, though.
As Ruth was mocking his own guilt, Herdin, who had entered the reception room at some point, sat across from him.
"Ah, you're here."
He barely acknowledged Ruth's greeting, sweeping back his slightly disheveled bangs. Then, after taking a drag from his cigar, he immediately picked up the documents in front of him.
A subtly displeased air seeped from his languidly disheveled appearance.
"Is this all the urgent documents?"
"Yes."
Herdin skimmed through the documents, took the fountain pen Ruth offered, and signed immediately.
Ruth secured the returned fountain pen and documents, then broached the subject in an ordinary tone of voice.
"I heard you caught the dark mage who was in contact with the kidnappers last night?"
"Yes. It seemed too dangerous to keep at the mansion, so I had him confined at a villa on the outskirts."
"Then we'll be able to reveal the mastermind soon."
They were already certain the Empress Dowager was behind the kidnapping, but without evidence, they hadn't been able to state it definitively.
Once the mastermind behind the kidnapping was revealed, it could serve as circumstantial evidence linked to the incident from ten years ago. Just like those rumors that were currently spreading rampant.
So he had brought it up, thinking Herdin would naturally show enthusiasm at the news. But for some reason, Herdin didn't seem particularly pleased by it.
While finding that strange, Ruth simply assumed his mood was low and moved on to the next topic.
"And as Your Excellency is already aware, the public opinion toward the Madam is not good. Once we get a lead, it would be best to negotiate with the imperial family as soon as possible."
Herdin's cool eyes, upon hearing that news, settled quietly.
"...I know."
Now, there was truly no time left.
* * *
Blair woke in the middle of sleep, suddenly feeling the emptiness beside her.
Herdin was gone.
Wondering if he had gone out to smoke a cigar, she looked toward the balcony, but he wasn't there either. Given that the reception room side was also quiet, it seemed he had left the room entirely.
Without realizing she had been looking for Herdin, Blair mocked herself for having grown accustomed to his warmth.
Over the past few days, Herdin hadn't left her side for even a moment. Work had long since been abandoned, and he was with her not only during meals but even when bathing.
Herdin would overlap their bodies whether they were eating or bathing. Even when she woke from what felt like fainting, he was still inside her.
Ruthlessly pressing against her, he was like a starving beast. At the same time, he somehow seemed desperate.
As if he would die if he were apart from her for even a moment.
But seeing as his absence felt hollow, it seemed she was the one who had ultimately been tamed by him.
However, this too was now over.
Blair cautiously traced her flat lower abdomen.
'Could I have conceived Asiel?'
It was exactly on that rainy night that Asiel would have been conceived, and from that day onward, they had overlapped their bodies for several days straight, to the point where she thought they couldn't possibly try any harder.
She didn't know what had stimulated his desire, but for Blair, who had endured this time with the sole determination to definitely conceive Asiel, it was rather a good thing.
That was the reason she hadn't ultimately pushed him away, even while complaining that it was hard.
'I should slowly start preparing for the divorce from now on.'
If she had conceived Asiel in the past few days, she would probably start experiencing morning sickness around the first month.
Recalling her past life's memories, her morning sickness had been severe when she was carrying Asiel. She couldn't even eat, let alone anything else, to the point where she would throw up even if she only drank water.
At first, she could pass it off as indigestion, but beyond that, it would be difficult to deceive the perceptive Herdin.
Therefore, she had to settle everything before that.
Divorce required procedures, and it took longer than expected.
Since she was bringing it forward by nearly half a year from the originally scheduled end of the contract, Herdin would also need time to prepare.
Just as Blair was organizing her thoughts, she heard the bedroom door open.
Then Herdin, entering the bedroom with his usual cold expression, paused briefly when he met eyes with Blair, who was lying in bed looking at him.
"You're awake early."
Approaching the bedside, he pulled the bell cord.
Over the past few days, they had only called the maids during meal times, so they would notice on their own and bring breakfast.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Herdin fiddled with Blair's beautiful hair scattered across the bedsheets, then slowly moved up and brushed her cheek with his index finger.
Blair, who had been staring at him, opened her mouth just as his index finger was about to touch her lips.
"Don't you have work to do?"
Only then did Herdin's hand stop, and a cold light momentarily flickered in his eyes.
Those words sounded exactly like she was trying to drive him away.
"Perhaps."
Answering dismissively, Herdin moved his long fingers again and traced her reddish lips.
At that, Blair shrank her lips back, avoiding his touch. After watching that for a moment, Herdin leaned down and devoured those luscious lips.
Their lightly touching lips separated, and just as he pulled her slender waist close to press against her again—
Blair stopped him.
"Herdin."
Instead of answering, he raised his gaze, which had been directed at her lips, to meet her eyes.
Blair brought up the words she had been thinking about before he arrived.
"Let's end our contract here."
Herdin's eyes, which had been looking at her, faltered.
"I've regained my memories, and I've done everything I can to reveal the full truth of that incident."
"......"
"So I think it's best for both of us to slowly start preparing around this point."
Seeing Blair speak of ending the contract in her characteristic calm tone, Herdin's mouth twisted.
The moment he realized the root of the emotion at his very core, the conclusion that spilled from her lips as if she had been waiting for it was laughable.
I can't let you go even in this state, yet you say you'll leave me so easily.
Just as scheduled, just as you've always wanted. As if you're leaving because the transaction is over.
It made him laugh in disbelief at his wife's innocent eyes, firmly believing he would certainly keep that promise.
Herdin looked down at Blair with cold eyes and spoke.
"There's still quite a bit of time left on the contract. I don't understand why you're in such a hurry."
"......"
"Is there some reason you must flee quickly after the divorce?"
A subtle ripple stirred in Blair's violet eyes, which had been filled with trust toward him.
Eyes that had trust betrayed and a vulnerability exposed.
That sight twisted his mood even further.
How can I keep you, who has only waited for the day to leave with another man, who only thinks of leaving my side?
His coldly calmed mind was filled with only that thought.