Chapter 86. A Solid Fortress
2023.11.25.
Having finished his bath, Herdin came out of the bathroom with a towel draped over his half-dried hair.
Late afternoon sunlight spilled across the hallway. It was the time of day when shadows at one's feet began to lengthen little by little.
Herdin roughly wiped the moisture from his hair with the towel and headed for Blair's bedroom. Entirely naturally.
Just as he stepped into the hallway where Blair's bedroom was located, he heard the murmuring voices of maids cleaning nearby.
"What on earth is His Excellency thinking? Doting on a woman who might be the daughter of his enemy like that. What if he ends up getting her pregnant...?"
"Didn't the Imperial Family tell Madam to do so? It was a marriage pushed by His Majesty the Emperor in the first place. She might be seducing His Excellency so he can't call off the marriage."
"...Trying to get pregnant?"
"That's right. Even if it's true that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager assassinated the former Empress, they wouldn't be able to kick out a woman carrying the Delmark seed, right? She's aiming for that."
"Your deduction skills are quite impressive."
Unaware that someone had approached from behind, the whispering maids jumped in fright at the sudden voice and whirled around.
Herdin, who knows how long he had been listening, was leaning against the wall, staring at them with icy eyes.
His firm body revealed through the loosely tied robe, and above it, his beautiful face.
That face, which they used to steal glances at while blushing, looked terribly chilling at this moment.
"I didn't bring mystery novels into the library for that purpose."
"Y-Your Excellency."
"In your eyes, I suppose I look like a fool who knows nothing of that intention and fell headlong for the seduction."
"T-That's not what we meant...! We were just worried about Your Excellency and Delmark..."
"To think Delmark's status has fallen to the point where a mere maid worries about it without my knowledge... It leaves a foul taste in my mouth."
His voice as he said that was lethargic and devoid of inflection, but the maids could fully feel the unsettled fury contained within it.
It was the instinct of the weak.
"Your Excellency, what are you doing here—"
As Ruth, who had finished the task Herdin had given him, approached, the pale-faced maids urgently dropped to their knees.
"I-I have committed a mortal sin! Please, just this once, forgive me, Your Excellency!"
"Lowly beings ran their mouths without knowing their place. Please, show mercy just this once..."
Herdin looked down at the maids apologizing as if begging with indifferent eyes, then turned around.
"Ruth."
"Yes?"
"Dismiss them."
Ruth alternated glances between Herdin's retreating back, leaving without a hint of hesitation, and the despairing maids, wearing a troubled expression.
The maids were a hundred times in the wrong, but it felt like too steep a price for merely misspeaking, making Ruth feel uneasy.
However, a lord's command is absolute in any situation.
Ruth asked for the maids' names to deliver to Mason, then belatedly followed behind Herdin.
Sensing his presence, Herdin spoke without looking back.
"Tell Mason on your way. Make sure the outside rumors don't crawl into the mansion."
"Yes, understood."
Meanwhile, the two arrived in front of Blair's bedroom. Herdin stopped and asked,
"So, the business."
"Ah, we just received a message from Sir Kaligo. He has secured the testimony of the coin minter, and the one who commissioned the coin production is Viscount Vernon, as expected."
It was confirmed that the person who paid the pawnshop and the one who commissioned the coin production were the same.
With this, if only they had the testimony of the soldier who first acquired the coin, they would be able to prove in court that Katrina was involved in the incident ten years ago in some way.
With this, the preparation to clear Esmeralda's false charge was complete.
However, the reason for Herdin's hesitation lay elsewhere.
"And..."
Ruth continued speaking and took something out of his inner pocket.
"This is what you ordered this morning."
What Ruth placed in Herdin's hand was a small medicine bottle. Inside were pills that looked exactly like the ones he had given her.
This morning, before heading out for the demonic beast subjugation, Herdin had ordered him to procure it as quickly as possible.
"Is it certain that it's harmless to the human body?"
"Yes. It's just candy made to look like pills. But what are you going to use that for?"
Herdin only fiddled with the medicine bottle, not answering. Sensing that he shouldn't ask any further, Ruth changed the subject.
"Well, anyway, now that the preparations are almost done... I'd like to relieve Her Majesty the Empress's grievances soon."
"...Yes, soon."
Herdin put the medicine bottle into his robe pocket, turned toward Blair's door, and dismissed him.
"You may go now."
Leaving Ruth bowing behind him, he entered the room.
Passing through the drawing room and stepping inside, the scene of the bedroom, where the languid afternoon sunlight streamed in through the balcony windows, unfolded.
Within that peaceful scene was Blair, who had already fallen fast asleep.
Herdin approached her side and silently gazed at that scene.
Pondering what he was trying to protect by building this solid fortress right now.
Looking at the sleeping Blair for a moment, Herdin took out the medicine bottle he had received from Ruth from his pocket.
It was exactly the same as Blair's medicine bottle that always sat on the bedside table, down to the appearance of its contents.
He hesitated for a while.
Even though he thought he would use any means necessary to stop her from going to that man and make her sit by his side, he couldn't bring himself to touch that medicine bottle.
'Could I bear to watch you resent me for the rest of my life?'
That question held him back.
Even at this very moment, when he had impulsively prepared the fake medicine after seeing the bedroom where you disappeared last night.
Just as Herdin was fiddling with the medicine bottle in his hand, Blair's eyelids fluttered.
"Mmm..."
Seeing that, Herdin's hand quickly swept the medicine bottle on the bedside table onto the floor. Then he placed the bottle in his hand onto the table.
The medicine bottle that fell onto the thick carpet beneath the bed rolled quietly and touched his feet. At the same time, Blair opened her eyes.
"...Herdin?"
Her purple eyes, holding the light, slowly focused, and soon his figure filled them.
"What time is it?"
The eyes that held him, the defenseless face smeared with traces of sleep, the whispering gentle voice.
Seeing her alive and moving, the conclusion was reached so quickly that his previous hesitation felt futile.
Realizing that it was a problem not worth agonizing over in the first place.
"It's not yet evening, so you can sleep a little more."
Herdin answered as such, kicking the fallen medicine bottle at his feet under the bed, and reached out for Blair's disheveled hair, thinking.
Rather than letting you go, I would rather become the world's biggest bastard.
* * *
A rare day when Herdin was away.
After eating lunch, Blair sat by the sunlit window and opened a book, but unable to overcome the pouring drowsiness, she kept nodding off.
"...Ma'am."
She heard a faint voice in her sleep, but just as she couldn't quite wake up—
A careful hand grasped her shoulder.
"Madam?"
"...Ah."
Only then did Blair startle awake. Before her eyes was Lina, with a worried look.
"Are you feeling unwell? You seem very tired lately..."
"Ah, no. I've been staying home all the time lately, so I think I'm just feeling sluggish. It's gotten a bit warmer, too."
Blair hurriedly stopped Lina, afraid she might call the doctor. But her hand quietly slipped to her lower abdomen.
The reason for her increased drowsiness lately was probably inside her womb.
'It must have been a full half-month since the day Asiel was conceived...'
The gestational period is counted from the day of the last menstrual period, so it was about time for symptoms to start appearing.
Of course, there was still no significant difference from premenstrual symptoms, but Blair, with the memories of her past life, was almost certain.
However, the more certain she became of her pregnancy, the more anxious she grew alongside her relief.
'If it's really true that Asiel has been conceived, morning sickness will start soon...'
The deadline Herdin had promised was until the trial ended.
However, while pregnancy symptoms were beginning to appear little by little, the trial showed no signs of even starting.
Moreover, by this point, they should have heard from Mikhail, but there was still no news.
She knew there was nothing she could directly do in this situation, but with nothing being resolved or progressing, she slowly began to feel anxious.
"Madam, then would you like to go out for the first time in a while?"
Lost in thought, Blair snapped out of her musings at Lina's suggestion.
"Go out?"
"The Founding Festival is coming up soon. I passed by the square yesterday, and the festival was in full swing. They sell delicious food and have performances."
Lina's eyes sparkled with anticipation as she talked about the scenery she had seen yesterday.
"How about wearing light clothes and going out for a bit with the knights? It's too stifling to just stay in the mansion."
After listening to Lina's words and pondering for a moment, Blair readily nodded.
"Yeah, let's do that. Sounds like a good idea."
It would be a good way to get some fresh air, and it would also be fine to ask Lina to tell Mikhail to be ready to leave at any time.
However, the two women's bloated plans were shattered by a single word from Mason.