Chapter 99. Us, Tomorrow
2023.12.08.
“Please don’t stay too long. The cold air isn’t good for you.”
Herding, who had been silently standing by Blair’s side for a long time, was the first to turn away as he spoke.
He headed toward Ruth, who was waiting from a distance. It seemed the two had something to discuss separately.
It was then, as she stared blankly at his retreating back, that Esmeralda’s words from sometime ago suddenly came to mind.
‘But just because that child’s heart hurts, doesn’t mean you have to endure discomfort, Blair.’
‘…….’
‘Because you are just as precious a person as that child.’
Blair turned her head to look at Esmeralda’s tombstone and asked.
“If it were you, Your Majesty, you would respect my choice, wouldn’t you?”
Even when Katrina always took Ivan’s side, even when Rachel and her cousins ostracized her, and even in front of Herding whom she cherished so dearly—the person who had always taken her side.
If it were her, she felt like she would understand her even in this very moment.
The fact that there was someone who would forever be on her side suddenly gave her strength.
Blair smiled and whispered.
“……I miss you.”
Rustle, rustle—the sound of her hand sweeping leaves off the tombstone echoed through the quiet cemetery.
* * *
That night, a small party was held at the Delmark ducal residence. It was a celebration to commemorate Esmeralda and Delmark clearing their names.
‘Since this is a day everyone should celebrate together, how about bringing out some alcohol?’
The hastily organized party, proposed by Blair and approved by Herding, came to a close with a hint of lingering regret, promising a grander celebration in the near future.
Melly and Lina, who had come to attend to Blair after her bath, seemed still caught up in the party’s excitement as they chattered away while combing Blair’s hair.
Unaware that Blair’s gaze upon the two of them looked strangely lonely.
“No, seriously, I had just picked up my fourth glass! And Sir White, who was perfectly fine just a moment ago, collapsed right there while still holding his glass.”
“……Lina, you smell like alcohol every time you speak.”
“Oops, the young lady mustn’t see me like this. My lady, please forget everything you saw today, alright?”
As Blair listened to Lina boasting about her drinking capacity—having effortlessly downed a young knight—it was then that Melly noticed something and exclaimed.
“Lina, your skirt is torn.”
“What?”
Just as Melly said, the hem of Lina’s maid uniform was torn. It seemed to be an accident that occurred earlier when she was enthusiastically drinking.
“Ugh, what is this? When did this happen?”
Melly laughed at Lina’s horrified reaction, then soothingly reassured her.
“I’ll sew it up for you when we go back to our room later.”
Blair quietly observed the two chattering girls through the mirror. They seemed so different from each other, yet the way they helped one another when something happened was endearing to watch.
“I’m so glad you two get along well. You’ll continue to rely on each other and stay close, right?”
Though the two thought Blair’s atmosphere was oddly different from usual, they nodded.
“Of course, don’t worry.”
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Sometimes you talk like someone who’s going far away. It’s scary.”
At Lina’s words, Blair neither agreed nor disagreed; she simply smiled and playfully retorted.
“I’m just worried about you who didn’t even notice you tore your skirt.”
While the three were chatting away, the door opened and Herding entered. He was wearing a robe, looking as if he had just finished bathing.
Upon seeing him, Melly and Lina fell silent as if they had agreed upon it beforehand and stopped combing.
“Then, my lady, have sweet dreams.”
“……Yeah. Sleep well, both of you.”
After finishing their goodnight greetings to Blair, the two bowed to Herding as well before quietly leaving the room.
Blair watched through the closing door until Melly and Lina had completely disappeared, then stood up upon seeing Herding, who had somehow approached the vanity beside her.
“Are you not tired?”
“I’m fine. I didn’t really do much anyway.”
As Blair answered and turned to head to the bedroom, Herding gently caught her hand and turned her toward him.
“Then shall we go out to the plaza tomorrow.”
It seemed like a completely unexpected suggestion, as Blair’s eyes widened. The sight was endearing.
Herding pulled her waist and embraced her against his chest, adding.
“And we’ll look at baby clothes while we’re at it.”
As he said that, his hand stroked her belly. It didn’t show at all yet if she was dressed, but to him, who had touched her belly every day, he could feel it.
The child in her womb was slowly, diligently growing its presence.
Blair quietly gazed at Herding’s hand wrapped around her belly, then readily nodded.
“……Let’s do that. Tomorrow.”
At that answer, Herding’s lips curved up in a satisfied arc.
He pulled Blair closer and kissed her. Blair, who hesitated for a moment, closed her eyes as if granting permission.
As always, the kiss that started off softly gradually grew rougher as if to devour her.
Herding grabbed Blair’s hips and pressed her tightly against himself. Through the thin chemise, he could feel her body heat, the softness of her skin as the fabric slid. Even though he could feel it vividly through the thin cloth, it tormented him that he couldn’t touch more.
Herding called her with a voice that seemed to scrape his throat.
“……Blair.”
At that call, her body flinched as if responding.
“I want to be inside you.”
“…….”
“May I?”
Until she reached her stable period, he had been cautious—making do with his hands or pressing their bodies together while clothed.
Every time, it had been agonizing to suppress his raging desire.
Blair hesitated for a moment before parting her lips.
“……If you can be careful.”
The moment permission fell, Herding scooped Blair into his arms and strode to the bed. Even then, his lips that had swallowed hers never left.
Herding laid Blair on the bed and persistently licked from her palm to the inside of her wrist.
“Ah…….”
Each time, Blair’s body trembled, and her soft breasts heaved rapidly.
When he gently grasped the prominent mounds visible through the thin summer chemise, a moan slipped from Blair’s lips. Herding kissed her immediately as if to swallow that moan.
His large hand, which had been caressing Blair’s body over her chemise, naturally pushed up her nightgown. In an instant, the chemise was removed, revealing her pale naked body.
Herding pressed his lips against her delicate skin. Everywhere he passed, red flowers bloomed on the white canvas.
After her pregnancy, her sweet body scent had grown stronger. He couldn’t even embrace her to his heart’s content, yet the temptation only grew stronger.
Like a luscious fruit in a painting—so enticing yet unable to be tasted, how it tormented him.
For a long time, Herding savored her body as if driving her wild with desire, and only after Blair was completely drenched did he raise himself and position himself.
“Tell me if you feel even a little discomfort.”
Blair gave a small nod.
Rather than immediately joining their bodies, he deliberately hovered on the outside, gauging where to enter, before slowly overlapping their bodies.
“Ah…….”
Blair gasped at the sensation of being tightly filled. Her body, grown hypersensitive after pregnancy, responded to him instantly.
Herding heard that small sound and examined her.
“Does it hurt?”
Blair shook her head at that.
“No, it’s not that…… it’s just been too long.”
Her flinching reaction substituted for the rest of her unspoken words. She desired him just as much.
Realizing this, Herding suppressed the urge to let loose and pushed in slowly, and a little deeper.
Then he stopped at the point where Blair’s breathing grew rough. It was still not enough to satisfy himself, but he decided to match his fragile wife who seemed as if she might crumble.
As he began to move slowly, a moan that sounded like a pained cry leaked from Blair’s lips.
“Ah, Herding.”
Though it was far from enough stimulation to satisfy his greed, the different sensation from that slow friction delivered another kind of pleasure.
Her flushed face, seeming to feel the same way as him, also.
‘……It feels different from usual.’
After the Founding Festival, she had argued with him, and though she didn’t refuse intimacy, she didn’t respond either. She simply, silently endured him.
Even so, Herding had held Blair.
He thought that by pressing their body heat together, by mingling their flesh, they might return to the relationship they had before when they both desired each other.
And sometimes, to erase the anxiety that she might vanish when she slumped in his arms.
But today’s Blair was strangely different.
Unlike what he had expected—her showing the usual passive resistance—she was clumsily but steadily responding to him.
Belatedly, he questioned this, but the dizzying sensation at the peak that overtook him as if urging him on erased all other thoughts.
Having finally poured out his heat, Herding kissed the lips and cheeks of Blair, who was trembling all over, and waited for her shivering to subside.
After a while, Blair, who had been catching her breath, opened her eyes. The moment he met her violet irises, the question he had felt earlier resurfaced. It was just as Herding opened his lips to speak.
“Your Grace.”
Along with the sound of knocking, Mason’s urgent voice came through.
It was a time close to midnight. For the experienced butler to intrude upon his master’s time meant it had to be a truly urgent matter.
Herding let out a sigh.
“……Please sleep first. I’ll be back shortly.”
He kissed Blair’s rounded forehead and rose from his spot.
His footsteps gradually faded, and eventually, the sound of the door closing was heard. At the same time, Blair’s gaze grew coldly calm.
The contents of the note delivered by Baroness Shionel’s assistant yesterday came to mind.
[Tomorrow night, I will distract His Grace the Duke. At that time, leave the mansion through the secret passage.]
Blair got out of bed and dressed. It was finally time to leave.