In the painting, a strikingly handsome man and a beautiful woman sat side by side. On the woman's lap sat a boy who appeared to be about three or four years old.
Although Blair already knew them, Ruth, who had no way of knowing this, quickly explained who they were.
"They are the late Duke and Duchess. And this child is the current His Excellency."
The three family members in the painting were smiling happily, completely unaware of the misfortune that lay ahead. The family portrait before her was a painting that struck her all the more deeply because she knew of that tragedy.
However, there was another reason why Blair could not take her eyes off the painting.
Blair gazed at the young Herdin in the portrait with longing eyes.
Slightly curly, soft black hair, milky-white chubby cheeks, clear, large eyes, and even the shape of his mouth when he smiled.
Except for the eye color inherited from his mother, Asiel was the spitting image of his father, Herdin.
'Asiel… …'
How much her heart ached every time she barely managed to recall the child in her fading memories.
'It's a relief you take after your father.'
At least she could picture him like this.
Just as Blair was immersed in longing,
Ruth, guessing there was something else behind her inability to take her eyes off the portrait, abruptly and tactlessly butted in.
"The late Duchess was truly a beauty, wasn't she? And as for His Excellency, the late Duke, well, there is no need to say more. I'm telling you, he looks exactly like the current His Excellency."
"...."
"Your Excellency, your vibe is completely different now, but strangely enough, doesn't it seem like some of your face from back then still remains?"
Ruth's expression as she spoke about the late Duke and Duchess and Herdin looked undeniably joyful. How desperate
must she have been to reveal such emotions even in front of someone as uncomfortable as herself?
Blair realized that these feelings stemmed not from mere loyalty, but from deep trust and love between human beings. That pure heart was so endearing that it made her smile.
"You served the late Duke and his wife with all your heart."
Ruth suddenly snapped back to reality and hurriedly clarified her words.
"After all, you are my benefactor."
"You are uncomfortable around me, aren't you, Sir?"
At Blair's sudden, blunt question, Ruth choked and coughed.
'Surely, she didn't hear me sigh earlier…?'
She checked to see if Blair was offended, but she was looking at her with clear eyes, showing not a hint of displeasure. That made her feel even more uneasy.
Ruth hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to be honest or tell an obvious lie, before scratching her cheek and answering.
"Um… it's not your fault, Madam."
It was simply that she disliked her background. Blair immediately noticed what was left unsaid.
Blair understood Ruth.
Lina dislikes Herdin, too—simply because he favors her more.
Ruth is the same—simply because she favors Herdin more than her.
Of course, I know that avoiding someone because of their background is by no means the right thing to do.
'But at least she is different from the others who badmouthed me behind my back.'
The reason most people disliked me was not out of loyalty to Herdin, but simply because they disliked me.
However, Ruth's feelings were driven entirely by loyalty—a clean emotion that would disappear once the relationship between her and Herdin was settled.
Not that I intended to embrace it, though.
"I know."
Blair said calmly, her face even bearing a faint smile.
"Still, don't be so wary. I'm going to leave cleanly, without causing any trouble for Delmark."
"Leave?"
Ruth asked with a bewildered expression, and Blair, her eyes widening slightly, asked back,
"Ah. Didn't he tell you?"
"I don't quite know what you are talking about..."
"That we are in a contract marriage."
"A contract... marriage?"
Blair nodded, looking at Ruth as if she had never heard it before.
Ruth, who had been mulling over the meaning of the words, finally understood their significance a beat late and was shocked.
"Hmm, that lounge earlier did seem a bit bleak, so I think hanging a few more paintings would be a good idea."
Blair, having dropped the bombshell on Ruth, left the gallery without noticing her reaction, thinking she should meet Mikhail, who was due to contact her.
***
That evening, Herdin returned to the mansion after completing the monster hunt and found Ruth in the office.
It was well past the time she would normally have left work, so seeing her still there suggested she had something to say.
"Or maybe there was some kind of problem with Blair."
Herdin casually asked Ruth, who was approaching with a serious expression,
"You haven't left work yet?"
"Your Excellency. Is what the Madam said true?"
"What?"
"That the two of you entered into a contract marriage."
Herdin, who had been roughly drying his hair with a towel, paused. His gaze sharpened in an instant.
"...Did she tell you that?"
"Good heavens, is it true? You didn't tell me such an important story! As for that contract marriage, once the agreed-upon period ends..."
Ruth's nagging did not even register in Herdin's ears.
"Hey, where are you going in the middle of a conversation?"
Ignoring Ruth's words, Herdin stormed out of the office. He dropped his towel in the process, but he did not care.
His footsteps led him to Blair's bedroom.
When Herdin barged into the bedroom without knocking, what he saw was Blair taking off her bathrobe and changing into a bed robe.
Herdin flinched at the glimpse of bare skin peeking through the unfastened bed gown.
"Kya… h-h-h."
Lina, who was attending to her, was startled by Herdin's sudden intrusion and was about to scream, but she shut her mouth upon realizing he was Blair's husband.
There was nothing wrong with a husband seeing his wife's body.
She simply hurriedly fastened Blair's gown.
The person who had actually exposed herself, however, appeared surprised only by his appearance, not particularly shocked by the fact that she had been seen.
"Lina, you may go now."
Lina bowed to the two of them and quietly withdrew. Only Blair and Herdin remained in the room.
Herdin, who had been about to immediately confront Blair, closed his mouth upon seeing her look up at him with clear eyes. It was because he recalled a memory of seeing tears welling up in those eyes sometime ago.
After suppressing a surge of emotion that he himself could not understand, Herdin spoke again in a lowered voice.
"...I heard you spoke to Ruth about our contract."
"Ah.... I thought Lord Ruth knew. And I thought it would be fine if he did."
It wasn't something that shouldn't have been said.
As she said, Ruth was one of his close associates, and he wasn't the type of man to blab about his weakness to the outside world, even if it meant risking his life.
Herdin, swallowing emotions he himself could not define, caught sight of Blair's lips.
Only then did he seem to understand the reason for this rage.
He was angry that she had so casually brought up the end of this contract with those lips.
Just like when he had heard those words once:
'We are going to divorce. As per the contract.'
Suddenly, the woman standing before him—a woman within arm's reach—felt so distant… as if she might just vanish like this.
That couldn't be right. That would be a breach of contract.
None of the conditions he had set for himself had been fulfilled yet.
And he couldn't even take the warmth of this woman, which had come along like a small reward for that contract, as he pleased.
Anger toward her must be the name of this uncontrollable emotion that is currently gripping and shaking him.
Having finally settled on a name for his feelings, he cupped Blair's cheeks and met her gaze. His downward gaze was twisted.
"Do you think this contract is a joke?"
At his cold tone, Blair's eyes trembled slightly.
But Herdin did not stop.
No—precisely because of that, he could not stop.
Because he never wanted to see those lips speak of the end of this contract again.
"You seem to have forgotten, but this is a fraud scheme to deceive the Emperor. It is not children's play."
"...."
"Never again mention the contract in front of others."
His voice, which had been sinking coldly, ceased.
Soon, Blair's trembling eyes stilled.
After wavering for a moment, she nodded with her usual calm expression.
"I will be careful from now on."
She seemed to accept his words.
Surely, that must have been the answer he had hoped for.
Nevertheless, Herdin felt as if his unquenched thirst was rising again. His throat was parched and empty.
However, in front of a woman who agreed with him, he no longer had any grounds to be angry.
"...Please rest."
Herdin suppressed his emotions and left the bedroom.
A sigh escaped from between his lips as he roughly ran his hand through his hair.
He found it extremely unpleasant that his emotions had been running wild like a madman lately.
***
"We have arrived."
The hired carriage carrying Blair stopped in front of the art museum.
Today's meeting place with Mikhail was here, at the private art museum.
They had met secretly last time at the theater because it was a well-known meeting place, but since this was an art museum, they decided to meet openly.
If anyone recognized them, they could simply pretend they were there to help with the auction.
Still, wanting to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, Blair checked the veiled hat she was wearing one last time and opened the carriage door.
At the same time, a large hand was extended in front of her.