—Madam, I will take care of this creature.
Get on your horse first.
-No.
I'll take her.
—But in that state it will be difficult for him to ride.
And it's also dangerous...
—I'll walk.
Despite the gentleman's worried words, Blair stood her ground.
While the knight hesitated, not knowing what to do, Herdin, who had heard the conversation, approached, leading his horse by the reins.
Decisively, he gently lifted her into his arms and sat her on his own horse.
—Herdin…?
Blair blinked in surprise at his sudden action.
Herdin immediately mounted behind her and ordered the knight:
—Take care of the Lady's horse.
Instead of Blair, who didn't have her hands free, he held her with an arm around her waist.
And with his other arm he took the reins of the horse and began to advance slowly.
His cold eyes looked straight ahead, not at her, but the arm he held her with was firm, as if he wasn't going to let her go.
Blair, who was looking at him without him looking at her, lowered her head.
She should thank him for taking the trouble for her, but when she heard the disconsolate chirping of the baby marten, she couldn't find the words.
And yet, it seemed ridiculous to him that the cold man's chest was warm and that, instinctively, he felt safe in his arms.
The wind of the winter forest brushed past the two people immersed in silence.
When Blair coughed from the draft, Herdin placed the fur hood hanging from his cloak on her.
—If you said a magical beast was going to appear, why did it follow us here?
He could have stayed.
More than sarcasm, he seemed annoyed by the mere fact that she had come to hunt.
No magical beast had appeared yet.
Although the sound of birds flying in other directions could be heard from time to time, there were no screams.
If so, it would be best not to raise further suspicions and simply say that it had been a dream.
Just as Blair, having made that decision, was going to respond to Herdin, he saw something among the fir trees.
Blair's eyes began to flutter violently at the discovery.
What could be seen between the trees was a huge eye.
At that moment, the eye moved and met Blair's gaze.
He felt a chill down his spine.
Herdin and the knights, who were looking ahead, did not seem to have discovered it yet.
—Herd…
But before he could call out to him, a giant hand appeared and attacked them both.
Baaaam!
With a crash, the trees snapped and the snow accumulated on them scattered like a blizzard, blocking the view.
"Blair!"
When Blair came to, the first thing he saw was Herdin, his face disfigured, examining his condition.
Just before the attack, Herdin, who had sensed the presence, had thrown himself to the ground with Blair in his arms by a hair's breadth.
The horse was nowhere to be seen, it had probably fled.
-Excellence!
Lady!
Among the dust of floating snow, the voices of the knights could be heard distantly.
Barely recovered, Blair first checked the condition of the marten she was carrying on her lap.
Perhaps because he had instinctively protected it with both hands as if protecting a child, the marten was safe.
—Can you get up?
Herdin asked.
Instead of responding, Blair mustered his strength.
Herdin lifted her into his arms as she staggered limply.
Meanwhile, the snow settled and the blurry view gradually became clearer.
Beyond, a one-eyed giant was revealed.
It was a cyclops, a magical beast of humanoid shape.
Upon meeting that enormous eye, Blair froze.
The Cyclops, who had discovered them, extended his hand to attack them.
Realizing this, Herdin wrapped his body with Aura to strengthen himself, charged Blair, and jumped nimbly to dodge the attack.
An agility that far exceeded that of a normal human.
At that moment, the knights who had located them attacked the cyclops with their bows.
The continuous sound of arrows cutting through the wind could be heard.
But they only managed to momentarily distract the cyclops, without inflicting great damage.
Taking advantage of that respite, Herdin met with the knights.
The captain of the order ran towards Herdin and Blair.
-Excellence!
Lady!
Are you okay?
-Luckily.
Kyle, you and the first squad take the Lady out of the forest.
The second squad and I will stop the magical beast.
-Yeah.
The captain hurried away to convey his master's orders to his subordinates.
Herdin took off the cloak he was wearing and put it on Blair.
—Take care of this for a moment.
Blair looked at him stunned.
There was no trace of fear on his face.
It was perhaps a natural reaction for him, who was on the front line of the war and who normally lived in the North, where magical beasts roamed freely.
But Blair wasn't like that.
He was terrified of the monster in front of him, and he was also terrified of the possibility that he might be hurt.
Even knowing that the future assured her that she would emerge unscathed, the fear of "what if..." invaded her.
Blair grabbed the arm of Herdin, who was preparing to approach the Cyclops, without thinking.
He felt like he should say something, but he couldn't think of anything.
I could only look at him.
Herdin, alternating his gaze between his grasping hand and Blair's terrified face, giggled.
—Do you think I'm going to die?
Herdin entrusted Blair to the captain of the knights, who was just approaching at that moment, and headed towards the cyclops.
A blue Aura enveloped his body and his sword.
—Madam, we must go.
The captain of the knights urged Blair, who was dazedly watching Herdin's back walk away.
I knew it.
Staying there would not only not help, but would be a hindrance.
But he couldn't take his feet away, nor his eyes.
Herdin climbed up the arm of the cyclops who was trying to attack and jumped high.
And he immediately tried to manipulate the mana to perform a combination magic.
It was at that moment when he felt that something in his body was not as usual.
The sword aura attack aimed at the Cyclops' neck was blocked by the Cyclops' hand.
An attack that, under normal conditions, would have severed the hand and reached the neck.
The amount of mana he could handle was noticeably less than usual.
Still, it was far superior mana than the others, but the flaw in his calculations created a gap in his strategy.
—Kuaaah!
Enraged by the deep wound on his hand, the Cyclops waved his hand at Herdin.
Herdin, momentarily taken aback by the unexpected situation, quickly dodged it.
And immediately regaining his calm, he made a new plan and moved.
He quickly slid underneath the enraged cyclops and cut off his legs.
To prevent the cyclops from escaping and causing more damage in the bud.
The right arm had already suffered a deep cut instead of the neck, so this time he targeted the left arm.
But just as he was cutting off his left arm, the injured right arm grabbed him.
A tremendous pressure oppressed his body.
—Herdin…!
Blair, who was just riding his horse to leave with the captain of the knights, screamed when he saw the scene.
At that moment, a red magic circle appeared flickering between Blair's neck and collarbone.
And at the same time, a fleeting memory crossed Herdin's mind.
The image of Blair, pregnant, looking at him with teary eyes.
It was then that Herdin wondered about that memory that had suddenly come to him.
He felt the mana he had been missing a moment ago being replenished.
Herdin did not miss the opportunity.
He manipulated the mana immediately and cast a spell.
The mana that gushed from within tore the cyclops' hand.
Herdin imbued his sword with Aura and at the same time deployed a huge magic circle.
Then, bluish-hued swords of light appeared in the air and fell on the cyclops like a torrential rain.
—Kuaaak!
Herdin cut the neck of the cyclops who was writhing in pain.
Herdin wiped away the hot blood that had splattered on his face with the back of his hand.
Only then did he feel the pain in his abdomen and frowned involuntarily.
He had apparently broken a rib when the Cyclops grabbed him.
During the almost two months that he had been busy with wedding preparations, he had only trained his body.
He had not performed mana training.
But although lack of training could affect the control ability, it could not influence the absolute amount of mana.
Unless a part of the mana stored inside had suddenly disappeared.
However, seeing that soon after he was able to use mana like before, it didn't seem like it had disappeared either.
Mana is not something that can disappear and reappear in an instant.
It was a strange phenomenon.
—Herdin.
Herdin, who was deep in thought, was brought out of his reverie when he heard Blair's voice.
Seeing her looking at him with worried eyes, the image that had crossed his mind a moment ago was superimposed on it.
The image of her pregnant.
What the hell had that memory been?
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
The event was suspended due to the sudden appearance of the magical beast.
Ivan summoned the ranger of the imperial hunting ground to severely punish him and ordered the imperial knights to investigate the incident.
The evening banquet scheduled at the Imperial Palace was also cancelled.
The festive atmosphere of the nobles for the arrival of the New Year turned somber.
But the first religious service of the new year, dedicated to giving thanks to the gods and ancestors, could not be omitted, so it was held a few hours later than planned.
Arriving at the Temple, Herdin and Blair headed first to the annex.
To treat Herdin's broken rib.
But there were no high-ranking priests resting.
The clergyman who received them looked embarrassed.
—Oh, what are we going to do?
Right now all the reverends are outside...
Only those chosen by the gods among the Temple clerics can become high-ranking priests capable of using sacred magic.
Therefore, their number was small compared to ordinary clerics, and they were always busy.
—There is probably someone who is doing their novitiate.
I'll go look for her right away.
The clergyman, who was about to leave the rest room after the explanation, turned to Herdin as if he had remembered something and said:
—Oh, and as Your Excellency already knows, internal injuries require delicate treatment, so it would be advisable for you to undress.
The clergyman left, and only the two of them remained.
Herdin began to take off his top clothes one by one.
Blair, seeing him, tried to pick up her clothes, but Herdin hung them on a nearby chair.
If he gave his clothes to that petite woman, he feared that she would be buried under a pile of cloth.
Herdin, as he unbuttoned his shirt, asked Blair:
—Can you really see the future?
Blair, who had watched him for a moment, spoke.
—…You said you couldn't believe it.
His voice was calm, but his tone betrayed some resentment.
—Although it may be hard to believe at first, if things like today are repeated, I will end up believing even if I don't want to.
Herdin finished removing all his top clothes in an instant.
Seeing his naked, muscular torso, Blair surreptitiously looked away.
Herdin, gently cupping Blair's cheek to force her to look at him, said:
—Tell me.
What else have you seen of the future.
Blair stared up at him.
His eyes were still cold, but they weren't mocking like the night before.
However, he had nothing more to tell her.
Would he believe the story that someone had killed her, gone back in time, and that perhaps he himself was behind it all?
Furthermore, what this man was interested in about the future was not this, but rather what was related to the burning of the Empress's Palace.
But since she didn't even know the truth herself, she couldn't tell him.
Blair decided it was best to let it go, saying that it had just been a disturbing dream.
It was then.
—Mr.
Duke, Madam.
Let's go in.
With the voice of the cleric who had gone to look for the priestess, the door opened and two people entered.
Blair, who had looked there unconsciously, froze when she saw the priestess entering behind the cleric.
—Good afternoon, Mr.
Duke.
And Mrs.
Miella Elias.
Blair stared dazedly at Miella as she followed the cleric into the room.
In the past, he had been told that Herdin had not been injured, but perhaps it was not a visible wound and he had received discreet treatment.
Thinking about it, he felt as if the blood in his entire body turned cold.
“Then, Miss Miella, please take care of him quickly.” The religious service will begin shortly.
The cleric who had brought Miella asked.
Herdin's gaze naturally drifted towards Miella.
His eyes, upon landing on her, showed only indifference.
Quite the opposite of Miella's, who looked at him as if hypnotized.
Those eyes were unmistakably those of a woman in love.
As Miella remained standing for a moment, stunned and staring at Herdin, the clergyman called her in surprise.
—Miss Miella?
—…Ah.
Dis, excuse me!
Miella was startled and rushed towards Herdin.
But without daring to touch Herdin's torso or look at him directly, he hesitated for a long time until, finally, as if he had made a decision, he separated his lips.
—So, excuse me for a moment.
Lord Duke.
Her face visibly red, Miella placed her hand on his firm abdomen.
Not daring to look at her belly, not daring to look at her face, not knowing what to do.
As she watched the scene, memories from before her regression suddenly flooded into Blair's mind.
…To be continued