He pulled Miela, who was leaning on his chest, and hugged her.
His cold gaze was still fixed on Blair on the other side of the door.
As if he did it on purpose for her to see.
Staggering back, Blair turned and walked back to her room.
He didn't remember in what spirit he had returned to the room.
Her feet hurt from the cold and, when she looked at the ground, she saw that one of her indoor slippers was missing, as if she had lost it along the way, and her breath was held to the edge of her throat.
—Haa, haa…
As soon as he closed the bedroom door, the tears he had been holding back came out.
I couldn't forget Herdin's look as he hugged Miela and looked at her.
Imagining him hugging another woman with the same loving hands that once hugged her, whispering to another woman with the same languid voice he whispered to her, suffocated her.
Because, even if that affectionate time was only a moment right after the wedding, she still loved him.
Even if he had fled from that place, he couldn't escape the reality he faced.
—Ha, ek… Hek…
His respiratory system, severely damaged by the fire more than ten years ago, could not withstand that brief run and the crying and he was panting.
Blair cried, hitting her chest, which didn't even allow her to breathe properly.
His heart hurt more than his bruised chest.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
Still, deep down I wanted it.
That he would come look for her and explain to her that what she saw that day was nothing, that it was a misunderstanding.
But until the very day of Aziel's birthday, not a single letter arrived from Herdin.
Blair, who with dead eyes could not move away from the window where she could see the main door of the villa, was approached by a small shadow staggering.
-Mother!
Mother!
It was Aziel, carefully dressed up for his birthday.
Blair, as if she had never had a somber expression, smiled and took him into her arms.
—My son, have you put on nice clothes today?
Oh, how handsome.
Aziel, who was smiling broadly receiving a shower of kisses from his mother, suddenly, as if remembering something, pointed out the window with his little fern hands.
—Boo?
He remembered that his mother, every afternoon, hugged him and walked by the window waiting for his father.
At that nickname that came out of Aziel's mouth, Blair's face, who was pretending to smile as if nothing had happened, twisted for a moment.
—…Yes, dad will be coming soon.
Since it's my baby's birthday, he'll come for sure.
Just as she was repeating the hope she wanted to believe in as if to console herself, a knock sounded on the door and the butler entered.
He looked at Aziel in Blair's arms and, with a devastated expression, told her the news.
—Madam, Your Excellency says that your schedule has been delayed more than expected.
So spend this birthday just the two of you…
At that news, the light disappeared from Blair's eyes, who harbored a modicum of hope.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
—Have sweet dreams, my child.
Blair gently kissed Aziel's small head, who had fallen asleep in her arms, and laid him down in the crib.
The child, sucking his finger, slept with a peaceful face.
Blair, with a slight smile on her face, played with the boy's little hands and feet and then returned to her room.
Only then did the smile disappear from the lips of Blair, who had been smiling consciously in front of the boy.
The room where she was always alone suddenly felt desolate and silent.
Sometimes, when that emptiness became great, she would bring Aziel to the room and fall asleep hugging him, but today she had left him on purpose in her room.
Because I felt like the suppressed crying would burst.
Because she didn't want Aziel to see her in that state.
Because he wanted that adorable child not to know that side of his mother.
—Haa…
Blair fell onto the couch as if collapsing.
The boy had celebrated his second birthday, modest but happy.
He had been congratulated by the servants around him, had eaten delicious food, and received a lot of birthday gifts sent by the vassals.
It was a perfect birthday.
Except for the fact that Herdin, her father, was not there.
The boy, who laughed out loud as if he were only happy with his mother, looked for Herdin every time the door opened with the coming and going of the servants, just in case his father had arrived.
Every time she saw that scene, Blair's heart collapsed miserably.
She could understand Herdin snubbing her.
But I couldn't bear that he was indifferent even to Aziel.
At the age when only receiving love from mom and dad would be enough...>He felt that Herdin's slight towards Aziel was all his fault and it broke his heart.
Once again, she regretted having loved that indifferent man.
Just as he swallowed back the tears that rose within him, the sound of a door opening echoed in the silent room.
Blair, with a thought of “is it possible?”, raised her head.
—…Herdin?
But what he found when he looked at the door was a stranger in a black balaclava.
His face couldn't be seen well, hidden by the balaclava and the darkness.
However, the black eyes and the ugly knife scar on the bridge of the nose, reflected by the sword in the moonlight, were clearly visible.
Blair's heart sank as she faced the intruder.
If he screamed, the boy would wake up.
If the child cried, that man could realize his existence and go to kill him.
That couldn't be under any circumstances.
But at that moment.
Boom—!
Cold, sharp metal stabbed into his back.
—Ah…
Along with a terrible pain, something hot gushed out of his mouth all at once.
It was red blood.
But Blair, staggering, gritted her teeth and approached the bed.
And he shook the call rope desperately.
Aid.
Please someone protect my baby.
Blair, unable to resist any longer, collapsed on the bed, but did not let go of the rope she was holding.
Not even when the stranger, who arrived a step late, tore out the dagger that was stuck in him.
At the same time, several people's footsteps could be heard from the hallway.
The stranger looked at Blair, who was still dying, not letting go of the rope, and murmured.
—What a tenacious woman.
The stranger, after recovering his dagger, disappeared by jumping over the balcony.
Blair looked dazedly at the back of the stranger crossing the balcony.
The singular engraving on the hilt of the dagger that the stranger was guarding glinted for an instant in the moonlight and then disappeared from view.
Only when his figure completely faded did Blair let go of the call rope she was clutching desperately.
Not having put Aziel to bed in my room today...>Little by little, he felt the shadow of death approaching.
I shouldn't die like this.
My baby, poor my baby who will look for me, his mother.
There are still so many things that mom wants to do for you...
Blair remembered Aziel's face fluttering like an afterimage and finally dropped the eyelids she had kept open with difficulty.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
—Huh!
Heok…
When consciousness, which had become distant, suddenly returned, Blair's eyes snapped open.
The blurry vision gradually became clearer and he saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
That engraving is…>Staring dazedly at the ceiling engraving, Blair remembered that this was the ceiling engraving of the Imperial Palace where she stayed before her marriage.
His last memory was of the attack by the unknown person in the town of Holstein, far from the capital.
If he hadn't died, he should be receiving treatment there, but for some reason he was in the Imperial Palace.
She didn't know what had happened, but there was only one thought in Blair's mind.
My baby, surely he would have looked for his mother for me as soon as he woke up.
Blair hurriedly got out of bed and walked to the door.
At that moment, the door opened from outside.
—Oh!
Have you woken up, Your Highness?
I was just going to wake her up.
It was Lina, Blair's personal maid.
Lina, who had served Blair in the Princess Palace since she was a child, enjoyed her trust and had followed her to the Duchy of Delmark even after they married.
She was a confidant who to Blair was sometimes like a sister, sometimes like a friend.
—Lina, and Aziel?
—Aziel?
—Yes, Aziel.
Where is that child?
-Who is it?
Lina tilted her head and then let out a small exclamation as if she had just remembered something.
—Oh, do you mean the name of that cat that's been hanging around the backyard for a few days, Aziel?
Blair, in a state of heightened sensitivity, frowned.
—Lina, I'm not in the mood for jokes right now.
Aziel, where is my son?
-Hey?
Your son?
Lina blinked in bewilderment.
—How is your Highness going to have a child, who has not even married yet?
-…That?
Only then did Blair realize that Lina was calling her 'Your Highness'.
Blair, blinking in confusion, asked Lina.
—Lina, how… old am I?
Lina found it strange that Blair had suddenly forgotten her age, but since it was not a difficult question, she answered immediately.
—This year he turns twenty years old.
He came of age two months ago.
It just can't be.
Upon hearing his age, Blair had no choice but to accept that this absurd assumption had become reality.
Before Aziel was born, before she even married Herdin.
…To be continued