Johan looked at Herdin in disbelief.
Even now, unable to look away?
While she was glaring murderously at the guys who were ogling her?
After observing Herdin without understanding his contradictory attitude, Johan ended up deducing what was going through his mind.
—Well, to be honest, she's pretty.
With that face and that body, what man wouldn't fall for it?
That Herdin, like any other man, was attracted to Blair's physique.
He, who had never shown interest in any woman, but if the other was the princess, considered the most beautiful in the empire...
It was understandable.
—And exaggerating a little, if she wanted to, she could have all the men at this party prostrate at her feet...
Johan, who was ranting as if he understood Herdin perfectly, met his gaze even more murderous than a moment ago and added hastily:
—Oh, not me, of course!
No matter how degenerate I am, I have ethics, I'm not a son of a bitch with such shady thoughts about my friend's wife!
Johan quickly raised his glass and brought it closer to Herdin's with a forced smile.
Herdin looked at him with infinite contempt.
It seemed amazing to him that he was talking about something so obvious as if he were defending an ancient loyalty.
He, avoiding Johan's toast, left the glass on the table and turned around.
Johan's glass touched the air, in a ridiculous gesture.
—Hey, where are you going?
Leaving a friend you haven't seen in so long.
Hey, Mr.
Duke!
Ignoring Johan's voice, Herdin headed towards where he had last seen Blair.
He stopped dead.
Blair was no longer there.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
—Haah…
Blair's breath turned white in the cold winter night.
He had gone out to the balcony to rinse off the cold wind, but instead he felt his body burning and the alcohol making him feel even higher.
His head was dull.
Blair gently patted both cheeks and let out a deep sigh.
-What I do?
If I go back to the living room like this, word will spread that I'm a drunk...
He already had a low tolerance for alcohol, and the fault was that, while dealing with people, he had inadvertently drank more than necessary.
Although she was a little dazed, she didn't feel that drunk, but she still couldn't go back in that state.
The nobles, even at parties, considered losing consciousness due to drink as a lack of decorum.
That is why the wines served were usually soft and low in alcohol content.
And she had gotten drunk on that wine.
But against her will, sleep invaded her.
Just as Blair was about to fall asleep, there was a click.
The door opened and someone entered the balcony.
—…Lina?
Thinking it was Lina returning with water, Blair froze when she saw who was approaching.
—But look who's here.
Isn't she our imperial princess?
It was Wesley, the heir of the Marquess of Baldwin.
He had always been friendly with her since she was a princess, but as he strode closer, he gave off a strong smell of alcohol.
—They say that women become more beautiful when they meet a man, and since you got married you are even more beautiful.
Wesley's staggering step and half-missing eyes gave him a bad feeling.
—…I'm leaving now.
Blair, struggling to articulate clearly despite her tongue tie, made her intention clear.
It was not convenient for him to show his state of intoxication to someone who approached him with such obvious intentions.
But Wesley, with no intention of letting her go easily, blocked her way.
—Come on, how cruel it gets if we meet like this.
Also give me a little of your time.
—I'm sorry, but I've been gone too long...
—Wow, he makes a face.
Wesley grabbed her wrist roughly.
Blair, who could barely support her body from the alcohol, was dragged away too easily.
Surprised, she tried to pull away, but it only made her wrist hurt more.
—Let go of me!
—She is no longer a maid, what is the point of being prissy?
Let us be sincere with our wishes, madam.
Just as Wesley roughly pulled the swaying Blair, a hand reached across the balcony and grabbed her wrist.
Tremendous gripping force, enough to break his bones if he wasn't careful.
Unable to bear the pain, Wesley let go of Blair's wrist.
—Ugh…!
How unfortunate…?!
Wesley, who was lunging to throw a punch at the owner of the hand, froze when he saw his face.
In front of him was Herdin, with a countenance colder than the winter wind.
—How unfortunate…?
With a well-aimed kick to the stomach, Wesley rolled across the floor of the balcony in a grotesque manner.
He groaned and tried to get up with difficulty, but, far from fighting back, he tripped over Herdin's foot and rolled again on the ground.
Herdin crouched down to his level and added in a quiet voice:
—This woman's husband.
Then he raised his fist and warned:
—Close your teeth.
Just at the moment when Herdin was going to hit the terrified Wesley.
Hiccup!
A hiccup escaped Blair's lips, who had remained speechless with shock.
Herdin's fist, which was about to hit Wesley, stopped dead.
—…
—…
In the silence, only Blair's hiccups echoed regularly for a long time.
Herdin ended up lowering his hand.
Instead, he grabbed Wesley by the head and whispered in his ear:
"If I hear you barking just one more time, make sure that tongue of yours doesn't taste anything again."
It was a voice quiet enough for Blair not to hear.
Herdin dropped Wesley's head like someone throwing a piece of spoil and stood up.
Blair was still hiccuping.
And yet, she was beautiful.
Her big wet eyes were about to overflow with a simple touch, her pale cheeks slightly flushed by the cold wind, her small lips parted in surprise.
Looking at her, he suddenly remembered Johan's words.
With that face and that body, what man wouldn't fall for it?>Yes, that's why.
Damn beautiful, that's why this had happened.
Thinking that all the men in the room harbored lascivious desires like Wesley, defiling her and lusting after her with their gaze...
gave her the urge to gouge everyone's eyes out.
Before that happened, he wanted to lock this woman away where his sight could reach her.
Where no one else could see it.
I knew it was crazy, of course.
Herdin suppressed his insane thoughts and seething emotions as he took Blair's hand.
—…Follow me.
He led Blair off the balcony.
As she followed him with short steps, Blair murmured as if to herself:
—And if that man from before...
has hurt himself a lot...
Those words stopped Herdin's steps.
It infuriated him that even in this situation, he cared about Wesley's condition.
—Do you worry about that guy now?
After the atrocities that that unfortunate man has unleashed on him.
—But… today is my mother's birthday party.
Now he worried about Katrina.
His own safety did not matter to him in the least.
Herdin was about to reply when another untimely hiccup escaped Blair's lips.
Hyp.
Hyp.
Hip…
The hiccups did not stop.
Even though Blair closed her mouth, the sound escaped.
Now that he noticed, every time he breathed, he gave off the smell of alcohol.
Herdin's brow furrowed.
—…Is she drunk?
—I'm not.
The response was immediate.
But he noticed that his pronunciation was strangely clumsy.
Herdin extended two fingers and asked:
—How many do you see?
Blair pursed her lips in a pout.
—…He said he wouldn't suspect me anymore.
Although his unusual behavior was adorable, Herdin did not relent.
No, he became even more insistent precisely because of that.
—How many do you think?
—Wait a moment.
Blair, who was swaying slightly, grabbed her still hand with both of hers.
Herdin started, but Blair obliviously fiddled with his fingers.
It was tickling to feel how his little hands moved clumsily touching his fingers, but he didn't dislike the sensation.
Blair, who had even furrowed her beautiful brow while concentrating on counting two simple fingers, finally gave her answer.
—There are two, right?
He said it in a tone that suggested: "Do you think I don't even know this?"
Herdin, still with his fingers trapped by her, laughed.
The bad taste that Wesley had left in his mouth rolling on the floor a moment ago was already forgotten.
His drunk wife tilted her head with a very serious gesture, not understanding why he was laughing.
And in those, the hiccups did not stop.
When the hiccups started again, Blair frowned in frustration and hit the top of her chest.
Herdin, who was watching her with smiling eyes, asked:
—Do you want me to help you stop it?
Blair blinked at him strangely.
His face snapped closer in an instant.
Chu.
Something warm and soft brushed his lips and he pulled away.
Unable to process what happened, Blair blinked slowly.
Herdin, seeing her with wide eyes like a frightened rabbit, smirked.
—The hiccups have already stopped.
His deep, velvety voice resonated a second later in Blair's heart.
Hearing the thunderous beating of her own heart in her ears, Blair looked at Herdin with confused eyes.
He didn't understand why that man did those things to him.
If you don't like me.
If you don't have to like me.
She hated that he slipped through her cracks like that and made her stumble.
I didn't want to falter.
It tormented him that his heart was racing against his will.
Blair drew his own conclusions about the meaning of that act.
—Do you want to do it with me?
He, even if he didn't know anything else, had always quite appreciated her body.
Yes, that must be it.
It had to be something as simple as that.
It was something that, if she were sober, she would never have dared to say out loud.
Hearing that, the smile completely disappeared from Herdin's face.
His gaze became icy, as I had seen before.
Herdin gave a sarcastic laugh.
His wife had already treated him like a beast dominated by lust on another occasion.
But he was not completely right.
His head was filled with obscene thoughts related to her.
—…What if I said yes?
—He said we would cohabit twice a month.
There's still one left, so if you want, no problem...
It was as if he were saying that, if he wanted, he would gladly give him alms with his body.
Words in which his own feelings or will did not enter at all.
That attitude of hers grated on Herdin's nerves.
But ironically, as soon as he got Blair's permission, his desire began to bubble with anticipation.
Despite the feeling of having wallowed in the mud that suddenly invaded him.
What reason did he have for rejecting a woman who offered to give herself to him?
He wanted her, she was officially his wife and she did not refuse, but rather agreed to receive him.
There didn't have to be a problem with his wish.
None.
Herdin led Blair to a nearby room.
Blair, staggering, let herself be carried away without resistance.
Herdin closed the door and cornered Blair between his body and the door.
He kissed the delicate wrist he had been holding and asked:
—Can it be here?
As his lips moved as he spoke, Blair's body shuddered.
She could see his chest rising and falling with his heavy breathing.
Even that vision was beautiful.
Blair, blinking dazedly, slowly nodded her head.
As soon as he got permission, his big hand cupped her breast from below.
She felt the fleshy mass sink beneath the velvety fabric of the winter dress.
At the same time, her lips ran over Blair's wrist and palm with delight.
Also those thin fingers that, a moment ago, had handled him, provoking him without any qualms.
And yet, his eyes did not leave her.
As if he wanted to record even the smallest of his reactions in their pupils.
—Ah…
Blair squirmed involuntarily as she felt that warm, wet mass rub against her wrist and palm.
Just by kissing her palm and wrist, she felt a tingling in her lower abdomen that made her contract.
Maybe it was because of his gaze, which did not leave her.
Her breathing became agitated without him having stolen it.
When Blair, not knowing what to do, grabbed his arm with her free hand, Herdin finally let go of her hand, pulled her around the waist, and hugged her.
And he buried his lips in her snowy neck.
As she pressed herself against him, she felt through the dress, in the lower part of her abdomen, a heavy and hard presence.
Noticing this, Blair's nerves reflexively tense.
She tried to squirm to escape, but he tightened his embrace, pulling her closer to him.
The more he struggled, the more clearly he felt his member, which had grown menacingly.
—Herdin…
It was a call whose meaning was unclear: whether it was to stop or to continue.
Herdin interpreted it in his own way.
If she called him with such a longing voice, it was undoubtedly to egg him on.
As he nipped at the tender skin between Blair's neck and collarbone, tormenting her, Herdin devoured the lips that had called to him and slid his hand down her narrow waist.
Then, his hands were filled with her tempting buttocks.
She squeezed them and moved her hips roughly over the dress.
Like when he attacked her from the inside.
…To be continued