—His Excellency still remains in the bedroom.
As soon as she arrived on time at the ducal mansion in Delmark, Ruth received that news instead of Mason's greeting.
Knowing what those words meant, Ruth frowned slightly.
It had been ten days.
Exactly since he himself had been kicked out of the office around lunchtime.
Mason then asked Ruth, who was heading to the living room.
—Shall I serve you some tea?
-Good idea.
So, serve me the same as yesterday.
When Ruth reached the living room, she unfolded her personal notebook and was reviewing Herdin's agenda and the important matters that needed to be decided before the day was over, when Mason brought the tea.
He placed the cup in front of Ruth.
—How about adjusting your work schedule for a while?
After all, they are newlyweds.
-Alright.
Anyway, my check-in and check-out time is already set.
And well, I guess he'll get over it.
Ruth spoke as if it didn't matter, but deep down she was concerned about Herdin's interest in Blair.
That his master, who had never shown interest in a woman, suddenly noticed one.
It was something that should make her happy, since it was a family that needed heirs, but the problem was who she was.
Just Katrina's daughter.
At the moment when Ruth, with the notebook open, was distracted in his thoughts, Herdin suddenly appeared behind him, who walked slowly and sat down in front of Ruth.
He was wearing a robe, as if he had just taken a bath.
Normally, when she got up, she called him to her office, so she didn't expect him to come directly to the living room.
Furthermore, Herdin, who had lived for a long time on battlefields, was skilled at hiding his steps without intending to.
That's why Ruth was always startled when he suddenly appeared.
And even more so when I was thinking about him, like a moment ago.
—Good morning, Your Excellency.
At Ruth's greeting, Herdin, with his long legs crossed, only bowed his head.
At this moment, a servant who brought the tea and cigar for Herdin lit the cigar for him and left the living room.
Herdin inhaled the cigar smoke and exhaled it, while he took one of the documents that Ruth had brought.
—Is this the project to exploit the magical mineral mine that we talked about that time?
-Yeah.
You must review and approve it today.
And I have selected this because I think it would be good for me to review it along with the other.
Ruth spread out the documents summarizing matters related to the project and looked at Herdin.
The well-formed body that could be seen through the loose robe, and a face that hypnotized.
Furthermore, with the cigar in his mouth, it was sensual even for him, being a man.
There were many women who wanted to exchange even a few words with him wherever he went.
That was a source of pride for Ruth.
The relationship with Blair should be like that of any other woman.
That she loved him without being reciprocated, and he, indifferent.
But the relationship between the two seemed to be deviating a little from their desires.
Since Herdin did not talk about personal matters, he could not know in depth, but Ruth sensed it instinctively.
Along with the concern that perhaps, when he suggested that he marry a suitable woman before the imperial order arrived, Herdin's inaction had something to do with it.
-Excellence.
Herdin looked up from the documents and looked at Ruth instead of answering.
—I'm sure he knows what he's doing, but… just in case.
Be careful when you consume the marriage.
As soon as Blair's name left Ruth's lips, Herdin's gaze cooled.
They were the eyes of a beast that sees an intruder touching its prey.
"Are you warning me to watch out in case he hides a dagger and stabs me?"
—As if Your Excellency would fall for such a crude attack.
I mean...
not that...
Ruth cleared her throat, leaving the sentence halfway, and added in a lower voice:
—Contraceptives.
Because perhaps the Imperial Family is waiting for the wife to give birth to Delmarck's successor.
That was the worry that, after seeing Delmarck's successor in Blair, Herdin would be killed and the Imperial Family, his mother's family, would absorb Delmarck's power.
That was why Ruth had suggested that he have a bastard son before that.
He had nothing personal against Blair.
Because the girl he had met in person seemed to be of a different class than his mother.
But blood draws more than water.
For Ruth, who served Delmarck, the simple fact that she was from the Imperial Family was reason enough not to let her guard down.
Although she knew that having a bastard was immoral and would damage the family's prestige, Herdin's safety was more important to Ruth than anything else.
As he listened to Ruth, Herdin remembered Blair.
She was a woman who only thought about somehow ending this contract marriage and leaving his side.
So if she got pregnant, she would be the one who would have problems.
But Ruth didn't know what kind of contract they had signed, so it was understandable that she was worried.
Herdin ran his hand through his still damp hair, put out his cigar and said:
—That's not going to happen.
With Blair it will end cleanly.
If only for her lover, whom she loves so much.
Although he doesn't understand why that fact sours his mood.
—
Blair barely opened her eyes around noon.
Ten days had passed since he hugged her in the office.
In the last ten days, he had barely been able to leave the bedroom.
The “maximum twice a month” clause that he had specified in the contract had had no effect.
He interpreted the contract as he saw fit.
Thus, kissing her all over her body and leaving her anxious.
He left her with no choice but to want it, and then, as if he had been waiting, he took her.
At first, Blair protested, but eventually gave in.
Thus, every night, or from early in the morning, when he finished his work in the late afternoon, he harassed her until dawn.
She fell asleep as if she had fainted, and when she finally regained consciousness, she was still in his arms.
And then, again he...
He harassed her so insistently during the night that it already felt empty not to feel his warmth.
And after being harassed by him all night, even during the day when he went to work, she couldn't concentrate at all.
It was as if he had stolen all of her strength.
Thinking about it, it was like this in the past life too.
In the past life, Herdin wouldn't leave her alone after the wedding until late spring, when their relationship went sour.
Every night they mated like beasts.
But since this marriage was by contract, he thought that he would no longer spend his nights with an unwanted wife.
However, at least the desire he showed toward her body seemed genuine.
…To be continued