With no time to take it in, Blair was dressed up and attended a luncheon.
It was the weekly family meal, with his brother the Emperor Ivan and his mother, the Dowager Empress Katrina.
However, Blair's mind was completely elsewhere.
Am I dreaming because I am dead?Or is what I think the future is a dream?>
Chewing on food she couldn't even taste, Blair reviewed her memories and came to a conclusion.
I couldn't explain it in words, but it wasn't just a dream.
All of that is so vivid.>And because of that, this present moment was even more empty.
Although he had miraculously returned to the past, this reality without Aziel was hell for Blair.
Because his hope, his life, literally his everything, had disappeared in an instant because of a joke of time.
At that moment Blair was plunged into emptiness.
—Your Highness.
Lina, who was waiting behind, called her in a low voice and touched her shoulder.
—…Ah.
Only then did Blair suddenly come to her senses.
—His Majesty is calling you, Blair.
Katrina was looking at Blair with an expression that showed some annoyance.
For her, her son who had become emperor was her greatest pride and a trophy obtained at the cost of her life.
Ignoring that trophy was like denying his entire life.
—You've been thinking somewhere else all the time.
Did something happen this morning?
-I'm sorry.
Last night I had a troubled dream...
What were they talking about?
—It was nothing special, I was just saying that you prepare well so that the wedding with the Duke of Delmark goes smoothly.
Ivan talked about marriage casually, a matter they hadn't even discussed with Blair.
At that, Blair's eyes widened in surprise.
—Everything has already been discussed.
We've given him suitable bait, so that guy won't reject it either.
It was a marriage commitment that had advanced without giving a word to the interested party, Blair.
Ivan, judging that Blair's surprised expression showed rejection of this marriage, hastened to add.
"I trust you won't say childish nonsense like you don't want an arranged marriage."
—It's a pretty good game, no, the best.
There are women all over the empire who would like to dance just once with the Duke of Delmark.
His Majesty has been very concerned about your marriage.
—Your marriage is not a simple union between a man and a woman.
It is to improve relations between houses, so as an imperial princess you must have a sense of responsibility…
Ivan and Katrina anticipated any possible objections from Blair to this commitment.
Seeing their reaction, Blair recalled memories from the past.
«—I'm sorry to say it, but I don't want this marriage.»
Before the regression, in the same situation, Blair had refused to marry Herdin.
It was the first rebellion for Blair, who had always meekly obeyed the words of Ivan and Katrina.
It wasn't because he disliked Herdin.
Blair was uncomfortable and afraid of him.
Since that day, ten years ago, when the fire at the Empress's Palace occurred.
But...
—I will.
The Blair of this life showed a different reaction than her past life.
Obeying Ivan's order, as he had always done before the regression.
—It is the will of His Majesty, I must abide by it.
However, his look had changed.
In this life, she had an unavoidable reason to marry Herdin.
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After finishing lunch, Lina returned to the Princess Palace and surreptitiously observed Blair.
Has something happened to him?>But she, as the closest maid, did not ignore a single movement of Blair.
Until last night, there was nothing different than usual.
He had only slept peacefully in his room and gotten up; nothing could have happened in the meantime.
Rather, the shocking thing would be the news of the marriage to Herdin that he had heard at lunch today.
However, Blair seemed unfazed by that news.
he seems in a better mood than in the morning.>Lina tilted her head.
Although it was before she entered the Imperial Palace, she knew that the relations between the Duchy of Delmark and the imperial family were not good.
And that the fire of the Empress's Palace had put an end to that enmity.
The rightful empress Esmeralda and the imperial consort Katrina.
But the empress had no children for several years, and for that reason she took a concubine, the imperial consort Katrina.
At the time of entering the palace, Katrina, of gypsy origin, had no power or influence, but when she gave birth to a son, Ivan, those who wanted to adhere to power soon emerged.
As the fight between the two intensified, a political confrontation arose around Esmeralda and Katrina.
Despite this, the empress appreciated Blair, her rival's daughter, as if she were her own daughter.
At least in appearance.
Until 'that incident' happened.
A fire broke out in the Empress's Palace, in which the Empress died and Blair, who was with her, was seriously injured.
Due to the impact, Blair lost her memory of that moment.
The emperor investigated thoroughly to clarify who had injured his daughter, and all circumstances pointed to Empress Esmeralda.
Esmeralda's birthplace, the Duchy of Delmark, denied the results, saying it could not be, but the empress was eventually buried as a traitor.
His only nephew was, precisely, Herdin.
As much as a marriage is to reestablish relationships...>An unwanted marriage to Delmark, and she being the direct victim of the incident, could not be to her liking.
Worried, Lina was going to talk to him while she picked up his coat, but Blair beat him to it.
—Lina.
—Y-Yes!
—Send a messenger to the Duchy of Delmark.
That I want to meet with him tomorrow.
If you are busy, let me know a day that suits you.
At Blair's order, Lina opened her eyes in surprise.
"You say you want to see the Duke of Delmark?"
—Why are you so surprised?
And no wonder, since Blair had been avoiding him even at the harvest banquet a few months ago.
Lina thought like this and responded.
—Ah, it's nothing.
I'll send the courier right now.
Lina left the room and Blair, who had been left alone, looked out the window.
He soon saw the servant leaving the Princess Palace in a carriage.
Blair remembered the owner of the ducal residence where the carriage was headed.
And also the adorable child who was his spitting image.
Remembering that face, Blair put her hand on her belly, the one that had housed that child.
Even if that 'whatever' meant repeating the terribly lonely married life with him.
So, what he had to do now was only one thing.
If that is the predicted future and it is true that you have returned to the past, everything will flow according to the established course even if you do not intend it to.
But Blair didn't want to leave even the slightest chance that he might not become her husband.
His eyes, which had lost their shine, began to shine again.
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Through the window of the moving carriage you could see the panorama of the Princess Palace.
Herdin's assistant, Ruth Fenril, looked at the Princess Palace with disapproving eyes and began to grumble.
—His Majesty the Emperor is really shameless.
How dare you talk about marriage?
When the Delmark house was failing, they toasted it.
It had been more than ten years.
After losing his parents and then his aunt the Empress, the dukedom of Delmark, with young Herdin as its sole heir, was as precarious as a sail in the wind.
But when Herdin achieved great merits in the war and was hailed as a hero, Emperor Ivan proposed marriage to his sister.
A proposal in which the intention to subtly absorb Herdin's power was clearly seen.
—Thanks to that, Her Highness the Princess has taken the cake.
Sitting around doing nothing, she has gotten the best match in the empire as a husband.
Ruth had an unfavorable opinion of Blair, whom she had not even spoken to properly.
Being a princess with that mother and that brother, it was already known.
Surely they were one for another.
—That's why I told him.
That he should have gotten married quickly looking for a suitable young woman.
But unlike Ruth, who was fuming, Herdin remained silent as if the situation did not provoke any emotion in him.
That attitude made Ruth even more angry.
—Aren't you angry?
—Ruth.
Herdin, who had remained silent with his arms crossed despite Ruth's fiery tirade, interrupted him by calling his name.
His gaze was still fixed beyond the window.
At the same time, the carriage they were traveling in passed through the main gate of the Princess Palace.
…To be continued