—From here it's the Princess Palace.
It was a voice devoid of any emotion, but Ruth, knowing what those words implied, closed her mouth.
-…Excuse me.
Soon, the carriage stopped.
The butler of the Princess Palace, who was waiting for them, led them to the reception room.
Herdin entered alone, leaving Ruth behind.
—Her Highness the Princess will come right away.
As soon as the butler left, Herdin was left alone in the empty reception room.
Just as he was taking the cup of tea that the maid had brought and moistening his lips, he heard the sound of the door opening behind him.
Herdin stood up and turned to pay his respects to the princess.
A fragile and petite beauty entered through the open door.
Blair Sonnet von Ardel.
The name of the owner of the Princess Palace and, if nothing strange happened, of the woman he would marry.
The woman in front of his eyes was as beautiful as a wax doll that girls play with in person.
Certainly, she was a worthy daughter of the Empress Dowager, known for her beauty capable of toppling nations, but it was a beauty that provoked no emotion in Herdin.
No, rather...
Herdin, hiding a crooked smile, kissed the back of Blair's hand.
—It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness the Princess.
At that moment, Blair's enigmatic violet eyes that met his were troubled for a moment.
It was an expression that at first glance seemed sad.
But when Herdin raised his head again, the emotion that filled Blair's eyes had disappeared.
"Thank you for taking the time while you are so busy, Duke of Delmark."
Blair sat casually in the main seat.
Following her graceful movements, her soft platinum hair and the lace of the dress fluttered gently.
A silence hung between the two sitting opposite each other.
They just drank from their teacups without saying a word.
Normally, in a distant and little-known relationship, the lower-ranking person would break the ice with small talk about everyday life.
But Herdin didn't seem to have that intention.
In the end, it was Blair who spoke first, staring at him while caressing the rim of the cup.
—I'll get straight to the point.
Blair put down the cup and continued.
—I am not going to reject the marriage that my brother has proposed.
Until then, Herdin also expected it.
No matter how much she was, it would be difficult for her to refuse an imperial order.
But what followed was something completely unexpected.
—One year.
At the sudden word that came out of Blair's mouth, Herdin looked at her with strangeness in his eyes.
—Keep the marriage with me only for one year.
—…What does it mean?
—When a year passes, I will get divorced, assuming the blame.
I will not change my mind or cling to you, nor bother you with reasons like love or things like that.
Herdin's delicate brow furrowed.
As if reading his mind, Blair made him an offer he couldn't possibly refuse.
—The fire at the Empress Palace ten years ago.
At the unexpected mention that left his lips, Herdin's gaze cooled.
—If you accept my proposal, I will cooperate as much as possible to discover 'the hidden truth of that day'.
A cold mocking smile escaped Herdin's lips.
After having remained silent for ten long years, with what face did he dare to bring up this topic?
Herdin still vividly remembered the feelings from ten years ago.
When the Empress was blamed for the burning of the Empress's Palace, Herdin sent numerous letters to Blair, the only witness, to clear his aunt's false charge.
But no response ever came.
What he heard from her was on the day of the trial for the Empress Palace incident.
Herdin, who was not allowed into the courtroom because he was a minor, heard Blair's voice through the half-open door.
«—I don't remember...
anything.»
Lie.
That thing about you not remembering, it's all a lie, right?
You took your mother's side too, didn't you?
The memory of that day persisted until now, ten years later, like a stinging sensation of betrayal and resentment.
Anyway, he couldn't refuse the emperor's order.
No, to be exact, he had no intention of rejecting her.
The emperor had agreed to allow the duchy's troops to increase in exchange for him becoming family of the imperial house.
This had been greatly influenced by public opinion that there was a possibility that the duchy would rebel, using Empress Esmeralda's crime of treason as a pretext.
Even so, they possessed enormous military strength compared to other houses, but it was insufficient to guard the northern border and subjugate the demonic beasts.
Although Herdin was a great war hero and magical swordsman, he couldn't stop everything by himself.
Even if he knew it was a trap from the emperor, the increase in troops was an offer he couldn't refuse.
And on top of that, being able to investigate the truth of 'that day'.
He didn't know what intentions the princess was hiding by proposing a contract marriage, but if he could somehow use her to discover the truth and then get a clean divorce, there couldn't be a better ending.
He looked at her for a moment and asked.
—Why do you want to enter into that type of marriage?
—Because the only legal way for a princess to leave the Imperial Palace is to get married.
—If it is for that reason, wouldn't it be better to marry someone who appreciates and loves her?
No matter how much a member of the imperial family she was, the life of a divorcee would not be easy.
There would be many people willing to appreciate and love the sister of the emperor and daughter of the dowager empress.
If they didn't satisfy her, she could even choose whoever she wanted herself.
Herdin did not understand Blair's intention in choosing him with so many options.
Surely there were much better options than a marriage with an expiration date to someone who was his political enemy.
Blair didn't respond immediately and stared at him.
Every time his glowing violet eyes, which contained his image, blinked slowly, strange emotions passed through them.
It was a look that at first glance seemed sad and also as if she held a grudge against him for asking that question.
—I don't believe in those things.
—…
—I prefer a relationship that is clear in its ties and ruptures to a relationship that promises a vain eternity.
A relationship where I can get as much as I give.
Blair spoke firmly and stared at the man in front of her.
There was a time when she too, like many noble young women, had been touched by the look of that presumptuous man.
There was a time when he believed in love and eternity.
Now that was just past tense.
—I thought you would be able to do it.
Herdin didn't look away from Blair's face as she said that.
The image of young Blair from the past was superimposed on her pale face.
«—When I grow up I want to leave the Imperial Palace.
Leave the capital and travel the wide world!
The moment he remembered that face, his heart sank, but Herdin responded willingly.
—I accept the proposal.
-Thank you.
—If you have nothing more to say, I will leave.
Checking his watch, Herdin stood up as soon as Blair gave him permission.
In Blair's eyes, who watched his back disappear behind the door, the resentment towards him that she had been hiding was revealed.
There was one question I hadn't been able to ask.
A question he couldn't get an answer to from the current Herdin.
Herdin.
Was it you who killed me?
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
The wedding preparations progressed rapidly.
Time passed quickly, and without realizing it, the eve of the wedding arrived.
Blair visited the Imperial Palace cemetery.
[Emerald Delmark]
Her father had stripped her of the title of empress and the imperial surname, but, showing clemency, had allowed her to be buried in the cemetery of the Imperial Palace.
Although he didn't know if it was true mercy that, after having had her honor trampled and if that wasn't enough not being able to return to her homeland, she was buried there.
Blair placed a flower under the tombstone that he had cut in the greenhouse and carefully wrapped in paper.
Katrina didn't like Blair going there.
From his point of view, she was not only his political enemy, but she was also visiting the grave of the woman who had tried to kill her daughter.
It was understandable.
But Blair found it hard to believe.
"—Blair."
She was afraid to think that the warm hug that had always enveloped her, relegated to the background by her brother Iván, had been all a lie.
When she was little, she made no effort to recover her memories.
I was simply afraid.
Whatever the truth, she would lose a mother.
But that day, years after the incident, when he met Herdin at a banquet.
Blair decided to face the truth she had been avoiding.
Thus, he had a hypnotist called to the Princess's Palace to perform hypnosis on him, but he only achieved the opposite effect of harming his health.
Then, after marrying Herdin and falling in love with him, she buried those memories again.
I was afraid of losing him, whatever the hidden truth was.
But when she learned that the person she loved had actually hated her for many years for her passivity.
When she realized that he had pretended to love her to get the truth out of her.
Blair, even knowing that his love was false, wanted to give him everything he wanted.
He wanted to hold on to his love even if it was like that.
He tried to recover his memories belatedly, but what he got was…
«—Ha.
After ten years of pretending not to know, do you now feel remorse?
“—…”
«—Don't do anything else.
Stay still, I tell her.
As he has done until now.
Under his cold gaze, Blair completely collapsed.
If Esmeralda's crime was a false accusation, Herdin would despise her passivity even more, and even if it were true, he would never love her.
So Blair gave up everything related to the memories of that day.
Just as her beloved husband wished.
Thus, they were memories that he had given up recovering in his past life.
In this life I will face the truth and move on.>Whatever the truth was hidden in the buried memories.
Just as Blair was mentally organizing her future plans, she heard hurried footsteps behind her.
…To be continued