Shortly after, the carriage door opened and a familiar face stepped out.
Herdin, with an umbrella, approached her with a firm step.
Blair gaped at him as he approached.
They had argued.
He distrusted her.
Because she was Katrina's daughter.
Surely, even right now, he would distrust her.
What would he have said, if he had let himself be manipulated by his mother.
And maybe he had killed his past life self.
Still, the moment he appeared before her eyes, her world finally had two people again.
Herdin, walking with a step neither too slow nor too fast, stopped in front of Blair.
Blair looked up at him with disbelieving eyes.
His icy blue eyes under the umbrella watched her in silence.
After watching her for a moment, he held out his hand.
-Let's go.
Blair looked alternately at the large hand offered to her and at his face, and then placed her hand over his.
Then the big hand wrapped around hers and gently pulled her under the umbrella.
At the same time, the umbrella tilted towards her.
Blair climbed into the carriage with him.
Ruth changed to the carriage that Blair had come in.
Shortly after, the carriage left.
Inside the carriage there was only silence.
Blair glanced at Herdin out of the corner of her eye.
He just looked out the window through which the raindrops were sliding, without saying anything.
If he had, she would have responded matter-of-factly.
Blair was uncomfortable with that silence.
Afraid that he would fuel her suspicions without saying so.
—It seems that my mother...
has infiltrated someone into the mansion.
I knew he was in therapy with Mrs.
Lauraelain.
Then, Herdin's gaze, which had been directed outside, returned to her.
There was no surprise on his face.
As if he already expected it.
—And also…
If he told her that Katrina had ordered him to stop searching for her memories, that would be the same as telling Herdin that there was a possibility that Katrina had somehow participated in Esmeralda's death.
What reaction would he have if he considered that possibility?
He must have already been suspicious of the Dowager Empress, but simple hunching is very different from almost certain suspicion.
Still, Blair continued.
—…And he told me to stop searching for my memories.
Because she had decided to find the truth no matter what, and he was her partner in finding that truth.
—Of course, I, regardless of my mother's will, am going to…
—I know.
A deep, calm voice interrupted her.
His gaze, which met yours, was not like before, either suspicious or questioning.
—You don't need to explain more.
Blair looked at him with uncomprehending eyes.
"Then why...?"
It was the question he didn't finish asking: if it wasn't to ask him that, why had he come looking for her?
Instead of answering, Herdin, who had been silently staring at Blair's pale face, found a small drop of rain caught in her hair.
When Blair saw his hand approaching, she reflexively closed her eyes.
With his index finger, he removed the drop of rain that hung near her temple.
His gaze, which was directed at the raindrop, immediately returned to Blair, and their eyes met.
Herdin then responded with his dry voice.
—Simply, because it was raining.
—
—Did you call me, Your Excellency?
That night, Herdin called Caligo into his office.
—Caligo, I will track the Empress Dowager's movements for a while.
The day of the accident.
Blair went to the Empress's Palace without telling Katrina, but Katrina said that she had learned from a maid undercover in the princess's palace that Blair had gone to the palace.
The maid also testified like this.
Katrina used that fact to dismiss suspicions about her.
If he had really wanted to kill Esmeralda, how could he do something like that precisely that day, knowing that his daughter was in the palace?
And also, that night he went to the temple to save Blair, who had been seriously injured.
But Herdin, until now, had not doubted that Katrina was the culprit.
He thought that the maid's testimony was false, and that Blair was also pretending to have lost her memory to cover up for her mother.
But there was one more possibility that everyone had overlooked in order not to go against nature.
Blair probably thought so too.
He wouldn't believe his mother would use his life.
Because he wouldn't dare accept it if it were true.
Considering that possibility, he hesitated.
If he should let her recover her memories.
But he doesn't plan to stop here.
You must know the truth, whatever it may be.
Why did his aunt die?
Why Delmarck had to bear that infamy.
Although Blair is hurt in this process, it is a truth that she must accept.
Coming to that conclusion, Herdin continued:
—I have irritated that woman a lot.
If it's the culprit, you'll want to check one more time.
Just in case she has missed something, she is restless.
—…
—Also keep an eye on all the witnesses involved then, and if you find anything suspicious, inform me.
Upon receiving Herdin's order, Caligo's gaze flashed with unusual sharpness.
He bowed his head with a serious face.
—I receive the order.
…To be continued