Surely, the guy who had kidnapped Blair would have been killed by Wesley before him.
He knew it, but he left it.
Because he needed to mobilize the maximum number of knights to search for Blair.
But he had no intention of letting this matter go.
—So, the tests?
Herdin took something out of his inside pocket and tossed it to Ruth.
—That's what you're going to do from now on.
Ruth deftly caught what Herdin threw at her.
His eyes, seeing what was in his hand, sharpened.
Ruth put it in her pocket.
—I will find the answer you are looking for as soon as possible.
Ruth left the room, and only Herdin and Blair remained in it.
In the silent room, only Blair's cough could be heard from time to time.
Herdin observed that image in silence.
Except for the coat he had given Blair and the gloves he had taken off in the carriage, he was still dressed in his going out clothes.
He had fluttered all over the forest, so his clothes were stained with grass, but he couldn't leave because he had to watch the fireplace.
As he watched her silently, he took something out of his pocket.
That old lighter that Blair had clutched in desperation.
Click.
Herdin opened and closed the lid of the lighter without any sense.
The sound of clicking echoed in the silent room.
As he listened absorbed to the sound he himself produced, he stopped making that meaningless noise.
He terribly hated this silence that he filled alone.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
Blair, who had been fast asleep, opened her eyes with difficulty.
It was so hot it was almost suffocating.
Blame the layers of blankets that covered her.
Blinking slowly to focus the blurry gaze, Blair turned her head and saw a familiar face.
Herdin sat uncomfortably asleep, leaning against the chair with his arms crossed.
He was still wearing the clothes from the hunting competition, and his hair was also messy.
The warmth of the cozy fireplace, which filled the room, answered for him while he was asleep.
For the reason that he was there sleeping without even having washed.
Blair sat up and took her hand.
—Herd—
But before Blair could wake him, Herdin opened his eyes first and their gazes met.
Herdin unconsciously squeezed Blair's hand, which had fallen into his hand.
In his eyes, which were rarely disturbed, there was an agitation.
Blair, who had hesitated for a moment at that image, opened her mouth first.
—I'm sorry, Herdin.
For having made a scandal.
—…
—I'm fine now, so go to sleep comfortably.
Saying this, a slight tremor was felt at the tips of Blair's fingers, as she gently removed the hand he was holding.
In Herdin's eyes, which for a moment showed surprise at the image of Blair regaining consciousness, the cold settled again.
Why is this woman, even at this moment, the first thing she does is apologize and push him away?
With a face that would not have been strange to collapse at any moment, why does he never lean on it?
She was afraid, it hurt, she was tired...
Even that one word, even that brief show of vulnerability, didn't he want to show it to her?
"Is that all you have to say?"
At Herdin's question, Blair blinked.
From his look, he seemed angry, but I couldn't guess the reason.
I also didn't know what he wanted to hear.
Herdin, looking at Blair, sighed softly and spoke.
—We are already looking for who is behind the kidnapping, we will soon know.
Hearing the word kidnapping come from his lips, Blair's eyes widened.
Since he was not at the scene and she had not told him about the kidnapping, she thought he would only know that she had been in an accident.
That's why he planned to solve the kidnapping on his own.
-…Rest.
Herdin, after looking at Blair for a moment, got up, turned off the fireplace, and left the room.
Blair lay back down and tried to sleep.
But I couldn't fall asleep.
Although the fireplace was out, it was still warm, and the blankets that covered it were warm.
He closed his eyes and remembered the kidnapping, and his body trembled.
Although he was now in a safe place and no longer felt afraid, his body reacted.
His body, tired from the exhausting day, was exhausted, but he could not sleep.
Thus, unable to sleep, he tossed and turned for a long time.
Whoever realized that someone had entered the silent room was thanks to the sound of the lighter.
At that hour when even the owner of the room was sleeping, the only person who could enter and leave without permission was one.
When he raised his head surreptitiously, he saw the back of Herdin, who seemed to have washed and was wearing a robe.
He was adding wood to the fireplace.
The water droplets on her damp hair glistened in the light.
Herdin, after checking that the firewood had been lit, turned towards the bed.
Blair closed her eyes pretending to sleep.
It seemed to him that he should do it.
The sound of his footsteps, which were approaching without making a sound, stopped in front of the bed, and a shadow was projected before his eyes.
The familiar weight that crushed her every night.
Blair was afraid that he would wake her up, but after a long time, Herdin didn't move.
When he opened his eyes surreptitiously, he saw his face, lying still with his eyes closed.
That face seemed strange to him.
Because he always hugged her as he pleased, he fell asleep after she fell asleep as if she had fainted, and he got up before.
The image of him being there, with no benefit, just for her.
Suddenly, she remembered that night when she herself lit the fireplace to prove her innocence.
That night, he had also watched over her.
He's always like that.
When she turns around so as not to be hurt again by his indifference, he approaches her like this and shakes her.
At the moment when she needs him most, at the moment when her heart grows weak.
He takes advantage of that gap.
Blair realized that her body, which had been trembling regardless of her will, had calmed down, and she scoffed at herself.
She could no longer deny that it was thanks to that man who watched over her.
Again, soon again, someone who will leave her.
I hate your indifferent tenderness.
I hate that I stagger even though I know that tenderness is like the spring breeze.
When I miraculously returned to the past, I was sure I would never love you again.
But...
Now, I'm a little uneasy.
How long can I hate you?
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
In the evening, when the sun had completely set, Wesley left through the side door of Marquis Baldwin's family.
Looking around endlessly, he walked out onto the main street and took a rental carriage.
His attitude was extremely cautious.
—To the club.
It was his first outing after the hunting competition.
…To be continued