Cherry petals in full bloom fluttered everywhere.
As soon as he opened his eyes and saw that scene, Herdin instinctively sensed it.
It's a dream.
It was a dream he had had countless times over the last ten years, a dream so repeated ad nauseum that he could almost recite the following scene.
—Herdin.
It was a voice that had always made him turn with slight excitement and joy, but now it was no longer pleasant to him.
However, since he had no capacity to resist in the dream, Herdin had no choice but to watch the scene in front of his eyes like someone watching a play that follows a script.
Before him stood Cassion, holding a sword stained with magical beast blood, and little Herdin slumped in front of him.
—Herdin…
Cassius, who had been fighting the magical beasts that harassed him, had lost control and was consumed by power.
His blue eyes, identical to his son's, lacked focus.
Uncontrollable mana emanated from his body and slowly seeped out.
-…Father?
The father, who under normal circumstances would have given him an affectionate smile beneath his grim appearance, raised his sword without saying a word.
The son, terrified, could only watch the scene in stupor.
The Herdin of the present observed with impassive eyes that scene that he had already faced dozens, hundreds of times.
Because he knew that, no matter what he did, he couldn't change a past that had already happened.
"No, Cassion!"
The instant Cassion swung the sword at little Herdin, Eloise, who had come running, hugged the boy to protect him and was hit by the sword instead.
-…Mother?
Little Herdin's palm, which was supporting Eloise's back as she collapsed, was soaked in red blood.
The cherry petals that were piled up like snow on the ground were stained with blood.
The boy's hands began to shake violently.
At the same time, his eyes also began to shake vigorously.
What filled those eyes in an instant was terror.
And in the end...
Little Herdin cast a spell.
The boy's eyes looking at his father were no longer terrified.
What finally filled those pupils was an anger that had lost its mind.
Herdin attacked Cassion with magic.
Born, like Cassion, with the power of a divine beast, the magic Herdin had cultivated since childhood was not weak at all, and Cassion knew it too.
Still, he did not dodge his son's magic.
It seemed like he didn't even have the sanity left for that.
Taking advantage of the fact that Cassion staggered from receiving the magical impact, Herdin picked up the sword that a dead knight had dropped nearby.
And the moment Cassion swung his sword, Herdin blocked it by a hair and deflected the attack.
But the strength of an adult and that of a child could not be compared.
Herdin confronted Cassion using both sword and magic.
Cassius didn't use magic directly, but the sharp, polished mana floating around him hurt everything nearby.
Herdin, uncaring of the growing large and small wounds on his body, pounced on Cassion.
He didn't have the sanity left for that either.
Herdin cast a powerful instant spell and dealt a blow.
At that moment, Cassion stopped dead.
In that split second, Herdin pierced Cassion's heart.
With the same swordsmanship that his father had taught him.
Then, the mana that hovered menacingly around Cassion dissipated.
Cassius collapsed on top of Herdin.
His muffled voice fell on his little son's ear.
—Her…din…
At the same time, light returned to Herdin's unfocused eyes.
Only then did the boy's pupils, realizing what he had just done, begin to flutter violently.
-Father…?
I often thought about it.
That day, would my father have recognized me before he died?
Or was it simply a name uttered out of habit in unconsciousness?
One day he thought that his father must have come to his senses in the end and recognized him.
The best magic swordsman in the empire could not lose against his young son in a situation where he had lost control and gone on a rampage.
Surely his father recognized him and lost on purpose.
That he wanted me to kill him.
I would have thought it was a relief...
Another day he thought that believing that his father had recognized him was just a self-justification, that his father must have died without ever regaining his reason.
Because it would be too cruel for his father to know the reality: that he almost killed his son, that he killed his beloved wife with his own hands, and that she finally died at the hands of his son.
Thus, changing his mind as he pleased each day towards what was more bearable, he finally stopped everything.
What was the point of all that?
The fact that I killed my father with my own hands doesn't change.
A few trusted associates buried the truth of that day to protect Delmark and consolidate the position of the young head of the family, Herdin.
Thus, it was outwardly made known that Cassion, driven mad by Eloise's death, had taken his own life, but no matter how much he concealed and hid it, he could not deceive himself.
—Ah, ugh… Aaaaah!
Herdin, who was staring with dry eyes at the image of himself from more than ten years ago, collapsed in a pool of blood and screaming like a wounded beast, slowly closed his eyes as if he were fed up.
The terrible dream always forced him to see it to the end before letting him wake up.
Opening his eyes, he saw the familiar ceiling; Turning your head, a familiar face.
A woman softer and sweeter than a marshmallow.
After staring for a moment at Blair's face, fast asleep, Herdin looked up at the window.
Cherry petals fluttered like snow.
Like that day of the dream.
It's because of those flowers.
That's why I have that dream every year around this time.
After observing that horrible landscape with impassive eyes, he slowly sat up.
When he got out of bed, he put on a robe and went to the table where he kept his cigars.
It was the bowl where he had brought the marshmallows.
There were still three untoasted marshmallows in the bowl.
You haven't eaten any.>His wife had said it as if she were offering him her own reserved provisions.
Herdin laughed as he remembered those words.
Then he popped one of the marshmallows his wife had generously given him into his mouth.
He didn't like the soft texture too much, but the sweetness he tasted after a long time wasn't bad.
A smile escaped him.
Herdin savored the sweetness that his wife had granted him, put the cigar and lighter in the pocket of his robe and left the bedroom.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
After noon.
Blair walked down the hallway looking at the garden outside the window, full of cherry trees in full bloom.
Behind the central fountain stretched an artificial canal, flanked on both sides by cherry blossom trees.
According to what Mason had told him, that landscape had been personally designed by Eloise, Herdin's mother.
He had told her that now that there was a new lady, she could change it to her liking, but Blair didn't want to.
Partly because she didn't want to leave her mark on a mansion she would soon abandon, but also because she really liked the current landscape.
And above all...
He didn't want to erase those traces at will.
Realizing that she had inadvertently thought about him again, Blair naturally remembered the night before, when she had realized her own feelings for him.
Blair sensed that she could no longer avoid or ignore that persistent, tenacious feeling.
Now, instead of denying it and running away, he decided to accept it as it was.
Even if she recognized him, she had no intention of staying by his side.
He planned to leave when both had resolved their respective objectives, just as he wanted.
But even if it was a relationship destined to end, in this life she wanted to properly conclude the bond with him, something she had not been able to do in her past life.
I wanted you not to remain in me as a painful memory.
I don't want to hate you or hold a grudge against you like in my past life, or live tied to you again.
So he decided to pour out all the feelings he had left.
So that they would not become a persistent attachment.
—Ppippi.
Upon entering the room where Ppippi was playing, Blair called her name.
—Phee!
Then the baby marten jumped out from somewhere.
She was already old enough to be considered an adult.
Recognizing her owner, Ppippi approached and jumped in an effusive welcome.
Blair laughed, crouched down and held out her hand, and Ppippi responded by gently nibbling on her fingers.
—Were you playing hide and seek alone?
—Ppii.
—Today many flowers have bloomed and the weather is good, shall we play hide-and-seek outside?
Blair took a walking harness from a drawer in the room.
I had asked Melly, who was very crafty.
But Ppippi, perhaps wanting to continue playing with Blair, avoided her and hid in a corner of the room.
For a marten with an elongated body, even a small crack was enough space to hide.
—Hmm, do you want to play hide and seek with me?
Instead of an answer, there was a faint sound of movement from the narrow crack.
Blair approached the corner where Ppippi had hidden.
There were several paintings covered with fabrics.
Peeking through the crack, he saw Ppippi hiding between the frame and the wall.
—I found you!
—Phee!
Then Ppippi came out from behind the painting.
With the movement, he stepped on the cloth that covered him and dragged it with him as he left.
—Phee?
The cloth covering Ppippi fluttered with her bewildered movements.
Blair burst into laughter upon seeing the scene.
But his laughter stopped when he saw the picture that the cloth had left exposed.
Inside the frame was a portrait of a child I had never seen before.
He had black hair like Herdin, but his eyes were green, so it wasn't him.
They didn't look alike either.
Herdin's father, Cassion, also had black hair and blue eyes like him, so it wasn't him either.
At that moment, while Blair was wondering, Mason came in after knocking on the door.
-Lady.
As he approached Blair, he stopped short when he saw the portrait she was looking at.
—It seems I forgot to order it removed, since this room hasn't been used for a while.
I will see to it that it is picked up immediately.
—Who is that person?
When Blair asked pointing to the boy in the portrait, Mason hesitated a moment before answering.
That meant he was Cassion's brother.
But as far as Blair knew, Cassion only had one sister, Esmeralda.
—But I don't think I saw it in the family portrait.
Not even in the family registry...
—Young Logan was the former duke's half-brother.
In the Ardel Empire, monogamy was the norm.
That he was Cassion's half-brother, son of the legitimate wife, meant that the boy in the portrait was the illegitimate son of the Delmark family.
Being illegitimate, it was understandable that he did not appear in the family registry.
—Unfortunately, he died young in an accident.
That is the only portrait of him that remains.
—Ah… I see.
—Phee!
Since Blair didn't look for her even though she was hidden under the cloth, Ppippi, sulking, crawled out on her own and nibbled on Blair's hand.
Blair stroked Ppippi's head and asked Mason.
—By the way, why were you looking for me?
I wanted to ask you how you would like to manage the donation this year.
The ducal house of Delmark made an annual donation in gratitude to Gerard, who had personally attended the memorial service for the funeral of the former duke and his wife.
Although family events and special affairs were the responsibility of the lady of the house, until now, since there was no one, Herdin had taken care of them.
But this year, it was Blair's job.
—This year…
While Blair was reflecting and was about to speak, Lina's voice was heard after a knock on the door.
—Madam, are you here?
—What's happening?
Lina, who entered the room, reported the news with a puzzled expression.
"The Marquess and Marchioness of Selden have come to see you."
…To be continued