"Is it difficult? This should be very simple."
His cold gaze and mocking voice clawed at Blair. The pupils of Blair, looking up at him, wavered.
'...He doesn't believe me.'
His true feelings struck her more clearly than ever.
She had been mistaken.
Taking her side in Rina's matter had merely been because he couldn't tolerate the servants' insolence. Insulting his wife was tantamount to insulting him.
She found her own expectations laughable.
Blair averted her eyes from his gaze and lowered them. Her long lashes trembled as she slowly closed and opened her eyes.
Blair pushed against his chest and slipped out of his arms.
"...I'm sorry. I had a dream."
Her barely uttered voice trembled uncontrollably. Blair turned and left the room as is.
Herdin, watching her retreating figure beyond the closing door, poured the remaining whiskey into his glass and downed it all.
The liquor hitting his empty stomach burned like swallowing a fireball.
* * *
The sound of hoofbeats echoed through the quiet winter forest.
Startled mountain birds took flight. Even that small disturbance caused the heavy white snow piled on the trees to cascade down.
This year's winter hunt was proceeding smoothly as well.
The first event of the New Year's festival was each family hunting offerings for the gods from the imperial hunting grounds.
Unlike ordinary hunts, the winter hunt was conducted by family rather than collectively pooling strength.
The rarer the offering, the more the gods would be impressed, so the nobles participating subtly competed to catch better prey. It was a matter of family pride.
As a family competition, even noblewomen and ladies exceptionally rode horses alongside their husbands and families. Blair was one of them.
Herdin's gaze, searching for prey in the white snowfield, turned to Blair following behind him. Seeing her flushed cheeks from the cold, yesterday's memory suddenly flashed through his mind.
'Magic beasts will appear at the hunting grounds tomorrow.'
If those words were true, it meant magic beasts would appear here today. It was strange that she, knowing that fact, had come to this dangerous place of her own accord.
'What on earth is she thinking?'
Herdin let out a low sigh and called the del Mark Knight Order captain following behind him.
"Kyle."
The knight spurred his horse to his side upon hearing the call.
"Provide maximum security for the Duchess."
"Understood."
The knight captain gestured with his eyes toward the subordinates watching him, pointing at Blair to relay Herdin's command. The knights, grasping the meaning, approached Blair's side.
A small coughing sound came from behind Herdin. Hearing it, his brows furrowed. His eyes scanning the white snowfield for prey grew more intent.
It was then that a beast's cry echoed from afar.
Squeal!
It seemed like a wild boar's cry.
Along with the sound of birds fluttering away, Blair startled and drew in a sharp breath.
But the boar's cries didn't stop at once and continued intermittently. It was repeatedly loosing arrows, failing to kill the prey in one shot. The sound grated on his nerves.
Stupid fool. Wasting so many arrows on that one thing.
As Herdin inwardly mocked the incompetent hunter he didn't know, one knight urgently shouted.
"Your Excellency, a white marten over there!"
A marten prowling the white snowfield was visible where the knight pointed.
Marten fur was expensive. Among them, white marten fur fetched the highest price. It would suffice as an offering for the gods.
Herdin immediately drew his bowstring and shot at the marten.
The arrow pierced the marten precisely, splattering its blood across the white snowfield.
As Herdin confirmed the marten no longer moved and turned his horse to leave, a hollowed-out dead tree caught his eye.
Getting off his horse and approaching, he saw a baby marten inside the tree that hadn't even opened its eyes yet.
'...It had a cub.'
Herdin drew a dagger from his bosom. At that moment, Blair's voice came from behind.
"Herdin. What... are you doing right now?"
"In a situation without its mother to protect it, it won't last long before becoming prey for natural enemies. In that case, dying with its mother now would be better for it."
"No!"
Blair hurriedly dismounted and grabbed his hand holding the dagger. Herdin's brows furrowed.
"What are you doing."
"It might survive."
"A nursling that can't even open its eyes, in this winter where finding food is hard?"
"Even if it dies soon as you say, that's not mercy. Living even one more day is better."
Herdin scoffed. Naive optimism, or hypocrisy. Either way, it was the type he despised.
"Even as it's being eaten alive by wolves?"
Herdin deliberately chose raw words to provoke her. To break her optimism or hypocrisy. But….
"I'll raise it."
The woman who always yielded pretended to follow his will, now confronted him without backing down. With sharper eyes than ever.
She looked just like a mother protecting her young. The sight was unpleasant.
How dare such a trivial creature.
"Well, I wonder if it wants to be taken in by the one who watched its mother die."
Herdin retorted mockingly, reminding her of her own position.
If even a trivial creature had thoughts and feelings, it would prefer death over being taken by the enemy. Just as he despised her imperial family and his fake wife from it.
Blair, grasping what his words meant, twisted her expression briefly but didn't yield.
Blair gazed at the mother marten's body being retrieved by the knights with sunken eyes and said,
"...Still, this child's mother would have wanted it to survive somehow."
At that moment, one knight watching his lord and lady in a tense standoff awkwardly interjected.
"Um... Your Excellency. Raising it as the Duchess says doesn't seem bad. Since it's a white marten, we could skin it later…."
The knight, trying to side with her, only realized his mistake upon receiving Blair's contemptuous glare and shut his mouth.
Herdin let out a low sigh, withdrew his hand from Blair's grasp, and turned away.
Grasping the meaning, Blair carefully extracted the baby marten from the nest. Even from the tiny life smaller than her palm, a distinct body heat emanated.
The eyeless cub cried pitifully, peeping as if searching for its mother. Seeing it, her throat tightened.
'What happened to Asiel after I died?'
Only then did she think of Asiel, left alone after her death.
The intruder might have killed the child afterward. Even if lucky enough to survive, to Herdin who loved Miela, it would have been a thorn in his side.
Either way, it clearly wouldn't have been a happy ending for the child.
For the first time, she truly hated him.
Blair stared at Herdin's retreating back, then snapped back to reality upon hearing the marten's cries. She removed her glove and placed the marten inside it.
A knight watching extended his hand.
"Madam, I'll take it. Please mount first."
"No. I'll carry it."
"But riding like that will be difficult. It's dangerous too…."
"I'll walk."
Despite the knight's concerned words, Blair remained resolute.
As the knight hesitated, unable to decide, Herdin, having overheard, led his horse over.
Approaching with long strides, he lightly lifted Blair and seated her on his horse.
"Herdin...?"
Blair blinked in surprise at his sudden action.
Herdin swiftly mounted behind her and ordered the knight.
"Take care of the Duchess's horse."
With one arm, he supported her waist in place of her hands. With the other, he held the reins and slowly urged the horse forward.
His icy eyes stared ahead, not at her, but the arm embracing her was firm, as if refusing to let her go.
Blair, gazing at him who didn't look at her, lowered her head.
She should thank him for willingly enduring the trouble for her sake, but with the baby marten peeping pitifully in her glove, no words came.
Even amid that, his cold embrace felt warm, and she found it ridiculous how her instincts sensed it as safe.
The winter forest wind brushed past the silent pair. As Blair coughed from the chill, Herdin placed the fur hat from her cloak over her head.
"You said magic beasts would appear, so why follow me here? You could have stayed out of it."
Rather than mockery, he seemed displeased she had come on the hunt at all.
'Come to think of it....'
No magic beasts had appeared yet. Birds fluttered intermittently from other areas, but no screams echoed.
'Since I attended the hunt today, differing from the past, has the future changed too?'
In that case, it was best not to arouse more suspicion and stick to the dream excuse.
As Blair judged and prepared to reply—something appeared between the conifers.
Blair's eyes shook violently upon spotting it.
Visible through the trees were enormous eyes.
At that instant, the pupils moved, meeting Blair's gaze. A chill ran down her spine.