After the nobles surrounding the two had withdrawn, Herdin handed Katrina a glass of wine and began to speak.
"Are you afraid of me, Your Majesty?"
Katrina, who had been drinking the wine he had given her, burst into laughter as if she had heard a funny story.
"Afraid? Me? You?"
When he looked at Katrina, he saw his wife's face. Blair resembled her—at least that beautiful face, which was once called a beauty that could bring down a kingdom.
The moment he realized this fact, the woman before him became even more repulsive.
"Aren't you trying to brainwash me because you're afraid I will discover the truth? That you are the niece of a sinner, and that I am the one who forgave you and accepted you as family. That is the truth."
The way she struggled to suppress him was quite ridiculous. His mother-in-law seemed to view him as still being a young boy of fifteen.
Herdin placed his empty glass on the table and added,
"But if your intentions are too transparent, it only tends to provoke resentment."
The smile vanished from Katrina's face as she looked at Herdin.
"What you know is the truth. That fact will never change."
Katrina's voice was filled with conviction, but Herdin bowed politely and turned away, as if he had no intention of dealing with her any longer.
Stepping into a quiet corner of the banquet hall, Herdin moistened his dry throat with wine and looked around.
His eyes, accustomed to Blair's presence, quickly spotted her amidst the crowd.
Blair was talking to a woman on one side of the hall. They seemed to be having a serious conversation, as their expressions looked quite grave.
However, what bothered him more were the bastards hovering around Blair, glancing at her furtively.
Those jackals who would pounce the moment she showed even a momentary lapse, trying to strike up a conversation or grab her hand.
Just imagining what was going on in their heads sent a chill through his veins.
I hadn't known because Blair was always by my side during the wedding. No matter how much those guys were thinking about it, they wouldn't have dared approach a bride who had just gotten married that day—especially with the groom right beside her.
However, thinking back to the victory banquet, Blair had always been swarmed by guys like that. It was just that the person involved hadn't noticed.
Just then, someone placed a hand on Herdin's shoulder as he gulped down the remaining wine like whiskey.
"Do you like her that much?"
It was Johannes Felic, the second son of Marquis Felic.
To Herdin, he was one of the few peculiar people who approached him without fear or hesitation. Though, it seemed Johann went around bragging that he was a friend.
Herdin asked without even looking at Johann, who had suddenly appeared and was spouting nonsense.
"What?"
"I'm talking about your wife. Even at the victory banquet, you kept saying it wasn't true, but you couldn't take your eyes off her."
"Nonsense."
The answer came smoothly. There wasn't a shred of hesitation.
Johann looked at Herdin with a bewildered expression.
"Can't take your eyes off her even now? Glaring at every bastard peeking at your wife like you're about to kill them?"
Johann, who had been staring at Herdin as if unable to understand how his actions contradicted his words, soon figured out his mindset.
"Well, honestly, she is pretty. With that face and that figure, what man wouldn't fall for her?"
He concluded that Herdin, like any other man, was attracted to Blair's looks.
"Of course, unlike the others, he is attracted to his own wife, so it is acceptable."
Although he had never shown interest in any woman before, the object of his affection was the Imperial Princess, known as the most beautiful woman in the Empire. It made sense.
"To exaggerate a little, if she set her mind to it, she could make every single man in this banquet hall kneel at her feet…"
Johann, who had been rambling as if he fully understood Herdin's feelings, met Herdin's gaze—which had become even more menacing—and quickly added,
"Ah, of course not me. Even so, I have a code of conduct. I'm not a bastard who would harbor such thoughts toward a friend's wife, am I?"
Johann quickly raised his glass and brought it close to Herdin's, smiling awkwardly.
Herdin looked at him with the most pathetic expression. It was dumbfounding to see him stating such an obvious fact as if he were upholding a thousand-year-old loyalty.
He ignored Johann, who was about to clink glasses with him, put his glass down, and turned away. Johann's glass brushed awkwardly against the air.
"Hey, where are you going? Leaving a friend you haven't seen in a long time behind?"
Hey, Your Excellency the Duke!
Herdin, who was about to head toward the side of the banquet hall where Blair was—ignoring Johann's voice—stopped in his tracks.
Blair had vanished.
---
"Haa…"
The breath Blair exhaled turned white in the chilly winter night.
"I feel dizzy…"
She had stepped out onto the balcony to shake off the effects of alcohol in the cold winter wind, but instead, her body heated up, and she felt the alcohol hitting her even harder. Her mind was hazy.
Blair lightly slapped her cheeks and let out a deep sigh.
"What should I do? If I go back into the banquet hall like this, word will spread that I'm drunk…"
She usually had a low tolerance for alcohol, but the problem was that she had unwittingly drunk more than her limit while dealing with guests.
Although she felt hazy, she didn't feel completely drunk, but she still couldn't return to the banquet hall in this state.
Nobles considered it undignified to get so drunk that one lost control, no matter how important the banquet was. That was why the wines provided in the hall were usually light, low-alcohol varieties.
And now she had gotten drunk on just such wine.
"I need to get back quickly."
However, contrary to her intentions, drowsiness washed over her.
Just as Blair was about to drift off to sleep—
Click.
The door opened, and someone entered the balcony.
"…Lina?"
Blair, who had assumed Lina had returned from fetching water, froze at the sight of the person approaching her.
"Look who it is. Isn't this our Princess?"
It was Wesley, the heir to the Marquess of Baldwin. He had always been friendly when she was a princess, but a strong smell of alcohol wafted from him as he staggered forward.
"They say a woman becomes more beautiful when she knows a man, and you've become even more beautiful since getting married."
A sense of foreboding loomed over her as she watched Wesley's unsteady gait and half-closed eyes.
"…I'll be heading back now."
Blair forced strength into her slurring tongue to clearly convey her intent. It would be useless to let someone with such intentions know she was drunk.
However, Wesley blocked her path, unwilling to let her go.
"Come on, it would be a shame to leave after running into each other like this. Please spare me some time."
"I'm sorry, but I've been away too long…"
"Geez, you're playing hard to get."
Wesley roughly grabbed Blair's wrist. Unable to stand properly due to the alcohol, Blair was dragged along too easily.
Startled, Blair tried to pull her wrist free, but it only made it hurt more.
"Let go!"
"You're not a virgin anymore, so why are you acting so innocent? Let's be honest about our desires, madam."
Just as Wesley was dragging the staggering Blair, a hand shot in through the open balcony and grabbed his wrist.
It was an incredibly strong grip—strong enough to break it at any moment.
Unable to withstand the pain, Wesley let go.
"Ugh… Who the hell—!"
Wesley, about to lunge forward, froze when he saw the man's face.
It was Herdin, his expression colder than the winter wind.
Herdin kicked Wesley in the stomach. Wesley rolled across the balcony floor. As Herdin approached, Wesley tried to get up, but instead tripped and fell again.
Herdin met his gaze, crouched down, and said in a low voice,
"This woman's husband."
Then, raising his fist, he warned,
"Clench your teeth."
Just as Herdin was about to strike—
"Hic!"
A hiccup burst from Blair, who had been frozen in shock.
At the sound, Herdin's fist stopped midair.
"…" "…" Only Blair's hiccups echoed in the silence.
Herdin slowly lowered his hand.
Instead, he grabbed Wesley by the head and whispered in his ear,
"If I hear you bark one more time, you won't be able to taste anything with that tongue."
His voice was too low for Blair to hear.
Herdin released him and stood up.
Blair was still hiccuping. Even in that state, she was beautiful.
Large, watery eyes that looked ready to spill at any moment, pale cheeks flushed from the cold, and small lips parted in surprise.
Looking at her, Herdin recalled Johann's words.
"Well, honestly, she is pretty. With that face and that body, what man wouldn't fall for her?"
Yes.
That was exactly why.
Because she was so beautiful, this kind of trouble happened.
Thinking that all the men in the banquet hall were staring at her with the same thoughts as Wesley made his blood run cold.
Before things went too far, he wanted to lock her away somewhere only he could see—where no one else could.
Of course, he knew it was a mad thought.
Suppressing the surge of emotion, Herdin took Blair's hand.
"…Follow me."