~Chapter 21~
Only Need the Duke’s Child Episode 21. The Woman You Will Love
Blair stared blankly at Miela as she entered the room following the priest.
‘Could it be… that the two of them already knew each other from this time?’
In the past she had heard that Herdin had not been injured, but perhaps it simply had not been a wound visible enough for others to notice, and he had treated it quietly and brushed it off.
As that thought reached her mind, it felt as if the blood in her entire body had turned cold.
“Then Miss Miela, please treat him quickly.
The service will begin shortly.”
The priest who had brought Miela asked her.
Herdin’s gaze naturally turned toward Miela.
The look he directed at her was indifferent.
The complete opposite of the look Miela was giving him, as if entranced.
Those were unmistakably the eyes of a woman in love.
When Miela stood there blankly for a moment, her gaze stolen by Herdin, the priest called her with a puzzled expression.
“Priestess Miela?”
“…Ah.
S-sorry!”
Startled, Miela hurried toward Herdin.
However, she hesitated, unable to properly touch his upper body or even look at him directly.
Then, as if finally gathering her courage, she parted her lips.
“Th-then please excuse me for a moment, Duke.”
Her face flushed beyond hiding it, Miela placed her hand on his firm abdomen.
She could not bring herself to look at his stomach, nor at his face, and seemed completely at a loss.
Watching that sight, a memory from before her regression suddenly surfaced in Blair’s mind.
The image of Herdin embracing Miela, and the cold eyes he had shown without avoiding Blair’s gaze.
Blair’s body began trembling uncontrollably as the memory surfaced.
Her heart pounded so violently it felt as though she might be sick.
‘…No.’
Blair pressed her clenched fist against the upper part of her chest.
As if doing so might somehow suppress the emotions rising within her.
Then she mocked herself for it.
It was ridiculous that even after being hurt by him so deeply before, she could be wounded again for the exact same reason.
If she was shaken and hurt by the relationship between him and Miela, it meant she still loved him.
Blair bit down on her lip and turned her gaze away from the two of them.
She hated him.
She hated herself for still being unable to let go of him.
Soon a bright light formed at Miela’s fingertips as they touched Herdin, and it seeped into his abdomen.
After repeating the process a few more times, Miela examined his complexion and asked,
“It seems to be finished now.
How do you feel?”
“It seems fine.”
“I’m glad I could be of help.”
As if she had already forgotten her earlier embarrassment, Miela smiled brightly at Herdin.
The priest who had been watching said to Herdin,
“The service will begin soon, so it would be best if you prepare quickly.”
“I will.”
The priest greeted them and left the lounge first.
Miela hesitated for a moment before leaving, then bowed slightly to Herdin.
“I hope the goddess will always grant you her blessing, Duke.”
After finishing her greeting, Miela left.
Herdin was putting back on the clothes he had taken off when he suddenly noticed how quiet Blair had been for a while and turned toward her.
Her already pale face looked even paler than usual.
She looked so fragile that she might collapse at any moment.
Herdin approached her.
“Were you injured earlier at the hunting grounds?”
Thinking she might collapse, he instinctively reached out to hold her, but Blair pushed him away.
“…I’m fine.”
Before he could say anything more, Blair changed the subject.
“More importantly, earlier you asked what I saw in the future.”
Talk of the future and prophecy had to stop.
She had no intention of telling him everything about the future.
But the moment she saw herself wavering because of him, she realized she needed to draw a line.
So this—
“That priestess earlier… she’s the woman you will fall in love with.”
It was something she said to him, but also words she repeated to herself in order to completely push him out of her heart.
“…What?”
“She will surely be a good partner for you, but it would be difficult for you to take her as a mistress right now.
As I said before, when we divorce, there must be no fault on your side.”
An incredulous laugh escaped Herdin’s lips.
“But if rumors can be prevented—”
Before Blair could finish her sentence, Herdin suddenly leaned in and swallowed her lips.
Stopping her words, he pulled away before the startled Blair could push him off.
However, the arm wrapped around her waist did not loosen.
Looking down at her coldly from a distance close enough for their breaths to mingle, he said,
“Even if that were the truth, why would I need to take a mistress?”
“….”
“When you are here.”
His large hand around her waist stroked along Blair’s back.
The touch was gentle, but when she met the emotions flickering in his cold blue eyes at the same time, goosebumps rose along her skin.
“Until this contract ends, you are my wife.
Everything like this—and even more than this—I will do only with you.”
As his low voice, carrying a chilling tone, settled by her ear, his lips moved again as if to swallow hers once more.
That was when—
“Your Grace.
The service will begin shortly.”
Ruth’s voice came along with a knock on the door.
With a quiet sigh, Herdin released Blair and gathered his coat before leaving the lounge first.
Blair stared blankly at his back with confused eyes for a moment, then soon understood his feelings.
Anyone would find it absurd to hear that they would fall in love with someone they had just met.
Of course he would not believe it and would want to deny it.
But eventually, just like the Herdin from before her regression, the current Herdin would also come to love Miela.
Now the only person who remembered that future which no longer existed was herself.
The only one who remembered the memories and wounds within it was herself.
Therefore, the only one who could change the future was also herself.
Blair had no intention of changing his future.
‘Even if his future changes and he comes to love someone else, it will not be me.’
So in this life, she would disappear from his life.
For both of their sakes.
After steadying her emotions and preparing to follow Herdin out, Blair suddenly felt something catch against her foot and stopped.
It was Herdin’s cravat.
* * *
Herdin left the lounge and headed toward the main hall of the temple.
Ruth had already returned earlier because of a task Herdin had given him, and Blair was following behind him.
Feeling Blair’s presence behind him, Herdin recalled what she had said earlier.
‘That priestess earlier… she’s the woman you will fall in love with.’
The content of that “future” Blair claimed to have seen was absurd enough, but what angered him more was her expression.
A calm face as if it meant nothing to her that he would fall in love with another woman, as if it were entirely someone else’s story.
Her voice.
Even the reason she said he should not take her as a mistress now was merely so she could divorce him safely later.
But that was the contract they had made from the beginning.
So why did it make him this angry?
“Herdin.”
Blair’s voice called from behind him.
Perhaps chasing after his long strides had been difficult, because her voice carried short breaths.
Herdin swallowed a weary sigh and brushed his bangs back carelessly.
His steps gradually slowed.
When Blair finally caught up to him, she handed him the cravat while breathing heavily.
“You dropped this.”
Herdin stared silently at the cravat in her hand, then bent his upper body toward her.
“Please tie it.”
At his unexpected request, Blair blinked.
Then she noticed the coat in his right hand and understood.
Before marriage, brides were taught how to tie their husband’s cravat.
Helping with a husband’s attire before he left for outside duties was one of a wife’s roles.
Blair had known this even before attending bride lessons for this marriage.
Before her regression, she had tied his cravat countless times.
He often asked Blair to tie it for him.
And using that excuse, he would pull her close and embrace her even on busy mornings.
…In the end, all of that had been a lie as well.
Now she knew his request held no meaning.
But because of what had happened earlier, it was difficult for her to approach him.
Yet it also felt uncomfortable to tell him to tie it himself.
After hesitating for a moment, Blair stepped closer as if embracing his neck.
As the distance between them narrowed, the white nape of Blair’s neck beneath her pinned-up hair also drew close.
At the same time, her unique sweet scent rushed toward him.
Suddenly, the memory of their first night stirred inside Herdin’s mind.
The feeling when he buried his lips against that soft nape, the warmth of her body trembling within his arms, and…
the beautiful face looking up at him.
‘…I really have gone mad.’
He regretted asking her to tie his cravat.
The desire he had suppressed scratched down his throat.
Even so, his gaze remained fixed on her.
Blair, completely unaware of his thoughts, focused on tying the cravat.
Her slightly furrowed brows and tightly pressed lips gradually relaxed whenever her fingers accidentally brushed the back of his neck.
“It’s done.”
Blair smoothed the cravat one last time and stepped back from him.
At that moment, Herdin grabbed her hand.
Blair looked at him in confusion, and their eyes met.
Only then did Herdin realize he had unconsciously taken her hand and frowned slightly.
But that was only for a moment.
Soon his blue eyes filled with Blair’s image.
As if he might devour her at any moment.
