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Chapter 10
The Person Who Tried to Kill Me
The next morning.
The knights of Delmarc stood in the training grounds, all in deep thought, from early morning.
“Argh!”
One of their comrades, who hadn’t even managed a proper counterattack, dropped his sword and collapsed.
Standing in front of him was Herdin.
Herdin looked at him with cold eyes and gestured toward one side of the training ground.
There, lined up in the punishment position, were other knights who had all failed to land a single proper counterattack against Herdin.
“Next.”
At Herdin’s command, the next knight stepped forward, fear written all over his face.
The remaining knights looked at their comrade as though watching someone run headlong into certain death. At the same time, their eyes held a hint of pity, as if watching a criminal waiting for execution.
With resigned expressions, they watched their unfortunate comrade and Herdin standing before him.
A war hero.
The empire’s only current spellblade, empowered by the divine beast.
“Is there even a knight in this empire—or on this entire continent—who could possibly defeat him…?”
Especially those who had faced Herdin on the battlefield for years knew his true skill.
Even managing a single counterattack to avoid punishment was considered lucky.
Normally, they would grumble about the Creator’s blatant favoritism, but instinctively, they couldn’t help but be drawn to Herdin’s haughty face—which, today, looked more like the face of death itself.
One of the knights, waiting his turn while silently praying for the comrade struggling to defend against Herdin’s relentless attacks, gestured to those nearby.
“Hey, who is it?”
“What?”
“Who angered His Excellency?”
“Anger? What do you mean? He’s been busy preparing for the wedding, and we barely saw him during the ceremony.”
“Then why is the groom, who should be enjoying his honeymoon, wasting his strength here on the morning of his second day of marriage?”
“Would you feel like enjoying a honeymoon after being forced to marry the daughter of your mortal enemy?”
When put that way, it made sense.
The long-standing feud between the royal family and the Dukes of Delmarc was common knowledge among the empire’s nobility.
The knight, reflecting on it, suddenly burst out in frustration.
“Then why are you taking it out on us instead of them?”
Who could know? The puzzled knights shrugged. Then one of them suddenly thought of someone nearby who might know the answer and glanced over.
“Does the aide know?”
But Luth merely shook his head and shrugged as well.
As the knights were being mercilessly broken from early morning without knowing why, a stir arose at the entrance of the training ground.
“Uh?”
Herdin, noticing the change in atmosphere after defeating the sparring knight, also heard a small cough.
He immediately turned toward the sound and saw Blair entering the training ground with her butler.
“Mason, what’s going on here?”
He asked his butler, though it was essentially a question directed at Blair.
Blair answered for Mason.
“I greeted the servants yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to meet the knights. Before heading to the palace, I had a little free time, so I thought I’d come say hello.”
But for a moment, everyone’s attention was stolen simply by her beauty, and no one showed any particular warmth toward her.
‘Has she come to assert herself as the lady here too?’
Though they had grim faces moments ago at the thought of being crushed by Herdin, these were comrades who had survived the battlefield together.
The more loyal they were to Herdin, the greater their resistance to Blair, a member of the royal family.
Herdin surely understood this, yet he stepped forward to formally introduce Blair to the knights.
“You may have seen her around, but you haven’t formally greeted her.”
“……”
“Greet her. She will be the Duchess you will serve from now on.”
Seeing their lord step forward, even the knights who had reservations about Blair outwardly showed proper etiquette.
“The loyal swords of Delmarc formally greet the Duchess.”
“I’m glad to meet you. Thank you for the warm welcome despite my sudden visit. I look forward to working with you all.”
Blair smiled gently, but her gaze quietly assessed each knight one by one.
In fact, Blair had come to the knights’ training ground with another purpose.
In her past life, she had worked to be recognized as the lady, but these were people who hated her.
There was no need to try to earn their favor or recognition. Once this contract marriage was over, she would never see them again.
Her real purpose in visiting the knights was…
‘The person who tried to kill me might be among them.’
The Dukes of Delmarc were one of the empire’s three major ducal families, and their knights, having fought directly in wars, had skills comparable to the royal knights.
The assailant who had tried to kill Blair had penetrated their strict security and broken into the villa.
This was one reason Blair suspected Herdin of being behind the attempt on her life.
To have breached such tight security, the assailant must either be highly skilled or have easy access.
If so, perhaps the assailant could even be someone within the ducal household.
Servants were familiar faces, but the knights rarely crossed paths with her, making it less likely that she would recognize the intruder if he were among them.
That’s why she came personally—to confirm. She hoped the assailant was not among the knights, and that Herdin had nothing to do with her attempted murder.
The mere thought of facing the person who tried to kill her again—or that her beloved husband might have been involved in her death—made her breath catch and her blood run cold. Her hands trembled. She wanted to run.
‘No. Running won’t change anything.’
Blair gripped her trembling hands as if holding herself back, recalling the assailant’s face from her dreadful memories.
‘He had a grotesque scar across the bridge of his nose.’
Though she couldn’t examine each knight closely, finding someone with a large scar on their face wouldn’t be difficult.
Blair quickly scanned the knights.
‘…None.’
Fortunately, the assailant didn’t seem to be among them.
The possibility of Herdin being involved in her attempted murder decreased slightly.
Blair, biting her lip nervously, exhaled in relief.
At that moment, Luth approached Herdin.
“Your Excellency, it’s about time to prepare for lunch.”
Butler Mason left to make preparations, and Herdin, Blair, and Luth finished their introductions and left the training ground.
Seeing sweat on Herdin’s forehead, Blair, walking beside him, offered a handkerchief.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
But Herdin refused her gesture.
“I’m fine.”
His tone was polite, but his manner was indifferent.
Watching them from behind, Luth wiped cold sweat from his forehead. Blair calmly folded the handkerchief, as if Herdin’s refusal meant nothing.
‘Who would guess they were newlyweds from that?’
Luth hadn’t particularly hoped Blair and Herdin would get along, but seeing her refused so plainly in front of him left a bad taste in his mouth.
Silence resumed as the three of them walked toward the main building of the duke’s mansion.
‘…Was the mansion always this far?’
Just as someone hoped for a break in the cold silence, a small shadow suddenly dashed from nearby bushes and collided with Blair.
“Ta-ta! Ung?”
It was a child, seemingly about three years old, who had wandered from the servants’ quarters.
Luth was shocked. While he had been lucky to have a generous lord, most nobles would explode at any offense. How much worse would a royal family member be, especially the infamous daughter of Katrina?
Luth hurriedly picked up the child and bowed on Blair’s behalf.
“My apologies, milady. The child must have wandered out while her mother was occupied. I’ll return him and warn his mother…”
“I’m fine.”
Blair sat down to meet the child at eye level, brushing the dirt from his bottom.
“Are you okay, little one?”
“Ung.”
“What’s your name?”
“Jeremy.”
“Yes, Jeremy. You fell but didn’t cry—you’re a brave child.”
The child smiled brightly at her praise—a pure, genuine smile, free from prejudice or intent.
Unlike others in noble households who feared and disliked her, this child smiled openly at her.
Blair, seeing his smile, returned it. It was her first genuine smile since returning to this life.
Luth, standing nearby, awkwardly rose, embarrassed that he had expected Blair to push the child away.
Herdin also watched the pair quietly, thinking:
‘I thought she was a doll, never showing emotion… but she can smile like that.’
A woman smiling brightly in the sunlight was dazzling, whether from the snow piled in the courtyard or her pale face.
Herdin noticed Luth’s wristwatch glinting in the sun but ignored it, focusing instead on Blair’s radiant expression a little longer.
