ONDC 36

~Chapter 36~

The Identity of the Culprit

Heredin removed the cigar from his mouth.
“I was in such a daze back then that I couldn’t properly check on my wife, and it’s been weighing on my mind—”
“Priestess.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for your concern, but I don’t think this is the time for idle greetings.”

With a glance, Heredin indicated the place where the injured from this incident had gathered.

A look of embarrassment appeared on Miela’s face.
“Ah…

I’m sorry.

I was just happy to see you and…”
She hesitated for a moment instead of leaving right away, then bowed and added,
“Then I’ll see you again next time.”

Unable to take her eyes off Heredin until the very end, she finally turned and walked away.

Ruth watched her departing figure with pity.

As Heredin’s aide, he had already seen scenes like this countless times.
‘The only thing unfortunate about that woman, compared to the others…’

Was that she was a priestess with divine power.

After all, those with divine power were rare, and keeping someone like that close would certainly be useful.

Yet despite that obvious advantage, his lord had not even spared her a glance.
“Still, she treated your injuries. Couldn’t you have been a little kinder to her?”
“I told her what she needed to do before she got dragged away for neglecting her duties.”

Ruth was dumbfounded by Heredin’s indifferent reply, but the matter was already over.
“Yes, yes.

You’re incredibly considerate.”

Leaving Ruth’s halfhearted response behind, Heredin walked toward the horse that had been tied up.

If he waited here until the situation was completely settled, the thirst he felt for the woman waiting at the mansion would reach the end of his patience.
* * *

After returning from Heredin’s private study to the bedroom, Blair handed Lina a letter from Mikhail.
“Lina, please burn this.”
“Oh—yes.”

Blair approached the window while Lina lit a candle behind her.

Her eyes, gazing out at the scenery beyond the window, wavered with unease.

[We have discovered the origin of the phrase you previously ordered us to investigate.

The phrase was engraved on daggers that your husband, His Grace the Duke, bestowed upon several knights who fought alongside him after the war.]

‘Then the man who killed me… was a knight of Delmark…’

And one of Heredin’s direct knights at that.

Blair recalled going to the training grounds shortly after the wedding to look at the faces of the knights.
‘But none of them had a scar across the bridge of their nose.’

Did I miss him?

Restlessly pacing around the room, Blair checked the clock and soon left the room, heading down to the first floor of the mansion.

At this hour, the knights would usually be doing their midday training at the training grounds.

Although she wasn’t the type of mistress who fussed over the knights, it wouldn’t seem strange if the lady of the house came to check on them.

Just as Blair reached the bottom of the stairs and turned toward the back door of the mansion, a commotion came from the front entrance.
‘Did Heredin return?’

Thinking that, she happened to run into Mason, who was coming out onto the first floor.
“Ah, my lady.

You came down at just the right time.”
“Did someone arrive?”
“Several people from the main estate have come.

They will probably want to greet you. If you’re not too busy, could you spare them a moment?”

She wanted to go straight to the training grounds immediately, but ignoring them and walking away would look strange.
‘Nothing will change if I’m a few minutes late.’

Blair nodded slightly.
“Very well.”

Blair stepped out to the entrance of the mansion with Mason.

Five knights on horseback approached and dismounted in front of her and Mason.

All of them had their faces covered by cloaks to shield themselves from the sharp winter wind.

The man standing in the center stepped forward jokingly.
“Oh my.

I never imagined the lady herself would come out to welcome us on our very first meeting…

What an honor.

If I had known, I would have brought a gift on the way.”

Blair casually looked at the man as he lowered the cloak covering his face and approached—then froze.

The eyes visible beneath the cloak looked familiar.
‘This man…’

Blair’s eyes shook violently as she recognized them.

They were the eyes of the assassin who had killed her.

There was no scar across the bridge of his nose, but it was definitely him.
“Nice to meet you, my lady.

I am Caligo Elparind, a knight of Delmark.”

With a smooth gesture, he kissed the back of Blair’s hand.

The sensation of the man’s lips touching her skin felt horrifyingly chilling.
‘I never considered the possibility that he might be a knight from the main estate.’

Blair’s hand trembled in Caligo’s grasp.

She needed to say something, but it felt as if someone were strangling her throat, leaving her unable to breathe.

At that moment, the sound of approaching hooves echoed.

It was Heredin, Ruth, and several knights.

They had returned earlier with Heredin.

As soon as Caligo saw Heredin, he brightened and released Blair’s hand.
“Well, look at that—His Grace himself has come to welcome us.”

But after dismounting, Heredin passed Caligo and walked straight toward Blair.

Even though he had arrived, Blair could not take her eyes off Caligo.

Seeing that, Heredin dismissed him.
“That’s enough greetings.

Caligo, you must be tired from the long journey. Go and rest.”

“Yes, sir.

Then I’ll see you again, my lady.”

Caligo cheerfully bowed and left with the knights who had come with him.

Blair stared blankly at his departing back.

Something about her looked dangerously unstable.

Heredin instinctively moved as if to embrace her, but stopped when he noticed the dirt on his clothes.

Removing his leather gloves, he took Blair’s hand with his bare one.

Feeling that warmth, Blair finally lifted her gaze and looked at him.
“Are you unwell?”

The hand holding hers was warm as always, but his warmth frightened her.

What if it suddenly changed and strangled her throat?

Blair quietly withdrew the hand he was holding and answered,
“…I’m fine.”

Heredin frowned.

Despite her words, her expression didn’t look fine at all.

He ordered Lina, who stood nearby,
“Escort the lady to her room.”

As Blair went upstairs supported by Lina, she turned back once.

Heredin was speaking with Mason.

Words she could neither ask nor hear scratched painfully at her throat.
* * *

Back in her room, Blair sat blankly on the bed.

As her emotions settled and her mind cooled, questions and possibilities began to surface one by one.
‘Why did that man kill me?’

She had no significant connection with him, so it likely wasn’t personal.

And it probably wasn’t for his own benefit either.

A mere knight would gain nothing from killing her.

Then perhaps Heredin…

Blair stopped that thought.
‘…No, that’s not it.

Perhaps that knight named Caligo thought I was an obstacle to Delmark.’

Although he had approached her kindly today, his loyalty toward Heredin might have been so deep that he had acted independently to eliminate her.

But there was something that didn’t quite fit that theory.
‘I’m not just the Duchess—I’m also an imperial princess.

If something happened to me, it would cause conflict with the imperial family.

Would he really go that far?’

When that line of reasoning hit a dead end, another possibility emerged.
‘Maybe he was a spy planted by a third party hoping to create conflict between the imperial family and Delmark.’

In that case, Heredin might have nothing to do with her death.

But…

‘…No.

I can’t trust anyone.’

She couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that Heredin was behind it.

When she thought about it, he had many reasons to dislike her.

She was a wife he had been forced to take by the family of his enemy, she had no memories that could clear Esmeralda’s false accusation, and he had another woman he loved.

Blinded by love, he might have tried to kill a useless wife who only stood in the way.

The thought that she had foolishly believed for even a moment that he might be unrelated to her death made her laugh bitterly.

Blair rubbed her trembling hands together as she thought about what to do next.
‘I can’t solve anything by simply running away without knowing the truth.’

If Caligo had acted from personal feelings or blind loyalty, then stepping down as duchess or running away might solve everything.

But if someone else was behind it, the story would be different.

As long as there was someone with a clear motive to kill her, they might keep trying.

To avoid death, she first needed to know why she had to die.

And to uncover that, she needed to investigate Caligo.
‘Who he’s allied with, and why he killed me.’

Blair decided to ask Mikhail to investigate Caligo and began writing a letter.

At that moment, she sensed someone behind her.
“I knocked, but you didn’t respond. I wondered if you had fallen asleep.”

Startled by Heredin’s sudden appearance, Blair quickly covered the letter she had been writing and turned toward him.

Heredin seemed to have just washed and was wearing a robe.

His gaze fell on the letter.

Only then did she realize her behavior might look suspicious, but fortunately he merely glanced at it without asking anything.

He lightly lifted Blair into his arms and sat down on the chair himself.

Then he untied the ribbon of her dress.

The action was extremely natural.

As the dress loosened, her white, round shoulders were revealed.

Heredin pressed his lips to that shoulder and asked,
“How is your body?”

His low, languid voice and the warm breath that accompanied it tickled her shoulder.

Though his uninhibited touch should have become familiar by now, it still felt strange to Blair.

Realizing that he was asking because he remembered her pale expression earlier, Blair answered a moment late.
“…I’m fine.”

As if taking those words as permission, the hand wrapped around her waist slid upward and grasped the soft mound.