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Chapter 10
But why was Blake here?
Wasn’t he supposed to be talking with Alec in the office right now?
What could have happened in that short span of time for Blake to end up here? And why were his shoes in such a mess?
As if my confusion meant nothing, Blake looked down at me with a gentle expression and greeted me.
Which was exactly why… it was strange.
Blake wearing such a gentle expression? And after I had just seen him a moment ago, why was he greeting me now?
Unable to make sense of any of it, I stared blankly at him for a long while before finally asking,
“Your Highness?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Even hearing him call me my lady felt unfamiliar now.
Lately, hadn’t he become obsessed with calling me Master instead?
The Blake standing before me was bathed in the warm sunlight, smiling softly.
Then he slowly raised a hand and carefully tucked the strands of hair blowing beside my face behind my ear.
Every movement was natural, and the hand brushing against my ear was warm.
“Weren’t you just in your office…? What are you doing here?”
“I came to see my lady.”
“Me? But we just saw each other. Why all of a sudden…? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened.”
Blake answered casually.
His voice was gentle and soothing, the smile on his lips warm and tender.
His broad frame even looked comforting enough to lean against.
Which only made me even more bewildered!
Where had the dangerously alluring, almost decadent-looking husband of mine gone?
Where were his mischievous smirks, his mocking smiles, his endless teasing?
Where had that cold, commanding tone he used as if speaking to a subordinate disappeared to?
Yet the Blake before me showed no intention whatsoever of satisfying my curiosity.
With an expression as though he were dreaming, he stepped closer, took my hand in his large one, and suddenly began rubbing his face against it.
“Uh…”
Everything that touched my hand was warm.
Yesterday, everything except his lips had been cold…
As I blankly stared at my own hand, which was stroking Blake’s face without my conscious intention, I suddenly realized there was color in his complexion.
What had happened to that deathly pale face?
The Blake before me looked vividly alive, like someone who had never once brushed against death.
After thoroughly throwing me into utter confusion, Blake abruptly changed the subject.
“My lady, what dress are you planning to wear for the Golden Harvest Festival this year?”
It was such an unexpected topic that it didn’t suit him at all.
“…Pardon?”
The Golden Harvest Festival was the grand festival held every autumn.
The Imperial Family hosted an enormous ball during the celebration, so he was probably asking what dress I planned to wear.
There was about a month left until the festival, wasn’t there?
In any case, hearing Blake suddenly bring it up only made me more confused.
When I simply stared at him without answering, he stiffened slightly before pressing me again.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to dance with Ian Harmel again this year.”
“Ian… Harmel?”
Well…
It had been exactly one year since I had possessed Ariel’s body.
At last year’s Golden Harvest Festival, I hadn’t danced with anyone.
I’d simply stood quietly like part of the scenery before returning home.
So why was he suddenly asking whether I’d dance with Ian again?
Even after becoming Crown Prince, Blake had never attended the Golden Harvest Festival.
That hadn’t changed after marrying me, either.
There was no way he’d know—or care—who my dance partner had supposedly been last year.
His increasingly incomprehensible words left me moving my lips soundlessly.
As Blake’s expression gradually turned colder, I hurriedly shook my head.
His eyes softened into crescents.
Then, in a sweet, gentle voice, he said,
“That’s a relief. If you had matched dresses with that bastard and danced with him again…”
“…Again?”
“I think I would’ve killed him.”
Killed him?
The murderous words were completely at odds with his gentle tone, making me wonder if I’d heard him correctly.
Yet he simply looked at me with a serene smile, as though he’d said nothing strange at all.
An inexplicable chill crawled down my spine.
Everything about Blake was soft and gentle, yet somehow I could feel an overwhelming madness lurking beneath it all.
Then, almost shyly, as though confessing a small wish, he continued,
“…Then wear a red dress for me at this year’s Golden Harvest Festival, my lovely Ariel.”
“A red… dress? Why a red dress?”
“Because my eyes are red.”
“What? But Your Highness’s eyes are blue.”
Look.
Even now, those beautifully curved eyes were clearly…
Blue…
The blue eyes shimmering beneath the sunlight felt unnaturally eerie.
How was I supposed to react to Blake, who merely smiled silently at me without answering?
At the very moment I felt as though I were sinking into a bottomless swamp, unable to breathe—
“Ah! Your Highness, there you are! I thought you were in your office! Oh? Her Highness the Crown Princess is here too?”
A bright, cheerful male voice rang out from behind us.
Brown hair.
A few faint freckles.
The young man, who looked as though he’d only recently graduated from the academy, was unmistakably Blake’s aide, Ron.
Beaming brightly, Ron approached, greeted me politely, and introduced himself.
“Good day, Your Highness! I’m Crown Prince Blake’s aide, Ron. Um… huh? W-Where did he go?”
“…Huh?”
“H-He was definitely standing right here…”
The instant I turned my head toward Ron—
Blake, who had been standing before me only moments ago, had vanished.
But we were standing in the middle of a road surrounded only by large buildings.
Even if he’d run, there wasn’t anywhere nearby where he could possibly hide.
It was as though he’d evaporated into thin air, as if he’d never existed in the first place.
Ron and I stood speechless for a moment, exchanging glances.
Then—
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
“G-GHOST!!”
Terrified, we both screamed before sprinting toward Blake’s office in search of the real Blake.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! We saw a ghost that looked exactly like you…!”
In our panic, we flung the office doors wide open.
Fortunately, Alec had already left.
Only Blake remained.
He sat calmly at his desk, a sandwich in one hand and paperwork in the other.
That indifferent expression…
This was unquestionably the Blake I knew.
My husband.
Looking at the two of us, who had come running in while gasping for breath, Blake silently raised an eyebrow.
His expression clearly asked why the two of us had arrived together.
The moment Ron met Blake’s gaze, he immediately looked ready to cry and began stumbling over his words.
“You were definitely with Her Highness! But when I greeted you, you suddenly disappeared!”
“…Ron.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Did you lose your mind first thing this morning?”
Ron immediately turned toward me.
His deer-like eyes practically begged me not to leave him looking like a liar.
Still struggling to catch my breath, I nodded vigorously.
But Blake merely muttered with complete disinterest,
“Stop wasting your energy on nonsense and do the work I assigned you.”
“I-It’s true! I saw him too! He even…”
“Even what?”
“H-He held my hand. And asked what dress I’d wear to the Golden Harvest Festival…”
Without replying, Blake quietly lowered his gaze to my hand.
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
But he certainly didn’t seem convinced.
We really had seen a ghost!
Unable to bear it any longer, I walked over and grabbed the hand holding his documents.
Sure enough—
The hand in mine was icy cold.
“See? Your hand is cold, but that ghost’s hand was warm—”
“My lady.”
Blake called me with the same gentle smile the ghost had worn, his eyes curving softly.
Goosebumps instantly spread across my body.
But the words that followed were unmistakably his.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier not to come near me?”
“…Ah.”
Right.
He’d said that being close to me made him sleepy, and since he had to go out later, he’d told me not to approach him.
I awkwardly loosened my grip on his hand.
Instead, Blake tightened his hold on mine and slowly rose to his feet.
Looking down at me, he set aside both the documents and the sandwich I’d made for him before gently pulling me along.
“This works out well. You should come with me.”
“…Huh? Where?”
“Ron. Did you dispose of the documents I mentioned yesterday?”
“Ah, yes!”
“Count Janiel will be arriving shortly. Tell him to leave the report, then go through today’s paperwork before heading home.”
“What? But I just got to work…”
The bewildered Ron immediately caught the look on Blake’s face.
It plainly said, Then don’t go home. Stay and work more.
Ron instantly shut his mouth.
“Yes, sir!”
He answered with a bright smile.
Quick on the uptake…
As for me, I still had no idea where Blake was dragging me.
I kept looking up at him, asking where we were going, but he never once glanced my way as he simply walked outside.
Beyond the Crown Prince’s palace, a carriage I hadn’t noticed earlier was already waiting.
Blake naturally helped me inside.
Everything had happened so quickly that before I knew it, I was heading out together with him.
“So where exactly are we going?”
Only after we were seated inside the carriage did Blake finally release my hand.
At my question, he answered without hesitation.
“The temple.”
