Chapter 1

In a moment of anticipation, Blair stood in front of the door.

Today was her wedding day, and this room would be where she would spend her first night with her husband.

After standing still for a while, she knocked after covering her thin nightgown that revealed the curves of her body.

"....?"

It seemed her husband had not yet come to the bedroom.

Blair let out a small relieved sigh and entered the room, sitting on the couch as she waited for her husband.

Ten minutes passed.

Thirty minutes, and then another thirty minutes.

Her husband had not arrived even after an hour. It was different from the past.

'Is he not coming?'

While staring at the tightly closed door, Blair suddenly remembered what kind of marriage this was.

'Right, this isn't a real marriage; it's a one-year contract marriage.'

A marriage arranged thoroughly for their respective purposes.

There was no need for them to fulfill the duties of a real married couple on their first night.

'It's probably better this way.'

Blair thought she might fall into the delusion that he loved her if they faced each other again, just as she did in the past.

'Spending the night with him for just one day, on the day Asiel appeared, is enough.'

Today was not that day, so it didn't matter.

Blair concluded that her husband wouldn't come to her room tonight and took out paper and a pen from a drawer.

Then, she began calmly writing the contract that would prove this contract marriage.

When she completed the last sentence of the contract, warmth suddenly approached from behind, and a large hand of a man who had silently come closer touched the desk.

Startled, Blair turned around, and a man who had approached her back appeared.

Taller than ordinary men, a man with a perfectly built body that could be seen even through his overcoat.

Under his softly fluttering black hair, cool eyes resembling the summer night sky.

A man with an exceptionally beautiful face that could make anyone, whether male or female, momentarily hold their breath when they made eye contact.

Duke Herdin Delmarc.

Officially, he had become her husband today.

He looked into Blair's eyes, who was surprised by his gaze, as if he could read her heart, and asked,

"Why do you look so surprised? Today is our first night; it's natural for a husband and wife to spend the night together."

"...I didn't know you were coming."

"Even though you've been waiting without sleeping until now?"

At his words that hit the mark, Blair tightly closed her lips.

"I was just waiting just in case. Be…cause it's not polite to be asleep when you… I mean, when you come."

Herdin's eyes deepened at Blair's use of 'you' as her address.

"It sounds like you were prepared to spend the first night together."

Blair shivered at his touch on her cheek and his soft voice in her ear.

But what surprised her more than that was his story.

'Why?'

In her past life, Herdin had accepted the unwanted marriage proposal from his brother to uncover the truth.

Their first night, their affection, and everything else were just a play to extract the truth.

So, in this life, before their marriage, Blair had proposed to him first.

'If you accept my proposal, I'll do my best to help you uncover the 'truth of that day."

Even without deceiving me, I'll give you what you want.

So, I thought he wouldn't act in a seductive play anymore, but why…

'I had nothing to do with you once I found out the truth, right?'

Just like the past you.

However, he showed the opposite reaction from what Blair expected. In this somewhat bewildering situation for Blair, who thought he wouldn't even come to her room, Herdin responded in a somewhat confusing manner.

"You don't need to prepare to spend the first night together, but…"

"I want to."

Here's the English translation of the provided Korean paragraph:

His gaze, whispered softly, was fixed on her red lips. His hand, wrapped around her cheek, traced her lips with his thumb.

The heat radiating from his fingertips made her heart race faster and faster.

In that moment, Herdin, who had been looking at Blair's lips, raised his gaze, and their eyes met.

"Right now."

His blue eyes were filled with unfiltered, intense desire.

Blair, surprised by the raw desire, had no time to react before his lips came crashing down on hers.

Blair suddenly remembered that he was a man.

'Men can intertwine with someone they don't care about.'

Yeah, this wasn't love. It wasn't pretending to love for some other purpose either.

It was just a momentary desire.

Thinking this way made her feel more at ease. Blair closed her eyes as if she had come to terms with her confusion.

In the past, her unfamiliar and secretive acts with him had been scary and frightening.

His large build had felt like a beast ready to devour her or a prison that caged her.

Yet, she had fallen in love with the way his eyes, focused only on her, and the warmth of his embrace made her feel.

'But now, I won't be deceived by that warmth.'

Spending the night with him was only to meet her child.

"Asiel, my baby."

If only she could see the child she loved more than her own life again.

Before the regression, she had spent nights with a husband who might have killed her.

Second Wedding Night

Today was the day Herdin returned to the townhouse after nearly a year.

It was the first time since Asiel was born.

Blair had personally chosen the dress and jewelry she would wear today. It was a rare occasion.

After getting ready, Blair entered the room connected to the bedroom. There was a small cradle there.

The baby in the cradle wasn't crying at all. Instead, with hands like ferns, the baby awkwardly moved, playing with a mobile.

Blair automatically smiled softly and picked up the baby.

"Our baby, you were playing so well without crying, huh?"

"Woong. Euewoo! Eububu!"

In her mother's arms, the baby laughed and made incomprehensible babbling sounds, as if it knew it was the day to meet its father and was in a good mood.

But Blair's pupils were filled with bitterness as she looked out the window while holding the baby.

Shortly after Blair became pregnant, Herdin had left for the Delmarc Duchy in the north.

He had put forward the pretext of going to hunt fierce monsters every summer, but Blair knew he was leaving to avoid the unwanted marriage.

Despite that, every day, Blair would pray for the safe return of the ship that was called day by day, touching her growing belly.

Her husband was the only Swordmaster on the continent with the power of a Divine Beast. He was strong enough to be known as a war hero. But still, she couldn't help but worry.

On sleepless nights filled with worry, Blair sent letters to him every time he appeared in her dreams.

The baby inside her belly was growing healthy. She hoped he had also returned unharmed...

But not a single reply had come back.

She thought no news was good news. After all, he was the lord of the vast north, so it was natural for him to be busy.

...That's what she had to think.

Time passed like that, and the summer and autumn, when fierce monsters roamed, gave way to winter, which was approaching.

Until then, Herdin still hadn't returned to the capital.

During that time, the baby in her belly continued to grow, and its movements became stronger day by day. It seemed like it was searching for its father.

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, my baby....'

Here's the English translation of the provided Korean paragraph:

The child who couldn't receive love from their father was pitiful. It felt like it was all my fault, and my heart ached.

So, one winter day, about six months after he left, Herdin came down to the capital.

He said he was only here briefly for something at the palace and expressed his intention to return to his estate without stopping by the mansion.

Upon hearing this news, Blair, with a body that had become difficult to even go out, suddenly went to see him.

It had been half a year since they last met.

But when he looked at his wife, whom he hadn't seen in six months, his blue eyes were as cold as a frozen winter lake.

"Why are you here? Your body must be heavy enough as it is."

In front of his silent reprimand, the words that I had wanted to say, "I missed you," couldn't be uttered.

In front of him, she always became a sinner.

Despite having forgotten any resentment or sorrow, her heart that continued to beat for him was miserable.

Blair suppressed her emotions and opened her mouth with a calm expression.

"Herdin. Can you spare just one hour, no, thirty minutes…?"

The voice that started calmly was subtly trembling as it finished the sentence.

Herdin, who was looking at Blair like that, reluctantly nodded.

The two of them got on the carriage. Blair had the time until they arrived at the Delmarc Duchy from the palace.

In the silence filled with only the sound of the carriage, Blair's anxious fingers fidgeted. It seemed like there was a lot to say, but when she actually faced him, her mind went blank.

At that moment, the baby in her belly began to move. It was a strong movement, as if it wanted to let its father know of its existence.

Blair wrinkled her forehead and held her belly.

"He seems healthy, resembling his father. The kicking is so strong that it's hard to sleep at night."

"Is that so?"

"Would you like to feel it once…?"

"…No, it's fine."

In the face of his response, which was as unfeeling as if he were dealing with someone else's child, Blair fell silent.

She had hoped he would understand her pain even a little. Maybe she wanted to be childish, not knowing whether she wanted to throw a tantrum.

Throughout her pregnancy, she had always been like this, but as the day of delivery approached, her fear of childbirth grew.

Other nobles had heard the story that their birth mothers would be by their side and had cautiously asked their birth mothers as well.

If it were the usual Blair who knew her mother's feelings, it would have been a request she wouldn't have made in the first place, but her fear of childbirth had grown so much that she couldn't help but ask.

But her birth mother had refused as expected.

"If you're a woman, everyone goes through it once. What's there to be afraid of? Besides, what can I do if I go there?" was the content of the reply that came back. Along with the palace's midwife she had sent.

So, she wanted to ask her husband for a favor. It would be fine for him to be by her side for a few days when the baby is born.

But in front of his indifferent response, Blair couldn't say anything. The movements of the baby that had been wriggling so far also stopped. Tears welled up in her eyes.

It would be really pitiful.

Blair, trying to suppress the emotions welling up to her throat, looked out the window.

Before she knew it, the carriage had arrived at the mansion.

Herdin, with an impassive face, stared at Blair's belly for a moment, then greeted her with a greeting that could be done to a complete stranger.

"Please have a safe delivery."

The butler opened the carriage door.

Now it was really time to part with him, but Blair hesitated.

There were many things she wanted to say, but all that remained were things she couldn't say.

Looking at him, with only her lips quivering, Blair managed to think of one thing she could ask of him.

"…A name. Please give this child a name."

As if he couldn't refuse even that, he seemed to hesitate for a moment before offering two names.

"If it's a girl, how about Diana, and if it's a boy, Asiel?"

Here's the English translation of the provided Korean paragraph:

He added that if Blair wanted a different name, it wouldn't matter, but Blair named the newborn Asiel.

Because it was the first thing her father gave her son.

However, Herdin did not come to the townhouse even after Asiel was born. It was only after another six months that he returned.

"Madam, His Grace will be arriving soon!"

Maid Lena entered the room and delivered the news.

Blair kissed her chubby-cheeked baby and whispered to him.

"Asiel, Daddy's coming."

"Daddy?"

Blair carried Asiel downstairs. All the servants who were waiting for the master's return were there.

Finally, in the distance, along with the sound of hoofbeats, the carriage came into view.

Blair knew it was a futile hope, but her heart swelled at the reunion with him.

She knew he blamed her. She also remembered countless nights of tears holding a crying baby alone.

But now, there was Asiel between them.

No matter how much she hated him, he was the father of her child, and she was the mother of the child.

Blair wanted to build a complete family with him now. Even if it was for the sake of this lovely child.

She thought he would willingly agree if he saw a child who resembled him so much.

As the carriage soon arrived in front of the mansion, the carriage door opened, and Herdin got off.

Blair, forgetting all her resentment, eagerly approached him to show him Asiel.

"Herd―"

But Herdin, instead of Blair and Asiel, reached out his hand towards the inside of the carriage.

The person who took his hand and got off the carriage was a beautiful woman with dazzling silver hair. She stood beside Herdin.

The servants of the Duke's house began to murmur.

A woman who rode in the same carriage as the master.

They didn't know her identity, but from the way she was treated, they could guess that she was a precious person to Herdin.

Blair's steps, which were approaching them, suddenly stopped. Her violet eyes began to tremble as she looked at them.

The cool interior of Herdin and the golden aura of the beautiful woman beside him reached Blair at the same time.

"Hello, madam."

The angelic woman greeted her with a smile. Her golden aura shone like jewelry.

Blair stared blankly at the woman brought by her husband.

She felt suffocated in the humid late summer air filled with heat, more so than the summer a year ago when he had left.

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 96.

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