* * *
‘Oh no…….’
That was the first thought that crossed Blair’s mind once she regained her senses the next day. As the events of the previous night flooded back, she felt dizzy, wondering how on earth she was supposed to clean up this mess.
She wished she hadn’t remembered anything at all, but the memories lingered in fragments, as if mocking her.
Being on the balcony alone to sober up and running into Wesley, and Headrin appearing to strike him.
And after she left the balcony with Headrin, the memories were shattered into pieces.
She couldn’t recall exactly what they had talked about, but she remembered that he had desired her. She remembered the kisses they shared, the physical contact.
Then, quite suddenly, he had pulled his lips away and retreated, and there were no memories after that point. She didn’t remember how she had returned to the ducal residence at all.
But one thing seemed certain. She had made a spectacle of herself in front of Headrin—something she never should have done.
‘I shouldn’t have drunk that much yesterday…….’
Blair sighed and bowed her head low. Her face was reflected in the clear water of the bathtub.
She regretted it, but what was done could not be undone. It was something she had to face and move past. If that was the case, she had no choice but to confront it head-on.
‘I need to see him and apologize properly.’
Blair had no talent for making excuses or acting brazenly.
One thing she had learned throughout her life was that it was better to face things honestly than to try to be clever with half-hearted excuses.
Deciding this, Blair left the bathroom and went down to the dining room. Since it was close to noon, Headrin had already finished his meal and was busy with his official duties.
Blair sat alone and ate her meal. She was never one to eat quickly, but her pace was even slower than usual today.
She had made up her mind to apologize to Headrin once she finished, but that didn’t mean she was looking forward to it. It was just that it was easier to get the scolding over with early.
Blair even ate dessert, something she usually only had during tea time, before she stood in front of Headrin’s study.
Looking at the door with nervous eyes, she took a deep breath and knocked.
“Headrin. Do you have a moment?”
After a brief wait, instead of a verbal response, the door swung open. The one who had opened it was Ruth.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
Seeing Ruth’s face, she realized she had completely forgotten that it was currently business hours.
To think she had been so consumed by the thought of needing to apologize that she had neglected such an obvious fact.
Blair felt a little embarrassed by this.
“I’m sorry. My mind was elsewhere, and I forgot it was business hours. It’s nothing urgent, so I’ll come back this evening.”
“No! It’s quite alright. Please, feel free to talk.”
Suddenly granted a break, Ruth’s mouth stretched into a wide grin. Just as he was about to leave the office, he paused and looked back at Headrin as if something had occurred to him.
“Oh, right. And what shall we do about the matter regarding the Marquess Baldwin family? In my opinion, it would be best to just hand over some money and settle it quietly.”
Hearing the name ‘Baldwin,’ Blair flinched. The Marquess Baldwin family was the house of Wesley, who had been making passes at her the previous night.
Judging by Ruth’s words, it seemed that Wesley, having been struck by Headrin the day before, had stirred up some unfavorable public opinion.
“No, just leave it be. He deserved to be hit.”
“Won’t it get noisy if we just leave it alone?”
“If I stuff their mouths with money, they’ll only bark louder next time.”
Ruth looked skeptical of Headrin’s handling of the situation. It wasn’t a wrong point, but it didn’t seem like the wisest solution either.
However, the order of his master was always absolute.
“As you command.”
After Ruth bowed to Blair and left, only Headrin and Blair remained in the office.
Blair looked at her husband, who was leaning diagonally against his desk.
The scent of wood that permeated the room and the smell of a recently extinguished cigar enveloped her. It was a scent that the version of her from her past life had loved.
As she was idly admiring the scene, Headrin, who had been watching the door close, naturally shifted his gaze to Blair.
“It seems you are fortunately free of a hangover.”
He wore his usual indifferent expression, but for some reason, his gaze felt to Blair like an interrogator questioning a criminal. It was because she had sins to answer for.
Blair hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Did the Marquess Baldwin family say anything because of yesterday?”
“There was a bit of noise, but it’s nothing you need to worry about.”
Headrin sounded as if it were a trivial matter, but Blair bit her lower lip.
‘Because of me…….’
She didn’t want to be a criminal in front of him anymore. She had wanted to be someone worthy of respect.
In the end, she had become a burden to him once again. It felt as heavy as lead in her heart.
“Yesterday…… I made a scene. I’m sorry.”
“Do you remember everything from yesterday?”
At Headrin’s question, Blair faltered. It was embarrassing to say she remembered, but unfortunately, she had no talent for lying.
“……I remember in fragments. Meeting Lord Baldwin, and you saving me.”
Blair chose to evade the answer rather than tell a lie she wasn’t good at. But Headrin did not let that opening slip by.
“And after that?”
Blair could not answer, her eyes darting away as she pressed her lips together tightly.
Watching her, Headrin pushed himself off the desk. He was already tall while leaning, but standing fully upright, he seemed even larger.
He strode over and stood before Blair.
“The ‘after that’ is what’s important.”
He whispered in a low voice, taking hold of Blair’s hands.
“What we talked about, what we did.”
His thumb brushed against the soft skin on the inside of her wrist. As if to conjure up the memories of the previous night.
The places his hands touched burned as if branded by fire. At the same time, the blurry memories of last night became clear.
His lips touching the inside of her wrist, his hot, wet tongue sliding between her fingers, the look in his eyes that seemed ready to swallow her whole, and…….
Even the confusing emotions she felt at that moment.
Reading in Blair’s wavering eyes that she had indeed recalled the previous night, Headrin asked:
“That thing you said about how you would do it if I wanted. Was that sincere?”
He asked again, to see if she had said something she didn’t mean because she was drunk.
Blair looked up at Headrin’s cool, blue eyes, which were looking down at her just as they had last night.
This man desired her. That was all it was. She had already had enough of believing that a relationship driven by primal desire was love, only to end up hurt in her past life.
She had no lingering attachments to this man anymore.
She didn’t crave his love like she did before, and since she wanted nothing, she wouldn’t be hurt.
Unlike before, when she wanted to live forever by his side, she was now ready to disappear from his side at any moment.
But if she ran away now, wouldn’t that just be proving to herself that she still had lingering feelings for him?
With a sense of conviction and defiance toward herself, Blair gave a small nod.
“……I will be ready and waiting tonight.”
Hearing Blair’s answer, Headrin’s face contorted for a fleeting moment. As if he were someone who had been hurt.
But soon, a twisted smile played on his lips. It should have been the answer he wanted, yet his expression somehow looked like he was angry.
“I want to do it now.”
“Then, let’s go to the bedroom—”
“No, right here.”
Blair didn’t understand his words at once, or rather, hoping that they didn’t mean what she thought they meant, she stared at him.
Even in her past life, until she had Aziel, in the less than half a year they were married, she had been with him countless times, but they had never done it in the office.
Mainly because he wouldn’t let her go, making it difficult to even leave the bedroom.
However, as if to confirm that Blair had understood him correctly, he effortlessly scooped her up into his arms.
Blair, who had been blinking in a daze, unable to grasp the sudden turn of events, only came to her senses when she was sat upon the office desk.
The miscellaneous items and documents that had been on the desk were now scattered carelessly across the floor.
Only then did Blair accept reality and look at Headrin before her.
He was locking her in with his large frame, his hands placed on either side of the desk where she sat. In his eyes, a vivid desire shimmered.
He was serious.
Blair, a beat too late, was startled and pushed away Headrin as he leaned in to press his lips to hers.
“Not here. This is an office, and it’s still broad daylight……”
“This is *my* office, and I desire it now. Isn’t that enough?”
At times, he would talk about contracts and whatnot, acting as if he would give her his all if only she wanted it. Yet here she was, babbling on with a multitude of reasons why they couldn’t.
Headrin seized Blair’s hands as she tried to push him away. Her weak resistance only served to excite him further.
No, it wasn’t just her movements—he reacted to her gaze, her voice, the sound of her breathing, her entire existence. It was because some ‘someone’ drunk last night had prodded at his desires with such a seductive face.
The desire that had tormented him all night was pulled as taut as a bowstring ready to snap at any moment.
“That’s…… ah.”
Headrin swallowed the lips of Blair, who was trying to argue. It was a firm, yet clear refusal to listen to any more rebuttals.
In Blair’s startled, blinking eyes, she saw his cold pupils.
Their gazes tangled deep within those unfathomable depths, her head tilted back, and their hot breaths tangled deeply.
Unable to handle him as he surged toward her like he was going to devour her, Blair’s body kept collapsing backward.
Headrin wrapped his arms around her waist. At a glance, it looked like he was supporting her, but in reality, he was pinning her down so she couldn’t escape.
“Haa…….”
By the time a breathless Blair managed to push him away, her back and chest were already feeling the cool air. He had already undone the buttons on the back of her dress.
It was scandalous to have the sight of her half-undressed form laid bare under the sunlight. Moreover, his gaze, which watched her as if he were admiring the sight, made her flush with shame.