"Really, the Duke is too much. How could he leave his bride alone on the first night after consummating the marriage?"
Lina, who was combing Blair's hair after her bath, expressed her indignation. Her voice sounded as if she herself had suffered such treatment.
Meanwhile, the person in question was smiling as she listened to the criticism, seemingly unbothered.
"I'm fine. It's actually more comfortable to sleep separately."
After all, nobles usually used separate rooms except for the consummation night. This wasn't much different from that custom.
But Lina's anger didn't subside.
"Still! Yesterday wasn't just any day, it was the first night!"
"...Lina, you're pulling too hard on my hair. It hurts."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I got carried away."
Lina's grip on the comb loosened, but her anger didn't completely disappear.
"Anyway! It's not right to do that to a beautiful bride who came to this unfamiliar mansion, full of strangers, solely for her husband. This is grounds for revoking his husband license."
"How does an unmarried lady like you know so much about these things?"
"It's all knowledge gained from books, which are treasures of wisdom and nourishment for the soul."
Blair smiled, remembering the red-stickered books Lina used to read all night, squealing with a flushed face.
"Well, the Duke's appearance is honestly like a male protagonist straight out of a book... but his character remains to be seen."
Listening to Lina's chatter improved Blair's mood, which had been somewhat dampened earlier.
As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, gradually becoming more composed, she noticed something shimmering between her neck and collarbone.
'...A magic circle?'
Blair quickly opened her collar to check the spot. But all she could see were the red marks he had left the night before.
Seeing them brought back memories of the previous night, causing her face to flush with heat.
Blair hastily covered her collar. She must have been mistaken.
Lina tilted her head curiously.
"My lady? Is your dress uncomfortable?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
As Blair shook her head in embarrassment, she suddenly noticed a thin bandage wrapped around Lina's finger.
It was something she hadn't seen last night when Lina was helping her bathe.
Blair asked,
"Did you hurt your hand?"
"Ah..."
A momentary look of surprise flashed across Lina's face as she was combing.
"I'll call a doctor for you. Let's get it treated."
At the mention of calling a doctor, Lina jumped up and protested.
"No, no! It's fine. It's just a small cut."
"How did you get hurt?"
"Oh, well... Ah, I did it while working this morning. You know how clumsy I can be."
Although Lina insisted it was fine, Blair's concerned gaze didn't waver.
Lina had just said that Blair was a bride who came to this unfamiliar place trusting only her husband, but the same could be said for Lina.
It worried her that the girl who had left her familiar space and beloved colleagues, trusting only Blair, had gotten hurt.
Especially since the memories of her past life came to mind.
'In my past life, I was so caught up in my own situation that I hardly paid any attention to Lina.'
Reading Blair's expression, Lina added in a deliberately light tone,
"It's really nothing to worry about. I just wrapped it in a bandage to avoid getting blood on Your Highness— I mean, my lady's hair."
"...Really?"
"See, there's no blood seeping through the bandage, right?"
It did seem that the wound wasn't deep, as she said.
"You should only worry about how to live well in this mansion and how to make that handsome-faced Duke cry, my lady."
Lina's playful words eased Blair's mind a bit, but at the same time, raised a question.
'If it's a cut, that means a knife. But Lina isn't in charge of kitchen duties, so she shouldn't have many occasions to handle knives. Could it be that she's being bullied...?'
But Blair's doubts were cut short.
"Ta-da! All done now. I'll escort you to the dining room."
Lina, having finished styling Blair's hair, helped her up.
Following Lina's guidance to the dining room, a waiting servant opened the door.
It was customary for newlyweds to have lunch with the groom's family on the first day of marriage.
While in other families, the first meal after the wedding would be bustling with immediate family members, in this spacious dining room, only Herdin was seated.
He had no family.
Herdin had grown up alone, having lost both parents early and without any siblings. To him, Empress Esmeralda was as good as a parent.
Seeing the empty dining room, Blair could understand why he hated her so much. Regardless of her own resentful feelings.
The butler who pulled out Blair's chair skillfully filled her glass with an aperitif before leaving the dining room.
Left alone in the dining room, Herdin raised his glass and asked,
"Did you sleep well?"
It was a somewhat ironic question coming from the very person who had tormented and made Blair cry all night, only letting her go at dawn, but Blair answered obediently.
"Yes."
The meal began after this brief exchange of greetings.
An oppressive silence continued, far too bleak for a newlywed couple who had just had their wedding ceremony and first night together yesterday.
Herdin was the first to break the silence.
"After the meal, the butler will introduce you to the staff."
He continued speaking while skillfully cutting his steak with a knife.
"After the staff introductions, you'll be given a tour of the mansion. There's no schedule after that, so you can rest if you'd like."
"Thank you."
"If you have any questions or anything to say, feel free to speak up."
"How do you plan to investigate the fire incident from ten years ago?"
His knife paused mid-cut.
His blue eyes, which had been dry all along, turned towards Blair.
Even though it was a contract marriage made for that purpose, he hadn't expected her to bring it up so soon, especially today.
And this was right after their wedding ceremony and first night, when both body and mind should be tired.
Search "child" at redcatty [.] com to read ahead up to chap 170.