Mason immediately agreed with Blair's words.
"I will submit the documents by tomorrow so that you can review them right away."
"You'll probably find many areas where I'm lacking. Please teach me a lot in the future."
Mason was inwardly surprised by Blair's attitude.
He had thought she would never touch complicated and difficult matters, having grown up as a cherished imperial princess. Moreover, unlike someone raised in privilege, she was not ashamed of her own shortcomings and was willing to learn.
Some might think such behavior lowers one's status, but in his eyes, this made her appear even more noble.
"I look forward to working with you as well, my lady."
The Mason that Blair knew was someone who rarely showed his emotions. But for a moment, she felt his gaze soften.
After Mason finished his greeting and withdrew, Blair returned to her bedroom after finishing her bath. It was still too early to sleep.
Blair decided to organize her plans for the future.
She had proposed a one-year contract marriage to Herdin, but in fact, she had conceived Asiel around early summer.
Herdin must not notice Asiel's existence, so everything had to be wrapped up by early pregnancy at the latest.
'Half a year from now.'
Before then, three things needed to be resolved.
First was finding the memories of the fire incident.
Herdin would lead this, so she didn't need to plan anything separately.
Second was preparing for divorce.
To get a divorce in the empire, the emperor's consent is required. But would Ivan, who had pushed for this marriage targeting Herdin in the first place, really agree to their divorce?
He would absolutely not consent to a divorce based on Herdin's faults.
'I must make it my fault, and in a way that public opinion forces him to consent to the divorce.'
The clever solution she came up with was a 'scandal'.
Causing a scandal with another man.
But if such a scandal broke out, that man would be punished. So Blair decided to increase the scale of the scandal.
If there was only one man involved, the arrow would point to him, but what if there were multiple men?
Then people would naturally turn their arrows towards the promiscuous imperial princess who played with multiple men despite being married, rather than the men who committed adultery with her.
That was the development Blair hoped for.
In the unlikely event that things went wrong and Asiel's existence became known, she could also lie that he was their child.
'For that, I need to bribe several men first.'
After divorcing due to an unsavory scandal, she wouldn't be able to live in the empire, at least not in this system. If unlucky, she could even be imprisoned by Ivan or Katrina.
But as long as she was legally the Duchess of Delmark, even the imperial family couldn't touch her, so she had to leave the empire as soon as the divorce was finalized.
Therefore, she needed a new identity and residence that no one knew about. For when that time came.
The guild was where she could get all of this.
'I should visit the guild soon.'
And lastly, third was finding the culprit behind her death in her previous life.
The chances of a thug killing her out of personal feelings were low. There must be someone behind it.
She needed to find the mastermind and figure out why they killed her. Because in this life, she absolutely did not want to leave Asiel alone.
'For now, let's start with the closest place.'
Blair made plans to visit the knights' training grounds tomorrow morning and lay down on the bed. Then, suddenly remembering last night along with the contract, she got up from the bed and took out the contract she had put in the drawer. The signature line on the contract was still blank.
* * *
After finishing his bath, Herdin was reviewing documents in his office with a cigar in his mouth.
Although there was nothing urgent since he had already dealt with important documents before the wedding, he chose work over rest. It was to forget the thoughts that had been plaguing him since this morning.
In the quiet study where darkness had settled, only the sound of rustling papers being turned could be heard.
Knock knock―
Suddenly, a knocking sound broke the silence.
'Is it Mason?'
Luth had been complaining that he had been suffering from excessive work throughout the wedding preparations, so he had been sent home early today and wouldn't dare show his face in the office again on his own.
"Come in."
But the one who entered the office was neither Luth nor Mason, but Blair.
Herdin's eyes paused, looking at the unexpected visitor.
A rolled-up paper was clutched in Blair's hand.
She coughed lightly at the cigar smoke permeating the office, and only approached him after her coughing subsided.
"I was so overwhelmed yesterday that I remembered we didn't finish the contract."
Herdin looked at the paper Blair placed before him with somewhat bewildered eyes.
What was this scrap of paper supposed to be?
She acted as if this paper would guarantee everything.
An innocent and persistent woman.
Herdin picked up his quill pen, intending to sign quickly and send this innocent wife back to her room.
At that moment, Blair grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Wait a moment, Herdin."
The woman's hand holding his was cold. Cold enough to be irritating.
"We should review the contract thoroughly."
"Didn't we do that yesterday?"
"I might have completely changed the contents since then."
Does a mouse worry about a cat?
The woman seemed to think she had enough power to cause him tremendous harm.
With wrists that looked like they would snap if squeezed.
'I thought she was an innocent princess. But she won't be easily scammed anywhere.'
Herdin thought this as he looked over the contract again.
"There's an added clause."
Blair pointed to a clause in the contract with her slender finger.
"When this contract ends, please write a letter of recommendation so that Lina can find a good job."
"You mean that girl you brought from the imperial palace?"
"Yes. She's sociable and good at her work, so she'll do her fair share wherever she goes."
Search "child" at redcatty [.] com to read ahead up to chap 170.