I am living unmarried with my terminally ill lover.
Episode 5
Callad Asdeon.
The most unhappy man in the world.
True to his nickname, Kalad’s life has been one of misery.
He was abandoned at birth in an orphanage.
He was lucky enough to be adopted by a noble family, but a few years later his adoptive parents had a son.
From then on, Callad had a thoroughly marginalized childhood.
A life that began with misery, every day was a battle.
Eating food, walking down the street, even falling asleep.
Even the most mundane acts had to be guarded against.
A potted plant might suddenly fall on his head while he was walking down the street, or a fire might start while he was sleeping.
Amid his misery, Khalid learned to give up.
Good things, things that he wanted to do, important things.
But there was one thing he could never give up.
His sword.
He loved holding a sword.
So he decided to face his misfortune head-on.
After a bloody struggle, Kalad was inducted into the Imperial Knights, the highest honor a knight could receive.
But his joy was short-lived.
As if to mock his efforts, misfortune dealt him a grave fate.
-My, my sword……!
-I am the master of the magic sword Tigrios!
An unforeseen accident made him the master of a magic sword.
Khalad was sentenced to a life of limitation from that day forward.
It was the moment the unfortunate man’s end was sealed.
-Kalad Asdeon. As of today, you will be the leader of the Third Knights.
Khalad, who had been Deputy Captain of the First Knights, has been promoted to Captain of the Third Knights.
It seemed like a promotion, but it was more like an ouster.
Having lost everything in one fell swoop, Kalad felt as if he had fallen into a deep quagmire.
Betrayed by someone he trusted.
Honor is at rock bottom.
Gazes filled with contempt and fear.
A life with only one year left.
Repeatedly angry and frustrated, Khalid became increasingly resigned.
One day, after a period of denial, he began to accept his fate.
He met a very strange woman.
“You’re not the one I want to marry,” she said, “it’s your brother.”
Ines’ declaration stunned Khalad.
The Marquis and Dijas were dumbfounded as well.
Then they turned over at the same time.
“What-what do you mean!”
“You mean you’re not engaged to Dihas?”
“My dear Eldin, I must have misheard you……?”
Ines smiled gracefully and replied.
“Kalad Asdeon is correct.”
Ines drove the wedge, and everyone fell silent.
Clenching his fists, the Marquis of Asdeon warned as if to curse.
“Are you unaware of the rumors about Kalad? You might bring misfortune to your lordship.”
The Marquis glared at Kalad.
As if he, too, was to blame for this mess.
But Ines was undeterred.
“I know, and that’s why I want him as my fiancé.”
Ines slowly rose from her seat and looked down at the Marquis.
“I love misery.”
The Marquis and Dijas stared at each other, their lips parted, speechless.
Ines gestured to Kalad.
“Do you have a moment?”
All eyes turned to Kalad.
Kalad rose to his feet.
He needed to know why Ines had done this.
Under the murderous glares of the Marquise and Dijas, he left the parlor.
He closed the front door and stepped outside the mansion.
Ines, who was leading the way, stopped with her arms folded.
Kalad, following behind, stopped as well.
“Isn’t it too far to talk?”
Ines asked, but Khalad didn’t answer.
The distance between them was just right.
“I can’t help it.”
Ines stepped closer.
The distance closed in an instant.
Kalad reflexively stepped back.
But the cold touch of the door on his back made him stop.
Kalad glared at Ines with fierce eyes.
“Why did you come to my home, and what about the engagement?”
“I mean, why didn’t you come to the shop?”
I waited.
Ines’s whisper drifted past my ear.
“Did you eat the special stew like I told you to?”
Kalad’s eyes flickered briefly.
-If you want the special stew, you’d better be there ten minutes earlier than usual.
It was the last thing Ines had said to him as they parted ways at the weapons shop that day.
Khalad tried to ignore it.
But subconsciously, it stuck with him, and he went to the shop earlier than expected.
-You’re in luck, it’s the last one, and there’s only one bowl left.
The shopkeeper’s words made Khalid flinch.
It was the first time he’d ever been called lucky.
It was even stranger to see the customer right behind him walk away empty-handed.
Khalad chewed on his lip.
The mere coincidence of it all nearly shook him for a moment.
“Don’t talk back,” he said.
“Let’s walk if you want to hear what brought me here.”
Ines took the first step.
Khalad let out a whoosh and followed her.
They left the porch and headed out into the garden.
A breeze blew through the garden, which was just beginning to bloom.
Her dazzling silver hair ruffled like ripples on the surface of the water.
Callad’s eyes followed the fluttering silver hair.
When they were deep in the garden, Ines spoke.
“Is there someone you like?”
Kalad skidded to a halt at the unexpected question.
“What is this out of the blue?”
“If you don’t answer me, I’m going to think I’m in control.”
What the hell does he mean by that?
Khalad looked quickly at Ines.
But the blue eyes never wavered, staring only at Kalad.
Finally, having gotten nowhere, he answered.
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
Ines said, sounding as if they were about to have a meal.
“Then will you make love to me?”
……Is he crazy?
Unlike Khalid, who stiffened, Ines laughed.
“Technically, I’m pretending to be in a relationship.”
Why on earth?
As Khalid questioned, Ines explained.
“I have no intention of getting married.”
“…….”
“But everyone around me wants me to get married, and it’s bothering me.”
Suddenly, a cold light flashed in Ines’s eyes.
She looked at Khalad and smiled again.
“I want you to pretend to be my lover.”
She was asking for a fake lover.
Only a madman would ask a master of a magic sword to be a fake lover.
It was ridiculous.
There had to be an ulterior motive.
Calad’s eyes softened instantly.
“Why me?” he asked coldly.
“Why me?”
Ines’s eyes widened.
Ines’s eyes widened, and Kalad realized that she was now afraid of me.
Everyone else was afraid to make eye contact with him, and they ran away.
At this point, he thought, she’d learn to avoid me.
But his response was unexpected.
“You have beautiful eyes, my favorite color.”
People with crimson eyes were very rare, even if you searched the entire continent.
Because of their rarity and peculiarity, people regarded red eyes as ominous.
Some even called it a cursed color.
Khalad hated his eyes.
He didn’t even like looking in the mirror.
Hardening his expression, Kalad glared coldly at Ines.
Only then did Ines answer his question.
“On your terms.”
Ines answered quickly.
He sounded like an employer who had found the right employee.
Ines glared at Khalad.
“I don’t think you would like me.”
“…….”
“I wouldn’t want my fake lover to fall for me.”
It was ridiculous.
But she didn’t seem to be joking.
When Ines first stepped out of the carriage today, everyone had been stunned.
Ines took a step closer to Kalad.
Tilting her chin up, she looked him straight in the eye.
“Instead, I can give you what you need.”
A white, slender hand touched Kalad’s arm.
Callad stiffened reflexively.
He could have shaken it off, but he didn’t.
Clear blue eyes bore into him.
“Don’t you want to live a normal life like everyone else?”
A normal, unhappy life.
That was what Kalad wanted so badly, Ines was saying.
After a moment of silence, Kalad smirked.
“Do you know what I’ve done to get out of this damned misery?”
Anger flashed across his tired face.
“I’ve tried everything, and I’ve failed.”
Khalid had tried his whole life and failed time and time again, and he was finally frustrated.
“How in the world do you think you can help me?” he asked.
Khalid was tired of people making light of his misfortune.
How many times have I seen people come to me first and then blame me for their misfortune?
Ines would be no different.
“If you get involved with me, you’ll be unhappy, too. Unless you want to die in my misery…….”
“Well, I’m different.”
Ines cut off Kalad’s words with a snap.
Her confidence momentarily dampened Kalad’s momentum.
“Well, I’m sure it’s disconcerting to hear such an offer out of the blue, so I’ll give you some time to think about it.”
Ines rolled her eyes and smiled.
With a hunter’s gleam in her eyes that belied her bright smile, she whispered.
“But it won’t be fun if I keep you waiting too long.”
