“Gasp.”
A shiver ran through me. I’d heard that in ancient times, alchemy sometimes included enchantments referred to as magic. This book was clearly no ordinary tome.
Hurriedly, I spoke.
“Uh, hi. I have a question. Do you know anything about enchantments?”
I do not understand. Please write your query.
The words floated up on the page, blinking as if in warning.
Realizing how the book worked, I quickly grabbed my bleeding finger, fetched a quill and inkwell from the emergency supplies nearby, and began writing.
I’m under an enchantment that causes sudden pain and makes it hard to breathe. The cause is unknown. Can you identify the enchantment?
To ensure it understood, I added more drops of blood with the thorn I’d used to prick my finger.
Holding my throbbing hand anxiously, I waited until the book responded.
The enchantment was placed within one day of your birth. It is bound by blood and tied to fate.
Fate? What kind of fate?
I tilted my head, puzzled. If the enchantment was placed when I was a newborn, the culprit must have been the duke.
Please explain in detail. Is this enchantment meant to kill me?
No, my master. You are currently bound by your soul to the person closest to you.
“What?”
I blinked in confusion.
Bound by souls? And with the person closest to me?
Typically, this would be a blood relative. However, this is not the case for you, my master.
That made sense. My mother, the duchess, had died giving birth to me, and my father, Duke Celeste, and I were practically strangers.
‘Then the only one left is Xian?’
Since we were married, he was technically closer to me than my biological family.
As I connected the dots, a horrifying realization struck me.
In the original story, “Anyone But Me,” Leah had been poisoned, and her death had caused Emperor Xian to lose control and go mad.
Panicking, I scribbled another question.
What happens to the person I’m soul-bound to if I die?
If one soul is completely destroyed, the other will suffer. Over time, the surviving soul will succumb to the enchantment’s restraints, ultimately following the same fate.
It was confirmed.
Leah, the empress, was under an enchantment cast by the duke—a spell that bound her soul to the emperor’s, intertwining their destinies.
‘So, if one of us falls, the other follows.’
I pressed my hand to my chest, taking a deep breath. It was a relief I’d been taking care of my health and Xian’s as well.
‘Wait… does this mean I have to put up with Sian’s overprotectiveness?’
If my health faltered, so would his.
And if I wanted to divorce him one day and live outside the palace, I needed him healthy to ensure I could still rely on his influence.
‘This is so frustrating.’
Essentially, my body wasn’t entirely my own. What was the duke thinking when he cast such a spell on me as a newborn?
‘Was he planning to make me empress from the moment I was born?’
What an ambitious schemer. Clicking my tongue, I squeezed out a few more drops of blood and wrote again.
Why does the enchantment cause pain?
The two forcibly bound souls are rejecting each other. To prevent this discord, the souls must fully merge.
Is it possible to break the enchantment?
No. Not unless one soul is destroyed.
But wouldn’t destroying one soul harm the other?
Yes. Once the enchantment is broken, the other soul will perish as well.
What nonsense.
Frustrated by the endless cycle, I resigned myself to asking another question.
How can the two souls merge completely?
I shuddered at the memory of the suffocating pain I’d felt in the duke’s presence.
Determined to avoid such agony ever again, I decided to tackle the issue immediately.
‘If it’s possible, I’ll make it happen today!’
Since we were already bound, merging our souls quickly seemed like the best solution.
After a pause, glowing letters appeared on the page, slowly taking shape.
Emotion. Physical connection. Touch.
I blinked in confusion. Three words?
What kind of vague answer was that?
So… what am I supposed to do?
I have provided the fastest method. The choice is yours, my master.
Suddenly, the book emitted another burst of light.
“Ah!”
The pages reverted to the classic novel it had been disguised as.
“Hey! Finish what you were saying!”
I shook the book in frustration, but it refused to respond.
With no choice, I tried to prick my finger again. But the thorny herb I’d been using was now soaked with blood and lying on the floor.
“Hm.”
I glanced down at my fingers, already battered and stained with red.
‘It’ll hurt, but it’s nothing a bit of healing can’t fix.’
Taking a deep breath, I lifted my finger to my mouth, glancing away to avoid seeing it.
Just as I prepared to bite—
“I’ve found you.”
“Gasp!”
Startled, I bit down too hard.
Crunch! Drip.
“Ah.”
Instead of a clean spot, I’d bitten into an already wounded finger. Warm blood trickled down, and tears pricked my eyes from the pain.
Bang!
The greenhouse door slammed open, and Xian stormed in, his expression thunderous.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Xi-Xian?”
How had he found me? Panicking, I quickly hid the book behind my back.
Xian’s face darkened.
“The priest fainted, and I thought you’d been kidnapped. But no, you escaped. Was confinement that unbearable?”
“What?”
“Did you hate it so much that you had to resort to hurting yourself?”
Xian, usually calm and collected, was visibly angry. His voice, sharp with frustration, cut through the air.
It dawned on me how this must have looked to him.
The empress had suddenly disappeared, leaving chaos in her wake, only to be found alone, seemingly biting her own hand until it bled.
“Xian, I understand what you’re thinking, but that’s not it. I have my reasons,” I stammered, hurriedly trying to explain as I stood up.
The sudden movement caused the book I was hiding to fall to the ground.
“What reasons?”
His gaze shifted to my bloody fingers, then he grabbed my wrist firmly.
“I heard you went to the imperial library. What, did you suddenly want a peaceful moment to enjoy reading by yourself?”
“Well… yes,” I admitted hesitantly.
“And you couldn’t have read it in the empress’s palace? No, you had to knock out the priest and escape to do it?”
What would he think if I told him I risked reading a forbidden text that could get me executed?
My face twisted in a nervous grimace, and I glanced down—only to feel a jolt of panic.
The book’s open!
“That’s not what it looks like! Xian, I swear, you’ve misunderstood!”
I frantically tried to nudge the book away with my foot, but Sian was faster.
His gaze sharpened as he looked down at the page.
Page 7: The 35 Secrets for Endless Nights.
At least it wasn’t an illustrated page. Small mercies.
No, no, no! I’m not that kind of person!
“Xian?”
I looked up at him desperately, shaking my head. My throat felt dry as panic set in.
For a few seconds, Xian didn’t say anything, his golden eyes narrowing as he stared at me. Then, in a voice thick with restrained anger, he spoke.
“If there’s something you want, just say it.”
“What?”
“Whatever it is, I’ll get it for you.”
“No! That was an accident! I didn’t mean to—”
And just like that, I had become a wife tormented by confinement, escaping to read a scandalous book while engaging in apparent self-harm.
His golden eyes, half-crazed with frustration, glinted as he bit out his next words.
“Next time, stab me instead.”
…What?
“If you’re that angry, just stab me. But if I ever find you hurting yourself again without my permission, I won’t forgive you.”
His voice, raw with fury, made my heart sink and my guilt flare.
From his perspective, it made sense. The wife he’d been protecting, fearing she might drop dead at any moment, had run off to injure herself in secret.
But wait…
‘Is he… angry?’
Still held by my wrist, I stepped closer to him, scrutinizing his expression.
“Xian, are you… mad right now?”
“Why? Is there a law against me being angry at you?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen you angry!”
I stared into his golden eyes, alight with fury, and smiled brightly.
“See? I told you that whole ‘an emperor with emotions will bring ruin to the empire’ thing was nonsense!”
The usually stoic black panther, who had always been silent and curt, was finally showing some feelings.
It was like seeing a baby take its first steps for the first time. I was so overwhelmed I felt like a proud parent.
“See? The empire didn’t fall apart, did it? You did great. Keep it up. When you’re mad, get angry. When you’re happy, show it. And when you’re annoyed, throw a fit!”
Though if you start throwing fits every day, I’m not helping you sleep anymore.
Standing on tiptoe, I reached out with my free hand to pat his head.
“This makes me so happy. I always worried that you were stuck in some eternal teenager phase because you were always so grumpy.”
As I babbled on, looking up at him with a beaming smile, Xian stared at me as if I’d slapped him. His expression was frozen in a mix of bewilderment and frustration.
“Do you think brushing this off so lightly will make me forgive you?” he growled, releasing my wrist but still frowning.
“Ah.”
The moment he let go, the sting from my injured fingers hit me.
“Ouch!”
“Be quiet,” Xian snapped, grabbing me and effortlessly tossing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Hey! This isn’t even a princess carry! What are you doing?”
“Someone as troublesome as you doesn’t deserve one. And you’re not a princess—you’re the empress.”
He strode forward without hesitation, ignoring my protests.
Frantically, I pointed to the book lying awkwardly on the ground.
“Wait! That! I need that book! Please pick it up!”
Sighing as if indulging a child, Sian retrieved the book and handed it to me.
“Thank you!”
“I don’t know how I’ve managed to restrain myself until now,” he muttered.
“What are you talking about?”
“When I got rid of the harem, I should’ve expected withdrawal symptoms.”
His sarcastic comment made my jaw drop as he glanced at me, exasperated. Then he continued walking.
“What withdrawal? Are you misunderstanding something here?”
“Is it too late to deny it? Fine, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything. Read as much as you want from now on.”
“No! That’s not what happened!”
“Too late.”
I squirmed and hit him repeatedly in protest, but his granite-like body didn’t even flinch.
Effortlessly carrying me, Sian marched straight to the empress’s palace and dumped me onto the bed.