I Healed my Husband, the Leader of the Underworld

The sound of breathing spreading through the air was so clear that it could be seen with the naked eye.

 

Where should I start? If I were to ask Siegfried if he knew what this necklace meant, what would this man say?

 

What if I told him that everyone who possessed this all died for some reason?

 

Still, my quivering lips did not waver.

 

“It’s nothing….”

 

I didn’t want to lie. Not for anyone else, but for myself. It was too much of mouth-full to ignore what had just happened. But truth be told, I was afraid to look at him in the eyes.

 

I didn’t want to remind him that this necklace symbolized its owner’s death.

 

“Wife.”

 

Siegfried’s hand slowly stroked my hair.

 

Unlike the cold air on the balcony, his hand was warm.

 

Then, I caught sight of his strong chest, visible through his open jacket.

 

And I instinctively knew.

 

I knew it would be warm if I were to dive in there.

 

Still, I didn’t let my impulses guide me.

 

A prey that was shot knows that once it hits the ground, the burning wound will soon cool. So it holds on, knowing it’ll never be able to open its eyes again if it doesn’t.

 

In the sharp silence, Siegfried did nothing. He didn’t ask me any more questions or rush me. He simply stroked my hair as if reassuring me was his top priority.

 

It almost like I was being tamed. Then, as he took a step closer, my body instinctively trembled, prompting him to take it back, and keeping his distance.

 

“Milena,” He called my name affectionately.

 

 After seeing me reacting to his voice, he repeated, “Milena,” before moving closer again. And my body, which had become cold down to my fingertips due to tension, just melted into his embrace.

 

As expected, his embrace was indeed warm. So warm, it made me wondering whether he was made of heat.

 

I lifted my head wanting to see his face, but before our gazes could meet, a gentle kiss landed on my forehead.

 

“Your body is cold,” He whispered sweetly. “Why, what happened?”

 

Whenever he pushed too hard, his voice always turned soft and kind. It felt unfair that this can be comforting, so I buried my nose in his shirt and breathed in his scent. Strangely enough, even the diamond pressing against my throat didn’t feel heavy.

 

I opened my eyes, puzzled by the lack of weight, and saw the blue diamond between Siegfried’s fingers.

 

“I was afraid it might break. …your neck.”

 

 His gaze lingered on my lips for a while before returning to my eyes.

 

“It’s swollen.”

 

His scruntining gaze swept over my eyes, but when I avoided his gaze, his eyes moved back to my lips.

 

“It’s the same with your lips. If you press it, suck it, or even peck, it leaves a mark on the skin.”

 

 “…….”

 

 “So delicate,”

 

Siegfried murmured as his lips pressed firmly on my cheek.

 

“Like I could hurt you if I were to do as I please.”

 

His other hand, the one not clutching the necklace, wrapped around my waist. Before I knew it, I felt his lips on the nape of my neck as he hugged me from behind.

 

As his breath grew rougher, I tried to put some distance between us; his aura was frightening; but the more I resisted, the stronger his arms pulled me closer.

 

His lips sucked on the skin at the nape of my neck, and I winced when his teeth bit me.

 

“Shhh,” he whispered in my ear, stroking my lower back before putting  the tender flesh back into his hot mouth.

 

Is this how it feels to be swallowed up? I thought to myself.

 

 In the dark darkness spread out in front of closed eyes, only the sensations he was giving  me were clear.

 

“I’m greedy.”

 

“…….”

 

“My wife.”

 

My skin was distorted by the teeth of the beast.

 

I tightly gripped his arms that enveloped me as my shoulders slumped once again.

 

 It was probably because of all those bad memories.

 

Disturbing memories.

 

Memories of me squirming in his arms and clutching his shoulders with all my might.

 

Then, even though something damp flowed at the tip of his fingertips, he tilted his head and kissed me.

 

“I wish I could swallow all your cries.”

 

He pushed my damp hair back.

 

“ I know how good it feels to be swallowed up.”

 

I remembered feeling the same way back then, too.

 

His body was so strong that it couldn’t do anything with the strength coming from such a small frame.

 

As my fingers tried to push him away, they brushed against the veins on the back of his hand.

 

My heart pounded rapidly and in sync with the pulsation coming from our touching bodies.

 

His teeth dug into the skin on the back of my neck again , and my breathing quickened even more. Then, his fingers returned the diamond to its original place and slid downwards.

 

“Aren’t you going to talk?”

 

He made it so that I couldn’t go anywhere and then leisurely achieved his goal. As he was asking me questions, his arms, wrapped around me, felt like snakes tightening around  their prey.

 

“That bastard… Did he give you a hard time?”

 

“……”

 

“Is that it? Are you trying to protect him?” He said in a gentler voice. “I’m more angry to see you keeping your mouth shut like this.”

 

I bit my lower lip.

 

“My wife.”

 

His breath flew by my ear.

 

“You are taking sides with someone else.”

 

Was he asking me to beg in front of ? It felt like my whole body froze at that voice.

 

“So….”

 

With my mind turning blank and nothing, I licked my trembling lips. Then I thought; What would happen if he were to bite my neck a little harder than before? The skin was almost transparent, with veins showing through, so what if he were to do it again.

 

But a little harder than before.

 

Harder; the word echoed in my head.

 

“I heard an interesting story,” I finally said.

 

His breath touched the back of my neck.

 

“About this diamond necklace.”

 

My jaw trembled as I spoke.

 

A diamond necklace that ate its owner.

 

It was not just one person’s death, but the annihilation of the entire Edinburgh family.

 

The primal terror I always felt around this man was by no mean futile after all. It was my body telling me to run.

 

“They say it eats people.”

 

I was Milena Rochester, and now I am Milena Roam.

 

Milena Rochester was a capricious woman who grew up seeing only the most beautiful things in the brightest places. She was hot-tempered ; if she wanted something she had to have it, and she had three devoted men in her loving world.

 

I could feel Siegfried’s body tensing up behind me.

 

“I was already getting tired of it, and now I hate it even more because of this boring curse,” I said as nonchalantly as possible.

 

“I only ended up making a fool of myself.”

 

“Was that why?”

 

His lips settled on my cheek. His relaxed arm wrapped around my waist, and his breath gently brushed over the flushed skin of my neck.”

 

“So that’s why you were angry, my dear wife.”

 

His voice sounded weirdly relieved.

 

After standing still for a while, I opened my mouth and spoke, gathering up bits of courage from deep within my heart.

 

“Me too… .”

 

I took a brief pause, then a trembling voice crawled out from between my lips.

 

“Will I die?”

 

“…..”

 

“Just like the previous owners devoured by the necklace.”

 

 “…..”

 

The deadly silence that followed choked my throat. Then after a while, Siegfried pulled me deeper into his embrace and said,

 

“Can a mere stone kill Roam’s mistress?”

 

This was similar to what I’d said to the Empress. And at words I never expected to hear from Siegfried, a faint chuckle escaped me.

 

He said it too easily, considering he was the one who cruelly killed “Milena” in the original story.

 

“If this rock,” Siegfried continued as he tapped the object he was referring to as a piece of rock. “Did indeed eat people.”

 

“..…”

 

“Then i guess it had to get rid of its previous owner to get to Roam’s mistress. Was it scary? He asked while massaging my cold hands.

 

As I nodded slowly, he smiled softly and said,

 

“I’ll protect you.”

 

Strangely enough, I felt breathless at the words I didn’t know whether they were lies or truth.

 

“Roam is not so easy-going that my wife needs to be scared of some rock. I will keep the promise I made to you.”

 

His words sounded  so sweet.

.

.

.

 

“There they are.”

 

The guests’ voice grew closer.

 

“I guess she still has no intention to take the necklace off. Fearless as ever.”

 

As soon as we stepped inside the hall, thousands of eyes flew in my direction, pinning me down.

 

 And as I was trying to compose myself, my husband leaned in and whispered, “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

 

“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand why Lady Roam is so confident.”

 

His arm wrapped around my waist.

 

“She is a Roam now after all.”

 

The luxurious blue diamond necklace glimmered blue against my pale skin like crystals that had grown from my veins

 

Unlike those who seemed equally frightened as me, Siegfried carried himself as if this were nothing more than a stone.

 

[Why be afraid of a trinket that’s only here to please my eyes?] he had said.

 

And he was right.

 

The opulent stone that adorned my neck was nothing more than that–a rock – nothing unlike all the other materials on this earth.

 

And it was the same for the red diamond that once left my hands but found its way back to me.

 

[This is a diamond looking for its owner.] The vendor’s voice echoed in my head.

 

But the “raw heart” wasn’t actually capable of thoughts.

 

So it’s only natural that it couldn’t return to its owner.

 

However, to dismiss it as just baseless superstition was impossible, after all the red diamond did come back to me, and the blue diamond killed its previous owner.

 

They must be good at smelling death, so they clung to me like ghosts as I approached my inevitable doom.

 

But if these were just mere stones like Siegfried claimed……then what made them bring about destruction?

 

“You two really suit each other,” someone remarked.

 

It was people.

 

“I guess it was true that your husband hasn’t been accompanying you because he’s been busy,” another person said.

 

 

It was the greed of those who wanted this piece of rock every rime they looked at it.

 

But more than the obsession stirred up by this stone, it was those who, blinded by greed, mercilessly trampled on the owner if he/she happened to be weaker.

 

[I guess it had to devour the previous owner to come to Roam’s mistress.]

 

And this diamond closely resembled the man standing beside me.

 

Siegfried Roam.

 

“They say he’s quite affectionate.”

 

“His Excellency Roam?”

 

“I didn’t believe it either, but after today’s ball, I will have to.”

 

Siegfried was truly magnificent.

 

So, it felt almost natural for those who couldn’t have him to turn bitter, for people to circle around him, and for some to perhaps wish for my downfall.

 

That man was much more than just handsome or pleasing to the eye.

 

The strange aura that surrounded him when he stood among others made the invisible hierarchical relationship very clear.

 

My husband led me through the crowd, then retrieved something from his inner pocket.

 

Even the Empress, who was surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, closely  scrutinized his every movements.

 

“That’s…”One of the ladies-in-waiting couldn’t help but exclaim

 

And the Empress’s expression became completely distorted as she gazed at the thing Siegfried had just retrieved from his pocket .