Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

A public trial has begun.

Negative testimony and evidence are piling up against Empress Lethenia. People blamed the empress for poverty, plague, and all the other terrible things that happened.

Before she knew it, her death was drawing near.

Asha’s emperor and her husband, Ian Hart, remained indifferent as he watched the empress being insulted.

He had a cruel attitude, as if he had no feelings left for the woman he once loved ardently.

However Rosetine, the emperor’s beautiful mistress, read a small hesitation in the emperor’s eyes.

She took the emperor’s hand and nodded her head as if telling him to decide quickly.

At the desperate gaze of his lover, the emperor regained his cold reason.

He sentenced his wife to death. The people cheered the emperor’s decision. Some were relieved that the bad luck surrounding Asha would disappear, while others said that such a woman should be killed most brutally.

Now all she had left was a terrible death.

Lethenia smiled and raised a corner of her mouth at the sight of them wanting to kill her so badly.

“Kill that wicked witch now!”

On the day of the burning, thunder rumbled off in the dark sky. Soon the rain began to fall.

She was tied to a rope and taken to the stake. People jeered at the abominable witch and threw filth at her.

The beautiful silver hair smelled dirty because it had dirty things on it. Then, she was hit by something hard and heavy. Blood flowed over her forehead. Her head rang.

Her blood-curdling rage and despair forced her to take deep breaths. Then the black mark on her chest, climbing up to her neck and up to her cheeks, became clearer.

Those who saw it screamed in horror. They went into a frenzy and told them to burn the witch away as soon as possible.

It was noisy. Raging cries to kill her, ridicule of strangers, and the children’s crying made a chaotic atmosphere… The rain intensified.

Lethenia would rather be deaf to the unpleasant noise.

Tired, she slowly closed her eyes. She didn’t want to be reborn as anything. She wanted to disappear permanently. Can I relax now?

At that moment, a strange voice of unknown origin came from somewhere. It was a sound that only she could hear.

{Lethenia.}

For a moment, all the scenes turned black and the noisy surroundings became quiet.

The screaming crowd, who had lost their reason, the terrible burning stake where she was tied tightly, the gloomy sky full of dark clouds and the loud sound of rain were all gone.

“Hihihihi.”

The unpleasant laughter coming from nearby heightened the fear.

She looked around, but she couldn’t see anyone. Only her sense of hearing became more sensitive in the dark. The laughter was drawing nearer.

The sticky hot air surrounded her. She instinctively perceived danger.

Her whole body stiffened as if it had become a tiny mouse caught alive by a poisonous snake.

Soon after, the unidentified entity began to whisper an incomprehensible strange spell.

At that moment, something tore into her chest and dug into her heart. That’s how she lost her heart.

The sharp blade danced around and tore her heart into pieces. The pain gave her shivers all over her body.

She felt suffocated and dizzy, to the extent that she wished she would die sooner rather than later.

She wanted to scream, but no voice came out.

Her eyes, which never shed tears even after being dragged to the brazier under false accusations, were now filled with tears.

She was in extreme pain that humans could not even imagine. All she could do was pray earnestly in her heart.

Please kill me, anyone.

Then, she felt warm and soft hands resting on her forehead.

A bright light that seemed to dispel all the bad things that were shining upon her. 

The hand came down from his forehead, caressing her cheek and stroking her lips. It was a very pleasant and warm touch.

Maybe it was God who was trying to get her out of the devil’s pit. She was anxious to hold on to that touch.

The pressure that had been tightening her breath loosened. The pain from ripping her heart also gradually subsided. The grotesque laughter faded away with the unpleasant air.

The extreme fear she had just felt receded and her breath began to stabilize again. But she faced a strange emptiness.

The pain disappeared, but it was sad that the heart that was taken could never be recovered.

The touch of salvation grew farther and farther away.

Don’t go.

She wanted to hold on, but her voice still didn’t come out. The lingering sense of soft and warm touch made her mind feel even more empty.

* * *

“Her Majesty, are you awake?”

When I opened my eyes, I saw a huge chandelier made of crystals.

The interior of the luxurious room, which seemed to be filled with all the gold in the world, caught my attention.

Antique furniture and starry decorations that seem to be used only in medieval European palaces look so expensive. It was so colorful that my eyes hurt. I don’t think I’m in a hospital.

It wasn’t the only strange thing. Right next to me was a white-haired old man, staring down at me in silence.

The wrinkles around his eyes deepened as he smiled kindly.

He was dressed as an extra in an old foreign film featuring princes, princesses, servants, and slaves.

I think she just said something about the empress. Wait, did I understand a foreign language? Looking around, he was not the only stranger.

Foreigners dressed similarly oddly to the elderly stood in rigid positions nearby.

Where am I and who are all these people? I must be having a nightmare.

I have such a terrible dream of me becoming a villain in a novel and being burned at the stake.

“Yes?”

“Don’t you know me?”

He replied with a worried face when I looked at him strangely.

“There are times when memory problems occur while you are on the brink of death. If you rest enough, you will get well soon.”

“Who…”

“Good job.”

Before I could finish my words, a man sitting far away in front of the table spoke to the old man. The old man greeted the man and left the room.

The man rose from his seat and slowly approached me.

As he approached, the people nearby bowed their heads and dispersed in unison.

He just took a few steps with an expressionless gaze, but I felt a tremendous pressure that I had never felt before.

I don’t know who he is, but I felt like he was the highest person here.

“This prank is a little too much.”

The moment I met the man’s face up close, the unconscious vigilance was lifted for a moment.

Eyes like sapphires and golden hair like the brilliant color of the sun. The straight nose and sharp jawline were aesthetically pleasing, as if neatly trimmed with a carving knife.

He really does look like a male protagonist in a romance novel. If Venus, the goddess of beauty, were a man, it would be like this.

I felt like I was facing a mysterious existence that does not exist in the human world. The man spoke in an insensitive tone.

“I was worried.”

Although he claimed otherwise, his voice was somewhat indifferent.

Have I ever seen this man? He was treating me like someone he was very familiar with.

I looked at his face more carefully. But… something was wrong.

The moment I met this man, I was overcome by an inexplicable emotion.

There’s an emptiness in a part of my heart that makes me sad, angry, and empty.

However, the base seemed to have unknown expectations and affection. It’s like a….

Love and hate?

As the man came closer, my face began to heat up, and my whole body stiffened.

The feeling of helplessness that was about to explode at any moment baffled me.

I saw silver hairs scattered on the white sheet. It swayed at every move I made.

I had an ominous hunch.

I found a small mirror lying on the bedside table. I picked it up in a hurry. Inside was the face of someone I had never seen before.

With pale skin like a vampire, silver hair, and mysterious purple eyes that look no less cold. And in contrast, red lips look like blood.

It was like a witch in a terrifyingly beautiful fantasy world.

Slowly, I put my hand to my face. I got goosebumps when my icy hand touched my skin.

Is this… me? I felt as if I had been hit hard on the head.

The man sighed and brushed his hair away with a look of boredom at my blank expression.

“Is the childish prank not over yet?”

“Do you know me?”

A foreign language that I had never heard in my life flowed out of my mouth.

I definitely thought in Korean and spoke in Korean, but the language I uttered came out completely differently. I was confused.

The man frowned slightly as his mouth opened and closed.

He had a knack for making people around him nervous just by his expression.

My question made the air in the room heavier. I began sweating from the unknown tension.

He spoke a little later in a resigned voice.

“I was busy.”

“…….”

“There’s a rumor in and out of the palace that I’m treating the Empress badly. Were you offended by that?”

“…….”

“Your acting is pretty good this time.”

He raised the corners of his mouth slightly. For some reason, this guy looks like he’s acting.

Not only is his appearance unrealistic, but also the tone and atmosphere don’t feel warm at all. It was like a doll or a statue was talking, not a person.