Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

 

 

Theo stared at her with emotionless eyes.

 

A chilling smile still lingered on her lips. Her once clear and vivid violet eyes now seemed tainted with a murky ash color.

 

Looking into her eyes, devoid of focus as if her soul had been sucked out of her, gave an eerie sensation, as if she had lost her eyesight and yet she was able to discern things.

 

“Theo Claflin.”

 

Her eyes shifted toward Theo’s chest. Then, with a gaze full of vitality, she chuckled and spoke.

 

“Seeing you bring a stone infused with divine magic, you must know who I am.”

 

“…….”

 

“You won’t be able to get rid of me with such an insignificant object.”

 

Lethenia’s familiar voice sounded stranger than ever.

 

Theo easily recognized that the presence speaking through Lethenia’s voice was Demonio. There was a dark energy around her that even he had never felt before.

 

If she were an ordinary person, she wouldn’t emit such a dangerous aura. Some of Lethenia’s latent water magic power had fused and harmonized with the demonic power, emitting a powerful energy.

 

Theo could vaguely guess why Demonio had chosen Lethenia.

 

However, even with that understanding, the intensity of the energy was truly abnormal.

 

Was Lethenia’s latent magical power so immense? Theo opened his mouth, concealing the deep-seated anxiety in his chest.

 

“At least, I can prevent you from getting stronger.”

 

Theo retorted with an icy tone. The stone he possessed harbored a noble energy conflicting with black magic.

 

As a black mage, merely possessing it was visibly draining Theo’s life force. However, it was inevitable to prevent Lethenia’s body from being fully controlled by a demon.

 

At least until the sacred stone is destroyed, it should be possible to prevent the increase of Demonio’s power. At least until all preparations are complete.

 

“Humans are so foolish.”

 

Demonio could feel Theo’s remaining life force fading away.

 

Then Demonio let out a sinister smile and turned his gaze to the side. The attendants had already cleared away anything that could be a dangerous weapon in Lethenia’s bedroom.

 

Crash!

 

Without any choice, Demonio immediately broke the window next to him with Lethenia’s fragile hands. A loud sound echoed through the silent room.

 

Shards of glass, sharp as knives, poured onto the floor. Demonio picked up the largest piece among them.

 

Crimson blood dripped from Lethenia’s white, skinny hand. When Theo, stunned, tried to move closer, Demonio picked up the shard of glass and held it to Lethenia’s throat.

 

Theo could only stop in his tracks.

 

“Your weaknesses are too obvious; it’s almost pathetic.”

 

“If you do such things to the body that will become your host, it won’t be good for you either.”

 

“Well, that’s true. Then… how about this?”

 

Blood dripped from Lethenia’s hand as she gripped the glass even harder. Just seeing it made Theo feel anguish.

 

Leaning in close, Demonio whispered, borrowing Lethenia’s voice. The pointed end of the glass shard flashed like a diamond in the light. It hovered just inches from touching Lethenia’s skin.

 

Theo felt an endless rush of anger and fear at the same time.

 

Instinctively, he wanted to create a black mist. However, it didn’t go as planned. Shallow black magic from a mere human couldn’t affect Demonio.

 

“Hehehehe.”

 

Lethenia’s face twisted grotesquely, and a sinister laughter echoed in Theo’s ears.

 

At one moment, Demonio stopped laughing and stared at him with a fierce gaze. Then, holding the glass in his hand, he forcefully brandished it towards Theo.

 

However… Demonio’s hand stopped in mid-air and no longer moved.

 

Theo also looked at him with a puzzled expression.

 

Attempting another attack on Theo, Demonio’s hand fluttered as if something was blocking him.

 

Seizing the opportunity, Theo grabbed Lethenia’s wrist. The sharp weapon in her hand fell to the floor with a thud. At that moment, Lethenia’s breathing became irregular.

 

“Haah, haah.”

 

Lethenia gasped for breath as she looked at Theo in disbelief. Then she fainted on the spot.

 

In one swift motion, Theo wrapped his arms around her waist as she collapsed. Theo closely examined her face.

 

The eerie energy emanating from the Demonio, which seemed ready to swallow Lethenia whole, was gradually dissipating.

 

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

 

I gently opened my eyes. My head hurt like it was going to split. Despite not having drunk alcohol, my mind felt foggy. I feel strange. I felt like I had a very vivid and unpleasant dream, but I couldn’t recall the details.

 

I tossed and turned, and then I felt a sharp pain in my left hand. It was wrapped in a white bandage.

 

When did I hurt my hand? As I thought this, I looked around and saw someone sitting at the table next to my bed.

 

‘Theo?’

 

Theo was staring at me, his face expressionless. Am I still dreaming?

 

It didn’t make sense that he was sitting in the Empress’ bedroom, watching me sleep.

 

If this vivid dream of meeting Theo was real, I would welcome it anytime. So please don’t wake me up, I thought. I smiled slightly at him as he looked at me.

 

Then Theo stood up from his seat and came closer to me. His blurry image became clearer and clearer.

 

He gently smoothed my disheveled hair with his large hands. My eyes widened at the unfamiliar touch. What the hell? This is too real to be a dream.

 

“Are you awake?”

 

His voice, sweet as honey, echoed distinctly, as if it were not a dream. Gasp, it’s not a dream. Without realizing it, I stood up abruptly.

 

“Uh, where is this…?”

 

“Since you weren’t feeling well, I volunteered to take care of you.”

 

Theo smiled slyly as he spoke. It was hard to gauge the truth of his words.

 

This was the palace, and there were countless attendants to take care of me. Theo, who was an eyesore to Ian, taking care of me in the empress’s palace? He still smiled and locked eyes with me.

 

When I made an ambiguous expression, he continued as if he could read my thoughts.

 

“You don’t need to worry; it’s something approved by the emperor.”

 

“Is that true?”

 

Theo raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded his head. It was a completely unbelievable statement.

 

Ian, who had resolved to reveal his feelings about Lethenia, would never allow Theo to enter the empress’s palace.

 

Nevertheless, Theo’s calm eyes didn’t seem to be telling a lie. I asked him again.

 

“What happened while I was unconscious?”

 

According to Theo, rumors had spread that the empress had collapsed due to a severe illness with an unknown cause.

 

Furthermore, it was rumored to be a contagious disease, deterring anyone from entering the empress’s palace.

 

“Well, it’s for the best. If you’re going to leave the palace anyway, such rumors will help deceive the public eye.”

 

“What…happened to me?”

 

My voice trembled slightly. I glanced down at the bandages wrapped around my hand.

 

Something was off. For some reason, Theo’s eyes darkened. I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he was hiding something important.

 

“Right now, it’s important for you to rest.”

 

It was true that my health had deteriorated recently. I had dismissed it as merely losing energy due to nightmares, but it wasn’t. The bizarre nightmare was an ominous sign.

 

Then, the devil’s mark on my chest… I cautiously placed my hand on the left side of my chest.

 

<Something like strange symbols the black images have. In the field of black magic that uses souls as a medium, it’s inevitable to develop black marks.>

 

Linus’ words flashed through my mind. Was his statement true? Was Lethenia’s body indeed connected to a demon? If that were the case, I had no idea what to do next.

 

I looked up at Theo once again. Theo was not only a black mage who had experienced similar events as me but also a friend who knew everything about me.

 

So, he was the only person I could confide in about this. He must know something about this situation. Taking a deep breath, I spoke to him.

 

“There’s a black mark on my chest.”

 

“…….”

 

“I think I might be…”

 

“Don’t worry; I know a way to solve it. Besides, the symptoms won’t worsen from now on.”

 

He spoke while showing something he took out of his inner chest pocket.

 

“It’s a sacred stone that can control magic.”

 

It was an object that resembled a healing stone. It was a clear green color, like Theo’s green eyes.

 

When I couldn’t hide my concern, he tried to reassure me with a firm tone.

 

“No matter what happens, I will protect you. So, please put your mind at ease.”

 

His words, filled with reassurance, touched my heart. He seemed to know everything I was thinking.

 

The unwavering gaze in his eyes dispelled the anxiety in my heart. I looked at him and nodded slowly.

 

 

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊