Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

 

 

A signal from the Ophelia Stone echoed through the air. It was a red signal, indicating the highest level of danger.

 

As soon as Theo arrived in Asha, he was able to get an overview of the situation from a secret base near the border.

 

Lethenia had been sentenced to be burned at the stake for her part in a horrific massacre.

 

‘There’s no way the sacred stone has already been destroyed…….’

 

There was no time to waste. He rode his horse faster than ever before, wearing armor covered in blood.

 

The cost of acquiring Skilra’s scales had been severe. Now his lifespan was at an end. If he were an ordinary person, he would have long turned into a corpse.

 

Struggling to sustain his dwindling life with his remaining magical power, he headed toward her.

 

As he arrived near the tower prison where she was held captive, imperial guards, as if expecting his arrival, surrounded him.

 

He wanted to draw his sword and cut through them immediately, but their numbers were overwhelming. A woman walked out from among the armed men. It was Rosetin.

 

Approaching Theo, she spoke in a tone devoid of emotion.

 

“I knew you’d show up. You seem to care quite a bit about that woman.”

 

“Step aside.”

 

Theo spoke in a voice that sounded like he was about to commit murder.

 

But Rosetin didn’t budge. In her eyes, there was a sadness that was difficult to comprehend.

 

A woman who didn’t resemble Lethenia but reminded him of her.

 

Theo had doubted before, wondering if Lethenia’s soul had entered another place like Sejin’s soul had entered Lethenia.

 

Staring at Rosetin with a meaningful gaze, he decided to test her, calling her a different name.

 

“Lethenia.”

 

Rosetin’s gaze shook visibly. Only then was Theo sure.

 

“So, it was you after all.”

 

Rosetin, dispelling her bewildered expression, warned Theo.

 

“If you step forward here, you’ll meet the same gruesome fate.”

 

“Well, perhaps the one trapped here could have been you.”

 

Theo’s chilling words pierced Rosetin’s chest. However, she couldn’t let Theo go like this. She had seen the mark that had appeared on her, just like the Empress.

 

The presence of darkness had infiltrated her heart, tempting her. Rosetin judged that Theo, too, was ensnared by that dark force and couldn’t distinguish reality.

 

“This is for your own good.”

 

“If it’s for my good, please let me go, Lethenia.”

 

Hearing Theo’s pleading tone, Rosetin couldn’t bear to face him any longer. She turned her head and addressed the knights.

 

“Lock him up in the Vanessa Palace.”

 

By now, the preparations for the execution must have been completed. Rosetin believed that keeping him detained until the end of today would be sufficient.

 

The Vanessa Palace was the most deserted part of the Imperial Palace. If the sole heir of the respected Marquis, now imprisoned, garnered unnecessary attention, it would be troublesome. She just wanted to handle this as quietly as possible.

 

The knights moved swiftly at Rosetin’s command. Theo didn’t resist and was led away obediently.

 

Having exhausted much of his strength in the battle against the Skilra, facing this many people alone was daunting. It was better to wait until they were scattered after securing him.

 

Though Rosetin’s eyes carried a burden of guilt, Theo deliberately chose to look away.

 

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

 

The execution day had arrived. I was led towards the ominous scaffold I had seen in my dreams. Theo hadn’t appeared yet, and inwardly, I found it fortunate.

 

If he were to step forward for me, he would be condemned as a follower of the witch and face inevitable death.

 

I looked up at the sky, wondering if my life in this world was over. Raindrops began to fall, one by one. But there wasn’t enough rain to halt the execution.

 

The ropes, tightly bound, were cutting into my flesh. I could see the executioners pouring oil under the pole to which I was tied.

 

As my despair deepened, the marks became more painful. Now, I could feel that the black symbol now covered my entire cheek.

 

In an instant, a fierce anger swept through my whole body, as if my breath would stop at any moment.

 

— Say you want me.

 

A sinister voice echoed in my ears, so vivid, as if it were right beside me.

 

Fire ignited beneath my feet. I writhed in the heat, feeling like my flesh would melt away.

 

Whether it was the terror caused by the mark or the flames ready to engulf me, the distinction was indiscernible. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn’t breathe.

 

‘What did I do wrong?’

 

The black mark climbed from my cheek to my forehead, and an excruciating pain filled my entire face.

 

Any moment now, the ferocious flames would pierce my skin and burn my entire body. People around me seemed to revel in the joy of my miserable death, seeing it as mere entertainment.

 

Unbearable rage surged within me, and just as the flames surged at my feet, darkness enveloped the surroundings.

 

A sinister aura surrounded me. Right in front, there was a presence that always terrified me. It was the demon. From an indistinct form, a clear voice emerged.

 

“Tell me you want me.”

 

“…….”

 

“You can’t die like this.”

 

My body felt sluggish, and consciousness was fading. It was a strange sensation, as if floating in the sky. I struggled to grasp my hazy mind, but my mind didn’t obey my will.

 

I had this strange feeling that I should just follow what the entity in front of me was telling me to do. I wanted to let go of everything like this. In a slow tone, I said to him,

 

“Yes, I want you.”

 

At that moment, a powerful force surged within my heart. An indescribable sensation spread throughout my body. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the world lit up.

 

People around me screamed and scattered in panic. I was floating in the air, surrounded by black mist.

 

Looking down, the execution platform that had been burning was shattered into pieces.

 

“The witch has shown her true colors!”

 

Those who had been hurling insults at me a moment ago now ran away in disarray, as if they had seen a ghost. A moment later, a group of Ashan soldiers with weapons gathered below me.

 

They fired their bows at me, but the arrows didn’t even reach me, falling to the ground in a heap.

 

Then, with a bang, a cannon ball came flying out of nowhere and landed in the middle of the crowd. Most of the soldiers who had been shooting at me fell to the ground.

 

Turning my head, I saw numerous soldiers in Delua armor approaching.

 

Indiscriminately, they began cutting down both soldiers and civilians. Unprepared Asha soldiers had no choice but to succumb. For a while, a scene closer to a massacre than a battle continued.

 

Seeing that no more reinforcements were arriving, it seemed like the entire capital had already fallen into the hands of the Delua army.

 

My consciousness was fading rapidly. I felt a strange energy permeating my entire body.

 

Though uncertain, I had a premonition that my body would soon be completely dominated by the demon.

 

If I lose consciousness now, I won’t be able to wake up again. It was almost as good as being dead. A bitter laugh escaped along with tears.

 

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

 

Theo was trapped inside the Vanessa palace. He pulled out another vial of magic amplification potion he had kept as a spare and drank it.

 

Now his life would not last beyond today. Without black magic, it was already impossible for him to stand on his own two feet.

 

Although he looked fine on the outside, his body was actually on the verge of death. Perhaps due to excessively consuming the magical elixir, his entire body was feverish, and his heart felt agonizingly twisted.

 

In a moment when he was barely able to move his body to head towards the exit, a black wolf, unlike any he had ever seen, was observing him from a distance.

 

A tremendous sense of intimidation arose upon seeing the wolf of unprecedented size.

 

‘Casey.’

 

The black wolf Lethenia had raised in Vanessa Palace came to mind. He was well aware of the rumors circulating among the palace residents, describing them as the witch’s familiar.

 

He considered it exaggerated gossip spread by those too busy tearing Lethenia apart. He never even thought it could be the legendary creature, Casey.

 

Born from water magic, Casey should have had a bluish hue all over her body. And as if to prove that fact, an indescribably mystical blue light was swirling around the wolf’s body right in front of him.

 

It was such an eerie sight that he couldn’t distinguish whether it was an illusion or not. He felt as if the wolf was telling him to come that way by just looking at him.

 

Unknowingly, Theo took a step closer to the wolf. At that moment, the wolf turned its body in the opposite direction.

 

He ran after it, as if drawn by something. The wolf intermittently turned to see if he was following.

 

After walking for a while inside the palace, the wolf suddenly stopped at a certain place. It was an abandoned basement.

 

At one point, the wolf simply stood still. Theo had a feeling that there might be something tremendous here.

 

He carefully examined the place the wolf was staring at. After a while, he noticed a subtly protruding part of the wall. He pressed it gently.

 

As Theo pressed the subtly protruding part of the wall, a hidden door opened, revealing a long corridor.

 

 

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊