Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

 

The passageway was longer than he expected. After walking for a while, Theo came across another door. When he opened it, a room appeared.

 

The walls of the room were covered with paintings of a young girl. Standing in the center, he looked back at the door he had just opened. It was one large picture frame.

 

‘Lethenia.’

 

What was depicted inside was Lethenia in a white dress. He realized that this was Ianhart’s secret chamber.

 

It led to the Vanessa Palace and seemed to have been built during the time of the First Emperor.

 

The things before his eyes revealed one clear fact: Ianhart always loved Lethenia. Despite trampling over her and sacrificing her for other things, his feelings never changed.

 

Theo pondered the tragic life Lethenia had led, walking the path of hell while begging Ianhart’s love for a long time.

 

He wondered if it would be a happy ending for Lethenia to be in Rosetin’s body and have Ianhart’s heart.

 

But he felt sorry for Sejin, who had been forced into Lethenia’s life and had to endure all this misery.

 

Now, he had to do the last thing he could for her. He gathered his resolve and turned around.

 

He couldn’t waste any more time. He swiftly searched the area and finally found the exit.

 

When he stepped outside, he saw the bodies of some imperial guards scattered on the floor of the Emperor’s bedroom. It wasn’t a result of physical attacks.

 

‘Black mage?’

 

Theo could sense the remnants of black magic on the corpses. It was a cruel murder, quite different from Apomenon’s methods.

 

But there was no time to examine it further; he had to hurry away to get to Lethenia.

 

As Theo exited the palace, he noticed the Emperor’s attendant standing with Delua soldiers. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

 

The Emperor’s attendant standing alongside Delua soldiers was a strange scene. As they spotted Theo, they assumed an attacking stance. There weren’t many of them, but time was running out.

 

Quickly, he conjured a black mist. The Delua soldiers, frightened by the mist, stepped back.

 

The black mist turned into sharp blades, striking their hearts. They fell helplessly before the black magic.

 

Sure enough, as he exerted magic, he felt his life force draining uncontrollably from his body. Even though the soldiers all fell, the attendant smiled with an unknown satisfaction.

 

‘What’s going on?’

 

Theo sensed something was amiss. The attendant’s casual attitude, as if he had expected it, bothered him. At that moment, someone struck him from behind.

 

The intense pain sent Theo sprawling to the floor. Another black mage had taken advantage of his weakened state and attacked him.

 

It was no ordinary black mage; it possessed magic on a different level. The attendant brought his hand to his face and peeled away the outer layer of skin, revealing his original face.

 

‘Duke Bledel……!’

 

It was a face mask. An ancient magical tool that was said to have been hidden from the world long ago.

 

Theo sighed briefly at the impending disaster.

 

The black mage, who had attacked him, staggered to stand before him. It was a child, his eyes grotesquely stained with dark energy.

 

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

 

Inside Lethenia’s body, the demon rapidly expanded its influence. Sejin, now stripped of even the will to resist the demon, could only watch the world through Lethenia’s eyes.

 

Despite the brutal scenes of killing and being killed, no stimulating emotions arose within her.

 

The sounds of bombs dropping and screams of agony felt distant.

 

Her mind was filled with darkness, akin to being intoxicated by a lethal potion. The demon whispered to her as her consciousness slowly succumbed to the black magic.

 

— Show them who you are. Kill them all so they can’t make you like that again.

 

Following the demon’s command, Lethenia’s body moved. The black mist surrounding her, intertwined with a blue light, descended below.

 

The ground rumbled with a powerful explosion, and many people collapsed, bleeding to death. In an instant, the rainfall intensified, and the thunder that threatened to crack the sky echoed eerily like the voice of the demon.

 

A more concentrated force of magic gathered in her heart. The red magic stone around her neck turned as black as coal, then crumbled into dust.

 

The black mist flowing from her heart surged into the sky like a colossal dragon, roaring fiercely.

 

Sejin had a terrifying premonition that the moment it hit the ground, everyone here would be wiped out. Yet, she had no way to stop the surging power within her.

 

As a mysterious energy converged into one, ready to plunge into the human world, Sejin noticed Theo unconscious on the terrace leading to the palace. Subsequently, her gaze met Duke Bledel, who was holding Theo hostage.

 

The Duke, with a maniacal grin, shouted,

 

“Let’s see how far you can take this, b!tch.”

 

Duke Bledel’s eyes flashed with madness as he held his sword to Theo’s throat. Witch or great mage, he was no longer afraid.

 

He had escaped from the Duke’s manor, fooling everyone using a face mask, and had gotten military aid from Prince Tolle, as promised.

 

Just as he had attacked the Xenosians by breaking the old treaty long ago, Asha would crumble in the same way. Once today passed, the Cassel royal family would vanish, leaving him to seize everything.

 

As long as that woman doesn’t interfere.

 

The Duke knew how much Lethenia cared for her precious people. This time, he planned to torment Lethenia, cherishing the life of her beloved paramore, just as he had threatened Ian for years.

 

Duke Bledel grabbed Theo by the hair, raising a dagger to his neck.

 

‘No!’

 

Affected by this stimulus, Sejin momentarily suppressed Demonio. The once unified forces of light and darkness now began a struggle, pushing against each other.

 

Gradually, Sejin’s consciousness found its place within Lethenia’s heart. As the energy poured like a tidal wave, her vision momentarily blurred.

 

“Haah—”

 

An anguished groan escaped her. Duke Bledel, sensing danger, raised his sword high as Lethenia emitted an even stronger light.

 

At that moment, a dark figure appeared in the empty sky. It emitted a blue light, akin to water magic.

 

The figure continued to circle around Lethenia, absorbing the light she emitted and gradually taking on a distinct form. It was the legendary creature, Casey.

 

The majestic howl of the black wolf echoed through the air, carrying Lethenia’s rage. Shortly, Casey charged towards Duke Bledel.

 

“Uh, uh, get away from me!”

 

The bewildered Duke dropped the knife from his trembling hands. Seizing the opportunity, Casey bit into the Duke’s head and soared into the sky.

 

The wolf tore off the Duke’s head and threw it to the ground. Blood poured out of the headless body like a waterfall.

 

Swiftly, the wolf severed the limbs and opened the chest, revealing the heart.

 

The Duke’s limbs scattered without a chance for a scream. It was a gruesome end for a powerful figure who had deceived the imperial family for a long time and played with a nation’s fate.

 

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

 

Theo gently opened his eyes. He saw Sejin surrounded by an overwhelming darkness, an energy too intense for an ordinary person to endure.

 

Her face was entirely covered in black markings, making it almost impossible to recognize her.

 

The energy gathered within her formed an enormous sphere. The blue light seeping through the black mist sparked dangerously, about to burst.

 

She approached him slowly, her movement strangely calm, as if she were not human.

 

Demonio grabbed the fallen Theo by the throat. This human had annoyed him time and time again.

 

Every time he showed up, Sejin’s consciousness, which was under his control, leapt out of control. It was only a matter of time before he could take over Lethenia’s body, and he wasn’t about to let the human in front of him ruin it.

 

Theo’s eyes slowly relaxed. At the sight of him, Sejin’s consciousness struggled again. She desperately tried to stop Demonio. In response, Demonio, consumed by anger, exerted even more force in his clenched hand.

 

“Ugh…….”

 

Every muscle in Theo’s body felt sluggish, as if his breath was about to be cut off. Somewhere in Lethenia’s heart, Sejin, who had been watching, screamed in frustration.

 

— Please, please stop it. Stop it now!

 

Demonio and Sejin’s emotions simultaneously appeared on Lethenia’s face.

 

Tears of sorrow and despair, mixed with evil laughter, streamed down her face. At that moment, Demonio’s power began to merge with the blue light.

 

Rather than absorbing water magic, Demonio found water magic draining his own power.

 

Confused, Demonio exerted all his strength to defend against it, but the more he resisted, the more his power wavered.

 

As the conflicting forces collided within, Lethenia’s hand, which had been tightening around Theo’s throat, trembled.

 

Theo barely regained his senses and grabbed her hand.

 

‘Now.’

 

This was the only chance. Quickly, he gathered all the remaining life force and uttered a spell. The black mist that filled the sky began to vanish at a rapid pace.

 

“Aaaah!”

 

Demonio let out an ear-splitting groan of agony. The struggling Demonio, who had been desperately resisting, succumbed to the overwhelming force and slowly started moving into Theo’s body.

 

Theo, finding it increasingly challenging to bear the black magic, spewed out a rush of blood. His life seemed to flicker like a vulnerable candle, but a relieved smile adorned his face.

 

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊