Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

 

 

Ian stared at Lethenia’s retreating backside. Today was the second time.

 

The second time he’d watched her leave, holding another man’s hand, and felt foolish enough to stay behind. The banquet quickly returned to life after the brief disturbance caused by the arrival of the young Marquis Claflin.

 

But instead of joining in the festivities, he was consumed by heavy thoughts, and his heartbeat raced unlike during Lethenia’s birthday celebration.

 

He saw the change in Lethenia’s eyes.

 

The way she looked at Claflin, as if she were truly in love, sent Ian into a spiral of despair. Her flushed cheeks and shy smile gave him an irresistible sense of certainty.

 

The emotion in Lethenia’s gaze was not light.

 

It wasn’t friendship or pity. It was the first time he’d ever seen her look at someone else like that. He clenched his fists unconsciously, feeling the burning rage of a fire inside his chest.

 

Suddenly, he was seized by an unknown impulse. He wanted to run to the Empress’ palace right away. He had a strong feeling that he would deeply regret it if he let this situation go on.

 

Lately, every time he saw Lethenia, he felt an overwhelming surge of anger. More accurately, every moment involving Lethenia and Claplin seemed to ignite his blood.

 

<Is he that precious to you, Lethenia?>

 

<Yes, so precious that I wanted to run away with him so you can’t torment me anymore. Is that enough?>

 

<You sound like you really love him.>

 

<So what.>

 

It was the first time he’d ever been so angry with Lethenia. When a witness came forward, claiming to have seen someone enter the Cursed Forest that day, the terror he felt was vivid and real.

 

He waited until midnight, and if they didn’t return, he was prepared to go there himself.

 

As he was going back and forth from hell with a miserable, Lethenia returned. Her first words to him were a warning.

 

Not to the person precious her. It was a moment that made him want to turn everything in front of him upside down. At the same time, a deep bitterness washed over him.

 

Lethenia doesn’t love him anymore.

 

<I’ll be unhappy for the rest of my life if I’m around you, and I regret ever risking my precious life on someone like you.>

 

The sudden realization stabbed Ian in the heart. It was an irrefutable fact.

 

For Lethenia to remain by his side was to invite misery, and while he was glad she realized that, he felt a pain in his chest.

 

Conflicting emotions that shouldn’t have coexisted created an unidentifiable chaos.

 

Until recently, he didn’t pay any attention when he heard rumors about the Claplin family’s successor. A commoner’s blood, a bastard, nothing more, nothing less.

 

But the man had been hovering around Lethenia for some time, and it was only then did his presence start coming into view for Ian.

 

He was the only person Lethenia allowed to be near. Ian was wary of Theo Claplin, but he didn’t delve into the depths of his feelings.

 

Was it because of his arrogance, believing that Lethenia had no one else but him? There were times when he felt relieved seeing that Lethenia showed no subtle traces of emotion towards Claplin.

 

He felt disgusted by himself for wanting to push her away while harboring such thoughts. As Lethenia became an Empress, their relationship seemed to gradually drift apart.

 

And he, too, naturally lost interest in Theo Claflin.

 

The relationship that seemed to have ended was revived when Lethenia called him back. Theo Claplin’s presence appeared quite threatening to him, as he was already struggling with complicated emotions about her.

 

Everyone talked about the Marquis as the Empress’ lover, but even when Lethenia informed him that she would make him her lover he didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t possibly mean it, he thought.

 

That was what he wanted to believe. However, when he saw Lethenia’s smile just now, his hope collapsed without a trace.

 

A tidal wave of anxiety washed over him.

 

What was he going to do now, beg Lethenia to make things go back the way it used to?

 

Was he going to have another ridiculous temper tantrum and drive Theo Claflin away?

 

And if he did get Lethenia back, what would he be able to do for her?

 

He felt self-pity for his powerless situation.

 

Still, an indefinable emotion continued to rise in his chest, an uncontrollable storm raging within him.

 

He uncovered his true feelings, which he had covered up, and came face to face with the real Ianhart, the one he had been hiding so tightly, the one he could never show to anyone.

 

‘It’s okay if you don’t love me. But I can’t tolerate anyone else being in your heart as much as I am. Even if it’s selfish, it doesn’t matter.’

 

He finally stood up from his seat. He was about to start walking to the Empress’s palace. A clear voice called him firmly.

 

“There are many eyes watching. If you leave now, people will think it’s strange.”

 

Rosetin Bedos. The woman who was now his mistress and would soon take Lethenia’s place. Ian looked at her with a stiffened expression, as if he had encountered an annoying obstacle.

 

Is she desperate to be a real empress? She acted like Lethenia and spoke like Lethenia.

 

As if she wanted to take everything that belonged to Lethenia, even the scent of favia, it irked him.

 

Ian looked down at her face coldly. Rosetin’s steady gaze remained unflinching, but there was an inexplicable resentment and bitterness in her eyes.

 

She’d looked at him like this before. Many, many times.

 

He made it clear from the beginning that their relationship was formed out of necessity. Her regular visits to the Imperial Palace were all for show.

 

The rumors of the Emperor’s fondness for the Count’s daughter were false. Ian had never been in the same room as Rosetin and never spoken to her.

 

He was strangely annoyed that Lethenia had deliberately sent her to the imperial palace. Even when the impatient Rosetin spoke to him, he didn’t even look at her, just went about his business.

 

Contrary to what others might think, she had no influence on him. When the Emperor treated her like a transparent person, one day, she shamelessly said,

 

“I’m thinking of staying at the Imperial Palace tonight.”

 

Ian, who had maintained a nonchalant demeanor, lifted his head and looked at her, a scornful mockery on his face.

 

As if she had expected it, she spoke in an unwavering tone.

 

“After all, we’ve made a pact of sorts, haven’t we? You want an undisputed imperial throne, and I want to be an empress as soon as possible, so our interests are not dissimilar. But since you’re unable to make up your mind, I’ll have to take the initiative and bring this stagnant relationship to the surface.”

 

She was indeed a very arrogant woman. Rosetin sat staring into space, looking quite determined.

 

Perhaps he should be grateful for her honesty, since she doesn’t have the blatant pretense of most nobles.

 

“Are you not even embarrassed to say such things yourself?”

 

“You’ve been disdainfully ignoring me as if I didn’t exist that I forgot such things. Now that I’ve come out like this, don’t you think I’ll be able to speak to your Majesty easier?”

 

Rosetin’s resentful gaze fell on him from thin air. For a moment, Ian felt an uncomfortable stare.

 

The fierce but somehow wounded look in her eyes, the deliberate provoking words, the uneasy tremor in her voice…… Ian had a feeling that Rosetin was a lot like the old Lethenia.

 

Why did he feel that way when they have no resemblance anywhere.

 

“This is what we all agreed to do. It is your lifelong wish to destroy Bledel, so why are you hesitating?”

 

“You’re really not listening to me.”

 

“And now you feel sorry for the Empress?”

 

Ian’s eyes glowed eerily as the word Empress left Rosetin’s mouth.

 

“What makes you think you have the right to utter such words?”

 

“It is your Majesty who has made me this way. If you continue to treat me as if I don’t exist, I’ll have to do something, because it’s very easy to overthrow an empress without your help.”

 

“What?”

 

“I suppose it wouldn’t be bad to hurt myself, or drink some poison. People would assume the Empress did something to me. That’s how things have always been in the imperial palace, right?”

 

Ian was at a loss for words as the words shot like an arrow. It was ridiculous the way he treated him as if she’d known him for years.

 

But the heinous threat had stirred up a small unease in Ian.

 

Is Rosetin really going to make things up and frame Lethenia in such a ridiculous way? There was no need to provoke Count Bedos unnecessarily.

 

Lately, the Count had been crossing the line with his behavior toward the Empress.

 

It wasn’t just a matter of pressuring Duke Bledel; he was venting personal animosity. At the front, he was acting like a loyal servant, but behind closed doors, he was trying to sabotage the Empress.

 

The count seemed to be very displeased with his condition and not to touch Lethenia.

 

He estimated the right time to take down Bedos. Right now, however, there was no good to be gained by disagreeing with the Count.

 

That day, Ian did not send her back to the empress’ palace. Instead, he left her alone in an empty room.