Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

 

 

 

After a couple of hours, the carriage came to a halt in a forest that, on the surface, was nothing special.

 

True to his word, it was full of sharp-looking thorns, but if you walked a little to the right of where they had arrived, there was an artificially cleared path.

 

At first glance, it was similar to the forest near Brilland Farm, but the dense thorn bushes gave it an eerie atmosphere.

 

“At the end of this path is the place I told you about.”

 

He led the way first. I wondered if there was really a place to go on a “date” in a forest like this, but I didn’t say anything.

 

We walked through the forest in silence, as if we had made a pact. There didn’t seem to be any fruits or herbs that were readily available in the forest, and there was no usable wood for fire either.

 

There were only ugly thorns and weeds everywhere, so even if there was a path, it seemed unlikely that anyone would use it. Then it happened. Theo, who was walking a little ahead of me, glanced back.

 

“If we go a little further…….”

 

“Ah…”

 

He was about to say something when a small stone beak snagged my foot and sent me sprawling for a moment. I’d been so busy looking around that I hadn’t paid attention to what was on the ground.

 

His hands quickly wrapped around my waist and back. Instinctively, I relied on him to prevent myself from falling.

 

My flailing hands gripped his shoulders tightly. For a moment, I was surprised to feel his strong arms wrapped around me, and for a moment, my heart seemed to sink.

 

His green eyes were disorientingly close to mine. I forgot that I’d nearly fallen just a moment ago at the narrowed gap and unintentional contact.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

He asked with surprised eyes. I felt embarrassed because I had gotten lost in unwarranted fantasies when all he had done was prevent someone from falling.

 

I nodded silently, avoiding his eyes. He held out his arm as he tried to move again.

 

I shoot him a questioning look, and he grabs my hand and places it on his arm. His muscles were hard as stone against my palm.

 

“For now, hold onto me as we walk. I’ve roughly cleared away the things on the path, but I missed some. I’ll make sure to clean them up more thoroughly soon. If you happen to get hurt while I’m not around, it would be a big problem.”

 

He looked apologetic, as if it was his fault I almost fell. Though there were small stones, the path was clean as if someone had swept it.

 

For the first time in my life, I felt like I was being overprotected by someone. After another ten minutes of walking, we reached our destination.

 

At that moment, the view was completely different from the outside. I stood there in awe, mesmerized by the beauty of what could only be described as heaven.

 

“Wow…”

 

Trees filled with mysterious purple flowers lined as far as the eye could see. The whole world seemed to be colored purple.

 

The flowering trees extended endlessly, touching the sky, and the sunset dyed the sky red, creating a sense of wonder. Flower petals gently fell from the trees, swirling in every direction with the gentle breeze.

 

The scent of flowers carried by the wind tickled my nostrils. The scent, even sweeter than Favia’s, made my heart skip a beat. For a moment, I was dazed with ecstasy.

 

At this moment, it felt as though I had entered the paradise I had been dreaming of. Theo cautiously asked, seemingly gauging my reaction.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“It’s so beautiful.”

 

I muttered to myself, unable to take my eyes off the spectacle of the nameless flowering tree. I felt like I was in a watercolor painting filled with picturesque beauty.

 

He spoke in a sweet voice like a flower.

 

“It’s a flower called a bonneflower. Originally, I wasn’t interested in flowers, but somehow I remembered it because it looked like your Majesty’s eyes.”

 

Heat rose to my cheeks at his words.

 

“I stumbled upon it as soon as I returned from Schubert, looking for something to show you. I hope it brings you a little comfort in your stuffy imperial life.”

 

A flower that resembles my eyes, a Bonneflower. A gentle smile bloomed around my mouth.

 

I could see a small lake in the distance. I was about to take a slow step forward when he grabbed my wrist.

 

When I turned around, he was looking down. His gaze landed on the hem of my dress.

 

A few leaves with dirt stuck to them. He slowly lowered his upper body.

 

“Hey, that’s okay…….”

 

With a delicate touch, he removed the mess and lightly brushed off the hem of my dress. Then he pulled himself back up, glanced at me, and said in a tone of satisfaction.

 

“I knew you’d like it.”

 

Side by side with him, we walked down the path, with Bonneflower on either side. I could feel the soft petals brushing my skin from time to time.

 

Soon we reached the lake. The water was clear enough to see through it.

 

The light reflected off of it, making it look like it was glittering with gold dust. My heart fluttered in my chest at the dreamy atmosphere reminiscent of a realm where fairies might live.

 

Everything in sight was perfect. I muttered to myself as if mesmerized.

 

“Looking at this, I guess happiness isn’t so far away.”

 

At those words, Theo turned and looked me squarely in the eye. The most beautiful jewelry in the world wouldn’t shine as brightly as his eyes.

 

My heart melted like chocolate.

 

“From what I’ve heard, the flower language of Bonneflower is ‘dazzling happiness,’ which is fitting for the current Empress.”

 

“Dazzling happiness…… sounds good.”

 

“Now, why don’t you try to like Bonneflower rather than Favia?”

 

As he looked at me and smiled, it felt like I was seeing a painting come to life. My face felt so warm that I was sure I must be blushing.

 

Suddenly, it occurred to me. I wondered if everything in front of me was an illusion created by Bonneflower petals. 

 

“When I’m with you, I feel like I’m always smiling.”

 

“I’m glad to hear that, because I hadn’t often seen your Majesty smile before, so I didn’t realize how dazzling your smile was.”

 

He looked into my eyes, his voice seeming to echo instead of fading away.

 

I couldn’t escape his gaze, as if drawn by some strange force. As if under the influence of a brilliant spell, words flowed out of my mouth without me realizing it.

 

“Now I finally understand.”

 

“…….”

 

“The reason this place is beautiful…… is because I’m with you.”

 

Since when? My mind flashed back to many moments with him.

 

Even before I met him, I had a strange sense of anticipation about Theo Claflin, a man I knew only from books. He seemed so wonderful on paper that I had the vain hope of meeting him someday.

 

In reality, he was even nicer than I had imagined. A perfect person who genuinely cares about me and wants me to be happy.

 

I was overwhelmed by his warmth and goodwill, even if it was for Lethenia and not me.

 

From some point on, his friendly words and actions kept making me feel strange.

 

When he held my hand firmly in the lonely banquet hall, when we rode horses together crossing between life and death, or when he gave me a cute gift he had made for me. My hard heart gradually became as soft as a warm marshmallow.

 

I thought it would never be possible to hold someone in my heart again. Placing my hand over my chest, I felt my heartbeat vividly. Although this is just a strange novel, maybe I’m forever trapped in the fantasy that came to my mind at the moment of death, but what I’m feeling now is the stark truth.

 

Once again, I kept his image in my mind, harmonizing with the beautiful Bonneflower forest like a picture. It was beautiful.

 

Funny, I thought it was fortunate that I came into Lethenia’s body at this moment. It was a strange feeling, one that made me forget that Lethenia was a villain hated by the entire world, and that I was in a precarious position where I might die a horrible death if I didn’t escape.

 

A lot of things I wanted to say to him were tangled up and made my head dizzy. But how would he react if I actually said them?

 

I wish this were a dream, so I could say what was on my mind without fear.

 

Tiny bonneflower petals fell into his chocolate-colored hair. I reached out to him slowly.. He took my hand.

 

My hand stopped in midair, unable to go any further. A subtle tremor ran through my skin, a warmth that made my heart skip a beat.

 

His green eyes, as green as the meadow, alternated between my eyes and lips. In an instant, my complex mind became empty as if a large ball of thread was tangled by the subtle air that can only be felt between men and women.

 

I wanted everything to just stop like this, except for one ridiculous thought. Seizing the moment when the scent of Bonneflower had intoxicated my senses, I wanted to tell him.

 

“Actually, I….”

 

“…….”

 

“So the truth is, I…….”

 

Just as I was about to spit out the words that were spinning around on my tongue, he carefully let go of my hand.

 

In that moment, a deep agony passed through his eyes. My heart instantly froze in my chest.

 

I couldn’t say anything more; the only emotion I could see on his face was ‘sorry’. My breath was caught for a moment.

 

He deliberately avoided my gaze. My heart felt like it was breaking into pieces.

 

I realized that I had said something unnecessary and made him uncomfortable. A wave of indescribable sadness overwhelmed me.

 

After a while, he finally spoke up.

 

“I guess it’s time to go back to …….”

 

At his words, my hand, left alone in the air, fell weakly. It was a gentle refusal.

 

Maybe it’s because he feels sorry for me. There was a deep darkness in his eyes.

 

His heavy voice was painful to hear. The breathtakingly beautiful fantasy of Bonneflower did not last long.

 

I could no longer smell the sweet scent of Bonneflower which made me excited.