Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

MMWK Chapter 78. The Spirit’s Nam

 

When he was gravely wounded due Apomenon’s incident in Delua, Erita came to his aid.

 

In return, he’d offered to grant her a favor, but she’d only said she’d answer at a later time.

 

Theo frowned in disbelief.

 

“You mean that favor is marrying me?”

 

“Next year, I’ll be coming of age, and I’ll have to find someone to marry soon. I’ve been waiting until now, believing in that promise.”

 

Erita replied, sounding very resentful.

 

“I’m very grateful to you for helping me, but you can’t just decide my life like that.”

 

“If you died at that time anyway, your life would have ended, so I think I should be rewarded that much.”

 

“Please speak the truth. It was never to the point of death.”

 

“Is it because of…… the empress?”

 

Erita said, her voice deeply laced with resentment.

 

Theo’s eyes grew cold. What the hell was she talking about?

 

Seeing Theo’s face turn so cold at the word Empress, Erita became even more grumpy.

 

“I’ve heard the ridiculous rumor that you’ve become the Empress of Asha’s paramour.”

 

“So that’s why you rushed over to Asha.”

 

“How could I stay in the palace after hearing that?”

 

“Who on earth did you hear that from?”

 

She gave no reply, only a slight frown.

 

Theo realized that this, too, was something that Prince Tolle had said to provoke Erita.

 

Somehow, this wasn’t going to end well for Erita either.

 

After making his judgment, Theo turned to Erita and nudged her.

 

“I meant it when I said that I would host you warmly if you were to come to Asha one day. If it weren’t for your help back then, I would have been in a very difficult situation, and I’m still grateful for it.”

 

“…….”

 

“Anyway, since you’re here in Asha, I’ll fulfill my role as your guide, but please return to Delua in a few days. I’m saying this for the sake of the princess.”

 

××××××××××××××××××××××

 

Late at night, I took out my magic notebook. I hadn’t taken it out in a while, thinking that looking at it would make me think of Theo even more.

 

I didn’t mean to leave the notebook in the drawer forever, but I just couldn’t look for it because my mind was still full of complicated thoughts.

 

But today was an exception. It was one of those days when I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t vent to the spirit.

 

I opened my notebook and wrote down the summons order.

 

The spirit’s response came faster than I had expected.

 

[It’s been a while, Master.]

 

[We haven’t spoken for a while, have we?]

 

[I thought you would never seek me out again.]

 

The spirit said something meaningful, as if it already knew what I was thinking.

 

I remembered hearing the call of the spirit a few times when I was suffering from illness, but I couldn’t bring myself to open the notebook due to the intense discomfort.

 

I somehow felt sorry for thinking I’d never look for it again.

 

[I’m sorry. Have you been waiting for me all this time?]

 

[Yes, I’ve been waiting, but don’t be sorry, you came to me again after all.]

 

[How have you been?]

 

[I’ve been doing all sorts of things for my dear master Lethenia.]

 

[For me?]

 

[Of course, I live for my master’s]

 

The Spirit said something mysterious. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of anything the Spirit could do for me.

 

[What kind of things?]

 

[I can’t tell you in detail.]

 

[Come to think of it, you know a lot about me, but I don’t know anything about you.]

 

[I’m sorry. Please think of it as an iron rule that spirits must follow.]

 

Is he under a curse where he’d disappear from the world the moment he reveals his privacy?

 

It was a little strange, but I decided not to pry anymore for the safety of the Spirit. The spirit asked.

 

[Is there anything on your mind today that you can’t talk about?]

 

[…Yes…]

 

[Hmm, it’s about Theo.]

 

The spirit was quick to point out Theo’s name.

 

At times like this, it was satisfying to know that the spirit could see through my daily life.

 

It’s like having a friend who understands you without having to explain.

 

[Him and Erita seem closer than I thought.]

 

[Not really.]

 

[He promised a future with her.]

 

[Do you really believe that nonsense?]

 

[It didn’t seem like she was making things up…]

 

[Nothing. like. that. ever. happened].

 

A spontaneous sigh of relief escaped me as I looked at the spirit’s handwriting, which had a certain determination to it, as if someone was forcing each letter down.

 

[I’m glad, then.]

 

[The relationship between Theo and the Empress must be bothering you.]

 

[Honestly, it does bother…… me, because Theo is a friend I care about, and the princess doesn’t seem like such a nice person].

 

[Hmm, I don’t think that’s the only reason].

 

The spirit’s words struck a chord.

 

But I decided not to deny it. I took out the notebook because I wanted to relieve my frustration.

 

[Yeah, it’s just that it’s killing me to think that he might marry another woman.]

 

[Oh my, saying it so directly, I don’t know how to react.]

 

I don’t know why, but the spirit seemed to be embarrassed by my bluntness, as if he were Theo.

 

Then, suddenly, I felt frustrated that I was telling this story to the spirit.

 

[Theo has no idea that I’ve been up all night talking about this with you, right?]

 

[……He doesn’t].

 

[It’s kind of funny that I’m suffering alone when he’s not even aware of it. As expected, unrequited love is hard.]

 

[I can’t believe how much you, an infinitely noble man, cares about Theo Claflin.]

 

[I guess my feelings have grown this much without me realizing it. Even though I was completely rejected.]

 

[What a wretched bastard.]

 

For some reason, the spirit is not on Theo’s side today.

 

[You’re not siding with Theo today?]

 

[Although Theo is a very fine young man, he is sorely lacking in Master Lethenia].

 

[Do you really think so?]

 

[I’m telling you, so don’t worry too much about him.]

 

Even the spirits think I’m giving Theo too much of my heart.

 

In an instant, my mind was filled with thoughts about him.

 

The conversation with the spirit always reminded me of Theo.

 

As I recalled good memories of him, a warm, soft fog settled over my heart.

 

I remembered something Theo had once said to me in all sincerity.

 

<Forget everything and start anew. Maybe if we do that… someday, it’ll be okay, don’t you think?>

 

I wanted to pretend I’d forgotten all about it…… but now it seemed like that would never be possible.

 

[Theo told me to leave this place and forget everything and start fresh, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget him].

 

[Is that so?]

 

[I just have this…… feeling].

 

I felt a pang of sadness as I realized that I would never see Theo again after I left.

 

A moment later, the spirit’s cursive writing appeared.

 

[Actually, I’m doing it too, unrequited love].

 

As if trying to soothe my sinking spirits, the spirit spoke up.

 

[Huh? Who?]

 

Spirit’s unrequited love……. I could only think of one person, and even though he tried to deny it at the time, I realized that he had special feelings for Theo.

 

As I thought about it, I suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the spirit, but a moment later, the words that appeared in the blank space of my notebook unexpectedly were not Theo’s name.

 

[You.]

 

I chuckled at the cute confession from the spirit.

 

[Well, it’s nice to hear an empty word.]

 

[I mean it]

 

I replied, shrugging off the spirit’s comment.

 

[Wow, I must be the only person in the world to get a confession of love from a nameless, faceless spirit. Somehow I feel like I’ve become a very special person.]

 

[I have a name too]

 

For a moment, my grip on the pen loosened slightly. It has a name……?

 

I had never thought about it before, but considering how long I had known and interacted with the spirit in this world, it made sense that the spirit would have a name.

 

I can’t believe I’ve known him for so long but I didn’t even know his name yet.

 

[Oh. Why didn’t you tell me before?]

 

[Because it’s a secret I’m not supposed to tell anyone].

 

[Oh, is it one of those spirit rules?]

 

[But I’ll tell my beloved Master Lethenia especially.]

 

[Really?]

 

I was moved by the fact that he would let me know in particular.

 

I stared curiously at the notebook, waiting for the spirit’s response.

 

[My name is…….]

 

After a moment’s hesitation, the spirit stopped writing.

 

After a few moments, the rest of the writing appeared, forming a complete sentence.

 

[My name is Alexis.]

 

××××××××××××××××××××××

 

The audience day was approaching rapidly.

 

The Locale newspaper ran a feature story on the imperial celebration.

 

It wasn’t just a positive publicity piece for the day.

 

It criticizes the wrong practices of the past and what should be done differently in the future.

 

It also talked about how the current Emperor’s audience day would be different from the previous ones, creating great anticipation.

 

The locale newspaper was now acting as the voice of public opinion.

 

If the event went well, Ian was even thinking of expanding it in the future.

 

“I’m worried that the Emperor might fall again at this rate.”

 

Stella said in a worried tone as she brushed my hair.

 

Perhaps because of the will to wash away the stigma of audience day caused by the imperial family Ian spent most of his time in his office.

 

Thanks to this, everyone acknowledged the emperor’s will to regain the true meaning of Audience Day.

 

As the Emperor’s workload intensified, the officials also suffered. Not long ago, there was news that one of the members of the Emperor’s faction, who was getting on in years, couldn’t rise from their seat due to illness.

 

Still, Ian showed no mercy.

 

He allocated the tasks of the fallen officials to those who were still able. Everyone, whether they’re a member of the Emperor’s faction or a member of the Duke’s faction, spoke with one voice, begging him to stop.

 

Furthermore, with the princess from a hostile nation present within the country, there was no shortage of issues demanding attention, both domestically and internationally.

 

I’ve heard that even Rosetin, who came to the Imperial Palace tired of waiting, was repeatedly turned away.

 

Even the courtiers who were not part of the Emperor’s palace were worried that the Emperor might collapse from overwork again.

 

All it took was for Duke Bledel to step away from the front lines for a while, and a lot had changed in Asha.

 

While he had been a poor husband to Lethenia, Ianhart could still be a good emperor if supported by a strong imperial authority, benefiting the people.

 

Knock knock

 

Just as I was about to leave my bedroom to go to my office, I heard an unfamiliar knock on the door.

 

It was a sound coming from the drawer.

 

This time, it wasn’t the magic notebook. It was a black leopard plaster statue that I put in a drawer and forgot about for a while.

 

It was Linus William’s call.

 

‘Love Potion…….’ 

 

I opened the drawer and the little black panther pulsed eagerly, radiating his presence.

 

Objects imbued with magic typically call like this.

 

With trepidation, I took it in my hand.

 

‘I’m finally getting the love potion.’ 

 

I had to get to where Linus was now.

 

 

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊