Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

 

 

I went to Linus’s favorite tavern.

 

As soon as I walked through the door, I saw him sitting in the corner.

 

Perhaps due to his massive size and rugged appearance, he exuded an immense sense of intimidation by simply sitting in the corner.

 

The moment our eyes met, he waved his hand, gesturing for me to come over.

 

As I approached him, I couldn’t help but feel a strange tension in the air.

 

For some reason, he looked like one of the giants that occasionally appear in fantasy worlds.

 

He grinned, showing his teeth as he spoke.

 

“You came earlier than expected, huh?”

 

My eyes narrowed at his naturally virtuous tone. My mind flashed back to the last time we made a contract.

 

Now, I couldn’t back out of the contract, but the bitterness remained.

 

He must have sensed my discomfort, because he replied somewhat condescendingly.

 

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re fortunate that you’re dealing with a man with a conscience like me.”

 

“Conscience?”

 

“I said ‘fortunate’.”

 

“How shameless of you.”

 

I clenched my teeth and growled, but he maintained his nonchalant expression.

 

As expected, he didn’t show any signs of remorse, which made me feel even more annoyed.

 

“I received a lot of down payment, so I can’t slow down. I’ve been hounding the troupe day and night for you, which is why I was able to call you quickly, otherwise it would have taken me at least a couple more months.”

 

He was a smooth talker.

 

“So you want me to thank you now?”

 

“No, I’m just saying that since I was able to get it so quickly, let’s consider it a win-win situation. Wasn’t it something you needed urgently?”

 

As if he wasn’t going to take any more of my complaints, he hurriedly pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small glass vial the length of a finger.

 

It was filled with thick black liquid.

 

‘This is the love potion I’ve only heard about…….’

 

I looked at it with curiosity, forgetting the resentment I had felt earlier. My heart was pounding.

 

If I had this, I could finally escape this tiresome villain’s penalty. As if knowing my thoughts, Linus raised his chin with a confident look in his eyes. I asked him.

 

“Does it work right away?”

 

“Of course. You’ll know how strong it is as soon as you drink it.”

 

“The amount seems a bit small…….”

 

“You really don’t know anything, do you? You’d have to capture ten unicorns to get that much.”

 

I wondered if he was trying to pull a trick on me again, but in the end, I accomplished my goal of getting my hands on the love potion.

 

I paid Linus the balance and slipped quietly out of the tavern.

 

As I rode back to the palace in my carriage, my inexplicable trepidation grew stronger and stronger.

 

××××××××××××××××××××××

 

Sitting alone on the couch in my bedroom, I stared at the black liquid that is said to be a love potion. I took a deep breath and uncorked the bottle.

 

I put the tip of my nose on it, but I couldn’t smell anything. At least there was no nauseating smell, which was a relief.

 

It’s made out of the horns of a unicorn. It was an unknown substance that I had never heard of.

 

I hesitated to put it in my mouth. I couldn’t imagine what it would taste like.

 

The pitch-black color didn’t appeal to me in the slightest.

 

However, it was a necessary potion to calm Lethenia’s unstable emotional state, which is getting worse day by day.

 

After a long hesitation, I brought the bottle to my lips.

 

As the bottle touched my lips, Stella’s words suddenly came to mind.

 

<I feel like not being able to feel love is a curse somehow, and if you’re really unlucky, you might never be able to love someone again for the rest of your life.>

 

I wonder if the same thing will happen to me, a curse of never being able to love someone for the rest of my life. I know it’s unlikely, but you never know.

 

If I were the old Kim Se-jin, I would drink it without a second thought.

 

There were times when I thought that love was something that would not be useful in my life.

 

But at this moment, there is one person who makes me hesitate.

 

If I drink this, I wonder if I can clear my mind about Theo once and for all.

 

I don’t know if it’s unfortunate or fortunate, but either way, Theo doesn’t love me. That’s an indisputable fact.

 

So it’s probably for the best. I just need the effect to last until I leave Asha.

 

And when I go somewhere where I don’t know anyone and live a normal life, the uncomfortable feelings of love, whether it’s Lethenia’s or Kim Se-jin’s, will naturally disappear.

 

‘I’ll just go back to being the person I was before, when I didn’t know what love felt like.’

 

I finished my last thought and downed the potion in one gulp.

 

As there was no scent, there was no taste.

 

There was nothing different about drinking this unclear liquid other than the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing its ingredients.

 

The effects were supposed to be immediate, but I didn’t feel any different.

 

‘I don’t know…….’

 

Ian is probably still locked up in his office at the Imperial Palace today.

 

I probably won’t get a chance to see him until the day before Audience day.

 

I couldn’t wait to see how effective the magic potion I bought for a lot of money was.

 

I left the Empress’ palace with determination.

 

As I walked to the Imperial Palace, I had to think of a suitable excuse.

 

I had heard that he was busy enough these days to turn away Rosetin, who came to visit him every day, at the door.

 

If I asked to see him without a good reason, he would definitely not grant me an audience.

 

Perhaps I should bring up something related to the Audience day, as the event was drawing near.

 

Or should I ask him a little bit about Erita and Theo’s marriage?

 

In my mind, I pondered various excuses to meet Ian as I continued walking.

 

××××××××××××××××××××××

 

Lost in thought, I had reached the entrance to the Imperial Palace’s office without realizing it.

 

An attendant waiting at the door informed Ian of my arrival.

 

I could have just slipped in and out, but I had to wait at the entrance until he gave me permission. After a few moments, the door swung open.

 

“Please come in.”

 

The servant opened the way for me to enter. Contrary to my expectations, I wasn’t turned away at the doorstep.

 

I entered the room with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

 

The fact that I could confirm the effects of the elixir of love immediately made my heart race even faster.

 

Ian was sitting at his desk like a statue. He leaned against the backrest, gazing at me silently.

 

I met his blue eyes squarely.

 

I breathed slowly, concentrating on the feelings of Lethenia lurking in my chest. But why……

 

‘Nothing has changed…….’

 

The hard feelings I thought were gone were back in full force, screaming at me as usual.

 

I stood frozen in place for a moment, overwhelmed with confusion.

 

As if noticing that I was a little out of sorts, he curled an eyebrow and opened his mouth.

 

“Lethenia?”

 

I could barely hear the sound of his voice as he said my name.

 

‘I thought he said it would work as soon as I drank it…….’

 

When I still didn’t answer, he stood up and slowly approached me.

 

As the distance closed, uncomfortable feelings raged. I knew for sure. The love potion didn’t work at all.

 

I wondered if I had a peculiar constitution that made the potion take longer to work, or if I had really been scammed by this man.

 

I bit my lip in a fit of uncontrollable frustration. He called out to me, his voice a little louder.

 

“Lethenia.”

 

I finally came to my senses. I knew I must look very strange now, but I had to say something.

 

“Oh, that’s what I’….”

 

“…….”

 

“I’m here because……. I needed to see your face, no, that’s not why…….”

 

The words stumbled out of my mouth. When I looked like I was babbling incoherently, he leaned in a little closer and put his hand on my forehead.

 

“Are you sick?”

 

He said in an unusually soft voice.

 

As soon as his hand touched my forehead, my chest felt like it was on fire.

 

Whether it was because I hadn’t seen him for a while and my immunity had dropped or because Lethenia’s emotions had become more potent, I couldn’t tell. But today, controlling myself felt particularly difficult.

 

A red warning light went off in my head.

 

Reflexively, I brushed his hand away roughly, and an unbearably awkward silence ensued.

 

“I’m just worried. You were sick for a while last time, too.”

 

He said, as if he thought I was offended.

 

His actions were perplexing, but at this point, I just needed a reasonable excuse to leave this situation.

 

I had checked the effectiveness of the potion, so I no longer had any reason to stay with him.

 

As I looked away, my eyes caught sight of the stack of papers on his desk.

 

“Looks like you’re busy. I’ll just go.”

 

As I turned to leave, he called me back.

 

“I’m not that busy.”

 

“…….”

 

“If you have something to say, you can say it now.”

 

His tone was uncharacteristically gentle. I looked up at his face again.

 

He looked very tired, like he hadn’t gotten any rest in days, like he could collapse at any moment.

 

His eyelids moved a little slower and his skin looked rough.

 

There were subtle, but not noticeable, signs of weariness.

 

Even the consciously crafted fake smile was absent.

 

“No, it can wait. It’s not that urgent.”

 

“Then stay a little while.”

 

Words that I never expected to hear from him flowed out of his mouth. It seemed like he genuinely wanted me to stay for a little while longer.

 

He didn’t seem to have anything to say, but the way he held onto me…… was very strange. It was as if I was seeing a different person wearing Ian’s face.

 

For some reason, I felt as if the delicate boundaries around Lethenia’s emotions had been broken for a moment.

 

 

 

 

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊