Chapter 3
‘Huh?’
It was a sound of laughter that even Charlotte, who had been with him since childhood, had never heard much of before.
What could be so funny that made him laugh? Adrian also felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of happiness and smiled faintly as he turned his gaze toward the window.
Charlotte was watching Noctem, who was flustered and trying several times to carefully tuck the ribbon into her arms.
But what he saw was not the peaceful scene that Charlotte had been observing.
Despite struggling with the ribbon, Noctem had, at some point, started staring intently at Adrian.
His violet eyes sparkled.
“…!”
In an instant, Adrian felt as though time had stopped. His body grew cold, as if trapped in ice.
No, it wasn’t just a ‘feeling’—there was something more to it. A cold mist surrounded him from the tips of his toes.
Unconsciously, he flinched, and as he pulled his hand away, ice crystals fell to the ground with a soft thud.
‘He used Ice Fog at this distance…’
It was a magic spell with limited range. But for Adrian to single-handedly send it toward him was unexpected.
‘Ha.’
It was truly an impressive level of magical skill. Adrian forced a smile as he faced the man still staring at him.
A chill ran up his spine, and goosebumps prickled on the back of his neck, but he didn’t want to lose to the Duke.
‘Did he put an illusion spell on Charlotte?’
Glancing briefly at Charlotte, who was still smiling faintly, he figured his assumption was correct.
‘Haha. The Duke is repaying kindness with malice.’
All Adrian could do was laugh. At the same time, a mixture of mischievousness and resentment flashed through his mind.
He pretended not to notice Noctem following the carriage discreetly and called out to Charlotte in a low voice.
“Charlotte.”
“…?”
It wasn’t the usual playful laugh. It was the sweet smile he reserved for his beloved.
Charlotte frowned at his sudden behavior, raising an eyebrow.
Meanwhile, the carriage began to slow down. It seemed they had arrived at the Duke’s residence.
Adrian, confirming Noctem’s presence just behind him, deliberately escorted Charlotte more carefully as he stepped down from the carriage.
“Charlotte, don’t you get tired of living with the Duke? He doesn’t even know the sacrifices you make.”
“What?”
What is he talking about?
Charlotte let out a faint laugh at his unexpected words.
Despite her astonished reaction, Adrian remained shameless.
Soon, his hand reached her cheek, where she had been wounded.
“Adrian—”
“I’ll be better than the Duke, no matter what. I’ll be waiting for your answer, my most beloved Charlotte.”
“No…”
The whole situation was so sudden. Charlotte, trying to keep her expression neutral, opened her mouth to refuse.
But before she could say anything, Adrian’s body floated in the air and was thrown into the carriage.
Bang—!
Although no wind blew, the carriage door slammed shut forcefully.
“Ugh?!”
Without the coachman’s order, the horses began to pull the carriage forward.
After a brief moment of confusion, Charlotte raised her hand and waved away the dust cloud, letting out a soft cough. Through the dust, a tall figure appeared.
“Madam, welcome back.”
His gentle voice reached her ears, a tone that could instantly melt a person’s heart.
Charlotte nodded slightly while still coughing. Normally, she would have ignored him, but in her flustered state, she instinctively reacted.
“If you keep coughing like that, your throat will get sore.”
Noctem, pleased that she had responded to him, mustered up the courage to step closer and hesitantly placed his hand on her neck.
It wasn’t perfect healing like a miracle, but it could alleviate some of her symptoms.
But perhaps even this small gesture felt too much for him.
Charlotte coldly brushed his hand away.
“…Please don’t.”
“I’m sorry, Madam.”
Noctem took a step back, hiding his bitter expression, trying not to make her fearful.
Charlotte, who had been watching Noctem with trembling eyes, bit her inner lip.
‘That was close. I almost got caught.’
He was the continent’s greatest magician. So, he would certainly be able to keenly sense the remnants of magical power that had already dissipated.
She nervously studied his face, but fortunately, he seemed distracted by her cold words and didn’t notice the wound.
‘Now, I have to press on.’
However, she couldn’t let her guard down. To make him doubt nothing, she had to shake his mind.
Charlotte knew exactly what kind of words would send him into a panic.
“What are you doing? Please refrain from such behavior. It’s really unpleasant.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. Even if we are married, isn’t it inappropriate for you to touch me like that?”
“…”
“Well, it’s actually funny to even call us ‘married’. I’m sure others would keep more distance than this.”
She let out a mocking laugh on purpose. That ruthlessness stung Noctem deeply.
“Really, I’m so tired of this bickering.”
Charlotte, having struck the final blow, coldly turned her head. She briefly saw his face, crumbling in pain, but ignored it.
‘My heart…’
No, she had to ignore it. Even though her own heart felt like it was being torn apart as she spoke those words, and even though she felt an urge to reach out and stop his collapse.
‘After all this, he won’t cling to me anymore.’
She needed to engrave that thought deeply in her heart and move away.
As she walked down the mansion’s corridor, Charlotte looked down at Noctem from the window. He stood there, his head bowed in resignation, completely still.
She watched him for a while, reassuring herself.
‘Now I don’t have to be swayed by the hope Noctem gives me.’
It was truly a relief, perhaps the best thing that could happen.
“Noctem? What is this…?”
…Had her complacent thoughts been the problem?
Charlotte was left in shock when she saw Noctem walking into her bedroom that night.
“What is this supposed to mean?”
The cautious behavior he usually displayed was completely gone.
He walked into her room with the confidence of someone entering their own. Charlotte hesitated and took a step back.
Despite her question, Noctem didn’t answer. He simply continued to approach her.
A cold chill ran through her body, only wearing a thin chemise. Before she knew it, there was nowhere left to retreat—she was backed against the wall.
“Get out quickly. No matter what, this is…!”
“Charlotte Afros.”
The words she had been desperately trying to form turned to dust at the sound of her name. Even though he simply called her as he usually did, she couldn’t move.
For some reason, her throat went dry. Charlotte stared into Noctem’s eyes, trembling.
He was unexpectedly calm. He wasn’t smiling at her like usual.
Charlotte felt a strange misalignment in his response. When she glanced at his face, she suddenly became overwhelmed by a pungent scent that made her stomach churn.
“You’re drunk.”
She hadn’t noticed until now, but the air around her was thick with the smell of alcohol.
Why had someone who so vehemently despised alcohol come to see her in such a state?
Charlotte sighed, feeling a headache coming on.
In that moment, Noctem, who had been observing her expression, contorted his face in pain.
Swiftly, the distance between them closed. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.
His movements were too fast to be those of a magician who spent all his time buried in research.
“Noctem!”
Before she realized it, Charlotte found herself in his arms, and she twisted her body to try to escape.
But he was different from other weak, stumbling magicians.
His body was as firm as a knight’s, and she couldn’t break free.
As she let out a sigh in his embrace, Noctem, despite being drunk, apologized to her earnestly.
“I’m sorry. I must have made you suffer again.”
“If you know, let me go.”
“No. I can’t. I won’t let you go. Never. Not to that damned Marquis…”
How drunk was he?
Muttering words that didn’t make sense, the man rubbing his face against her shoulder wasn’t the one she knew.
But even so, Charlotte couldn’t let herself feel relieved, wondering if he would even remember any of this tomorrow.
“What should I do to earn your love? Charlotte, please answer me.”
“…That won’t happen.”
“Why?”
He raised his head and looked at her, his face now covered in tears. Charlotte knew what she had to do.
She had spent two years of their marriage trying not to fall in love with him.
She had tried to avoid ending up clinging to him like the villainess in a novel.
But now, how bitter would it be if she gave her heart to him?
The expiration date for his futile confessions of love was less than a year away. He would bring her to the cold guillotine and kill her, then claim he had achieved “true love.”
As she imagined him with another woman, her mind grew cold.
At the same time, her words from before—sharp and cutting—poured out of her mouth.
It was an uncontrollable outburst from Charlotte.
“Did I have to say it directly? I hate you.”
It was the first time she had expressed her feelings so bluntly. Noctem’s tears flowed again.
His long hair clung to his cheeks, matted with his tears.
“Why? Why do you hate me?”
His voice trembled endlessly. His pitiful appearance was heartbreaking, but Charlotte did her best not to waver.
“I hate your long hair, your face that’s more beautiful than a woman’s, your choice to study magic instead of swordsmanship, your constant presence at home because of it, and your overly gentle personality. I hate everything about you.”
“If I changed all of that… Charlotte, could I ever be loved by you?”
There was a fleeting glimmer of hope in his eyes. But she quickly snuffed out that tiny hope.
“No.”
“…”
“Even if I fill it with the things I like.”
Charlotte looked directly into his tear-filled, violet eyes and spoke clearly, almost as if urging him to give up.
“That’s because it’s you, Noctem. I’ll hate everything about you.”
So don’t expect love from me anymore.
She felt the strength in his arms weaken, and she pushed him away.
The man, who had seemed as if nothing could make him budge, now fell away from her like a thin sheet of paper.
“Get out. I hate everything about being near you, and I hate the fact that we’re alone in this room.”
Charlotte remained cold until the end. He watched her turn her back on him for a long while before he trudged to the door and grabbed the doorknob.
The door clicked open, but he stayed in place for a moment, unmoving.
When Charlotte turned her head in confusion, she collided with his violet eyes once again.
She wanted to turn away, but she couldn’t. Noctem’s eyes were filled with pain and some kind of disturbing emotion.
“I am not a merciful person. So…”
“…”
“I won’t divorce you. Not ever.”
At that declaration, Charlotte smiled bitterly.
“Do as you wish.”
No matter what you say to me, we’ll end up divorcing as fate intended, after all.
