The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

John leisurely stroked her head.

 

“There is no need to be afraid.”

 

It seemed that John thought she was frightened by the sudden attack. She must have been shaking without realizing it, but his touch made her feel relieved.

 

“Wife, because your husband is the one who will win in any situation.”

 

She tightly held the fingertips of John, who was stroking her head. The white fingers turned black for an instant, and it looked like they had been seriously injured.

 

‘I don’t know who attacked…’

 

She lowered her long eyelashes. As she faced the crisis, her mind became calmer.

 

“Can’t we go right back to the mansion?”

 

“Of course.”

 

John nodded his head without a moment of hesitation.

 

“You just have to wait a little while.”

 

His firm attitude gave her confidence. A commotion, a mixture of footsteps and words, along with the sound of cracking from across the room, invaded their space.

 

“You’re probably overdoing it because of me, right?”

 

“I’m not overdoing it. So don’t worry.”

 

The eyes were cold, as if looking at the enemy beyond. The sight was cruel, as if everything would be destroyed at any moment. The enemies entered inside with a loud roar that shattered the surrounding area. Suddenly, daggers fell like rain. But the daggers bounced in the air and did not even graze her clothes.

 

“I don’t think it would look good in the pretty lady’s eyes, so please wait a moment.”

 

John’s elegant hands covered her eyes. The last thing she saw was John smiling sweetly as usual.

 

“I’ll sort it out as quickly as possible.”

 

She could hear the sound of something breaking, collapsing, and being destroyed. The endless moans and screams of people, the gaze of enemies that could be felt stinging even without being seen. Rather, her fear doubled because she couldn’t see it. As her body trembled a little without realizing it, John held her tightly in his arms and patted her shoulder.

 

“Shh. It’s all over now.”

 

“Really? I had a hard time waiting.”

 

But John did not remove his hand covering her eyes yet.

 

‘I think the situation has been resolved.’

 

The sounds coming from around her completely stopped. But the anxiety still did not go away. John naturally hugged her. She leaned against John’s strong chest.

‘Is something wrong with John?’

 

She lightly touched the area around John’s neck. She felt a magical power so strong that it tingled. Just looking at this feeling, it seemed like John was experiencing a side effect of black magic.

 

‘Is it okay to use black magic?’

 

And that too without any problems. When she thought back to the book she read back then, even if John was a great warlock, it would be impossible.

 

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You were very scared because of me, right?”

 

A steady breathing sound was heard from John. She could also feel the ridge of his neck shaking dully.

 

“I wanted to give you a good time as a gift. I ruined everything.”

 

John let out a low laugh. John’s condition appeared to be stable as usual.

 

‘No.’

 

This was him pretending to be fine. Otherwise, there’s still no need to cover her eyes. She opened her mouth cautiously.

 

“I’m fine. The Duke protected us together. On the contrary, the Duke worked hard.”

 

Then, John, who was walking while holding her, softly opened his mouth.

 

“Ma’am, I have many enemies.”

 

“…okay.”

 

“So, if you stay with me in the future, something like this might happen.”

 

John’s voice was low. As she was quietly held in his arms, she became curious about the meaning of those words.

 

‘Why are you warning me?’

 

From John’s point of view, it probably wouldn’t be necessary to say anything. He said he wouldn’t let her go anyway just because she was scared.

 

‘It’s really hard to understand.’

 

If he acted like this, she would mistake it for her own will. She opened her mouth cautiously.

 

“Even so, I will stay by the Duke’s side.”

 

Anyway, the most dangerous person to her was John, not anyone else.

 

“Why?”

 

Because she was always in danger. Whether at Libertan or here. There were only people in the world who hated her.

 

‘But I can’t say that honestly.’

 

She grabbed John’s hand that was covering her eyes and lowered it, making eye contact with him.

 

“Because I am the Duke’s wife. A couple stays together when times are difficult.”

 

‘If we get divorced, we’ll become strangers who have nothing to do with each other, right?’

 

“It’s fine. Because I want to do that.”

 

The light in the red eyes became more intense. She smiled brightly at him.

 

“No matter how dangerous it is, I want to continue to be by the Duke’s side. Because I like the Duke.”

 

* * *

 

John took her to her room, naturally telling the story, ‘I’m thrilled that my wife likes me so much.’

 

‘The dress is back as a one-piece.’

 

But that wasn’t the important thing.

 

‘Is this really okay?’

 

She blinked and observed John closely. John looked fine, as if her worries were unfounded. Rather, his disheveled appearance after a brief fight only increased his dangerous charm. The uniform overcoat, which was decorated with gold, was gone, no matter where it had been thrown. Her gaze went to his hand. John was wearing black gloves again, as if he was used to it.

 

“Ma’am. I’m going to be busy for a while so I think it will be difficult for me to come see my wife.”

 

John bent down and made eye contact with her, smiling and opening his mouth.

 

“I have to deal with those bastards who dared to interrupt my time with my wife.”

 

“Right now?”

 

“Huh. These things need to be dealt with right away so there is no problem.”

 

John’s red eyes were covered with a ghastly murder. But it was really strange. His outward appearance seemed no different from usual, but he seemed to have a problem.

 

“Please wait just a moment again.”

 

“…Are your hands okay?”

 

When she mentioned the side effects, John frowned for a moment and then laughed.

 

“Of course. Who am I?”

 

Just as John was about to move, she unconsciously reached out and urgently grabbed his hand. He asked, the corners of his mouth drooping as if he was troubled.

 

“…ma’am?”

 

Without answering, she carefully removed his gloves. Fortunately, John only flinched for a moment and did not shake off her touch.

 

“Oh my god.”

 

Her eyes widened involuntarily when she saw the hand under his glove.

 

“What’s this?”

 

The hand, where only the fingertips had been stained black, had now turned black along the entire hand. It looked like a severe burn mark. Out of regret, she unconsciously stroked the back of her hand, and the veins on the back of her hand responded by twitching.

 

‘I think it hurts.’

 

However, there was not the slightest disturbance in John’s expression. He smiled softly and hid the back of his hand again.

 

“It only looks like this, but it doesn’t hurt at all.”

 

“Lie.”

 

“I’m not lying. Why would I lie to my wife?”

 

“But I… The Duke doesn’t look all right.”

 

Red eyes were darkly locked. Despite the threatening gaze that somehow made people flinch, she concealed her fear and rolled up his sleeve.

 

“If it’s not a lie, I don’t mind seeing it.”

 

And the side effects of the black magic were seen spreading to his arms. Just by holding her hand still, she could feel the strong reaction of magical power. She slightly unbuttoned the top button of his shirt to get a clear picture.

 

‘As expected, it has spread even here.’

 

John swallowed his saliva and narrowed his eyes playfully.

 

“Ma’am, it’s hard for me to bear it when you come out of bed so aggressively.”

 

“It hurts a lot, right? But are you trying to eliminate the enemy in this condition?”

 

John responded obediently to her harsh gaze.

 

“It’s nothing for my wife to worry about. It’s a waste to worry about something like this. You’re afraid I might move without knowing my condition.”

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

She pulled John’s body and laid him on her bed. John widened his eyes, as if he was a little surprised by her sudden action.

 

“Ma’am?”

 

“Aren’t you trying to hide your pain by telling me to wait a moment? It’s an excuse to go immediately to deal with the enemy.”

 

Was she really this emotional person?

 

‘It’s not nice to act like you’re criticizing John like this.’

 

It seems that she has become too absorbed in the role of his wife while living with John. Tears were already forming at the corners of her eyes. John’s smile was slightly disturbed.

 

“My wife is so smart that it’s not easy to fool her.”

 

He opened his mouth with a cold face that seemed somewhat expressionless.

 

“But it doesn’t change anything if she stays by my side anyway.”

 

“…”

 

“It’s dangerous to be around a runaway wizard. Are you aware of the dangers and still doing this to me?”

 

John’s long fingers lightly squeezed her cheek. She asked John in a subdued voice.

 

“How is it dangerous?”

 

“When a wizard goes berserk, he loses his reason and becomes insane. The reaction of the magical power that has been used so far spreads not only to you but also to those around you, destroying everything. I especially tend to react more strongly among wizards.”

 

A warlock could use black magic by offering a sacrifice. Of course, abilities and other elements were needed, but the most important thing here was the offering. The bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the side effects, but the power of black magic that could be used also becomes stronger.

 

‘John’s offering… It was everything to me.’

 

It was a choice he could make because he no longer had anything precious left other than revenge.

 

‘They say the side effects are related to the sacrifice offered by the warlock himself…’

 

To be honest, she didn’t know much about black magic, so she didn’t know how it worked. John looked at her shaking navy blue eyes and smiled, raising the corners of his mouth.

 

“To put it simply, I’ve lost my temper and don’t know what I’m going to do to my wife.”

 

Suddenly, John pulled her towards him and they changed their positions. In the blink of an eye, John was right above her.

 

“Can my wife handle that?”

 

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

 

“Yes, a weak person like my wife might break down in an instant.”

 

Only divine power could cure the side effects of black magic. This was only possible if you have the power of a saint, not an ordinary priest.

 

‘It’s just as John said. There’s nothing I can do.’

 

The best course of action here was to worry about him and take care of her own life right now. That was her original purpose. Build up his trust appropriately and then run away to a place out of the reach of the dark side.

 

‘I must avoid these dangerous situations as much as possible.’

 

There was no way this fearsome shadow could have died from such a side effect.

 

‘But why don’t I feel like stepping down?’

 

Rather, her mind was thinking thoughts she shouldn’t have.

 

‘If there was anything I could do to help John, even just a little bit. If only I could at least use the power of a fairy.’

 

“The Duke is right. There’s nothing I can do. I also know that the wisest course of action is to just follow the Duke’s words and pretend not to know anything.”

 

John had a sarcastic smile on his lips. For some reason, she felt like that was John’s true self.

 

“And why wouldn’t I want to leave you alone?”

 

“…”

 

“It’s lonely to deal with pain alone.”

 

John was a man who had everything. High status, perfect lineage, striking appearance, and even strong power to do anything you put your mind to. Compared to that, she had nothing. Her status as Libertan’s beloved daughter was fake, and her current status as a Duchess was also fake. It was all fake. Nevertheless, she felt a strange sense of kinship with John, who had everything. He shines so wonderfully. This beautiful light looked sad, like a star breaking in the vast universe.

 

“I’m sorry for being presumptuous. If it offends the Duke, I won’t say anything like this again.”

 

She reached out her hand and cupped the cheek of this arrogant and handsome man.

 

“But the reaction doesn’t necessarily mean I will die. If the Duke allows me, I want to stay by his side forever.”

 

Everyone around John wanted him to be perfect. He became the perfect Duke Blanchett and unwaveringly demanded that they get the revenge they wanted. And John was a perfect person, just as they hoped.

 

‘But… was it really okay?’

 

Her imagination, which she had no idea about the topic, kept running wild. Somehow, it reminded her of the emptiness that John had no choice but to have.

 

‘John, you are someone I should not sympathize with.’

 

She slowly took his blackened hand and kissed it carefully.

 

“Can you give me permission?”

 

John’s hand that touched her lips trembled. The red eyes facing each other gradually darkened and deepened. She got used to the magic energy, which at first was just stinging and painful.

 

“No matter what happens, I will endure it. If it’s really dangerous, I’ll run away as quickly as possible.”

 

John’s eyes gradually lost focus. His slightly relaxed hands hugged her tightly. Hot breath came to the back of her neck.

 

“…Duke?”

 

“I warned you.”

 

The red eyes that met became ferocious, almost like a beast.

 

“I said I wouldn’t be able to stand it.”

 

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Translator Note: