“Alright, I understand what you want. Although it might not be as much as you want, I can prepare some of it. I can send you fifteen carriages filled with gold, a provincial estate where you can stay, and fifty maids who will attend to you for life. This should be sufficient to live comfortably. I’ve even added three more carriages than last time.”
The conditions she offered were unrealistic and failed to capture my interest.
I couldn’t even properly assess the value of the items my husband sent me, nor did I want to.
I usually just stuffed these luxury items, which were meant only to mock me, somewhere in the castle without even looking at them.
“Is it still not enough? You really are full of greed despite having nothing!”
The lady held up her fan high, cooling herself from the burning heat.
After fuming for a while, she spoke to me with a now cold expression.
“Do you know that His Majesty is not pleased with you?”
“…….”
“It would be wise to accept my generous offer before His Majesty truly throws you out penniless. Wouldn’t it look better to leave on your own than to be kicked out? Can you not see your future being abandoned with nothing?”
“…….”
“No, being abandoned would be the least of your worries. It’s better than dying miserably, like your father and brothers. Oh, should I include your fiancé? Though he wasn’t even a Crawford.”
Until now, the lady’s outbursts hadn’t hurt me, but this time was different.
I’d grown tired of it. The beautiful eyes of a hunter who has spotted their prey’s weak spot lit up.
“That’s right, come to think of it, your father died while on the run, didn’t he? That criminal, trying to save his life, was riddled with arrows like a porcupine…… yuck!”
But the lady couldn’t finish her sentence. It was because my husband burst in, breaking the door open and grabbing her arm, lifting her up.
“Marquis!”
“An uninvited intruder, how dare you.”
Before the lady could even recognize him, he threw her. She was hurled out of the drawing-room like a sack of goods and fell to the ground.
“Ahhh!”
“How dare you sneak into the very heart of my home.”
My husband muttered under his breath. Though his voice was low, the chilling coldness was evident to everyone.
“Marquis! I was summoned by His Majesty!”
My husband glanced at the lady, who was still in shock, struggling to believe what had just happened, and then he smirked.
“Ah, just a little rat.”
I knew better than anyone how much that sneer could make a person’s hair stand on end.
The lady froze, paralyzed by the faint aura of menace emanating from him. She wasn’t facing a polished nobleman but a lion of the battlefield.
My husband’s fingers twitched, and the lady looked at them with anxiety.
In that moment, she and I likely had the same thought, my husband desperately wanted to strangle someone.
“Escort the guest to her proper place. It seems she’s mistaken her residence.”
“W-What, Marqu-…….”
“Listen carefully, lady.”
My husband bent down to make eye contact with the lady who was sitting on the ground.
“You must be cautious when entering a beast’s den.”
“Ah… Ahhh…”
The lady was so terrified that she seemed on the verge of fainting.
“A beast is extremely sensitive to its territory. Whether it’s an intruder or someone trying to steal its hidden prey, a savage beast has no patience and will immediately tear out the intruder’s throat.”
His fingers twitched again.
“Unless you intended to offer yourself as a noble sacrifice to become tonight’s dinner, you should understand this well.”
My husband reached out, gracefully undoing the ribbon tied in the lady’s hair.
He didn’t even glance at the cascading, luxurious hair as he slowly tore the wide satin ribbon.
The lady barely managed to stifle her sobs.
The fear of being torn apart if she made a sound gripped her.
“…Ah, hmph…”
The shredding fabric was menacing in contrast to his gentle touch.
He stood up and turned around, the cold atmosphere still lingering. Our eyes met.
“…….”
I still couldn’t tell what those blue eyes were thinking.
My husband walked past the lady towards me, closing the door to the drawing-room. The lady was no longer in sight, and the servants only thought of quickly taking her away.
“Sorry to shatter your expectations.”
He sneered, his cruel eyes gleaming dangerously.
Ah, I realized it now. He thought I had harbored hope in the lady’s words. That’s why he had allowed her to stay this long.
“Your golden carriage will shatter into pieces before it even leaves the capital. Along with that woman’s blood. Red and gold always make the best combination. Just like the blood-red sunset over a battlefield after the slaughter.”
“…….”
There was nothing I could do. It was too difficult for me to clear up his misunderstanding or to deny it.
Seeing my lack of response, he smiled crookedly.
“My little wife always dreams of soaring high. I do admire that relentless spirit of yours. But…”
He strode over to me, his large hand painfully gripping my shoulder. His long fingers gripped my wingbone tightly.
The touch, seemingly gentle, sent shivers down my spine in contradiction to its softness.
“Don’t even think about running away. Not unless you want these delicate wings of yours to be torn apart.”
Wings.
I sighed. A faint moan, barely restrained, seemed to escape my lips.
Didn’t he realize my wings had already been torn and were long gone?
“Ezen.”
His low voice was almost a growl, like a predator intimidating its prey before the kill.
“Do you think I would let you go? That you could easily escape from here on your own…….”
“……I know.”
The fate of prey already caught is sealed.
I cut off his words and pushed him away. The man’s chest, large enough to cast a shadow over his me, was ironically easy to push away. The grip on my shoulder weakened.
“…… I know.”
I know only you can decide the end.
I don’t even have the right to choose for myself.
My breath caught in my throat again. I clasped my hands around my throat.
The dress I was wearing was designed to expose my neckline, but it felt as if a collar or necklace was tightly wrapped around my throat.
My nails scratched at my skin, causing a sharp pain, but I couldn’t stop.
I continued my slow movements, thinking blood might soon flow from the reddened scratches. I couldn’t stop until my husband came over and grabbed my hands.
“…… It hurts.”
The pain moved from my neck to my wrists, feeling like he might break them. He soon let go, but a bruise was already forming on my pale skin.
I stared down at it numbly and realized that his fingers were twitching.
Was he thinking of strangling me this time?
I would have preferred that. It would end things quickly.
Unconsciously, I took a step towards him, lifting my chin and baring my neck, as if inviting him to choke me.
I wasn’t sure if he noticed, but he flinched and took a step back.
“…….”
He didn’t answer my questioning gaze. He simply turned around and walked out of the drawing room.
The door closed with a louder noise than before. I was alone in the room again.
I sat down and resumed the embroidery I had paused due to the lady’s intrusion.
The blunt needle slowly filled each stitch. The small commotion was once again swallowed by the darkness consuming me.
I suddenly wondered, how long would I have to live like this?
