“Shyte!”
I was about to rush inside when I nearly stepped on a shard of glass.
Startled, I looked around.
Glass shards were scattered everywhere around Shyte, and small puddles of an unidentified liquid were scattered here and there.
They seemed to be substances Shyte had been researching.
I needed to clear away the glass to check Shyte’s condition, but there was a lot of the unknown substance smeared across the floor.
I couldn’t touch it with my bare hands.
As soon as I made that judgment, I grabbed a pillow, used it to sweep the glass aside, and approached Shyte.
“Shyte! Come on, wake up, Shyte!”
I called out loudly and shook his shoulder, but Shyte didn’t even let out a small groan.
He seemed to have completely lost consciousness.
Or…
I nervously bit my lip and checked his pulse.
My fingertips were trembling so badly that I couldn’t feel his pulse properly.
I clenched and released my fist once, then placed my hand against Shyte’s neck again.
It was faint, but I could feel a pulse.
However, the skin beneath my fingertips was cold as ice, and he wasn’t breathing.
I have to save him.
That was the only thought in my mind.
I pushed his shoulder and laid him flat on his back, then lifted his chin and breathed air into him.
His chest rose and fell.
After repeating it several times, Shyte’s breathing slowly returned.
The moment I confirmed that he was breathing, the tension left my body and I sank to the floor.
Only after catching my breath did I notice Shyte’s clothes.
He was drenched from the rain, but the blood staining his coat was unmistakable.
There had to be a serious wound underneath his clothes.
I need to get a doctor before it’s too late…!
I was about to grab the lamp and stand up when—
A powerful hand suddenly seized my wrist and yanked me toward him.
“Eek!”
The lamp slipped from my grasp and rolled across the floor.
My body tilted backward.
Soon, a massive shadow covered my field of vision.
Large hands caught each of my struggling wrists and pinned them down beside my head.
CRASH!
Thunder and lightning struck at the same time.
The light flashed, illuminating Shyte’s silhouette for an instant before it disappeared back into the darkness.
His previously dull, unfocused eyes were completely clear now.
But they held unmistakable hostility, as though he could draw a knife and strike me at any moment.
Goosebumps rose along my arms and the back of my neck.
I twisted my body, trying to escape from underneath Shyte, but it was useless.
The more I struggled, the stronger the force pressing me down became.
Was he always this strong?
Confused, I looked up at Shyte.
He whispered as if talking to himself.
“What is going on?”
“That—that’s what I want to ask you. I came in because I was worried about you, and now you’re pinning me to the floor…”
“Worried?”
Shyte tilted his head slightly, looking puzzled.
He studied my face intently for a long while.
“That’s a face I’ve never seen before. Are you a maid?”
“Me? Your maid?”
“Then are you perhaps an assassin?”
Why is he suddenly talking about assassins?
I stared at him incredulously before answering.
“I’m your wife.”
“It seems your investigation was insufficient. Calling yourself the wife of a man who isn’t even married.”
“What on earth are you talking about? We got married a year ago.”
“You and I?”
“Yes. Even though you took an enormous dowry.”
“Then did you marry a man who was after your money?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Why else? Because of Melbern Empire’s ridiculous inheritance law!”
That was right.
Under Melbern’s inheritance law, a woman could inherit an estate only if she met one of three conditions.
First, she became the head of the family.
Second, she inherited the family business.
Third, she got married.
The third condition was especially ridiculous.
If a woman divorced without having children, she had to return her inheritance.
There was only one reason I had chosen to get married despite taking such a risk.
Because I didn’t want to live like my parents!
I didn’t want to spend my entire life working only to meet such a meaningless end.
“You were interested only in my money, not me. And honestly, I found that arrangement more comfortable, so I agreed to marry you.”
My marriage to Shyte was essentially a contract.
I would provide him with a large dowry and living expenses, and in return, he would remain married to me.
We agreed never to divorce and never to interfere in each other’s private lives.
It was a cold relationship in which we didn’t even fulfill the duties expected of a married couple.
But still…
“How can you not recognize your own wife’s face?”
“Hmm.”
Shyte released my wrists and straightened his back.
The weight pressing down on my stomach became slightly lighter.
Now’s my chance.
I struggled, pushing against his thigh in an attempt to escape.
But Shyte’s body, resting on me like a boulder, didn’t budge an inch.
He spends all his time cooped up in the house researching, so why are his thighs as hard as rocks?!
His body looked thin at first glance, but it was surprisingly muscular.
The muscles weren’t particularly noticeable, but his body was packed with dense muscle.
If he really decided to hurt me, it seemed like he could do so without any trouble.
For the first time, I truly felt that he was dangerous.
My body instinctively stiffened with tension.
First, I shouldn’t provoke him.
I put on the gentle smile I usually wore and tried to soothe Shyte.
“Why don’t you move aside? We don’t have to have this conversation in this position.”
I completely relaxed my body, making it clear that I wouldn’t resist or attack him.
But Shyte still didn’t move from on top of me.
He simply brushed his long bangs back and looked down at me.
The way he looked down at me seemed strangely familiar.
…Though it wasn’t like Shyte at all.
He seemed like a completely different person, and I couldn’t predict what he would do next.
I swallowed nervously and looked up at him.
A vein running from his temple stood out sharply along his tense jawline.
Shyte wiped his chin with the back of his hand.
A completely unfamiliar smile slowly appeared on his face.
“I still haven’t heard who you really are.”
“I already answered you. I’m your wife.”
“If you don’t give me the proper answer, you’ll regret it.”
Shyte gave a cynical smile.
As though he were giving me time to think, he remained on top of me in silence.
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t speak.
When I could only open and close my mouth, Shyte suddenly changed his attitude.
His smile became gentle, and his tone turned polite.
It was as though he were graciously giving me another chance.
“Well, all right, Madam. Then would you tell me what kind of person you are? And while you’re at it, it would be even better if you told me who hired you.”
Is he joking?
His expression was far too serious for me to dismiss it as a joke.
I couldn’t make any sense of what was happening.
I blinked, and a drop of blood fell onto my cheek.
There was a cut on Shyte’s forehead.
Apparently, he had hit the corner of a drawer when he fell.
So that’s why there’s something wrong with his mind.
To make sure, I asked again in a serious voice.
“You really don’t remember who I am?”
“Seeing as you woke me with a kiss, are you perhaps a princess who stepped out of a fairy tale?”
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
Hearing that ridiculous joke made me certain.
“Shyte. You hit your head when you fell, didn’t you? Did you lose your memory? Or did something happen to your mind…? Do you at least know who you are?”
When I asked seriously, Shyte frowned and tilted his head.
His gray hair slipped to one side with the movement.
His brown eyes held an oddly cold light.
He reached up as though to brush away the strands of hair dangling in front of his eyes, then stopped.
Then he slowly began looking around.
The relaxed expression he had maintained the entire time gradually hardened.
Before long, his gaze came to an abrupt stop.
His eyelids opened wide, revealing the entirety of his brown irises.
What did he see that startled him so much?
I followed Shyte’s gaze and tilted my head backward.
I thought he had discovered something extraordinary, but what he was looking at was just an ordinary mirror.
Did he see a ghost?
Wondering if there was something I’d missed, I narrowed my eyes and stared into the mirror.
The reflection hadn’t changed.
It was still just Shyte and me lying underneath him.
Meanwhile, Shyte got up as if he were possessed and approached the mirror.
He stared at his own face from different angles, frowning.
He touched his face, then suddenly grabbed the edge of the mirror and leaned his face close to it.
At this rate, he’s going to kiss the mirror.
He definitely must have hit his head and gone completely crazy.
