John gently patted my head with a relaxed expression.
“There’s no need to be afraid.”
It seemed that John thought I was frightened by the sudden attack. Without realizing it, I was trembling, and his touch somehow reassured me.
“Your husband can win any situation, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
I tightly grasped John’s fingertips as he stroked my hair. His once pale fingers were now stained completely black in an instant, appearing as if he had suffered a severe wound.
‘I don’t know who attacked us…’
I lowered my long eyelashes. Facing this crisis, my mind surprisingly became calm.
“Can we go back to the mansion right away?”
“Of course.”
John nodded without hesitation.
“Just wait a little longer.”
His firm attitude instilled trust. Meanwhile, sounds of breaking objects, footsteps, and horses’ hooves mixed into chaos, invading our space.
“Isn’t this happening because of me?”
“No, it’s not. Don’t worry.”
His eyes, as if watching the enemy beyond, were cold and merciless, as if he could destroy everything at any moment. Suddenly, enemies entered inside amid a loud noise of destruction. Dagger-like weapons rained down like a shower. But the daggers bounced off the air and didn’t even graze my collar.
“It’s probably better for your beautiful eyes not to see this, so wait a moment.”
John’s elegant hand covered my eyes. The last thing I saw was John, smiling kindly as usual.
“I’ll get everything sorted out as quickly as possible.”
I heard the sound of things breaking, collapsing, and being destroyed with my ears. The unending moans and screams of people, along with the sharp, painful gazes of the enemies, even without seeing, made me feel a heightened sense of fear. My body trembled slightly without realizing it, and John held me close, patting my shoulder.
“Shh. It’s all over now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’ve been so brave waiting.”
However, John still didn’t remove his hand covering my eyes.
‘It seems the situation has been resolved.’
All the sounds around had completely ceased. But my uneasiness still lingered. John naturally embraced me. I leaned against his firm chest.
‘Did something happen to John?’
I gently placed my hand on his Adam’s apple. I felt a sharp, intense magical power. Just from that feeling, it seemed John was suffering from the side effects of black magic.
‘Is it okay for him to use black magic?’
And it seemed to be happening without any problems. Recalling the book I read, even if John was a powerful black mage, such a thing should be impossible.
“Sorry, my lady.”
“Huh?”
“You must have been very scared because of me, right?”
I could hear John’s deep, steady breathing. I also felt the dull movement of his throat as it rose and fell.
“I wanted to give you a good moment, but I ruined everything.”
John let out a low chuckle. His condition looked stable as always.
‘No.’
This was him pretending to be fine. Otherwise, there would be no need to hide his eyes still. Carefully, I spoke.
“I’m fine. You were watching over me, Duke. It’s you who’ve done most of the work.”
Then John, who was walking while holding me, spoke softly.
“My lady. I have many enemies.”
“…I see.”
“So, if you stay with me, this kind of thing might happen again.”
John’s voice was low and subdued. I, who had been quietly in his arms, became curious about his true intentions.
‘Why is he warning me?’
From John’s perspective, there was no need to say such things. He wouldn’t let go just because I was scared anyway.
‘It’s so hard to understand him.’
If I behaved like that, I would only misunderstand myself. I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Even so, I will stay by your side, Duke.”
The most dangerous thing to me was none other than John himself.
“Why?”
Because I was always at risk—whether in Liberte or here. The world was full of people who hated me.
‘But I can’t honestly say that out loud.’
I held John’s hand, which was covering my eyes, and looked him in the face.
Because I am his wife. Being with him in difficult times is what spouses do.
“If we divorce, we’ll be strangers anyway.”
“It’s okay. I want to do that.”
The light in John’s crimson eyes grew more intense. I smiled brightly at him.
“No matter how dangerous it is, I want to stay close to you. Because I like you.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
John, feeling overwhelmed by “my wife loves me so much,” casually changed the subject and took me back to my room.
‘My dress is back to a simple one-piece.’
But that wasn’t the important part.
‘Am I really okay?’
I blinked and observed John carefully. He looked completely fine, as if my worries were unnecessary. In fact, the way he looked slightly disheveled from the brief fight only heightened his dangerous charm. His uniform coat, decorated with gold embellishments, was nowhere to be seen; I must have thrown it somewhere. My gaze shifted to his hand. John, as if accustomed, was now wearing his black gloves again.
“Lady. I’ve been so busy lately that I probably won’t be able to visit you for a while.”
He bowed, meeting my eyes with a smile.
“I need to deal with those who dared disturb my time with you.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah. It’s best to handle things immediately to avoid complications.”
John’s crimson eyes flickered with a fierce glow. But strangely, although his appearance seemed unchanged, something felt off—like there was a problem.
“Please wait just a little longer this time too.”
“…Are your hands okay?”
When I mentioned side effects, John frowned briefly and then smirked.
“Of course. Who do you think I am?”
Just as John was about to move, I instinctively reached out and urgently grasped his hand. He looked troubled, with his lips curved into a slight smile, and asked.
“…My lady?”
Without answering, I carefully removed his glove. Luckily, John flinched only slightly and didn’t resist my touch.
“Oh dear.”
My eyes widened unconsciously as I saw his hand beneath the glove.
“What is this?”
The fingertips, which had been only faintly darkened, had now turned completely black. It looked like severe burn scars. Feeling sorry for him, I instinctively stroked the back of his hand, which twitched as the blood vessels reacted.
‘It must hurt.’
But John’s expression remained utterly composed, with not a hint of disturbance. He smiled softly and covered his hand again.
“Just appearance. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
“Liar.”
“I’m serious. Why would I lie to my lady?”
“But I… I don’t think you look okay at all.”
His crimson eyes darkened ominously. Even under his threatening gaze, which made me shrink back slightly, I suppressed my fear and grabbed his sleeve.
“If it’s not a lie, then it’s okay for me to see, right?”
I could see the side effects of the black magic spreading up his arm. Just by holding still, I could feel the strong backlash of his magic. To understand better, I slightly unbuttoned his shirt at the collar.
‘It’s spread up to here too.’
John gulped and playfully winked.
“Lady. If you act so openly on the bed, I might find it hard to control myself.”
“Is it really that painful? And you were about to go fight the enemy in this state?”
At my sharp gaze, John answered honestly.
“You don’t need to worry about me. Worrying about this kind of thing is a waste. I might move without knowing my condition.”
“That’s possible too.”
I pulled him onto my bed. My sudden action made John widen his eyes in surprise.
“Lady?”
“You said wait a moment, but weren’t you hiding your pain alone? That’s just an excuse to go deal with the enemy immediately.”
Was I always this emotional?
‘This attitude of accusing John isn’t good.’
I reached out and gently pressed my hand to his proud, handsome face.
“But that backlash doesn’t mean I’ll definitely die. If you permit, I want to stay with you.”
Everyone around John wished for him to be perfect. They demanded he be the flawless Blanchet duke, unwavering in their revenge. And John was indeed the perfect person according to their wishes.
‘But… was I really unaffected?’
My reckless imagination kept wandering. I couldn’t help but think of the emptiness John must have been forced to carry.
‘John, you’re someone I shouldn’t pity, yet…’
Slowly, I took his increasingly darkened hand and gently pressed my lips to it.
“May I have your permission?”
John’s trembling hand touched my lips. His red eyes, facing mine, darkened and deepened. At first, the magic energy that was just prickly and painful gradually became familiar.
“I’ll endure whatever happens. If it’s too dangerous, I’ll run away as quickly as I can.”
Gradually, the focus in John’s eyes faded. His slightly loosened grip pulled me tightly into his embrace. His warm breath brushed my neck.
“…Duke?”
“I warned you.”
His crimson eyes, now close to beast-like ferocity, glinted dangerously.
“You won’t be able to hold back.”
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
