Terdeo did not immediately agree, but he did not reject it as firmly as before.
"Didn't you plan to take a second wife anyway? If so, I think it would be a good choice for Your Excellency to choose me."
The emperor wanted to keep the capable Terdeo under his command forever. That's why he pushed for the marriage with the princess without hesitation. In the end, Terdeo would have to marry any woman in a hurry to avoid this marriage.
"Princess Dodorea wouldn't say she would divorce after a year, would she? Moreover, if you were disrespectful to Her Highness, the Emperor would be upset, so you can't ignore her."
The atmosphere remained as cold as a winter frost.
"So you came here knowing everything from the start, that's why you were so confident."
Terdeo frowned and tapped his fingers on the armrest, lost in thought.
"What would you gain by maintaining a one-year marriage with me?"
"It would be enough if you didn't do what my family expects. They think of me as a well-trained pet dog."
At my metaphor, Terdeo burst out laughing.
"From what I see, you're not a well-behaved dog but a lion that bites the neck."
A lion that bites the neck. Not a wrong description. I will soon bite the necks of those three. Seeing my determined expression, Terdeo's smile faded.
"Is it certain that your family will kill you?"
"It doesn't matter if you think it's a lie. There's nothing I need to ask of Your Excellency regarding that matter. You don't need to worry about it."
A heavy silence settled, pressing down on my shoulders. My mouth felt dry, as if a long drought had continued.
I rejoiced inwardly. Needing time to think means he's more than halfway convinced. If I give him time to think, he might find another way out. Quick and decisive. I'll push it through in one go.
"I can't just wait indefinitely for Your Excellency's answer. Make a decision now."
I took my hand off the ring I was fidgeting with and took a deep breath. Then, pretending to be calm, I picked up a cookie and chewed it. The tension had eased, so it tasted appropriately sweet. After eating about two cookies, Terdeo shook his head and spoke.
"No matter how I think about it, the marriage to you is out of the question…"
At that moment, my body suddenly gave off an unusual signal.
I felt my strength drain away like a sandcastle hit by a wave, and my body collapsed helplessly.
Then, it felt as if my chest was being heavily compressed, making it hard to breathe. My upper body fell forward awkwardly, and my face hit the carpet.
Terdeo's shout came from far away. A burning pain spread through my body as if someone had set a fire inside me.
I had felt this pain before. It was the exact same pain I felt when my stepmother was trying to kill me, when I was dying.
I couldn't breathe, as if someone had clamped my nose and mouth. Yes, just like when my stepmother suffocated me with a cushion.
And with Terdeo's harsh curse, I died again.
"Shut up. If you talk too much, you might end up buried too."
A heavy rain was pouring down. Two workers dug the wet ground with ease. Boom! The dark sky flashed, and the ground split in two. The atmosphere was so eerie that the workers' hands moved faster. Boom! Just as the second lightning struck.
I inhaled a fresh breath of air and opened my eyes with a shout. I stretched out my arms and stood up from the wet ground, and the worker digging the soil threw his shovel in surprise.
The two workers threw their shovels and ran to Terdeo, who was standing guard above the pit.
"The lightning gave her a new life!"
"She's a witch! A, a witch for sure!"
As the workers spewed out their words, I stood up, and the dirt on my dress fell to the ground.
'Am I buried alive? Am I buried alive?'
I met Terdeo's eyes, who frowned as I laughed in disbelief at the rain. He waved his hand at the frightened workers, and the butler, understanding his intention, led them away.
I was sure I couldn't breathe and thought I was dead. When my vision went dark, I was certain I had died again. But I opened my eyes again. Terdeo's eyes trembled, and he looked quite surprised, as if he had never experienced this before. He muttered in confusion.
"Strange. How did you get up?"
What? How did I get up? You bastard.
"Are you asking how I got up when I was supposed to be buried in the ground?"
Terdeo tilted his head at my harsh protest and composed his expression. As I considered whether to throw the workers' discarded shovels, Terdeo reached out to me without hesitation.
"If you don't really want to be buried, come out of that pit first."
You were the one who buried me, weren't you? I glared at him, fuming. The pit was so deep that I couldn't climb out on my own.
'You really intended to bury me properly.'
I bit my lower lip and took his outstretched hand.
"You need to explain properly. Otherwise, I'll call the royal guard and report you for attempted murder."
Terdeo pulled me out of the pit with a single effort and draped his coat over my head.
I followed Terdeo, who was shaking the rain off his head, into the study. The butler, as if waiting, handed us a large towel and left.
"Didn't you eat the cookie with your hands at the end?"
I nodded, drying my wet head and body with the towel.
"Yes, is that a problem?"
Was there poison in the cookie? At my sarcastic attitude, Terdeo roughly dried his wet hair and raised his hand.
"Can you see this wound? When you grabbed my hand earlier, I got a cut."
I looked at the wound he pointed to. It was a scratch from my ring when I pulled my hand away.
"…What does that have to do with anything?"
"Maybe I should consider your proposal positively."
What? What are you saying all of a sudden? You bastard, are you just spouting nonsense because you failed to kill me? Terdeo, who had roughly dried himself with the towel, walked up to me. His large frame cast a shadow on my face.
"But it's an important matter, so I want to test it again."
Before I could finish, Terdeo scratched his palm with the pen he was holding. The skin tore with a chilling sound, and the smell of blood filled the air.
"What are you doing… Ugh!"
Then, without warning, he pressed his bleeding palm to my nose and lips. I gasped in surprise, and red blood trickled down my lips.
The same pain as before started to spread through my body.
I died again... or so I thought.
"Sure enough, you woke up."
I sat up abruptly and met Terdeo's eyes, who was lounging in a chair.
I was sure I felt death, but strangely, I was still alive.
"What are you? Why do I keep feeling like I'm dying… no, why do I keep coming back to life?"
At this point, I couldn't see straight. But Terdeo remained calm. He looked at me, who had come back to life, with a determined expression.
"The Laphireon family is cursed."
A curse? A curse all of a sudden? It was a familiar word. Before I died, Siph had said he cursed me. But why is the curse mentioned here? I asked why I keep dying, but an inexplicable sense of unease crept over me. A red warning light in my head screamed to run.
"People with the family's blood are born with poison in their bodies. They have strong immunity to poison, so they don't die even if they drink regular poison."
What? What kind of crazy talk is this? A curse on the Laphireon family? I've never heard of such a thing!
"A few drops of blood can kill someone instantly."
A few drops of blood? Hold on.
'My ring scratched me, and I touched it. Then I ate the cookie with that hand…'
So, did I eat poison just now? You really thought I was dead and tried to bury me? Despite my shock, Terdeo continued calmly.
"Originally, when you ate the cookie with the finger that had a trace of my blood, you should have died."
You're saying it so calmly. I should have thrown the shovel and killed you first.
"But you didn't die, which was strange. The same thing just happened."
Terdeo got up from his chair and approached the bed.
"You've found out all our family's secrets."
I never intended to find out, but you just blurted them out! Wait, why are you telling me such a secret that no one should know? Could you… be trying to bury me alive again? Or are you trying to kill me this time?
"I didn't hear anything."
I panicked at the dangerous atmosphere and fled to the corner of the bed. Terdeo sneered coldly as he watched me run.
Did I come here to escape my family only to die here? I shouted desperately and covered my ears.
"Then you'll have to come with me."
I gasped as Terdeo climbed onto the bed and lightly grabbed my wrist. The tension was so intense that I couldn't even speak.
The smell of blood came from Terdeo's torn palm.
"I need you to be my wife."
Not to kill me? I looked at Terdeo with a doubtful expression. I wondered if he was just pretending to be calm and then planning to kill me, but it didn't seem like it.
"…Why are you accepting my proposal all of a sudden? Are you feeling guilty for trying to kill me?"
"Of course not. If you think about it, I didn't try to kill you. You were the one who got the cut and ate the cookie."
You wouldn't have if you hadn't told me first!
"…Do you know how people usually react when they find out about the curse?"
Terdeo pulled my wrist, creating a small whirlwind. The distance closed quickly, and a strange tension enveloped us.
"Most people run away in fear."
Terdeo looked down. As his long, thick eyelashes lowered, I involuntarily opened my mouth.
"They beg for their lives in terror, even if just a finger touches them."
I almost begged for my life, overwhelmed by the oppressive atmosphere.
"Or they get a sense of superiority from knowing such a special secret. They feel special and pour devoted love on me out of pity."
Terdeo said this with a face that dripped with malice.
"My ex-wife was like that."
The ex-wife who received a large settlement and divorced, right?
"But she soon woke up to reality. People see blood quite often in life. They might cut themselves while reading, fall, get hurt while cooking, or…"
Terdeo showed his injured finger and twisted his lips.
"Even a scratch from a ring can make blood."
The tension was like standing in the middle of a deep lake with a thin layer of ice. I couldn't speak, and my lips were tightly pressed together.
"Then they go mad. They find it terrifying to even share the same space."
I didn't want to know this. I didn't want this complicated situation. I just wanted to find a way to survive.
Terdeo, who had a cold, rigid expression, let go of my wrist.
"My ex-wife, who found out the secret by chance, demanded marriage. Then, out of fear, she ran away. She received a large settlement to keep the secret. She knows that talking out of turn can lead to death, so she won't."
'Don't say such terrifying things with a calm face!'
The color drained from my face. Terdeo, who was muttering, tilted his head.
"I was going to reject your proposal because of this secret…"
Before Terdeo could finish, I raised my hand and firmly said. I had to cancel it. I didn't know about this crazy secret. The most important thing to me was 'safety.' I couldn't live with a man who could kill with a drop of blood, a man whose entire body was a weapon. Besides, even if I didn't die from his blood right now, I might suddenly die one day. No, absolutely not.
Terdeo showed no sign of surprise at my rejection.
"I can't just let you go, knowing the family's secret."
For a moment, I had the illusion that his red eyes were covered in madness. I lowered my head slightly.
"Let's do our best for one year, my lady."