Karina, who was under Jeremiah's obsessive gaze, couldn't move from that spot. And it also took her a while to properly understand what he had just said.
'My person...!'
Karina blinked and looked up at Jeremiah with a blank expression. She never dreamed that she would hear him say,
"She's mine."
'Did I mishear?'
"OMG...!"
Before she could even recover from the shock, Jeremiah took Karina into the room.
Boom!
The door slammed shut behind him with a loud noise.
"What... What is it?"
Karina stuttered in embarrassment.
"You seem to have forgotten, but the imperial decree that we must unite every day is still in effect. That means you must spend every night with me for three months."
"..."
Karina's eyes widened.
"I am a patient!"
A surprised Karina spoke quickly.
"And what we're going to do isn't a real merger, it's just a pretense of a merger...!"
Karina was so flustered that her words came out hurriedly and incoherently.
"Yes. You're right. It's just a show anyway, so it won't cause any harm to your body. But it still means you have to stay with me all night."
"...!"
The excuse of being sick became useless.
"Wait! There's no one here right now. There's no need to pretend to merge!"
Jeremiah raised one corner of his mouth and said shamelessly as Karina refuted.
"Then should I call them?"
For a moment, Karina's thoughts stopped.
"What did you say...?"
"If you want to merge only when someone is watching, then I will call someone. If that's what you want, there's nothing I can't do."
'This is crazy!'
Karina was shocked. She doubted if this was the Jeremiah she knew. He laid Karina down on the bed without warning. Then he laid down next to her.
"Are you crazy? Why are you like this!"
Karina struggled violently and raised herself up.
"If you don't want to call a real person, just lie down and keep quiet."
"What are you going to do?"
"What is it? As a husband, I have to take care of my sick wife all night long."
"Yes?"
Karina glared at him with eyes full of distrust. Why would he lie down while taking care of someone who is sick?
'Because it's not necessary...'
She was about to tell him to leave, but Jeremiah's next words made Karina shut her mouth tightly.
"If it is better to call people and merge, I will not stop you."
"!"
Jeremiah, lying down with his head supported by one hand, quietly looked at Karina as if to give her a choice. With an expression that said he had no regrets at all. She rolled her eyes and thought about it. It was a possibility, but just in case. She was nervous that Jeremiah would really call someone. She couldn't completely rule out that possibility because his behavior was so different from usual.
Crunch.
In the end, Karina quietly chose to lie down a little further away from him. Of course, she didn't forget to silently protest to him with a very dissatisfied expression.
"But if you were taking care of the sick person, why are you lying down?"
"I don't want to see you thinking of something else while I'm taking care of you."
"What are you talking about?"
But Jeremiah just stared at Karina and didn't answer any further. Karina couldn't understand why he was acting like this all of a sudden. She turned her head away from him as if she didn't want to see him.
'Haa. How did it end up like this?'
Her sigh deepened. Neither of them said anything. As the silence continued for a moment, the questions that had been on Karina's mind before she left the room began to creep into her mind.
'The location and circumstances are a bit different, though.'
Since she was going to go to his office to ask him anyway, she figured she could ask him now.
"I have a question."
Karina opened her mouth.
"What?"
"Are you sure you came to the Cursed Forest to save me?"
"Yes."
It was an answer without an inch of hesitation.
"Why? Why did you come to save me?"
Jeremiah's eyebrows furrowed. It was a reaction of not understanding the intention behind such a question. But Karina was serious.
"Why? Why do I need a reason to go and rescue my wife?"
It's necessary. He's Jeremiah and I'm Karina.
It's something that's never happened in the past. There's no way he'd come to save her just because she's his wife unless there's a clear and definite reason. But that's the answer.
Ha. I'm embarrassed. I can't figure out what he's thinking anymore.
"Rather, I am curious. Why are you so sure that I did not come to save you?"
Jeremiah's eyes seemed to sink deeply as he recalled the time he was in the Cursed Forest.
"Come to think of it, I didn't get a proper answer back then either. Answer me. Why? Why do you think that?"
"That..."
Karina thought for a moment.
'Do I really have to say this with my own mouth?'
To be honest, she didn't like saying this. But at the same time, she was curious. What would he say if she told him the reason? What would his reaction be?
Jeremiah didn't press her for an answer but waited for her calmly. Karina, who had been hesitating, blurted out a little impulsively.
"Because you don't care about me."
"..."
"That's why you've been ignoring me all this time."
In the North, he didn't care at all what happened to her or who she was treated by. Instead, he ignored her, treated her coldly, and treated her coldly.
'If you did that, why are you doing it now?'
She wondered why he acted differently than before. But his reaction to her words was...
"..."
There was a heavy silence. Jeremiah did not deny her words. Instead, his eyes trembled slightly as he faced Karina. Karina did not miss the fleeting surprise, embarrassment, and embarrassment that passed through his eyes.
'Ah, as expected.'
Karina didn't mean to confirm this. She felt guilty for doing something stupid. It was something she already knew and accepted, but it felt bitter to have it confirmed again in front of her eyes. Shr didn't need to hear an answer.
"Let's stop. Let's pretend that conversation just now never happened."
Karina smiled self-deprecatingly and said Indifferently as if it didn't matter.
'Yeah. We'll just be strangers after we get divorced anyway, so what good would it do if I knew what he was thinking?'
Once she left, that was it.
"Karina, it's a misunderstanding. I..."
Although he denied it later, he had already shown such a reaction, and denying it was not at all convincing.
"There's no need to try so hard to say no."
There was nothing particularly new to her.
"Karina, listen to me..."
Jeremiah tried to say something, but shr didn't want to hear anymore.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling well."
A very businesslike voice came out of Karina's mouth. She turned around so that her back was facing him.
"Please leave. I want to rest now."
She refused to talk and gave the order to leave. But Jeremiah did not move at all as if he had no intention of leaving.
'Ha.'
Even if he didn't leave, she had no intention of continuing the conversation. Amid this awkward standoff, Karina must have been really tired because she fell asleep without even realizing it. Karina's breathing could be heard evenly. Jeremiah was looking at the back of her sleeping figure.
'Because you don't care about me.'
'That's why you've been ignoring me all this time.'
The moment he heard Karina's words, Jeremiah couldn't answer. He felt like someone was choking him, and his mouth was choked. Because it was true. Of course, it's not like that now, but it was right after they got married. He hated her so much. He turned away from her and watched her, thinking that she had deceived him, betrayed him, and deceived him.
'Yeah. There's no way she didn't feel it.'
Jeremiah's face distorted. It was only a couple months after their marriage, so he couldn't have noticed. But not now. He had to quickly clear up her misunderstanding.
Not now. I truly care for you. You are too precious to me. But...
'That's enough. Let's pretend that conversation just now never happened.'
Seeing her laugh in vain as if she knew it would happen, Jeremiah felt a pain that felt like his heart was being squeezed. Seeing Karina's firm attitude of refusal made him feel sorry. It didn't seem like she would be properly persuaded even if he said no.
Jeremiah let out a deep sigh and washed his face dry.
'What should I do? How can I clear up Karina's misunderstanding?'
The sight of her turning away seemed like her heart was tightly shut. Jeremiah thought back to what Karina had said earlier. The words he didn't want to admit... By any chance. If Karina's heart really was leaning towards the Crown Prince...
'Then what should I do?'
Just imagining it was suffocating. Just seeing Karina and the Crown Prince together in the middle of the night made his stomach turn. When he thought that they might have stayed together if he hadn't come looking for her, his mind went blank, and his anger surged. He barely managed to suppress his emotions by thinking that Karina was sick, and he suppressed them deep inside.
Jeremiah stared at her again, lying still and asleep. He saw her red hair that seemed to have taken on the color of the sunset. He reached out and gently stroked Karina's hair.
"Karina..."
Jeremiah called her name carefully.
"What should I do with you?"
His quiet soliloquy spread through the air. Jeremiah spent the night wide awake, feeling lost.
Meanwhile, at that time in the imperial palace.
"Yes. The Crown Prince and the Grand Duchess were both rescued safely from the Cursed Forest."
The Emperor, dressed in a splendid robe of various jewels, sat on the throne and listened to the report with a cold expression. Of course, there was no sign of relief or joy at the fact that the two were safe.
"Yes, Grand Duke Colesberg is also said to be unharmed."
The Emperor's eyebrows twitched as he tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips.
'What a monster. I guess this isn't even going to do much damage.'
The reporter who had been observing the situation continued his report.
"I have sent word that he should enter the palace early in the morning with His Highness the Crown Prince as soon as the sun rises."
"I get it."
The Emperor waved his hand halfheartedly as if to tell him to leave. As the knight stepped aside, the Emperor turned to the large full-length mirror standing beside him. Then, a black vortex swirled inside the mirror, and soon a man's figure was reflected. His long, blue hair, like the sea, matched his handsome features, giving off a mysterious aura.
"What happened? Aren't the words different?"
As soon as the Emperor saw him, he questioned him in a cold voice. The man was not flustered by the Emperor's sudden questioning and opened his mouth calmly.
"That's why I told you before. Even if we release the demons, it will be difficult to achieve the results Your Majesty desires."
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