Episode 32. I Won't Let Anyone Touch You
Christine sat on Adele's bed and held her pale hand.
"Let's get married, Adele."
Adele, who was dazed for a while, was startled and tried to pull her hand away. But he didn't let go and held on tighter.
"Don't joke around... Chris..."
"I'm not kidding, I'm more serious than ever."
"What about the Princess?"
"I think the misunderstanding that the Princess is pregnant with my child has been resolved?"
"But everyone thinks you'll be the Emperor's son-in-law. You're the most suitable person for the job."
Christine shook his head firmly.
"What they think doesn't matter. It's your marriage and mine, and what matters is our thoughts."
"But why is this sudden proposal..."
"You don't like it?"
Ironically, Adele didn't say no.
"But it doesn't make sense to choose me over the Princess."
Even though she thought it might be a joke, her heart was pounding so hard that she was excited.
A surprise proposal like this.
“Why doesn’t it make sense? I want you to be my wife.”
“...You said you didn’t like me.”
“Because I misunderstood. I thought you left me because of money and status. But now that I know that’s not true, is there any reason to hesitate any longer?”
“I, I don’t know.”
Christine persistently persuaded Adele, who shook her head in confusion.
“You said it. You’re going to marry someone who can be as strong as you are. Be my strength, Adele. You’re the only one I can rely on.”
“That’s ridiculous. You have everything. You don’t need my help.”
“No, if I don’t have you, I have nothing. And I’ll continue to be unhappy.”
“Are you threatening me?”
When Adele looked dumbfounded, he smiled faintly and nodded.
“Yeah. If you don’t accept, I’ll die here.”
Could there be anyone in the world who threatens with such a sexy face?
“Wow, that’s incredible..."
“You still don’t hate me, do you?”
Adele widened her eyes as if asking what was going on.
“That’s impossible. How could I hate you?”
Christine’s lips slightly rose at Adele’s innocent voice.
“But I couldn’t be with you at your mother’s death or funeral.”
“I held onto that old man who was on the verge of death and left you there, not knowing what to do. I was blinded by my revenge. I’m sorry I couldn’t be by your side back then. I really wanted to apologize when we met someday.”
“Apologize. Let’s erase all the bad memories of the past 10 years and live happily again. You’ll go back to being that girl you were when you were 18.”
Adele was shaken.
It was what she had always wanted. She had thought countless times about going back 10 years. She couldn’t turn back time, but if she were with him, she might be able to live as if she had erased 10 years.
“Can that be possible?”
“Just trust me. Because I’m a man who can dance without stepping on anyone’s feet.”
Not only dancing, but Christine was now more perfect and trustworthy than any man in the world. If she just held his hand, she could close her eyes and go to a safe and happy place.
“By the way, I forgot the gift. I’ll propose again, Adele.”
He took out a small box from inside his jacket and opened it ambitiously.
“Marry me...”
Then he quickly closed it in embarrassment.
“Ahem, I’ll propose later...”
However, Adele picked up the box in his hand and carefully opened it.
Inside was not a fancy jewel ring, but a flower ring made by weaving small flowers.
“Sorry, I told Zimmer to prepare it in a hurry.”
In fact, Zimmer might have been a flower lover.
“There’s a note here.”
Adele opened the note in the box and read it.
[I think it would be better for the two of you to choose the ring together.]
In fact, he had decided to marry Adele while he was on his way from the palace to Mark’s clinic. In the meantime, he had asked Zimmer to prepare the ring in a hurry.
“It would be better to do as Sir Zimmer said.”
“Does that mean you accept?”
Instead of answering, she hesitantly held out her hand.
“Will you put it on?”
Christine carefully took out the flower ring from the box and put it on her thin, white finger. The pale, dry finger became brighter just by wearing the flower ring.
“How is it?”
Adele stared at the hand wearing the flower ring and smiled. As if she had received the most beautiful and best ring in the world as a gift.
“Pretty. Dazzling. But before that ring withers, let’s go get a ring that will never wither.”
“Ugh.”
As she answered, tears suddenly fell from Adele’s eyes.
She didn’t know why. Some kind of overwhelming emotion welled up in her. It was as if she had been eagerly waiting for this moment for a long time.
Surprised, Adele quickly wiped her tears with her fingers, but Christine’s mischievous joke made her chuckle.
“You’re an idiot. Of course not. It’s too dreamy...”
Christine smiled brightly and took out a handkerchief to wipe Adele’s tears.
“This is a big deal. I want to kiss you, but I have to hold back because you’re in pain.”
Adele rolled her eyes in embarrassment and pointed to her cheek.
“Well, this much...”
He kissed Adele on both sides of her cheeks so hard that they made a sound. Then he stopped kissing her and let out a soft moan.
“Get well soon, Adele.”
His face clearly showed that he was barely holding back. The hand that was caressing her lips with a regretful expression was strange.
“Don’t make that face that looks like you’re going to eat me.”
Adele grabbed his cheeks and shook them to change the mood.
“Tch! You’re not allowed to do this when you get married.”
He warned with a menacing face, but..
“Then you should do a lot before that.”
Adele tried to playfully grab his cheeks again.
Crush! In the end, Christine grabbed her slender wrists and lay her down on the bed before climbing up. Adele’s heart was pounding loudly. Was that sound mine? Or maybe it was his...The blue-gray eyes that contained her were too hot. They were like the eyes of an animal without reason. If this continues...
“Chris, I’m still... a patient.”
Only then did Christine let go of Adele’s wrists and sit up.
“So if you can’t handle it, don’t touch me. I might not be able to handle it next time.”
Adele’s heart pounded and trembled at his terrifying warning. However, she smiled as if nothing had happened to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“What? I’m too scared to even joke around. But what do I have to do to get married?”
In fact, she got married on the first day she entered the Oswald Marquis’ household. The wedding was simply a greeting and signing of the marriage vows in front of a small group of Marquis members. There were no congratulatory remarks, even in the formality of it. Everyone just watched the young bride, who was wearing a silk dress and makeup for the first time in her life.
Of course, that kind of atmosphere didn’t matter to Adele at all. She had been so shocked by the sight of her husband when she first met him that day. She didn’t have any expectations for her husband, but still, the old Marquis, who couldn’t even move, was brought out in a wheelchair. It was a wedding that was even more depressing than a funeral, where she barely held back tears.
“I’ll take care of everything. First, we’ll have the engagement ceremony in three days.”
Adele, who was lost in thought, was startled.
“The engagement ceremony in three days?”
“Well, right after my inauguration. After the engagement, we’ll live together.”
“Wait, we’ll live together?”
Adele’s mind went blank at the hectic schedule.
“Yes. From now on, I’ll keep you by my side and not let anyone touch you.”
He was determined to protect Adele. He would never let her suffer or be hurt again. Even the Emperor was no exception.
“But living together without getting married...“
"Then, should we just have the wedding in three days?”
Adele shook her head with a dark face.
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible, Chris.”
Adele was so excited that she momentarily forgot about reality. She was the Marchioness of Oswald. Although she was suspected of poisoning her husband, Stone, the head of the family, was not excommunicated from the family because the poisoning could not be proven. However, he had two tricks here. First, he would make it seem like he was considerate of Adele to raise his own reputation. Second, he planned to tie her to the Oswald family for life.
“Unless I am excommunicated from the Oswald family, I am the Marchioness of Oswald. Therefore, I cannot marry or be engaged to another man.”
In addition, there was one more thing.
“And will His Majesty the Emperor just watch?”
There were already rumors that there would be an engagement ceremony with April after the inauguration. But now that his fiancée had changed, there was no way the Emperor would just watch.
Christine seemed to sense Adele’s worries and tightly held her hand.
“Don’t worry, I have already spoken to the Emperor. You just need to get yourself together quickly.”
But Adele couldn’t believe it. If the Emperor had approved all of this, there would have been a price to pay.
“In return, you agreed to give a blank document?”
Christine made an apologetic expression.
“Hmm. But I don’t know why the Emperor is looking for it. Do you have any guesses?”
“It’s literally just a blank document. It’s all the signature of the Grand Duke of Valencia before he became Emperor.”
“There must have been some device that made it look like that.”
“That’s why I tried to read the writing in various ways, but I failed.”
“It must have been sealed with magic. It was easy to save wizards ten years ago.”
Many wizards were mobilized and sacrificed during the war in Kalame. Some even said that the Vatican had started the war on purpose to eliminate wizards.
Christine thought for a moment and then came to a cheerful conclusion.
“Anyway, one thing is clear. That document could be the weakness of the Council of Elders or the Emperor’s weakness. If we put it in the Emperor’s hands, we’ll know.”
The black castle is north of the palace.
A blue-green flame blazed above a large bronze brazier. It was as if it were an illusion, as it didn’t get hot even when approached.
“Be careful, the flames might engulf you at any moment.”
Jan, who had been staring blankly, came to his senses at the ominous voice.
Next to him stood a man covered in black robes from head to toe. Under the hood, he could see burned skin and strange eyes that looked like the eyes of a beast.
He was Kenny, one of the few high-level magicians left in Kalame.
Kenny took out dried herbs from his sack and threw them onto the flames.
Paa!
As if to prove his words, the blue-green flames engulfed the herbs in an instant.
Then, the entire area was covered in a white smoke that gave off a strange smell.
Jan quickly covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief and held out a red scroll with one hand. It was a blank document that Christine had handed him.
“Let’s get started.”In the thick smoke, Kenny unfurled a long red scroll and began to chant. A strange sound flowed out from between his lips, which were grotesquely distorted by the burns.
“~ՁթպֆՓ...”
Just looking at it made Jan’s brow furrow involuntarily at the gloomy and unpleasant scene.
Wooooowung....
Soon, the smoke that had been swirling around seemed to be sucked into the empty scroll, and it began to sway and form letters.
Jan read the letters written on it, still covering his mouth with his handkerchief.
As Christine had expected, it was a document sealed to look like a blank sheet of paper!
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