“I killed everyone who knew about my prophecy, but I don’t regret it. I have to protect my bride.”
While Edwin’s expression seemed angry, his tone was calm.
“First, sign here.”
I let out a heavy sigh as the engagement certificate was placed in front of me.
‘Maybe I should try to run away?’
However, my courage quickly waned when Edwin handed me a pen and pressured me with his smile.
‘How do I sign it? I don’t know the written language here.’
With that in mind, I glanced at the marriage certificate, and fortunately, I was able to read the text.
‘Is this a buff? It would have been really bad if I couldn’t read the text in a situation where I didn’t possess the memories of the body.’
For a moment, I felt a sense of relief, but soon I was overwhelmed by a sense of resentment when I realized that the certificate of marriage had become my shackles.
When I glanced up, I met Edwin’s eyes immediately, probably because he was still looking at me.
Unable to withstand his intense gaze, I had no choice but to sign the marriage certificate.
“Once I add my signature, it’s done. Everyone will know now that you are my bride.”
Unlike my expression, which looked like dark clouds were hanging over me, Edwin was smiling brightly.
“Now that’s over, let’s go rest.”
Edwin held me close as he strode out of the room and into the next room.
“Where are we?”
“The room you will stay in the future.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly at the layout of the room that clearly showed his intention to keep me under surveillance.
Resigned, I looked around and saw that there were only a few simple furnishings, just like the last room.
“I didn’t know that I would find my bride so suddenly, so I didn’t have time to prepare. I’m sorry.”
Edwin raised the tip of his eyebrows and gave a sullen expression.
“It’s your room, so decorate it however you like. I will buy everything you want.”
‘If I believe in your words and spend as much money as I want, are you going to grab me by the ankle and demand payment later?’
I have to get out of here somehow.
“It’s enough. It has everything I need.”
Edwin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“My bride is very simple. There is nothing I can do. I have no choice but to accept it.”
Of course, I had no such options.
I sighed heavily.
“Master, I have brought those who will serve her.”
Seth’s voice followed the knock on the door.
‘‘Enter.”
The door opened and two women followed behind Seth.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Sarah, and I am in charge of housekeeping. If you need anything, please let me know.” A middle-aged woman with slightly grayish-brown hair smiled warmly.
“Hello. My name is Jenny. I will do my best to serve you.” The young woman standing next to Sarah greeted with a lively smile.
Her scarlet hair, which was tied into a ponytail, swayed slightly with her movement.
“Ed, let me down.”
“Why?”
“I want to greet them properly.”
I couldn’t greet them while being held in his arms like this.
“You can greet them like this. Even if you lie down, no one will say anything.”
If there was such a person, his blue eyes shone sharply, as if he would cut their head off immediately.
Feeling the change in Edwin’s mood, Sarah and Jenny bowed more deeply.
They felt threatened because of me, so I couldn’t be more stubborn.
Reluctantly, I greeted them while in Edwin’s arms.
“Nice to meet you. I look forward to your kind cooperation in the future.”
“My bride will need to learn etiquette again.”
‘Why? What else don’t you like?’
I frowned at Edwin, suppressing my rising irritation.
“There’s no reason for the duchess to act formally toward servants.”
“I’m not a duchess yet.”
“You’re my bride. We’re engaged.”
“We haven’t been married yet.”
“Are you upset that we didn’t get married right away? Tell me what’s on your mind. I can do anything for you.”
“It’s not like that, I’m not even a noble—”
“Who disregarded my bride?”
His voice suddenly lowered, and for a moment I felt as if I was standing in the middle of Siberia.
Sarah seemed accustomed to this situation and seemed unmoved, but Jenny trembled.
“That’s not the case. You have been with me the entire time.” Fearful that Edwin might get violent, I quickly corrected the misunderstanding and tried to calm the situation.
“Don’t think about anything else. I am Lord of the West and you are the bride of Edwin Crawford. Remember this.”
His smile had disappeared, and his expression was unreadable. Contrary to what I expected to be frightening.
Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t turn away from his blue eyes that seemed desperate for some reason.
As I nodded slowly, Edwin smiled brightly again, as if he had never been serious.
“Whoever disregards you, I will cut them all down.”
With his words, a strange feeling in the form of chills quickly ran down my spine.
“You look tired, so get some rest. I’ll come back to pick you up for dinner.”
“It’s okay. I’ll come down on my own.”
I tried to speak up with courage, but I immediately lowered my tail at his deepening smile.
“That’s fine, I’ll be waiting for you in my room.” Edwin smiled as if he would let it slide this time.
After setting me on the sofa, he lightly kissed the back of my hand and left the room.
“Sigh.”
When Edwin disappeared completely, the tension in my body melted away.
“Madam, shall I prepare a bath?”
I sat up in surprise at the word “Madam”.
“You don’t have to call me that.”
“The master has commanded us to address you as such. Please be careful of your words.”
I couldn’t help but nod my head at the look of desperation in her eyes.
“Then, please prepare the bath…”
“Okay. Please wait a moment.”
When I saw Jenny entering the bathroom with a measured step, I released several sighs.
‘What should I do now?’
So many things were happening all at once, that my mind was a mess.
Thinking that I should check my appearance first, I approached the mirror on the other side of the room.
Beyond the mirror stood a woman with a mysterious and elegant atmosphere.
I now had the appearance of a slender woman with a round face and delicate features.
What’s more, just as Edwin said, my hair was as white as a field of fresh snow.
The most fascinating feature was my eyes.
The violet eyes, which changed from a lavender shade to a periwinkle color depending on the angle of light, were more beautiful and enchanting than any other jewel.
“I guess I really am Jueri.”
Sitting down, I stared blankly at the silver hair reflected in the mirror.
I was beginning to understand why Edwin was so obsessed with the hair color.
‘How does he know about the Jueri? Why was he searching for the Jueri?’
The reason for Edwin’s obsession with white hair was not revealed in the original story.
Of course, there was no mention of any Jueri surviving the Emperor’s wrath. Even though the Crown Prince was searching for them.
‘Why did I have to be a Jueri?!’
With minefields everywhere, I was at a loss as to how and where to tread to ensure my survival.
‘But is my life still in danger?’
If he was planning to torture and kill me, he wouldn’t have bothered with the blood bond.
But I couldn’t be reassured. I can’t figure out what this crazy guy is thinking.
‘Running away will be impossible. With this appearance, I will stand out no matter where I go.’
In the end, the Emperor and Edwin are my only two options.
The moment the Emperor discovers my existence, there would be no room for negotiations. But Edwin is different.
Because I’m the bride from his prophecy.
His reason for searching for the Jueri is still unknown, but for now, standing on Edwin’s side I had a higher chance of surviving.
‘I will hold my breath for now.’
In a cliche trash novel, the female lead survives by taming a villain or a blackened character, but I don’t intend to do that at all.
A villain is still a villain.
How could I possibly tame a man, who was known to be a psychotic killer?
My goal is to live a long and healthy life.
‘If I stay quiet and follow Edwin’s will, I will be able to survive.’
My opinion? My desires? It’s merely dust in the face of survival.
I clenched my fist and raised it in determination.
“Madam, are you okay?”
Jenny had an expression of concern when she saw my trembling clenched fists.
“Oh…yes, I’m fine…”
Jenny tilted her head as I gently lowered my fist and smiled shyly.
“Is the bath ready…?”
“Yes. But you look very tired, would you like a massage?”
Yes, I’m very tired. I went through life and death tens of thousands of times in a few hours.
I headed to the bathroom, replacing my indescribable feelings with a nod.
When Jenny touched me for the first time, I trembled, making her movements more cautious.
“Madam, what about your ring?”
Ring? What ring?
When I raised my left hand out of curiosity, there was a ring on my second finger that I had never seen before.
‘What is this?’
The platinum ring was engraved with a black sword on the left side of the band and a flower on the right, with a large pink jewel in the center.
The pink gem had lost its shine and had a straight crack in the middle.
‘Does it belong to the owner of this body?’
Out of curiosity, I took off the ring to examine it and found words engraved on the inside.
I looked closely to see if the words would give me a clue as to who owned it, but I couldn’t read it because the language was unfamiliar.
“Jenny, can you read this?”
After looking at the ring for a moment, Jenny shook her head.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know the language either.”
It already felt ominous that the jewel was broken, but even more so considering the ring was inscribed with strange text.
Something bad happened to the owner of this body, that much was certain.
‘Why did I fall from the sky?’
It didn’t even make sense for someone to fall from the sky out of nowhere.
‘I don’t know what happened, but for now, let’s just focus on my survival.’
Shaking the thoughts away, I slid the ring back on my finger.
As I soaked in the bathtub, the hot water relaxed my tense muscles.
In addition, when I received Jenny’s expert massage, drowsiness began to set in.
As soon as I left the bathroom, I collapsed in the bed and fell asleep.
* * * * * * *
“Hmmmm.”
As I rubbed my face against the duvet, mesmerized by the feel of the soft fabric, I heard a muffled sound.
‘What was that?’
I opened my eyes slightly to find a handsome man sitting with his legs crossed in a chair next to the bed.
“Are you awake now? I didn’t know my bride was such a deep sleeper.”
The moment I realized that the smiling handsome man was Edwin, I was instantly awake.
When I jumped up and pressed myself against the headboard, Edwin approached and sat on the bed.
“I didn’t expect to be greeted so warmly. Do you like seeing me the moment you wake up?”
“Why are you here…?”
“What do you mean by ‘why’? I came here because I wanted to have breakfast together. I couldn’t sleep all night because I missed my bride so much.”
With such a confident attitude, he was behaving as if this was his room. I quickly looked around to confirm where I was.
The bed had a purple canopy with a flower pattern and a soft blanket in calm gray tones.
It was clear to me that I was in the same bedroom as yesterday.
“But this is my bedroom,” I protested in a quiet voice.
However, Edwin tilted his head as if he didn’t know what the problem was.
“Isn’t it natural for me, the groom, to be in my bride’s bedroom?”
I wanted to argue that we were not married yet, but I swallowed the words quietly, thinking about my life.
Still, I wanted to avoid facing him as soon as I woke up, so I drew all my courage and opened my mouth.
“Are you going to come here every morning?”
“I already told you. I will always be by your side.”
As expected, it wasn’t an empty promise.
Crying on the inside, I gathered up my courage again and spoke.
“But as soon as I wake up… ”
“Why? You don’t like seeing me?”
I swallowed hard at the sudden cold expression on his face.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that…I don’t look pretty. My hair is messy, my eyes are crusty, I have morning breath, and my face is swollen.… ”
As I diligently listed the things he might not like, Edwin began to laugh.
After slipping my trembling hands under the blanket, I slowly raised my head and saw Edwin smiling beautifully.
“You’re so cute that I think I’m going to die.”
When I heard the “die,” my heart was gripped with fear and as I shuddered, he gently stroked my hair.
“In my eyes, my bride is pretty no matter how she looks.”
His sweet words would surely make anyone’s heart flutter, but my heart had been taught fear by this obsessive madman.
“Now, let’s have breakfast. I’m hungry.”
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Then he suddenly pulled me into his arms and picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck to prevent myself from falling as he hummed happily.
“Can I wash up first? My breath probably smells.”
“That’s okay. Every scent from my bride smells sweet.”
This madman also has an extraordinary sense of humor.
I eventually gave up my small rebellion.