Marriage Annulment

The first husband died of excessive blood loss.

The second husband was strangled to death.

The third husband went missing.

And now Cleve’s fourth marriage partner had been chosen.

She had begun to think no more proposals would come — that she had become a symbol of misfortune.

Then the royal decree fell: marry Duke Eldrich, the iron-blooded sword, the emblem of victory.

“……It’s not too late. Now is the only time to call off the wedding.”

“Don’t worry. Plenty of men have been desperate to kill me, but not one of them has managed to take my head.”

The man paid no mind to the whispers that he would end up dead.

Was it because he was strong enough that death held no fear for him?

Cleve simply worried that her misfortune might swallow him whole.

❀❀❀

On their wedding night, Eldrich held Cleve without pause, making no effort to conceal the desire burning within him.

“Even if it means death, I have no intention of calling off this marriage.”

So she believed that his obsessive fixation, his absolute control — all of it was love.

She believed he bound her because he loved her.

“Someone who left without a shred of regret could never come back.”

“You won’t be able to find anything. I’m telling you not to expect it.”

That was before Eldrich began letting slip those weighted words about her former husbands.

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