I Was Tricked Into A Fraudulent Marriage By The Obsessive Villain - Chapter 4.2 - Grand Duke Thanatos

Unable to contain the rising surge within her, Iona pushed her fear aside and spoke up.

“You blame me for not recognizing you! Your memory doesn’t seem to be the best either, does it?”

At Iona’s sharp words, the man’s eyes curved into a crescent shape.

“…….”

His smile looked like it was sculpted by a god, and Iona cursed his creator.

Oh Lord, why did you bestow such a smile upon that dark figure?

No matter how she thought about it, the man’s greatest weapon seemed to be his appearance.

That’s why she was even more afraid. Like a deadly flower luring people in with its dazzling exterior.

“Oh… Are you talking about that contract?”

The man tilted his head slightly, his brow furrowing in a pitiful manner.

“What can I do? Even a child could see how brilliantly beautiful you were.”

“…….”

“How can I resist having jewels within reach and not take them?”

With his smooth words implying innocence, Iona felt like she had swallowed a bitter herb.

“…Even so, you can’t justify what you did to me. You deceived me twice.”

“Yes, that’s right. I plan to make it up to my wife in the future.”

“…….”

“I am guilty of coveting the jewels when I didn’t deserve them.”

As Iona stared silently into the man’s eyes, she swallowed hard and spoke the next moment.

With trembling fingertips pressed firmly against her palm.

“If you know it’s wrong… do you have any intention of letting me go?”

“…….”

In the next moment, in the silence that filled the room, Iona felt that something was wrong.

And in the moment, she met the man’s eyes, she realized.

Ah. This X won’t work.

There was no trace of a smile on the man’s face.

At the same time, his red eyes were sunken deeply.

In an instant, there was a sense of tension in the room.

The crimson glint emanating from his red eyes automatically made her nerves tighten.

It felt like instinct was whispering to her.

Run.

This man is dangerous.

“Iona.”

“……Yes.”

Under his gaze that seemed to constrict her throat, breathing became difficult.

The strangled look in his eyes made it hard to breathe.

Once again, Iona realized.

The man in front of her was a predator. One who could cut off her breath with a single wave of his hand.

“Let’s make this clear from the start.”

The next moment, the man approached Iona, almost touching her nose.

The sensation of sharing each other’s breath made her hairs stand on end.

The sparks from his red eyes clashed with her purple ones.

“There’s no way I’m letting you go.”

“…….”

The man’s eyes were filled with dark emotions, rendering her unable to move under his sharp gaze.

“Even in death, you cannot escape from me.”

“I… “

“It means you should give up now.”

As he spoke, the man kissed Iona’s neck.

The tingling sensation from his touch on her sensitive skin made her toes curl involuntarily.

“Ugh……!”

She had to make an effort to not push him away under the sharp gaze that felt like even her wrist might be severed if she resisted.

She gripped the bedsheet tightly with trembling hands.

Feeling his breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine. It felt like her lower abdomen was tingling, making her hairs stand on end.

The moment the man removed his lips from her neck, his gaze locked onto her with his crimson eyes solely focused on Iona, as if nothing else existed.

His intense gaze felt like it could swallow her up at any moment.

Should she run away like this? No, could she even escape?

Her instincts kept urging her to flee from the predator in front of her.

The man, who had been staring at her, began to approach closely.

His piercing eyes drew near. Iona felt like a butterfly pinned down with no escape.

“…….”

Their noses brushed against each other. She could feel his breath distinctly.

In the proximity of shared breath, just as their lips were about to touch…

“……..No!”

“…….”

Iona instinctively pushed the man away, unknowingly.

The man stood still as she pushed against his chest with her white hand.

“…….”

“This, this…….”

Iona was bewildered, unsure of what to do. As she raised her gaze to look at the man…

“…….”

There was a fire burning in the man’s eyes.

“This, this…….”

“…….”

Carvain silently stared at Iona with eyes that seemed to spark flames.

Her trembling fingertips, quivering lips, and pale face caught his attention. After scrutinizing her carefully, Carvain returned his gaze to Iona’s eyes.

Her purple eyes were trembling slightly, and that subtle movement left an impression on Carvain’s eyes.

“To be so afraid…”

“No, it’s not fear… I just…”

Iona tried to make excuses in response to the man’s words. After observing her for a moment, the man spoke up.

“May I ask you something?”

“…….What?”

His gaze locked onto her, making her feel as if he could see right through her like transparent water.

“Promise me you’ll answer honestly.”

The man stroked Iona’s trembling fingertips.

“……I promise.”

Upon hearing Iona’s answer, Carvain tilted his head to the side and spoke.

“If I tell you that I will never harm my wife, will you believe me?”

“…….”

The voice rang in her ears, making Iona bite her lip.

Several scenes flashed through her mind.

Him crying as a child, holding out the contract to her, and instances where he tempted her while concealing his true identity.

And… the man in her dream who had killed her.

Iona gazed silently into the red eyes that were fixed on her. As she looked into the man’s eyes, waiting for her response without blinking, she felt an indescribable sensation.

For her to survive, the answer she needed to give was already determined.

However…

“No.”

For some reason, it felt like she had to tell the truth.

“I thought you would say that.”

The man chuckled softly.

She had expected him to be angry, but the man simply smiled as if it were expected.

Was his momentary lonely expression just her misconception?

“Even if I promise not to harm you, you won’t believe me… So, shall we make a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

At the mention of a deal, a sense of wariness flickered in her purple eyes.

At her guarded reaction, the man chuckled softly, like a cat raising its fur in caution.

Then, as if mentioning something trivial, he spoke.

But to Iona, it was the most important thing he could say at that moment.