Chapter 8 – Part 1

Although Marsden had said he would teach her, Olivia couldn’t trust him completely. Perhaps he thought it was better for him to teach her rather than have her learn from someone else. In other words, it could be a sign of his desire to control her.

Olivia and Marsden had decided to stay at the imperial palace for two days. In fact, they were practically detained due to the incident involving the escape of a sorcerer, which brought Olivia’s prison into question.

“They must abolish the prison immediately! This is an abuse of power, even if she’s a Marchioness!”

“That’s right. And to make matters worse, they can’t even manage it properly.”

“Exactly. How could there be an escape so soon after it was established?”

These were the criticisms being leveled. Although Hellebore’s minuscule shred of conscience prevented Olivia from being dragged to the meeting hall immediately, it might have been just a delay tactic.

To summarize, Olivia was now in a peculiar state of limbo. She had to find the criminal who tried to kill her and…

“Buddy, let’s eat.”

“Are you my maid?”

“If you want, I can switch to that job.”

…deal with her relationship with this man.

Olivia looked indifferently at the food the palace chef had specially prepared. Although Hellebore had said she could dine anywhere permitted for nobility, Olivia refused. She didn’t want to wander around and opted to have the food brought to her room instead.

Marsden would push the food towards Olivia, urging her to eat. Olivia narrowed her eyes at him.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I will make you pay for deceiving me. I will learn the spell.”

“I know.”

“And since time is running out, do you have any intention of telling me who the culprit is now?”

Marsden pretended not to hear and used a fork to place a piece of steak into Olivia’s hand. Olivia glared at him with disgust.

“Do you know you’re complicating things?”

“I know. But you’re still putting up with it.”

“Oh really? Are you challenging me?”

“Would you rather I do?”

Their eyes met. There was no playfulness in his dark eyes. Olivia clicked her tongue.

“Honestly, I think I’ve been too lenient with you. I should have taken you hostage every time you caused trouble, right?”

“Buddy.”

Marsden gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening with tension.

“If you had, we wouldn’t have this ‘harmonious’ relationship.”

“This is harmonious?”

“Of course. Unless you’re a masochist, you wouldn’t like being imprisoned, Buddy.”

“You’re crazy.”

Olivia put down the fork, causing the piece of meat to fall onto the floor. Marsden quickly picked up another piece with the fork.

“You’re a madman.”

“I know, but let’s eat first.”

Olivia clenched her fist. Pretending to be angry, she was actually upset. She was annoyed that he took care of her meals so meticulously despite his injuries and that he was still so kind.

In the end, Olivia surrendered. Given that they were both caught in Hellebore’s trap, it was pointless to waste energy fighting.

Olivia deliberately finished even the dessert, pretending not to notice Marsden’s relief.

“Gael Abyss will arrive at the imperial palace at dawn tomorrow. I’ll be there too.”

“Because you’re a sorcerer hunter?”

Olivia smirked, and Marsden, trying to read her intentions, stared intently at her.

“Unfortunately, you can’t come in.”

“I didn’t expect to.”

Olivia got up from the table and walked to the living room. Marsden followed her. The two remained silent while the palace staff cleared the table.

Marsden spoke only after they had been alone for at least five minutes.

“In case you ask someone else…”

“Why? Are you worried I’ll get closer to someone else?”

Marsden’s eyes, which had been looking elsewhere, now fixed coldly on Olivia. He exhaled softly.

“That’s not exactly to your advantage.”

“Is it? But I don’t see why I should cling to only you when you’re not the only person in my life. If I must say, aligning with His Majesty or the head of the royal knights is also a good option.”

“Well, in that case, I also have a lot to offer.”

Marsden stood up and leaned over Olivia, who was sitting on a single-seater sofa.

“Moreover, while those esteemed individuals wouldn’t stop you from being with me, if you decide to take someone else’s hand instead of mine, I might interfere.”

“Hah, what? You said you’d disappear if I wanted you to, but was that a lie?”

“Maybe.”

‘Is he trying to mess with me?’ Olivia grabbed Marsden by the collar and pulled him close. Marsden let himself be pulled.

“You can’t teach me the spell right now, but you can do something else.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Take off your clothes.”

Marsden raised his hand and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“We can do it later too.”

Olivia paused to consider his intentions. Was he trying to seduce her with his body, or was he trying to distract her from something else?

She knew she needed to think more here, but Olivia felt her mind gravitating towards checking his body.

‘I want to check his injuries.’

He was a man who always kept his body tightly wrapped in any situation. The only time she had seen him bandaged was after an unexpected accident, and that was only because Olivia had barged into his bedroom unannounced.

While seeing his body might not reveal anything particularly new, it would at least give her a better understanding of how dangerous the magic was.

“Alright then, take it off now.”

As soon as Olivia commanded, Marsden threw off his cumbersome outer garment and began unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time. His movements showed no sign of embarrassment.

“Blood…?”

Olivia leaned forward instinctively. The bandages wrapped from his shoulders to his waist were stained with blood in places.

“Injuries…”

“They’re just fresh wounds.”

“Torn, you say?”

“Just like being slightly cut by a knife.”

Olivia jumped to her feet. She made Marsden, who didn’t budge, sit on the sofa. Then she hastily unwrapped the bandages.

“What is this…?”

Olivia ran her hand over a small wound. Marsden’s muscles twitched.

“So you’re saying the side effect of the magic tears your flesh apart?”

It was fortunate if there were only small wounds. Besides various stitched cuts, there were bruises all over. It was impossible to act like everything was normal.

“What is this? What kind of magic did you use?”

Her insides churned. Comparing him to other sorcerers felt unfair. This couldn’t happen unless forbidden magic was used.

“Lie down.”

Olivia pushed Marsden onto the sofa by his shoulders. Then she climbed on top of him and began undoing his belt.

“Buddy…!”

Marsden tried to push Olivia away, but she pressed firmly on his abs, stopping him. Marsden groaned.

A wave of delayed embarrassment washed over him.

“I’ll take it off myself.”

“…”

“How can I take it off with you sitting on my waist?”

Olivia realized he was right and got off him. Marsden, without taking his eyes off her, completely removed the belt.

Inside the slightly opened dress pants were the same wounds she had seen on his upper body. Olivia raised her hand and grabbed his.

“Just answer this. It wasn’t just regular magic, was it?”

“Yeah, I told you before it was originally called magic. Even using just magic like this, sorcerers would die from the side effects.”

“Then what is it? Did you use magic that harms people? Or perhaps…”

A word she didn’t want to recall slipped out of her mouth.

“Did you use forbidden magic?”

“Yes, forbidden magic. I used forbidden magic.”

Olivia tried to pull her body back, but Marsden grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. She was trapped between the sofa and Marsden.

“I want to believe it’s not true, but somehow…”

Olivia couldn’t look Marsden in the eye and lowered her gaze. Wounds filled her sight. Too many wounds.

“Why do I think this is because of me?”

Her stomach churned. Olivia tried to push Marsden away again, but his well-built body didn’t budge.

“Do you remember what you said when I came back after dealing with the sorcerers, Buddy?”

Marsden gently lifted Olivia’s chin. Their breaths mingled, and the surrounding air grew hotter.

“You told me never to help you no matter what danger you were in. That is exactly what I want as well. I don’t need your help, so please leave me alone.”

When Marsden tilted his head, their lips brushed.

“Don’t do anything for my sake.”

“So you’re saying this is because of… mmph!”

Just as she was about to press him further, he stole her breath away. What followed was a rough kiss unlike any she had experienced before.