Chapter 37

Frisia reached out and caressed his cheek. Aslei looked at her with trembling eyelashes. Frisia thought his blue eyes, distinct from her blue ones, were very pretty.

Like the hue of the deep ocean or the color of the sea at night.

‘It’s not that I don’t like it.’

Of course she didn’t hate it. He was sweet and gentle, while also being a strong and dependable person. His kindness came from strength.

Frisia leaned against his chest and raised her upper body. She hugged her arms around his neck and placed her lips on his jugular vein. Aslei’s blue eyes seemed to ripple.

‘It would have been better if he wasn’t the male lead… … .’

If only he had been a sub-male lead, she wouldn’t have given up like this. As she tickled his hot lips with her tongue and her fingertips caressed down his chest, Aslei made a sound as if he was in pain.

He trembled as Frisia’s hand went further down. When she grabbed his penis, his body shook as if on fire.

Eventually unable to resist, Aslei picked her up in a flash and hurried back to her mansion with Frisia in his arms.

We can just go into any suitable bedroom on the first floor—

Frisia thought, but Aslei seemed to be in such a hurry that she was unable to reach him.

As Aslei climbed up to find the duke’s bedroom on the 3rd floor, Frisia donned a mischievous look as she was held in his arms.

Seeing the thick darkness before his eyes, Aslei knew it was night. He instinctively looked inside his arm. Frisia fast asleep and deep asleep in his embrace.

She looked tired, as if she had completely melted away from his previous actions.

Seeing her unharmed and safe, his body, which had been stiff with tension, finally loosen. Aslei took a deep breath and kissed Frisia’s forehead.

Although he was in the dark, his sight was honed from his skills as a sword master. With only moonlight, he could see every detail on Frisia.

The curtains were half-closed, and a thin haze of moonlight was shining through it.

Aslei watched her, who had fallen asleep in ecstasy. To him her lightly closed eyelids, or her breasts, which slowly rose and fell with each exhalation, were lovely.

From the tip of her head to the tip of her toes, Aslei’s restless gaze passed. He pressed his lips to Frisia’s cheek once more and looked down at his chest.

A trace slightly smaller than his fist remained. Traces of the curse. The imprint of magic that was like damn shackles.

‘It decreased again.’

From the broken circle one more piece seemed to have disappeared. Frisia’s stamina was pushed to her limit, so his curse seemed to be satisfied. Or maybe his satisfaction was being reflected in the curse.

The shape of the curse was partly broken. At this rate, it seemed that he would be completely freed from the curse within three or four days.

What should I do then?… .

The curse had to be lifted, but knowing that this was just his greed by catching Frisia under pretext, Aslei wiped her face and sighed.

‘Shall I beg and hang on to her anyway?’

He knew that Frisia didn’t hate him, either. Just as Aslei desired her, Frisia sometimes desired him too. Just not as much, but it still was there.

Aslei sighed and for such a brief moment, squeezed Frisia in his arms. They only had about 3 weeks left until their promised divorce. During that time, he had to hold onto Frisia with all his might.

He would seduce her for now, but he wondered what if the temptation didn’t work. The thought of parting with Frisia was so terrifying and frightening he felt as if he was suffocating.

‘If you procrastinate and drag on the divorce as long as you can, you will be hated.’

He hated being hated by Frisia. Just the thought of it made his heart burn. Aslei’s anguish grew at the thought that he could not break up as sworn, and he could not keep his promise.

While in the midst of the tornado of thoughts and agonizing emotions he was watching Freesia blankly… … .

Flapping!— Some presence was detected with his developed sense of awareness. It wasn’t something big enough to be wary of. It was a small bird that could only fit in the palm of his hand.

‘What?’

The bird that flew into the balcony seemed to be sitting on the window sill. For some reason he thought of the last crow, but Aslei thought he was overthinking things.

‘Not even an owl, at this time of night… … .’

Birds were quiet during the dead of night. It is only a nocturnal owl that flew through the darkness of this forest. Even while noting the oddity, Aslei ignored it and watched Frisia.

As he continued to be embroiled in his thoughts and worries, his chest was seized—his hand clenched it heavily.

Pound! Thump! Thump!— A mighty, evil-willed force pierced and dug through his chest and penetrated into his throbbing heart. He felt his pulsating heart darkening, spreading around him, swallowing up the shattering curse, and turning it into an overwhelming darkness.

No! An instinctive rejection came over, but his unguarded body had already left an opening that let the intrusion in once. Aslei’s eyes widened as the pain that started from his heart rushed to the rest of his chest, then into his arms, legs, and extremities.

He couldn’t overcome the pain. Afraid he would injure Frisia in his withering, he shook violently and pulled her out of his arms.

Ah… … . Aslei was astonished to find that his hand, pressed against her skin, had turned silver-gray. That wasn’t the only anomaly. His fingernails grew into animal-like claws, and the back of his hands began to be covered with black fur.

“Hak— Grrr… … .”

The moment he realized that his mouth was torn and her teeth were growing, Aslei thought he had to get away from Frisia.

He rolled out of the bed and struggled with the agony.

Frisia should have awoken to such a commotion. But it was as if she, too, could not open her eyes, because she had been enchanted.

‘The wizard!’

Realization struck him, but it was already too late. The bird perched on the window sill just looked at him, with a sneer with his eyes shining in the dark.

Aslei felt the bones all over his body bulge and swell as if they were being rearranged. He couldn’t help but scream from the terrible, excruciating pain.

A non-human cry shook the duke’s mansion.