I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke

A month after the wedding, there was no physical relationship between them.

 

It wasn’t intentional.

 

It wasn’t an intentional rejection, for Kalian had been traveling far and wide, slaying demons across the north.

 

Moreover, the disaster that had swept the empire had left him in a state of mind and body that had been the subject of unflattering rumors.

 

Evelyn was not the kind of woman who would hold on to such a man and beg him to fulfill his conjugal duties.

 

Then one day.

 

On a particularly blustery night, there was a disturbance in the castle. It came from the underground fortifications of the outbuildings.

 

Evelyn had been waiting for him to return, and as soon as she heard the news, she threw on a thick robe over her negligee and raced to the fortress.

 

But Viktor, the blue-eyed leader of the Knights of Blackwood, stopped her with a stern look.

 

“He is not well, my lady. He is off limits until further authorization.”

 

Reports followed that he had been outnumbered in a battle with a demon and had gone berserk, using excessive force to prevent his knights from sacrificing themselves.

 “His Highness has forbidden me to use my healing powers, saying it will take a toll on my body.” 

When his magic reached its limit, he would spend days in various restraints, his limbs bound.

 

She knew he would recover quickly, but she was not rational enough to turn her back on the man she loved.

 “Kaaah!” 

Kalian lay on the bed in the underground fortress, his limbs bound, and the sight of him made her heart sink.

 

Evelyn wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook her head in disbelief.

 “I’m fine. Let me stay by his side, please.” 

She pushed past the knights who stood like mountains and ran. Her hand caressed her husband’s face and her eyes reflected the devastation.

 “I’m not going to hold anyone responsible for this, so I’m going to ask you all to… leave.” 

Biting each of the squirming knights, she peeled off his armor, which was now sticky with blood.

 

As the thick, stagnant blood dripped from the armor, tears poured from her eyes.

 “Hold on, hold on, I won’t hurt you.” 

His red eyes sparkled with fascination. Addicted to the magic, he was no better than a demon.

 

He struggled violently, unaware that the woman in front of him was his wife.

 

Evelyn pushed him to the ground several times before she was finally able to embrace him.

 

Closing her eyes, she poured her healing power into him, and a white blur of light enveloped their tangled bodies.

 

Her body burned like she’d been consumed by a fireball, and her insides felt like they would melt away, but it didn’t matter.

 

From the moment he had rescued her from the pit of evil, he had become more precious than life itself.

 

If she had to give her life to save him, no death would be more worthy.

 

Pure affection without expecting anything in return.

 

It was what drove her to stay by his side for as long as she could, until all the heat had been drained from her body like a hunk of quenched iron.

 “Hah, hah.” 

Exhausted, Evelyn passed out on top of him, her body draped over his.

 

‘How long had it been like that?’

 “…lyn.” 

She opened her eyes to the soft touch on her hair and saw his face, his back to the flickering torchlight.

 “Why are you here?” 

The restraints and chains that bound him had been removed and dropped to the floor. He was no longer in the grip of his peculiar aura.

 “How are you feeling?” 

She tried to push herself up, thankful for the relief, but Kalian was on top of her, his hands on either side of her head.

 

“I’m fine, but Lyn, you’re…”

 

“I’m fine, I told you, my life is not for me.”

 

Evelyn cupped his cheek. The way he rubbed his cheek against her hand, as if finally relieved, made her heart ache.

 “Hah…” 

He sighed in relief, and his hot, rich breath brushed lazily over Evelyn’s eyes and lips.

 

Oh, God, my heart is going to explode.

 

Evelyn lifted her gaze, feeling trapped by the pressure of a massive wall, and a pair of golden eyes locked with hers as if waiting.

 

There was a suffocating tension between their closely spaced pupils as they stared at each other.

 

Then, when their noses were close enough to touch, he brushed his thumb across her lips and murmured.

 “After everything I’ve done to protect you, it’s not doing any good.” 

‘Protecting me, what the hell.’

 

But before she could reply, he tilted his head and swallowed Evelyn’s lips in one swallow.

 “Hmm.” 

It happened so fast she didn’t have time to part her lips to stop the incoming tongue.

 

Once inside her mouth, the tongue was unrelenting.

 

The tongue’s teasing was rough and demanding, yet tender enough to melt her tense body.

 

Her dry lips are wet with a tangle of saliva. The sound of sticky flesh rubbing against sticky flesh, lip to lip, filled the quiet underground fortress with a raucous noise.

 “We can stop here if you don’t want to.” 

Lips pressed together, he warned, as if giving her one last chance.

 

But she had no reason to refuse.

 

Evelyn felt safe, warm, and deeply loved in the first human touch she’d ever shared.

 

She had never been taught the emotion of love by anyone, but if this wasn’t love, what was it?

 

She shook her head without hesitation.

 

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this day.”

 

Then the wick stood firmly in Kalian’s pupils.

 

His gaze was sharp as it traveled over every inch of her face, as if he were checking for the slightest change in expression.

 “You’re not going to regret saying that?” “Never.” “You’re the one who threw away your chance to not be involved with me.” 

It was a strange thing to say. But Evelyn didn’t feel strange.

 “There’s no point in regretting it. I can’t let you go now, not even in death.” 

The time to think about what he was saying or what he meant was long gone.

 

Her breathing grew more labored, her mind foggy from the deep connection she had never experienced before.

 

It was a night she wouldn’t deny herself if she had to go back.

 

Even if she was the only one who remembered it anymore.

 

* * *

 “I apologize if I offended you, I didn’t mean to take offense.” 

Evelyn cleared her throat, as if recalling the past would drown her sorrow.

 “And I didn’t do it because I was scared, I just had a terrible nightmare… that made it seem that way.” 

Kalian’s expression twisted oddly as he set the herbs down on the bedside table.

 “Nightmares?” “Yes. Apparently, what happened today was quite a shock to me.” “You mean the curse.” “Yes, so please…” 

She smiled awkwardly once, then took a deep breath and swallowed dryly.

 “I’d like you to cleanse me.” 

Thankfully, he didn’t add another comment.

 

He merely nodded in silence, as if waiting.

 “If you feel uncomfortable or anything else, let me know right away.” 

Then he slid his thick fingers between her slender ones. His left palm pressed tightly together without a gap.

 “But don’t be afraid, it’s uncomfortable and strange at first, but you’ll get used to it.” 

Her splayed fingers throbbed, but Evelyn held his gaze without flinching.

 “Then let’s get started.” 

Moonlight filtered through the window, illuminating them as they sat across from each other.

 

Kalian bit his lip, casting a shadow over Evelyn’s face as if to block out the light.

 

Evelyn moaned briefly as the red mucous membrane on the inside of his lips completely covered hers.

 “Ah…” 

Then the thick magic that flowed from him washed over Evelyn, pressing against her.

 

‘Ha, what the hell.’

 

Evelyn gasped, feeling as if someone was breathing jet-black darkness into the top of her head.

 “Huh, huh!” 

Evelyn groaned in pain into his mouth as she struggled against the sensation of being suffocated.

 

But he didn’t stop.

 

One moment he was breathing into her gasping mouth, the next he was pushing her slender body back and on top of her.

 

And this time, her limbs went rigid, as if she were lying in a restless sleep.

 

No matter how she turned her head, all she could see was darkness.

 

‘Is this the kind of hallucination that first-time addicts experience?’

 

The fear that she might drown at this point crept into her head, and she couldn’t think straight.

 “…Lyn.” 

She heard someone’s voice, but it sounded muffled, like it was underwater.

 

It was then.

 “It’s okay, don’t be scared, just relax.” 

Her senses snapped back into place at the vague command.

 “Huh!” 

Evelyn’s eyes widened, and she drew in a sharp intake of breath, instinctively searching for his lips to breathe into hers.

 “Ha! Ha, ha, ha…” 

She gasped into his mouth, a choked mess of sucking, moaning, and sobbing from the deeply entwined tongues.

 

Kalian cupped her throat in his large hands and sucked soothingly and insistently on her full lips. The sound of their saliva mixing rang in her ears.

 

When he finally broke away, he stroked her sweat-drenched hair.

 “Breathe.” “Hmph… ha, ha.” 

Evelyn moaned hotly and clutched at his collar.

 

He stared at her face, which was as contorted as a ripe fruit, appreciatively, and then pulled the hem out of her hands, slipped off his robe, and tossed it to the side of the bed.

 

It was an effort to take some of the weight off her, but it only made her breathing harder.

 

A body so perfect that it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as beautiful dominated her vision.

 

An inverted triangle of an upper body, a thick rib cage, and well-defined abs that looked as hard as a statue in a temple.

 

The more she stared, the more her breathing became ragged.

 

‘Ha, come on.’

 

Even though he hadn’t done anything, she could feel the heat below her navel growing hotter and hotter, as if her entire body was being sliced open.

 

Sadly, she knew all too well what the fluttering anticipation in her lower belly was.

 

‘Please…’