Killing Your Sweet Breath - Chapter 15

Chapter 8.1

For a moment, Winter froze in shock before snapping out of it and pushing Van Helgram away. She used the back of her hand to wipe her lips, smearing her lipstick on the white glove.

“What on earth was that for?”

“Don’t you remember the contract?”

A lazy smile lifted the corners of Van’s mouth, and his shimmering golden eyes paralyzed her entire body with their dominance.

“If we want to look like a normal couple, we need to do these things naturally and seamlessly. Consider it practice.”

Van looked absolutely unfazed, making Winter want to question why he was suddenly acting this way out of nowhere when no one else was around, but…

“Shall we try again?”

Van silenced her once more. He cornered her just as she was about to speak, and this time, his soft tongue invaded her mouth before she had a chance to resist.

She tried shoving him away with her fists, but Van wrapped his strong arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him in one swift motion.

She could feel the heat radiating off of their bodies. Her face, too, grew hot from the sudden stimulation.

Inside the jostling carriage, Van took his time exploring Winter’s mouth. An indescribable emotion rose from the center of her chest. It felt like a suffocating mix of anger and longing.

In the end, Winter returned to the estate without speaking a word after their lips parted.

Winter dismissed the maids, soaking and relaxing in the bathtub. Once she was done, she began drying herself off with a towel. She fiddled with the ring Van had given her, trying to remove it.

“…What?”

But no matter how many times she twisted it, the ring just wouldn’t budge.

It clung to her finger and refused to let go; like a chain wrapped around the neck of a hound or the shackles around a prisoner’s foot.

“Ha!”

Draped only in her nightly robe, Winter stormed toward Van’s room. She was so furious that her footsteps pounded heavily on the floor.

She didn’t even feel the rough texture of the carpet beneath her bare feet. Ian, who had been guarding the outside of her door, hurried after her, but it was impossible to stop her in her rage.

The door swung open with a loud BANG, mirroring Winter’s current emotional state. Her eyes immediately found Van, who was sitting with a book nestled in his hands, his legs comfortably stretched out in front of him.

“This is unexpected. Quite bold of you to enter your husband’s room only dressed in a robe. All of that practice is paying off, Winter.”

In the unlit room, Van’s golden eyes wandered over her curves.

“The ring. Explain.”

Winter demanded as calmly as she could. Her voice sounded agitated, but still coherent. However, Van merely tilted his head, as if he didn’t understand the problem.

“It’s an engagement ring.”

Winter couldn’t help but let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.

“I felt our contract was a bit too lax, so consider it my way of saying I never want to lose you again.”

Van explained nonchalantly, flipping through a page in his book.

“…Fine. Then how exactly do you plan to control me with this ring?”

Though unpleasant, it was a valid point. Just two weeks ago, Winter had infiltrated the estate with the intention of slicing Van’s throat open.

If she were in Van’s position, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to trust someone based on a mere piece of paper.

“Can you eavesdrop on my conversations? Or stop my heart whenever you please? I’m not against wearing a leash, but I think I should at least know what kind of leash it is.”

“My, what a horrible thing to say.”

Van chuckled, setting down the book he’d been reading, and rose to his feet. He began to take slow steps in her direction, passing by a lamp. Now she could see the exact expression on his face.

“It’s a simple tracking device. It alerts me if you move away from me without permission.”

“A tracking device?”

“That’s right, I can tell when you move and get a rough estimation of your exact location.”

“…How is that possible?”

“Well, unfortunately, I’m no sorcerer.”

Ancient magic often worked this way, full of inexplicable mysteries that don’t even make sense.

That’s probably why alchemists only manage to make half-assed potions, despite following ancient magic.

Even if Winter were to ask how he knew, the only thing she’d get in response would be “just because.” Fortunately for Winter, there weren’t many artifacts like this.

“So is this the only shackle you have around my neck? I’d like for you to tell me if there’s more.”

“Unfortunately, there aren’t.”

Only then did Winter finally relax and settle into the sofa across from him. The ring on her finger reflected a yellowish glow from the candlelight.

“And if the contract is somehow broken, I can take it off, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Winter. It’s unlikely, but if an unfortunate event does occur, I’ll remove it immediately. Anyone with Helgram blood can remove it at any time.”

“So, in other words, if I run away, you can always come after me.”

“Not exactly. If you cut off your finger, there’d be nothing I could do.”

“For a family heirloom to function this way, there’s no denying that the Helgram family has a rather perverse way of managing their subordinates.”

Van didn’t respond to her comment and just let out a chuckle. Regardless of the ring’s original purpose, he was indeed using it as Winter described.

Winter didn’t ask Van any more questions.

“Ian. Escort her back to her room.”

Following Van’s command, Ian moved from his position outside the door and entered the room.

His usually composed expression broke into a rare look of shock. Likely because Winter was sitting there in nothing but her night robe.

Despite having given him the order himself, Van felt a strange displeasure as he watched Ian approach Winter.

For some reason, he had a suspicion that those two wouldn’t be easily controlled by him. But it was probably a useless worry.

Winter’s hatred ran too deep and intense to be easily swayed by idiotic persuasion.