Toxic Marriage - Chapter 18.2

Chapter 18.2

Thinking about it, her situation was unfortunate. Even though he sometimes forgot she was a woman and wanted to grab her by the collar and shake her, he realized that he wouldn’t be in his right mind either if he were in a situation like hers.

Of course, it was also his job to keep Freya in good condition both mentally and physically so that she could get pregnant.

If she were to act uncooperative on the night of their first union, his master might start to doubt his ability to do his job and say that he didn’t give her what she wanted.

And if that didn’t work out, his master might threaten her, and then Freya might try to harm herself. There was a risk either way.

So Erik changed his strategy. He tried to appease her.

“If there is any specific fabric or lace you want, we will try our best to bring it in from the outside.”

“…”

“I’ll give the tailor a little extra money and tell him to pay special attention to the quality of the clothes so that they can meet Lady Freya’s high standards.”

Freya’s eyebrows twitched.

It meant that although lace and fabric would be obtained from outside, in the end, it would be impossible to bring in a tailor.

Still, after a deep sigh, her harsh voice came out much softer than before.

“Alright. I really don’t want to, but I’ll yield on this one. Then, please ask the tailor to bring the most popular fabrics and lace in the empire.”

“Yes, I will do that.”

“If it was going to be like this, why couldn’t you get me some roses?” Freya muttered after a moment.

It was frustrating for Erik, but for now, it was somehow good. It was a joy to have finally defeated this greedy and immature noblewoman.

However, as the dignified caretaker of this place, he couldn’t afford to make a frivolous impression. Erik cleared his throat to avoid sounding rude.

“Bringing in roses is different. Fresh flowers are difficult to transport, so we would have to bring outsiders inside the castle. Even if the fabrics are from somewhere else in the empire, they will be brought in by a tailor from Niflheim.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“And, this.”

Ignoring Freya’s half-hearted reply, Erik pulled out an ebony box and held it out to her. It was the box she had brought with her when she came to this place.

“What is this?”

“This is the bracelet that will seal your divine power.”

Fenrir had called Erik this morning and given him the bracelet. He said that if she wore this bracelet made with the power of evilness, it would seal her divine power so that she wouldn’t be able to use it as she wanted.

“…”

Freya put the bracelet in the ebony box on her left wrist. The bracelet magically contracted to fit her wrist and remained tight.

“That bracelet can never be removed by anyone other than the Master, so it would be best if you didn’t try anything. If you try to force it off, your wrist may be cut off.”

“Oh my, that’s savage.”

“Because there should be no loss of divine power.”

Freya, who had been looking down at the bracelet, raised her head.

“You talk as if I’ll be in serious trouble if I use my divine power.”

Erik clicked his tongue.

It seems that she simply thought that as long as a child was born between a person with divine power and a person with the power of evilness, everything would be resolved.

“The most important condition for a child to receive the curse, that is, to take the Master’s place, is the possession of great righteousness and evilness.”

“…”

Freya was silent for a moment, as if startled.

“… Not the bloodline of Berta Lindberg?”

“The reason why her bloodline is needed is because most of her family members are born with pure and immense divine power. And in fact, there was only one female member of the Lindberg family left.”

Her face turned dark. Failing to notice that, Erik continued to babble.

“Didn’t you try to use your power when that nasty escort knight was bitten by the military dog a few days ago, Lady?”

Everything that happened in the castle reached Erik’s ears.

“It wasn’t a major injury, so there may not have been a noticeable loss of divine power, but just in case. That’s why your power is being sealed, so that you don’t use even a single drop of it in the future.”

Erik belatedly noticed that Freya was silent. She had become quiet, perhaps resentful of the fact that her power, which had made her revered as a saintess by the people, had been sealed away.

“… So does it mean that even if you have pure divine power, if you don’t possess a huge amount, it’s of no use to the Margrave even if you conceive a child?” Freya asked in a low voice.

Erik sensed an instinctive uneasiness at the meaningful question.

“It would be better not to use a strategy that deliberately consumes divine power to save the child. As I said, that would require taking off the bracelet, but your wrist would be cut off before that happened.”

“I never thought about that.”

Hearing Freya’s monotonous reply, Erik, who was more serious than necessary, felt embarrassed.

“… I’m saying this out of concern for the Lady.”

With a slightly red face, Erik left the room first, leaving behind Freya, who was deep in thought.

“Then, I’ll take my leave now.”