Toxic Marriage - Chapter 6.1

Chapter 6.1

The man’s gaze slowly turned to the uninvited guest who had broken the silence. Their gazes clashed in the air. Freya couldn’t move for a moment as if her body had frozen.

His pitch-black eyes, as if they had contained all the darkness of the world, felt like she had looked into an abyss she had never experienced, even though it was only a fleeting moment.

Underneath them, his ruddy lips were smooth, and his skin was white and spotless like a craftsman’s porcelain. Contrasting with his skin, his black hair fell like a waterfall, covering his forehead and the nape of his neck.

For a monster, he was strikingly beautiful. He seemed to be more like a demon that bewitched people with his appearance than a monster.

But that didn’t mean she was relieved. The man’s appearance was definitely human, but the feeling she had when she met his eyes was still vivid.

Coming to her senses, Freya greeted him.

“Freya Lindberg greets the Margrave of Niflheim.”

The man nodded and offered a seat.

Should she get closer? Her heart was beating so much it hurt.

Hiding her nervousness, Freya walked to his side. She sat on the chair and looked at the man who had not yet introduced himself.

“Are you Margrave Fenrir Niflheim, who proposed to me?”

The man just slowly poured water into the glass as if he wasn’t listening.

His smoothly curved lips opened.

“And here you are, in front of me,” he said, as if it was something natural. Nevertheless, his voice was as natural as flowing water. It had just the right resonance.

Unlike his handsome face, his voice was quite masculine, as was the body she could see through his loose gown.

Freya’s eyes wandered across his wide chest as she didn’t know where to look.

‘He doesn’t seem like a cold person.’

Still, what was reassuring was that he felt a little more human when she heard his voice. Of course, this did not clear up all her doubts. She had only met him face-to-face and heard his voice, after all.

“You look like you have a lot of questions.”

Freya had to reflect on whether the fanatics’ leaflets mentioned the margrave’s ability to read people’s thoughts. Fortunately, there was no such ability.

“Why didn’t you come to meet me?”

“…”

“Is it because you can’t show yourself outside?”

Freya straightforwardly asked what she was most curious about. Despite the serious question, Fenrir Niflheim laughed a little as if he found it funny.

“Aren’t you hungry?” A strange answer came back. “Open the cloche on your plate. There, you will find the answer to your curiosity.”

She could tell that this man was playing with her like a mouse in his hand.

Freya’s mind became busy.

Even though he seemed like an overly handsome recluse, as he looked at her with a bored and relaxed figure as if he were watching a small animal, the man’s identity leaned back towards something out of the ordinary.

Freya decided to open the cloche. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t anxious, but all she had to do was check what was inside.

She also didn’t want to satisfy the man by looking confused.

Clunk. Finally, she opened it.

What she saw was a dark red lump.

… An organ? Freya frowned at the pungent smell that belatedly reached her.

“You don’t seem to like the dinner I prepared, do you?”

Fenrir Niflheim followed Freya and opened the cloche of the dish in front of him. The same red lump was placed there.

“It’s the liver of a pig I just caught today.”

Liver…? The man took a large slice of raw liver dripping with blood and brought it into his mouth. Every time he moved his lips, the sound of the organ being chewed spread ominously. Animal blood flowed out from between his parted lips.

Freya was speechless at the sight. He looked like a bloodthirsty murderer. And an instinctual fear crept up her spine.

He was insane. She didn’t know whether he was a demon or a monster, but she was sure he wasn’t an ordinary person. She felt like she had to get out of there right away.

Freya tried to get up from her seat, pushing her chair back roughly, but he grabbed her arm. He calmly picked up the napkin with his free hand and wiped the blood from his mouth.

He took his time before turning to face Freya.

“What’s wrong, are you no longer interested in knowing who I am?”

“… What are you?”

“Which one are you guessing? A monster? A human?”

“Are you going to tell me if I ask?”

The man smiled quietly.

“Just as you saw.”

Seeing that the riddles continued, the margrave didn’t seem to want to end the joke just yet. Freya changed his question at his light-hearted attitude.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Who knows.”

A relaxed smile rested on the margrave’s lips. Freya felt a chill like never before at that vague smile.

His attitude was like he was still pondering about it.

“I’ll ask you a question this time.”

“…”

“Have you ever tasted hot blood?”