Villainous Husband, the One You’re Obsessed With Is Over There - Chapter 205

Chapter 103.1

It seemed as though Raniero believed this was the only definitive answer—the ‘peace’ in this small room where only he could enter.

‘ I can’t believe I have to live by relying solely on Raniero.’

Of course, it would be safer than being among people who were hostile to me.

Still…

This wasn’t peace. That much was certain. He was a violent and capricious person who defied common sense. I felt like I was holding onto a big bomb with a safety pin in place. I could hear an imaginary guide next to me, speaking kindly with a smile.

‘As long as the safety pin is in place, it will never explode. However, there’s an extremely rare chance that the safety pin may come off on its own. Unfortunately, when that happens, the bomb will explode, and you will die.’

To me, Raniero Actilus was such a presence. He was too dangerous for me to give my heart away too lightly.

‘Anyway, you have to keep holding onto this bomb from now on. It’s impossible to get it away from you.’

The imaginary guide finished the guidance kindly. Still, I wanted to go back to the Empress’s palace as much as possible.

“You said that you’ve punished everyone who tried to kill me. So, isn’t it okay now? Even so, it’s not okay?”

“It’s because you never know who among those approaching you might be dangerous.”

There was really nothing to say to that. It seemed as though he firmly believed that he wasn’t a danger to me. So, in the end, I couldn’t hold back and got to the heart of the problem.

“What if you’re a danger to me?”

Raniero furrowed his brows as if he didn’t understand what I was saying.

“Why would I be a danger to you?”

“Because there’s a voice in your head… commanding you to kill me, right?”

As his red eyes narrowed, his beautiful lips parted slightly.

“How did you know that?”

“Just…”

I stumbled over my response. Thankfully, Raniero didn’t press further. He didn’t seem to place much importance on how I knew.

“For me to be safe, you have to keep defying that voice. No matter… what the cost.”

I recalled his desperate cry, which I never expected to hear. In the face of a conflict with God that he had never experienced before, how much could he endure?

Every time he defied Actilla’s will, he would surely receive divine punishment. Even if he endured that punishment every time, I wouldn’t be able to shake off the uneasiness. Just because he endured the pain this time doesn’t mean he would survive the next time.

It wasn’t just divine punishment… it was torture.

Torture would wear away at a person’s psyche.

He might be able to endure it once. Maybe even five times. Perhaps even ten. But what about a hundred times? A thousand times? Even if he endured, there was no reward. It was just endless torture. If he kept enduring until he eventually exploded, then what would become of me?

According to Tunia, I was given the duties of the Saintess, though I haven’t undergone the bitter grief to hold the sword. Therefore, I was just as weak as a human, no different from before.

It was impossible to oppose him with force.

It may be impossible for Actilla’s successor to kill the Saintess of Tunia as well because of providence or divine constraints. Nevertheless, torture was possible… just like what happened to Seraphina.

Suddenly, I wanted to leave desperately. I wanted to live a life that had nothing to do with him.

…I didn’t want to play the role of a puppet of the Gods, I didn’t want to see him getting punished because he couldn’t kill me, and I didn’t want to worry about when he might change his mind.

Come to think of it, I have never enjoyed a single moment of complete rest in his embrace. Even during the late summer when we were closest, I was anxious for various reasons because of him, and that anxiety often haunted me in the form of nightmares.

At the awkward end of the lingering silence, Raniero opened his mouth.

“Still, you have to stay here.”

It didn’t seem like I would be convinced. Raniero made it very difficult for me. Regardless of how much he liked me or how hard he tried.

“Okay.”

I replied shortly.

Raniero never told me that I could return to the Empress’s palace.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

Even after both of his parents and the coachman were apprehended, Young Lord Nerma remained inside the carriage.

The knights of Actilus, who had taken the Duke and Duchess of Nerma with them while singing songs with the phrase ‘Thorough inspection,’ didn’t seem as thorough as they claimed. This was evident from the fact that they failed to notice the trembling presence of Young Lord Nerma, who was crouching and shivering in the shadowy inner corner of the carriage.

Following his mother’s instructions, the boy remained silent and cried silently in the empty carriage until all the danger disappeared. He didn’t know why his parents tried to run away, why they were apprehended. But now, he could only intuit that the good times were behind him.

The amusing days of beating the obedient servants to his heart’s content with a halberd were gone forever. It was difficult for him to decide which was more difficult to endure—his parents being captured or the uncertain future.

As the day dawned, hunger set in.

Having never experienced hunger before, the Young Lord cautiously stepped down from the carriage.

As he clutched his hungry stomach, he aimlessly moved towards where people might be. By the time his legs grew sore, he could reach an area where the villagers gathered, where the tantalizing smell of food wafted through the air.

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