Vulgar Marriage - Chapter 5

Chapter 3.1

Dominic laughed, a savage grin on his face like a predator savoring fresh prey.

Livi swallowed hard and clenched her fists. Falling from the horse hadn’t killed her, but there were still other options. Perhaps more painful, but less than the life that awaited her.

She glanced at the magic circles she had carved into her left palm—spells for acceleration, healing, and fire.

The fire spell wasn’t strong, as it was meant more for practicality rather than combat, but if she focused its power on a single spot, it could easily burn through a vital point in an instant.

Slowly, Livi brought her left hand up to her throat. Dominic noticed and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Grabbing your throat already? Feeling suffocated? Once we reach Celsion territory, you’ll be sharing my bed for the rest of your life. Might as well start getting used to it now. Or should I help you get started right here and now?”

Dominic’s eyes lingered on her lips with a mocking gaze, but Lvi didn’t flinch under his contemptuous stare. Instead, she began to chant the activation word.

“Eternal.”

The moment the word left her lips, the magic within her veins stirred.

Her frantic heartbeat channeled the barest amount of mana into the magic circle, and suddenly, flames burst from her hand. Livi’s skin began to sear under the very fire she had summoned.

Dominic realized too late what was happening.

“Remove your hand, NOW!”

Dominic shouted, rushing over to yank her hand away from her neck, but the flames had already quickly spread, feeding on fresh fuel.

“AH, UGH, AAAAGH…”

Screams tore from her throat as the searing pain overwhelmed her, but even as she groaned in agony, Livi’s gaze never left Dominic. Her eyes burned with fury as she spat her words between ragged breaths.

“…Even if I’m dead… and you want to defile me… go… ahead… and try…”

Her vision dimmed as her purple eyes locked onto Dominic’s face, seeing his expression twist as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Dominic managed to revive her.

When her heart stopped, so did the magic. The moment Livadonia’s pulse ceased and the flames died out, Dominic ordered his knight’s healer to bring her back. It wasn’t an easy process, but after hours of effort, Livi’s eyes fluttered open again.

But that was just the beginning.

It didn’t end with the fall from the horse and the fire spell. As soon as Livi regained consciousness, she tried to bite her tongue. When they gagged her, she bashed her head against the stone floor. When they tied her up, she refused to eat. All of this happened within a single week.

Livi was a wreck.

A horrific burn scar marred her neck, and her vocal cords were so damaged that she could barely speak. On top of that, she stopped drinking water, continuing her protest until she fainted from dehydration.

The healer had no choice but to force magic into her body to restore her energy. After an entire night of work, color returned to her cheeks. It took another day before Livi finally woke, her soul dragged back from the brink of death, still trying to escape.

‘A bed?’

Livi slowly opened her bleary eyes, frowning.

I’m still alive. She hated the feeling of air filling her lungs. Livi instinctively tried to move, only to realize she was no longer on a horse.

She tried to sit up, but something tugged at her limbs, sending her tumbling back down and falling flat on her face.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw her wrists and ankles were bound tightly with ropes. Her arms were secured so tightly that her elbows nearly touched, making it impossible to use her hands to push herself up. She had no choice but to support herself with her elbows and shoulders to lift herself off the bed.

“Quite the performance.”

Dominic stood there in the doorway, having entered without knocking. He didn’t move farther into the room, just watched her.

Following his gaze, Livi looked down and saw that her thin nightgown clung to her sweat-soaked body.

Anger flared before shame. To barge into a woman’s room when she was practically naked! She had never encountered someone so rude.

Calmly, she pulled the blanket over herself, and only then did Dominic shift his gaze to the bandages wrapped tightly around her neck.

“Falling from a horse, setting yourself on fire, starving yourself… What’s next? Care to tell me in advance?”

“…”

“Oh, right. You can’t talk with that gag in your mouth. But if I remove it, you’ll just try to bite your tongue again. Hmm, maybe I should get rid of your teeth altogether?”

He sounded bored, his eyes briefly flicking to her mouth, but Livi didn’t flinch.

In just one week, her cheeks had hollowed, and her body had grown thin, making her look far from the noblewoman she was, but her posture remained unchanged. She straightened her neck, even though pus oozed from the raw burns. Her eyes remained fierce as she glared at Dominic.

He strode forward and climbed onto the bed, his boots sinking into the mattress. Just as Livi managed to raise herself slightly, he pushed her back down with brutal force, pinning her to the bed with his heavy, solid frame.

“Mmph, hmm, ngh…!”