Chapter 4: Knight In The Silver Armour
"Hand me the soap, husband," she said loudly. "Or are you just going to stand there breathing heavily all night?"
Eveyr didn’t move. For a long time, the only sounds in the bathroom were the gentle lapping of water against marble and the soft hiss of the running taps.
From the outside, Esme looked completely calm but inside, she was panicking.
Will he actually walk over here ? No! Please no. I only wanted to ragebait him!! Why did I say that?
Why do I keep saying things before thinking?
Meanwhile, Eveyr’s pupils had nearly swallowed his irises. But he didn’t step forward or do any of the dozen horrible things she had imagined the moment she had opened her mouth. He just stood at the door staring at her.
Then slowly, he stepped back and shut the bathroom door. After a few seconds, another sound came.
Thud.
It was the sound of the bedroom door. He had locked her in.
The yandere duke didn’t know what to do with a naked woman sitting in his bathtub.
A small, unhinged laugh escaped her lips.
Making him obsessive is going to be much easier then I expected.
She sank lower into the water, relaxing her muscles. The scalding temperature of the water had become bearable now. She stayed in the tub until the water cooled, then got out, dried herself with a towel and opened the bathroom door.
The bedroom was empty. The dagger was gone. Her wedding dress had been cleared away. She stood in the center of the room, wrapped in a towel, and sighed in relief.
Okay. I survived the wedding night. Now I just have to survive a few more nights to go back!! I can do this.
Soon, dawn arrived. Morning light seeped through the heavy curtains, painting the room grey. Esme hadn’t slept. She lay on top of the covers in the towel, staring at the ceiling, waiting for another system notification. But there was none. She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or alarmed.
As the light grew brighter, she finally got up and opened the closet. It was a walk-in, comfortably the size of her old apartment, filled with dark and expensive clothes that one person could wear in a lifetime.
She chose a black, high collared, long sleeved gown for her first morning after the wedding. It looked like something a rich widow would wear to a funeral. She put it on. It fit her perfectly, which was either a coincidence or suspicious.
She reached the bedroom door and found it unlocked. She opened the door and found three maids and a butler standing outside with their heads bowed. They were holding a stretcher.
Stretcher??
They had brought a stretcher to the master bedroom because they didn’t expect the duke’s bride to survive the night. They stood with the stretcher to carry her body.
But when they saw Esme completely fine and dressed properly, they froze. She stepped over the stretcher and walked past them without another glance. She could hear frantic whispering behind her as they almost dropped the stretcher in shock.
She had no idea where she was going. She just followed the growing warmth of sunlight until she reached a glass domed solarium. Plants lined the walls and the warm air smelled faintly of earth.
At the center stood a long mahogany table, covered with crystal and silver dishes and enough food for at least fifty people.
Eveyr sat at the head of the table in a chair that looked like a throne. He was staring at the door instead of eating, his one finger tapping slowly against a crystal wine glass. He wore a simple black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing his scarred forearms.
The moment she entered, the tapping stopped.
His eyes found her immediately. First, he looked at her throat. The high collar of her dress had covered the blade mark, but his eyes lingered on the spot anyway. Then his eyes dropped lower to her collarbones, then to the fitted bodice, and finally to her face.
Esme smiled and walked to the table. The customary place for a duchess at a formal breakfast was at the far end of the table and Esme had read about it.
But she pulled out the chair to his right and sat down.
"Good morning, Your Grace," she smirked. "I hope you enjoyed your wedding night as much as I did."
She wanted a reaction from him. But Eveyr just turned and looked away.
So arrogant! As if I would talk to you if it weren’t for the system!
She turned away as well and poured herself coffee. She wrapped her fingers around the warm cup, took a sip, and let out a small breath of genuine pleasure. The coffee here was much better than the one she used to drink in her real life.
At least the coffee is good here!!
Eveyr just sat beside her and watched her drink. His rigid shoulders gradually relaxing.
Oh no!
A sharp pain exploded in her chest. Then bright red text appeared in her vision.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Target is entering ’Domestic Contentment’.]
Obsession Drop: -10 points.
Current Obsession: 4%
Initiating Vitality Drain (Level 2) — Cardiac Compression.
The moment the text vanished, an invisible fist wrapped around her heart and squeezed it so hard that her sternum creaked. Her left arm went numb and her vision blurred. The coffee cup slipped from her fingers and shattered on the table. She couldn’t breathe.
His calmness is going to stop my heart.
Her hands flew to her chest, pressing against the bodice of the gown. Beside her, Eveyr went completely still. He narrowed his eyes slightly, deciding whether she was in real pain or if this was one of her new games.
Her breathing became shallow and ragged.
"Esme," he whispered as he stood from his chair.
She tried to answer but could only manage a gasp. Eveyr’s eyes dropped to her chest, then back to her face, his expression turning colder and more possessive.
"Tell me, what is happening to you?" he ordered.
Think, Esme think. I need to do something to increase his obsession!!"
She looked around and heard nervous footsteps approaching the solarium from a side corridor. Esme turned and caught a glimpse of a young knight in silver and white armour, carrying a silver tray stacked with letters. He was walking with his head bowed, his eyes fixed on the floor.
"Your Grace. My Lady. The morning correspondence from the capital," he said, bowing even more deeply.
Esme’s mind raced despite the pain.
He is young and handsome. And Eveyr is watching.
Eveyr completely ignored the knight, still looking at Esme, waiting for her answer. But Esme, ignoring him, reached up and picked up the top letter from the tray, her fingers brushing the knight’s gloved hand.
"Thank you, Sir Knight," she said softly.
Then she tilted her head and smiled at him warmly.
"That silver crest brings out the extraordinary color of your eyes," she murmured. "Have you been stationed here long?"
The knight went pale. The temperature in the solarium dropped instantly. Frost exploded across the glass dome, forming small cracks on it. The knight’s tray shook. His hand trembled so badly that the letters slid off the tray and scattered across the table like fallen leaves.
Esme’s pain vanished immediately.
[SYSTEM REWARD: +500 Redemption Points!]
Target State: LETHAL JEALOUSY.
Obsession Meter: 4% → 15%
Health fully restored!
"Get out," Eveyr rasped. "Before I rip out those extraordinary eyes and feed them to the hounds."
