(From Demetrius''s Perspective)


    "You look happy," I said as I entered the room the duke prepared for me and my wife.


    "I am actually," she turned around and smiled, but her face turned gloomy again in a moment. "Blood..."


    "It''s not mine. As I anticipated, I needed to take care of trash," I said and rubbed my forehead.


    "... But your attire is ripped a bit from the front..."


    "There was a mad bastard," I grumbled. "Don''t worry, I am not hurt."


    She just shook her head a bit and then got down from the frame of the window where she was sitting. With steady and quick steps, she came in front of me and touched the front of my attire where it was ripped. As if she knew, she touched over the little cut I got and red at me.


    Did she forget that I could heal? Or was she worried that it might have hurt me when that bastard attacked me?


    "Sit down. I will take care of it," she said and I could not help but obey. Actually, I wanted to see what she was nning to do. It was kind of adorable.


    I sat down on the bed and she ran to the restroom and came back with a wet towel. She also brought a bandage and ointment. I did not need those, yet I did not say anything. It was amusing to see her taking care of me.


    She took my upper attire off and touched the cut with the wet towel. She was pressing it gently over the wound so I would not get hurt.


    "You can press it a little harder if you want to. It doesn''t hurt," I said.


    "You always say that. Even now, you said you did not get hurt. Then how will you exin this?"


    ''Now, how can I say that I did not even notice that I was cut a bit?''


    She carefully cleaned the ce and put on some ointment. Ointments usually helped to speed up the healing. I usually did not use them if it was not absolutely necessary. I would never even think about using it for such a small cut. But after getting married, my wife took care of me for every little thing as if it would end my life.


    The way she was looking at the cut seemed like it was something huge and I was bleeding to death.


    "I am sorry. I will take care of myself from now on. So, don''t make that face. It hurts me to see you like that," I said, touching her face with my hand.


    "Hmm..."


    "I seem to have ruined your mood aftering here. You were in a good mood..."


    "No, you did not. I am just a bit sad that you got hurt..."


    "Babe, it''s nothing. Your husband is not weak."


    "Okay, so be careful from now on, okay?"


    "Alright, I promise," I chuckled. "I will be careful for my wife. If I get hurt, you might leave me because I am weak."


    "What are you saying? It''s not like that."


    "I am just kidding..."


    She nced at me once before looking at the wound back again. It perhaps had started to heal already.


    "So, won''t you tell me why you were so happy today?" I asked.


    "Um, I made a friend."


    "Who? The duchess?"


    "Hmm," she nodded. "How do you know that? Did you guess?"


    "No, she was making a fuss about it and was bragging to her husband. It doesn''t seem like they are a couple, more like friends. Weird..."


    "They are best friends and childhood friends," she said.


    "She told you?"


    "Yeah. She told me about a lot of things, including the reason that she and the duke got married. Apparently, they developed feelings for each other after they got married. They mainly got married because it was convenient for both of them since the duke did not have an heir and was divorced, and she had reached the age. She also told me about the duke''s younger sister.


    We talked for a long time until just a while ago. Then I came back."


    "It''s a good thing you made friends with her. She is trustworthy, as well as the duke."


    "I know... That''s why I epted when she wanted to be my friend," she mumbled. "I am d that I got another friend. A friend is very rare, after all."


    Truth be told, I did not want her to get close to anyone other than me. But it seemed that would not make her happy and she would feel lonely and miserable. I was her husband and she could talk to me about most of the things too, but perhaps she needed a friend as well. If she was happy and contented, then I was okay with it too.


    Besides, it was a woman and the duchess did not prefer women, or she might have been a threat.


    "Iris wants me to spend time with her. I also want the same. I think it will be fun."


    "Iris? Is that her name? Isn''t her name Elizabeth?"


    "Iris is her nickname," she said. "By the way, are you okay with it?"


    "With what?"


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    "Me spending time with her? If you are not okay with it, then I will tell her that it''s not possible. We will talk through letters..."


    "It''s fine," I said.


    "What?"


    "I said it''s fine if you spend time with her. She is your friend after all. As long as you take enough guards with you, it''s fine," I said.


    I had restricted her a lot. She could not do a lot of things freely because of me. Lest she should feel suffocated and want to get away from me, I did not want to stop her from spending time with the duchess because of my obsession.


    "Is that really okay?"


    "Of course. Whatever you want," I said and kissed her on the forehead while she just gaped at me in surprise.


    That night, we could not do it even though I had my desire. She said she was notfortable since she felt that she would have her menstruation in a day or two. It never failed to shock me how women would still survive after letting out that much blood every month.


    She fell asleep fast in my arms. Her maid also told me that she was not sleeping properly and had been trying to sleep in different ces. But now, she fell asleep right after getting on the bed.


    "What was the man saying in your dream? You avoided telling me this every time I asked," I muttered and touched her cheek gently with my knuckles. "Did you think I will not notice?"


    Perhaps I knew what he was saying and why she refused to tell me that. He most probably was saying that I was no good for her and she should leave me. He surely was her father and the dark mage. Now, he was trying to convince her in her dream to take the step to awaken her power since we were not nning on doing so. How long had he been messing with her mind? What if she believed what he said?


    Did he tell her that if she awakened her power fully, then she would not be dependent on me anymore and she could leave me?


    If that was true, then I must not let her awaken her power, no matter what.


    I wanted her to depend on me. I would always take care of her and protect her. The only thing she needed to do was be with me. It did not matter if she was powerless. I wanted her, not her power.


    Perhaps I wanted her for her power in the past and it was a horrible thing. But I was not in my right mind back then, even so, I sometimes med myself. Now, I did not want her for her power. I actually did not care for her power at all. I wanted her, only her.


    I hugged her tightly and kissed her hair. It was impossible for me to let her go. If she left me, I would be ruined. My obsession was going towards a dangerous point, I could feel it. But I could do nothing about it. How could I when a part of me wanted to feel that way about her?


    "I''m sorry. I am really not worthy of you. But I am selfish. I cannot let you go. I want all of you. The most twisted part is- I don''t really care if you say no.


    If I have to, I can tie you down or lock you in a room so you can''t leave me. And this dangerous desire- I cannot let it go..."


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