Predatory Marriage (Web Novel)
chapter-234

Chapter 234 – Difficult Decision (2)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

“Ahhh…!” Count Valtein collapsed to the ground, blood spilling red across the grass. Leah caught her breath as she watched.

“One at a time, Leah. Valtein first, then Laurent, then the knights…” Blain’s smile was cruel. “Then I will kill myself last.”

He was not sane. Leah stared at him, paling as he brandished the bloody sword in his hand and suddenly screamed frantically.

“I will kill myself, Leah! The man you love will die!”

A rattling echo sounded in her ears, a rattling of chains followed by a headache so crushing, she covered her ears with her hands, her head shaking from side to side. And suddenly, she felt someone holding her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, tears welling from the excruciating pain. As she looked up into golden eyes, the tears slid down her cheeks.

“Ishakan…” She had to ask the question. “If I leave Estia, I won’t get my memories back, right?”

“……”

Ishakan said nothing, but his golden eyes darkened. She felt her heart clench.

Her eyes went to the flames blazing past his shoulders, Blain with his blood-stained sword, and the terrified Valtein and Laurent. She didn’t want to go to them. The bare thought of the palace filled with all those people blank as dolls made her feel suffocated. She wanted to forget everything and run away to the desert with Ishakan.

But if she ran away, all of her people would live like this the rest of her lives. She couldn’t live wondering and worrying about the people she had left behind.

And she thought of the locked door.

She still hadn’t found the key. If she ran away, she would never be able to open it. Everything would be as it was now, and she would never know what lay behind it. The baby wolf she saw in her dreams had risked his life, fighting the chains that bound her. It would be cowardly for her to run away.

And she remembered what the voice she heard beyond the door had said.

I can do it…no, I have to.

Leah steeled herself and looked at Ishakan. His jaw was already clenched tight as he gritted his teeth. He knew what she was going to say.

“…Leah.”

She said the words he didn’t want to hear.

“I can’t leave alone.”

His voice was strangled when he spoke.

“No, Leah…”

Leah had led a peaceful life. She had grown up untroubled, met the love of her life, and they had been about to get married. And then in the midst of this uneventful life, this man had appeared like a stone in that smooth path.

If she had never met Ishakan, she wouldn’t have had a bad life. She would have ruled as Queen of Estia, supporting Blain. What was her relationship with the King of Kurkan? Why was she so attracted to him? For him, she was willing to give up her title, her first love, and everything else she had.

“I’ve forgotten you.” She looked Ishakan straight in the eyes. Once she regained her lost memories, she would learn why her mind confused Blain and Ishakan so much. She would find the answer. “I’ll come back to you. So now…”

She looked up at him and pleaded softly.

“Let me go.”

Ishakan was silent for a long time.

“…You always try my patience,” he said finally. His voice was so calm, disconnected from the fire, the line of knights with their swords in hand, and the reek of blood. Gently, he stroked her face, wiping away her tears.

“I have never been defeated,” he said bitterly. “But I can never stand against you.”

It was strange to hear this man speak that word. It was probably the first time he had ever admitted defeat in his life. His golden eyes met hers coldly.

“You won’t have much time. On the wedding day, I will come for you. This time it won’t be a bride kidnapping. I will take my wife back.” His large hand gripped her chin as her eyes widened. But he wasn’t done. “I will not let you refuse. Even if you cry, and beg, Leah, I will never let you go.”