How to Escape from My Possessive Fiancé - Chapter 68

‘What kind of face will he make when he sees his fiancée with her legs fully exposed?’

 

Everyone’s eyes turned to the Duke and Sophia.

 

It looked like a knight was reporting something about Sophia to the Duke. The Duke leaned slightly forward to listen, then frowned as he heard what was said.

 

Soon, the Duke strode straight toward where Sophia was.

 

People whispered that even a play wouldn’t be more exciting than this.

 

What would the Duke say? Would he get angry? Or pretend not to know and abandon Sophia?

 

“Sophia Hilden.”

 

The Duke’s voice rang out quietly. Sophia, who had been explaining what she saw to the knights, looked up at the Duke at the sound of his low voice.

 

The Duke stared at Sophia with unreadable eyes. Then he sighed, tore off part of the tent fabric, and wrapped it around her waist. Only then did Sophia remember her appearance and blush.

 

“Ah, thank you.”

 

“No. That’s not the right response.”

 

“What?”

 

“You should say sorry.”

 

Then the Duke lifted Sophia in his arms and started walking somewhere else with her. People, who had already been shocked when he tore the tent cloth, now stared in disbelief as he carried her away. They turned to each other, mouths open, watching the Duke walk off.

 

“Put me down! Where are we going?”

 

Meanwhile, Sophia, slung over his shoulder, kicked and struggled.

 

The Duke didn’t say a word and just kept walking. Sophia kicked her legs and asked to be put down. Hanging upside down made the blood rush to her head and left her dizzy.

 

The Duke ignored her whining until she suddenly kicked him. He grabbed her leg.

 

“Are you going to keep being noisy?”

 

Sophia felt his hot hand through her thin stockings and immediately closed her mouth. The annoyed tone and firm grip warned her that if she moved more, his hand might slip under her skirt.

 

Only after they had moved far away from everyone did the Duke put her down. Sophia staggered, grabbed his arm, and stood up properly. But right after that, she grabbed the piece of cloth he’d wrapped around her and ran.

 

“Don’t come near me!”

 

“There it is again. Have I ever obeyed when you said that?”

 

“If you come closer, I’ll scream.”

 

“Really? Then people will imagine something very interesting. Don’t you think?”

 

“That… that’ll make things worse for *you*, Duke.”

 

“Will it now?”

 

The Duke approached without hesitation. Of course, Sophia ran. But she didn’t get far before he caught her. He grabbed the back of her neck like she was an animal, and Sophia felt deeply humiliated.

 

“Why are you doing this?!”

 

“Stay still. You’re annoying.”

 

The Duke started wrapping the torn piece of tent tightly around her waist again. Sophia lifted her head and tried to push him away. It was the first time she had heard him say he was annoyed, and though she was a little scared, she still wanted to keep her pride.

 

“You can’t be annoyed just because someone saw my body. It’s *my* body, not yours.”

 

“Don’t say nonsense. What matters is why your skirt was torn. You, who always care about appearances, did something like that because of *him*. That’s what annoys me. Do I really have to say this out loud?”

 

“That’s…”

 

It was the first time the Duke showed emotion like this. Sophia was shocked. She never thought he, who always wore a soft smile and kept a mysterious attitude, could act this way.

 

“But he was badly hurt. He was bleeding a lot.”

 

“So?”

 

“I thought he might die if I didn’t help…”

 

“He wouldn’t have died. Even if he did, what does that have to do with you?”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m asking—what does he have to do with *you*?”

 

Sophia felt like fainting from his strange logic. What did it matter? Wasn’t that beside the point? She looked at the Duke like he was heartless and began to speak like giving a lecture.

 

“Listen, Duke. Normal people aren’t like you. When they see someone about to die, they act like I did. Besides, he’s a prince. He just brought back the Forester flag—if he died like that, it would’ve been terrible. Ugh.”

 

The Duke tied the cloth around her waist so tightly she groaned. It felt like he was telling her to shut up. Sophia glared at him and sighed.

 

“And… he saved me.”

 

The Duke said nothing, but the slight frown on his face showed he was listening. So, Sophia continued.

 

“Princess Yulicias put something in my horse’s feed. I nearly died. The horse went crazy like it was in heat and tried to throw me off. It ran toward a cliff… Do you know how scared I was?”

 

The Duke sighed.

 

“Sophia, as long as I’m near you, you won’t die.”

 

“What?”

 

“If you don’t believe me, test it. Here, stab your heart with this.”

 

He handed her the dagger Michelle gave her. Sophia stared at him like he was insane.

 

“Wha… Do you want me to die?”

 

The Duke smiled.

 

“Of course not. You’re my fiancée. I told you, this is just a test.”

 

Sophia looked nervously at the dagger in her hand. The Duke kindly adjusted it so the blade faced inward.

 

“You have to stab straight into your heart. Not your stomach or anywhere else. You’ll still get hurt if I’m nearby.”

 

“That’s nonsense. I could die from getting hurt.”

 

Sophia asked with a trembling voice. Even now, she hoped this was just some twisted joke. But the Duke answered with a light laugh.

 

“No, you won’t die. You’ll hover near death, waiting for me to save you.”

 

“What kind of creepy horror story is that?”

 

“Well, try it and see.”

 

He gave a subtle smile. His hand lightly touched hers, as if giving her courage. His blue eyes looked into hers like casting a spell. Sophia shook her head and threw the dagger aside.

 

“Why are you doing this? You’re so strange sometimes.”

 

“Coward. How did someone like you dive into Hallas’s flames?”

 

The Duke mumbled to himself as he picked up the dagger. Sophia flinched at his words.

 

Dived into Hallas’s flames? How did he know that?

 

Had she ever told him about that dream?

 

Then his voice echoed in her head again. A buzzing pain shot through her skull. Sophia grabbed her head.

 

‘But in the end, that worm lived. Oh dear. Sweet Sophia, you believed that again, didn’t you? So, did you die alone for that kid?’

 

The hazy voice from a dream became clearer. At the same time, pain wrapped around her jaw and neck. Sophia clutched her throbbing head and gasped for air. If there had been something to hold onto, she would’ve clung to it.

 

‘So… how did it feel, seeing Ezekiel again in your dream?’

 

She pictured the Duke’s arrogant face looking down at her. He was gripping her chin tightly.

 

‘But you lied to me.’

 

‘How dare you lie to me again?’

 

His voice felt real, like it shook her whole body. Trembling, Sophia lowered her head. Sensing something was wrong, the Duke raised her chin like before and met her eyes. Her amber eyes looked cloudy. Seeing that, the Duke instinctively knew trouble had come.

 

“Sophia.”

 

The Duke whispered sweetly. As if casting a spell to bring her back.

 

Sophia slowly opened her eyes. They were full of confusion, as if they had wandered for an eternity.

 

“You… what *are* you?”

 

She asked, her face twisted in pain like recalling something horrible.

 

“You did this before, didn’t you? You strangled me. Or are you going to say this is all a dream again?”

 

Tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks. The Duke sighed and wiped her tears.

 

Sophia, lost in fear and strange sensations, kept crying as if she’d forgotten what was real.

 

The Duke pulled her close and kissed her damp cheek.

 

“Shh. It’s okay.”

 

Sophia stood still, not knowing whether to push him away or lean on him. Both her logic and instincts felt out of place.

 

“It’s not okay. You strangled me.”

 

She weakly pushed his hand away. The Duke awkwardly held her hand and kissed it too. His touch seemed both apologetic and like a parent soothing a frightened child.

 

Her head throbbed painfully.

 

Sophia felt like her mind was slowly unraveling under some strange power. Her consciousness sank lower and lower. She slumped into the Duke’s arms. He kissed her forehead and held her tightly.

 

“You really did that.”

 

Sophia whispered as she closed her eyes. The Duke stared at her with a cold expression. After she completely lost consciousness, he picked her up.

 

Her arms hung limp. The Duke carried her away.