It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 30

“There was a reason I wanted to marry you even before I truly knew you,” Achilles said quietly. “The process of investigating your mana… involves a kind of contact you may find overwhelming.”

At his words, Charlize recalled the moment she had passed her mana to him. She remembered how intimate the connection had been—perhaps even something only possible between lovers.

“If that’s the case… I can handle it. Because right now, I really do like you.”

“Then if we were to marry…”

Charlize shook her head firmly. If it came to it, she would rather share a bed with him than bind herself in marriage. Marriage was far too dangerous.

“I don’t think the power you want is all that extraordinary. If you want to study it, I’ll let you. If needed, I’ll even lend it to you. But don’t push for marriage. Be satisfied with that.”

“Your Highness…”

Achilles’s golden eyes dimmed with sorrow.

“I want to touch you. To kiss you. To hold you—and be loved by you. You’re the one who made me realize that. Please… don’t push me away.”

“I don’t really know you,” Charlize said, voice trembling. “You say you like me, but I don’t know what you’ll do with that feeling. Maybe you mean it now, but what if that changes?”

She felt safer within the palace walls. Even though the Tower Master was powerful, the Emperor’s knights were just as strong. Here, he wouldn’t try anything reckless.

“Your Highness, I don’t know when I fell in love with you. But I do know this: it’s the first time I’ve ever loved anyone—and I believe that love will never change.”

“How can you be so sure?” she asked. “If it’s your first love, you don’t know yet.”

Achilles’s golden eyes lit up with emotion.

“The thing I’ve loved most until now… was magic. It was my salvation. My joy. My everything. And I still love it, even after more than ten years. That hasn’t changed—and it never will.”

He looked at her like she was everything.

In his eyes, she saw nothing but herself. She stood frozen, forgetting even to breathe.

“But now… more than magic, I want you. When I’m near you, time feels like it stops. Every breath, every heartbeat—every part of me reaches for you.”

Even now, his heart beat only for her. If she asked him to stop, he felt it might truly stop altogether.

“I love you, Lize. My rose. Without you, my world is meaningless. Please don’t force me to live in that kind of world. I can’t unlearn a love I’ve already come to know.”

“I… I don’t know,” Charlize whispered. “If I can’t feel safe with you, how can I possibly become your wife?”

“I’ll find a way.”

Achilles rose slowly, carefully, as if afraid to startle her.

“I’ll find a way to make you feel safe at my side. There must be one. I won’t give up—so please, love me as you did before.”

He looked like he wanted to reach for her—but he didn’t. Instead, he lowered his head.

With eyes that seemed wet with sorrow, he spoke once more.

“I love you, Lize.”

His voice, low and aching, lingered in the air.

Before she could say anything else, Achilles’s form vanished. The space he had occupied disappeared without a trace—and then the outside noise returned.

Bang! Bang!

“Why won’t this door open?! Princess, are you alright?!”

Now that she thought about it, it was strange no one had entered earlier, even with the commotion. Achilles must have sealed the door with magic.

“I’m fine,” Charlize called back.

She turned her gaze toward the open balcony window. A breeze had slipped in, causing the curtains to flutter softly.

Duchess Bianchi stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching her son climb to the second floor with a troubled expression. But she didn’t have it in her to scold him.

After all, the madness that man had brought upon their house wasn’t entirely his fault.

Valter, on the other hand, wore a different face the moment his mother’s gaze left him. As soon as he was out of her line of sight, his expression turned dark and dangerous.

I underestimated the fact that he’s the Tower Master.

The Mage Tower wasn’t just one man—it was a collective of thousands, even tens of thousands, of mages. But Valter had made the mistake of viewing Achilles as just an individual.

Because Achilles never surrounded himself with others.

Even when he visited the imperial palace for years, he always came alone, as if on personal errands. He still employed the servants assigned to him by the palace. So, it was understandable—though no less foolish—that Valter had misjudged him.

It was a stupid mistake, one that made Valter furious. His plan, the one that had used Ralph, wasn’t careless or weakly constructed.

And yet… it was Achilles alone who saved the Crown Prince.

Valter imagined what might have happened if Achilles hadn’t noticed Ralph—if he had simply attended the ceremony as planned. If Ralph had cursed the Tower Master while dying and Oscar had vomited blood…

If that had happened, many things would’ve gone his way. But reality didn’t follow his plan. Achilles Illien was still standing—still at Charlize’s side.

As her fiancé.

It was a position Valter had once rejected. But now that someone else occupied it, he couldn’t bear the thought.

No. It’s not over yet. There’s still time before the wedding.

There were four weeks left—plus a few days—before the wedding between the princess and the Tower Master. With today’s events, Achilles had clearly earned the Empress’s favor, and the ceremony would likely proceed without a hitch.

“I didn’t want to resort to this…”

It wasn’t something one should do to someone they had loved for so long. But Valter believed Charlize shared some blame. She should’ve pushed Achilles away more forcefully.

Even the strongest enemies have weaknesses.

The arrogance of the powerful always created openings. Achilles would be no exception.

The moment you show one—your life will begin to unravel, Tower Master.

Valter’s eyes gleamed coldly as he remembered the man standing at Charlize’s side. He swore to repay today’s humiliation.

He hadn’t known what it meant to feel like your chest was being torn apart—until now. Achilles had never experienced this kind of pain before. The mere thought of Charlize rejecting him made his heart ache in ways he didn’t know were possible.

Maybe I shouldn’t have told her about her power.

But how else could he have explained saving her brother? Lying about it would’ve only made things worse.

He found himself wishing, more than ever, to take Charlize with him to the Tower. He had the power to do it—it would be easy, in fact.

And if he feared the Emperor’s retaliation, they could vanish somewhere on the Eastern Continent. No one would be able to find them.

But I can’t do that. Not if it would make her sad.

Just the memory of her tearful face made him want to run back to her. Those tears had come from one thing—her inability to trust his heart.

And he understood her fear.

Countless mages had conducted illegal experiments. As Tower Master, Achilles knew it better than anyone.

Using monsters in research was considered relatively tame. Human experimentation was more common than it should’ve been—and occasionally exposed.

Many mages, in their obsession with magic, forgot their humanity. They wielded mana, and in doing so, believed they were mana. They failed to recognize that they were still human beings—just vessels borrowing its power.

Achilles was different.

He loved mana. But he understood that he could never be magic itself. He accepted his limits. For all his strength, he tried his best to honor the rules of human decency.

How can I make Lize feel safe?

A small part of him wished she were stronger than him. Because her fear came from the fact that he was stronger.

And yet… he was a man who was utterly swayed by her words, her tears—her smallest emotions. But she didn’t know that.

She has the talent. I could teach her magic…

Having channeled her power before, he knew she had potential. But without the same passion he had, she wouldn’t reach great heights. And that was fine.

He loved her either way.

But making her into a mage stronger than himself, just to quiet her fear… that might be impossible.

“…I didn’t know it could hurt like this.”

Achilles lowered himself slowly to the floor, hand pressed to his chest. He hadn’t felt this kind of ache since the day he lost his parents—and his teacher, the previous Tower Master.

Since then, he’d never cried.

But now, his heart was full of quiet grief.

He missed Charlize deeply.

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