Chapter 23: The light from the lamp dimly lit up the room.

The light from the lamp dimly lit up the room.

Yelena slowly approached the large, vintage bed that was located on one side of the spacious room.

Soon, she saw the defenseless face of her husband, who was sound asleep.

The corners of Yelena's mouth crept upwards uncontrollably.

'I got this!'

Yelena's trembling hands placed the lamp on the table lightly.

Her pink eyes shone brighter than ever.

'This is it!'

***

That was the end of Yelena's plans.

"Ah, why!"

Outraged, Yelena thrashed her feet on a nearby stone.

The small stone in the garden, the victim of Yelena's anger, rolled quite some distance.

Yelena squatted down as she watched the stone roll away.

"What should I do now?"

Eventually, her plans to pounce on her husband had failed miserably.

It'd be more fitting to call it a terrible failure since she wasn't able to even lay a single finger on him, let alone pounce on him.

Yelena had tried to pounce on her husband twice by hiding in his room, but both attempts had failed.

On the night of her first intrusion, her husband woke up immediately, rolled her up in a blanket, and then hugged her to sleep.

Yelena realized the reason for her failure.

Thus, on the second attempt, as soon as she hid in his bedroom, she removed his blanket first.

However, her husband used the bed sheets and once again tied her up with those.

Once again, she was hugged by him to sleep.

There was no third attempt because she knew the same results would happen even if she tried again.

"Damn."

Yelena stood up, walked towards the stone she kicked before, and kicked it again.

It was obviously a meaningless act.

Yelena, whose plans were all for naught, sat down on a random bench and sighed miserably.

'What should I do?'

Now, she had to think of a new way to ambush her husband instead of hiding in his bedroom. It sounded easy, but she felt hopeless while trying to come up with a plan.

As Yelena admired the garden's view in silence, her eyes widened all of a sudden.

'Should I just tell him the truth? That the world would turn into ruins in twenty years?

'If you don't cooperate with me and produce an heir, you, too, will die in twenty years.'

"Would that even work?" Yelena muttered and sighed.

Who would believe that demons would one day invade the human world and turn it into ruins when none had been spotted for over centuries?

Just who would believe her words?

'It's not like I have any evidence.'

She would be thankful for not being treated like a crazy person if she had even brought it up.

At times like that, it was unfortunate that she could not locate that old woman.

'Where can I find her?'

Yelena suddenly thought of it.

She was now Duchess Mayhard and had significant power.

'Should I try?'

What if she encouraged people to look for the old woman?

Though she was uncertain if the old woman could be found given her strange abilities, it was worth a try.

Regardless if it worked, it was better to give it a try than do nothing.

Yelena stood up immediately after having made her decision.

She left the garden hastily and lost her footing when a bug flew into her face.

"Gasp!"

Yelena lost balance and leaned sideways.

'I'm going to fall!'

Yelena squeezed her eyes shut, but a pair of hands grabbed onto her just before she fell.

"Are you alright?"

Yelena opened her tightly shut eyes.

Yelena thought the voice sounded unfamiliar and opened her eyes to see a foreign man's face.

'Who is he?'

She found it weird, but it was right to give her greetings first since she received help.

"I'm fine. Thank-"

Just then, goosebumps came from the area where the man's hands were placed.

Yelena stiffened at the sudden shock.

The man helped stabilize Yelena and removed his hand from her arm.

The goosebumps then disappeared along with his hand.

'What was that...?'

Yelena subconsciously rubbed where the man had grabbed onto her.

Was she mistaken?

The man spoke up while Yelena was still flustered.

"It was nice to meet you, Duchess."

"Do you know me?"

"I heard about you when I arrived at the castle today. It's my first time seeing you. I'm Incan Marezon."

"Marezon?"

Yelena concentrated on his last name rather than his first name.

She seemed to have heard that somewhere and soon recalled a memory.

"Ah, that Marezon!"