The System Gave Me A Yandere Husband

Chapter 5: Mine To Parade And Cage

The knight fled before the last word left Eveyr’s mouth. Eveyr moved and stood behind her chair, placing his hands on the armrests. Then he leaned forward, caging her in, his face only a few inches from hers.

What is he going to do now?? Kill me???

With one hand, he gripped her jaw. His fingers dug into her cheeks, forcing her head up and back to meet his gaze.

"You will never look at another man like that again," he said, his voice low and rough. "If you do, I will paint this entire estate in their blood."

Esme should have been afraid. Instead, she was furious. She was angry at the system that forced her to play this game and at the cosmic joke that had chained her to a man who knew nothing other than murdering people.

"Then stop being so boring at breakfast," she replied, slapping his hand away from her face.

Eveyr’s hand dropped, his fingers still curled in the shape of her jaw. She turned her head, rubbing her sore cheek against her shoulder, and looked at him with a cold expression that could have frozen the solarium even without his magic.

"You sat there for ten minutes staring at me like a statue. You didn’t speak. You didn’t eat. You made the room feel like a tomb. And now you’re surprised I found the very first person who walked in interesting?"

"Interesting?" he repeated.

"Yes. Interesting," she replied. "As in, capable of conversation. As in, not sitting in silence radiating murderous intent while I try to enjoy my coffee."

She rubbed her jaw again where his fingers had left faint red marks.

"If you don’t want me looking at other men, Eveyr, then be worth looking at."

The silence that followed was so profound that Esme could hear the individual crackles of the frost on the windows.

Eveyr had gone completely still again. He looked like a man whose internal programming had just encountered an error it couldn’t fix. He had never met someone like her before.

He doesn’t know what to do with me. No one has ever talked to him like this. And even if someone did, they must not have survived.

She smirked and picked up one of the scattered letters. It had a royal seal on it. She broke the seal and read it aloud.

By decree of His Imperial Majesty, Duke and Duchess of Aldric are cordially invited to the Crown Prince’s Welcome Banquet to be held this evening at the Crown Prince’s Palace.

This is it. A room full of people with potential targets everywhere. I can trigger his jealousy easily. Jackpot!

"Burn it," Eveyr ordered. "You are not leaving this estate. You are staying here, where I can see you. Where I can count every breath you take and know that no one is standing close enough to look at you the way that knight did."

He snatched the letter and crumpled it in his fist.

"Eveyr, I..."

He didn’t let her finish.

"You don’t understand what you are to me now," he said, his voice sounding desperate. "You walked into that cathedral and didn’t waver. You looked at me like I was a man and not a monster. You...I cannot let you out of my sight."

If he locks me in this estate and keeps me away from people, the obsession meter will drop. And when it drops, the system will punish me.

No! I want him obsessed and for that, I need targets!

Esme stood up and turned to look at him.

"I am the Duchess of Aldric," she said, her voice full of authority. "I am not a prized hound you can lock in the kennels. I am your wife, and that gives me a title, and obligations beyond the four walls of your paranoia."

Eveyr chuckled at her reponse.

"You think a title can protect you from me?" he asked, his demonic edge creeping back into his voice. "I am the Duke of Aldric. I’m answerable to no one. Not to the crown. Not to the church and certainly not to a woman I pulled out of a cathedral..."

"I walked out of that cathedral on my own two feet," Esme cut him off. "You didn’t pull me anywhere."

She stepped forward, stopping so close to him that the frozen air around him stung her skin.

"I am going to that banquet, Eveyr. You can either walk in with me on your arm or you can watch me waltz with the Crown Prince from the sidelines," she said, holding his gaze without flinching. "Choose."

Eveyr’s chest heaved against hers. His breathing was ragged and uneven. His hands suddenly dropped to her waist and gripped her tightly, pulling her even closer.

He was enraged. She could feel it in the tension of his shoulders, and the tremor in his fingers. But beneath the rage, there was addiction.

He was addicted to her. If it were someone else, that person would have been either dead or locked away in a dungeon by now.

He leaned down. His nose brushed hers, his lips just a breath away as his teeth grazed her ear. The touch was light, but it sent heat down her spine. The sensation was electric and she hated her body for responding to it.

"I will let you wear a pretty dress," he murmured against her ear. "And play in the Emperor’s ballroom."

His hands tightened on her waist.

"But remember this, wife," he pulled back just enough to look at her. "The moment another man’s hand touches any part of your body, I will sever it from his wrist. You are mine to parade and to cage."

[SYSTEM ALERT: Dominance trigger successful!]

+150 Redemption Points!

Obsession Meter: 15% → 30%

Target State: POSSESSIVE FIXATION.

Perfect!

She looked back at Eveyr. He was wrecked emotionally.

"Fine," Esme said, smiling. "But I need a better dress than this one. Something that screams my status. You understand, right?"

Eveyr stared at her in disbelief.

"You... I just threatened to dismember a man and you’re thinking about dresses?"

"Among other things," Esme replied. "Food, for example. I only had coffee. And shoes. I want pretty shoes."

Eveyr made a sharp sound that was something between a laugh and a disbelieving exhale. He removed his hands from her waist and stepped back.

"The head maid will bring you whatever you need," he said. "Do not leave the estate before I come to get you."

Then he turned towards the door but stopped and looked at her over his shoulder.

"Don’t even think of running. No matter where you go, I will find you."

"I’m not going to run, Eveyr."

"Why not?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Because running is boring," she replied. "And I just told you...you need to be more interesting."

He walked out of the solarium silently. The frost on the dome began to thaw. Esme stood there, her heart pounding, and let out a long breath.

Thirty percent. If I play this right, I can push it to fifty by midnight.