The System Gave Me A Yandere Husband

Chapter 51: Controlling The Yandere

The torn curtain fell on the floor like dead leaves.

The secluded alcove was instantly plunged into darkness. The magic radiating from Eveyr was so dense that it acted as a physical crushing force.

Before Sylas could reach for his dagger hidden in his pocket, he fell on his knees. His hands flew to his throat, suddenly gasping for air.

Eveyr no longer looked like a duke. He looked like a walking apocalypse. He didn’t ask what had happened or demand any kind of explanation from either of them, nor did he care about the Emperor’s political backing.

He had felt a spike of terror in his wife’s blood, and the only response to that was complete annihilation. He raised his hand and the shadows around him immediately made a sharp blade. He aimed it at the back of Sylas’s neck.

[SYSTEM ALERT: LETHAL AGITATION DETECTED]

[Target is operating on primal defense instincts]

[Reward: 500 Points]

[Vitality: 80%]

Despite the chaos unfolding in front of her, a surge of relief washed over Esme as she read the notification. But she didn’t have time to celebrate right now. Eveyr was just a few seconds away from killing Sylas and begin a war.

She immediately stepped into the path of his shadow blade that was about to cut Sylas’s neck as she placed her body between Eveyr and Sylas.

"Drop it," Esme ordered.

The shadow blade stopped just a millimeter away from Esme’s shoulder. Eveyr snarled, his feral and overprotective instincts were completely overriding his restraint. He stared at her, breathing heavily.

"He scared you," Eveyr growled. "I felt it in your blood, Esme. I felt your terror spike. Move."

"No," she replied, looking straight into his eyes.

Meanwhile, Sylas, who was on his knees behind Esme, clutched his chest, struggling to breathe. He looked at them and his eyes widened in disbelief.

He had expected Esme to panic, flee, or beg Eveyr to stop. But Esme...she stood between them without the slightest hesitation, completely unbothered and without any fear.

"He gave me intelligence," Esme lied. "My pulse spiked because of what he told me. Not because of what he did."

Eveyr’s hand trembled, the shadow blade hovering dangerously close to her throat as he fought with himself.

"What did he say?"

"He told me Julian is secretly moving his troops to the northern border," Esme fabricated a political story this time.

Behind her, Sylas’s eyes narrowed in confusion. But when he looked at Esme’s confidence, he understood exactly what she was doing. She was saving his life by manipulating her husband’s paranoia.

"It was a tactical surprise, Eveyr, not a threat to my life," Esme said. "You promised me you would not start a war tonight. So stop it!"

She then took a few steps towards him and grabbed his coat tightly.

"Look at me," Esme said, her thumbs brushing against the muscles of his chest. "I am perfectly fine."

As Eveyr stared into her eyes, the manic darkness in his gaze slowly began to vanish, after fighting a brutal war against his own destructive nature.

"Troops on the border?"

"Yes," Esme replied. "Just politics."

Eveyr finally lowered his hand. The shadow blade dissolved back into mist. The air pressure in the alcove lifted just enough for Sylas to take a proper breath. Slowly, Sylas stood up, leaning against the wall and coughing to clear his throat.

"You are alive only because my wife wants it," Eveyr roared, clearly not convinced. "But if I find out she is lying to protect you... then even the Emperor won’t be able to save you."

Sylas adjusted his collar, his eyes moving from Eveyr’s furious face to Esme’s calm one.

"The Duchess is telling the truth, Your Grace," Sylas said, playing his part perfectly in Esme’s lie. "Julian is playing a dangerous game right now. But remember, Duke Aldric... Julian is not the only one in this palace watching your every move. The Emperor sees everything as well."

"Let him watch," Eveyr scoffed.

Before Eveyr could fully calm down, a heavy sound of armored boots echoed loudly from the grand staircase.

Six Imperial Royal Guards from the Emperor’s personal retinue, dressed from head to toe in ceremonial gold armour walked into the corridor. They immediately surrounded the entrance to the ruined alcove, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords as they looked at the frost covered walls and the gasping Sylas.

"Duke Aldric," the captain said. "The Emperor orders your presence in the sun room immediately. And His Imperial Majesty specifically requested that you attend... alone."

Eveyr’s head turned towards the guards, sneering at them.

"Tell the Emperor to go to hell," Eveyr shouted. "I am not leaving my wife."

"For god’s sake, Eveyr...stop," Esme interrupted him immediately.

If the Emperor really knows about the system, as Sylas has warned me, then Eveyr refusing a summon would only confirm their guilt. It would prove to the crown that they were hiding a catastrophic secret.

She had to deescalate the situation before the Emperor deployed the entire Imperial army on them. Esme stepped back and lightly pushed against his chest, gesturing for him to go.

"Go," Esme said quietly. "You have the blood ward on me. You will know exactly where I am, and you will feel it if I am in any danger. Do not defy the Emperor in his own house. We cannot afford the political scrutiny right now."

Eveyr glared at the trembling guards, then he looked at Esme. He hated this. Every cell in his body, every instinct he possessed rejected the idea of walking away from Esme in a palace full of enemies. But Esme had asked him to go, and her wishes outweighed even his hatred for the crown.

He took a step forward and rested his one hand on the back of her head as he kissed her forehead possessively.

"Stay in the light," Eveyr said. "If anyone looks at you too long... execute them yourself. I will be right back."