Become The Duke's Wife Or Die

"After careful consideration, and after evaluating all of her behavior, I've decided to sentence her.  Today, finally, she will be executed!"  Duke Kleo's voice seemed to reverberate throughout, like a traumatic nuclear explosion.

Everyone gasped more dramatically than before, as they looked at Lyra, who was now on her knees shaking and crying.  They all choked, accompanying the results of her sentence without being able to do anything.

Ella and Gena could only gasp for air, realizing that they weren't the party with that much authority.

The silence seemed to suffocate them in the middle of a beautiful sunny morning, an atmosphere suitable for gardening and singing.  But they just like experiencing a mass massacre, with them as victims.

"Why is this?  Jeff didn't say anything like this last night," Ella mumbled in a daze, unknowingly collapsing on the ground, ignored by her stupefied comrades.

Jeff, the guard who asked Ella out, even frowned at this.  'It wasn't a decision that I heard last night.  Why would His Grace execute Miss Lyra?  What happened?' The nape of his neck was drenched in sweat, his entire face, even the tips of his eyelashes.  His shock spread to everyone, even to Mr. Bertus and also to Stefanus.  No one thought that Duke Kleo would execute the girl he loved.

Duke Kleo looked at everyone flatly, deliberately passing Lyra's figure huddled pitifully on the cold floor.  His hands hung relaxed beside his dark pants.

He seemed to recognize Stefanus looking at him full of judgment, hurt, and at the same time a very sad expression.  Sighing, even injustice came to him again at this time.

'I'm the one who's been harmed and hurt a lot right now.  But why didn't any of them seem to notice that?  They only focus on Lyra's safety, on her happiness?' thought Duke Kleo, being too shallow in concluding this matter.

After a long silence, he decided to approach Lyra, lifted an arm, and helped her to her feet, enduring her shaking and her unsteady balance.  Now his hands were supporting her, standing together using his legs as support, watching Lyra's hair splatter like tangled gold threads.

He wanted to ask, "Are you all right?"  But the words sank into his parched throat, replaced by a look that could kill anyone from a distance.

His hands were still supporting her, while he made another announcement.  "However, after I thought and evaluated my decision, I realized that there were many holes that cost me."

Everyone looked up again, seeming to have high hopes for him.

"I had to break a promise to my mother, the most sacred thing I'm not allowed to do," he continued, feeling Lyra's body weight a little less.  "Besides, I think that the way to punish someone is to give him/her something he/she doesn't want."  Glancing for a moment at her, who was currently looking up with a pale and weak face.

"She hates death."  His chest swelled as if he was steeling himself.  "She had begged me not to execute her.  But there's one thing she hates more than anything, and that's marriage."

Ella froze, everyone in the courtyard froze, neither blinking nor holding their breath for a moment.  Their shoulders tensed with tormenting ambiguous possibilities.

"That's why I'll punish her in another way," said Duke Kleo again.  "I will marry her as soon as possible instead of executing her." 

Suddenly he felt Lyra's weight gain again, slicing his heartstrings and making it seem like she didn't want him.  His voice trembled as he continued, but his fists braced himself well.  "This is not a happy marriage, as you know.  This marriage will only be used to punish her, to take away all her freedom to do whatever she likes, as well as a form of my devotion to my late mother.  My decision is final, I am replacing the sentence of execution with a marriage sentence."

Lyra's eyes filled with tears, her lips trembled, holding back all the fears and pleas she failed to say.  Her entire world seemed to be collapsing as if being sucked into endless darkness. She would walk with no freedom at all, even that was worse than death.

And Duke Kleo won't give her a happy marriage, which means it won't be founded on love and warmth like a harmonious family.

Her knees weakened, even more, causing her to stumble and fall on the floor if only Duke Kleo hadn't restrained her body swiftly.  Her head was lowered as if tired of challenging the sun as if she was reluctant to see the vultures that had fled because they failed to eat the corpses.  Now her fate was even worse than she thought.

Her hand could not dodge when Duke Kleo slipped a ring on her ring finger, a silver ring engraved with a fairly thick line, indicating that a girl in Eastlandor had accepted a man's proposal.

'No, I don't want to accept this ring.  No, don't put this ring on my finger!' refused Lyra mutely, crying when Duke Kleo's ring was completely pinned on her ring finger.

He raised her hand, showing the ring to the people.  "You have witnessed that Lyra has accepted my proposal as a form of punishment for the sins she has committed.  This will be the initial binding for her before the official engagement takes place, and continues with the wedding party.  You will be very busy lately, so prepare yourselves!  My reputation will be at stake at the party, so don't embarrass me!"

Those words were the last important announcement before they were disbanded, like an ant being hit by a large drop of water.  Various emotions churned in their hearts, thinking about all the things that had happened too soon that morning.

All of this was too fast, even exceeding the speed of their eyes blinking by reflex.

It was as if only yesterday they had received Lyra in Wereal, mesmerized by her kindness.  It was as if only yesterday a wave of confusion filled their minds about Duke Kleo's drastic change in attitude.  Now they got an even more horrendous surprise, that Duke Kleo was going to marry Lyra, and it was all because of the wrong she had done to him.

Their minds drifted in chaos, making them even forget the most basic thing that could replace their breath, gossip!  They didn't even gossip at all until they finally got to a point, where they were gathered by Mr. Bertus and Mrs. Melisa for some direction.

Meanwhile, Lyra was still frozen in her position, in Duke Kleo's sturdy arms that still supported her.  Her gaze was bleak and at the same time emptier than the servants and guards who had dispersed.  As if this was all just a dream, a reality too scary to be true.

Her hand was numb to feel a ring binding her finger as well as her life until the future.

"You insisted me to do this," Duke Kleo hissed scornfully.  "You refused to be treated with respect and chose something disgusting.  I'm going to make sure our wedding is a great one, Pumpkin.  I'm going to make you lose everything you love, so you're going to begin to learn how you've ruined someone's life, and what it's like to be ignored when you're begging helplessly."  He pushed Lyra hard enough, making her fall to the ground and leave her alone.

***