Become The Duke's Wife Or Die

"Miss Lyra hasn't touched her food all day, My Lord," said Mr. Bertus, standing weakly behind the bathroom door.  "You have to do something because her body already looks weak."  Fatigue ran through his body, almost numbing most of his nerves.

Duke Kleo froze in his position, almost soaking in the warm water in the bathtub.  Some clothes were still attached to his burly body, which also seemed to be withering due to various reasons.

"I don't care."  Finally, he said, sounding stiff and disgusted, holding the quiver in his throat.  Then he chose not to make another sound even though Mr. Bertus said a few other things as if it could kill Lyra right then and there.

For a moment Duke Kleo closed his eyes, shutting off all access to his worries.  He'd just take a proper shower that night, then have a delicious dinner, check out some more work, and finally sleep.

But, damn it!  What he wanted wouldn't even come close to him.  His thoughts drifted too far, sucking all his consciousness and focus.  It was all about Lyra, thinking about her state which hadn't been confirmed until now.

'I intended not to see her if it weren't for urgent business,' he thought as he ate dinner, coming out of the warm and pleasant bathroom.

His eyes even stared blankly, like he had lost his soul.  Suddenly his tongue went numb, and his stomach was full.  He made some small mistakes, such as stabbing the table when he wanted to pierce the meat, picking up a bowl when he wanted to get a glass, and using a fork when he wanted to eat soup.

Everything was chaotic, with his gaze fixed on the empty seat across from him.  This time there was Mr. Bertus at his side, as when Lyra wasn't yet in Wereal, ready to serve all his requests for dinner.

A strange and new silence, which felt quite familiar.

Duke Kleo finally got up from his seat, walking towards the door.

"My Lord!"  called Mr. Bertus as he glanced at the barely touched dinner menu.  "You haven't finished your dinner.  Do you need anything else?  I'll serve it right now."

Duke Kleo didn't answer anything.  He had heard all of Mr. Bertus' words, but he was not in the mood to answer any of them.  His body swayed as his feet walked ahead, turning a few bends in the hall, and then stopping in front of Lyra's door, startling several of the guards on duty.

The door opened, revealing the maids gasping.  They bowed, saluted their master, and at the same time gave way for two interested people to mingle.

"Get out!"  Duke Kleo ordered with a straight face.  Even his mouth wasn't completely open, his eyes lost their soul, just like before he met Lyra.

There was the sound of the maids' footsteps.  They came out of the room, met Mr. Bertus who looked tired.

Without doing anything, Duke Kleo just stayed silent as he looked at Lyra.  His vision was raging, as if showing various volcanic explosions with larvae gushing, melting all over the place, spilling over, and then burning all the places as well as the life around him.

His anger had not subsided, unlike before, which would do after he met Lyra.  Now it's not easy for all of that to be repeated, especially after seeing what happened last night.

She was running away again, she was even with a man, he is sure about it.  Although he could not see the faces of the two people who helped her escape, he was sure that at least one of them, or maybe both, were men.

"I apologize!"  Lyra whimpered, sleeping on her stomach.  "I didn't mean it like that," she continued, tears starting to roll down her cheeks, running down her face and soaking the sheets beneath her.  "I didn't mean to kill you."

Her body wriggled, rolling to one side until she finally fell asleep on her back. He could see how many tears were on her face, even to the point of making it swollen and red.

He sighed very heavily, accompanied by his body falling to sit on the edge of the bed, looking at her again with a trembling heart.  A little hesitant but in the end he reached out to caress her face, removing the hair stuck to it.  "You must have had a bad dream," he whispered, checking her temperature and looking at the untouched tray of food.

Time passed, raising the moon that now was hanging in the middle of the sky, watching them like a domineering lighthouse.  There was no rain at all that night as if it had run out and spilled a few days ago.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said, holding back his cracked voice.  "Then this would never have happened to you."  There was a tremor surrounding him, like a hurricane that would trap him firmly if he had not left immediately where he was.

He wanted to touch her, hug her all night until morning came.  He wanted to be by her side, making sure she had the most beautiful dreams after bad incidents and disasters.

But in the end, he swallowed his desire, thinking logically.  "You won't learn about your mistakes if I don't do all this," he whispered, standing up and ready to leave though still looking at her meaningfully.  "This is your initial punishment for your wrongdoings of always being defiant."  His eyes were closed, holding back the frustration that attacked him.  "You'll learn, won't you?"  As if he could never really punish her.

In the end, he left her with various desires that he had to bury deeply.  His trembling hands finally had to sink in the middle of his steadfast intent.  "I won't touch her.  No!"

So he left the room, returned to his, not continuing his unfinished dinner.

…

Days after, Lyra was still doing the same thing. She still wouldn't touch her food.  Her body was getting weaker and pathetic with a blank stare like an insane person.  The fat on her body began to decrease, her face looked wrinkled and thin.  All the servants who had criticized her suddenly became worried about her, and at the same time didn't want to see another sentence in Wereal.

On several occasions, she would touch her meal, but that was not enough.  She would only eat a few bites, then drink a few sips of water.  After that, she would limp back on the bed.

When it was time to shower, she would stand as strong as she could, though in the end she stumbled (and even) fell, hitting the floor and then injuring her body.

The maids gasped again, struck by paranoia.  They didn't want to be blamed again for Lyra's fault.

Finally, they were stunned when seeing Lyra fall because they did not want to be the main suspect in this case.  But strangely she didn't even ask for help.  Her slumped body curled up, with two thin hands embracing her frail body, and then….  she cried.

The bedroom door was slammed open, as if it had been smashed very hard, revealing the figure of Duke Kleo with a fierce face.  A frozen, cold, and deadly aura crept from the hem of his royal suit, which slowly crawled and spread throughout the room as if to strangle the maids miserably.

They all retreated, some of them even intending to flee right then and there, asking the guards for help to give her some leeway.  But her legs were stiff as if stuck to the floor.

"What has happened to her?"  roared Duke Kleo, immediately approaching Lyra and carrying her body.  "Why did you guys just stand by and not save her!"

Wereal was like being hit by an earthquake, which was ready to devour everyone in it.  From the bottom of the shattered lump of earth had emerged a man-eating monster.  And that monster is Duke Kleo!

***