A price for my freedom

Lola P.O.V

“Your Majesty, the ring can't be removed,” Agnes respectfully told the Queen after she tried and failed to remove the ring herself.

“Then find a way to get it off,” she said sharply. With that, the Queen left the room at once.

With her departure, Agnes stared at me for a moment before saying to those around her, “Take her to the cell.”

With that, the two servants lifted me up like a doll and carried me to the backyard. I had no freedom whatsoever. For one entire day, I was imprisoned in the cold room. During this time, several people came to try to remove the ring, but each attempt was in vain. Every method had been exhausted, and my finger had become numb from all the fuss, yet the ring remained stuck on my finger.

Slowly, drowsiness overcame me once again, and I fell asleep.

A prickling sensation stirred me from my dreams, alerting me to the presence of someone drawing near. Gradually, I opened my eyes, but all that met my gaze was an impenetrable shroud of darkness.

“Awake?” Suddenly, a magnetic voice echoed through the dark. In the darkness, I could feel a pair of eyes staring at me intently. I sat up in bed, scanning left and right, until I noticed a tall man standing in front of me.

Although I couldn't see his face clearly, I could feel a cold and fierce aura coming toward me—one I remembered belonged to Ragnar. His alluring and unmistakable aura had left an undeniable impression on me, especially since we had engaged in a marathon of passion on our wedding night.

However… wasn’t he sent to the hospital the previous night? When did he come back? I stared at him in horror, my mind racing with fear and confusion.

I don’t want to be killed. No, I don’t want to die.

“I have good news for you,” he said.

But I couldn’t see his facial expression. I only heard him chuckle and add, “I’ve decided to keep you here.”

“What… until the ring is taken off?”

Ragnar spat out the second half of the sentence. My hope was mercilessly shattered to pieces yet again.

I was fully aware that Ragnar—the demon before me—was not the benevolent type. His intent was to possess the ring adorning my finger.

If I managed to somehow take the ring off… would I still be sent to that place?

I narrowed my eyes at him in the darkness.

He shook his head. “No. You’ll be set free as soon as you take off the ring—if you do as I say.”

The glimmer of hope that had almost disappeared now blazed up again within me.

“Is that true?”

“You can choose not to believe me,” he replied.

“No, I believe you,” I raised my voice. If I did not put my trust in him, then I would be filled with despair. Thus, I chose to have faith in his words.

“But… I can’t take the ring off,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “So many people have tried, yet none could remove it. How could I possibly do it?”

“Well, then, you should put in some effort,” he replied, leaning down and lifting my chin with his hand. Then he kissed me on the lips.

I instinctively let out a muffled sound of protest. Ragnar tightened his grip on my chin and whispered into my ear, “Or do you want to live with them in that place far, far away?”

“No… I definitely don’t want to.”

“Or are you just like the others—petrified of me, hating my guts?”

His kiss grew more intense. I dared not struggle anymore and let him kiss me.

With a hint of derision, he declared, “Your father sold you to me, which means you’re mine now. You should feel honored that I even lay a finger on you. Got it?”

Despite being the one who had forced me into this marriage, Ragnar spoke as if I was the one to blame. Though I was seething with anger, I dared not show it.

Just as I thought he was going to push me down on the bed, he suddenly released me and walked away with a contemptuous sneer.

I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the night was going to pass peacefully.

In the morning, Agnes threw a folder in front of me and said expressionlessly, “You should go through the contents of this folder carefully.”

“What’s in this?” I asked, taking the folder from her and flipping it open.

I scanned through its contents—it listed a long series of restrictions. I was forbidden from going near the Nightfang family’s ancestral hall, from divulging any secrets about the Nightfang family to outsiders, and from turning on the lights without Ragnar’s consent during our private moments at night.

It was a slew of restrictions that left me feeling even more trapped here.

But wait… I couldn’t turn on the lights? Seriously? No wonder Ragnar didn’t turn them on both times I saw him.

Why? Was it because he was so ugly that he didn’t want to be seen? Or had he become so sick that he no longer had a human form?

Besides, I was expected to become pregnant with a child within two months. Ragnar was too occupied with work and hardly ever came home, yet they demanded that I conceive a child within two months.

“How is that even possible?” I asked.

“Miss Calista,” the Queen’s voice cut sharply, “although it’s been proven that you are not destined to be with Ragnar, we can’t take the ring off your finger. So the Nightfang family can only keep you around for one purpose—to bear a child of the family.”

“But Ragnar said that he would set me free as soon as I take off the ring!” I stuttered.

“I will set you free once you give birth to a child. Miss Calista, understand that the Nightfang family is making a great concession by keeping you here. Don’t push your luck,” warned the Queen, her tone growing impatient.

Concession? This was clearly just another way of torturing me. So I had to give birth to Ragnar’s child in order to gain my freedom.

How was this any less heinous than my father, who sold me off? Was there any difference between this and his despicable acts?

So it seemed that I not only had to take off the ring, but also had to carry a child for Ragnar just to be granted my freedom.

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