Chapter 3

A sharp crack echoed through the room.

It was the sound of a bone being dislocated.

The smug smile on Nathan's face instantly twisted into pain. A layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Jonathan, that's not what I meant. I-I only..."

Before he could finish, a sword was pressed against my face.

Christine looked at me with nothing but disappointment in her eyes.

"Why do you have to be so aggressive? I was the one who chose to marry Nathan. He only feels guilty because of what happened, and he wants you to stay by his side after this. But why do you insist on looking at him with such ugly thoughts?"

I stared at the sword pointed at me. The color slowly drained from my lips.

"So what now? Are you going to kill me for him?"

I had never imagined that the sword that had always been pointed at my enemies would one day be turned against me.

A flash of panic crossed Christine's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Jonathan, I never wanted to hurt you, but Nathan has a point. In two days, you'll be sent to accompany Princess Selena in death. I have to ruin your appearance first, so that I can successfully take you out of the palace after seven days.

"I don't want you to suffer, so I brought anesthetic with me. Don't worry. I'll only make a few light cuts on your face. You won't feel any pain."

I knocked the anesthetic out of her hand, my voice trembling with anger.

"Have you lost your mind? Forget whether I'll actually leave with you or not. Even if you're afraid someone will recognize me, why do you have to cut my face with a real sword? There are countless realistic disguises and masks in this world. Why won't you use one of those instead?"

She frowned, forcing herself to suppress her anger.

"Stop being difficult. Those cheap disguises can easily be exposed. Besides, I can't bear the thought of you having to wear something like that for the rest of your life."

Her ridiculous excuse almost made me laugh.

"So you can bear destroying my face instead?"

Nathan picked up the anesthetic from the ground. His expression was pitiful, as if he were about to cry.

"Jonathan, my wife is only trying to help you. Why can't you just listen to her? Besides, you're a man. What use is having such a handsome face?"

I turned to look at him.

The next second, I snatched the sword from his hand. I pointed it directly at his fairly handsome face. My voice was cold enough to freeze the air.

"What use is it? Fine. Then how about I ruin your face first and see if you still think so?"

The moment I finished speaking, I moved the sword toward his eyes.

The blade was only an inch away when it was suddenly kicked aside.

Nathan was so frightened that all the color drained from his face.

Christine's eyes was bloodshot.

"Jonathan, how much longer are you going to keep acting like this? Nathan is already my husband. He is the person I will protect for the rest of my life. What right do you have to hurt him?"

After saying that, Christine picked up the sword from the ground.

Before I could react, she moved with terrifying speed and slashed my face three times.

A scream tore from my throat.

The pain was unbearable. I collapsed onto the ground, my body trembling uncontrollably. The wounds on my face burned as if something was eating away at my skin.

Seeing me like this, Christine frowned again.

"Jonathan, it's only a few cuts. It's just a little pain. It'll pass soon. Back then, you took an arrow for me. Didn't you endure the pain until the battle was over before letting me find out? Why are you acting like this over just three small cuts?"

I ignored her cold remarks and forced myself to call for the guards.

But Christine only let out a mocking laugh.

"Stop calling for them. I sent everyone away beforehand. Even your father has left the estate because of an urgent matter. Right now, us three are the only ones here."

The moment I heard that, my heart shattered once again. The unbearable pain forced me to abandon every bit of my pride. I crawled toward her feet.

"Take me to a physician. The sword was poisoned!"