Survive As The Brute's Wife-Chapter 76: The One Who Woke Up...

Maximus held his chest that hurt like he was sinking.

"Lexa..."

He coughed. His horse slowed down and he got down from the horse. He looked at the distance to see a tornado forming at a particular spot inside the forest. He didn’t take the route through the forest because he wanted to wait for them near the shore. He wanted to take control of all the boats there to stop Arioch from getting to the island. He wanted to take Alexandra to the island himself.

But seeing the tornado, his heart skipped a beat.

«Isn’t that the location of the temple for Goddess Alta? And is that really ’him’ there...? Did he come for Alexandra? Or...»

’He’ won’t hurt her as much as he knows. But who can be trusted? She did destroy the temple for ’his’ wife in her previous life. ’He’ could hold it against her...

«What should I do?»

In just a moment, the pain in his heart entirely subsided, leaving a bland feeling. He wondered if she is fine now. But he decided to check her out nonetheless.

He got on the horse and directed it towards the forest but he was stopped by a wall of dust. The horse got startled and it ran away from the dust storm. Maximus covered his face with his hands and he gritted his teeth.

There is no way a sand storm would form in this terrain. Maximus knew it must he the work of the one holding Alexandra now. He could see that the horse is riding towards the sea and let out a sigh. It seems like he is being led there and he couldn’t oppose the power acting against him now.

-----

By the little pond, the bright figure smirked seeing Alexandra’s body falling imply on the stairs. He waved his hand and the air cushioned her fall. And she opened her eyes and the empty blue eyes stared at him.

"Well, who are you?" he bent closer to her face and she scurried back. But her back was blocked by a stair and she looked at him with trembling figure.

"Hmm... Interesting... This is new... even for me... As always, you never fail to give me a good show... As long as you don’t cause more destruction to the ones I love..."

He uttered with his voice soft as a gentle whisper of a flute. His lips curved to a smirk and he blew on her face to make her lose her consciousness.

"Let’s see who wakes up..." he mumbled, his eyebrows raised out of curiosity.

His eyes sharpened as he heard a ruffle. He only then remembered the figure hiding behind the pillar.

"What should I do with you?" he pressed his fingertips together and like a little wisp a little blue flame hovered over his fingertips. His eyes filled with murderous intent for a moment.

He looked at the hissing sound from outside the barrier he created. That human has never learned. And the darkness he unleashed won’t stop until it devours the soul of everything living.

He snapped his finger and the blue flame reached the darkness. It started to burn with a low whistle. Condensing to a thick ball, the darkness seeped into the earth through the cracks in the stone pavement.

"And you..."

His eyes ended up at Arioch watching with his eyes widened. He won’t be able to see him or the flame but he is smart enough to figure out what happened here.

*Phew*

The bright figure blew out the flame like the flame of a candle.

"I’ll wait and see what happens this time around..." he shrugged. "It’s very boring up there..."

He turned to see Alexandra on the cold floor and snapped his fingers. Her clothes were replaced to the ones that fit her and he placed a little box beside her.

"Burnt her clothes, she says... Measly clothes... as if I can’t afford clothes..."

He mumbled. If anyone looked at his face, they would think that his face overwhelmed with love. But there was no one there who could see him.

He disappeared inside the pond just like he appeared. And in that pond, calmness returned.

Arioch ran to the place he saw the darkness disappear and placed the bottle over that crack. The bottle had spells binding that dark spirit to it and it would answer to the summons. And in a moment, the darkness rose from the ground like mist and got collected inside the vial.

After keeping the vial safe inside his tunic, he turned his attention towards Alexandra. He saw her fainting and the darkness was scattered away by something very powerful.

<Is ’he’ residing in this temple?>

Chiding himself for his bad decision of bringing her inside the temple, Arioch walked to Alexandra. As he bent over her, he saw her eyes blinking open.

"Alexandra?" he held her shoulders as she tried to scamper away from him. "Fret not... It is me..." he patted her back only for the frown on her face deepen.

"What do you want me to do?" she said peeking through her arms. "Are you going to hurt me?" She asked, and her eyebrows trembled with fear.

<Ugh! What now?>

Arioch didn’t know what to think to see the blank eyes of the woman staring at him. She looked at him like he was unfamiliar and he clutched the hilt of the dagger he keeps in his waist. He wondered if he should just end her right here.

"I’ll do what you want me to do," the voice that had a perpetual fear in it rang in that calm place where not even the tips of the grass moved and no ripples formed on the surface of the pond as if the four winds are held still by someone.

"What?" Arioch raised his voice.

This one raised her voice at him some time ago and demanded respect. And suddenly she is pretending to be meek?

"No!" she covered her face with her forearms and threw her knees up as her feet rooted to the ground. Her entire being trembled.

"Please d- don’t... don’t hurt me..." her voice got meeker as her words scrambled.

"I won’t..." Arioch’s lips curved up.

He was still surprised and he still couldn’t conclude if this is an act put forward by the one who got the better of him in his past life. And yet, he decided to play along.

<As long as she keeps up with this act, she can be useful to me...>

"I will never hurt you, love..." he embraced her softly. "I am your Tubby..."

"Tubby?" She mumbled, her voice was softer than a cry of a fly.

"Yes. I will never hurt you. Now let’s go to sleep."

He picked her up and she didn’t stop him from touching her this time. He really was surprised by the sudden change in her attitude.

<Did that person did something to her? Was he trying to help me?> 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As he picked her up, her hand grabbed the little box left on the floor. He tried to pry it away from her hands but she didn’t let go of the box. Thinking that the box that looked small as if it could barely hold a ring would hold nothing of danger to him, he let her be.

"Sleep," he pointed at the little sheet he spread on the floor.

He thought of leaving the temple but he then decided not to. He just wanted to see how obedient she is. He also wondered if it is just the effect of being inside this temple that makes her act differently.

Her eyes that held a sparkle was missing and she was hunching her shoulders. For a moment he wondered if it is not her. But then he shrugged off that thought. It is pointless to think that.

She curled up on the sheet and he covered her with another sheet. He finds no pleasure in serving a woman, but the bright, blank eyes staring at him invoked a deep feeling from his heart.

He used to love her after all.

"I’ll guard you, Rose..." he said caressing her forehead. She is as soft as he remembered.

<Will she smell like roses too?>

His hands caressing her forehead paused, and he scooted closer to her waist.

"Rose..?" he cupped her cheek and her eyes opened wide.

"Rose..." he bent and got his face closer to her face.

The blue eyes looking back at him had no ripples on them and he paused from getting closer to her face.

<What did he call you..?>

He thought. He always had a feeling that she was more attracted to her childhood friend than at him. But he wanted her to stay by his side no matter what.

<Why did you take his side? Why did you break my trust? And now... How will he feel if I take his wife?>

He gritted his teeth and the next moment, his eyes narrowed. He straddled over her thigh and pinned her hands over her head.

The eyes staring at him still didn’t have any ripples.

"Say something!" he shouted. "What do you feel?"

Nothing came out of those lips that were pink like the hundred-leaved rose. They looked a bit pale but he could smell the fragrance from them.

"Beguiling!"

He muttered and his lips inched towards hers.