Everyone was immediately shocked, and the entire room was in chaos. The hero, known to be strange, suddenly declared his love and proposed to the doll princess? There were no words to justify his actions.
Arthur, who had already confessed his feelings, could only silently stare at the princess, when suddenly he was thrust away by a gust of wind magic, throwing his body onto the balcony, and the magical barrier also disappeared.
"Ah, that hurts..." Arthur's whole body trembled as he tried to stand, even though his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"Don't joke around!!"
"Just because you're a hero doesn't mean you can do everything!" A fierce glare was directed at Arthur.
Serena began weaving complex magic, chanting it on herself, granting her the ability to fly freely in the air.
Arthur, who had finally managed to stand, also began to create his magic circle, but in a different way. He dismantled the initially intact magic circle and divided it into several smaller circles.
Then Arthur rearranged them back into a complete circle, with the separate circles aligned in the same vertical line, compacting and creating a new rune pattern, reciting a new spell on himself.
Everyone was stunned. No one had ever been able to dismantle and rearrange a magic circle like that; generally, even an expert wizard could only assemble it in forms that functioned individually, but Arthur defied that logic.
Serena, who was astonished by Arthur's ability, refocused and charged at Arthur, throwing him out of the castle.
However, Arthur returned with a high leap, landing on the balcony without a scratch on his body.
Serena's expression soured, and she began attacking Arthur in rapid succession.
Arthur quickly dodged Serena's attacks, discreetly concealing one hand, and started preparing his next spell, getting ready for the next assault.
"It turns out you're really as strong as estimated, but sorry, I'm starting to get tired," Arthur continued to evade Serena's attacks with a smile on his face, even though sweat was pouring down.
"Let's finish this fight." Arthur's face was starting to show fatigue.
Serena kept attacking, ignoring Arthur's words, moving away from the party.
Until they found themselves pushed into a battle that extended into the forest.
Arthur finished reconstructing his magic and began shooting magic arrows at Serena. Serena reflexively created a magic barrier.
However, when the arrow touched the barrier, it shattered into smaller arrows that rained down on Serena.
Serena quickly increased her body's speed, dodging most of the arrows. Nevertheless, some still managed to hit her.
Serena quickly descended from the air and cast a healing spell.
"Eh... what!?"
"Why isn't my magic working!?"
Arthur, who had been waiting for Serena to finish, finally completed his other magic reconstruction, creating a half-dome shaped structure that covered both of them in darkness.
Serena panicked.
"Finally, you stopped as well; besides, it's pointless for you to keep fighting."
"At first, I didn't want to force you, but you keep acting rough towards me."
"Just wear the ring and accept me as your husband." Arthur threw the ring with a shy expression.
Serena stared at the ring in fear. However, aware that resisting would only make things worse, she finally slipped the ring onto her ring finger. As soon as the ring was on, Serena felt an excruciating pain.
Magic began to spread through her body, coursing through her veins from her finger to her neck, enveloping every cell in her body with torturous heat. The burning sensation radiated from within, causing her to lose her balance.
"AAARRGGGHHH!!" Serena screamed in pain, her body trembling.
Her heart raced uncontrollably, and her eyes widened as she felt something grip her mind. Her body arched, her hands clawed at the ground, trying to withstand the pain that felt as if it was burning her from the inside.
Her body convulsed, cold sweat pouring down her forehead. She struggled to stifle her cries, but the pain continued to stab at her, almost making her lose consciousness.
Before long, a heart-shaped tattoo appeared on her neck. The pain gradually subsided, leaving Serena gasping on the floor, her body still trembling from the effect of the magic.
Arthur then explained. "That is a reconstruction of a curse magic. I call it binding magic."
"Now we're bound to each other. Our locations will always be known to one another, and if one dies, the other dies as well. The same goes for pain and emotions."
Serena could only surrender.
Arthur then took Serena to his mansion using teleportation magic.
At the mansion, Serena's mother and the servants were shocked to see their arrival.
"Serena! What are you doing here!? And who is he?" her mother asked suspiciously.
Arthur tried to be polite. "Nice to meet you, I am Arthur Retirt, your daughter's husband."
Serena hurriedly interjected. "It's okay, Mom, he really is my husband. I'll explain later."
After that, in the room, Serena finally poured out her feelings. "Why does it have to be me!? Why then!? Why this forced marriage!?"
Arthur looked at her coldly. "If I let you bear all of this alone, the war will never end. So, trust me. Trust your heart."
Serena fell silent. Deep down in her heart, she wanted to be saved.
However, moments later, a feeling of tightness and fear crept into her mind.
She couldn't accept this. She couldn't accept that her life had been controlled like this, her efforts to break free from the chains that had bound her felt futile.
With her heart and mind in chaos, she left the room and walked toward the kitchen.
Arthur, who was lying on Serena's bed, suddenly felt something strange.
His heart raced faster. A feeling of emptiness, fear, and despair struck him.
He panicked and immediately searched for Serena.
When he reached the kitchen, he found Serena sitting with a knife in her hand. Blood flowed from wounds on her arms and waist.
"SERENA!"
Arthur rushed to her side, using healing magic as quickly as possible.
Serena lifted her pale face and looked at Arthur with tear-filled eyes.
"You—"
Then, she fell unconscious in Arthur's arms.