Everyone was shocked.
The eccentric hero suddenly confessed his love and proposed to the doll-like princess.
Right after Arthur expressed his feelings, he was suddenly thrown onto the balcony by a gust of wind magic.
"Ugh, that hurts..." Arthur's entire body trembled.
"Don't joke around!!"
"Just because you're a hero doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!" A look of hatred was directed at Arthur.
Serena began casting a complex spell, applying it to her own body, granting herself the ability to fly.
Arthur, struggling to stand, also formed his magic circle—but in a different way. He deconstructed the initially complete circle and split it into several smaller circles.
Then, he reassembled them in a different configuration and applied them to his body.
Everyone was astonished. No one had ever been able to deconstruct and reconstruct a magic circle like that before.
Serena, momentarily stunned by Arthur's abilities, refocused and charged at him, throwing him out of the castle.
However, Arthur returned with a single high jump—where he got such power was a mystery.
Frustrated, Serena began attacking him relentlessly.
Arthur swiftly dodged her attacks. Secretly, with one hand hidden, he started reconstructing another magic circle.
"You really are as strong as they say, but I'm getting tired." Arthur continued dodging with a smile on his face.
"Let's end this fight." His expression was beginning to show exhaustion.
Serena ignored his words and kept attacking.
Eventually, they reached the forest.
Arthur completed his spell reconstruction and fired a magic arrow at Serena. She instinctively created a magic barrier.
However, the moment the arrow struck the barrier, it split into numerous smaller arrows, raining down upon her.
Serena quickly increased her speed, dodging most of the arrows. Still, a few managed to hit her.
She descended from the air and began chanting a healing spell.
"Eh... what!?"
"Why isn't my magic working!?"
Arthur, who had been waiting, finally completed another spell reconstruction, creating a dome-shaped barrier that engulfed them in darkness.
Serena panicked.
"You finally stopped. Honestly, there's no point in resisting any further."
"I didn't want to force you at first, but you kept being harsh with me."
"Just wear the ring and accept me as your husband." Arthur tossed a ring at her with a flustered expression.
Serena stared at the ring in fear. But realizing that resisting would only make things worse, she finally slipped it onto her ring finger.
The moment she did, an excruciating pain engulfed her.
Magic surged through her body, coursing through her veins from her fingers to her neck, wrapping every cell in agonizing heat. The burning sensation spread from within, making her lose balance.
"AAARRGGGHHH!!" Serena screamed in pain, her body trembling.
Her heart pounded erratically, her eyes widened as she felt something gripping her mind. Her body arched, her hands clawing at the ground, trying to endure the unbearable pain that seemed to peel her apart from the inside.
She convulsed, cold sweat dripping from her forehead. She tried to suppress her screams, but the pain kept stabbing at her, nearly pushing her into unconsciousness.
A heart-shaped tattoo appeared on her neck.
The pain slowly subsided, leaving Serena gasping for air on the floor, her body still trembling from the spell's effects.
Arthur then explained.
"That is a reconstructed version of a curse spell. I call it the Binding Magic."
"Now, we are connected. We will always know each other's location, and if one of us dies, the other dies too. The same applies to pain and emotions."
Serena could only resign herself to her fate.
Arthur then teleported her to his mansion.
At the mansion, Serena's mother and maids were shocked by 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 quickly interjected. "It's fine, Mother, he really is my husband. I'll explain later."
Later, in her room, Serena finally let out her emotions.
"Why me!? Why now!? Why does it have to be this forced marriage!?"
Arthur gazed at her coldly. "If I let you bear this alone, the war will never end. That's why, trust me. Trust your heart."
Serena fell silent. Deep inside, she wanted to be saved.
However, moments later, suffocating fear and anxiety crept into her mind.
She couldn't accept this. She couldn't accept that her life was being controlled like this.
With a heart in turmoil, she left the room and walked to the kitchen.
Arthur, lying on Serena's bed, suddenly felt something strange.
His heartbeat quickened. An overwhelming sense of emptiness, fear, and despair washed over him.
Panicking, he rushed to find Serena.
When he reached the kitchen, he found her sitting on the floor, a knife in her hand. Blood trickled from the wounds on her arms and waist.
"SERENA!"
Arthur ran to her, using healing magic as quickly as possible.
Serena lifted her pale face, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You—"
Then, she collapsed into Arthur's arms.