Predatory Marriage

in’s obsession had ruined it.

Through the window of her living room, she looked out on the withered gardens, where a few dry leaves still hung from the trees.
They were falling now.

At first, she thought that if she turned all the nobles into puppets, then she herself would have to handle all the affairs of state.
But she could make Leah do all that work, and she was useful in many other ways.
Blain had agreed.
He didn’t like working, either.

Cerdina laughed maliciously, resting her hand on the window sill.

“…So smug.”

From the first spell she cast, she had known Leah had a strong will.
It would not be easy to break and destroy her.
So Cerdina had infused a powerful spell into the love potion Leah had consumed, made with strands of hair from Leah and Blain.
But even then, it had only been half as effective as she had expected.
Even without her memory, Leah had not given her whole heart to Blain.

Incredibly, Cerdina had to consider the possibility that Leah was pregnant.

The blood of the barbarians was quite resistant to her magic.
If Leah had somehow conceived, her baby might have protected her from the potion.

But that was impossible.
Leah should have been infertile after all the spells Cerdina had cast on her over the years.
But just to eliminate the possibility, Cerdina had instructed Leah’s ladies-in-waiting to give her tea that would make her miscarry.

It also included an appetite suppressant, as Cerdina couldn’t control the princess’s diet with Blain watching so closely.
If Leah were to stand at Blain’s side, she had to look impeccable.

“……”

Belatedly, Cerdina tasted blood and realized she had been chewing her lower lip.
Her finger tapped anxiously on the window sill.

She would have to cast a new spell to completely subdue Leah.
There was a magic the barbarians used to bind their souls together during their wedding ceremony.
Cerdina had no intention of binding Leah’s soul to Blain, but she could use their wedding to cast a more powerful spell on her.

—Please keep your promise.
Mother.-Posted only on Novel Utopia.

Blain’s voice echoed in her hand.
Cerdina clenched her trembling hands together.

“I’m a god,” she said aloud, nervously.
“God…”

So there was nothing she couldn’t do.