Please Don’t Eat Me Chapter 1

Translator: Haru Honeys.h.i.+ki

Editor + QC : Drop of Light from SLC

Proofreader: Royalsincognito

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By all means, please don't reupload/posting it anywhere (especially on wattpad /asianovel/Instagram/Twitter) and don't re-translate it to your own language!

I became the d.u.c.h.ess in exchange for 5 billion marcas.

The deal must be upheld, and now I have to pay back the money spent on me.

I harbor a healthy dose of scepticism in my marriage at times whenever this certain crises arises.

I unconsciously swallowed my saliva as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes.

"Ertha…"

A deep husky voice called out my name.

Its owner was lying sprawled out on the bed.

The firelight glowed in the dimly lit room, illuminating his inhumanly unrealistically beautiful face.

He was in possesion of flawless pale skin, a lean and elegant figure, and a delicately sculpted face which bore a sweet captivating smile presently.

At first glanced, he looked no different from usual.

However, his eyes were absolutely alluring.

His ordinarily piercing clear purple eyes were hazy, and the faint reddish tinge that flushed those snow white cheeks belied traces of excitement.

This seemingly dangerous man was my husband, the Duke of the Empire, 'Zahid El- Carnor.'

Zahid smile languidly and beckoned me.

Gooseb.u.mps quickly broke out on my neck.

Just like a prey when faced with a predator, my instincts were beseeching me to run away far from here.

However, I fought to suppress my fearful instincts and gradually made my way towards him.

I walked as slowly as I could, but the distance to the bed was too short. It was merely a few steps away. 

He caught me and pulled me down onto the bed. 

His large hands grabbed me by the waist.

Perhaps it was due to my bundle of nerves, that my skin felt overly sensitive his hot breath washed over it.

My head was getting foggy from the heat rising within in my body.

Zahid tugged me closer, hugging me.

"Kiss me, Ertha."

Knowing his nasty temper, I complied readily with his demands, as I carefully cupped his cheeks in my hands and kissed him on the lips.

As soon as our skin touched, a hot, tingling sensation spread throughout my entire body.

Every time he bit and licked me, my body trembled. 

I was afraid. I could feel myself falling over the edge, almost sinking into my carnal desires and cravings.

Yet, it wasn't just scary.

I could feel the pleasurable sensation crawling up my spine and that tickling feeling in my stomach. 

As if denying this feeling, I closed my eyes. I tried to pull my lips away from him, but Zahid wouldn't let me go.

It took a long time before I was able to separate myself from those wet sounds.

He snickered as he seductively licked his lips. 

[Light: too hot, hot d.a.m.n.]

[Haru: I'm feeling hot as i translate this part, dayum]

"I think I'll live….."

Fortunately, it was just in time. 

The heat in his eyes had already fully subsided.

The purification was over. 

Nevertheless, those long, slender, beautiful fingers of his holding my back held a hint of regret.

My lips that he had just kissed felt hot as if they were set ablaze. 

It seemed he wanted to do it again immediately, so I stopped him in his tracks and said,

"That's enough now."

Zahid raised his eyebrows.

"You think it's enough? You deem me too austere." 

"Quite the contrary in fact, so stop fooling around."

But his hands continued to linger. Obviously, he wasn't listening to me.

He gave me a gentle smile.

"That's too much. You're so cruel to your husband."

"I think you're feeling better if you can joke around like this."

"No way. It still hurts."

"You're asking more than necessary."

He gazed at me, eyes half-lidded, at my stern refusal. 

He lightly laughed, his beautiful face resembling a blooming flower.

He purposely did that fully knowing I was weak to that face. He made use of his beauty to the fullest in order to seduce me.

"Come on, Ertha. We only did it once." 

It's was more than enough though. 

[Light: not for me, move aside Ertha. Let me take it from here.  XD]

[Haru: no, it's me. Zahid, choose me! xD]

He pulled me down again with his low captivating voice. 

Soon, my thoughts floated back to my lips once more. 

I'm going to be eaten this way. 

I need to flee at all costs.

From my husband; the main character of this novel.

***

It's a long and gruesome tale as to how I became a d.u.c.h.ess for five billion marcas.

First of all, I was born with memories of my past life intact…

To be precise, I was reincarnated in a 19th-century male-directed fantasy novel. 

There's no heroine in this nasty and brutal B-rated drama film novel.

That's because he'd killed everyone.

At first, I spent most of childhood days simply thinking this was just another universe. However, as time pa.s.sed, I found something strange.

It was because I could recall reading a novel vaguely similar to this before I died.

I'm Ertha Arles, the eldest daughter of the Arles family. 

It's a family of saints who have devoted their allegiance to the Vatican from generation to generation to the point that they became such a wealthy family.

It was around that time that I wondered why my name felt familiar. 

Soon, my twin siblings were born.

As soon as my parents bestowed the name "Charles"1 and "Ethan"2, my speculations were confirmed.

I was indeed reincarnated in a novel.

The moment it hit me, I was plunged into depths of despair. 

Ertha Arles was destined to be devoured alive by the protagonist. The main character was known as a man without blood or tears.

It was natural for him to act mercilessly without any hesitation for his own benefit.

Anyone who interfered, whether they were men or women, were killed immediately. He would overcome any problems that was thrown his way, and he was my favorite character as a reader.

However, when I became a character in the novel, he was instead just a madman.

And one would think:

Why not run away from the protagonist? 

Why not write a new page in the novel? 

But as fate dictated, I was bound to meet the main character. 

Wizards existed in the novel, and there were five incredibly powerful ones, although, they cannot just utilize their powers to its full potential. That's because every time they did, 'evil' will acc.u.mulate bit by bit.

If the 'evil' pa.s.ses a certain threshold, the user will have a mental breakdown. 

In short, they go crazy. 

The protagonist, however, to prevent from going mad, he consumes a purifier for him to remove the acc.u.mulated 'evil'.

Without fear of going insane, he was the only wizard who could use his magic to the fullest. 

Others who are deprived of purifiers tried to kill the protagonist, and as usual, the great protagonist finishes off the villains splendidly. 

The thing is, currently, I'm in a situation where everything is just about to get chaotic. 

You see, my siblings are one of those five wizards.

Charles - "The Wizard of Flames" 

Ethan - "The Wizard of Wind"

And I'm…

A purifier that can extinguish the evil nature in the wizards.

A purifier destined to be eaten alive by the protagonist.
My family is known as the "The Fallen Family."

***

Because of my inevitable fate, I felt anxious and restless looking for a way to survive in this seemingly hopeless situation. 

Shortly after, there was no need for me to do so.

That was because my house had fallen before I even met the main character. 

Ever since my parent's' business started dwindling, misfortune came from left and right. 

My parents were geniuses; they were both straightforward, but rather naïve. Their friends' sweet tantalizing words seeped into their heads which made them embark on an unreasonable business.

Knowing the future, I spoke to my parent about it however, they didn't take the words of a child seriously. 

It was a risky business from the start. 

From the moment it failed, everything came spiralled downwards. 

From a huge mansion, to a small house, and finally, an old shack.

Living in this small and shabby house, my twin siblings had suffered from poverty.

I never lost hope, however, fate wasn't kind to us. My parents, with their helplessness and despair, ended up with a gruesome decision that they can never take back.

-We're sorry. We're so sorry…

 With a rope in their hands, they wrapped it around their young children.

[Light: Too dark boi, too dark. Someone open the lights.]

[Haru: What kind of parents are they?!]

They hung my twin siblings and I from the ceiling, and they followed afterwards.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the old house wasn't st.u.r.dy enough. 

The beam broke under as it couldn't support the weight of three children and we fell down, leaving me with a broken arm.

My siblings and I survived in the face of death. 

But how could I be happy?

In front of me was my hanging parents' corpses, and we who survived were left to pay a debt of 5 billion marcas.

At the time, I was merely fifteen and my siblings were seven. 

Out of this miserable situation, there were only three silver linings.

Because the creditor of this place was the Vatican, it cannot be sold and we can continue living here.

In the future, the twins would become notable wizards.

As soon as they are recognized as a wizard, they'll be treated as the same level as a Duke. 

They'll be able to gain honor and wealth all at once.

However, this was still in the far future. So until then, we're still considered as orphans without a home to return to. 

Reading it in the novel, it was just a rough setting in my head, but experiencing how terrible poverty is first hand made me realize how horrible reality is. 

Five billion marcas was equal to five billion won. And huge debts incur enormous interests on them.

The original Ertha in the novel made living by selling herself in a brothel without telling her younger siblings.

But I didn't want to do that. 

I decided I'd stick to them until the moment the twins made their debut as wizards. 

I tried paying my debts slowly by working at random places. 

Paying the interest itself was already overwhelming, I could barely manage to pay the original debt. 

The five million marcas debt loomed over me like a shadow.

It crushed me. And at the age of 18 years old…

I was buried in that huge pile of debt.

"Haa…"

I sighed heavily. Today was the day I pay the interest. The money I had earned from crazily working everywhere had all disappeared in a blink of an eye.  

The words they uttered continued to play in my mind.

-I'm afraid we'll have to increase the interest for next month…

-You haven't paid the initial debt for a long time. 

-So this month…

They slipped out a paper, and scribbled on it was an outrageous amount that was hardly anyone could afford.

I tried to seek mercy from them because it was impossible for me to take on more work, but the words from the Vatican collector's cut through me like a knife.

I was rejected without any consideration. 

I rummaged through my empty pockets with a heavy heart. 

There were only a few coins left. Still, I could buy some bread with this along the way home. 

Of course, I could never buy milk, fruit s drinks, or even cheese and jam.

I decided to buy the cheapest bread and bought as many as I could in the bakery. 

I think this bread will last until tomorrow morning. 

I continued walking with a bag of bread in my arms. 

When I reached home, the sun was already down. 

A cry suddenly broke out from the window of the old shabby house that seemed like it would c.u.mble at any given moment. 

Startled, I dashed into the house.

"Charles! Ethan!"

I could see Charles and Ethan weeping. 

"Sister!"3

"Si-sister…"4

Charles angrily pointed at Ethan. 

"Ethan, by himself…"

From what I heard, they've gotten an apple from somewhere. They were planning on splitting the apple in half, eating one by themselves while the other half will be given to me. However, Ethan accidentally gobbled it all up.

"I'm- I'm so sorry, sister…"

"It's okay, Ethan. Charles too, don't be so angry with him, instead, let's go eat this."

I gave the bread to my younger siblings. 

Charles, who has been sending murderous glares at Ethan, and Ethan, who had been on the verge of crying, turned silent. 

The bread was hard and crumbly. However, they ate in a hurry out of hunger.

I alternately glanced between Charles and Ethan as they gobbled up my bread.

The condition of my younger siblings' bodies caught my eyes.

They were thin like dried twigs in the middle of winter. It was no wonder though, since they have been starving at the peak of their growth. 

Suddenly, I felt suffocated. My throat was closing up, and tears welled up in my eyes. 

The interest will increase drastically once more in the next month.

I would be 18 and my siblings would be 10 years old by then.

Their debut as a wizard comes when they hit 15. 

Five more years. I have to hang on for five more years…

So far, we've managed to deal with it, but we're on the edge now.

After pondering for a moment, I mumbled, putting down the last piece of bread that I've eaten. 

"…I feel like I'll starve to death first before getting eaten by the main character."

"Huh? What did you say, sister?" 

"Nothing."

Charles and Ethan gave me a bewildered face as I got up from my seat. I stood in front of the cracked mirror in the corner of the room. 

A tall lady with feline-like eyes. Lips drawn with a straight line that would make onlookers give an impression of being blunt and cold. Bluish-gray eyes paired with long platinum locks.

I raised my eyebrows for a moment before tightly tying my hair up. It looks neater than before. 

Thinking about the person I'll be meeting, I think it's better for me if I wore a dress.

But there's no way I could afford one, so I tied my hair up instead.

After fixing and tidying up my rags for clothes, 

"I'll be out for a bit. I'll be back soon," I informed Charles and Ethan. Then they asked me where I was going to which I replied with,

"I'm going to buy something delicious."

Their eyes went round at that statement.

But as soon as I shut the door, I clenched my trembling hand.

The main character, a wizard, needs a purifier. 

As a purifier, I'll need money. 

So I was planning to sell my body to the protagonist. 

For the price of five billion marcas. 

If you ask me, it's a not such a bad deal for both the hero and me. 

Notes:

[ 1 ]- Charles, Female.

[ 2 ]- Ethan, Male.

[ 3 ] – Charles called Ertha with ‘언니 ‘

[ 4 ] – Meanhwile Ethan, called Ertha with ‘누나'

Just in case anyone wondering, yes, Charles is female name. Light already confirmed it for me xD tbh i thought Charles is a male name xD. Those twin siblings called Ertha in different way. That's why i knew that Charles is female.

How was it? I hope you guys enjoy it. Your feedback could make me update the new chapter faster xD