I want to become your home

I walk out in a fit of anger.

I agree. This is not the 21st century. The emperor's words are the freaking law. Arrange marriages are common. Forced marriages are more common. If my aunt hasn't been there for me, I can't imagine what would have happened to me.

I should have pretended to be a man like her. I wonder how she lived. I ignore the glances and go to the edge of the camp. I sit down on the snow and make circles. I need to think. Marrying Li Jun is unacceptable. I must run, but where?

Someone covers my back with a coat. I look up and find Li Jun staring down at me. He sits beside me quietly. There is an odd silence between us. I have nothing to say. I don't understand why he would even think of marrying me. Falling in love at first sight? Haha! Only fools would believe that.

I want to go back to my time.

***

"I know that you can change this." Yoori drops all formality with the fifth prince since they are alone. "That girl can't marry Li Jun."

Wu Yixing hides his temper to see her like that for another woman. "Why can't she marry Li Jun? She should be glad that she can marry someone like Li Jun."

"I want her to become mine." Yoori's voice is low and grave. She won't let her brother's only daughter marry someone like Li Jun. Besides, Kyuri will go back to her time. It can't be stopped.

Corner of his lips curls down. "You are protective of this girl. Why?"

She's a family member. Kwon Yoori might not know Kyuri well, but that girl is her niece. They are connected by blood. "I must protect her."

"Why?" He raises his brow.

"I met her family during exile. She ran away from to find me because she likes me." Yoori makes up some story. Real Yu Chen must have met people during his exile. "I promised that I will protect her."

"I don't like her." He frowns slightly. "That makes me want to crush her."

"She's just a girl." Yoori purses her lips. If something happens to Kyuri, she won't be able to face her family in the afterlife. "I will do anything if you stop this marriage. I will be the one who will marry her."

He leans closer to General Yu. "If you marry her, can that girl survive in the Yu household? You don't remember the things that happened to you after you came back from exile. She is likely to get poisoned on her wedding night."

Yoori gulps. That's true that Kyuri isn't smart enough to survive in the Yu household. She, as a man, can't always protect her. Yu Chen's stepmother will do everything to hurt Kyuri because she hates Yu Chen. Yu Chen's father is not a nice person either. To be honest, she is alive because she is at the border.

"Li Jun has no family. Nobody cares about him. That girl will live longer if she is married to him." He smiles when he sees her falling for his words. "Li Jun will also protect her. You have my words. Think hard."

***

"Li Jun, you said that you fell for me at first sight." I scowl at him. "Then, why did you point a sword at me when you saw me first?"

He says nothing.

"If you like someone, you are not supposed to kill them unless you are a sociopath."

He stares at me.

"I want to love and marry a normal guy. I have dreams too." I make an ice ball. "I want to go back home."

He tucks away the strand of hair behind my ear. "I want to become your home."

I throw the ice ball at his face. "Stop saying weird things."

He purses his lips and looks down, upset and embarrassed. He looks so cute. Is he really the master of death?

He isn't like Kang Si An. Then, Kang Si An also hugged me tightly and acted like he was in pain because of my supposed death. I don't understand what is going on with these two men with the same soul.

"Kyuri." My aunt calls me. "Come here. We need to talk."

I give him a look before I go away.

***

"Marry him."

"What the...?" I am shocked. "Are you okay, Aunt? How can I marry someone like him?"

She looks exhausted. "Kyuri, if I marry you, you will be dead before we reach the capital. The Yu family wouldn't accept Yu Chen, who is the son of the former spy from an enemy country, to have a wife. You see, the Yu family nearly got executed because of that woman. If I pick a random woman I met on the battlefield as my wife or concubine, that will bring trouble."

I start pacing in the room. "Aunt, are there no chances of finding time crystals in this period?"

"You don't think that I didn't think of that?" My aunt lets out a deep sigh. "The timekeepers are secretive. If I go and seek them, I will end up dead. I don't know where they are either."

"I can do it." I look at her. "I can walk through dreams. If I enter the world of dreams, I might be able to find any information about the keeper or where they are keeping the time crystals. It will take a bit of time to search, but I can do it."

My aunt looks down at the notebook. Thinking. I try to figure out my next step. I don't want to marry that weirdo. By the way, why I am in this situation? Kang Si An made me his fake contract girlfriend. Li Jun wants to marry me. Li Jun tried to kill me. Kang Si An will try to kill me. This man is bad news.

"You still have to marry him." She tells me quietly, "If you don't, you will be executed. Marry him and then, we will both try to find the time crystals. Until we find a clue, you have to stay beside him. You have attracted the wrong attention, he can protect you in a way that I can't. I need to keep you away from the Yu family. When you find any clue, you and I will run away together."

But, what will I do till then? I hold my head. I am afraid of being molested every night by that guy.