Forced to Remarry a Stone, They Regretted Hearing Its Voice

My mother said I was fated to bring death to my husband. When my childhood sweetheart of seven years came to propose, she turned around and had my older sister marry in my place.

They brought in a big rock from the seaside, saying that only by marrying the rock could my life be spared.

Do you know who Robert Stephens is? If you bring death to him, the Joyce family is finished!

"A cheap fate should just endure it. Marrying a stone is for your own good too!"

I argued and made a scene, and Robert tried to fight for it too.

But the one who finally talked me into it turned out to be him.

"Think it over carefully. Your mother is right."

"As the legitimate heir of the Marquis' House, I can't treat marriage as a trifle."

"Once your sister has borne me a child, I'll take you as my concubine."

I froze.

The next day drums and gongs rang out, and my sister married up into the Marquis' House.

And I held the stone and went into the bridal chamber with it.

Drifting between sleep and waking, the big rock in my arms felt warm and cozy.

A mere mortal, and she's abducted the Dragon Prince and married him!

Fine! A mortal's life is no more than a hundred years, and now that the rites are done, I too must take responsibility for her...

When the voice came, I took it for a dream and shoved the stone away.

I'd cried myself weak these past few days, and had no strength left to think.

Feeling vaguely hot, I absently pulled off my shirt and lay down.

In my dream I soared through the clouds, wonderfully carefree.

When I opened my eyes again, it was the same room full of trivial matters.

"What's with the long face? Is marrying a stone such a hardship for you?"

"When your sister comes back for the return feast, don't you dare wear that miserable look!"

"You'll sit there holding your husband, right beside the young lord."

My eyes stung, and the tears came dripping down.

I'd known Robert since he was at the academy; we'd been stuck together for years.

Whenever people saw me, they'd always ask whether Lord Stephens had come too.

And now they said my fate was too poor, that I wasn't fit to marry the lord.

I couldn't accept it, and I fought against it.

But I never expected the one who dealt me the final blow to be Robert himself.

In the end, for a great and noble house, heirs mattered more than years of affection.

I reached up to wipe away my tears, then reached over and picked up the stone that had rolled to one side.

"Heh, my stone husband..."

"Do you think I was adopted?"

"Otherwise why would Mother favor only my sister and never once care about me?"

My tears dripped onto the stone.

I heard a muffled grunt.

I quickly lifted my head and looked around, but couldn't see who had made the sound.

"Am I imagining things?"

"Never mind. Things being what they are, I shouldn't cry anymore."

"Stone, our rites are done. In this life, I'll take only you as my husband!"

"Alive or dead, I'll never marry Robert as a concubine!"

I finished through gritted teeth, and felt a few waves of heat rise in my palms.

I thought to myself how strange this stone was, that it could turn warm after being held so long.

Then, unexpectedly, a deep voice came.

Nonsense! You're my wifehow could I ever let you go!

I shrieked and flung the stone out of my hand.

It frightened Mother into shoving the door open.

"What are you throwing a fit about! You even dare hurl a rock at the door!"

I instinctively shook my head, only to be grabbed by the ear and shoved.

Before she left, Mother added a few more locks.

Afraid I'd slip out and disturb their tender moment.

The stone let out a muffled thud, shouting and yelling.

Despicable! Who gave you leave to bully my woman!

Once my subordinates find me, they'll surely help me recover my true form!

I stared at the stone in astonishment, then looked at my mother.

Only then did I realize that no one but me could hear his inner voice.

I crouched and shuffled over beside the stone.

"Big Stone, where are your men? I'll help you find them!"

"Just take me away with you, and you can even divorce me!"

The stone exclaimed in shock.

Youyou can actually hear me!

I was the eldest son of the Dragon King, but I was betrayed and brought low to this!

Harrison is my close attendant. We agreed to meet at Beiming Mountain in three days. The moment I see him, I can break the seal on the Demon Realm!

If you take me to Beiming Mountain, I swear I'll get your revenge for you!

I nodded in agreement.

"Of course I'll help you. And you don't need to get revenge for me. Just take me away from here!"

The stone gave a low grunt, and after a moment reluctantly agreed.

Since my wife asks it, of course I agree.

In an instant, my face went red.

What wife?

This marriage was only made to force me to give up my place, to humiliate me.

It didn't count.

In three days, I would slip away without a sound and start over.

Before I knew it, the day of the return visit arrived, and the house was lively.

My mother had specially hired the chef from the West Gate Tower.

When Robert helped my sister in through the door, she was all smiles.

I came out of the kitchen and looked up.

The hairpin set in her hair was the very one Robert had once said he would give me.

I suddenly let out a laugh.

My sister and Robert both turned to look, and I let my eyes pass indifferently over their faces.

Robert froze, then quickly reached out and took the hairpin from my sister.

"I told you, this hairpin was meant for Lena!"

"You made such a fuss about trying it on today that you forgot to take it off."

"Lena..."

He held the hairpin out to me. I held the stone and gave a proper little smile.

"A man and a woman shouldn't touch. My husband is still alive. How could you overstep like this, Lord Stephens?"

Suddenly the stone gave off a warmth in my arms.

Well said! What a worthless hairpin! We don't want it! I pamper my own wife myself!

Once I get my true form back, I'll take a dragon scale and make you a hairpin!

The stone chattered on and on, and my ears turned red at once.

My mother gave a light cough and shot me a glare.

"Yes, yes, your husband is here! When your sister is with child, you can marry into their house and bring your stone husband along too!"

"Don't mind her, son-in-law, this girl is throwing another childish tantrum!"

She bustled about, ushering him inside.

But Robert stood without moving, watching me, a trace of sorrow in his eyes.

My sister gave me a resentful look, then suddenly let out a little cry.

"What's the matter? Why are your legs giving out?"

My mother reached out to steady her, and a blush rose on my sister's face.

"It's all Robert's fault. He insisted on carrying on with me yesterday, and I'm too delicate to bear it..."

"Robert said, we're sisters, so when I'm pregnant I'll want someone I can trust to wait on me."

"By then my sister will have married in, and she can just come and serve me."

My sister smiled and reached her hand toward me, like a snake flicking its tongue.

My heart lurched, and I slapped her hand away at once.

Robert, who had looked a little ashamed before, changed his expression and grabbed my wrist with one hand.

"What are you throwing a fit for?!"

"Everyone knows your fate is bad! You only got to marry me because your sister offered herself in your place!"

"Whether it's jealousy or a tantrum, once you're in the Marquis' House, I will never allow you sisters to be at each other's throats!"

I finally came back to myself.

Hearing that, my heart ached as if pricked by a needle.

I smiled at him and pulled my hand free.

"Don't worry. I will never fight her over anything, as long as I live."

Maybe to put me in my place, Eleanor deliberately left an empty seat between us at the dinner table.

On my left was the stone; on my right, no one.

I paid it no mind and dug in, eating my fill with both hands.

Robert tried to make conversation. I ignored him.

He tried to lay a piece of fish on my plate, so I stood up and reached across for the roast duck instead.

By the time the meal was over, his good temper was gone.

Nobody but me had enjoyed a single bite.

"Oh, right."

I picked up the stone and stood there, looking at them.

"I know full well I'm ill-fated and doomed to bring death to my husband. I could never aspire to a lord."

"From now on I'll follow my stone husband, and I'll never remarry in this life."

"So as for taking a concubine, you needn't consider me at all."

I was about to leave when I heard a chair being knocked back.

Robert clamped down on my hand and held it tight.

I turned to look. His brows were tightly furrowed.

"It's just a broken rock. Do you really think it can protect you?"

"When the day comes, you'll still have to marry! Nobody can spend a whole lifetime with a stone!"

I hugged the stone tighter to my chest and shook my head at Robert with a smile.

"Other people are other people. I can."

Snap.

He snatched the stone away and flung it into the pond, and in an instant it sank out of sight.

"Fine! You say it's your husband! Then fish it out right now!"

"If you can get your stone husband back, I'll grant your wish!"

I looked down at the pond, so green it was nearly black, and the stone's cursing came through.

Screw you! If you're sick, go get treated! What's the big idea, throwing me in here?!

Don't be scared, honey, I can do a short-distance Blink Step! Tonight I'll blink right onto your bed!

We're a match made in heaven. Even in death we lie side by side. He can't split us up!

I couldn't help covering my mouth and laughing out loud, and Robert's eyes flashed with faint anger.

He was about to say something more, but I leapt into the pond with a splash.

At once Robert's frantic calls came from the surface, along with the sound of him going in after me.

I paid it no mind and swam toward the deep water.

Some time passed, and the surface went calm, without a ripple.

Robert stared at the pond, his eyes full of grief.

"Why are you dragging me up! I have to save Lena!"

Cornelia clung to his waist and held him back.

"If you go in, what becomes of the child in my belly? What becomes of the Marquis' House?"

"How can you throw everything away for one woman!"

Robert shuddered, and the hand he'd reached out went slack.

Just then a few bubbles broke the surface of the water.

I spat out a mouthful of water and came up.

I held up my stone husband in my hand and gave him a little shake.

"This is a bond decreed by heaven! I found him at a single glancethat chip on him, I'm the one who made it!"

"Robert, now you can't force me to be your concubine, can you?"

Robert had been overjoyed to see me surface, but he froze in place when he heard that.

As if to ask me why I could so easily let go of everything and turn and walk away.

But he never asked himself why.

He was the one who let go first.

So of course I would oblige.

"You know perfectly well that you're the one I love most, and marrying your sister was only a stopgap measure..."

I tucked the stone into my chest and looked back at him calmly.

"I heard all of it."

"Mother made a point of telling the cooks at the West Gate Tower that the meals mustn't contain anything that stirs the blood."

"Which means my sister had been carrying on with you for a long time, and you only gave in because she was pregnant."

Mother quickly pulled my sister behind her and, frowning, called for the guards.

"So what! She doesn't get to decide anything in this house!"

"This girl is just stubborn! Once she accepts her fate, she'll fall in line!"

"The day after tomorrowthe day after tomorrow we'll hold the wedding. We've already worked it out, and the Joyce family won't break their word!"

Robert stood with his back to the light, and with the guards holding me down I couldn't make out his expression.

All I heard was him leave a single line"I'll marry her tomorrow"before he turned and walked away.

My sister's hands were already clenched white.

"I finally got to be with him. If you hadn't made a scene, I could have spent a few more days close to him..."

"If it weren't for the Marquis's agreement with the Joyce family that you had to marry, I would have strangled you long ago!"

She glared at me fiercely, but I acted as if I hadn't seen it.

Once I was sent to the woodshed, no matter how I pushed, I couldn't get the door open.

"The woodshed's locked tight, I can't get out!"

"Stone, I can't get you to Beiming Mountain now..."

The stone made no sound.

Then, suddenly, there was a smack outside the door.

I smashed the door open! Hurry up and get out here!

Don't forget your husband's a stone right nowmore than enough to bash a door down!

My heart leaped, and I hurried to push it open.

When I picked up the stone, my chest suddenly clenched.

"How did you crack open too? Does it hurt?"

The stone coughed lightly and mumbled that it didn't hurt.

We're husband and wife, one bodydon't fuss over things like this.

Wife, hurry and go, don't let the Joyce family catch you again!

I nodded and quickly tucked the stone against my chest.

"Stone, are you trying to keep me warm?"

"It's the middle of summer right now, there's no need for that."

The stone let out a grunt and muttered a muffled "Quiet."

I shut my mouth at once.

I thought to myself, this stone was kind-hearted, but domineering too.

I couldn't refuse his good intentions.

Holding the stone, I stole across the back courtyard.

When I reached Mother's courtyard, the candlelight in her room was flickering.

The maid at the door was dozing off, which made it all the easier for me to slip away.

Then a sound suddenly came from inside the room, and I shrank back a step in fright.

"Kill her!"

"You mustn't kill her! If she dies, the Marquis will surely cool toward you too!"

"If you want to seem devoted to your sister, it's better if she goes mad! You have to make the Marquis feel he owes you!"

My sister let out a mocking laugh.

"Then tonight, have her lose her virtue. Our stable hand's whole face is covered in pimpleshe's the perfect match for her!"

Mother hesitated, opening her mouth.

"After all, she is the daughter of my benefactor..."

There was a sudden crash as my sister slammed her hand down on the table.

The maid standing at the door straightened up in fright.

"What benefactor? We dumped her on you to raise all these yearshow much of our family's money did that cost? Who even knows whether she's alive or dead now!"

"If it weren't for Lena, the Marquis would be mine! Why would I ever have to lower myself just to marry him!"

My eyes went wide in an instant, and a chill surged up through my limbs.

No wonder Mrs. Joyce had always played favorites.

But who exactly was my birth mother?

And why had she left me here back then?

My mind was a tangled mess.

The stone sensed my daze and suddenly spoke.

Don't be afraid! Once I get my divine power back, I'll help you find out.

I stroked the warm stone and gave a soft murmur of agreement.

As I turned to leave, I abruptly bumped into someone's chest behind me.

Robert's hair was disheveled at the temples, sweat beading on his forehead.

He'd rushed in from somewhere, and his face turned terrible the moment he saw me.

"Where do you think you're running off to hide? I went looking for youwhy weren't you there?"

I rubbed my head, and saw the quilt he was holding in his hands.