Chapter 32
The soul bond stretched long.
Even after the long night had passed and sunlight poured into the room, Franz did not stop. No matter how much of Alessia he consumed, it seemed his thirst could never be quenched.
“Stop… Please, stop…”
In the end, Alessia had to beg. It was only after the firewood in the hearth—lit to warm the room throughout the night—had turned to white ash.
Franz finally stopped only after she, exhausted, pushed him away.
As she gasped for breath and tried to collect herself, countless soft kisses rained down upon her face.
“…Thank you.”
Alessia, her mind dazed, thought coldly.
‘Of course, he’s grateful.’
Naturally.
Now, the soul bond was complete.
Alessia had become the one who could erase Franz’s pain from his mana.
Until Niris appeared a year later, she would be the only one capable of doing so.
“Leave me alone. I want to rest.”
Alessia pushed his shoulder with a tired voice. But her hand lacked the strength to move his sweat-soaked shoulder.
Franz rose at her gesture and smiled.
“I’ll just watch.”
Her weary green eyes turned toward him. A smile that made her heart tingle met her gaze. Alessia frowned.
Was this man even capable of such sweet expressions?
Since the wedding, she had discovered sides of Franz she had never known before.
Throughout the night, he had shown her affection and tenderness like a lover—words and actions she had never imagined.
But even as she faced this side of him, she felt no flutter of emotion. Only bitterness.
“I want to be alone.”
Alessia mumbled in a dispirited voice. At her rejection, he rose.
Franz gently covered her with a sheet and slipped on his robe. She closed her eyes, hearing the sound of his footsteps fade.
‘So he’s leaving.’
His actions were different from her past life, but the general pattern hadn’t changed.
In her previous life, Franz had left her the moment the soul bond was forged.
At that time, she had wept alone in an empty room, trembling. She hadn’t known whether it was from the cold or from the premonition of misfortune.
“…Hk.”
But this Alessia understood the meaning of her tears.
Helplessness and despair at the inescapable dreadful future.
“Hhh…”
And overwhelming regret and sorrow for the past.
Alessia swallowed down her hot tears. They scorched her throat like fire.
At last, the soul bond with Franz was complete. All that remained now was revenge. If she could harden his heart and make him miserable, it would all be over.
The wedding was just a necessary procedure to earn that right.
So she had thought she would feel relieved after the consummation. She hadn’t expected such complicated remorse.
Facing Franz’s rare tenderness was painful.
The image of the night he had shared with Niris naturally came to mind, and her heart ached.
Every time she saw his gentle side, it felt like a blade slicing through her whole body.
Alessia closed her eyes with a twisted expression.
‘Could it be… am I jealous?’
She bit her lip hard.
No. It couldn’t be. Shaken by one night of tenderness from Franz? Ridiculous.
The only emotion allowed to her was hatred. That was how it had to be.
Jealousy—an emotion born of love—was unacceptable.
Even the Alessia of her past life had not been allowed such a feeling. Emotions were a luxury for a tool meant to neutralize Franz’s mana.
“Hhh…”
Alessia pressed her chest with her hand, trying to suppress the surge of emotion.
Calm down. Just calm down.
She had merely shared a bed with Franz again—that was all. The turmoil would pass. It held no deeper meaning.
She didn’t love him. So she couldn’t possibly be jealous.
What confused her now was her resentment for how he had ignored her all this time. Knowing now that he could have been kind, but chose instead to hurt her.
And knowing that this tenderness would one day turn to cruelty made it all the worse.
Because she knew Franz would one day coldly abandon her for Niris.
So…
“Why are you crying?”
Alessia flinched and blinked.
Franz, whom she thought had left the room, was looking down at her. In his hand was a warm, damp towel.
He sat on the bed and gently stroked her hair.
With delicate fingers, he smoothed her sweat- and tear-dampened hair and spoke.
“You said you wanted to be alone. Was it because you wanted to cry alone?”
“I…”
Alessia blinked in surprise. With every blink, tears clinging to her lashes fell in drops.
“Why… did you come back?”
“I never left.”
Franz wiped her tears with the back of his hand as he answered.
“You didn’t seem to have the energy to go to the bathroom, so I brought a towel.”
She caught sight of the towel in his hand. He opened it on his lap and then folded it in half.
“I didn’t expect you to be crying alone in that short time.”
“…”
“Have you always been like this?”
Instead of answering, Alessia bit her lip. Her white teeth pressed hard into her red lips. Franz’s fingers approached her mouth.
He gently slipped his finger into her mouth and continued.
“All this time, have you always endured and cried alone like this?”
Franz’s voice cracked low with emotion. Alessia’s eyes wavered without direction.
He withdrew his hand from her mouth and looked into her eyes. Her trembling gaze rose to meet his.
It felt like he had exposed a deep wound.
It felt like he had read every thought she had about him.
“N-No…”
Alessia, flustered, cleared her throat. But her voice didn’t come out well, choked with emotion.
As she rubbed her throat, Franz gently wiped the tears from her eyes. He carefully wiped her cheeks, stained with tears, then let out a sigh.
“It’s good we didn’t invite Baroness Ambrose and the dowager to the wedding.”
Franz sighed as he traced the line of her face with the towel. Slowly, he wiped her slender neck and shoulders as he continued.
“From now on, don’t cry alone.”
Alessia said nothing as he gently wiped her body. She only stared at him in stunned silence.
‘Does he think I cried because of Patricia and Caleb?’
For a moment, she relaxed.
Of course, if a bride cries on her wedding night, the reason is obvious. He must’ve assumed she was missing her family.
‘”It’s good we didn’t invite them”? What does that mean?’
A shadow fell over Alessia’s face. Normally, one would assume she was homesick.
‘Why does he sound like he knows how I was treated in Ambrose? Did he investigate me?’
Alessia glanced at Franz warily. But her doubts faded with his next words.
“The baroness petitioned repeatedly to be invited. When I refused, she demanded a larger dowry.”
At his explanation, Alessia flushed with embarrassment. She hadn’t expected Patricia to stoop so low after her letters had gone unanswered.
“If you don’t want them here, I’ll make sure no one from Ambrose sets foot in Kalebs.”
Franz said firmly, frowning.
He slipped a hand behind her back and gently helped her sit up into his arms. Dazed, Alessia sat up and leaned into him.
Franz pulled her tightly into his embrace and whispered in her ear.
“Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid, Resa. You’ve become my consort now. You are under my protection.”
At those reassuring words, Alessia’s face slowly hardened. She pushed against him with strength in her hands.
“Who’s protecting whom?”
Her beautiful lips twisted. She glared at Franz with moist eyes and said:
“Don’t be deluded.”
Her trembling hand clutched the blanket. Alessia pulled away from him and said coolly,
“Just because we’ve formed a soul bond doesn’t mean I belong to you. The only thing exchanged between us is mana. Don’t offer me cheap sympathy.”
“I’m not pitying you. I just… thought you looked like you were in pain—”
“If you don’t want to see me in pain, then don’t look at me. You’ve been doing that just fine until now!”
“What do you mean by that?”
At her tearful outburst, Franz’s expression cracked. Seeing his stunned face, Alessia hastily closed her mouth.
“It’s nothing.”
“What do you mean it’s nothing? That I’ve been ignoring you? That you cried behind my back?”
A chill suddenly filled the room. Cold energy began to spread around Franz.
“Then your crying just now was because of me. I must have misunderstood.”
With his eerie voice, the coldness of his mana thickened. Alessia shrank back as it washed over her.
‘Ah, no…’
Alessia hastily covered her mouth.
This was bad.
The soul bond didn’t only affect Franz—it affected Alessia, too.
Those bonded resonate with each other’s mana.
If Franz felt anger and released mana charged with that emotion—like now—that emotion would stir inside Alessia as well.
‘I should’ve held back.’
Alessia trembled slightly. Her insides churned.
Franz’s icy mana spread through her body from within—
