Chapter 46
The imperial family possesses mana stones imbued with their own mana. The location of a mana stone containing the essence of their mana is the greatest secret of the royal bloodline.
If a mana stone is broken, the life of its owner is in danger.
Despite such risks, mana stones are kept for one single reason:
To govern the empire smoothly.
The imperial family is obligated to find solutions when the empire experiences anomalies or natural disasters.
And the method they use to fulfill this duty is through their mana stones.
If it were ever revealed when and where the imperial family used mana, issues of fairness could arise among the nobility.
During a disaster, the imperial family secretly sends a mana stone to the Archmage to activate it.
This allows the imperial family to maintain influence without leaving Kalex, and without exposing to the public when they used mana.
Otherwise, everyone would beg for their own territory to be helped first.
Who wouldn’t be desperate to avoid a disaster? But the imperial family cannot accept all those requests.
Going against the will of nature recklessly would disrupt the balance of the world.
As unfortunate as it is, sometimes monsoons, droughts, or heavy snow are necessary.
There are things that cannot be gained in a year without trials or with nothing but fair weather.
Like the most luscious fruit that survives through harsh storms, or a dam built with the wisdom earned from enduring a rainy season.
Everyone needs some degree of hardship.
The imperial family calculated and arranged this with precision.
They arranged for humans to face just enough trials—only as much as they could endure. And they did this all in secret.
Only one person knew of this: the Archmage Harnekalun Milakizerna.
‘But even the Archmage doesn’t know where the mana stones are hidden.’
Alesia’s eyes sparkled as she looked around the dim room.
Since Franz was of royal blood, he, too, had a mana stone. Surely, it was hidden somewhere in this room.
Alesia had once seen Franz’s mana stone—at the ball where his future bride was to be chosen.
Franz’s mana stone was a golden amber, just like his eyes.
A flawless, clear, round gem.
Not all mana stones are actual gemstones.
Only a few royals use gemstones as their mana stones. Franz was one of those few.
The moment Alesia laid eyes on his dazzling mana stone, she felt her soul had been stolen.
To think a mana stone alone could enchant someone—just how incredible must the Second Prince be?
Inside the barrier cast by the Archmage, Alesia touched Franz’s mana stone.
As she approached with a trembling heart, the amber gem reacted to her. It glowed a bright golden light, and in response, a red light shimmered from her body.
That was the end of it.
As soon as the lady who resonated with the mana stone appeared, the Archmage retrieved it.
In the blink of an eye, the mana stone disappeared, and the evaluation was over.
Since then, Alesia had not seen Franz’s mana stone again.
Because she was not worthy of it.
In rare cases, when a soul bond is mutual, one may carry the other’s mana stone on their person.
But their relationship was not so beautiful.
Alesia was unilaterally bonded to Franz. Franz was not her soul’s counterpart.
So Alesia learned nothing more about his mana stone.
‘Who would’ve thought I’d ever be curious about it?’
Alesia thought bitterly as she approached Franz’s bed.
In her previous life, she had never wondered where his mana stone was. Or rather, she hadn’t even had the luxury of caring.
All that mattered to her then was Franz’s attention.
Attention.
Yes, his attention was all that mattered. That wretched attention—just one glance, a single kind word—was all she longed for.
‘At least I’m lucky that Franz wasn’t my soul’s bond.’
Alesia thought coldly as she drew back the bed’s canopy. As the twilight faded, moonlight began to fill the room.
She looked down at the pale Franz lying on the bed with a chilling gaze.
‘He looks peaceful. Hard to believe he had a seizure.’
Alesia reached out to touch his cheek, but then stopped.
There’s no benefit to touching him. Not when she had snuck into his room in secret.
‘If he were my soul’s bond, he would’ve awakened the moment I appeared.’
She thought rationally as she stared at the motionless Franz.
How fortunate that he wasn’t her bond.
If they had been each other’s soul bond, the Alesia of her previous life wouldn’t have lasted two years—she would have withered away and died.
A soul bond draws its mana power from mutual affection.
Franz would have had nothing to worry about with Alesia’s overflowing affection for him.
But Alesia was different.
If he had been her bond, she would have dried up day by day.
She would have constantly felt her mana depleting, all while enduring the agony of mana neutralization.
Just imagining it was devastating.
She would have had to beg for Franz’s attention—just to survive.
Alesia’s expression twisted at the thought. She turned away from the bed abruptly.
‘Could his mana not be stabilizing because of me?’
She stopped in her tracks as she moved to step away.
As moonlight spilled between the shadows of the blue evening, Alesia stood blankly, staring at the man lying on the bed.
She now despised Franz.
That meant he would receive almost no mana power.
‘No way…’
A sudden realization widened Alesia’s eyes. She swallowed hard.
‘Is my influence already that strong?’
She was doubtful. Even if a soul bond affects the other’s mana, this seemed excessive.
Franz… didn’t he look almost as if he were dying?
‘I do hate him enough to want him dead, though.’
Alesia’s eyes fell to Franz’s face as she stood beside the bed.
His shadowed face was calm. Almost peaceful.
From his expression alone, it was hard to tell whether he was being consumed by pain or rescued from it.
‘First, find the mana stone.’
Alesia lifted her gaze and looked around the room busily.
She had come to Franz’s room to find his mana stone.
A mana stone resonates with its owner. If Franz’s heart was slowing, his mana stone would be turning black.
The mana stone was the easiest way to determine his condition. And also—
‘If I destroy it, everything ends.’
It was also the way to destroy Franz.
Alesia clenched her fist.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of the mana stone from the beginning. But destroying it seemed too easy.
She didn’t want to give Franz such a simple end.
She wanted him to suffer through the worst, writhe in torment, shed blood tears—and only then be ruined.
She wanted him to taste even a fraction of the pain she had endured. So…
“Ugh…”
Just as she reached for the drawer of the nightstand, Alesia froze. She slowly turned her head like a broken doll and looked at Franz.
Blood was trickling from his lips.
A red line ran down his pale mouth, flowing down his chin.
He looked like he could die at any moment, hanging on the edge of death.
“Cough…!”
When Franz let out a ragged cough, Alesia flinched.
She gripped the drawer tightly and pulled it open, her eyes searching frantically for a potion bottle.
‘Where did Harun put the medicine bottles? Where—’
Alesia’s hands were harshly rummaging through the drawer’s contents when she froze.
‘Wait.’
Her lips parted slightly.
‘What… what am I doing right now?’
Her eyes twisted as she stared into the messy drawer. She bit her lip hard.
‘This is why I always get betrayed.’
Alesia slammed the drawer shut.
She had snuck into Franz’s room to strike first, to find the mana stone.
And yet, just from one of his coughs, she forgot what she was there to do.
Utterly foolish.
She took a deep breath and brought a hand to her lower belly. Even while hating Franz with all her heart, she hated herself for wavering at every little moment.
She had to remember what he had taken from her.
A happy marriage. The love she never received. Her precious child.
‘No. I can’t do this. If I keep this up, I’ll get hurt again. I’ll die again.’
Her expression gradually settled into calm as she looked at Franz.
Alesia lowered her hand from her stomach.
She mustn’t be shaken by the state he’s in. The fact that he was so broken meant she should be satisfied.
Alesia began to regain her composure. Her green eyes turned icy.
She calmly picked up the items that had fallen to the floor. Even though Franz continued groaning, she pretended not to hear.
“Huh…”
She didn’t even glance at him.
“…Resa.”
Until he called her name.
“Re… sa…”
Alesia’s back straightened as she picked up a handkerchief.
She froze, as if she had forgotten how to breathe. His desperate moan rang in her ears.
“Huu… Re…”
“Stop.”
Alesia twisted the handkerchief in her hand. Without turning her eyes away from Franz, she spoke with difficulty.
“Don’t call me.”
“…”
“Don’t call my name. Franz Eustache.”
Her voice trembled terribly. She ignored the blur overtaking her vision and continued.
“Resa is gone. Dead. You killed her, didn’t you?”
Alesia spat out coldly and stood up.
Her legs gave way after kneeling too long, and she stumbled, falling onto the bed.
“Ah!”
Her hand brushed against Franz as she caught herself.
Startled, she pulled back quickly. As she moved to get up, Franz grabbed her.
In the dim room after the sunset had faded, golden eyes slowly opened. Glorious golden eyes, unfocused and wavering, turned to Alesia.
As if enchanted by his gaze, she froze.
She couldn’t move.
Just like the first time she faced Franz’s mana stone.
He gently pulled her toward him.
His touch wasn’t forceful. And yet, she couldn’t resist. It felt like an invisible force was drawing her in.
Her body leaned over Franz’s, and their lips met.
