Chapter 49
Dry and burning lips touched Franz’s.
The moment the soft lips met his, Franz’s heart began to pound violently.
He lost his reason and began to kiss the woman passionately.
He licked her saliva, entwined their tongues as if trying to cool her heat. Her cool tongue tangled with his hot one.
It didn’t matter who she was, what her name was, or her social status.
Franz’s very soul was craving her.
Was this what it meant to be drawn by the soul? Franz was finally quenching a thirst he hadn’t even known he had.
“Haa…”
The woman clung to Franz and kissed him back. As she let out a long breath, light began to shine between their lips.
It was a golden light imbued with Franz’s mana.
Even knowing his mana was being transferred to her, he couldn’t stop the kiss. He simply couldn’t.
Stopping felt like it would kill him.
The light blooming from where their lips met began to surround them both. Fearing the woman might pull away, Franz hugged her even tighter.
The fact that she had initiated the kiss was already erased from his mind. The only thing that mattered was that she was now in his arms.
“Mmph…”
With each kiss, the heat in her body gradually subsided. And as it cooled, the light slowly faded.
The woman wrapped her arms around Franz’s neck and entrusted herself to him.
Franz moaned as he held her slender waist.
It was her.
She was the one—his “soul bond.”
Franz realized it instantly.
The gaping emptiness in his chest felt filled for the first time.
He, who had always felt indifferent to the world, now felt overwhelmed.
He wanted her.
He desired her.
It was the first time in his life he’d ever felt such yearning.
“Ah…”
As they kissed, the woman’s head drooped. She had fainted and collapsed in his arms.
Franz, panting, held her tightly for a long time. He didn’t know what to do with this unfamiliar feeling of fulfillment.
He wanted to claim her as his, right then and there. To remain intoxicated forever in her sickeningly sweet scent.
“You promised to bring me a deer! This is a rabbit!”
“Did I?”
Franz replied indifferently as he moved his fork. He was currently having a formal meal with Roshanak and her daughter.
The spring hunt was still ongoing.
Which meant Franz had to dine with Niris every single day.
“I was really looking forward to it.”
Franz let her grumble drift past his ears. According to her, he had promised to catch her a deer.
He had no recollection of that.
Ever since the kiss in the study, Franz had been out of it. No matter what people said to him, he couldn’t focus.
So of course he couldn’t remember what Niris had asked him to catch.
‘Has she already left?’
Franz scanned the table carefully.
The table was full of familiar faces. The only one missing was the one he so desperately sought.
It had already been a week since “that night.”
Franz hadn’t seen the woman since.
She had fainted in the middle of their kiss, and he had gone to call a physician. But by the time he returned, she had vanished.
If not for the faint scent still lingering in the study, he would have thought it had all been a dream.
But she was real. A person with warm body heat.
She was the one who first stirred his mana—the partner fate had destined for him.
Since that day, Franz had attended every little event held at the villa, hoping to find her.
Even this rabbit meat that Niris was claiming as her own had been caught during one of those hunting events he joined just to find her.
But as if mocking all his efforts, she hadn’t shown a single trace—not even a strand of hair.
‘A strand of hair…’
Franz lowered his hand to the table and stared down at his plate.
Her hair had been red like a blazing sunset. Her eyes were green like a grassy field.
Her large eyes had been clear, her gentle features captivating. Her pale, delicate hands made his heart race with a single touch.
Franz bit his lip as he pictured her again for the hundredth time.
‘Where in the world is she?’
He was growing desperate. He felt as if he would lose his soul bond forever if he stayed like this.
They hadn’t performed the bonding ritual yet—but that didn’t matter.
In Franz’s heart, his “soul bond” was already set.
His mana stone would not resonate with any other woman.
Only she could neutralize his mana.
That was the fate Franz had chosen.
“Guh!”
Franz clutched his chest. The excruciating pain in his heart had begun again. He collapsed to the floor, drenched in cold sweat.
As Franz curled up in pain, Harun calmly opened a bottle of medicine beside him.
Franz hurriedly drank the potion Harun handed him.
He could feel the heat spreading through his body as the liquid slid down his throat.
Gasping, he barely managed to sit up. As he was catching his breath, a discontented voice spoke across from him.
“You actually put your mana stone on display at the ball?”
Harun handed Franz the mana stone he had brought back.
The amber-colored gem was the one presented at today’s ball.
Franz had been feeling unwell lately and hadn’t been able to attend himself. So he had no choice but to send his mana stone instead.
Choosing a crown princess this way wasn’t normal. It was entirely Franz’s idea.
“What kind of prince selects a bride this way? Showing your mana stone to noble ladies?”
Harun scowled at the mana stone. It was clear he still disapproved of the second prince’s decision.
“Offering up a mana stone connected to your heart is like laying your neck on the line. It’s practically suicide.”
“You worried? You protected it well, didn’t you?”
Franz gave a faint smile. Holding the mana stone, his expression darkened.
It had been four years since the spring hunt at Narot began.
Franz had tried everything since then to find the woman from the study. But no matter what, he couldn’t locate her.
During that year’s hunt, Danil had practically dragged in every young noble from all over Kalebs.
So the guest list from that hunt wasn’t helpful at all.
It would’ve been easier to narrow down a list of Kalebs’ noble families.
All Franz knew was that the woman had red hair and green eyes.
That wasn’t nearly enough to track someone down.
So Franz spent four years getting nowhere.
Meanwhile, his mana had steadily grown stronger. To the point where he suffered attacks like today.
Unable to postpone marriage any longer, he devised a desperate plan.
He would present his mana stone not just to Kalebs, but to all the noblewomen of the Lauritz Empire.
If that’s what it took to find her—so be it.
Of course, Harun, who didn’t know the full story, was appalled.
“Your Highness places far too much trust in me. What if I had failed to protect the mana stone?”
Harun grumbled as he helped Franz onto the sofa. Franz smiled at him.
“You’re more reliable than Creighton.”
“…Excuse me?”
Harun’s face went stiff at Franz’s words. He looked genuinely insulted.
“Did you just compare me to him?”
“That was a bit harsh, I admit.”
Franz offered a bland apology.
His half-brother Creighton, the First Prince, was in open competition with Franz for the crown.
After marrying Glenna, Creighton had grown far more aggressive.
“It was more than harsh.”
Harun glanced at the soup on the table and clicked his tongue. It was a specially prepared tonic from the palace kitchens for Franz’s health.
But it had also been laced with poison—courtesy of Creighton.
Harun, full of resentment, muttered again.
“Honestly, the late Empress left behind a real burden. I thought he’d be mild-mannered since he was her son, but there’s nothing but trouble with him. He’s harder to handle than a brat.”
“Anyone listening would think I’m five years old.”
“Aren’t you?”
Harun waved his hand lightly, and the soup bowl floated into the air.
He snapped his fingers. With a sharp sound, the soup vanished without a trace.
“You’re just as impossible to take your eyes off.”
Crossing his arms, Harun glared at Franz.
“Just kill Prince Creighton. Aren’t you tired of all these petty threats?”
“He’s the Empress’s son.”
Harun chuckled as he uncrossed his arms.
“Well, I’m glad at least you didn’t say, ‘He’s my brother.’ If you had, I’d have said you’re worse than a five-year-old.”
“Enough nagging. And I’ve told you—it’s not that simple. If I kill Creighton, who’s going to deal with the fallout? He has both the Roshanak and the Corneille houses backing him.”
“Then just wipe them all out.”
“Why not suggest wiping out the entire empire while you’re at it?”
At Franz’s pointed remark, Harun merely shrugged. He had the air of someone utterly fed up with political complications.
Franz sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was exhausting explaining things to someone like Harun, who had no interest in human affairs.
Deciding to change the subject, Franz asked the question he’d been meaning to ask.
“So—who was it?”
“Who… Ah. The young lady who reacted to the mana stone?”
Harun blinked at the sudden change in topic but quickly nodded. He smiled gently as he answered.
“Have you heard of the Ambrose family?”
“No.”
Franz frowned.
Harun wasn’t surprised.
“I thought so. They’re a minor baron family that’s never even set foot in Kalebs. Anyway, it was the Baroness Ambrose’s daughter who resonated with the mana stone.”
“What’s her name?”
“Alleisia Ambrose. I hear she’s twenty-four this year.”
“Alleisia Ambrose…”
“Do you know her?”
Franz straightened and looked at Harun, his tone tense.
“Red hair and green eyes, right?”
Harun’s eyes widened in surprise. As if to say, How did you know?
Franz simply smiled in silence.
