Chapter 6
Alaisia instinctively reached out her hand.
“Franz!”
“Ugh…”
Franz collapsed to his knees, drenched in cold sweat. His broad shoulders trembled violently, and veins bulged on the back of his hand as it pressed against the floor.
“Your Highness!”
The moment Alaisia knelt beside him, attendants came rushing down the corridor. Waiting just outside the bedroom, they immediately helped Franz to his feet.
As soon as they reached him, Franz closed his eyes and fainted. He had likely endured the pain by sheer will until help arrived.
The attendants swiftly carried him to his bed.
“Fetch the physician—quickly!”
“Yes, Head Attendant!”
One of the attendants vanished at the head attendant’s command, while the rest began moving Franz to the bed.
Alaisia stared silently at the bedroom door before balling her hands into fists.
Franz’s bedroom.
She placed a hand over her left chest. Just looking at the door brought a stabbing pain to her heart.
And in that moment, Franz’s voice rang in her ears—when he had cradled her and cried out:
“Resa, open your eyes!”
That cry from the moment her love had ended in death still haunted her. And now, she had to step into that room again.
No.
Alaisia turned away, wanting to distance herself from the bedroom and from Franz. But the maids who had arrived grabbed her arm.
“You’re Lady Alaisia, aren’t you? Please help us!”
“Please, we beg you!”
“You must neutralize the mana!”
Strangely, they already knew who she was—Franz’s bride, and the reason why.
She was pushed into the bedroom.
To her surprise, it looked different than she remembered. Unlike the cold chamber from her memories, it was bright and warm, as if prepared for a bridal suite. There was no trace of blood or mana-induced chill.
As the attendants laid Franz on the bed, they began quickly removing his cravat and wiping his upper body with hot towels.
His well-built torso, carved abs, and broad chest tensed with every labored breath.
While they worked, the physician arrived.
Out of breath, he glanced at Franz and immediately instructed an attendant to prepare a hot bath.
“It’s too early for another episode.”
He mumbled in distress and poured a red elixir into Franz’s mouth, though much of it spilled down his chin. Undeterred, the physician administered another potion.
When Franz finally coughed and exhaled deeply, the physician sighed with relief.
“He’s stabilized for now. But he must stay in the hot bath all day.”
“Understood.”
Just then, a steaming ivory tub was wheeled in and placed in front of the fireplace. Attendants stoked the flames, and the heat made the room stifling, despite it being early autumn.
They carefully lowered Franz into the water.
Alaisia gritted her teeth as she watched his limp body being carried like a doll.
His pale face, crimson-stained lips from the potion, and bare torso looked like a sculpture of a suffering pilgrim. The sight stabbed her chest.
She knew his mana tortured him—but not the extent, not the form his suffering took.
Franz had always seemed perfect.
Her throat tightened as she watched him sink into the bath.
Was it pity?
No. It couldn’t be.
She had shed too many tears for that. It was just… bitter.
To see your raw pain only after you’ve killed me…
Despite being his wife, she’d never been allowed in this room. Once, pushed by Patricia, she had dared sneak in—only for Franz to slap her.
“Alaisia, how dare you? If not for our soul bond, I’d have discarded you this instant!”
He acted like she had ambushed him. But all she did was crack open the door and take a single step inside.
He humiliated her in the corridor with scorn and insults.
Alaisia had run past the broken fountain to her separate palace, where she wept, fearing yet another derogatory nickname would stick.
Franz had branded her with many such titles, though he never used any aloud. He rarely called her anything at all—except when angry or when asking for mana neutralization.
“Resa.”
That single word—so awful yet so sweet.
She had always wondered why, despite his hatred, he hadn’t cast her aside. Now she knew.
So that’s why you…
He needed her. Until Niris came, he needed her.
She hadn’t wanted this truth.
Surely he had rejoiced when Niris arrived, finally free from her.
It must have thrilled you to discard the disgusting Alaisia.
Past-Alaisia had been such a fool, it was laughable.
“Forgive the delay, Lady Alaisia. I am Lucius, head attendant of the Second Prince’s Palace.”
“Nice to meet you, Lucius.”
“…Excuse me?”
Lucius stammered at her bright smile, bewildered.
Naturally—Franz was on death’s doorstep, and she was smiling. He probably thought she was mad.
But Alaisia was perfectly sane. In fact, seeing Franz’s suffering had brought her clarity.
Whether he had returned in time or not didn’t matter. She didn’t need to confirm anything.
Franz was still Franz.
The man who betrayed, trampled, and killed her.
The man who saw her as nothing but a mana-neutralizing tool.
“If you’re able… would you neutralize His Highness’s mana?”
Alaisia stared at Lucius.
She could do it. But she didn’t want to ease Franz’s pain.
She had suffered for two years—ignored, abandoned, dying like a flower with its stem snapped.
Just seeing Franz in agony for one day, one moment, wouldn’t erase her torment.
“No.”
She hoped he would suffer longer. Much longer.
“I can’t until the wedding. That’s the law, isn’t it?”
“But…”
“If you’ll show me to my quarters, I’ll go now. Please lead me to the separate palace.”
Lucius’s brown eyes wavered in shock.
To him, she must’ve seemed heartless.
But she had cried more than anyone here—until she had no tears left.
“I should change clothes. Now, where is it?”
She calmly dusted off her velvet dress sleeve.
It was chosen for the cold, but this hot room made her sweat.
“I’m sorry, Lady Alaisia. There’s no separate palace. You’ll be staying here.”
“Here? You can’t mean…”
Lucius guided her to a side door within the bedroom. Opening it, he revealed another chamber.
“I didn’t know this existed.”
“You wouldn’t. It’s your first time here.”
It’s not. Yet I never knew.
Lucius’s gentle reply silenced her.
Franz still lay unconscious in the tub.
How much about you have I never known?
Alaisia’s emerald eyes dimmed.
I shouldn’t have told you I loved you.
She regretted her final confession.
Learning all this only made that love feel pathetic.
Franz must have laughed—hearing a love confession from the woman he killed.
What did he think when he realized it was a curse?
Did he curse her back? Regret not killing her again?
I shouldn’t have cursed you.
I should’ve just killed you. Dragged you into the same abyss.
I should have.
“…Alaisia.”
As she chewed on regret, a faint voice called her name.
She bit her lip.
