A Night Worse than Death - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Aleisha couldn’t remember much. The bright moonlight, the cool air of an autumn night, and the white curtains that swelled up…

“Second Prince…? Where are you?”

And, the silence that waited for her.

Aleisha bit her lip in the empty bedroom, staring at the white curtains fluttering quietly. She was foolishly expecting, even though she suffered from indifference for the entire two years of her marriage.

‘He’ll look at you today.’

‘Not a look of contempt, but a warm smile.’

She didn’t know her place.

The fact that the daughter of a baron family of the Lauritz Empire was given permission to marry the second son of the great sun was a great grace.

If Aleisha hadn’t had her fire magic… if she didn’t have the magic that matches the Second Prince, she would not have been able to even set foot in this Imperial Palace.

Maybe, that’s why.

Franz had no choice but to welcome Aleisha to the wedding.

Franz Eustache was a gorgeous and beautiful man befitting the nickname ‘son of the sun.’ His blonde hair seemed to have been smeared with honey, golden eyes that seemed to contain the splendor of the sun, and a face of a near-perfect beauty.

The lines that made up his face were rough and soft as if an artist had carefully drawn them.

If the First Prince was famous for his intelligence, the Second Prince was famous for his beauty.

So, the moment the country girl, Aleisha, saw him, it was only natural that she fell in love at first sight.

That perfect man standing in front of the cathedral’s podium in pure white clothing was her husband. How could she not be excited?

Aleisha, forgetting that she was sold in a marriage, stared blankly at him.

But, when Franz saw Aleisha entering the wedding hall, he looked puzzled.

With his golden eyes staring intently at her, she had to bow her head and move her steps slowly.

While standing next to the beautiful Second Prince, whom she had only been seeing from afar, a sharp gaze was drawn at her. At that time, Aleisha just expected it.

Perhaps, Franz liked her, too.

“Pathetic.”

However, the low muttering voice between the archbishop’s remarks cracked the girl’s dream of a happy marriage to the prince. The words of a young lady like a spring fairy were nothing in the Imperial Palace overflowing with beauties.

Aleisha was nothing less than a wildflower to Franz.

She saw him less often than Franz’s maid. She couldn’t share the same bedroom, and she couldn’t even call his name.

When Aleisha was married to the Second Prince, people came to her mother, Ambrose, with gifts to try and continue the connection. Though within a year they stopped.

It was because the news within the Imperial Palace spread faster than the wind.

Aleisha’s stepmother harassed her to try to win the heart of the Second Prince, even by using her beauty.

Nevertheless, in fact, the most earnest and most difficult thing for her was to get Franz’s heart. Aleisha was ignorant of a man and woman’s relationship. She couldn’t figure out how she would get to see his smile.

For the past two years, she has been nothing more than a tool to control magic to him.

She could only meet Franz once a week, and they only met to calm his magic down. It was, however, very short.

Franz hardened his face as Aleisha put her hand to control the chill rushing through his body. He even turned his head away and clenched his fist with the other hand as though her touch was an excruciating pain. Then, as soon as his magic was neutralized, he jumped up and left the place.

Once, they accidentally met at the parlor of the Second Prince’s Palace. Even though Aleisha greeted him, Franz blocked his nose.

He frowned at his straight brow as if she was disgusting and intolerable.

Because of that, she ran into the bathroom crying that day. She wiped her whole body until it was all red. And, since then, she had compulsively washed and applied her body with perfume at every meal.

After a while, rumors circulated that Franz had a lover.

Rumor has it that his lover was very beautiful. They said that their match was close to perfection. Others said she was a powerful fire wizard incomparable to Aleisha, who brazenly occupied the position of the Second Princess with her frail magic.

As soon as Aleisha heard the rumor, she was nervous.

It wasn’t because of jealousy. It was because of the anxiety and fear of not knowing when she would be abandoned.

For Franz, her only utility was to neutralize his magic. However, he had someone to replace her now.

While she was anxious about when the notice of her dismissal would fall, Aleisha received a letter from Franz. It was a dry request to neutralize her magic.

Even so, she was happy to even see that.

First, she washed every nook and cranny of her body. She applied herself with fragrant oil so thoroughly that the maids annoyed her before she ran to his bedroom.

But, it was an unoccupied vacant room that greeted Aleisha.

“Second Prince, I am here. This is Aleisha. Aren’t you there?”

The question thrown into the air with faint hope returned to silence.

It was…

She was blown away again, after running like a thirsty dog ​​for her master’s love.

Aleisha placed the letter with Franz’s seal on the side table. Although she felt betrayed, she could neither tear nor crumple the letter.

‘He’ll call me next time. He will still need me…’

It was time for Aleisha to give herself a little consolation. The letter fluttered in the wind from the window, and then began to fall to the floor.

As she was afraid that the letter would hit the ground, she hurriedly bowed her back and snatched the letter.

A small chuckle was heard, followed by a sharp pain piercing her chest.

“Gasp…!”

Hot blood gushed out of her mouth. There was blood in her eyes.

Someone stabbed her with a sword and pierced her heart. A pool of red quickly formed at Aleisha’s feet.

The sight of the letter soaking red was reflected in the moonlight.

‘No…’

Aleisha, slumped down, pushed Franz’s letter with all her might. While she was dying, she could not stand his seal getting dirty. However, the energy in her body was gone, and all she got to do was touch the corner of the letter.

The moment her vision rotated and the ceiling dyed with the blue dawn light entered her eyes.

“Aleisha!”

Franz’s voice was heard.

“Lessa, open your eyes!”

Hearing the voice, Aleisha struggled to open her fading eyes. Even when she was at the crossroads of death, his words were an absolute command to her.

When she opened her eyes, Franz hurriedly shouted something to her. Though no more words came into her shriveled ears.

Franz looked very angry.

Holding her in his arms, he grabbed his letter, soaked in her blood. Despite Aleisha’s efforts, the letters were stained red.

“R, haa, ru…”

Run, run away, Second Prince…

Aleisha feared that the person who stabbed her might attack Franz, so she was terrified.

“Your Highness Second Prince”

Until someone bowed their head politely to Franz.

The masked man whispered something to Franz, who was holding Aleisha. Hearing those words, Franz’s pupils dilated, and he bit his lips.

His figure came into her blurred vision.

It was only at the last moment when her life was dying that Aleisha realized it belatedly.

The fact that the one who tried to kill her was Franz, whom she loved.

Franz, who found his ugly wife a nuisance, ended up trying to get rid of her like this… As soon as she realized that desperate fact, a tremendous sense of betrayal and anger enveloped Aleisha’s whole body.

Aleisha gathered her fading magic with all her might.

‘I didn’t love you just to be treated like this by you. I can’t die like this…’

“—ranz…”

As she fluttered her lips painfully. Franz, who had exchanged words with the masked man, looked back at her.

She raised her blood-stained hand and touched his face.

Her red blood was on his face. Franz said something in a bewildered way. However, this, too, was not heard by her.

It didn’t matter what he was saying.

Aleisha concentrated her magic on her fingertips that reached him.

“Fran…nz.”

Aleisha vomited her blood and called Franz.

She could barely say his name before she died. He was truthfully a wonderful and distinguished husband. Aleisha shed a sneer as she recalled the fleeting years of the last two years when she was anxious to get his attention.

As the corners of her lips rose with difficulty, Franz hugged her slender body tighter.

This was also funny. She told him she wanted to touch him so much, and now she was touching him like this.

It’s okay if he doesn’t love her…

She could be satisfied with that if he just let her be by his side. However, Franz did not tolerate even that.

“Ha…”

So, Aleisha finally decided to put a curse on him. So that no one else but her can calm the magic running in his body.

The curse of eternal unity.

“You… you will be unhappy. As much as I was in pain while loving you.”

With the first and last confession.

“I love you.”

As the light that completed her curse lit up the room like daytime, Aleisha’s breath stopped completely.

She died.