The Married Alpha Who Refuses to Be a Heartthrob (A/B/O · Alpha POV) - Chapter 32

Vansen remained in the annex. His room held an indescribable, faint fragrance. Candlesticks on the floor held several lit candles, and more stood on the table.

A small altar held many wizard’s trinkets. At its center was a small magic circle emitting a faint white glow. He used the altar as a desk to write a letter to the Pope.

The light from the magic circle below shone through the black ink, making the characters appear luminous.

The magic circle bore the initials of both himself and the Pope—a unique bond between master and disciple. Once the letter was written, it would reach the other’s magic circle within minutes.

Vansen briefly outlined the sorcerer situation, folded the letter, and affixed his seal.

The magic circle’s glow intensified slightly as the letter vanished.

Vansen waited anxiously in his room for a reply. It was so late—would the Pope even respond?

Hearing the sound of a carriage below, Vansen approached the window and looked down. Kaes and Keith were boarding the carriage. He went out and found a servant, asking, “Where could the governor be going at this hour?”

Servant: “I overheard a body was found in the sewers. Will your grace be investigating at the scene as well? I’ll be preparing the horses at once.”

“No.” Vansen called the servant back. After a moment’s thought, he decided against going.

Vansen returned to his room, anxiously awaiting the Pope’s reply.

His main concern now was how to handle Keith’s father, should he capture him alive or dead?

“Swords have no eyes; what if someone got killed in the process of capturing him?” He thought.

…

Kaes and Keith returned to the villa and went straight to Vansen’s room, showing him the advertisement flyers.

Vansen took one of the flyers. The moment he touched it, the woman in the advertisement stopped singing and moving. Everything froze, indicating the magic has faded.

“This is a curse. It began the instant this paper appeared. Whom of you two saw and heard it singing first?” Vansen’s gaze lingered on their faces, unsure who has been cursed. “It’s most likely you Kaes, though it could be both of you… In any case, you must stay awake tonight. I’ve already written to His Holiness the Pope.”

“A curse…” Keith murmured. He’s been cursed by his own father. The same father who he’d thought was dead!

Soon, a letter materialized within the magic circle. Its golden seal bore the emblem of a cross adorned with angel wings. Vansen’s voice trembled with excitement. “His Holiness has replied.”

Kaes and the others stood by as Vansen opened the letter.

The Pope’s letter was quite lengthy.

[Disciple Vansen:

I never would have imagined Prince Adam was still alive. Information about his past might be of help in your current predicament. When he was 15, the late King had him become my apprentice. Alas, I failed to teach him sacred magic…]

The gist of the letter detailed that Adam became his disciple at a young age but couldn’t grasp the Church’s healing and other light-based support magic. He did, however, show keen interest in small deceased animals.

A year later, Adam still hasn’t mastered any light-based magic. This made the former king suspect Adam lacked talent. Since he wasn’t the crown prince anway, he granted him more freedom.

One day, Adam accompanied the former king to the opera house. At that time, Fia was the most celebrated actress, and they went to hear her opera “When I Am Dead”.

Sixteen-year-old Adam fell instantly in love with the 27-year-old actress and begged his father to grant him marriage to Fia. His father refused.

This did not deter Adam’s obsession with Fia. He would sneak away to meet her in secret. Before she could respond to his ardent pursuit, she died under mysterious circumstances.

Her death mirrored the opera’s heroine: burns on her face and hands, having stabbed herself to death.

People claimed it was a script written by an evil sorcerer, and no actor dared perform it again.

Fia’s body was laid in the church. Late one night, Adam sneaked in, carried the corpse away, and hid it in a corner of the palace.

Even as a corpse, Adam remained obsessed with her, beginning a chilling romance with the dead body.

The Pope noticed Adam’s strange behavior and his growing fixation on dead animals.

One day, the Pope could no longer resist and went to inspect Adam’s chambers, discovering the corpse Adam had hidden there.

Fia’s body was already badly decomposed, laid upon a luxurious bed surrounded by burning incense.

Adam had forged his first soul magic stone, containing Fia’s spirit. He was utterly immersed in his own happiness.

The Pope flew into a rage and destroyed Fia’s soul magic stone. As Adam’s first creation, it was exceptionally fragile and immature.

Adam faced no further punishment, and the Pope did not take Fia’s corpse. Utterly disillusioned with his once-beloved apprentice, he severed any relationship they had as master & disciple.

From then on, Adam mastered necromancy through self-study.

Without his magic stone, Adam continued his icy romance with the corpse until war broke out between the former dynasty and the Lanqi. The Wood Dynasty suffered a crushing defeat, and Fia’s corpse was destroyed by Keith’s uncle.

Later, when the Bain-Perella family rose to power, Adam married Keith’s mother.

Keith’s mother was devastated knowing she was to marry a man who had been in a relationship with a corpse for ten years.

The Pope recalled seeing Adam’s corpse back then. Perhaps Adam possessed immortality, sparing them the need to show mercy.

…

Kaes accompanied Keith back to his room. They would sometimes stand by the window, sometimes sit on the sofa, both restless as if waiting for something, unable to sit still.

Keith leaned against the headboard and yawned. Kaes sat on the chair beside the bed: “Want some coffee? I know your sleepy but we mustn’t fall asleep.”

“Thanks, I really need that coffee cause I’m actually getting sleepy.” Keith turned to look at him. “Hard to imagine how devastated my mother must have been when she got married back then…”

“At least she didn’t hate you.” Kaes ruffled Keith’s hair, then got up and walked outside, waking the maid who had fallen asleep by the door.

The maid went to make coffee.

Kaes was also exhausted, but he forced himself to stay awake. Returning to the room, he found Keith had fallen asleep leaning against the headboard.

“Keith, wake up.” Kaes approached the bed and shook him gently.

Keith showed no signs of waking. Kaes felt a sudden panic and patted his cheek, but still couldn’t rouse him.  But Keith’s chest rose and fell rhythmically; he seemed to be sleeping soundly.

“Perhaps Kaes had fallen into a deep sleep.” He thought. He then laid Keith flat on the bed.

The howling wind outside the window made Kaes feel exceptionally sleepy. Though he’d been fighting it before, now he couldn’t keep his eyes open. He fell asleep sprawled across Keith, instinctively wrapping his arm around him.

…

“Caw caw—”

The crows crying outside jolted Kaes awake. He found himself in a dilapidated & abandoned house.

The surroundings were dim. Outside the window, the sky was a dull, inky blue, as if shrouded in mist. The air inside was thick with the stench of decay.

The only light came from a candlestick on the table before him. Kaes glanced down at his attire. He still wore his military uniform, a service pistol holstered at his waist.

The room was large. A filthy, torn sofa against the wall exposed its stuffing. Numerous paintings hung on the walls, suggesting this was a lounge.

Kaes picked up the candlestick from the table and scanned the room, finding nothing unusual.

He had arrived here after falling asleep, in a world that felt like a dream.

He carried the candlestick out of the lounge into a corridor that branched out to two paths. Each side plunged into an endless darkness.

“Keith, where are you?” Keeping his thoughts to himself.

Kaes desperately wanted to call out Keith’s name, but he knew better.

He chose the left path. It was wide, and in the distance, a door leading to the orchestra pit appeared. Beside it stood broken little statues, each holding an instrument. He realized this was a dilapidated opera house.

The door to the orchestra pit stood half-open, and eerie singing drifted out from within.

“Moon in the night, reflecting sorrow’s tears, I still remember our love at first sight at the ball a year ago.”

The voice was ethereal and elusive, shifting between male and female.

Kaes cautiously pushed door crack a little more, peering inside for a brief moment. Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder, nearly making him jump.

Instinctively, he seized the hand that had tapped him and spun around to pin the person against the wall.

It was Keith. Keith turned his head and whispered, “Kaes!”

“I finally found you,” Kaes murmured, releasing him.

Keith rubbed his arm, which felt like it might break. “You’re going to break my arm.” “

”Sorry.“ Kaes wrapped an arm around him.

”What kind eerie of singing is that?” Keith hugged Kaes back, glancing sideways at the half-open door. The singing inside gave him goosebumps.

The two pressed themselves against the door again, peering inside through the crack.

Inside was the audience pit and the stage.

Numerous candles burned on the stage, where a bizarre entity sang and danced. Candlelight cast its silhouette, projecting long, slender shadows onto the curtain behind.

It was a translucent, brown-skinned ghost, clad in a tattered stage costume. A red skirt and a mask, just like Fia’s.

Both were momentarily stunned, taking several seconds to process.

That was Abe’s skin!

Abe’s withered skin danced gracefully on the stage, the red floor-length skirt swaying continuously.

Its shrill voice sang in high notes: “Ah!!!!—Ah!!!!!—Ah!!!!—Let us be together forever.”