TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 5
The youngest daughter of the ruling family of the North, the Hardenhartz family.
Bianca Hardenhartz.
Known for her expressionless demeanor, she was so famous for her cold face that she earned the nickname “Snow Woman.”
Still, her beauty was exceptional, and rumors spread that she would grow into an extraordinary beauty in the future.
Why was someone like her my fiancée?
The reason was quite simple.
“Because she’s perfect for a political marriage.”
Hardenhartz benefited from its ties with Balheim, and Balheim found it useful to have a half-penny to exploit.
In the end, both she and I were mere tools for a political marriage.
“Well, it’s just a political marriage, after all.”
From the beginning, Bianca disliked me.
This time wouldn’t be much different.
But her real problem lay elsewhere.
Because she was one of those who appeared during the World Erosion.
She was the very person who joined hands with the World Erosion Beings to bring about the world’s destruction.
White Ghost.
It was the nickname she earned after killing one of the Ten Strongest Under the Heavens in the past world.
“Let her in.”
She had traveled a long way from the North to meet her fiancé, and I couldn’t just send her back.
More importantly, Bianca’s presence was timely for Kraush.
“Yes, understood.”
Upon hearing Kraush’s command, Aliod immediately left the room.
Kraush looked at his reflection in the mirror in the library.
Quite shabby.
It seemed he needed to change his clothes.
With that thought, Kraush began walking to greet his guest.
* * *
Bianca Hardenhartz.
The youngest daughter of the ruling Hardenhartz family in the North, nicknamed the Snow Woman, had strikingly white, short hair.
True to her nickname, her skin was as pale as white jade, and she gazed at her fingertips with eyes like the blue moonlight.
At the tips of her nails, a peculiar snow crystal pattern was engraved.
It was none other than a symbol of a curse.
Before she was born, her mother had been caught in the World Erosion.
During that process, she was cursed, and the curse ultimately passed on to the child in her womb.
It was a curse that turned her into a doll’s eye, unable to feel any emotions.
Since the curse was with her from birth, it seemed to have bound even her soul.
Not even a Curse Master could lift it.
Until the age of twelve, she had lived without ever laughing or crying.
Her pale skin and hair made her appear even colder, but if not for her expressionless face, she had a promisingly beautiful appearance.
However, such beauty held little meaning.
Because a body tainted by the curse of the World Erosion would never attract the gods to form a contract.
Thus, she always lived a neglected life in Hardenhartz.
Unable to connect with others due to her lack of emotions, her siblings resented her as the cursed child who caused their mother’s death.
On top of that, she was a child who couldn’t even form a contract with a god.
To the family, she had no value.
So she was easily sent off for a political marriage.
Today, her visit to the Green Pine Mansion was to meet her designated fiancé, Kraush Balheim.
The Balheim family, renowned in the Starlon Kingdom for their unmatched martial prowess.
A family so monstrous that even the Empire dared not provoke the Starlon Kingdom because of their existence alone.
The fact that she was engaged to the youngest of such a family was a tremendous opportunity for Hardenhartz.
After all, no matter how much they ruled the North, they were ultimately pushed aside by the central powers.
Today was her second meeting with her fiancé.
Yet, she felt no interest whatsoever.
Because in her memory, Kraush was nothing more than a defeated man who had given up on everything.
[Get lost. I don’t care if you’re from Hardenhartz or whatever. Don’t act like you’re my fiancée when all you care about is Balheim’s power.]
If anything, Kraush fell into the category of people she disliked.
He had a foul mouth and viewed everything pessimistically.
Even without emotions, Bianca had preferences for what she liked and disliked.
So she wasn’t particularly pleased with today’s meeting either.
Because Kraush would undoubtedly criticize her again.
Step, step—
At that moment, the sound of footsteps began to echo from outside.
Realizing that the owner of those footsteps was Kraush, Bianca adjusted her attire.
Perhaps due to her lack of emotions, she had matured far too quickly for a twelve-year-old and accepted reality with startling speed.
After all, she was in a position where she had to lower herself here.
Creak—
As the door opened, Bianca turned her head.
There stood Kraush, who had opened the door.
His hair, a mix of blue and black, and his eyes, similar to hers in their blue hue.
With a youthful face befitting a thirteen-year-old, he was fairly decent-looking, aside from his fierce eyes.
“Bianca.”
“You’re here.”
When Bianca responded immediately with formal speech, Kraush, who had been staring at her for a moment, sat down across from her.
Then, noticing the untouched teacup, he remarked.
“Our maid lacks sense. Serving hot black tea to someone with a cat’s tongue.”
Seeing Kraush’s bitter smile, Bianca hesitated.
Where had he learned that she couldn’t handle hot drinks?
But more than that, Bianca felt something different about Kraush compared to before.
It was as if the person himself had become more composed.
“I’ll make sure to inform the maid about this.”
With that, Kraush opened the tin of cookies.
Then, as if it were the most natural thing, he placed a macadamia cookie on Bianca’s plate.
Macadamia cookies were Bianca’s favorite.
As she watched Kraush’s fluid and natural actions in a slight daze.
Kraush placed a chocolate-studded cookie in front of himself and spoke.
“You must be tired from the long journey.”
“It’s because you’re my fiancé. I need to familiarize myself with your face in advance.”
“Really? For someone who’s my fiancé, you speak as if you’re addressing a superior.”
Kraush gave a faint smile.
Thanks to that, his fierce eyes softened slightly, creating a gentler atmosphere.
Seeing this, Bianca tilted her head slightly.
“Mr. Kraush, may I ask you one thing?”
Hearing Bianca’s overly mature tone for a twelve-year-old, Kraush nodded.
“Did something happen to you?”
Just five months ago.
Kraush, who had acted as if he couldn’t even stand the sight of his own face, was now completely different.
He had never been this kind or considerate.
Could it be that he experienced some sort of change of heart during those five months?
It was a question that could have provoked Kraush’s anger.
Kraush lifted the teacup.
“Am I very different from before?”
At that moment, Bianca realized her mistake upon hearing Kraush’s words.
He had gone out of his way to show kindness, yet she had questioned it unnecessarily.
“…I’m sorry. That was a slip of the tongue.”
Seeing her immediately correct herself, Kraush took a sip of tea.
To be honest, Kraush couldn’t remember how he had treated Bianca in the past.
His memories of his late teens were already hazy, let alone those from his early teens.
Unless it was a significant event like Aliod, there was no way he could recall that time.
And that applied to his first meeting with Bianca as well.
What he vaguely understood was that he had gone around speaking recklessly during his immature years.
It was a time when his despair and frustration with the world had reached their peak.
In a way, it was also a time when he hadn’t yet given up entirely.
Because once you give up, there’s no despair or frustration left.
“…You really haven’t changed.”
One thing was certain: Bianca was the same as she had always been.
Even on that day, standing before the burning North Sea Ice Hotel, she had worn the same expression as she did now.
And that scene still remained vividly in Kraush’s memory.
“Pardon?”
When Bianca questioned his muttered words, Kraush waved his hand dismissively as if it was nothing.
Then, setting the teacup down, he clasped his hands together and rested them on his lap.
“Bianca, today I want to make you a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
Bianca’s large, blue eyes blinked.
She wondered what someone like Kraush, born in the Kingdom’s finest Balheim, could possibly propose to her.
“Is it perhaps about breaking the engagement?”
The first thought that came to Bianca’s mind was the possibility of breaking their engagement.
However, Kraush looked at her with an incredulous expression.
“Do you think we could annul something decided between our families?”
That was true.
There was no way the youngest members of their families could undo an arrangement made between their households.
“Maybe in the future, but not now.”
Yet, judging by his follow-up words, Kraush seemed to be looking far ahead.
“Well, it’s true that it would be better for you to break off the engagement with someone like me sooner rather than later.”
Kraush spoke self-deprecatingly.
Bianca gazed at him quietly.
She was well aware of his circumstances.
Not wanting to provoke her fiancé, she had studied everything about Kraush.
Thus, she also knew why he was called the disgrace of Balheim.
‘But even so, he’s still a Balheim.’
Despite being born into a position others would envy for a lifetime, his self-esteem was low.
“I am your fiancée, Mr. Kraush.”
And yet, he was her fiancé.
One who would remain unchanged in the future.
“That will not change.”
As long as their families existed, that would not change.
And so, when she said that, Kraush let out a hollow laugh.
Because Bianca, who valued family above all else, had spoken without a shred of personal emotion.
For her, emotions were something that could not be created.
Yet, even so, he preferred it over empty, insincere words.
“In any case, it’s not about breaking the engagement. I want to propose something else to you.”
Saying so, Kraush gave a faint smile.
“I recently made a contract with a god.”
Bianca was momentarily surprised.
On average, people typically made contracts with gods at the age of fifteen.
But he was a Balheim.
Most direct descendants of Balheim, coveted by gods from birth, completed their contracts before the age of ten.
In that sense, Kraush was significantly late.
Still, a reason to celebrate was a reason to celebrate.
“Congratulations.”
When Bianca congratulated him, Kraush nodded indifferently.
“And with the ability I awakened through the god, I want to take on your curse.”
“Pardon?”
But what came out of his mouth was something entirely unexpected.
Bianca blinked her eyes once, startled by his words.
To take on her curse?
It was such an absurd statement.
“I have some use for it.”
“The curse, you mean?”
“Yes, if you give me that curse, I’ll grant you one wish in return. If you want, it could even be breaking the engagement.”
Bianca remained silent for a moment.
It was because she couldn’t understand at all.
‘To take on my curse?’
Her curse was one that robbed her of emotions.
Why would he want such a curse?
“Are you planning to inscribe the curse directly onto yourself?”
From Bianca’s perspective, she had grown accustomed to living without emotions.
But for someone who already knew emotions, such an act would surely bring great turmoil.
So when Bianca asked again, Kraush simply nodded.
‘Even the world’s most renowned Curse Masters couldn’t lift this curse.’
Judging by Kraush’s reaction, it was as if he naturally believed he could take on the curse.
‘Did Mr. Kraush make a contract with such a god?’
Assuming he could take on the curse,
what did Kraush intend to do by erasing his emotions?
Bianca carefully reviewed all the information she had about Kraush.
The half-penny of Balheim, treated as a mere tool for a political marriage.
He was clearly estranged from other direct descendants and had given up on himself.
And now, he wanted to erase his emotions.
‘He’s exhausted.’
The moment she pieced everything together, Bianca realized it.
Kraush was utterly worn out.
He had poured out so many emotions that he no longer wanted to feel anything, to the point of clinging to a curse.
And Bianca knew the ultimate fate of someone driven to such emotional extremes.
‘It’s called depression.’
She recalled the words of her uncle, a Northern mage specializing in mental health.
He often shared various stories about the mind with Bianca, and Kraush now fit that description perfectly.
‘When a person suddenly changes and becomes kind to those around them, it’s often their way of saying goodbye.’
Bianca lifted her head and looked at Kraush.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed scars and raw, damaged skin all over his body.
‘Self-harm.’
Seeing that, Bianca realized Kraush had been inflicting wounds upon himself.
Even someone as devoid of emotion as her felt a twinge of pity—Kraush had been pushed to his limits.
In reality, the wounds were merely the result of his diligent training with the Secret Technique Book.
‘Because I’m his fiancée.’
Completely misunderstanding Kraush, Bianca placed her hand over his.
“Mr. Kraush, it’s okay. You can overcome this.”
“Huh, what?”
This time, it was Kraush who was puzzled.