Chapter 72
For a long time, both Michelle and the Archduke were silent in the office. The Archduke just observed Michelle’s expression, trying to guess what she was thinking, while she just stared at the ceiling above her. She clearly didn’t like the thought of her soul energy breaking free. No one would like that. Dying or losing the ability to cultivate wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
After some time, still staring at the ceiling, Michelle spoke again: "Father, you said that I would have to try hard to discover what my soul leash was and for it to appear, do why did it appear on its own? I wasn’t even thinking about it when it appeared."
Hearing that, the Archduke raised a brow. "And what were you thinking about?" he asked curiously.
"About the mark that appeared on my and my contracted beasts’ foreheads when we formed contracts. I was thinking about why it was the shape of a snake coiled around a rose with the rose’s thorns piercing into the snake’s flesh." Michelle answered truthfully.
When her words fell, the Archduke raised a brow and went silent for a moment before finally speaking: "I know now why the binding chains appeared on their own..." He sighed as he spoke. "You know, most people have simple contract marks which just show their elements, so yours should be in the shape of a snowflake or something black to represent your ice and dark elements, but instead, your contract mark has a meaning. It’s not unheard of, but it’s rare and people with such marks aren’t really liked by people, especially by those from the upper and heavenly realm."
"Why is that?" Michelle tilted her head in confusion. "And what does that have to do with my soul leash, the binding chains?"
A slight frown formed on the Archduke’s brows. "Up until now, every single person who had a meaningful contract mark was strange and somehow different. People with those marks brought up unheard-of ideas and achieved great heights. It was like the mark was predetermining their fate so they would become someone big. And the great powers didn’t like that. They believe that only lineage, talent or hard work can bring someone to power, but the people with the marks didn’t have that much talent, and no one really cared how hard they worked."
Michelle raised a brow. "So the people just don’t like the people with meaningful contract mark because they seem so lucky to them, that they gain power for free?" she asked with a scoff, her lips upturning a bit. "Father, what about the relation between the soul leash and contract mark?" she glanced at the Archduke.
"That’s a bit complicated," the Archduke admitted. "It was proven that all the people with meaningful contract marks have rare kinds of soul leash and that they appear on their own just after the person thinks about it for a short while, but that’s all that’s really known. Then, there are also some speculations."