Episode 105

The moment he felt his master’s awakening, and when he saw Lothania awakened, Aiden felt the power of the oath etched into his blood consume him.

His mind grew hazy, as though enveloped in fog, and a single, overwhelming thought took hold:

Protect the master, even at the cost of one’s life.

It was a reasonless, emotionless compulsion, identical to what he had felt when he first met the late emperor.

Back then, it was bearable. All he had to do was surrender his body and soul to absolute loyalty.

But now, his heart was no longer his own.

The moment he saw Sione chasing after him, the master who had filled his thoughts vanished, leaving only her.

And with that came a surge of murderous intent.

The conflicting desires tore at him: one to punish himself for betraying his master by loving another, and the other to kill his master to break free from the torment that prevented him from even looking at the one he loved.

Whether he killed himself or Lothania, Sione would grieve.

So, all he could do was endure.

He avoided looking at her or hearing her voice, trying desperately to chain his heart tightly shut.

Yet, when confronted with Sione’s tears, all he wanted was to die.

He heard the sound of her swallowing her sobs within his embrace.

She was trying her hardest not to cry because he had told her not to.

His heart screamed at him to do something, while his mind commanded him to let her go.

Barely suppressing the urge to end himself, Aiden gently patted her back until her tears subsided.

He ensured his touch was soft enough not to hurt her and paced his movements to match the rhythm of her fading cries.

Don’t think about anything.

Don’t think about her.

Looking at her face was the most dangerous of all.

Clinging to his self-control amidst murderous impulses aimed at no one and everyone, Aiden endured Sione’s tears with all his might.

“It’s… okay now,” Sione said, wiping away the tears clinging to her lashes as she pulled away from his embrace.

His warmth was the same, and his hands were as gentle as ever, but Sione noticed how stiff he had become.

Sione could never fully understand how the oath forced the beasts’ emotions into submission, but one thing became clear to her:

This was no longer Aiden Tilender, her lover of the past two years.

And the pain of that realization was not hers alone.

She didn’t know what he was enduring so tensely, but she understood that this hardened tenderness was the best he could offer her right now.

Lifting her tear-streaked face, Sione stepped forward.

She walked alone down the path she had always walked hand in hand with Aiden.

Behind her, Aiden followed with a rigid expression, his face a mask of determination as he trailed her to the office.

* * *

As Sione and Aiden began walking silently toward the office, Lothania arrived at the archives.

Under the sunlight filtering through the windows, Melbrid was quietly reading a book. Upon noticing the Crown Princess, he rose to his feet.

Having recently turned fifteen, Melbrid seemed to be growing rapidly, as if making up for lost time.

The boy who once fell short of Lothania in height now towered over her. His once round, endearing face had slimmed, and his gaze deepened by the day.

His light violet eyes briefly flicked over Lothania before he bowed as always, paying his respects.

And, as he always did, he turned to leave.

“Stop. Stay where you are. That’s an order.”

At her command, Melbrid froze mid-step, bowing his head.

Her voice, usually clear, was tinged with emotion.

“I’ve awakened.”

“Congratulations, Your Highness.”

Melbrid exhaled a sigh of relief, offering his congratulations. He was about to let go of the worry her trembling voice had caused, but her next words left him frozen, breathless.

“Your brother cast a curse on Aunt Bonita. She’s the one who killed my father.”

Melbrid stood silent.

The hypothesis they had reached last winter, while studying the oath together back-to-back, turned out to be true.

It was the one thing Lian had never spoken of, despite sharing so much.

When Melbrid had asked if Lian had killed the emperor, his brother had kept silent. It wasn’t until he was bound again by the leash of the oath that Lian finally confessed.

Lian had cursed Bonita, and Bonita had killed the emperor.

The two linked facts left no room for ambiguity.

Lian was a traitor, and Melbrid’s final hope, which he had clung to so desperately, was shattered.

The traitor’s younger brother slowly knelt before the daughter of the murdered emperor.

As Melbrid bowed his head, Lothania clenched her teeth, swallowing her own tears.

Finally exhaling a long sigh, Lothania spoke.

“My mother abolished the practice of guilt by association in imperial law. You have no reason to kneel, Mel.”

But despite her words, Melbrid did not raise his head.

The measures Sione had prepared for this day meant nothing to him. He couldn’t bring himself to look Lothania in the eye.

Lothania, however, continued speaking calmly.

“Beasts who use their power against the royal family are sentenced to death. The execution will take place one year from today. Until then, the criminal will remain imprisoned.”

By limiting Lian’s guilt to using the power of the curse on Bonita, Lothania effectively labeled Marchioness Bonita Senwood as the traitor who killed the emperor.

She also delayed Lian’s execution by a year, considering his deteriorating health. It was her way of ensuring that Melbrid wouldn’t have to witness his brother’s beheading.

“It’s unprecedented,” Melbrid said, his voice trembling.

Knowing how painful it must have been for Lothania to make this decision, he could only shake his head.

Lothania, his friend and first love, smiled faintly, despite the effort it clearly took.

“If there’s no precedent, we’ll create one. I’m going to abolish the oath binding the Luminals and the beasts. Everything I do will set a new precedent.”

She had spent a long time deliberating over Lian’s punishment, but after seeing the three beasts today, she understood.

The oath she once thought of as a blessing of Belpator was, at least in its current form, something that should never exist between humans.

If Melbrid ever came to fear her as he feared Lian, she would not be able to endure it.

As if making a vow to herself, Lothania spoke firmly, word by word.

“I don’t need feelings forced by the power of the oath. I’ll be a great emperor without such power.”

“You will, Your Highness.”

Melbrid looked up at her with an almost entranced expression.

Lothania knelt in front of him, leveling her gaze with his.

“But to do that, I need you, Mel. Don’t run away anymore. Please.”

Her sorrowful yet gentle smile brought tears to Melbrid’s violet eyes.

He lowered his head, swallowing his tears, and managed only a nod.

The shackles of the oath didn’t matter to him.

To Melbrid, Lothania had long been both his emperor and the master of his heart.

His magnanimous master extended her hand.

“Then let’s go.”

Until now, he had avoided her because he felt unworthy—a servant cleaning the imperial palace, a brother to a traitor who may have killed her father.

But this time was different. Melbrid took Lothania’s hand.

She had asked him, and he couldn’t allow her to beg.

When he clasped her hand, Lothania smiled brightly and helped him to his feet.

Looking up at Melbrid, who had grown taller than her, she grasped his now-larger hand tightly.

She felt like she could do anything.

“Let’s start with the treasury. They said the marks of the oath might be there after an awakening. We’ll find them and destroy them.”

“They could also be in the secret passages. Perhaps we should ask Her Majesty for help.”

“Mother’s heart must be heavy right now. Let’s search the places we can on our own first.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

When Melbrid nodded, Lothania hid her smile and took the lead.

The hardest part was over. Now they only needed to find and destroy the marks of the oath.

If they succeeded, she thought, her mother, Melbrid, Aiden, Vitrain, and even Lian could finally find peace.

Lothania and Melbrid searched the imperial treasury thoroughly before moving to the main palace, where the former emperors’ chambers were.

Skipping Sione’s office, where she was working, they combed the main palace floor by floor. Finally, Lothania stopped in the long-vacant emperor’s bedroom.

“There…”

She pointed toward a painting of Barbados I and the three beasts.

Melbrid followed her gaze to the painting and tilted his head in confusion.

“Do you see something, Your Highness?”

“Can’t you see it? Look, it’s sparkling!”

In the enormous, lifelike painting, one of the serpent’s scales, one of the eagle’s feathers, and one of the dog’s claws glimmered faintly.