Episode 110

The lake spirit gazed at the ten shimmering diamond rings on Lothania’s fingers with a mesmerized expression.

I had never imagined a legendary being could be so materialistic, but fortunately for us, it worked in our favor.

“Are you giving me those? All of them?”

Drooling—whether with water or saliva—she reached out eagerly. Teasing her, Lothania wiggled her fingers playfully.

“I’ll give them to you if you keep your promise to my mother.”

Agitated by Lothania’s antics, the lake spirit nodded rapidly.

“Did you bring the relics?”

“Here they are.”

“Give them to me. Put them in the lake.”

Even as she spoke to me, the spirit’s eyes were locked on Lothania’s hands.

Following her instructions, I carefully submerged the relics into the lake’s water.

As they sank beneath the dark surface, the relics suddenly appeared in the lake spirit’s hands.

Inspecting the scale, feather, and claw intently, the spirit stomped her foot.

Fearing another splash, I hugged Lothania tightly. But instead of water, Aiden, Vitrain, and even the bedridden Lian appeared before us.

“Why is that one barely alive?”

The spirit clicked her tongue at Lian, who had collapsed onto the ground, struggling to stay upright.

“So, the Lake Spirit of Beryl truly exists,” Lian said, wheezing in awe.

Aiden and Vitrain wore similar expressions of astonishment as they stared at the spirit.

Impatient to finish her task and claim her diamond rings, the spirit addressed the trio and Lothania.

“Snake, eagle, dog, and the child bearing Luminal’s name.”

Hugging Lothania tightly, I swallowed dryly.

This was the moment—the shackle of the 300-year-old oath binding the Luminal line and the beasts was finally about to be broken.

Worrying over how arduous the process might be, I nearly sighed in relief, only to be left utterly deflated by the spirit’s next words.

“So, you won’t be friends anymore? You’re really giving these back?”

Lothania, along with everyone else, was struck speechless by her question.

After all the suffering caused by this cursed oath, the spirit’s innocent demeanor was both absurd and frustrating.

A moment of silence passed before Lian let out a hollow laugh, despite his frail state.

Snapping out of her shock, Lothania shouted urgently, “Yes! Break it! We don’t need a bond forged by the power of an oath anymore.”

“You begged me so much to make you friends, though. Humans are such fickle creatures,” the spirit pouted, glancing at the beasts one by one as if seeking their agreement.

Lian, Vitrain, and Aiden all nodded, and the spirit shrugged nonchalantly.

“Alright, I’ll break the power of the oath—”

But then she stopped mid-sentence, hesitating.

She seemed deep in thought, and the tension in the air became unbearable.

Lothania, unable to hold back, yelled, “What now?!”

At her outburst, the spirit stirred the water and pulled something out.

It was a ring—one that gleamed so brilliantly it was almost blinding.

The design was gaudy, but the diamond set in the ring was the largest I’d ever seen, surpassing even the treasures in the royal vault.

“You’re not going to ask me to give this up too, are you?”

The spirit looked at us nervously, clearly ready to bolt at the slightest hint of disagreement.

Despite this being only our third encounter, I had learned enough about her to recognize her “water-splash-and-run” stance.

As tempting as it was to call her out for accusing us of being fickle, I held my tongue.

It was evident that this ring was likely the one given to her by Barbados I as the price for forging the oath with the beasts.

Even 300 years ago, the spirit had adored gold and jewels, just as she did now.

Barbados I must have been from a family of considerable wealth—who else would think of bribing a spirit with a diamond ring to make friends?

And look where that had gotten us—his descendants paying the price for such a deal.

As much as I wanted to curse my distant ancestor for his actions, I swallowed my anger.

“That ring belongs to you. And once you’ve finished your work, these rings will be yours too,” I said, offering my most gentle smile as I patted Lothania’s hand adorned with glittering rings.

The spirit, dazzled by the brilliance of the diamonds, quickly changed her demeanor.

“Fine, fine. The power of the oath is broken. You’re free now.”

At her words, I turned to Lothania, then to Aiden.

I had expected something monumental to happen, but Lothania and the three beasts merely stood there, looking dazed.

“Lothania?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Are you alright? How does it feel? Can you—”

Before I could finish, a sudden ripple of emotion crossed Aiden’s face.

Aiden suddenly embraced me, right in front of Lothania, without hesitation.

He didn’t say a word, but in that moment, I knew.

He was no longer my daughter’s hound; he was Aiden Tilender, the man I loved, returned to my side.

Over his shoulder, I saw Lian and Vitrain looking visibly relieved.

But then, glimmering tears rolled down Lothania’s cheeks like jewels.

Gently pulling away from Aiden, I approached my daughter. Lowering myself to her level, I wiped her tears and asked softly, “Lottie, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you sad?”

“No, Mother. Oh… why is this happening? I’m so happy, but the tears won’t stop,” she said, brushing away the endless stream of tears with her sleeve.

Lothania’s desire to free Melbrid from the curse of the oath had been genuine.

These tears were not hers alone—they were Luminal’s tears.

While the freed beasts celebrated their liberation, Luminal, who had forged a bond through the spirit’s power, mourned.

It was a bittersweet moment, as though the tears encapsulated the dynamic between the Luminals and the beasts.

Thankfully, Lothania quickly shook off the sadness that wasn’t truly her own.

She raised her ring-adorned hands high and began to hop gleefully, the diamond rings sparkling brilliantly on her fingers.

Seeing this, the lake spirit emerged further from the water, whining, “Okay! It’s done, right? Now give me my rings! And the other treasures—you promised ten times more!”

Suppressing a laugh, I handed the bag of jewels to the spirit.

However, as if bound by some rule, the spirit couldn’t take objects from outside the lake and stomped impatiently, demanding we toss them into the water.

One by one, the jewels were emptied into the lake. The spirit retrieved them, humming a tune as she admired each piece.

Suddenly, she glanced toward Aiden, or rather at something near him, and called out, “Hey, you. Hand this over.”

“This?”

“Yeah, right there by your feet. The wolf’s claw.”

Looking down where the spirit gestured, we saw the wolf’s claw being gently washed ashore.

Aiden picked it up from the water, and I turned back to the spirit.

“Are you saying to give this to the wolves?”

“Yep. They’ve gone up north. Olina said you’ll find them in the forest beneath the snow-capped mountains.”

Who was Olina? And what snow-capped mountains?

The lake spirit, as enigmatic as ever, seemed content to leave us with more questions than answers, gleefully admiring the diamonds under the moonlight.

I summoned my patience and tried again. “How do we give it to the wolves? Unlike you, we don’t exactly have a way with animals. Can you tell us how?”

“Just leave it where they live. They’ll come for it. I’m not close to them anymore—they left in a huff, you know.”

The spirit pouted, splashing her feet petulantly in the water like a child throwing a tantrum.

“Why did the wolves get angry? They didn’t want to be friends with Barbados I?”

“They’re proud creatures, you know. Being friends with a human is for dogs, they said. Still, one of them liked the kid and agreed to be his friend, but the others couldn’t accept it and left.”

So that’s why it was a dog, not a wolf, in the legends.

Aiden’s earlier remark about being tamed and becoming a dog now made perfect sense.

As Aiden and I exchanged glances, the spirit, having unburdened herself of the claw, chirped, “Well, that’s it, right? All done. Now go away—you’re noisy.”

“Wait, don’t—!”

I tried to stop her, but the whimsical lake spirit stomped her foot deliberately.

An icy splash drenched us before I could react.

As I sneezed and tried to gather myself, Tito’s frantic voice rang out, “Your Majesty! Your Highness!”

“Tito, get a blanket for Lottie. And take Lian back inside immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Fortunately, we had prepared a fire ahead of time, knowing the spirit’s temperament.

Still, I stared daggers at the tranquil surface of the Beryl Lake, contemplating draining it dry once and for all.

Shivering from the cold, I felt Aiden’s arms wrap around me, his warmth chasing away the chill.

When I turned at the sound of soft kisses pressed into my hair, I found myself gazing into the most beautiful ruby-red eyes I had ever seen—eyes that shone brighter than all the jewels we had cast into the lake.