Chapter 39
“Ah.”
Rixion Luhanes, who had quietly been watching me and the butler’s little exchange, finally spoke—as if he’d just remembered the reason he came all the way here.
“I came because I wanted to apologize for my rudeness yesterday.”
So he does know. If you knew, why did you act that way?
Because of you, I was so angry I barely slept last night!
I shouted that with my eyes instead of words.
Whether he understood my glare or not, Rixion Luhanes erased the faint smile from his lips and bowed his head slightly.
“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure not to behave that rudely ever again.”
To be fair, his actions yesterday were incredibly rude and unpleasant, so it seemed even Rixion Luhanes wasn’t trying to brush it off as a joke—his apology came across as sincere.
He must’ve gotten quite the scolding from his sister, the Empress Serena.
Honestly, she seemed far more reasonable than my own brother.
I couldn’t know his true intentions, of course, but outwardly at least, he looked perfectly apologetic.
With his head lowered, that handsome face of his even looked holy and pure.
I glared at that overly perfect face in distaste and shifted my weight to one leg.
“There’s a condition for accepting your apology.”
At my words, Rixion Luhanes lifted his head a little.
His calm gaze asked what the condition was.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I said firmly,
“Keep the promise we made before. The one where we said we wouldn’t interfere in each other’s lives ever again.”
At my confident demand, his expression turned strange, and his head tilted slightly to the side.
“Didn’t we agree to move past that and be on good terms again?”
What? This man—trying to gaslight me now?
Don’t make me laugh. I have no intention whatsoever of being your plaything anymore!
I glared at him, exasperated.
“We didn’t agree to that!”
“…I see.”
A clear look of disappointment flickered across his blue eyes.
He pouted slightly and muttered under his breath.
“The children wanted to see you again. I was hoping you could visit my mansion once more… What a pity.”
“Wait.”
I had been planning to ignore whatever nonsense came out of his mouth, but somehow, I ended up blurting out hurriedly,
“T-that might be okay, actually?”
Rixion Luhanes raised an elegant eyebrow, his gaze saying “I knew you’d say that.”
His look stung my pride, but I didn’t care—this was important.
Cutting ties with him was one thing, but not being able to see Rowyn and Lin was another.
And to hear that they wanted to see me? Even if it was a lie, I couldn’t ignore that.
“I think it’s fine if I just visit the children.”
“Didn’t you say we shouldn’t have any contact whatsoever?”
Ugh, so that’s what he’s clinging to now.
Even divorced couples let the other see the kids sometimes! It’s literally a visitation right!
“The children don’t count. Technically, I was the one who brought them in the first place, and I’m grateful you’ve taken care of them, but still…”
Somehow, when it came to Rowyn and Lin, I felt like I was on the weaker side of this argument.
I mumbled while glancing nervously at Rixion Luhanes’s face.
‘Come on, after I’ve said this much, just give in already!’
He looked at me for a long moment, then smiled slightly.
“Then, in exchange for letting you see the children, I have a request of my own.”
“Why do you have to add a condition too? That’s so petty.”
I protested immediately, but—
“I’m merely following Lady Christener’s example.”
He countered smoothly, and I deflated on the spot.
Petty as it was, he wasn’t wrong—I had started it.
I wanted to take the kids back to my family estate altogether, but if I did that, I might accidentally ruin the original storyline that had been going just fine so far.
Until Ji Eun-ha arrived in the Empire, Rixion Luhanes had to remain in charge of the children.
‘Ugh, this lunatic will be too busy falling head over heels for Ji Eun-ha soon anyway. Still, he really knows how to get on my nerves!’
10, 11, 12…
I clenched my teeth quietly, calculating how many days were left until Ji Eun-ha’s appearance.
Tomorrow, my brother Michael would be leaving for the Azalenta Desert.
After finishing his business in the distant Kingdom of Cezar, he’d discover Ji Eun-ha in the desert and bring her back.
If I remembered correctly, that meant she’d arrive in the Caiden Empire in about fourteen days.
Once Rixion Luhanes laid eyes on Ji Eun-ha, he’d fall instantly and lose his mind over her—and I’d finally be free.
It was annoying that The Saintess of Erendel would still record me as “the woman once rumored to be engaged to Rixion Luhanes,” but that was out of my hands.
What really worried me was what might happen after.
If he tried to impress Ji Eun-ha by showing that his “ex” meant nothing to him—what if he literally cut off my head to prove it?
Sure, right now he seemed calm enough, but I couldn’t let my guard down.
He might look sane on the outside, but when it came to Ji Eun-ha, he was absolutely insane.
‘Wait.’
My thoughts screeched to a halt.
‘Hold on—haven’t I already been marked as the “ex”? Which means… I’m already under a death flag!’
Even if he only saw me as a former plaything, others would already be whispering that I was Rixion Luhanes’s ex.
Rumors would spread fast—no doubt Ji Eun-ha would hear my name, too.
Realizing this, I gaped in horror.
Feeling Rixion Luhanes’s puzzled gaze on me, I quickly snapped my mouth shut.
‘Oh, crap. I’ve already set my own death flag!’
No, no way—I can’t let this happen!
Without thinking, I grabbed my head and groaned, tugging at my already messy hair.
Seeing me in distress, Rixion Luhanes reached out toward me.
“Lady Christener?”
Even in my panic, I instinctively stepped back as he approached.
He stopped, his expression hardening.
What should I do? What do I do?
My brain kept looping the same desperate question.
Should I make him promise now?
Get it in writing that when he falls head over heels for Ji Eun-ha, he won’t do anything crazy to me?
But would he even keep that promise?
Maybe I should draft an actual contract—and have Empress Serena notarize it?
‘…A contract? Wait. There is something like that here—a magical contract, wasn’t it?’
As my frantic thoughts wandered, a spark of inspiration struck me. My eyes widened.
‘That’s it! The Blood Pact!’
The author of The Saintess of Erendel loved stuffing the story with unnecessary worldbuilding, and while it annoyed me back then, it was paying off now.
In this world, there exists a forbidden magic called the “Pact of Teiera,” or simply, “the Blood Contract.”
It’s a spell that binds two people by blood—if either side breaks the oath, their heart literally explodes.
The Blood Contract was one of the legendary spells created centuries ago by the Great Sage Teiera. It was now considered taboo across the entire continent.
But in truth, it wasn’t just forbidden—it was impossible for almost everyone, since only mages of Class 7 or higher could perform it.
And considering that even Class 5 mages were rare across the continent, a Class 7 mage was practically unreachable—like a star in the heavens.
But Rixion Luhanes wasn’t just anyone.
He was the genius mage born once in 300 years—the only living Class 7 mage officially recognized by the Mage Tower.
The one destined to become the next Great Sage after Teiera himself.
For him, casting the Blood Contract would be as easy as eating a slice of bread.
“Come with me for a moment.”
That’s it!
Overwhelmed by the idea, I grabbed Rixion Luhanes by the wrist without hesitation and pulled him along toward the parlor.
Only after doing so did I realize he might shake me off—but surprisingly, he followed quietly without protest.
“Please, sit here.”
Once we entered the drawing room side by side, I led him straight to the sofa in the center and gestured for him to sit.
Though he looked a bit puzzled by my sudden burst of energy, Rixion Luhanes obediently did as I asked.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said. “And I came up with a way for our interests to align perfectly.”
