Chapter 22
Lexine, thankfully, didn’t seem overly tense. He must have already heard from Eriksen about what would happen today.
Only after the imperial knights followed behind Lexine were the rest of us allowed to enter the hall.
Before stepping inside, I spotted Aksion standing diagonally across the room.
Hands clasped behind his back, he was watching me in a way that almost seemed like he was sulking, so I quickly turned my head away.
Still, I’m going to make the vow.
Inside the now-packed Phantom Hall, the priest’s long recitation of the sacred text continued.
The devout had their eyes closed, quietly reciting along, while the less devout alternated their gazes between me and Aksion.
At last, the priest’s reading ended, and the High Priestess stepped up to the podium.
“On this day, is there anyone who wishes to make a solemn vow before the gods?”
No one had made such a vow in decades. In fact, no one here today had ever witnessed one with their own eyes.
In the hushed atmosphere, I quietly took a step forward.
It was the moment when all the nobles’ speculations became reality.
“What kind of vow could she be making…?”
“Could it be something to do with the throne?”
Click, click—my footsteps echoed as I slowly walked toward the High Priestess.
Her name was Henrietta. She gave me a slight nod, as if she already knew why I had come.
“I, Jeneia Rodwina Enahim, as Regent, vow to fulfill my duties and, when the time comes, pass the throne to Lexine Lucahillis Rodik Enahim.”
“And if you fail to keep this vow, do you agree to physical enforcement?”
“Of course.”
The murmuring in the hall swelled beyond control. Even so, preparations for binding the vow’s power were already underway.
Assistant priests brought out an old goblet—said to have been used when the First Holy Emperor received divine revelation.
The High Priestess lightly held the goblet, a blue glow of holy power enveloping it.
Then she offered it to me. Inside was a clear liquid.
The moment it was in my hands, all murmurs ceased at once.
Just before drinking, my eyes met Aksion’s. He still wore a displeased expression, but made no move to interfere.
Don’t worry.
He read my lips and closed his eyes—as if it was better not to see anything at all.
I downed the liquid in one gulp. The sudden rush of holy power sent a shiver through me.
The High Priestess’s expression brightened in satisfaction.
“I declare this vow to be bound and in effect.”
It was over so simply. I turned my gaze back to where Aksion had been—but he was gone.
The vow should have ended there.
It should have—yet as I turned to leave, I froze in shock.
Aksion was now standing before the High Priestess.
A cold, foreboding sensation wrapped around me.
“It seems we have another who wishes to make a vow,” the High Priestess announced.
I nearly gasped.
“I, Aksion Velveta Dierik, vow to protect Jeneia Rodwina Enahim until the day I die.”
At the same time, he knelt on one knee.
No… this can’t happen.
My fingertips trembled against my will. This was never part of my plan.
When I turned toward the High Priestess, she only shrugged, as if to say she hadn’t wanted this either—but couldn’t refuse.
That was a lie.
This was an age when devotion to the temple was at an all-time low. There was no way the temple would pass up such a chance to show its power.
That was why I’d made my vow in the first place—to show the temple’s authority still stood firm.
They had no reason to reject Dierik’s vow.
And even less reason to reject a vow from the Grand Duke of Dierik himself.
“…Sion, don’t do this,” I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.
“This is what I want.”
The priests approached, carrying the goblet. My pulse thundered all the way to my fingertips.
All eyes followed the goblet in Aksion’s hands.
I watched his throat move as he swallowed. In an instant, the liquid was gone, now coursing through his body.
“I declare this vow to be bound and in effect!”
The High Priestess’s final proclamation filled my ears.
And so, the closing ceremony ended in a way I had never anticipated.
“Explain yourself.”
Despite the darkness in my voice, High Priestess Henrietta maintained her composed, practiced smile.
“Last night, the Grand Duke came to see me.”
“And?”
“I had no reason to refuse his proposal.”
“…”
Her soft tone only fueled my anger.
“That’s not what you and I agreed upon.”
“This is separate from our agreement.”
I could no longer tolerate her haughty tone.
I stepped closer, my expression cold and hard—so unlike the smiling face I’d worn in recent days—that she finally let the corners of her lips fall.
“…But I do understand what it is you fear, Regent.”
“And what is that?”
She spoke slowly, as if daring to put it in words.
“You fear for the Grand Duke’s safety. But you also know I could never harm him.”
Of course I knew that—but hearing it from her own lips gave me some reassurance.
It wasn’t as if I’d planned to make my vow without precautions.
Lexine’s sole supporter was me. Any threat to me was a threat to him.
And to grant the temple authority over me in such a situation?
That would be suicide.
I had confidence I could make the vow without falling under holy power’s control. I had my trump card, after all—that’s why I proposed the deal first.
“As long as you keep your promise, there will be no threats—to you or to the Grand Duke Dierik,” she said.
There was one thing I knew that Aksion did not.
In the near future, for the first time in decades, a Saintess would appear. And I knew exactly when, where, and how she would be found.
In the past, it had been the temple who discovered her first. This time, I intended to find her before they did.
I vowed to deliver the Saintess to the temple. In return, the Holy Emperor promised not to impose any sanctions upon me.
It had been a perfect bargain—until Aksion made his vow.
“…You will trust me, Regent?” Henrietta asked smoothly.
Using me for all I’m worth and still playing coy…
“Tell the Holy Emperor this—if they break their promise, the Saintess will die before she ever reaches the temple.”
“…I’ll deliver your words.”
Only then did Henrietta let out a deep sigh.
“Did you hear that, Your Holiness? If you touch the Grand Duke, the Saintess will be lost.”
Left alone in the room after Jeneia’s departure, Henrietta spoke into the air.
From behind her, a shadow silently took form.
“I heard. We’re the ones at a disadvantage, not them.”
“…That’s true.”
“How amusing.”
Henrietta turned toward the Holy Emperor.
“What do you mean?”
“When I heard the rumors, I thought the Regent was on the verge of breaking her engagement.”
“…Rumors are always like that.”
The Holy Emperor merely smiled at her reply.
“It might be worth staying here a few more days.”
Henrietta asked no questions. As High Priestess, all she could do was bow.
When she lifted her head again, the Holy Emperor was gone.
“Where have you been?”
Aksion was sitting on the bed, as if waiting for me.
Facing him was difficult just now, but he didn’t seem to care in the least.
His vow had shattered all my carefully laid plans.
Once I handed the throne to Lexine, I had planned to leave this place entirely—leave Lexine, leave Aksion.
But his vow had bound me here.
“Why did you do that, Sion?”
He slowly approached me at my calm question.
“Because now… my vow means I am bound to protect you for the rest of my life.”
“…You know that all too well.”
I was angry—but more than that, I was unsettled.
“That vow isn’t a duty—it’s my right. I declared that I won’t let anyone else take that role from me.”
“That’s not a duty. You don’t need to protect me.”
At my firm words, he fell silent. The seconds he stayed quiet felt like an eternity.
“When you say that, it makes me feel… unwanted.”
He lowered his gaze to the floor, as if genuinely hurt.
And then I realized why my chest felt so tight—why I was so restless. I couldn’t forgive myself.
I’m insane.
On the day I woke to find myself returned to this incomprehensible fate, I swore—this time, I would never let Aksion die.
But the moment he made that vow to me…
The emotion I felt was undeniable joy.
Aksion watched Jeneia biting her red lips.
It was rare for the always bold and unyielding Jeneia to chew at her lip like that.
She was clearly troubled. Aksion was certain his vow was the cause.
It was strange.
He was her fiancé, and that was an unchanging fact.
A vow was nothing more than a declaration.
There was no reason for her to be this flustered.
“Jen. Do you dislike that I made the vow?”
Jeneia said nothing, as if the only constant in all of this was her silence.
Her silence was as good as an answer.
It wasn’t the response he’d expected.
When he felt they were drawing closer, she would step back. When she stepped back twice, she would return once, as if to soothe him.
It seemed this was one of those moments when he should take his two steps back again.
He didn’t press her—waiting was what the one who loved more should do.
Even believing he loved her more might be only his own illusion.
Perhaps Jeneia didn’t love Aksion Dierik at all.
“You don’t have to take responsibility for anything.”
“…Sion.”
He thought she might get angry, but she didn’t look angry at all.
His head was filled with nothing but words to try to make her understand.
None of them were the right answer.
Jeneia had never once been an easy person for Aksion.
