Camille (19)

Once the elders’ support waned, everything else proceeded swiftly.

“Let’s move locations. It’s a bit… not right to make a pact just anywhere, isn’t it?”

“Alright, do you have a place in mind?”

“There’s a Dragon God Temple on the outskirts of the Empire Capital. We can get there quickly.”

“Really? So there was a Dragon God Temple in the Empire too.”

Vivian gave a playful eye-smile.

“Yep, I ordered it to be built. It was completed only a few months ago.”

“Why…?”

“Hmm, so I could visit you when I missed you?”

“…”

Anyway, Vivian and I found the only Dragon God Temple in the Empire Capital.

Its scale was in no way inferior even when compared to the Holy Dominion’s massive temples.

There was a good reason for her confidence.

“Are you ready, Helix?”

“Yes.”

He had been in the form of a young girl for a month, but for now, he returned to his adult male appearance.

Since many people across the continent, as well as the Empire’s citizens, were interested in this agreement.

It would be better to return to my original form than to remain as a girl.

“It’s good to see that form after a long time.”

Did she like that he had returned to his male form?

A smile never left Vivian’s lips.

“Vivian, I’m going to make a Geas oath, just as you said.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“But this oath also applies to you. If you start a war, this Geas oath will automatically be broken.”

“Oh? What happens if it’s broken?”

Vivian asked me with curious eyes.

Indeed, now that I thought about it, she was a monarch and a magician.

Her curiosity, especially about her field of mental magic, remained strong.

“I don’t know exactly either, since I’ve never actually done it or broken it.”

“…”

“A Geas is also an oath made to the gods. Ancient texts say that those who broke a Geas oath paid a price for it in some form or another.”

“What kind of price?”

“It varied in each situation. Some suffered terrible pain, others lost their lifespan. But commonly, they are said to have lost something precious to them.”

At those words, a shadow of bewilderment fell across Vivian’s face, which had been full of smiles.

“Something precious?”

“Nothing is set in stone. But I suspect it’s what the person desired most.”

Well, this is just an ancient text after all.

It’s not something to be completely trusted.

“As long as you keep your promise, you won’t have to suffer the side effects of the Geas.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Then, shall we begin?”

I clasped Vivian’s hands and closed my eyes.

“I swear in the name of Magic and the gods.”

“I swear in the name of Magic and the gods.”

Vivian recited the activation phrase of the Geas after me.

“I, Helix, swear as an avatar of the gods and the guardian dragon of humanity.”

“I, Vivian, swear as the Empress of the Empire and its plenipotentiary ruler.”

Wooong!!

A geometric magic circle appeared around Vivian and me.

The magic circle spun clockwise, beginning to engrave our words in ancient script along its circumference.

“I will uphold peace and not disrupt order.”

“I will uphold peace and not disrupt order.”

An oath never disappears.

It makes one pay a price in some form.

“To this end, I swear here and now that I will not launch any attack against the Empire.”

“To this end, I swear that I will not initiate any preemptive attack.”

At that moment, the magic circle dispersed, scattering into particles of light.

Afterward, Vivian’s right eye and my left eye gleamed brightly.

It meant that the Geas contract had been successfully established.

“With this, the contract is complete, Vivian.”

“Yeah, it feels… significant. Sharing an oath together, doesn’t it feel a bit like a wedding?”

“Ahaha…”

I just gave an awkward laugh.

Vivian’s half-jokes that sometimes came out of nowhere.

Still, it felt like a truly major hurdle had been overcome.

“Helix, are you going back now?”

“Yeah, I should be heading back soon. To be honest, Camille was against this contract too.”

“She’s doubting me right to the very end, huh? Well, given my past, I guess it’s not unreasonable.”

“Even so, now that we’ve made a Geas, Camille won’t be able to say anything more.”

However, this incident might actually deepen Camille’s suspicion of me.

For one, I’ve stayed in the Empire for too long.

Even I thought it was a situation where Camille would doubt my true intentions.

“What a headache. Going back is also a problem.”

“Because of the Saint?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t know what excuse I’ll make when I get back.”

“Hmm, then how about staying here for about a year? If you’re together for too long, people tend to forget how precious someone is. It’ll be a good lesson for that woman who doesn’t know how precious her husband is.”

“Give me a break.”

Vivian, once again, subtly made an absurd suggestion.

By now, I just had to accept it.

“Helix, I’m giving you advice out of an old woman’s concern.”

“No, you’re not an old woman.”

“Just listen. This will be helpful to you too.”

Vivian opened her mouth with a confident expression.

“Do you know why that woman treats you so arrogantly? It’s because you always indulge her too much.”

“No, I caused Camille a lot of trouble when I was young too.”

“That’s different from this. Do you know why that woman is acting so sensitive right now? It’s because you, who always practically obeyed her, aren’t listening to her anymore.”

Perhaps she thought there was no need to be cautious anymore, now that the Geas had been made anyway.

Vivian poured out her criticisms of Camille without hesitation.

“That woman must be shitting bricks. I’m a woman too, so I generally understand that feeling.”

“…”

“But Helix, do you know this? In such a hysterical situation, a woman will look for someone to vent her anger on. Ah, but she probably can’t do it openly to you. She herself has done a lot wrong until now.”

“Are you talking about the Dragon’s Priestesses?”

“Yes, judging by her behavior, there’s probably a lot more than just that. Helix, you’re so kind and gentle that there might be quite a few things you don’t even consider wrong?”

I was starting to want her to stop talking.

I wasn’t angry.

It was just painful to listen.

Just being here felt like I was insulting Camille…

This kind of thing didn’t suit my nature.

“Anyway, that woman will diligently search for what caused you, who always listened so well, to change. Oh? And it just so happens that I’m a thorn in her side, aren’t I?”

“…”

“So the Saint starts rationalizing to herself. ‘That bitch is the problem. Helix became strange because of that bitch. If only that bitch is excluded, things can go back to normal.'”

I just kept my mouth shut.

While some of Vivian’s words were excessive, I couldn’t completely deny them either.

“Isn’t it funny? When in reality, the one who changed you was none other than the Saint herself.”

“Vivian.”

Ah, of course, I’m not saying you did anything wrong, Helix. You made a perfectly rational judgment. Thanks to you, countless sacrifices were prevented. But to that woman, such things aren’t very important.

Vivian closed her mouth mid-sentence.

“Alright, I’ll stop here. When you make a face like that, my desire to insult her just vanishes.”

“Yeah, I was about to say something, so thanks for cutting yourself off.”

“Your expression wasn’t normal, you see. If it had just been an angry face, I might have prodded you more to hear your true feelings, but…”

Vivian gently stroked my cheek.

Her red eyes gazed solely at me.

Even without using Geas, I felt as if I was being drawn in, throwing myself into them.

“You look too sad. You really don’t suit that woman.”

“…”

“You need to find a woman who loves only you a little more, Helix. I want to claim that’s me… but at least it’s not that woman.”

I was afraid to be with Vivian any longer.

Every single word of hers felt like it would shake my heart to its core.

“I’m going back.”

“Alright, you’ll come back, won’t you?”

“If the opportunity arises.”

Vivian didn’t hold me back this time.

It was time to return to Camille.

********

The Dragon and the Empress’s Contract.

Major media outlets across the continent vied to give this astonishing news front-page coverage.

“The Empire has chosen peace instead of war. This is a miracle!”

“This oath is a historic moment that will change the world’s landscape. We no longer have to suffer the fear of war!”

“Let’s reduce military spending and invest that money in industrial development! The war clouds have finally lifted!”

There was another aspect that people were enthusiastic about.

In the past, Empress Vivian was a disciple who learned magic from a dragon.

It was a perfect subject to stimulate the imagination of gossips.

Rumors circulated, such as the Empress loving the dragon so much that she granted his requests…

Thanks to this, all sorts of absurd rumors also spread.

Anyway.

It was true that most people rejoiced at this oath.

“The era of peace has arrived. From now on, only prosperity and development await us!”

Everyone believed without a doubt that this oath would bring peace to the continent.

Its effects appeared quickly.

Investments, which had shrunk due to the threat of war, increased, and people once again plunged into their livelihoods.

But exactly six months later…

Wiiiiiiing!!!

A siren wailed, piercing through the sound of a terrible thunderstorm.

Its resounding sound brought back everyone’s sleeping nightmares.

“Advance!!”

“Glory to the Empire!! God is with us!!”

Jeobeok-jeobeok.

An endless procession of soldiers.

Countless boot prints etched into the muddy, wet ground.

Foul-smelling mud splattered all over the hems of their military trousers.

Total forces: 1.4 million.

Wyverns: 3,500.

Magic Armored Vehicles: 5,000.

Their target was but one.

“It is time to reclaim the territory stolen from our ancestors. This is the Empire’s land!”

Lithania.

An ally of the Holy Dominion that had been embroiled in a territorial dispute for 20 years.

The Imperial army, boasting overwhelming military power, launched a full-scale invasion of Lithania.

It was the prelude to the greatest war in history.