Oath (2)
I stepped into the private dining room where we had been eating and silently followed Michael’s gaze.
At the end of it stood Grace, beside Ariel.
That sight sent a wave of unease crawling coldly up the back of my neck.
“Euclid⸺!”
The moment I urgently cried out.
“Dinner is over, Ariel.”
Michael, as if nothing had happened, extended his hand toward Ariel.
Ariel rose from her seat and placed her hand gently on his.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Let’s go.”
...Even if they weren’t related by blood, that was no way for a brother to treat his sister.
His demeanor toward Ariel was far too excessive to be considered noble formality.
Far too much, even for exaggeration.
So much so that anyone who didn’t know the circumstances could easily notice.
As if, to someone, deliberately, on purpose.
“Euclid.”
Just as he was about to leave without even a parting word, Michael turned back to Grace.
Grace’s gaze, which had been cast downward, slowly rose to meet his.
“I don’t like going back on my word, but I’ll postpone today’s annulment.”
“Excuse me? Then... Understood. Then, farewell—”
Before Grace could even finish her goodbye, Michael left the restaurant.
“...Please go, Lord Lippenstein.”
A moment later, the sound of a limousine starting echoed from beyond the open door.
The engine noise faded into the distance.
Grace, now alone with me, looked like a soldier exhausted after a long battle.
Only, instead of blood and corpses on the floor, there was nothing but a person’s sigh and lingering thoughts.
In the meantime, I checked Grace’s condition.
ㅤㅤ【Grace’s Fate】
○━━━○━━━━━●
Thank goodness.
There had been no change to Grace’s fate.
But Grace herself—had changed a lot.
Flop.
She sank into the seat Ariel had been sitting in and let her arms fall limp beneath the armrest, staring up at me.
Seeing her like that, a lukewarm emotion welled up from deep in my chest.
“I…”
Her voice trembled out, incomplete.
Behind my back, I clenched my fist tight enough to crack bone.
“…I’m hungry, Rohan.”
The sorrow of having to watch.
The anger of being unable to do anything.
But this too—ends today.
***
Michael’s reflection shimmered against the train window as the glittering nightscape passed outside.
But Michael saw none of it.
Rohan.
The Rohan he knew wasn’t like that.
He had always been steady and loyal, a knight who quietly carried out his duties in Grace’s shadow.
Michael had liked him that way. He was the perfect embodiment of the word “knight.”
That’s why he had once considered Rohan a valuable asset for enacting his own “greater cause.”
—I asked if I may have all of it.
But everything has changed today.
Now that you’ve revealed your feelings for Euclid, I can’t stay still.
It wasn’t some petty desire like “She’s too good to give away, but I don’t want her myself.”
One day, Grace will become my greatest enemy. And when that happens, you’ll turn your sword on me, too.
After the Human-Demon War, only about 200 “Sword Masters” existed in the Empire.
Even across the entire continent, the number didn’t exceed 500. And that included many who lived quietly without ever revealing their power.
If I not only lose your strength, but turn you into an enemy, it won’t just disrupt my plans—it’ll make the future hard to predict.
Among them, Rohan was near the top—one of the closest to becoming a “Weapon Master.”
To make someone like that an enemy would be a mistake. And Michael was not someone who made mistakes lightly.
I must break you two apart first.
That was why he postponed the annulment.
Even though he had the power to crush a Gamma-ranked like Rohan instantly using his influence alone.
Today, I’ll grant you mercy. Breaking great strength takes greater strength. But destroying someone weaker than yourself—that is mercy.
His “greater cause” was a distant one.
Perhaps so far away, he could chase it forever and never reach it. In the face of that, time meant nothing.
Especially not when clouded by personal emotion or distracted by short-sighted, immediate benefits.
—I will not let my lady live in unhappiness.
Now more than ever, he had to judge objectively and cautiously.
Michael Lippenstein was such a man.
So that’s your goal...
Michael mulled over Rohan’s words.
Beyond his gaze, the city gleamed—radiant, having forgotten the history of war.
...How pitiful.
Compared to anything else, it was pitiful.
A dream so small, it seemed trivial when weighed against Rohan’s power.
And maybe because of that—Michael found Rohan’s existence even more dazzling.
Still, you have worth. The moment one goal is achieved, another takes its place. More importantly...
Michael looked at the sword lying next to him.
Sensing his gaze, Ariel turned her head.
...For the sake of my “sword,” which might still break—you are absolutely necessary.
Michael pushed the thought aside and asked gently.
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
“Thanks to you, I got to eat something delicious. I’m glad.”
It was a complete reversal from how he had treated Grace at the restaurant—so much so, it felt like he was a different person.
“That’s good to hear. But—”
Michael studied Ariel’s face, more subdued than usual.
“—What did you talk about with Euclid? I’ve never seen you so unsettled.”
“……”
Ariel stayed silent.
While Michael had been thinking about Rohan, she had been replaying Grace’s words.
Ariel believed there was no truth in this world that existed for her.
That was why she couldn’t trust Michael’s kindness, even though he had taken her in.
She knew full well that Michael had brought her into House Lippenstein simply to use her.
“Lady Euclid is a professor at our school’s swordsmanship department. I simply told her I look forward to learning under her.”
“And what did she say in return?”
Ariel smiled—a false one, but the closest thing to truth she could muster.
“She said she’d give her all, and work tirelessly.”
“I see. Then that’s reassuring.”
And with that, the conversation ended.
Much later, just as the chauffeur checked the remaining magic in the limousine.
Ariel quietly reopened the conversation.
“My lord. There’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Ask freely.”
“Why are you trying to break your engagement with Lady Euclid? I heard it was a very old... promise between the two of you.”
Ariel could only ask with great caution.
The topic of that engagement had always made Michael scowl in irritation.
But this time, there was no anger—no regret in him at all.
“She’s someone too burdensome for me to protect.”
Then he stared at Ariel for a long time.
***
Hiss.
I handed Grace a just-opened can of beer as we sat side by side on a bench.
“Here you are.”
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
But Grace merely held the can with both hands—she didn’t bring it to her lips.
Grace normally didn’t drink.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t, but that she imposed strict discipline on herself to stay clear headed.
It was a form of self-control.
And yet now, Grace drinking meant... that staying awake in a clear mind had become too painful.
“Will this really be enough?”
“This is more than enough.”
It was the second time I had asked.
After telling me she was hungry, Grace had wanted convenience store sandwiches and beer instead of the restaurant’s food.
She looked like someone who hadn’t eaten for days...
“How did you... persuade Lord Lippenstein?”
The moonlight shimmered over the lake.
Before her voice could sink into that surface, I answered.
“It was his decision. I didn’t persuade him.”
“...I see.”
There was no way I could tell her I told Michael I’d take her for myself.
At that moment, I had simply hated seeing her ignored.
Seeing her unable to speak—I had thought I’d rather claim her myself.
You can’t change fate by just standing by and watching her suffer.
“I don’t like it.”
“...What?”
“That you’re being ignored. That it hurts you. That you keep moving forward anyway, no matter how painful it is... all of it.”
As soon as I said it, I regretted it.
It sounded way too much like a confession—like I was in love with her!
“What I meant is, it’s just strange to see Lady Grace, once my superior officer, flustered by someone like him. It’s so different from how you used to sweep through battlefields, and—Lady Grace is strong, always has been...”
...Don’t ramble! Calm down. Calm down...
“⸺Pfft!”
...That was a reaction never described on any page.
“I never knew you were this funny, Rohan.”
Under the shimmering moonlight, a full smile bloomed on her face.
“You’re right, Rohan. For some reason, when I stand in front of him, I can’t speak. My vision goes dark, and I can’t see anything.”
I felt the same way.
When I looked at her, I was always like that too.
“I know Lord Lippenstein doesn’t like me. I know why. But still, I believed... someday, he’d understand my choices.”
Her eyes, her voice, her scent.
All of it stirred up emotions in me that had long lain dormant.
“But I was wrong. A day passed, then two, and before I knew it, eight years had gone by—and still, his heart hadn’t changed. He keeps pushing me away. Just like back then.”
A single emotion she had been holding back—beyond her ability to suppress—finally overflowed.
...Loneliness.
That feeling now spread across every place her eyes touched.
“Still, I can’t give up. As much as I don’t want to give up on him, I want to protect this Empire.”
I could only listen to the voice that spilled from her trembling chest.
I had to listen.
I had no place in the emotions she sang of.
“Rohan.”
Her voice sent a shiver down my spine.
Those overflowing emotions were about to fill the space around us.
And the reality we had been trying not to face came floating up with them.
“Why haven’t you left my side? Is it because of the oath you made to me? Please tell me.”
Her words stung.
They were addressed to “Rohan,” but also to me.
And I couldn’t breathe.
Because this answer... was harder than saying “I love you.”
“To a knight, an oath is equal to their life.”
My voice trembled from deep inside me.
But once I opened my mouth, I couldn’t stop.
I didn’t stop.
“So I will remain by your side, my lady. Always.”
This is my oath.