The Villainess Has Proposed a Contract Marriage

82 – Corruption and Oath

He took a step forward.

The sensation of his footprints on the ground was so vivid it sent shivers down his spine. Even after leaving the banquet hall and entering the beautiful imperial palace garden, he didn’t feel any excitement.

He didn’t understand anything about human politics. He knew that the struggle for power among the powerful was ongoing, but he couldn’t understand why Elpisia had to become a traitor overnight. But one unchanging truth was clear.

Elpisia had been kidnapped. Unfortunately, it happened while Harute was observing their political games at the banquet hall.

It was a mistake. He shouldn’t have left her alone. Maybe ignoring Ivria’s advice and being ignorant of the world’s affairs was a mistake.

Then, he had to make amends. There was still a chance.

Harute stopped in his tracks in the middle of the imperial palace garden.

His opponent was a demon.

Unlike humans, demons had their unique abilities. Human investigative techniques would be useless against those abilities. Therefore, there was only one choice.

Divine power.

The power of the gods that could even distort the truth of the world. This was the only choice given.

Just as Harute made up his mind…

“Wait, Harute!”

“… Ivria.”

The guardian knight, who should have been by his side, was chasing after him, her breathing labored due to her uncomfortable attire. Her guilty expression was evident. Harute hesitated for a moment.

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Meanwhile, Ivria stood in front of Harute, catching her breath.

“Wait… Harute.”

“There’s no time.”

“Why? What’s the hurry?”

“…”

Harute tightly shut his lips.

He couldn’t say that there was no time to save Elpisia.

Harute was the owner of the last bastion of humanity – the title of Baptism. His hands protected the innocent, and his eyes beheld only the beauty of the world. To realize the virtue of being distant from worldly desires.

But they said. The ones who lived in the most beautiful and luxurious place in the world revealed the truth about Elpisia Lumine.

Everyone condemned Elpisia as evil. In that situation, it was obvious that Harute, the owner of the title of Baptism, was overstepping his bounds by trying to save her as a personal favor.

Ivria knew this better than anyone, so she stopped Harute.

“Let’s go back, Harute.”

“Where to?”

“To the temple. You’ve been wanting to go, haven’t you?”

“… to Euvria.”

“Ha, I’m tired. Seriously… why can’t high-ranking people like us live together peacefully? That’s why I came all the way here, suffering for a charity event.”

“Euvria.”

“So let’s go. I won’t come out of the temple again. I just want to live quietly like before, with Seongha, Erheit, and you…”

Euvria smiled faintly. Her demeanor was as fresh as a flower in season, and as serene as a descending moon.

Indeed, she was a cherry blossom – a symbol of spring that blooms brightly and withers quickly.

Although I realized this anew, there was no particular attraction to her. Euvria remained Euvria.

A childhood friend who grew up with me, or perhaps someone I thought of as a sibling. Or maybe a mission assigned to me.

That’s all it was.

“You’re right, Euvria.”

“Harute…!”

“I’ll live comfortably within the temple, like before.”

“Yes… that’s right.”

Euvria nodded quietly, her hands clasped together. But Harute changed his tone the next moment.

“But it’s impossible for me. I can’t go back to the way things were before.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve seen too much of the world outside the temple. My world has become too vast.”

The owner of a sacred name cannot face the outside world. That’s a general principle.

Even if the basis of the principle is not explicitly stated, the owner of a sacred name generally accepts it. They were designed to be that way from the start.

However, exceptions always lurk.

The owner of a sacred name who has experienced the outside world by chance or fate sometimes changes. Because, unlike the temple where they repeat a predetermined routine, the outside world is full of countless humans living their lives. And when they mingle with them, a strong temptation inevitably arises.

Love. Sympathy. Self-actualization. Or some other emotion that cannot be contained – it sprouts.

Harute loved Elpisia and sympathized with Helio. As a result, even the sacred law that prohibited leakage was revealed. Once a rule is broken, it’s not difficult to break it again.

So, the outside world was a tempting maze for the owner of a sacred name.

“Are you saying you’re going to save that woman?”

“That’s right.”

“Please… stop doing something ridiculous. Harute, you’ve lost your mind.”

“Does it seem that way?”

“If not, you wouldn’t be going to save her. You’re Harute, after all.”

“I suppose so.”

Harute reflected on himself after hearing Euvria’s words. Indeed, it seemed like he had lost his mind for a moment.

His mind cleared up, like the vast night sky.

Under the starlight pouring down like a waterfall, Harute smiled faintly, as he usually did.

“Thank you, Euvria.”

“… Okay.”

“But I still can’t go back to the temple.”

“Harute!”

The difference in opinions did not narrow. Eubria shouted his name, as if filled with anger.

“I’ve reflected on myself and made a decision.”

“What… why…?”

“I promised.”

“You call that a promise?”

“Yes, a promise. The most important promise in the world.”

In an instant, a golden ring appeared on Harute’s left pinky finger. It was undoubtedly sacred.

Eubria, who shared the same baptismal name as Harute, immediately understood the significance of the golden ring.

“A baptismal vow…!?”

“That’s right.”

“What kind of foolish thing are you doing… You know what the baptismal vow means, don’t you…!!! You know what kind of price you’ll pay for breaking it!”

“I do, of course.”

A baptismal vow is a promise made before God, sealed with an unbreakable oath.

The price of breaking that absolute vow is the loss of one’s baptismal name.

No being in the material world can withstand the backlash of God’s name being revoked.

In other words, it’s a vow that risks death as collateral.

“You’re not in your right mind… You’re not in your right mind. You… fool? Whatever choice you make now, your future is already…”

“Haha… it’s a predicament, isn’t it?”

That’s right.

The future is already sealed shut.

To rescue Elpisia, the sacred is essential. However, if Harute uses the sacred, he will have to face the ‘line’ he must not cross.

“How… can you do that?”

There are two lines that the owner of a baptismal name must not cross.

One is using the sacred for personal desires.

The other is betraying one’s own sense of justice to use the sacred.

Personal desires are easy to avoid. Because Harute will use the sacred for Elpisia’s sake.

But betraying one’s own sense of justice is a different story.

“You already know, Harute.”

Elpisia is a wicked woman. That’s an unchanging fact.

“Elpisia Lumine is a traitor to humanity. Are you going to rescue someone like that, someone who was once a saint in the Basquehill Kingdom?”

This is not justice. It’s too simple a principle.

There was a huge gap between Harute’s proclaimed justice and his actions.

“You just acknowledged it yourself. What you’re about to do is not justice…”

“That’s right.”

“Are you going to cross the line?”

“If necessary.”

“Harute…”

Eubria shed tears. Her sorrowful and desperate emotions were conveyed directly. In the next moment, her fierce gaze drew a sharp line, and a solemn declaration enveloped Harute.

“If you’re really going to do that… I’ll stop you.”

“Don’t do that, Eubria.”

“It’s not to save you. As a vessel of the next god, I must judge the sins committed by the gods’ vanguard.”

“Ivria…”

“I hate you, Harte.”

Swaying, swaying.

The untimely cherry blossoms scatter. The petals, tinted with a faint pink hue, draw a curve as if riding the wind. Every time the petals touch the ground, the divine light of the gods shines down like a blessing.

It was Ivria’s divinity.

“… I am your knight.”

“I know.”

“A knight who is weaker than their lord does not exist.”

“Don’t you know that?”

“…… Yes.”

Can I endure it?

The opponent was a saint.

She was a woman of the same caliber as the demon tribe’s saint, whom I had fought alongside in my youth at Basque Hill.

On the other hand, Harte was weaker than in her youth. It was because the Pope had sealed her baptismal name.

“Hoo…”

She lets out a sigh filled with regret.

Fear of an uncertain future.

… There was none of that.

I just had to do what needed to be done.

“Wait for me, Elpisia. I will definitely keep my promise.”

I recall the promise made that day, like cleaning away the dust of memories.

As my wandering heart was about to give up, the distance between us that had finally narrowed was precious.

That’s why I made a vow.

“I will stand by your side whenever you need me. Even if the world forces you down a thorny path, I will definitely protect you.”

I am on your side.

I am on your side alone, unlike anyone else.

You were the only one who allowed me to do so.

“Even if many people call you a liar, even if they whisper temptingly in my ear, I will believe in you.”

I believe in you.

Even if the world turns its back on you, I will believe in you, just one person.

I, who have seen your true self, who hide your rough edges behind a mask of kindness, I love you and believe in you.

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“I will take on the name of the god given to me and inscribe a lasting promise before the gods.”