Chapter 459
Chapter 459
Chapter 459
“Sigh……”
Yelin, who rarely drank, took a big swig of alcohol and sighed.
Across from her, Hades, who was enjoying Eastern continent delicacies with a satisfied expression, said to her.
“Why such a gloomy face?”
Yelin was about to say something but shook her head instead.
“It’s nothing.”
After putting a huge piece of meat in his mouth and skillfully spitting out just the bones, Hades clicked his tongue and said.
“What do you mean nothing? Even someone as insensitive as me can tell by your expression. If you’re that worried, you should have gone with him.”
Yelin downed the strong liquor in one go and sighed deeply again.
“Lord Hades. Will Sir Zeke be alright?”
“He should be fine. Though that tiger-like Sultan might seduce him into sharing a bed.”
CRUNCH!
At Hades’ words, the brass cup Yelin was holding crumpled like paper.
The servant behind quickly brought another cup to Yelin.
She filled the newly placed brass cup with strong liquor again and downed it in one go.
Just then, nobles of the Muruk Empire wearing elaborate clothing approached Yelin’s side.
Surprisingly, the nobles were elves like Omar.
One noble elf with bluish-gray skin bowed gracefully to Yelin and said with a smile.
“Lady Yelin Ishtar. I heard rumors of your noble High Elf bloodline, but seeing you in person, your beauty is truly blinding.”
After one person approached and greeted Yelin, other young nobles who had been watching also rushed over to introduce themselves.
They were all from prestigious families of the Muruk Empire.
After the other young men finished their greetings, the first noble elf who introduced himself quickly stepped forward and extended his hand to Yelin.
“Lady Yelin Ishtar. Would you care to dance with me? I’ll teach you the ancient elven traditional dance passed down through our family.”
Yelin raised her head at the noble elf’s words.
“Dance……”
Seeing her respond to his words, the young noble brightened and said.
“Yes, please dance with me……”
Yelin suddenly stood up and tore the side of her dress skirt. Her slender legs were revealed through the torn side.
As the young nobles were startled by Yelin’s sudden action, she looked around and approached the one who had asked her to dance.
As Yelin, beautiful as a goddess, approached him, the young elf grinned widely.
But then Yelin reached out and drew the sword at his waist.
SHING!
The elaborately decorated blade was revealed.
“I’ll borrow this for a moment.”
Then Yelin took off her uncomfortable high-heeled shoes and walked barefoot to the center of the banquet hall holding the sword.
She quietly held up the sword and took her stance.
After a moment, Yelin caught her breath and began performing a sword dance while swinging the blade.
WHOOSH!
The Ishtar family inherited ancient elven hunting techniques and elevated them into martial arts. Yelin was now demonstrating this art at its peak.
Because of this, the nobles gathered in the banquet hall couldn’t help but marvel at Yelin’s sword dance.
The band playing instruments in the back also changed their music to match Yelin’s sword dance after watching her.
Soon Yelin’s sword dance and the band’s music blended together as if they had always been one.
Everyone was amazed by her movements that were both graceful and precise.
Yelin herself, who was wielding the sword, had no thoughts. She had started the sword dance to clear her mind of distracting thoughts in the first place.
As she swung the sword in that state of selflessness, Yelin eventually felt herself becoming one with the blade.
WOONG!
The sword she was holding resonated with a clear sound.
Yelin leaped into the air while swinging the sword.
The afterimage of her sword swing looked like a blooming flower.
As she landed on the floor finishing her movement, the band also stopped their music.
Yelin, who had been swinging the sword in a trance, opened her eyes and stood up.
Those who had been watching her sword dance had dazed expressions before breaking into cheers.
“Goodness! Such a beautiful dance!”
“Amazing! A goddess of beauty and swordsmanship has descended upon us!”
After finishing her sword dance, Yelin returned the sword to its owner and quietly left the banquet hall, leaving the cheers behind.
Hades watched Yelin leave while patting his full belly and shaking his head.
'How did she end up having her heart stolen by that guy, tsk tsk. Speaking of which, Zeke, what are you doing with the Sultan?'
* * *
"The aroma is excellent."
Zeke was having tea with Shahrazad.
She asked Zeke.
"What did you say this tea was called?"
"It's black tea, Your Majesty."
Zeke was serving Shahrazad the black tea he had received when he met the Great Sage.
Shahrazad also enjoyed tea, so she was intrigued by this completely new variety that Zeke had brought out.
She looked at Zeke and said.
"A tea I've never tasted before. You continue to surprise me."
"Is that so?"
Watching Zeke's playful response, Shahrazad smiled and stroked the fur of the white tiger lying beside her.
She asked Zeke in a subtle voice.
"More importantly, won't you reconsider marriage with me? Or we could share a bed first. Your thoughts might change after spending a night with me."
"A gracious offer, but I'll pass."
"Is it because of that High Elf?"
"Lady Yelin and I are not like that."
Shahrazad looked into Zeke's eyes and nodded.
"Well, I actually knew. That there's no room in your heart for any woman."
GROWL!
And then, Raven flew and landed on Shahrazad's arm.
She glanced at Raven before looking back at Zeke and asking.
"What is the reason there's no room for any woman in your heart?"
Zeke, who had been drinking tea, raised his head to look at Shahrazad and spoke.
"Do you remember the group called the Abyss that opened gates in the Dorta Republic to summon monsters and beasts?"
"Yes, that absurd group that claims they'll summon a Demon King."
Zeke looked at Shahrazad and said in a serious voice.
"If we fail to stop them, not only the Central Continent but also the Eastern Continent won't be safe."
Shahrazad, who was feeding jerky to Raven, turned her head toward Zeke.
"My army is the largest and strongest in Muruk Empire's history. Though these Abyss people control beasts, I don't think they could defeat my million-strong army."
"What's frightening about the Abyss is that they don't attack head-on. They will surely devise sinister schemes to target Your Majesty's most vulnerable points and make your million-strong army crumble from within. When that happens, the million might become five hundred thousand, a hundred thousand, and who knows how many will remain in the end. And even if that doesn't happen... if they truly summon a Demon King, what use would a million soldiers be?"
At Zeke's words, Shahrazad fell silent while stroking the white tiger and black lion's fur, then spoke again.
"You seem to look down on the Sultan's army."
As she raised her arm, Raven fluttered its wings and landed back on Zeke's shoulder.
Shahrazad looked at Zeke with sharp eyes and said.
"If I were to take issue with it, what you just said would be enough to execute three generations of your family."
"That would be nice. The person above me is quite healthy, you see."
Shahrazad couldn't help but laugh while leaning against the white tiger at Zeke's words referring to Overlord Arthur Draker as a 'healthy person.'
"My, my, I can't win against you with words. They say the one who falls in love first loses, and that's exactly what happened to me."
Shahrazad stood up and said to Zeke.
"If marriage is not possible, let's at least form a Sacred Oath to maintain our connection. Perhaps your heart will change someday."
"You already have five consorts, wouldn't it be better to choose an empress among them rather than an outsider like me?"
At those words, Shahrazad shook her head.
"A phoenix must pair with a phoenix. How could a phoenix pair with a sparrow just because it has no mate?"
Shahrazad rose and approached Zeke, extending her hand toward him.
"Do you know how to form a Sacred Oath?"
"Actually, I don't."
"Oh? You made such a suggestion without even knowing that? You're quite audacious."
Shahrazad smiled and took Zeke's hand, guiding it to her left chest where her heart was.
Then she placed her own hand on Zeke's left chest.
"Normally, a Sacred Oath requires a dragon to mediate it."
At those words, Zeke's eyes widened.
"I didn't know that. Should we ask Lord Hades?"
Shahrazad shook her head at Zeke's words.
"He probably doesn't know how to mediate a Sacred Oath. Fortunately, I can form the oath without a dragon, so don't worry."
After speaking, Shahrazad removed one of her earrings and infused it with power.
The earring emitted light and floated into the air.
WOONG!
Zeke noticed that the earring contained the dragon's energy he had felt earlier.
Shahrazad said to Zeke.
"I told you that my bloodline's ability can embrace any blood."
"Yes, that's right."
"That includes dragon's blood."
Zeke was surprised by Shahrazad's words.
"Dragon's blood?"
Zeke could now understand how Shahrazad was able to draw upon dragon power without sharing a heart with one.
'A human with dragon's blood. The Abyss would go crazy if they knew.'
Harvey West, The Abyss's priest, had spent a long time experimenting with transplanting dragon hearts into humans to create a vessel for the Demon King, but repeatedly failed.
Unless one was directly contracted as a dragon's soul mate or inherited the immortal blood of the Drakers, it was impossible to even contain a dragon's heart.
But with Shahrazad's blood, the experiments might have progressed.
'If those Abyss bastards knew about this... it's horrifying just to imagine.'
The Abyss, which had established itself in the Central Continent, fortunately hadn't seemed to extend its reach to the Eastern Continent yet.
But they couldn't let their guard down.
If they learned of this fact, they would do anything to get their hands on Shahrazad's blood.
As Zeke continued pondering about Abyss, Shahrazad asked.
"Will you truly form the Sacred Oath? The moment the oath is made, your soul and mine will have the closest connection to each other."
"I'm prepared."
At Zeke's answer, Shahrazad gave an alluring smile.
"Very well, I, Shahrazad Anatolia Shulrate, shall form a Sacred Oath with Zeke Draker."
As those words ended, thin chains began emerging from the floating, glowing earring.
The extended chains passed through Zeke's hand on Shahrazad's chest and Shahrazad's hand on Zeke's chest.
The chains of light passed through their hands and reached their hearts.
TSSS!
The chains connected to the earring suddenly joined together in the middle to form a knot, then separated from the earring.
EEENG!
The chains that had separated from the earring became one and connected Zeke and Shahrazad.
Shahrazad looked at Zeke and said.
"You can remove your hand now."
When they removed their hands, they could see the thin chain of light fixed between their hearts.
Zeke tried to touch the fixed chain, but his hand passed through it as if it had no physical form.
'Is this different from Solomon's chains?'
WOONG!
And then, the glowing earring fell back into Shahrazad's hand.
She looked at Zeke and said.
"The oath ceremony is now complete."
Zeke pointed to the glowing chain and asked.
"Is this chain the Sacred Oath?"
"Yes, don't forget that you and I are connected at every moment by this unbreakable chain."
SWISH!
The oath's chain connecting Zeke and Shahrazad's hearts had already hidden itself.
The connecting chain was nowhere to be seen, but Zeke could feel what it meant to be connected to Shahrazad.
Shahrazad said to Zeke.
"They say those who have made a Sacred Oath can convey their hearts to each other no matter how far apart they are."
She closed her eyes while looking at Zeke.
"Shall we test it?"
Shahrazad appeared to be trying to convey something to Zeke in her mind, and Zeke watched her without much thought, believing it would be impossible.
But then a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[System user's message 'Can you hear me, my dear?' has arrived.]