The Royal Oath
"I have never given up!"
"To bestow favor means to promise boundless repayment thereafter. Have you not already surrendered, declaring that you will grant him nothing—not even that?"
"Even if I wished to bestow favor, he is already dead! How am I supposed to give him anything?"
She spat the words in sheer disbelief, and the Echo answered her.
"He does not wake only because you have given up. He is not dead."
"...Not dead?"
Even if he lived, she would still have to save him before she could ever repay him—or refuse to. Despite the hopeful words, tears began to spill from her eyes. Her spirit had been worn thin by long months as a hostage in a foreign land; for all her insistence that she would never surrender, the tears came first.
"Does a princess of the blood truly wish to save him so badly that she weeps?"
"Yes. He has already saved my life more times than I can count."
Aisia added that she could not live with unpaid debts, yet her true heart was different.
I simply cannot bear the thought of him dying.
"If you can bestow favor, do you wish to give him the greatest favor within your power?"
"If that will save him—anything...!"
As the Echo within her heart seemed ready to answer, Aisia lifted her tear-streaked face toward the sky and cried out.
"Bestow upon him the Royal Oath of the Liberian imperial house."
"...The Royal Oath."
Aisia Lil Shuhain murmured the words. In that instant she understood: this was the way to save him. The pendant her mother had left her shattered, and she felt herself drawn once more into the heart of the ruins.
"Your Highness! If you continue like this it is too dangerous—any further healing magic will— Wait, what?!"
Every soul present stared in shock at the sudden act of Aisia Lil Shuhain, who had been sustaining the healing spell. Magical interference within the ruins made the light flicker and waver, yet little by little it began to wrap his wounds, staunching the blood and coaxing torn tissue to knit.
"How... is this possible...?"
The medical mage whispered in awe.
Aisia forced down the frantic pounding of her heart caused by the press of his lips against hers and poured every scrap of concentration into the work. Her head swam; sweat soaked her entire body. All she could think was that she wanted, somehow, to ease his pain.
Even if I regret this later... right now...
While she repeated the words to herself, the agony began to ease from Adolf's face. The Royal Oath was taking hold; the bleeding slowed and emergency treatment took effect. Soldiers around them watched with eyes wide. None had imagined that the foreign princess—once judged infertile, her magic broken—could ever unleash healing of such fierce power. And more shocking still was the manner in which the magic was being cast.
As the light gradually faded, Adolf drew ragged breaths and opened his eyes, looking a little more at ease.
"Ai...sia?"
He called her name faintly, yet his lips would not move properly; something soft was pressed against them, and no sound came out. The moment Adolf Kareha regained consciousness, Aisia nearly jerked away in startlement—but she held the kiss for the sake of complete healing.
When he too realized what the soft thing was and tried to speak through a groan of pain, she cupped both his cheeks with her hands and whispered carefully,
"Don't speak."
He closed his eyes in silence and regulated his breathing. In that interval his adjutant approached and prepared space for additional bandages and potions. Only when Adolf Kareha's breath had steadied somewhat did Aisia declare it enough, whirl away, and put a clear distance between them.
This... this is the Royal Oath, is it not?
The healing magic had given him emergency care, yet full recovery was far from guaranteed. A little later he slipped into a sleep-like loss of consciousness. The adjutant and knights laid him on a stretcher and prepared to move him to safer ground. Aisia, still unable to quiet her heart, remained at his side.
"Your Highness."
A soldier spoke to her with careful respect.
"Are you all right? The monster has been slain, and the area around this hall is relatively secure. You should rest here for a while."
She rose slowly, feeling the full weight of her own exhaustion.
"Then... I will rest a little. Until he wakes."
Once more she looked down at Adolf's face. He still appeared to be in pain, yet the even rise and fall of his chest brought her a wave of relief.
So soft!
The memory of what she had just done flooded back, and both her cheeks flamed scarlet.
"My first kiss... with this man... It's absurd."
She bit her lip and muttered under her breath. She would never have dared say it aloud before the soldiers, yet her heart was churning strangely. Once she had branded him a cruel warmonger and suspected him of using her as a shield; now everything was different. He was someone she trusted. Someone she could lean on.
"Truly... why am I nursing this man right now?"
She asked herself the question a hundred times in her heart. She already knew the answer, yet pride would not let her admit it easily. When she had first been dragged here as a prisoner she had believed he would show her not the slightest mercy. Yet on the battlefield he had never once harmed her; instead he had rushed about searching for a cure. The more she turned that truth over in her mind, the more she found herself hungering for Adolf Kareha's lips.
Hungering...?
Slap!
Aisia Lil Shuhain struck both her own cheeks hard, as if to snap herself awake. Everything that had happened was shaking the foundations of her beliefs.
"Is that truly the only reason he wants to heal me?"
She murmured, then forced her mouth shut. If she continued down that path of thought, the hatred she had clung to for so long would crumble into nothing.
Before long the soldiers finished clearing the area and established a temporary camp. The wounded rested in safe nooks between the stone pillars; even those who had writhed in agony earlier now managed to catch their breath after emergency treatment. The adjutant dispatched scouts to confirm no more monsters lurked nearby, while others checked for remaining traps.
Aisia sat in a quiet corner where a narrow passage opened, never taking her eyes from Adolf where he lay. Dried blood still marked the corner of his mouth; stained bandages wrapped his arm. Yet his life no longer seemed in danger. As his breathing grew steadier, his expression softened as well.
"Should he awaken, please summon Her Highness the Princess at once."
The medical mage approached and bowed.
"Until his consciousness returns fully, he must not be allowed to move."
She nodded quietly. When the healers withdrew, only the faint light of torches remained in the hall. Flames painted the stone walls with restless shadows; broken fragments of stone lay scattered among the hieroglyphs that still clung to the altar.
"I gave this man the Royal Oath..."
She looked down at her own hands. Any member of the imperial house who swore the Oath received the seal of Liberia stamped upon the back of the hand. Because she had poured out so much magic only moments before, a tingling numbness still lingered there.
"That does not mean he holds me in any deep regard."
She tried to deny it, yet the feelings he had come to harbor toward her were unmistakable.
Pity... sympathy... and perhaps something deeper still...
The more she turned those words over, the more her chest grew dizzy. Not knowing another's heart, Aisia Lil Shuhain realized, was far harder than she had ever imagined.
"What am I supposed to do with these unfamiliar feelings?"
She whispered to herself. At last exhaustion claimed her; she leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes for a short while.
How much time passed? Soldiers moved busily about; those whose recovery lagged whispered soft encouragement to one another. In the midst of it Aisia seemed to doze lightly, then quietly opened her eyes again.
"Your Highness."
Someone approached and spoke in a low voice.
"Did you manage to rest a little?"
"Yes."
Her voice was hoarse.
"I closed my eyes for a short while. Is it still safe here?"
"For the moment, yes. No monsters remain, and no further traps have been found."
The soldier inclined his head slightly.
"But we must leave soon. If we delay another day or two, resupply will become impossible."
"I understand."
She rose, glancing once more toward where Adolf lay. He still seemed sunk in deep sleep; only the faint sound of his breathing reached her. How many thoughts and torments, she wondered, lay hidden behind that expressionless face? She could not tear her gaze away.
The adjutant approached carefully and explained in a quiet voice.
"In truth, the General has always said he would risk any danger if it meant healing Your Highness. We could never understand it... but that is simply the man he is. Once he takes responsibility for something, he never abandons it."
"Responsibility...?"
She echoed softly. Responsibility for what? The question rose unbidden. Then she remembered the words she had heard again and again.
It is for your sake.
Once she had refused to believe them. Now she could no longer dismiss them as empty.
"I see."
She answered briefly and walked slowly toward Adolf. The adjutant watched her for a moment, then stepped aside.
"To think I would end up caring for you like this..."
She murmured low and sank to her knees. Looking at him still asleep, her heart began to race once more.
"Still... I'm so glad. That you're alive..."
Amid the tangle of thoughts, she found relief in the knowledge that his breathing was far steadier and more even than before. Even her own once-unstable magic felt warm now; the Royal Oath seemed to have done its work. A corner of her heart grew warm, yet she still felt astonished at herself.
She whispered.