AWWEWNR Chapter 16

💫

 

Perhaps I should have come alone. All the way to the garden on the other side of the Knights’ barracks, Shia didn’t say a word. 

 

Hanaella didn’t know what to say either, so she just kept walking.

 

“Ah, right. Is your arm okay?”

 

She remembered that she had come to ask about his arm in the first place.

 

“Are you all right, Miss Hanaella?”

 

Shia said, looking at her left hand, which was wrapped in a handkerchief.

 

“You need to be treated first…”

 

“I’m fine, it’s not a deep wound, and it doesn’t hurt much because of the dark magic, but I asked you first. Is your arm okay?”

 

Swoosh—

 

Instead of answering, Shia pulled his arm free and held it out to Hanaella. 

 

The severed arm had healed. Hanaella stopped walking and curiously grabbed Shia’s arm. 

 

The sudden touch startled Shia, but Hanaella casually ran her hand over the spot where his arm had been cut off.

 

“Oh— it healed as if nothing had happened.”

 

“That’s thanks to the next Lord.”

 

“It’s my duty to the next Legionnaire.”

 

Smirking, Hanaella laughed. 

 

Shia felt his heart tickling for some reason, so he scratched his left chest a couple of times with his index finger.

 

“By the way, are you aware of the continuation pact?”

 

“…Uh, yes. Since the next lord is a woman, I received a private lesson on the subject from the Legionnaire.”

 

“Ah, then this should be easy. I’d like to enter into an existence covenant with you. What do you think?”

 

“…If it is what the next lord wishes, then of course I will comply.”

 

“Really? Is that okay? If I die, you’ll die too?”

 

“My life already belongs to the next lord.”

 

“Oh, that’s too much to ask. Anyway, thanks for not refusing, so let’s do it now, shall we?”

 

“…!”

 

“Even if you’re not the Legion Leader right now, you said that you can still sign the contract as long as the dark powers choose you as the next Legion Leader.”

 

“…”

 

“Aha, you haven’t mastered how to do it yet, so let’s go to the library now…”

 

“Excuse me…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“That… I think it’s best to wait until after the next lord is married to…”

 

‘…Huh? Why are you bringing up my marriage out of nowhere?’

 

“Why?”

 

‘Don’t you know…’

 

Shia stared at Hanaella in confusion for a moment, then swallowed dryly before speaking.

 

“The bond of life is a union of body and soul, so if the next lord, who is still unmarried, were to enter into a bond of life with me, the next lord’s father-in-law might feel very, and I mean extremely, displeased.”

 

Emphasizing the ‘very‘ and ‘extremely,‘ Shia thought back to the casual way she had kissed him not long ago.

 

 Judging by the way she’d acted, it might not have been the first time she’d ever touched a man’s body, but as Hanaella’s face flushed bright red, he realized it wasn’t.

 

‘Come to think of it, when my father was talking about contracts, he said it was best to learn them from a book. What, so I have to sleep with him to fulfill that pact?’

 

Hanaella realized that she should go back and read the book on contracts right now.

 

“Well, I see. Let’s talk about the contract after I’ve read up on it.”

 

“Okay.”

 

💫

 

Returning to the library shortly after her walk with Shia, Hanaella pulled out the books on the Pact and flipped through them. 

 

As he’d told her, the way a Lord formed a Pact with a Legionnaire was by bodily union. 

 

It was a pact that only worked if Ariel’s Lord was a woman, and the Legionnaire could share more than half of the Lord’s power if she connected with the wellspring of Dark Power within the Lord’s body.

 

‘I see…’ 

 

Running a hand through her hair, Hanaella closed the book she had brought with her and noticed a book with a mysterious red cover. 

 

Without hesitation, she opened it, her eyes widening as she realized that it was a secret grimoire containing information about the healing magic of the Ariel family. 

 

It described how the House of Ariel could heal the wounds of non-knights and commoners alike, and it was through bodily union.

 

This had been a family secret, kept secret from the world because there was no reason for a man of Ariel’s high status to offer his body to heal commoners. 

 

It was written that a man and a woman, a man, and a man, could be healed, but a woman and a woman could not be healed because of the difficulty in uniting them.

 

As Hanaella read the words, she pictured a woman’s body and a man’s body in her mind. She thought back to the only time she had ever seen Tharrott naked, and pondered why a man and a man would be eligible for healing.

 

💫

 

Hanaella had locked herself away in the library again, learning more about the Covenant and Ariel’s healing magic, as well as studying the dark arts. 

 

Though her spirits were low from the occasional dreams of the past, she kept herself busy learning the tricky dark magic that would allow her to kill a demon herself.

 

She’d been struggling for a few days when one of the Thearine siblings unwittingly touched the snout of a sleeping beast. 

 

A letter had arrived from Hanaella’s father with no name on it.

 

He had already heard about Count Tharrott and his daughter’s courtship at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Nobility. 

 

Rosaryn had paid one of the viscounts to slip the letter into Ethan’s ears, but Ethan had no way of knowing.

 

The letter explains that Hanaella and Tharrott are passionately in love, and that she struggles with her family’s situation. 

 

As soon as Ethan, Hanaella’s father, saw the letter, he summoned both Hanaella and Tharrott, who, as Rosaryn had instructed, repeated that they had nothing to say in response to Ethan’s questions. 

 

Hanaella, who arrived late, shot Tharrott a scornful glance, but he pretended not to see it.

 

“Hanaella, why don’t you speak?”

 

“No.”

 

“…”

 

“…Are you sure it’s not?”

 

“No, it’s not, why don’t you deny it?” Hanaella asked, looking at Tharrott in frustration. 

 

Tharrott turned to Hanaella with a look of sorrow on his face.

 

“I’m sorry. I can’t and don’t want to lie to you about my heart.”

 

“…What…!”

 

“Hana, the fact that this letter came to me means that rumors may already be circulating without your knowledge, and they are already circulating in the Noble Union. This matter concerns your marriage, so tell me the truth.”

 

“No, Father!”

 

‘Oh, crap…! He thinks I’m being dishonest on purpose. What should I do? How can I convince him that this is really a lie…’

 

“Ha… Hana.”

 

Ethan pressed his hand to his forehead, calling out to Hanaella.

 

“I don’t mean to chastise you. Indeed, the House of Thearine and ours are not on good terms, but I wouldn’t hold that against the man you’ve grown to love.”

 

The corner of Tharrott’s mouth twitched up at Ethan’s words.

 

After all, Duke Ethan had no objection to marrying into the House of Thearine for the sake of his only daughter. 

 

So perhaps it would be best to get Hanaella out of the room before she could say any more unnecessary things. 

 

Tharrott figured he could just ask her to give him three chances, even if she was resistant. He was sure he could make her fall in love with him in three meetings.

 

“May I, Your Grace, have a moment to speak privately with Lady Hanaella…?”

 

A sympathetic, yet wistful look. The way Tharrott acted was breathtaking. 

 

Hanaella clenched her fists to contain the rage that was boiling up inside her until she shuddered.

 

‘These wretched siblings are so willing to tarnish my honor for their own love.’

 

“No, they aren’t. I have nothing to do with Count Thearine.”

 

“Hanaella.”

 

“Father, I have nothing to do with him.”

 

“My dear Hanaella.”

 

‘What a despicable man. I can’t believe I loved such a man.’

 

“Hana, this father didn’t really call you here to oppose your relationship.”

 

“Ah— this is frustrating, Father.”

 

“…”

 

“No, I’m not, there’s someone else I love!”

 

Suddenly, Tharrott and Ethan’s eyes widened like the eyes of a startled rabbit. 

 

Tharrott hadn’t expected Hanaella to make such a statement. Especially in front of her own father.

 

Ethan, too, felt a different kind of confusion arise in his heart when he heard from his precious daughter’s lips that she had someone else she loved, then when he learned of her relationship with Count Thearine.

 

“Who, who is he…!”

 

Her father’s question stunned Hanaella for a moment. 

 

Tharrott didn’t miss the look on her face.

 

“Why would you lie to me like that…? Why do you make me so sad, Hanaella?”

 

Tears formed in the corners of Tarot’s eyes. 

 

Hanaella shuddered at his seasoned performance, which was so convincing that it sent a shiver down her spine. 

 

Suddenly, her mind flashed to Lloyd, a handsome man with platinum hair and a deep voice.

 

“The Crown Prince!”

 

“…!”

 

“I’m in love with His Highness the Crown Prince!”

 

“What…?!”

 

Ethan exclaimed, jumping up from his desk. Hanaella rolled her eyes and inwardly apologized to Lloyd.

 

“We’ve been in a secret relationship for quite some time, actually! That’s why we were partners on our coming-of-age ceremony, and that’s why we stayed together throughout the whole celebration!”