n

n

n

"So you don't have friends…

" I grumbled,

"Then how about your subordinates? You don't trust them?

" I added.

nHe then shrugged his shoulders.

n

"Depends.

"

n

"That means you trust some of them!

" I remarked enthusiastically.

nHe looked down on me for a second before saying,

"Are you telling me that I should trust you and treat you as my subordinate?

"

n

"No?

" I refuted him instantly,

"I mean trust me like your sub–... Yeah… Huh?

" I was just confused by the end of it.

nLukas retracted his hand on my jaw and bent closer. He was now caging me as he placed both his hands on the table behind me. I got startled when his face was only a mere inches away from mine which made me lean back to avoid him subconsciously. But I can't get away because if I did lean too far, I would definitely fall flat on the table.

nIt's very uncomfortable.

n

"Little cat, aren't you too presumptuous? Why would I trust you? It's easier to just erase the people who know too much. That's what I do…

" He drawled close to my ears.

nHis breath tickled, sending little shivers up my spine. He's so close that everything was just him. It's a sensory overload!

n

"You– you can't erase me.

" I tried to sound brave although I was literally panicking inside.

nI was screaming in my head because he's too close like for real! If I make just one wrong move, our skin will touch. I could bump his nose or on his cheeks, I don't know but it's freaking me out!

nAnd him threatening to kill me is not helping at all.

n

"Why not? You have admitted that you know my weaknesses and secrets. What if someone catches you and extracts the information from you? I should just…

"

n

"I'm the saint! –Unofficial… You are not allowed to do anything harmful to me,

" I blurted.

nLukas moved his head back a little and smirked.

n

"Who said that?

"

n

"The emperor will get mad…

" I pointed out.

nAs if mentioning the emperor would really stop him anyway.

nAs expected, Lukas let out a cynical laugh, looking like a devil.

n

"Heh. Do you think I care about his anger? The royal family can't stop me. I am not a property of the empire…

"

nThat's true…

nDamn it!

nI had already run out of excuses to escape from peril. Looks like I have to say goodbye to breathing now. Just thinking about it is making me cry…

n

"Uuhh…

"

nLukas suddenly burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking as he moved away to cover his mouth.

n

"Heh. Ahahaha you look stupid.

" He commented afterward.

n

"You terrible man!

" I hissed at him.

nWhy is he like this? Is he perhaps a sadist? I think he is!

nAfter a short while of him trying to stifle his laugh at the side while I stood dejected in front of my dressing table and glaring at him, he cleared his throat and leaned on the fireplace.

n

"You better remember to keep your words…

" he said,

"I guess I have to keep an eye on you all the time, huh.

"

n

"Please, don't,

" I whispered under my breath.

nI'm always tired of having you around, I swear…

nHis purple eyes narrowed on me.

n

"If you turn back on your words…

" he trailed, not voicing his obvious threats.

n

"I won't! I promise,

" I said and even raised my hand.

"This is an oath to Luminus.

"

nAfter I said that, I could already feel the divine in the works, binding my words to the deity. The oath is the highest pledge a person could give and if they ever turn against it, there would be serious repercussions from the heavens itself.

nLukas seemed surprised for a moment but then his lips lifted to form a smile which is sending me warning signals in my head.

n

"Huh… An oath… That's not enough,

" he then crossed his arms,

"Make an oath to me.

"

nMy brows furrowed in confusion.

n

"What? H-how—

"

n

"Do it,

" he urged.

nWhat is he even— whatever.

nStill bewildered, I did what he wanted me to do without thinking about it. It's just spoken words to him anyway.

n

"Uhh… This is an oath to Lukas…?

" Obviously, I'm still skeptical.

nAs soon as I said that, my right wrist suddenly felt rather hot. So I looked down and saw something unbelievable happening right in front of my eyes. A tiny mark shaped like fire appeared on my wrist.

n

"Wha— What is this? What is going on?

" I stupidly ask as I ran my fingers over the symbol. It won't come off.

n

"You made an oath to me. So that means, you are bound by my law. If you say anything regarding me to other people, I would immediately know,

" Lukas slowly explained.

nMy head raised to gaze at him dumbly.

n

"What?

"

nHe stepped closer and held my wrist,

"This brand is my curse. So you should be careful with running your mouth, little cat.

"

n

"Wait! What do you mean by a curse? Will it disappear? Is this permanent? It's not a tattoo is it?

" I rambled on as I clung to his shirt.

nYes, I am mostly concerned if this mark is permanent or not more than knowing whatever bull** Lukas pulled.

nHow can a lady have a tattoo on their body! Oh goodness.

nWhat if someone sees this? It's small but this is still a problem. Well, it's in my wrist so I can still cover it with my sleeves and gloves. But… How about when I'm not wearing any of that?

nLukas must have seen the worry on my face and immediately added,

"It's not visible to others. Only the two of us can see it. Well, except for that damn magician, I guess.

"

n

"Oh, thank goodness…

" I couldn't help but sigh in relief.

nI thought I would have to worry about hiding it from peering eyes from now on.

nAnd that's when it finally dawned on me that he literally just cursed me.

n

"You said it's a curse?

" I said, horrified.

n

"It's not that bad,

" he replied.

nHow is a curse not bad?!

n

"I told you, it will only let me know if you said some things. It won't kill you,

" he then rolled his eyes dramatically.

n…

n

"But… you can do this? Make an oath? How did you do that?

" I started firing him questions as my interest was piqued.

nI thought you could only make a pledge to the deities but turns out it could work on humans too.

n

"You only need mana, a spell, and consent from the other person. It's basic magic,

" he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

n

"No, I don't think so…

" I commented right after.

nIt's not even written in the books of magic I'm reading… How is it basic…

nDropping my hand, he turned and retreated to the balcony doors.

n

"Go sleep. It's late.

"

n

"And who's fault is that?

" I muttered after him.

nLukas chose to ignore my provocation.

n

"Close the doors and lock it. You always leave it unlocked.

"

n

"Locked or not, it never stopped you anyway,

" I said.

nLukas pursed his lips.

n

"Go to sleep, little cat.

"

n

"I will if you leave,

" I retorted.

nLukas snorted and then disappeared in a blink. Just look at that guy, coming and going like a ghost.

nI let out a sigh and closed the door to the balcony and made sure it was locked, all the while feeling annoyed that he had to remind me to close it. The nerve of him....

n