I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 43

“I definitely saw it.”

Even though it had vanished quickly, the sense of unease she felt then was still etched clearly in her memory.

“No way…”

Her usually calm heart began to pound.

Eleanor tried to hide her agitation from Sky and spoke as if nothing were wrong. “Even if such a vow was made, couldn’t you just use counter-magic to break it?”

“A powerful force might be able to break it, but the stronger the vow, the greater the power needed becomes—to an insurmountable degree. A vow of subjugation can never be broken by human counter-magic,” Sky said flatly. “Feel free to check for yourself. I don’t tell lies that can be easily found out.”

As if to prove his point, Sky rattled off more information. “I’ve heard that if the part of the body with the imprint is removed, it can be broken. That’s why subjugation imprints are placed on very difficult-to-remove body parts.”

Sky’s gaze moved from Eleanor’s face and drifted downward. Then, his long fingertips traced a path down her nape.

“It’s near the torso, not the limbs. The neck, the heart, or the abdomen.” His fingers moved in a strange way as he explained. “Or it could be a more private place.”

As he said the last words, Sky’s expression was both like a mischievous boy and incredibly sensual. Eleanor’s face flushed, and she pushed his hand away. “If the imprint just needs to disappear, couldn’t you just peel off the skin to get rid of it?”

“It’s not known if that’s even possible. Even if you did, you wouldn’t become free,” he said. Sky paused, cleared his throat, and spoke in a meaningful voice. “The caster of any magic can tell when their spell is broken, no matter how far away they are. And with a vow of subjugation, once the spell is broken, the person who made the vow can be given one last command within 24 hours.”

“One last command…?”

“Yes. And the only command they can choose is death.” His pleasant voice sounded chilling.

“Then, then couldn’t we just tie them up for 24 hours so they can’t kill themselves?” Eleanor stammered out. Sky shook his head. “That would be useless. This command affects the person’s very life. Their heart would just stop.”

Sky’s words echoed in her ears over and over again. He had cast some kind of spell.

“What if…” Eleanor mumbled weakly, as if her soul had left her body. “It’s not necessarily that kind of vow.” It was more a wish than a belief.

Sky nodded at her words.

He put on a ring, and it fit his finger as if it had shrunk. “What’s a marking stone?”

“It’s similar to a string stone, but the effect is slightly different. When you wear this and your skin touches the person who made the vow, the imprint on them becomes visible.”

It was as if he had prepared for the conversation to go in this direction. No, this man would have made sure it did.

“Check when Lian returns. I’ll bet it’s somewhere…”

The cunning Count couldn’t just have opposed the idea without a reason.

“Does the Duchess know that Count Calabria made the vow?”

“Well, that was a deal between me and the Duke of Calabria.” The Duke might have told the Duchess after the vow was made. However, Zeppelin seemed to have decided that was unlikely.

“Your Majesty, you should inform the Duchess about the vow.”

“What’s the point of that?”

“Once she learns that her son will become a puppet if the vow of subjugation is activated, the Duchess will change her mind. She won’t want to see her son like that.”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. “You want to use maternal love to get the Duchess to do what I want?”

“Yes. If you hand over that woman and promise to never activate the vow to persuade the Count of Calabria to marry the Princess, she will cooperate.”

On the surface, it made sense. But people had repeatedly gone against his expectations by acting in a rational way, so the Emperor was reluctant to take this roundabout route again.

“This is the last negotiation,” the Emperor said in a deeply solemn voice. “If it doesn’t work, I will use force to subdue them. If they resist, I will activate the vow.” He had no more patience to be swayed by his vassals. If they refused this, there was no room for compromise anyway. “Have the Imperial Guards assemble in the capital.”

Zeppelin, who had just heard the ultimatum, bowed deeply.

Eleanor leaned against the marble railing that came up to her chest, looking down. It was a massive hall, as if an entire mansion had been hollowed out. The ceiling was endlessly high, and the space was wide enough for hundreds of people to dance at once. This expansive area was more than suitable to be the best banquet hall in the Empire, but the size of the venue also meant there was a tremendous amount of space to fill.

‘Only two weeks to renovate this and prepare for the banquet.’

Under normal circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible. However, she had a powerful weapon.

‘The cost doesn’t matter at all.’

The resources she could use and the things that needed to be done flashed through her mind. Deep in thought for a while, Eleanor was jolted out of her reverie by a voice from below.

“Are you still standing there?”

It was Blaine entering the hall. She had been standing here since he left, which meant she had been here all afternoon. Eleanor gave him an embarrassed smile and greeted him. “You’re back early today.”

“I just couldn’t concentrate on my work,” Blaine grumbled as he walked through the wide hall toward Eleanor. “Lately, I’ve been most afraid of asking you if anything happened today. How do you manage to stir up trouble every time I look away?”

“Isn’t doing something better than being stuck in a room?”

“If you’re going to do something, why not do some embroidery or read a book? What’s this banquet preparation all about?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

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