"Hoo..."
Yellin let out a deep sigh after downing a hearty swig of liquor she rarely touched.
Across from her, Hades, who was savoring the delicacies of the Eastern Continent one by one with a satisfied expression, looked at her and said,
"Why the long face?"
Yellin started to say something but then shook her head.
"It's nothing."
Hades stuffed a massive chunk of meat into his mouth. He expertly picked out the tender bits and spat out the bones with skillful precision, then clicked his tongue.
"What do you mean nothing? Even I, as oblivious as I can be about these things, can tell from your face. If it bothered you that much, you should have gone with him." Yellin downed her strong liquor in one go and let out another heavy sigh.
"Lord Hades. Sir Zeke will be fine, right?"
"He'll be fine. The only thing that sly panther of a sultan might do is seduce him into bed." Crunch!
At Hades's words, the brass cup in Yellin's hand crumpled like a sheet of paper.
The attendant behind her hurriedly placed a new cup in front of Yellin.
She filled the fresh brass cup to the brim with strong liquor and downed it in one gulp.
Just then, nobles from the Murk Empire, dressed in splendid attire, approached Yellin.
Surprisingly, the nobles were elves like Omar.
One of the gray-skinned noble elves bowed gracefully toward Yellin and said with a smile,
"Lady Yellin Ishtar. I've heard rumors that you carry the bloodline of the high elves, and seeing you in person, your beauty is truly blinding."
As the first one approached and greeted her, the other young noblemen, who had been watching, swarmed over to introduce themselves to her.
They were all sons of prestigious families in the Murk Empire.
Once the others had finished their greetings, the first noble elf who had introduced himself quickly stepped forward and extended his hand to Yellin.
"Lady Yellin Ishtar. Would you care to dance with me? I can teach you the traditional dance of the ancient elves passed down through my family." At the noble elf's words, Yellin looked up.
"A dance..."
Seeing her react to his words, the young noble brightened and said,
"Yes, a dance with me..."
Yellin suddenly stood up from her seat and tore the side slit of her dress all the way up.
Her slender leg was revealed through the ripped fabric.
As the young noblemen were startled by Yellin's sudden action, she scanned the surroundings and approached the one who had asked her to dance.
As the goddess of beauty herself approached him, the elf youth grinned widely, his mouth agape.
But then Yellin reached out and drew the sword from the youth's waist.
Shing!
The ornate blade was revealed.
"I'll borrow this for a moment."
With that, Yellin kicked off her uncomfortable high-heeled shoes and stepped barefoot into the center of the banquet hall, sword in hand.
She quietly raised the sword and assumed her stance.
After a moment, having steadied her breath, Yellin began her sword dance, swinging the blade.
Whoosh—
The Ishtar Family had inherited the ancient elf hunting art and elevated it into martial prowess. Yellin demonstrated the pinnacle of that art.
The nobles gathered in the banquet hall could only watch in awe at her sword dance.
The band playing in the background also shifted their music to match Yellin's performance upon seeing it.
Soon, Yellin's sword dance and the band's music blended as if they had always been one.
Everyone was captivated by her graceful yet disciplined movements.
Yellin herself had no particular thoughts as she wielded the sword. She had started the sword dance precisely to shake off the distracting thoughts filling her mind.
In that trance-like state, as she swung the sword, Yellin suddenly felt as if she and the blade had become one.
Hummm!
A sword resonance rang out from the blade she held.
Yellin leaped into the air, swinging her sword.
The afterimage of her swing resembled a blooming flower.
As she completed her movements and landed on the floor, the band stopped their music in sync.
Yellin, who had been lost in her trance while swinging the sword, opened her eyes and straightened up.
Those around her, who had watched her sword dance with entranced expressions, soon erupted in cheers.
"My goodness! Such a beautiful dance!"
"Incredible! The goddess of beauty and sword has descended here!"
Having finished her sword dance, Yellin returned the sword to its owner amid the cheers and quietly left the banquet hall.
Hades watched her go, patted his full belly, and shook his head.
'What a fool, getting her heart stolen by a guy like that. Tsk tsk. As for Zeke, what the hell is that kid doing with the sultan right now?'
*
"The aroma is exquisite."
Zeke sat across from Serazade, sipping tea.
She asked him,
"What did you say this tea is called?"
"It's black tea, Your Majesty."
Zeke served Serazade the black tea he had obtained when he met the great sage.
Serazade, who enjoyed tea, was intrigued by this entirely new variety Zeke had brought out.
Looking at him, she said,
"A tea I've never tasted before. You keep surprising me."
"Is that so?"
Serazade chuckled at Zeke's nonchalant response and stroked the fur of the white tiger lying beside her.
In a subtle tone, she asked Zeke,
"More importantly, why not reconsider marriage with me? Or we could start with sharing a bed. Spending the night with me might change your mind."
"Thank you for the kind offer, but I'm fine."
"It's because of that high elf, isn't it?"
"Lady Yellin and I aren't in that kind of relationship." Serazade looked into Zeke's eyes and nodded.
"Well, I suppose I knew that. There's no room in your heart for any woman." Rurr...
At that moment, Raven flew over and perched on Serazade's arm.
She glanced at Raven, then turned back to Zeke and asked,
"So, what is the reason there's no space in your heart for any woman?"
Zeke, who had been drinking his tea, looked up at Serazade and spoke.
"Do you remember Narak, the place that opened a gate in the Dorta Republic to summon monsters and magical beasts?"
"Yes, that absurd group trying to summon the demon king."
Zeke looked at Serazade with a serious expression and said,
"If we don't stop them, not only the Central Continent but the Eastern Continent as well will be in grave danger."
Serazade, who had been feeding jerky to Raven, turned her head toward Zeke.
"My army is the largest and strongest in the history of the Murk Empire. Even if those Narak fools summon magical beasts, I doubt they could bring down my millionstrong force."
"The scary thing about Narak is that they don't charge head-on. They'll relentlessly target Your Majesty's weakest points, scheming to make the million-strong army crumble from within. In that case, the million could dwindle to five hundred thousand, then one hundred thousand, and who knows how many would be left in the end. And even if not... if the demon king is truly summoned, what use would a million soldiers be?"
Serazade fell silent at Zeke's words, stroking the fur of the white tiger and black lion before speaking again.
"You seem to underestimate the sultan's army."
She raised her arm, and Raven flapped its wings, returning to Zeke's shoulder.
With sharp eyes, Serazade looked at Zeke and said,
"If I were to take offense, your words alone would be enough to wipe out your entire clan."
"That would be ideal, given how vigorous the gentleman above me is."
Serazade burst into laughter despite herself at Zeke's description of the overlord Arthur Draker as a "vigorous gentleman," leaning against the white tiger.
"Well, now, I can't win against you in words. They say in love, the one who falls first loses, and here I am, the very picture of it."
Serazade straightened up and said to Zeke,
"If marriage is off the table, perhaps we should at least form an oath of sincerity to bind our fates. Who knows, you might change your mind someday."
"You already have five consorts in your harem. Wouldn't it be better to choose a royal consort from among them rather than an outsider like me?" Serazade shook her head at his words.
"The mate of a phoenix must be a phoenix. How could a phoenix pair with a sparrow just because it lacks a mate?"
Serazade stood and approached Zeke, extending her hand toward him.
"Do you know how to form an oath of sincerity?"
"Honestly, I don't."
"What? You proposed it without even knowing how? You're bold, to say the least." Chuckling, Serazade took Zeke's hand and guided it to her left chest, over her heart.
She then placed her own hand on Zeke's left chest.
"Normally, an oath of sincerity requires a dragon to mediate." Zeke's eyes widened at her words.
"I didn't know that. Should I ask Lord Hades?" Serazade shook her head at Zeke's question.
"He probably doesn't know how to mediate an oath of sincerity. Fortunately, I can form the oath without a dragon, so don't worry."
After speaking, Serazade removed one of her earrings and infused it with power.
The earring began to glow and floated into the air.
Hummm!
Zeke sensed that the earring contained the aura of a dragon.
Serazade said to him,
"I told you my bloodline ability allows me to harbor any blood."
"Yes, that's right."
"That includes the blood of a dragon."
Zeke was startled by Serazade's words.
"The blood of a dragon?"
Only then did Zeke understand how Serazade could draw forth the power of a dragon without sharing a heart with one.
'A human with dragon blood. If Narak found out, there'd be chaos.'
Harvey West, the high priest of Narak, had conducted experiments for years transplanting dragon hearts into humans to create a vessel for the demon king, but they all failed.
It was impossible for a dragon's heart to be hosted by anyone other than a direct soul-mate contracted with the dragon or a bearer of the Draker bloodline infused with immortality.
But if Serazade's blood were involved, the experiments might have progressed.
'If Narak knew this... just imagining it is horrifying.'
Narak, entrenched in the Central Continent, hadn't yet extended its reach to the Eastern Continent, fortunately.
But Zeke couldn't let his guard down.
If they learned of this, they would do anything to obtain Serazade's blood.
As Zeke pondered Narak, Serazade asked,
"Do you truly wish to form the oath of sincerity? Once it's made, our souls will share the most intimate connection."
"I'm prepared for that."
At Zeke's response, Serazade smiled alluringly.
"Very well. I, Serazade Anatolia Shleight, shall form an oath of sincerity with Zeke Draker."
As her words ended, thin chains began to emerge from the glowing earring floating in the air.
The extending chains passed through Zeke's hand on Serazade's chest and Serazade's hand on Zeke's chest.
The chains of light reached their hearts.
Ssss...
The chains connected to the earring suddenly knotted in the middle and detached from it with a snap.
Eeeeeeng—
The chain that had separated from the earring linked the two together as one.
Serazade said to Zeke,
"You can remove your hand now."
When he did, a thin chain of light connecting their hearts was visible, now fixed in place.
Zeke tried to touch the fixed chain with his hand, but his hand passed right through it as if it had no form.
'Is it different from the chains of Solomon?'
Hummm—
At that moment, the glowing earring fell back into Serazade's hand.
She looked at Zeke and said,
"The ritual of the oath is complete."
Zeke pointed to the shining chain and asked,
"Is this the oath of sincerity?"
"Yes. Remember, you and I are connected by this unbreakable chain at every moment." Ssss...
Before long, the chain linking Zeke and Serazade's hearts vanished from sight.
Though no chain was visible anywhere, Zeke could sense the connection between himself and Serazade. Serazade said to him,
"Those bound by the oath of sincerity can convey their hearts to each other, no matter how far apart."
She closed her eyes, looking as if she were sending something to Zeke through her mind, and Zeke watched her, thinking it impossible.
But then, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[A message from the system connector: 'Can you hear me, my dear?']