285. Isabelle the Golden Knight – Oath (5)
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“Then could you hold out your right hand for a moment?”
Seruk.
At my words, he held out his right hand without hesitation. And I also put my hand on that hand without hesitation.
“…!”
Surprised by the sudden contact, he softly added an explanation.
“You don’t have to be too surprised. For complete escort, I only erode my power into your hands.”
“…The erosion of power, I first knew that escorts needed something like this.”
“It’s not that strange not to know. Originally, it was an oath between the royal family and the golden knight, so few people know about it.”
“Then, does this act of laying hands on me have the meaning of such an oath?”
Even when I asked more about the word pledge, he calmly accepted it.
“yes. It is an oath that must be made for escort. It is an oath for the royal family to be protected by the Golden Knights, and it can be said as a kind of oath. So you can take it in a good way.”
While explaining calmly, the hand that I felt from the hand that touched my hand touched my hand with a strange warmth.
And that… was a little strange.
Originally, only the princesses were protected among the imperial family.
Fundamentally, of course, gender is important in escort. Even the escort position, and even the noble imperial family who were being escorted, had no choice but to do so.
If the opposite s*x is in close proximity to you, your behavior and attitude will change. And in an unavoidable situation, he had no choice but to hesitate to show his inner flesh.
Because of those things, it was natural for escorts to be of the same gender.
‘But that’s… … .’
Now, completely broken, it unfolded as reality to me.
Originally, it was thought to be a nonsensical, abnormal case, but it was the order of the imperial family.
And when I thought of the golden knights who each had strong pride, this job had no choice but to be given to me.
As that fact struck me again, I felt something else.
‘Than you think… .’
The inside of the white hand that was touching was filled with calluses.
To the point where you can feel the firmness in your hand at once.
“……”
He seemed a bit contradictory to the man who was still looking at my hands overlapped.
Compared to the graceful appearance on the outside and the docile personality that I felt while talking, the hand was so messed up that I thought it was excessive.
I knew how much my hands would be damaged if I practiced holding a long weapon.
So again, it felt different.
But that thought was quickly erased.
“You will feel the pain as you will soon make an oath. It will only last for about a minute, so you just have to endure it.”
“yes. I will accept it.”
The moment I heard the immediate answer, I expressed mana without hesitation.
ㅡ!
The unique golden mana that exploded from the whole body rode through my hands and embraced them as they were.
Afterwards, the golden mana formed a ring-like wedge and began to tighten as if wrapping both hands.
And he held it tight so that it wouldn’t escape.
Kwak!
The golden mana that flowed through my hands eroded the touching hands and began to engrave my traces.
And there was a reason for making such an oath. It was to make sure that the royal family, which was supposed to be protected, could be found in the event that they inevitably fall.
Thinking of the familiar sight, I inadvertently wondered how this man would react to the pain.
After making several vows, I saw all the princesses’ great pain.
however.
“……”
There was no moaning or flinching in pain that I expected.
Instead, the corners of the eyes narrowed slightly. Even that was only for a moment. In an instant, her eyes are relaxed, and she immediately regains her previous expression.
Remain calm even as the pain remains like residual heat.
It felt as if this person had something that could not exist at that age.
“……”
The way he overcame this level of pain as if it were nothing, as if he was too used to it, was proof that he had a tolerance for pain.
softly… .
He gently pulled the strength out of the hand he was holding.
When his hand was removed, he looked at his hand as if it were strange, but he felt like he really didn’t know anything about it.
At the time of the oath, the reaction of the imperial family was to accept it calmly, thinking that they should endure while groaning in pain.
They take it for granted that they have to endure the action because they have no tolerance for pain, but the person in front of me calmly accepts the pain and is amazed at the action itself.
That was a bit… different.
“Is this the end of the oath?”
“yes. Now my energy will remain in your hands. It will remain semi-permanently until the oath is broken.”
Explaining in detail that there would be no knowledge of the oath, I raised my hand as it is.
Even as I thought so, I showed the tip of my right hand fingernail.
There, a slight golden light shimmered and showed off its presence.
“Do you see this golden trace?”
“Yes… I can see it, but any traces of it?”
“The same mark must be engraved on your hand now.”
When he lightly glanced at him as if to check it, he immediately checked his hand, but his heart felt strange.
I have to explain the obvious things one by one, and I tell you all of them.
…It was as if they were telling each other something new.
“yes. okay.”
“As I said earlier, it was a necessary pledge. It’s the energy that will allow me to find you even if I fall in the future. You will feel the difference for a while, but you have to accept it.”
“At that level…of course I think I have to bear it.”
I nodded my head at the calmly answered voice, and now the series of procedures I had to do were over.
Face-to-face with the being to be escorted, a brief introduction, and a pledge afterwards, even ending the erosion of my energy.
I should have finished the body of the escort, but… .
“If you have any other questions, ask. I will answer you now.”
Still, I asked again.
When I asked a moment ago, it was unnatural, so there is a possibility that he took my words as they were. It was quite natural now, so I didn’t know if there was anything I didn’t say.
“So…a basic question, but how does escort work? You mentioned escorting me, but escorting me all day isn’t… realistically impossible, is it?”
I had something to say, as I expected, and he was asking about something so fundamental right now.
And even though it’s a fundamental question, I hated the fact that I had to answer differently than in the past… a little bit.
‘ha… .’
He sighed inwardly and nodded his head.
Now I had to make this person in front of me understand with my mouth.
“I think it is natural to have such questions. Originally… Our golden knights spend most of their time in a space not too far apart from the royal family to escort them. Even if they do go to sleep, they are supposed to sleep in close proximity.”
“Me too…I think so.”
“But, you know, aren’t we of different s*xes?”
They made eye contact and continued talking.
I could see the hesitation in the man’s eyes as he paused to see if he had the same thoughts as me.
but
‘It must be strange.’
There’s no way this guy can’t feel it either.
If the escort is of a different gender than himself, then the question is, how can we act together and protect ourselves in every way?
The stories I was told about it were therefore not really realistic.
“First of all, if I had something to do outside the academy, I would probably live like that. I will be by your side as much as possible, just like protecting the imperial family.”
“…is that okay?”
“yes. That’s the directive from the imperial family.”
As I spoke, my lips trembled for a moment.
‘I too… .’
I did not fully understand the instructions.
Even if I understood the instructions with reason, I felt unreasonable in what I had to do. Originally, the imperial family couldn’t treat the golden knight with such negligence.
The golden knight is an absolute shield to protect them. That’s why the royal family also gave special treatment to golden knights.
…But this time, even if the case was different, it was very different.
Even within the imperial family, the high-ranking prince Dersen and the princess Rachel’s breath reached the imperial family.
So this unusual thing happened, and I had to put it into practice.
I have to protect the commoner man, and I have to explain all of the difficulties that will arise in the future and make him understand.
“…”
Even though his lips were hesitating as if he was surprised by my words, he tried to hold on to my heart.
“If you are normally within the academy, we will escort you within a certain radius. If I had to go outside, I would have narrowed the distance with you in preparation for any unexpected danger. These are the basic guidelines.”
“Everyone… understand.”
Seeing how he somehow accepted my words… I carefully cut him off.
‘It must be confusing.’
Even a commoner man naturally had feelings. Being human, I had no choice but to do that.
But what would it feel like if a member of the opposite s*x continued to stay by his side… To be honest, I didn’t really know because I was in a position to protect him. Conversely, even if I thought about that position, I didn’t think it would be very comfortable.
‘If a being higher than me watches me from the side… .’
Wouldn’t it be rather inconvenient?
“Then Sir Isabelle must be really in trouble…”
Then, when he said something else, he inadvertently blinked and shook his head.
“…Golden Knights only follow the orders of the Imperial Family.”
It doesn’t matter how difficult it is.
Even if you present a different opinion, you have to follow it… .
“And you have a little more to explain.”
“Which one?”
“Realistically, I… can’t be by your side all day. It’s to be prepared in case of a crisis.”
Saying that, I gently raised the hand that made the oath.
And I gently touched my golden thumb with my own hand.
“…If you press hard on the place where my energy is engraved like this, I can feel it. If a crisis comes while you are in the dormitory, just act like me. Then I will find it right away.”
Because I can’t sleep like him.
This could be considered a workaround.
“…”
He nodded his head as he looked at the slightly awkward thumb. A definite response came to my thumb.
The person in front of me now was a being that the imperial family had to protect, even making an exception.
Golden Knights originally only did their best to fulfill the orders of the imperial family.
“Ugh…”
I involuntarily turned my head to the side at the sudden sound.