Chapter 37: The Heart's Oath Ceremony, Damian's playroom

Magnus's grip on the Encyclopedia tightened as he reread the passage. His brows furrowed deeper, and he let out a frustrated sigh. "What does it mean when it says the Saintess dabbled in worldly things?"

Selene's cheeks flushed, and she suddenly found great interest in the embroidery on the sofa. After a long moment of silence, she shyly muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, "Sh-She… um… did the thing that… couples do."

Magnus stilled. Then, his expression darkened. "What?"

Selene cleared her throat and tried again. "S-Saintess Eri and one of the chosen male leads… they, um, they participated in the… you know…"

Magnus's hand clenched into a fist, and a sharp, angry exhale left his lips. "How could she?" His voice was low, almost dangerous. "Does she not understand that the entire kingdom is depending on her? How could she taint herself like that?"

Alaric, who had been watching quietly, blinked in confusion. "Why are you getting so hysterical?"

Selene sighed and rubbed her temples. "Holy Magic can only be wielded by someone who is pure in mind, soul, and body. If any one of those is tainted, depending on the severity, it can cause the wielder to either lose control of their magic or, in the worst case, lose it forever."

Alaric tilted his head. "And what exactly taints all three?"

Selene hesitated for a second before answering. "Lust."

The room fell into silence.

Selene continued, "In the Sacred Tome of Lumis"—she named the holy scripture of this world—"it's written that the Goddess bestowed upon humans a gift called The Heart's Oath Ceremony."

Alaric's expression twisted. "The what?"

Magnus, despite his anger, pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's a… symbolic name."

Selene nodded. "The Heart's Oath Ceremony is the sacred union between two people—a gift from the Goddess that allows humans to procreate and strengthen the bond between a couple."

Alaric coughed into his fist. "So… it's just—"

"Yes," Selene cut him off quickly. "However, there's a rule. The couple must be husband and wife."

Alaric frowned. "Why?"

Magnus answered before Selene could. "The same reason the Demon God gets stronger—he feeds on desires and despair. If humans gave in to every selfish desire, his power would be limitless."

Selene nodded. "To counter this, the Goddess set Heavenly Rules for humans to follow. One of those rules is no Heart's Oath Ceremony before marriage. If a Saintess waited until after her wedding, she would still be marked as pure, and her divine connection would remain intact. But…" Her expression darkened. "If she engaged in the ceremony before marriage—or worse, with someone other than her husband—she would be permanently tainted. And when that happens… she loses her title as Saintess."

Alaric sat back in his chair, stunned. "So that means… because Eri broke that rule…"

Magnus's eyes darkened. "She lost her powers and doomed the kingdom."

Alaric leaned forward, his brows furrowed. "So… what do we do now? How do we stop the Saintess from losing her powers?"

Magnus sighed, rubbing his temples. "There's not much we can do." He leaned back into his chair, thinking for a moment before listing their options. "We either take Eri from the church and train her ourselves since they're clearly failing at their job… or we keep the male leads away from her."

Before Alaric could react, Selene shook her head. "That's not going to work."

Magnus shot her a questioning glance.

Selene crossed her arms and explained, "For one, the Saintess is considered a national treasure to the kingdom and a goddess incarnate to the church. Asking to take her and train her ourselves would be outright rejected. And if we take her by force, the king will accuse us of treason, and the church will accuse us of colluding with demons. That's the last thing we need on our heads." She exhaled. "Besides, you're already harboring me—a cursed child. You know how that would end."

Magnus groaned. She had a point.

Selene pressed on. "As for the second plan, the king himself decreed that the Saintess must fight alongside the male leads. Preventing them from meeting isn't an option. And besides, Aldric is the Hero—as the Saintess, she needs to fight alongside him."

Magnus slammed a hand on the armrest of his chair, his irritation evident. "Then what are we supposed to do? Just let this happen?"

Selene shook her head. "Calm down. I already have a plan."

Magnus narrowed his eyes. "I'm listening."

Selene smirked. "Once the Saintess loses her powers, another person will be appointed as the new Saintess." She tilted her head. "And I know who that person will be."

Magnus's eyes widened slightly, and Alaric's mouth fell open.

"This is great news!" Alaric exclaimed. "If we find the next Saintess now, we can train her in advance!"

But before he could leap into action, Magnus raised a hand to stop him. "The girl isn't a Saintess yet."

Selene nodded. "Exactly. For her to awaken, the story needs to take its course."

Magnus tensed at that. "You mean… we have to let things play out?"

Selene sighed. "Yes. We've already done a lot that might've altered the plot. If we interfere too much, we might prevent the new Saintess from ever awakening."

Magnus scowled. "So you're saying we have to let you get bullied?"

Selene forced a smile. "I'll keep my distance from Eri no matter what. Besides, I wasn't the only villain in the story. Things can still progress without me."

Magnus exhaled in relief. Then a thought struck him, and his face darkened. "Wait… if we're letting the story take its course…" He glanced at Selene hesitantly. "Does that mean I have to give Damian his playroom back?"

Selene stiffened.

For a moment, she didn't know how to answer. Three days ago, she had finally mustered the courage to ask Magnus about Damian's playroom.

At the time, Magnus had been puzzled by her question. He hadn't understood what she was getting at. So she had been blunt—she told him she didn't agree with Damian's cruel experiments on demi-humans.

Magnus had been dumbfounded.

And when Selene pressed further—when she asked what he planned to do about it—he had looked genuinely confused.

That was when she realized—Magnus had no idea what was happening in that room.

So she told him everything.

Everything she knew from the game.

Magnus had been shocked—stunned. As it turned out, he had given both Damian and Selene their own "playrooms" when they were younger. Every time he left for business, he would buy toys for them and leave them in their rooms.

Selene had no idea she even had a playroom.

But Damian's?

Magnus had investigated personally. And when he did, he found a hidden passage leading to a basement filled with caged animals, monsters… and children.

Among them was Galen.

Magnus had freed the children, killed the monsters and beasts… and then, after receiving a very grateful response from Galen, placed him right back in his prison cell.

The discovery had caused a massive issue. Most of the children had been reported missing by their parents. A meeting was held by Victor Ravencroft—Selene's great-grandfather and the head of the family.

After hours of deliberation, they decided to frame the crime on a bandit group that had been hired to kidnap the children.

As for punishment?

Damian was placed under strict supervision.

Evangeline—who had hired the bandits—lost most of her power and privileges as the duchess.

Magnus was scolded by his grandfather for not keeping an eye on his wife and son.

Now, hearing that the story needed to continue its course…

Magnus was very uncomfortable.

Selene met his gaze. "I don't know if stopping Damian again will affect the future," she admitted. "But I refuse to let him get his playroom back." Her eyes darkened. "If word gets out, it could cause major problems. The first incident was known, but we managed to sweep it under the rug. If it happens again…"

Magnus let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I really don't want to get scolded by that old man again."

Alaric glanced at the time. "It's almost dinner. We should head to the dining room."

With that, they all rose from their seats and left the room.