Chapter 26: The Arrogant Sun King!

"If you want me to untie you, swear that you won't sneak away."

Inside the inn, Rhode sat with his legs crossed, watching Yulia, who was bound tightly on the floor like a trussed-up caterpillar. She squirmed and writhed on the ground in frustration.

As for why she was tied up like this? Well, practice makes perfect.

After seeing it done enough times, you just get the hang of it.

Naturally, when he tied her up, his hands instinctively made sure she was restrained in this way.

"You wish!" Yulia furiously struggled, but with every movement, the special knots tightened even more, making it impossible to free herself.

"Why are you sweating so much?" Rod asked curiously.

If there were a hole in the ground right now, Yulia would have crawled into it.

Her head hung low, her face flushed with both shame and rage. She felt utterly powerless.

What kind of person even comes up with such a way to tie someone up?

This damned bastard is definitely not a good person.

"If you don't swear, then I guess I'll just have to keep you tied up like this," Rod said with a helpless shrug, his gaze briefly scanning over her perfectly bound form.

The ropes emphasized her body in a way that seemed... strangely tempting.

"W-What are you planning to do?" Yulia asked nervously, her eyes wide as Rod suddenly stood and approached her.

"A woman with such a fiery temper... I wonder what she's like in bed?" Rod muttered to himself, just loud enough for her to hear.

He had to admit, this woman was indeed a rare beauty.

If he could purify her... she'd definitely be quite the catch.

As Rod's hand stretched closer, Yulia panicked.

She had only come here to find a disciple, not to end up in such a compromising situation.

She was a legendary mage of the Holy Roman Empire! How dare this guy insult her like this?

"I-I swear! I swear I won't leave until I've defeated you!" Yulia shouted, just as Rod's fingers hovered inches from her chest.

Rod raised an eyebrow, glancing at the tense woman before slowly retracting his hand.

"See? You should've been this obedient from the start," Rhode said casually as he waved his hand, releasing her from the ropes.

Admittedly, the way she had been tied up was quite... provocative. It was probably better not to leave her like that for too long.

"Aren't you afraid I'll run away now?" Yulia asked, surprised by the sudden trust he seemed to be showing her. Did he actually believe she'd keep her word?

"You can try." Rod gave her a calm glance. Even a legendary mage was nothing more than an insect in the face of his Commandment.

If she wasn't afraid of turning into a statue, she was welcome to test her luck.

"Try? Oh, I will." Yulia's eyes gleamed. Whether he was serious or bluffing, she wasn't sure—but it was worth trying. After all, she had nothing to lose.

She turned and confidently walked toward the exit.

But after just a few steps, a pale gray hue crept up from her feet, and her legs instantly began to turn to stone.

"What... what is this?" Yulia gasped, nearly petrified, her face pale with shock.

The power was too strange, too overwhelming—it felt like it was bending the very rules of existence.

Even with her legendary-level magic, she couldn't resist it.

Rules!

That was the realm of the gods—only deities had the right to wield such power.

"Breaking a promise with me results in petrification. Think of it as a curse," Rod explained, snapping his fingers. The power of the Commandment, which had already spread over Yulia's body, receded at once.

When the Commandment was active, even Rod couldn't go against it. But he could control when it was applied or lifted.

After all, he didn't want to accidentally get himself caught in a lie and end up punished by his own power—that would be a disaster.

"Breaking promises leads to petrification?"

Yulia stood frozen, her mind reeling from the revelation.

Did this mean she'd be stuck by this guy's side for the rest of her life, unable to leave until she defeated him?

"So, you better behave and stay here," Rod said, now more relaxed. "You wanted to teach someone, didn't you? Well, you can train Brittany from now on."

Rod's tone was generous, but in truth, he wasn't about to let go of free labor.

She could forget about running away.

Yulia fell silent, wanting to resist, but knowing her strength wasn't enough. This guy's abilities were too strange—she couldn't even fight back properly.

"Since you were there from the beginning, why didn't you step in earlier?" Rod suddenly asked, his curiosity piqued.

Yulia had shown up at such a convenient time; it was hard to believe she had only just arrived.

"A truly virtuous person isn't swayed by the temptations of the devil. I was testing her will," Yulia said, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

Idiot! Rod couldn't find any better word to describe such flawed thinking.

What a twisted way of thinking.

From a privileged noble's perspective, the devil's temptation might be a moral test, but for someone who lived at the bottom of society, yearning for a better life wasn't a sin.

The environments they came from shaped their perspectives—of course, they wouldn't think the same way.

"How about you focus on teaching Brittany well, or I'll have to 'purify' you. And yes, that includes drinking holy water."

"Holy water?" Yulia's expression showed a trace of doubt.

Did people really drink that stuff? Wasn't it something those religious fanatics at the Holy Church used for baptisms?

Though she hated being threatened, Yulia was still willing to teach Brittany magic. After all, once she defeated this guy, Brittany would be her apprentice.

The future's greatest fire mage.

As the first light of dawn chased away the darkness, Rod stretched lazily, his bones cracking as a warm, golden aura spread from within him.

His power, burning like the sun itself, filled the room, so intense that even the magical artifact, God's Axe Rita, couldn't fully suppress it.

"That aura!"

Yulia, who had been teaching Brittany the basics of meditation, glanced over absentmindedly. Her pupils dilated as she froze in place.

At that moment, Rod seemed like a rising sun—blazing and dazzling.

His entire body radiated a force that was impossible to look directly at.

The sheer power rippling off him was so intense that it almost condensed into the form of an actual sun, a solar storm that swept through the space around him.

Or perhaps, he was the sun itself—walking among mortals.

"How is this possible?" Yulia's body trembled slightly.

As a legendary fire mage, she had a special connection to fire, and by extension, the sun. But that also meant she was more attuned to the gap in power between them.

The pressure she felt was suffocating, the clear mark of someone from a higher realm looking down on a lesser being.

It was like a majestic Sun King sitting on his throne, casting a cold, arrogant gaze upon the lesser flames of the world.

Not even when facing the Holy Emperor, the most powerful figure in the empire, had she ever felt so utterly powerless.

The disparity in strength was so absolute that it crushed any thought of resistance.

Yulia's heart raced in her chest as she took a deep breath and looked away.

For the first time in ages, the prideful mage felt a quiet, unfamiliar urge—an urge to submit.

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