[Nightmare]

Helix's eyes widened with shock, and the news flooded his face with anxiety.

His eyes glided to the left as his brain went through all the information at lightning speed.

When he got to the blood pact, he grimaced with a pained expression.

—

"The rules of the blood pact are simple.

You make an oath between two parties, and the Myriad record will require that the oath is carried out.

The oath is simple. You declare you will fight a person in a death match.

I will release Whitney Skarrot's servant Mira Iris if you arrive, and I must protect her from future harm." A man in a guard uniform stated.

—

"The blood back required him to protect you from future harm." Helix whispered.

Mira's eyes welled with tears.

"Yes…." She whimpered.

"That request… was extremely misguided and brutal." He whispered in disbelief.

Helix looked up at Mira.

"Did the guard start protecting you daily?"

Mira nodded hesitantly.

"Albert… he followed us everywhere…."

Helix closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I should've been paying closer attention." He scoff-laughed in self-deprecation.

Mira panicked and hurriedly started speaking.

"N-No, M-Master Helix, y-you did nothing wrong." She cried.

Helix took a deep breath and forced a gentle smile.

"You're okay, Mira. I'm disappointed in myself for not catching it, but I don't blame myself, so don't worry."

Helix [definitely] blamed himself.

He didn't understand blood pacts well, so he was meticulous about his vow.

He took a major risk by making the blood pact about [physical] communication.

It turned out the oaths people made were [literal] in the lexical definition of the word.

As a result, he didn't consider the [casual] general vow to be literal.

Mira put a hand to her chest and sighed a breath of relief.

"Thank goodness." She whispered.

"You did a lot for me, and… I never got to thank you.

It's because of you that I'm alive today.

That's val-v-value-able."

Mira burst into tears again.

Helix reached out and offered her a hug.

He didn't know whether his reputation with Emelia made her comfortable to hug him or the fact he saved her.

However, he was glad she let him comfort her.

Helix felt extremely guilty about what happened.

"So… Albert. He died, didn't he?" He asked while holding her tight.

"Y-Yes…." Mira sobbed.

"H-He was reprimanded, l-lost his wife, a-and he started getting a-angry."

Helix wondered whether Whitney hated him.

Perhaps that was why she never approached or looked him in the eye.

It must have been a rough time.

With such a twisted pact, Albert couldn't take his own life if he wanted to.

"O-One day W-Whitney was carrying t-tea and dropped it n-near me." Mira continued.

Helix wanted the story to stop.

It was the most psychologically brutal way to live life.

"A-Albert p-panicked and k-knocked W-Whitney out of the way, h-hurting her." She continued.

"G-Guards that did-didn't know the sit-situation…."

Helix's breathing started getting ragged.

"T-They d-dragged him aw-away th-thinking he-he was a-a stalker for y-yelling he had to be ne-near me."

He was hoping the story would end after Albert's death.

But he knew a minimum amount was necessary to explain how they separated and what happened to Mira.

"A-And then I was pi-picking up the br-brok-ken glass and c-cut m-myself."

"And Albert died." Helix sighed.

Helix gripped the young woman tightly, and she sobbed in his chest uncontrollably.

He was always meticulous with the boundaries of his blood pacts, and they exclusively dealt with information control.

I'll tell you this, and you cannot speak of it.

Helix never imagined the serious consequences of a generalized blood pact.

The guard wasn't either.

He imagined the man learned about it through Walter or another member who suggested it to [force] Helix to fight and die.

While Lina might have brought up the blood pact, he doubted she'd go so far as to seal his death.

She looked at least partially guilty during his deathmatch.

It was better to say that she was trying to convince herself she did what was [necessary].

"After that… Whitney was shaken. The Kingdom was worried about her health or reassigned another servant. Is that right?" Helix asked.

He was being selfish.

The general story was autocompleted after he remembered Albert's blood pact.

"Mmhm…." Mira nodded in his chest.

"What happened to you?" Helix whispered.

"I…." Mira whispered.

"Princess Eliza… wouldn't let me get sold after being relieved."

Helix's eyes widened in shock.

"Y-You s-saved my life, and she said t-they were indebted t-to you." Mira continued with a shaky tone.

"S-So they… set me f-free in your honor."

Helix felt like he had just stepped foot in an alternate dimension.

He was not expecting the turn of events.

However, it did make sense in retrospect.

If Helix were assassinated for saving a person's life, the Kingdom wouldn't kill or harm that person when they felt indebted to him.

"Then… why are you assigned as my servant, Mira?" Helix asked in confusion.

"I… I was h-hired by the K-Kingdom to b-be your ser-servant." Mira cried.

She pushed away so she could face him.

"I-I just… I-I'm sorry… I put you… in an awkward p-position, b-but I don't k-know what to do with my l-life."

Helix's eyes widened in shock.

"I-I don't have f-family here. Th-They were sold into s-service and I d-don't have a-any skilled trade e-experience." Mira continued.

"A-After being s-set free… the K-Kingdom won't h-hire me.

S-So when I a-asked to thank you, I-I accepted an opportunity t-to work for you.

I-I'm sc-scared once the m-money Princess… E-Eliza gave me r-runs out—"

Helix pulled her back into a hug.

"Mira. I'll hire you as a servant and take care of you." He whispered while gripping her tight.

"I'll also free you from Royal obligations because they hired you."

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to thank you!" Mira sobbed.

"I know." Helix said with a gentle smile.

"And I'm grateful."

—

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley had tears in their eyes after hearing the story.

"It's not your fault for the guard's blood pact, Helix." Marie whispered.

Helix shook his head with a wry smile.

"I… feel disappointed in myself for not catching it, but I don't blame myself." He said softly.

"It's our story, being abducted, given sex, and the consequences on Whitney and Mira's lives that bothers me."

Marie and Riley nodded with solemn expressions.

Charlotte hugged him from the back.

"Lina could have hurt Mira like Emelia… it hurts… it hurts so goddamn much."

The three hugged him all at once.

"It's the same story. Emelia, Mira… I won't let that happen to Millie because she represents everyone else as a symbol." Helix whispered.

"If they target the most defenseless who I'm actively protecting… my hatred for humanity might boil over."

"We'll pull you back, Helix. We'll prevent your rage from harming you." Riley promised.

Charlotte and Marie looked at her in confusion.

They wanted to support Helix if he felt it was necessary.

But when they saw the look of gratitude in Helix's eyes, they understood.

Helix didn't want to hurt or kill anyone.

That wouldn't likely change.

His struggle was having the [power] to do so and knowing no one could stop him.

The darkness that eventually fades from traumatic events would become far worse if he destroyed himself by feeding it.

"Waiiiiiiit. Are you worried you'll become a cultivator?" Charlotte laughed in bewilderment.

"Hellie, don't insult us. We wouldn't love someone capable of becoming so boring."

Helix laughed, and his partners burst into giggles.

"You've become strong, Helix." Marie said with a pride-filled voice.

"Now, no one would dare to harm Millie."

Charlotte and Riley nodded in agreement.

"They may be stupid enough to take her as a political hostage, but that's nothing a few non-lethal earthquakes can't solve." Marie added with a warm smile.

"The castle's defenses only need to crumble to be too busy worrying about invasions to care about a hostage."

Helix laughed in bewilderment.

"I hear that fear of tornadoes destroying crops makes people listen." Riley giggled.

"And if people can't walk to work because gravity triples, that's bad for business." Charlotte grinned.

Helix gave Marie and Riley a grateful smile with blurry eyes.

He reached his hand above his shoulder to stroke Charlotte's cheek.

Then they all giggled and threw themselves on top of him for a bear hug.

Once he hit the ground, Tinker pounced and started licking his face making him squirm with laughter.

The strange showcase of love made Helix forget about his troubles, if only for a minute.

—

[A/N: This story is dark af, and it has a lot of depth. I hope that you're into that type of thing. Because... that's what you're gonna get. XD

Seriously, though. Was this chapter satisfying? There's a lot that happened in the first month that has come to light, and there is still more in the future. Do you find that satisfying?]

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)