“Besides, this isn’t without benefit for you, either. Once you gain Lothurn’s recognition, her power can also be used by you.”
Simon spoke from experience, as he had personally tested this possibility, so he naturally understood its advantages.
“?!”
Belinda froze when she heard Simon’s words, staring at him in disbelief.
She was already shocked by Simon’s thinking, but she never expected his thoughts to be so bold.
He actually planned to use Lothurn’s power in reverse.
However, the seriousness in Simon’s eyes made Belinda realize he wasn’t joking, but completely serious.
This made her mind go blank before she could recover from the earlier probing.
Let alone gathering the courage to save herself, she didn’t even dare face Alexia, much less confront Lothurn.
At least Alexia was a living person, while Lothurn was a legend from ten thousand years ago.
She might kneel the moment they met.
Is this the price of being with Alexia?
No matter how steady and reliable someone looks on the outside, does the madness hidden deep within also get drawn out?
Simon saw her dazed expression and knew it was hard for her to accept, but in matters that transcend the physical laws of reality, he truly couldn’t help.
“If you still wish to avenge Lady Pandas, then trying to master this power will be a path you must take.”
He didn’t want to use Lady Pandas to pressure Belinda.
But by now, he really couldn’t think of any other way to awaken Belinda’s potential.
Just reading books in the study and exercising couldn’t give Belinda a strong will.
She really needed such an opportunity for transformation.
And if things kept going as they were, Alexia would never give her enough time.
After all, before long, Alexia would meet Belinda at the birthday banquet.
If she was still as helpless as today, Alexia might order her expelled in disappointment.
Even if Alexia called her a foolish little sister in words, seeming affectionate and unwilling to let her die—
If Alexia saw Belinda as worthless, she would abandon her without hesitation.
Lothurn was a huge problem, but that didn’t mean Alexia had no countermeasures.
No matter what, from the moment Lothurn appeared, her arrival had become inevitable—it was just a matter of time.
Simon’s words were clearly persuasive.
Belinda, who had just looked utterly defeated, grew determined after a moment of stiffness.
She looked at Simon, her voice steadier.
“I’ll try… No, I will succeed.”
Simon smiled softly and patted her head.
“That line makes it sound like you’re still lacking the will to win~”
Belinda raised a finger and scratched her cheek.
“Lothurn is the founding empress, after all. How could I guarantee victory? But I’ll do my best.”
“Simon, you’ll help me, right?”
She gazed at Simon, full of expectation.
He nodded and gave her a firm answer.
Then she asked anxiously, “What if I fail?”
“As I said before, as long as you’re in danger and need rescue, I will appear—even if it costs me my life.”
He wasn’t unable to enter, just might not be able to come back out.
“In that case, never mind.”
The moment Belinda heard Simon might die for her, she shook her head in refusal.
“By the way, Simon, can you swear an oath to me? That way, if I’m ever in mortal danger, you would sense it immediately.”
If he had to foresee every danger in advance to return, someday it would be too late.
Besides, if Simon swore an oath to her, she would feel much more at ease, knowing she had a protector at her back.
“That’s probably impossible now, Belinda. The kind of oath you want, I can no longer swear.”
Simon refused Belinda’s request outright.
He explained to her.
“When I was just an ordinary knight of the Blood Knights, I pledged a knight’s oath to Her Majesty the Empress. It was not a Loyalty Oath, but a Devotion Oath.”
An oath that could only be used once in a lifetime.
Belinda spoke in disbelief.
“Those rumors were true? Simon, you really are Her Majesty’s lover! I always thought that was fake.”
She had heard of such an oath among the knight’s vows, but never imagined Simon not only knew it, but had sworn it to Alexia.
To be honest, she felt a little jealous of Alexia.
What did she do to earn such favor from Simon?
“A knight serves only one princess in a lifetime. Alexia is my destined princess, so you should give up on that thought—there can be nothing between us.”
Simon would never betray Alexia, no matter how outstanding the person he met in the future or how bright the prospects.
His life belonged to Alexia alone.
In this world, oaths are not careless words.
Every oath carries its own power and effect, not to be made lightly.
Among them, the knight’s oath is one of the top three most popular, and also the most widely used.
Not only do ordinary knights swear loyalty to their lords with it, but even the paladins of the Church of Light swear it to the God of Light.
There are many different cases.
Most knights use the Loyalty Oath, and some use the Oath of Love in courtship, but very few issue a Devotion Oath to another.
Because this oath has extremely strong binding force.
If one breaks the oath, they might fall into ruin in the next moment.
On the other hand, such an oath can grant immense power.
Take Simon himself as an example.
He could exert 100% of his power by will, but if Alexia asked him to do something, he could go up to 130%.
If he were protecting Alexia, even 200% wouldn’t be impossible.
On the other hand, if Simon betrayed Alexia, his power might drop to around 30%.
“Belinda, in the future, you may meet a knight of your own who swears a Devotion Oath to you, but that knight will never be me.”
Simon knew these words sounded cruel, but he had to state his position early.
Otherwise, when emotions took root, it would be even harder to let go.
He was not a greedy person, unwilling to covet both what was in his bowl and in the pot.
For him, Alexia alone was enough.
His heart was too small to hold a second person.