The Oath of the Contract—this was something the people of Morovira often practiced.
When trust between two parties was hard to establish, nothing was more reliable than sealing a contract with an oath.
Once the contract was made, anyone who broke it would suffer divine punishment from the gods.
Lucas had previously entered into such contracts for money and had witnessed firsthand the fate of those who broke their oath.
Divine punishment was not something ordinary people could withstand; touching it meant instant death.
Returning to the hospital room, Ivina locked the door, confirming that only Lucas, Leilia, and herself were inside this space.
“As a citizen of Morovira, you should clearly understand what it means to sign an Oath of the Contract. Do you truly dare?”
“If either party breaks the contract, divine punishment will befall them. If you are willing to trust me, I am willing to sign the Oath of the Contract with you.”
“Then…”
Ivina leaned forward slightly, her amber eyes fixed unwaveringly on Lucas.
“The Oath of the Contract is reciprocal. If we sign this, what conditions would you propose?”
“If everything I say is true, I hope Miss Ivina can provide a safe sanctuary for Leilia and me, so Leilia will no longer be caught in danger.”
After Lucas finished speaking, Leilia gently tugged on his sleeve.
Her expression seemed to say that it wasn’t necessary to go this far for her.
But Lucas ignored Leilia and continued straightforwardly.
“How about it? Are these conditions acceptable?”
“With conditions like these, of course I agree. Then let us begin.”
Ivina did not refuse, signaling for Lucas to swear the oath.
Lucas nodded, his right hand clenched into a fist and placed over his heart: “By the gods above, under your witness, Lucas and Ivina hereby form a sacred Oath of the Contract. I, Lucas, swear to provide information on frequent monster appearances and to fully assist Miss Ivina in resolving the crisis caused by these monster activities. I also vow to disclose my current true situation to Miss Ivina.”
Lucas’s gaze never left Ivina.
He was very curious about how she would respond to his words.
She did not hide her surprise in the slightest, and Leilia, standing beside her, pulled on Lucas’s sleeve again, signaling him not to act so recklessly.
“Have you really made up your mind? Once sworn, it can never be undone.”
Ivina asked.
“Of course I have. Now that I have sworn, it’s your turn, Miss Ivina.”
“By the gods above,” Ivina also clenched her right hand into a fist over her heart, “I, Ivina, accept the contract proposed by the oath-taker Lucas and promise to provide a safe sanctuary for him and Leilia after the matter is resolved, ensuring that Miss Leilia will no longer fall into danger.”
As the last syllable fell, a piece of parchment glowing with golden light appeared between them.
An invisible pen rustled across the surface, recording every word of the oath without error.
When the writing finished, the parchment rolled itself up and gently dropped between the two, ultimately caught by Ivina.
Thus, the contract was sealed.
“After hearing what you said, I’m indeed a bit surprised. So, who exactly are you?”
Lucas recounted everything that happened in that strange space after he lost consciousness to Ivina and Leilia.
The two listened, growing more and more bewildered—especially Ivina, who looked at the contract in her hands with a deeply incredulous expression.
“I thought you would immediately suffer divine punishment after saying all that, but nothing happened.”
Ivina sighed deeply. At this point, even though she was reluctant to believe it, she had no choice but to accept it.
“So, those strange behaviors you showed before encountering the monster wolf were also…”
Leilia covered her mouth.
“I can’t believe it… it was the gods giving us a way out…”
“No wonder. Someone who couldn’t even kill a single monster wolf caught my sword when I swung it suddenly. That makes sense now.”
Ivina put away the contract: “I was rude before, Mr. Lucas. I shouldn’t have attacked you so abruptly.”
Lucas shook his head, not dwelling on it.
More important than that was keeping Ivina alive for now.
“Then, how much do you know about this recent monster outbreak? If I’m going to die, who would kill me?”
Lucas searched his memories.
Ivina would die in this incident, and the one who killed her was a woman Lucas did not know.
She wore a white robe that nearly dragged on the ground and had striking white short hair.
As for her face, Lucas could not see clearly, only judging that it was a woman.
In the vision Lucas saw, the woman stabbed Ivina in the back, distracting her and causing her to ultimately perish in battle.
The creature Ivina fought was a massive monstrosity—a horrifying chimera composed of a lion’s head, a goat’s head, and a crocodile’s head all grotesquely fused onto one body.
Bat-like wings stretched from its back, and a scorpion’s tail swayed at the end.
Lucas had never seen such a creature before.
For an ordinary person, seeing it even once would likely leave them frozen in fear.
“What is it?”
Ivina noticed Lucas’s strange reaction.
“Did you find any clues?”
“A monster. A very large monster. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Lucas described the creature’s image to Ivina.
Listening, Ivina propped her chin thoughtfully.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of a monster like that. From your description, the closest would be a chimera. But there are no chimeras in the kingdom. Also, a chimera wouldn’t have wings and a scorpion’s tail, nor three heads.”
“So?”
“This shouldn’t be a naturally occurring monster. Someone must be behind this outbreak.”
Lucas thought of the woman in the white robe from his memory.
Could it be her?
“Ivina, I’m going to describe someone to you. Tell me if you recognize her.”
Lucas gave a brief description of the woman from his memory.
The more he described, the darker Ivina’s expression became.
“Those bastards again.”
Ivina muttered under her breath.
Although her voice was low, Lucas caught the words.
Ivina muttered them to herself and didn’t respond, heading straight for the hospital room’s door.
“Lucas, have you decided whether you’ll come with me to resolve this incident?”
“Yes. After all, the Oath of the Contract is clearly written.”
“I understand. Rest here for now. I’ll make some preparations. We’ll set out when the time is right.”
Ivina said this and slammed the hospital room door shut.
The footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away.
Lucas and Leilia exchanged confused glances, unsure why Ivina had suddenly reacted this way.