Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 165: The Seal

Chapter 165: The Seal

The dining hall was silent and rather gloomy, drowning in the overwhelming atmosphere of anticipation. The trio was already seated behind the long table—Tillian, Aideen, and Ahspid, restless from what was about to happen, had been waiting for their guest for almost an hour now, their minds lost in the whirlwind of tumultuous thoughts.

The princess joined her slightly trembling hands on her knees underneath the table and closed her eyes in an attempt to regain composure. She continued replaying her discussion with Ahspid over and over, each time ending it with one single conclusion: she must give up her powers if she wanted to be free.

’I told them I hadn’t made up my mind yet, but the decision is obvious... I cannot go back to the palace. What is the point of keeping my powers if I will be chained to the royal family akin to a wild but useful beast? And the mere thought of losing Tillian and everyone else in this place... My heart will not be able to bear it. I have to... choose freedom and love.’

At last, the door to the dining hall opened with a light creak, inviting Sarith inside. As if he were of no importance to them at all, nobody cared to greet him with proper decorum, making him furrow his brow as he approached the table as well.

Once he stood next to the hosts, the paladin carefully slid his beaming golden eyes over each person before parting his lips.

"Something in your eyes tells me you want this to be over with as soon as possible. Very well, I myself do not like to waste my time on things that do not require long contemplations. Therefore," shifting his gaze to Aideen, the man asked in a solemn tone, "What have you decided, My Lady?"

Aideen dug her nails into the fabric of her dress, releasing the remnants of the tension gathered in her hands. Then, with a brief, almost inaudible sigh to help her move, she stood up, fixed her eyes on Sarith, and declared,

"I do not wish to go to the Capital, Your Reverence. You... can seal my powers."

"Aideen?’

Tillian jumped from his seat, his whole body trembling from an unexpected wave of confusion that crushed his entire being. While he allowed himself to secretly wish that his wife would make that decision and stay with him, as soon as she vocalized it with her own lips, he felt as if his entire body was instantly emptied and refilled with nothing but all-consuming fire—the punishment he deserved for daring to be so selfish.

His wife, as if sensing the man’s silent internal struggle, offered him a light smile paired with a brief nod and mouthed a quiet "it’s alright," turning back to Sarith, who wanted to make sure her decision was final.

"Are you certain, Lady Valentine? From what I can sense now, your powers are rather potent; it would be a shame to lose such talent."

But the princess was determined in her decision. If he could already see how powerful she was, it would not take him long to understand the core source of her abilities and use them against many, including Tillian.

"Yes, Your Reverence," the woman nodded more resolutely, "you have my permission to seal my magic."

"Very well. As the Chief Paladin of the Holy Church, I accept your request. According to the law, my seal will not take effect if you are in any way influenced by others or if your decision was not yours. Therefore, if there was someone who forced you to make this choice, please speak now; otherwise, I will move on with the process."

Aideen, with her eyes still firmly fixed on the man with the long golden hair and glistening eyes, nodded again and said with even more determination in her voice,

"This decision is mine alone, Your Reverence."

Allowing a few more moments of silence to linger in the air, the paladin still hoped that she would change her mind. However, with each passing second, the princess’s resolve seemed to only deepen, leaving him no other choice but to move on.

As Sarith took a few large steps towards Aideen, the atmosphere in the dining hall became more tense. Both Tillian and Ahspid were following the paladin’s every movement as if they were predators ready to pounce on their prey the moment it took the wrong step.

When he stood before the lady, he carefully took her right hand in his, then pulled up the sleeve of her dress, exposing her thin wrist, and wrapped his long fingers around it as if intending to snap it in half.

"You will not feel anything during the sealing process; however," he started, "if you feel something unbearable, please let me know immediately."

"I will," Aideen nodded again, mentally preparing for anything that might occur during the process.

"I will start then."

With these words, Sarith closed his eyes and began to place his seal.

At first, the woman did not feel anything at all, only the warm sensation of the paladin’s skin on her cold wrist. Then, as his mana began to flow into her body, she felt surprisingly calm and light, as if her body was being emptied of everything it had been storing inside for all her life.

Tillian felt his mouth turning dry, and although he could not tell whether his wife was in any way uncomfortable or in pain, his heart was nothing but a crazed drum, its loud beating echoing within his hollow chest.

"There is no pain, Your Grace," noticing the Duke’s pale face, Ahspid rushed to offer some comfort and reassurance, "the seal works like cold temperature on water... you can say that it freezes her powers while they still remain locked inside her body. She will not lose her abilities; she simply won’t be able to use them anymore."

Duke Valentine was grateful for the mage’s effort, but he had to admit that it still did not bring him enough comfort. And how could it? Seeing his wife so happy while she was wielding her magic made him happy as well; her magic gave her purpose in life, gave her confidence, gave her strength.

But he failed to protect all that. And he failed Aideen.

"This is it." Releasing the woman’s wrist from his grasp, Sarith took a step away from her and added, "The seal took effect, just like you wanted. The procedure was lawful and will be documented to prove its legitimacy. The law also requires me to remind you, Lady Valentine, that you can get your powers back if you decide to go back to the Capital and become the Royal Magus. For now, however... You are no longer in possession of magic."