The new Pope, clad in pristine white and gold, moved forward with the grace of soone who carried divine authority. He was strikingly young—far younger than the last Pope, whose greed and corruption had tainted his reign. This one, at least in appearance, seed to be cut from a different cloth. His indigo hair was tied neatly at the back, and despite the heavy robes draped over him, he carried himself with effortless elegance. But another aspect that I found unique about him was that he was probably blind, he always had the white strip of blindfold that covered his eyes. Still it seed like he could see sothing, probably the mana presence of the beings around.
Most importantly, I could sense the divine energy surrounding him. It was subtle yet undeniably potent even more than the late Pope or perhaps the most that I’ve sensed ever.
He raised his hands in blessing, his voice ringing through the hall with an ethereal calm.
"By the will of our Holy Saintess, the Guardian Dragons and the wisdom of the mortals who walk this earth, we gather today to witness a sacred vow—a covenant between kingdoms that have long been divided by steel and strife.
"In the eyes of the heavens, war is but the folly of man, a cycle of destruction that turns brother against brother, kingdom against kingdom. But even amidst the ruin, the great wise Dragon’s blessing has given us the gift of reason, of understanding, and the ability to choose another path.
"Today, Denril and Sestia stand not as enemies, but as seekers of peace. The quill shall now replace the sword, and upon this parchnt, an oath shall be written that binds us not in hatred, but in unity."
His words carried a weight that even the skeptics in the crowd could not ignore. Unlike the King’s speech, which had been laced with political formality, the Pope’s address resonated with sothing deeper—sothing almost sacred.
I watched as the nobles and dignitaries, even those who had bristled at the idea of a treaty, bowed their heads ever so slightly, acknowledging the presence of sothing greater than their own grievances.
What was his na again? Ah, right, Cesio Childe. A man who was in his mid thirties was chosen to be the new Pope of the temple of Saintess Miella and the Dragons.
I didn’t have much information about Cesio as he was an orphan who was taken in by the Temple and while he was growing he started showing his capabilities. It was exactly because no one else was carrying the divine power as pure as him that he was chosen apart from the fact that a lot of priests were corrupt and already purged out of the system.
The hall was silent, waiting for the mont that would seal the fate of two warring nations.
Just then the parchnt was brought forth and the Mage held it up in the air to read the vows.
I hadn’t t the mage before but he was the Imperial Mage responsible for a lot of mana inventions in Denril, his na was Icarus Leeson. Denril had mages too but the number was significantly lesser than Sestia. Icarus was an old man with long white hair flowing freely from his back and his mustache and beard reaching his chest. He was dressed in navy blue robes and had the black crest in his robe to signify his title as the Archmage. The way to know the mana level of each mage was the sa for both Denril and Sestia.
"The first vow, the trade rights in key regions, a neutrality agreent for border villages, and a joint security pact to prevent future incursions for both nations. Do both the sides agree with this?" Icarus asked.
"We agree to this." Eric spoke up.
"We agree to this as well." Augustine responded with a smile.
The second vow, the engagent to be ford between Young Duke Rune Aurelius the hier of Aurelia Dukedom and Lady Celestia Konstantinos, daughter of Duke Konstantinos.
This one might be removed. I thought bitterly but Augustine smiled and my eyebrows twitched. He looked at Duchess Konstantinos who looked back at him as she stood just a step below him. She looked at her daughter who was standing in the first line and gestured for her to step ahead.
I watched as Celestia who was dressed in a beautiful blue gown stepped ahead and walked up to her mother.
Duchess Konstantinos stretched her hand to Celestia and Celestia took it before she stood beside her and I sighed. I didn’t want to see this. I didn’t want to see them reject my brother right in front of his face and also in front of the world.
Should I just create a chaos in this place or sothing? I almost raised my hand to cast a spell when Duchess Konstantinos reached out to Rune.
I frowned a bit and so did Rune before he reached out placing his hand in hers.
"We agree," she announced and my jaw almost dropped as she placed her daughter’s hand in my brother’s.
Rune too was shocked but Eric managed to help him not show it and he spoke up though with the surprise still evident in his voice as he held Celestia’s hand.
"I agree to this." He spoke and cleared his throat.
I smiled and felt Lyall sigh behind , Eric too had a small smile on his face. We weren’t expecting this change of events, I had almost made a plan to punish Duchess Konstantinos and it would still be put into action despite this.
[Giver of Gifts asks why you would punish the Duchess even though she agreed to the engagent of your Brother and Celestia.]
"Because she put us through the ntal strain my poor brother must have cried thinking he failed."
[Goddess of Wisdom wonders which version of you is better, the one where you didn’t care about your family or the one that you are now.]
"Well, the level of punishnt will be decided when I get to know why she ca to this conclusion. If there is a la reason then she will be punished if not, the punishnt will be lesser." I decided.
The last thing to be decided was that a joint council will be ford between Denril and Sestia—one where representatives of both nations will oversee the treaty’s execution and ensure neither side falters.
"Do both the sides agreed to respect and fulfill the vows that are mutually decided without harboring any ill will?" Icarus asked.
"Yes, we do." Augustine announced.
Eric stood in his spot silent for a brief mont as if the fact that this was the biggest mont of his life was just sinking in.
"Yes, we do." He answered finally and the crowd erupted in deafening cheers and I smiled clapping as the move was made.
Eric’s second step towards making history was taken from here will start a new Chapter and I was looking forward to everything that would be coming up now that the war factor was out of the way.
The parchnt was put down and the quill was dipped into the ink before the signatures from the six figures whose nas would be written in history were put down.
The magical contract glowed pure white and I could see that it was strong enough to keep the vows strong. If anyone of the two nations dared to break any of the vows then the backlash would be severe.
The loud cheers made the hall almost shudder as the people celebrated the King and the Princes. I watched with utter satisfaction as Eric Rune and Davian stood at the pedestal with their heads held high and the people cheering their nas and hailing to them.
This would be the second victory for Davian but for Eric and Rune this was their first and I hoped they would enjoy it to its best.
After the signing was done, the King and the Princes were led to the balcony from where they would all greet the common people of Denril who were waiting outside.
I and Lyall managed to sneak out and stood among the commoners who had a line of nobles as well all looking up at the two shining stars of the Denril and Sestia.
It was ti for Arian and Eric’s speech.
I felt a tug at my coat and I looked down at the two familiar kids who were completely towered by the tall adults.
"Young Master Lucius, Young Miss Elle, what are you doing here?" I frowned and looked around trying to spot Angelina and Gareth Lockwood, their parents.
"We wanted to see you that’s why we ca," Elle said.
"Mother and Father must be worried but we still ca when we saw you." Lucius smiled and I chuckled.
I looked up once at the two Princes who were ready for their speeches and I picked up Elle in my arms and gestured for Lyall to carry Lucius.
"Now, you can see the two Princes." I said, "and we can talk once the speeches are done, what do you say? I’ll also help you find your parents."
The kids grinned agreeing and I smiled back looking at Arian and Eric.
Arian was going to be the first. He cleared his throat and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"People of Denril, today marks the end of a long and bitter war—one that has cost us lives, land, and years we can never reclaim. But today, we do not mourn the past. We stand here as witnesses to a future built on reason rather than bloodshed. The peace treaty we have signed is not just ink on parchnt; it is a promise—a foundation upon which we will build stability, prosperity, and strength for the generations to co."
"Denril has endured much, but we have not broken. We have fought, we have persevered, and now, we will rebuild. This peace does not an weakness; rather, it proves that true strength lies in knowing when to wield the sword and when to lay it down. I swear to you, as your Crown Prince, that I will uphold this peace—not just for today, but for the future of our kingdom. Denril and Sestia will now be sister countries and along with Prince Eric, I shall protect the peace that so many of our great warriors shed their blood to get."
The crowd cheered like crazy for him and I smiled watching as Eric stepped up to put his word forth now.
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