73 An Oath Under The Moon
Selma Payne’s POV:
“Moon Goddess, please summon me away.”
I sat on the sofa with Aldrich, opposite my serious parents. Although it seemed like we were divided into two distinct camps, Aldrich also gave off an ominous aura.
This was purely a tri-party trial for me!
“We have to talk,” my father said. “Let’s have a sincere and honest talk.”
I looked at them. “It’s what you see. I’m in a relationship with Aldrich. Father, Mother. We’re both very serious. We’re not just fooling around.”
Since I’d already been exposed, I decided not to hide it from anyone and openly addressed my parents.
Aldrich looked a little angry at me but said respectfully, “Just as Selma said, we will be with each other seriously.”
My mother didn’t seem to find it so unacceptable, but her gaze showed she was a little picky. “Serious in what way? Kissing in the living room of the Lycan King in broad daylight? With all due respect, I’ve always thought that you were a gentleman who abides by etiquette, so I was at ease to leave my niece... My daughter in your care. However, you’ve disappointed me too much, Sir Aldrich.”
“Don’t say that about him, Mother,” I defended my lover. “Don’t make it sound like he seduced me. In fact, I was the one who took the initiative in the first place. I was the first to fall in love, the first kiss, and I was the one who pulled Aldrich into this relationship.”
My mother cried out in shock and looked like she was about to faint. My father held her; his broad palm seemed to be transferring energy to my mother so that she would not faint from her daughter’s nonsense.
I wanted to say something, but Aldrich suddenly took my hand and gave me a comforting look. Then, he said to my parents, “Please forgive me, Your Highness. My relationship with Selma does not seem to align with the world’s view of perfect love. We’re not fated mates. There’s a big age difference, and we have a teacher-student relationship.
“No matter how you look at it, we aren’t a match made in heaven.
“But... Everything just happened. Even without the Moon Goddess’ will, we are like two butterfly wings. We couldn’t help but fit together. It was hard to separate, and we don’t want to separate.”
He looked straight into my father’s eyes. Yet, in front of this majestic king, he did not flinch at all.
“I love Selma, and I will always love her. I once swore an oath under the witness of the moon. If my feelings for Selma were to waver even a little, I would ask Moon Goddess to immediately take my life and put me on eternal night’s trial.”
“An oath under the moon?”
I was shocked. Aldrich never told me about this!
The ‘oath under the moon’ was the most solid, sincere, and unrepentant oath of the werewolves. It was equivalent to making an oath in front of the Moon Goddess and receiving the protection and support of the Moon Goddess. On the other hand, breaking the oath would be equivalent to cheating the Moon Goddess. The one who broke the oath would be punished by the Moon Goddess and would be rejected by the werewolves forever.
My parents were stunned by this ‘resolute’ oath and were momentarily speechless.
“I don’t know what to use to show my sincerity.” Aldrich lowered his head in shame like a child who had done something wrong. “I think, only by letting the omniscient and omnipotent eternal moon monitor me, I am willing to use my entire life to show Selma and Your Highnesses my eternal love for Selma.”
“But you never told me... ” I mumbled.
“Even lovers have to keep some small secrets, don’t they?” He winked at me playfully. “At least you know now.”
What kind of ‘little secret’ was this?
It was not that I didn’t trust his feelings for me, but I was thinking from my point of view. If Aldrich lost confidence in me one day and wanted to give up on this relationship, I thought I would let go. This was because feelings were not a one-person show, and conflicts were not one-sided, right?
Time would prove everything.
But Aldrich doing this was equivalent to being unable to separate himself from our relationship forever.
Even if he showed any weakness, the oath’s power would give him a painful punishment.
Did he not trust himself that much?
Did he trust me that much?
“You shouldn’t have done this.” I had completely forgotten that my parents were there. I shook Aldrich, hoping that he would wake up. “Do you understand the power of the oath under the moon? You’re shackling yourself with chains that you can never escape.”
Aldrich held my hand and kissed it gently. He said, “Before I made the first promise, I had already fully understood what the oath under the moon was about. I don’t care how many chains I’m shackled with. For you, I’m willing to do anything.”