12 O’Clock Marionette

Regardless.

I recited three sentences in order.

"I swear not to reveal what happened today to anyone."

"I swear to ensure the imprisoned investigator does not die."

"I swear to always cooperate with the person before me."

Dylan stammered but obediently repeated after me.

The moment the vow was completed, the chains floating in the air shot into his mouth, embedding themselves at the root of his tongue.

Judging by his reaction—grasping at his throat in distress—it must have hurt.

But.

"Mmph! Mmmgh!"

"Stop exaggerating. You barely even feel it."

"Oh… I see."

The Pledge spell was extremely useful but came with a significant risk.

Simply put… it didn’t last very long.

For some people, it wore off within an hour, which is why I didn’t use it often.@@novelbin@@

But look at this guy.

He had zero traces of magical training, was young, incompetent, and reckless—and somehow held a high rank.

Clearly a nepotism hire.

Not that it mattered.

He was the perfect target to trick into thinking the spell would last forever.

"S-so what happens if I break the vow?"

"If you're curious, go ahead and try."

I smiled gently. Dylan shut his mouth immediately.

With that, things were more or less settled.

We had lost a lot of time due to the unexpected complications.