Shadow's Oath

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 76: Contours in the Darkness

Jeje’s lips touched Charlon’s.

Charlon couldn’t tell whether Jeje was the one who initiated the contact or if she herself had moved closer first.

Maybe their faces were simply too close, and it had happened naturally.

It was that kind of place—so dark that nothing could be seen.

‘It’s better this way. If we could see, it’d be embarrassing.’

Even as their lips were touching, Charlon found herself wanting more.

Yet her neck and abdomen felt weak, making it impossible to act on that desire.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, Jeje placed a hand on the back of her neck.

His hand gently cupped her neck, making it easier for her face to lean into his.

Maintaining an upright position was difficult; her body struggled to stay steady.

Sensing this, Jeje seemed to read her mind, supporting her back with his other hand.

His palm, gliding upward, helped her find balance.

Charlon could finally stretch out her back and loop her arms over Jeje’s shoulders.

As she clung to him, Jeje pulled her closer with firm yet careful strength, mindful not to touch her wounded side.

The two of them stayed like that for a long time, their lips locked together.

Who had first parted their lips or allowed their tongues to meet?

She couldn’t recall.

‘Who was it that said adult kisses involve tongues?’

Oh, Emillin.

The thought felt absurd.

Imagine, a man’s tongue entering my mouth!

Emillin used to tease her for being childish whenever she expressed discomfort about such things.

Emillin often boasted, exaggerating her romantic experiences as though she’d conquered the world by sixteen.

She claimed to have dated and broken up with over ten handsome noblemen already, and with an air of cynicism, she described men as crude, smelly, and foolish but occasionally endearing playthings.

Emillin had once said, “When you have your first kiss, everything will smell like sweet flowers, and church bells will ring in your head.”

That didn’t happen.

All Charlon felt was warmth—deeper and more fulfilling than an embrace.

Emillin also used to say, “When you hold a man, you start worrying about when he’ll betray you and how to manipulate him into doing what you want.”

But Charlon wasn’t calculating anything.

She didn’t even feel the pain from her injuries.

At first, only their tongues brushed.

Then, as time passed, they began to explore, swirling around each other.

Their breaths mingled naturally, unconsciously.

Charlon wished the moment would last, not just for the warmth it brought but to escape the terror that had been chasing her.

For a brief time, that terror vanished.

She kept her eyes closed, hoping that when she reopened them, the fear would be gone for good.

But when she opened her eyes, the fear returned.

Even in the oppressive darkness, so dense that it was impossible to distinguish between having one’s eyes open or shut, she could see it.

It was the same presence that had been following her since they entered the cave.

When had it started?

Thinking back, it must have been when she first scratched her side on a piece of rock near the cave entrance.

From that point onward, it had never left.

When Jeje held her earlier, it had lingered near the ceiling.

Now that his lips had parted from hers, it had come closer.

‘It’s nothing. It’s fake.’

But her body trembled regardless.

As she shivered, Jeje pulled her even tighter into his arms.@@novelbin@@

“Are you okay? You’re shaking.”

From over Jeje’s shoulder, Charlon stared at the creeping black outline.

Calling it “black” didn’t feel accurate.

It wasn’t black in color; it was just visible in the dark, appearing as black.

But how could something be seen in complete darkness?

And if it emitted light, why didn’t it glow?

What is it?

Is it Tanu? Malarhatu?

Or one of those ghouls said to haunt the northern lands, snatching people away?

Whatever it was, it seemed like the kind of entity that would claim anyone who ventured too deep into the shadows of the cave.

Suddenly, the dark outline disappeared.

Jeje had leaned closer, blocking her view.

Charlon shifted her gaze past Jeje’s face, and there it was again.

It wasn’t some formless apparition; Jeje’s body could obstruct it.

It wasn’t a trick of her eyes either—she didn’t see it when her eyes were closed.

“What should I do?”

The outline was drawing nearer.

“I want to be the kind of woman you want, but I don’t think I can.”

Jeje replied, “You’re already the woman I want.”

“And you’re already the man I want. But it’s too late. I won’t survive the night.”

“Don’t say that. Your brother will come for us.”

“I won’t last that long.”

“Yes, you will. There’s no more bleeding. You’ll hold on,”

Jeje insisted, though he hadn’t checked.

He spoke with conviction, but there was no way he could know for sure.

Charlon understood.

He had no choice but to speak that way.

“That’s not what I mean, Jeje. Tanu is coming to take my shadow.”

She wasn’t certain if it was Tanu, but there was no better way to describe it.

“I keep telling it to go away, but it won’t listen.”

Inside, she screamed:

Go. Please go. Come back later. Not now.

She didn’t dare say it out loud.

She feared it might respond.

“That’s nonsense, you’ve said it yourself—it’s a superstition. It’s a phantom of your fear.”

But Charlon wasn’t listening.

She cried instead.

Please, just a little later.

I’ve met the love of my life, and now I’m going to die.

It’s unfair.

‘If my mother heard me, she’d laugh. If Odel heard me, she’d mock me for being childish. But I know. I know something they don’t. Neither of them has ever truly loved. Even if they did, they ignored it.’

Charlon had thought the same thing when Jeje shared stories about his parents.

Some people spend their lives not knowing what love is.

She had witnessed it in her mother’s gaze—cold, often filled with malice.

If not for her twin brother Aduer, Charlon might never have noticed.

Her mother looked at everyone the same way, except for Aduer.

Only with him did her mother’s eyes soften with love.

Her father was no different.

The only time he showed affection was when he gazed at the portrait of his first wife.

Odel had always scoffed, saying men were beasts who cared only for women’s bodies and would wander off to find new prey after satisfying their desires.

Emillin had acted as though love were a game, as if all her youthful affairs had been just practice for a future political marriage.

But Charlon didn’t want to live like them.

She didn’t want to let go of the one great love of her life, dismissing it as mere youthful folly.

“I don’t want to die. I’ve met you, and now I can’t bear the thought of dying.”

It would have been better never to meet him at all.

Then she could’ve lived in ignorance, cynical like Emillin.

“You won’t die. I’m here.”

Jeje pressed her hand to his face.

“Feel me. Don’t fear what isn’t real. Feel me instead.”

Jeje’s voice grew desperate.

“I’m here.”

A moment ago, she feared death.

Now, she feared losing Jeje.

“Is something only you can see coming for you? Then I’ll stop it. Hold me. Let it take me instead of you. If it mistakes my shadow for yours, so be it. My life is meaningless anyway. If I die for you, I’ll die happy.”

“No, Jeje. How could I ever be happy if you died?”

“Then don’t die. If you must, we’ll die together. Let it take both of us. If it claims shadows, let our shadows overlap. Then it will take us as one, and neither of us will have to grieve.”

Jeje gently laid Charlon down.

“Let it take us together.”

Even on the cold, hard stone floor, he tried to ease her discomfort.

His tenderness was unmistakable.

Charlon clung tightly to Jeje.

The pain in her side stabbed like a knife, grounding her in reality.

As she stared upward, the black outline approached.

If they’d been sitting upright, it would’ve already engulfed them.

But lying down, it now hovered near Jeje’s back.

“Let me feel you,”

Charlon whispered.

[PR/N: What the fuck bro??]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Keep me warm.”

She knew it would be the last time.

Just as Jeje had said, it wouldn’t be long before the dark figure enveloped them both.

It was no longer something that could be avoided.

Could it have been avoided by stepping out of the cave?

No, that was impossible.

This would keep chasing.

Forever, it would keep chasing.

If they left the cave, they’d either meet the warriors of the Tagda tribe or spend eternity running from this thing that would pursue them endlessly.

"Jeje, you once said it, didn’t you? That when you’re with someone you love, you want to become one with them. I want that too."

"Now?"

"All the more because it’s now."

Charlon had known from a young age just how prominent the family name "Vormont" was.

She had understood, even before she turned ten, that her body would be used as part of the family’s political schemes.

She had given up on the idea of ever dreaming of genuine love.

Yet now, at the brink of death, a chance had come to her.

A chance to unite her whole body and soul with the person she loved.

"I’m going to die. So before that happens, grant me my wish."

Jeje was startled, though he did not release his embrace.

"You’re injured. You’re scared. You say you’re dying, don’t you? I can’t lust after a body in such a state."

"You said you wanted us to understand each other. I know you want this too, even now. Don’t you?"

Charlon leaned in close, her lips brushing Jeje’s ear as she asked,

"What about you, Jeje? Don’t you know what I want?"

Charlon couldn’t tell if the pounding in her chest was the sound of her own heartbeat or that of Jeje, pressed so close against her.

"Or are you just afraid?"

Oddly enough, Charlon’s provocation stirred Jedrick to action.

"Don’t underestimate a man of Geron."

Jeje sounded angry, but Charlon knew he wasn’t.

She knew he was only pretending.

When he rose, the dark figure that had been approaching from the ceiling vanished from sight.

In that brief moment, Charlon found courage and pushed him further into anger.

"Then do it."

Jeje warned her,

"It’ll hurt."

"I know."

"I mean your side."

"I know that too."

"This is betrayal against Damion."

"I know that as well. So, if I survive, I’ll tell the prince. The family’s scheme will be broken, and an unimaginable storm of consequences will come, but it will be the right thing. Living in a loveless marriage would bring the prince nothing but suffering. I’ve already fallen in love with you. Hiding that would be the real betrayal. I’d have to deceive the prince for the rest of my life. We’ve shared our souls with the prince, and lying to him would betray that bond."

"Then at least let me be the one to speak. I love you, but I also respect Damion. If this causes Damion to punish me, I will accept it, even if that punishment is death."

"Then I’ll accept it with you. Maybe that’s for the best. But that’s something to deal with if I survive this moment…."

Charlon couldn’t finish her sentence.

Jedrick’s warmth enveloped her.

He seemed to fumble for a place to fit himself for what felt like an eternity, and only after he nearly withdrew again did he finally manage to enter.

[TL/N: OH HELLLL NAHH THEY DID DAMION SO DIRTY WTF??]

She wanted to see his face, but it was shrouded in darkness.

All she could see was the black outline that had loomed above them.

But it didn’t approach.

"Does it hurt?"

Jeje asked.

"No."

She thought she’d feel uncomfortable, but to her surprise, she felt nothing at all.

It wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t unpleasant either.

Feeling nothing was, in a way, a relief.

If it had hurt too much, it would have worried Jeje, and if it had felt too good, she feared her face would betray her.

Jeje began but ended just as quickly, without even a small sound of pleasure.

From the beginning, he had been too concerned about Charlon’s injury to move properly.

Embarrassed, Jeje confessed,

"How shameful. It’s already over."

Charlon said nothing, but Jedrick misunderstood her silence.

Thinking it was dissatisfaction, he let out a groan—not of pleasure, but of frustration.

"I’m sorry. When adults joked about this sort of thing, I thought I’d be different. But it turns out I’m just the same."

Charlon placed her hands over Jeje’s arms, which were propping him up on the floor.

Then she moved her hands to his shoulders, then his neck, and finally cupped his face.

"Don’t worry. They say it’s like this for every man’s first time."

"How would you know?"

"I learned."

The moment of death was approaching.

Charlon gently pushed Jeje’s face aside and looked behind him.

She wanted to check the dark presence that had been looming over them from the ceiling.

But it wasn’t there.

She moved Jeje’s face like a shield and looked in another direction.

Nothing.

‘Where did it go?’

Turning her head to the side, she searched again but found no trace.

With a voice trembling with tension, Charlon said,

"Wait, stay just like this. Hold me like this. Don’t move away."

Jeje stayed pressed against her, holding her as if covering her body.

One hand braced against the ground, bearing his weight, while the other rested lightly on Charlon’s shoulder.

"What’s wrong?"

"It’s gone…."

"What is?"

Jeje brought his lips close to Charlon’s ear.

Whether he had begun to sense the other presence or simply believed her entirely, he whispered as if to keep anyone else from hearing.

"When did you first see it?"

"Ever since Ram left us behind."

Charlon kept scanning her surroundings without pause.

"It kept getting darker and closer. But as soon as you covered me, it suddenly began to fade. And now it’s completely gone."

What had been a certainty in her mind now began to feel like doubt, and soon confusion followed.

Tanu?

The "great" god of death, coming to a little cave like this?

That didn’t make sense.

An evil spirit, perhaps?

Or maybe just a delusion.

It was easier to believe it had never been there at all than to believe it had been driven away.

A hallucination, then.

But another part of her worried it would appear again.

What had driven it away?

She didn’t know, but she didn’t want to leave this moment.

"Stay like this. If you leave, I think it will come back."

Jeje didn’t question her further about the unknown presence.

Instead, he comforted her with warm words.

"I will love you, Charlon, until the last moment my shadow is with me."

"I will too."

In the shadowless darkness, the two remained united as one through the night.

Reluctant to break their physical connection, they held each other tightly.

In this moment, Charlon didn’t worry about the Tagda tribe’s assault, Tanu’s shadow, or the reinforcements Damion might bring.

They fell asleep.

They slept as peacefully as if they were in the safest of homes, under the warmest blanket, on the softest bed.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]