Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Central Region, Central Academic City, Morningstar University District, Morningstar University Campus, Garden of Beginning, Time Vestige, Morningstar University 2nd Campus 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Wyatt, listen to me. I will get you the help you need. We can find the best Card Medics the Card World has to offer—" Lucine said, still trying to convince me that I was mentally ill and needed treatment.

I cut her off in annoyance. "Someone does need help, alright—but it’s you. And I’m going to make sure you get it. Once you’re cured, be ready to pay the ultimate price for getting on my nerves. Now, tell your people to bring me the ingredients I asked, or I’ll go find them myself."

What infuriated me most was that Lucine wasn’t pretending—she was genuinely concerned. I knew time-rule dementia was a condition even the Celestials couldn’t cure, but after everything I had shown her, shouldn’t at least a part of her consider that I might actually be capable of what I claimed? Instead, for reasons known only to her, she stubbornly chose to believe I was a con artist trying to deceive her, rather than allow for the possibility that I knew what I was doing and that it wouldn’t hurt to at least try my way.

"Wyatt, don’t make any hasty decisions. Someone will bring you the ingredients. But while we wait, can you explain how you intend to cure me?" Lucine asked, clearly trying to figure out what the ’mad’ version of me she had in her mind planned to do to her in the name of treating her time-rule dementia. A part of her still believed I was trying to kill her, and that curing her time-rule dementia was nothing more than a ruse I had crafted to justify my actions to Morningstar University and the five regions. But she couldn’t think of a motive.

However, I never made a habit of explaining my plans and methods to my clients. They told me what they wanted and how much they were willing to pay, and the rest was my problem. How I delivered the results within their budget was entirely up to me—that was always the arrangement. So if I couldn’t be bothered to explain myself to paying customers, why would I bother explaining anything to someone I was forcing to undergo my treatment?

Getting no answer from me, Lucine didn’t back down. She continued, "You do realize the problem isn’t with me, but with the part of the time rule I unintentionally comprehended while rescuing Ahalya from that past, right? The punishment for breaking a time taboo is the same as rule contamination. There’s no cure for it. It’s a dead end. It’s not something anyone can fix. Even the all-powerful Celestials are helpless against it."

"Five more minutes. If they don’t bring me the ingredients I asked for, we’ll go get them ourselves," I warned, cutting off Lucine’s attempts to stall. I had already given her the list of what to bring, yet she stalled at every turn. First, she didn’t even pass the list to her students, and now they were dragging their feet on purpose. Realizing this, I told her to make them move faster.

I would have gone to get the ingredients myself, but I couldn’t risk revealing any weakness in front of Lucine. If she realized I couldn’t summon the same strength I used against Slay, the situation would turn against me in an instant. Then, I would truly become her hostage.

My Celestial Blood Fate Domain was absolute, but its consumption of celestial force and rule power was equally insane. Right now, I was sustaining it with only my Card Master realm strength. It was just enough to keep things stable, nothing more.

If Lucine and the other card demigods inside the time vestige decided to act together, I wouldn’t be able to hold the domain for long unless I found a way to compensate for my lacking realm. In here, cut off from the Devil Merchant Code, my options were severely limited. As for using primordial energy, it was not an option.

So even though I was furious, I couldn’t afford to act recklessly or draw too much attention. I had to be smart about this. Otherwise, instead of curing Lucine and proving myself, I might actually end up looking like the con artist she believed me to be.

"Wyatt, they’ll bring them soon. How about you withdraw your Celestial Rule Domain? It’s disrupting several ongoing research projects and experiments. I promise I’ll fully cooperate with you," Lucine pleaded, after receiving multiple distress calls from her students about my domain covering the time vestige interfering with their work.

"Can you take an oath in the presence of the world’s will?" I asked, not interested in arguing with her. I knew full well that my Celestial Rule Domain had not only severed their access to soul energy and rule power, but was also to interfere with their ongoing research and experiments. I was counting on that pressure to push Lucine into negotiating her surrender to me before I reached the limits of sustaining the Celestial Blood Fate Domain.

"Wyatt, don’t you trust me?" Lucine asked, feigning innocence as she leaned closer, her immaculate eyes lifting to meet mine as if she expected me to fall for the act. And honestly, I might have—Lucine was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Her natural charm was hard to resist. She had the kind of aura that reminded you of that one pure, elegant teacher, you couldn’t help but have impure thoughts about.

"Nope. You’re the same woman who took her savior hostage right after he saved her life from a powerful devil. Honestly, I can’t trust you with anything," I said, deliberately exaggerating my accusation to cut off any further attempts from her to avoid taking an oath before the Card World’s will.

"Fine, I’ll take the oath. Just retract your Celestial Rule Domain. You’ve already caused enough damage," Lucine grumbled, realizing her charm had failed her. It was the first time she’d been forced to rely on it—and she blamed the age difference for why it didn’t work.