Chapter 230 An Eternal Vow Of Fidelity
Heloise was aghast!
Heloise was in turmoil!
Heloise was in grave, grave danger!
Heloise had initially thought she would only need to undergo the "Purification Ritual" once more, but she was shocked to learn that she would have to go through it seven more times to fully cleanse her of her karmic imprints.
If this was the only way, then Heloise... she... she...
Heloise held her head, crouched down, and began to curl up and roll on the ground. She was at a loss for what to do!
Upon seeing Heloise's peculiar behavior, Felix hurried over and inquired about her state.
Heloise reluctantly stopped and sat on the ground.
She looked up at Felix as if she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to do so. After hesitating for a while with her head down, she asked Felix a question.
"Lord Felix... what will happen if this karmic imprint isn't purified?"
"If it's not purified, you'll die."
Felix's answer was so straightforward that Heloise thought she had misheard.
Not getting rid of the karmic imprint could lead to death? Was it that serious?
"Lord Felix, I, the Apostle of the Nefarious Tiger King, seemed to have suffered from a hallucination caused by the influence of evil power just now. Could you please answer me again?"
Heloise asked with a glimmer of hope, hoping to get a "gentler" answer.
However, Felix immediately shattered her illusion.
"Heloise, if the karmic imprint isn't fully purified, you will die."
Upon hearing this, Heloise was left with absolutely no room for wishful thinking.
Heloise was filled with regret, immense regret!
If she hadn't followed the Earthly Ghost's instructions, she wouldn't have fallen into this predicament!
— (Lord Earthly Ghost... why did you make such a mistake... and why did you confuse a demon with a messenger of the Benevolent Deity... you've really done me in...)
But what good would regret do? Heloise couldn't possibly go find Lord Earthly Ghost to hold him accountable.
After all, she had never seen Lord Earthly Ghost's true form and had only ever conversed with his avatar.
"Heloise, you don't need to worry too much about the 'Purification Ritual'. I told you last night that a 'Messenger of the Benevolent Deity' isn't considered a 'human', so you don't need to treat me as one."
Despite Felix's earnest attempts to alleviate Heloise's burden, she found it hard to let go.
If Felix were just an ordinary man with average looks and abilities, that would be one thing.
But he happened to be incredibly handsome in a way that appealed to Heloise's tastes.
His sharply defined features and cool eyes were all in line with her aesthetic preferences.
In Heloise's view, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that if she brought Felix to a tigermen tribe village, at least five tigermen girls would propose to him on the same day.
Therefore, having such an attractive young man see her undressed was something Heloise absolutely couldn't disregard.
What was even more fatal was that after being seen once last night and once this morning, she was supposed to be seen seven more times.
But even one more time would be too much for Heloise due to the rules of the tigermen tribe.
.
In this moment, Heloise was confronted with a grave decision, a matter of life and death on one hand and a major life event on the other.
After some distressing contemplation, she finally understood.
If a person were to die, then there would be no question of any major life events. Since things had come to this pass, she could only consult Felix.
"L-Lord…Fel... Felix..."
"Just Felix is fine."
"You... you...you...you..."
"Go ahead, I'm listening."
Heloise's words had reached the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't spit them out.
No one had ever taught her how to say such a thing! But, with nowhere else to turn to, she had no choice but to improvise!
"Felix, are you... are you willing... to enter... enter into an eternal vow of fidelity with... with this apostle of the Nefarious Tiger King?"
After she spoke, Heloise stared at Felix anxiously, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"An eternal vow of fidelity...?"
Felix raised an eyebrow in confusion, then turned to look at Heloise.
"If making such a vow would make you feel better, then I am willing."
To Heloise's surprise, Felix agreed quickly. But this was not the answer she wanted, and she immediately realized that Felix had not understood the implications of her words.
— (How... how should I say it...)
— (Should I just say it directly...? But... but that would be too embarrassing...)
Heloise wanted to curl up and roll on the ground again, truly the earth was the only place for their tigermen tribe.
But a brave tigermen member should not evade problems. With a 'better an end with pain than pain without end"' mindset, Heloise took a deep breath, then suddenly grabbed Felix's hand!
"Then, then, then, then are... are you... are you... are you... are you willing to... to... to marry me?"
Although she stuttered, Heloise managed to spit out the words!
Felix, however, was all kinds of confused, wondering why Heloise would suddenly propose to him?
Without waiting for Felix to ask Heloise, Heloise's face turned beet red, and she sprinted all the way and charged straight into the woods.
.
Heloise didn't know how long she had been running. She just kept running until she was too tired to move any further. Then she finally stopped.
Just as she was gasping for breath with her hands on her knees, Felix came over and handed her a water bag, "Here, drink some water."
Looking at Felix's calm demeanor, Heloise thought she had seen a ghost.
She didn't expect that the gap in their physical strength would be so vast.
"Nef...Nef...Nefarious Tiger King... I... I... I am grateful for your... your gift..."
Perhaps it was due to exhaustion, or perhaps due to being struck by the disparity in strength, but Heloise was now less shy. She even adopted an attitude of "I've already said it, so I might as well go all out."
At this moment, Heloise and Felix were standing about two to three meters apart, each leaning against a tree and drinking water.
After observing Heloise for a moment, Felix broached the topic that had been previously left unfinished.
"Heloise, first of all, I want to thank you for your sentiment... But before I give you my response, I would like to know, why did you propose to me? Does it have something to do with the 'Purification Ritual'?"
Felix's calm and composed tone left Heloise feeling a pang of disappointment.
She immediately understood that the reason why this young man could ask this question so calmly was definitely because he held no feelings for her.
— (Indeed, we've only known each other for less than two days... and I'm significantly weaker than him...)
— (And he is a messenger of the Benevolent Deity...)
— (Wait? What?)
As Heloise often referred to herself as an apostle of the Nefarious Tiger King, she had grown accustomed to such titles.
This led her to a serious realization only now.
— (Could it be that... a messenger of the Benevolent Deity cannot marry an ordinary person? ? ?)