CH 5

“What should we do then?!”

“That’s what I’ve been asking you!”

“If you can’t get out of here, I’ll be in trouble too! Do something! You said the Emperor wasn’t interested in you in the first place! Why didn’t you think he was interested when he’s acting like this?!”

“I didn’t know this was going to happen! I’m sure he wasn’t interested in me!”

“Then what’s wrong with him?!”

We began to huff and fight again.

If the spell on the door hadn’t blocked out our yelling, our loud argument would have been heard from the outside.

After a while, both of us got exhausted and fell to the floor.

Next to me lying on the floor, Laroque pulled his hair with a frustrated face.

“The human I chose is so difficult! Why am I always like this?!”

“I feel bad whenever I listen to you.”

“You’re a total bully on the outside but on the inside, you’re a shy pervert! It doesn’t help. The world is a mess but you walk around pretending it’s fine.”

“You’re a little harsh.”

A second fight almost broke out. Fortunately, it didn’t happen because if we fought anymore, we’d lose our strength.

Lying side by side on the bed together, we stared at the ceiling with our hands together. 

“I have no magic left. I’m not in the same condition as before, so breaking you out by force is impossible.”

“Is there anyone who can help you?”

“I’m not going to help you.”

“Why!”

“Because of you, I keep vomiting blood. Everyone thinks I’m going to die. They think I’ll leave quietly and kill myself. That’s ridiculous! I, of all people, would never harm myself.”

“That’s right. As far as I can see, you’ll live until the wall rots.”

“Thanks, Dragon.”

“Aghh, that b*tch.”

“You’re a scammer, you know?”

We turned our heads and glared at each other. Our gazes clearly expressed each other’s bad luck.

Anyway, he’s a dragon without a remote home.  

“Can’t you do anything other than fighting with magic?”

“Not much. Most of my powers were taken away when I was sealed. I don’t know about the knights but I definitely can’t deal with the commander. Besides, there’s also a Swordmaster here.”

“Oh, sir. Why are you so competent?”

With my face in my hands, I resented my superior, whom I usually respect.

Shuline Emfester.

He was my superior, a deputy commander of the Imperial Guards. As well as a kind man who took care of me since I was young.

I respected him as a Swordmaster, but right now I find his competence annoying.

No matter how many knights or commanders I manage to shake off, Shuline will always find me right away from just a hunch. 

“Contract!”

“Huh?”

I suddenly sprung up and Laroque, who was lying next to me, foolish eyes.

I shouted at Laroque.

“Magic cannot affect contracts!”

“Eh? No?”

“If we make good use of the rules in our contract, we might be able to get out of here! Even though there is a barrier, you can appear in front of me because it’s not magic. It’s part of the contents of the contract.”

Not all magic can affect each other. There was a loophole. 

The contract was written and signed between the contractors.

The words in the contract were different, so I didn’t know if I could get out of here using the loophole in the contract.

“Wow! You’re pretty good!”

Laroque’s eyes glistened.

I put my hands on my hips with a triumphant look.

“Take out the contract. Let’s look at the contents and search for loopholes.”

“Eh?”

Laroque began to panic and avoided my eyes. She mumbled quietly.

“D-Do we have to look at the contract to search for loopholes?”

“Of course. Hurry up and give it to me.”

“T-The contract is long. Let’s look for another way.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? There’s no reason for you to act like this. Besides, there are only 13 pages. I’m used to looking at papers. I’ll finish quickly so give it to me.”

I waved my hand encouraging him.

However, Laroque wriggled his hands in a cold sweat and did not take the contract out.

“What is it? Are you hiding something?”

“T-There’s actually a little more to the contract.”

“What?”

“No! I’ve shown you everything on that day, but there’s a small collateral. I was afraid you’d be bothered, so I gave you a summary of the contract!”

An uneasy foreboding chilled my throat.

My eyes grew sharper and my voice came out cold.

That dragon deceived me.

“Give it to me right now.”

Laroque, who noticed my anger, avoided my gaze and summoned the contract. And something amazing happened.

“What is this?”

The contract papers appeared one by one, multiplying countless of times enough to cause a blast in the room.

The papers that filled the air, gathered and formed a thick stack in front of me.

It was as thick as the library’s encyclopedia.

Laroque wiped his cold sweat and laughed awkwardly when I looked at him flabbergasted. 

“I-Isn’t this a little too much? This must be like 1700 hundred sheets of paper. Hahaha! “

So Laroque showed me 13 pages out of 1700 pages of the contract.

The remaining 1687 pages were completely new to me.

“Hey! You scum!”

“Eek! L-Lindel, calm down. Ahhhh-“

Eventually, the second round broke out.

* * *

I had many wishes.

As I was an illegitimate child of a noble family, I wished to be recognized by my father. So I picked up a sword.

After picking up the sword, my wish was to become strong.

When I became stronger, my wish was to be recognized by not only my father but by the people who laughed at me as well.

I tried and tried. I became stronger and I had a few people I could call friends.

I wanted to be a wonderful person. I wanted to be a strong, wonderful, and respectable just like Shuline, the one who taught me how to wield a sword.

With each step I took, I had more wishes.

Then I met Lionel. A little boy who was as pretty as a doll, captured my heart.

Lionel, who was fifteen at the time, was smaller and weaker than me.

I wanted to protect him.

Lionel was an illegitimate child, just like me.

However, the position of the Emperor’s illegitimate child was different from mine, as I was only the Count’s illegitimate child.

Unlike me, who was only hated by the Countess, Lionel was hated by everyone.

The doll-like little boy always lived with an expressionless face holding his breath.

‘I’ll make you the Emperor, Lionel.’

‘You’re crazy.‘

So I swore to the little boy.

Lionel called me crazy immediately, but I was sincere. His happiness was my new wish.

I had many wishes in my life.

My wish for Lionel to become Emperor came true, but my wish to be recognized by my father did not come true.

Some wishes were easily fulfilled while others were left unfulfilled.

But I thought that the dream itself was already worth it. Dreaming of countless wishes, I was already shining.

A wish is a hope and a step towards tomorrow.

No one can judge me, with all the achievements I have.

I was a perfect being. I loved myself.

One day, when many wishes were fulfilled and many were not, I met a dragon. A dragon who wanted to make my wish come true.

At that time, I had another wish.

‘I am Noir Laroque. Sign a contract with me. Whatever your wish is, I’ll make it come true.’

It would be nice if I could fulfill my wish on my own, but just because I borrowed someone else’s power doesn’t mean my light will fade.

I am willing to seize the opportunity in front of me.

‘Our contract has been made. I will make your wish come true, and you will have to satisfy the terms. Get rid of the lock on me and grant me freedom.’

Someone said that dreams that go beyond the limit is greedy.

But I don’t think it is greedy.

I was a noble being. I loved myself and I was loved. That was enough.

I was such a person.

Therefore, it was the very first time in my life that I regretted my wish.

Because of that damn dragon.

“Don’t raise your hand!”

“I’m sorry, Lindel! Forgive me! My arms hurt!”

Laroque, who was kneeling and holding out both his arms, cried out. Nevertheless, I had no intention of forgiving him. 

When I raised my eyes, Laroque raised his arms again with a sullen face.

I sighed and turned my eyes back to the papers I was holding.

The white paper and the writing in black ink.

Even after reading for a long time, I sighed at the stack of paper that was still piled up.

“Will it be faster to die from overwork after reading all this… Or will it be faster to die because of the contract you made?”

“You’re not going to die.”

“No. I’m very anxious right now. I haven’t lived a long life.”

I threw the papers I had in my hands and rested my head on the desk.

Of course, I didn’t forget to turn and stare at Laroque.

“Of course, I’ll kill you before I die.”

“V-Violence is not n-necessary!!”

Before I sighed again, I felt something hot suddenly making it’s way up my throat.

I immediately closed my mouth, but I couldn’t stop it and vomited.

“Kuk!”

My palms as well as my sleeves were covered in dark, red blood.

No matter how many times I say it, they don’t believe me.

As I stared at the blood I had just vomited, Laroque, who had peeking, quickly put the contract back into the subspace.

“The contract shouldn’t get wet. Hahaha!”

“Can you put people into the subspace? Maybe you can put me in there and take me out outside.”

“I can’t put anything alive in there. It’ll die from internal warping.”

“Nothing is helping.”

I vomited a lot of blood so I felt dizzy again. 

It wasn’t painful nor was there any pain, but I lacked blood and strength.

“How long did you say I had to vomit blood?”

“…I don’t know exactly when.”

“I’m going back.”

“But you can’t help it if you want your wish to come true. You have to make sure your body is in optimal condition.”

“If I knew vomiting blood was a side effect, I would have never signed the contract.”

According to Laroque, vomiting blood is the process to make my body be in optimal condition to fulfill my wish.

In other words, the harmful substances in my body are flushed out in the form of blood.

“This is the biggest problem. Because of this, everyone thinks I’m going to die.”

“…Sorry.”

I just sighed.