🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 55
“Who are you?”
Ariletti didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled Lasiann forward and made him stand in front of Reggie.
When he removed the hood that covered half of his face, bright blond hair and ruby-red eyes were revealed.
Reggie stammered, “Royal…? B-but…”
Back when he was part of the Magic Tower, Reggie had been invited to the imperial palace and had seen both the First and Second Princes of the Empire.
The boy before him was a little younger than them, with far more delicate, doll-like features.
If it wasn’t one of them, there was only one other prince left in Berthel.
“Y-you…”
Lasiann hesitated, flustered, but Ariletti didn’t care.
“We’re going to make the Third Prince the next emperor. And we need your help to do it.”
“Are you joking…? The Third Prince is just some powerless kid hiding in the back…”
“‘Hiding in the back’…?”
After a moment of silence, Lasiann quietly raised his right knee.
“You keep talking, but if you want your head cut off for insulting royalty, I’ll personally make it happen. Your head and neck will be separated by me.”
“N-no, I mean…”
“What’s the big deal about undead? If you die, your body becomes a corpse.”
Faced with such harsh words, Reggie didn’t know what to say and shut his mouth.
Ariletti added, almost to prove a point:
“Sorry, but you don’t get a choice. Her Highness Hezeit Sogaju is fair and just, but neither I nor the prince are.”
“So… what exactly do you want me to do?”
“First, make a proper funeral for the innocent who were killed.”
“…And then?”
“Then follow us. After that, just do as I say.”
Reggie blinked, stunned.
“If you come with me, I’ll help you find the people who killed your parents. And we’ll figure out how to free Eliza’s soul together.”
“…!”
Suddenly, a light appeared in Reggie’s usually lifeless eyes.
He had devoted his life to two things: finding the person who framed his parents, and creating a resurrection spell that could reconnect a soul to a dead body.
Of course, resurrection magic was strictly forbidden in the Magic Tower. Reggie had managed to trap Eliza’s soul so it couldn’t leave, but he hadn’t figured out how to reconnect it to her body.
As a result, Eliza’s soul was trapped in pain, tied to Reggie’s forbidden magic, unable to rest.
Even Reggie himself hadn’t found a way to fully restore her soul to her body.
“In my previous life, I promised to return Eliza’s time.”
In the second life, Ariletti had used that promise to recruit Reggie. He hadn’t been able to keep it because he died first.
“If I get one last chance to use the power of regression before I die, I’ll use it for Eliza.”
This was the maximum goodwill Ariletti could show to a former enemy and companion—a kindness born from shared understanding.
As Reggie stayed silent, Ariletti grew a little anxious.
‘Should I tell him I can stop Eliza from decaying with the time mage’s blessing? I was planning to do that secretly later.’
Just as he was thinking that, Reggie bit his lip hard.
“…If I go with you.”
“Huh?”
“If I go with you, what will you make me do?”
He agreed!
Before joy could even fully rise, Ariletti quickly reached into the front pocket of his dress.
Reggie, who suffered from severe depression, was unpredictable. He had to act fast before his mind changed!
From the front pocket decorated with cute tulips, Ariletti pulled out a thick contract and a small palm-sized notebook.
“Sign this first.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a contract. I’ve already signed. You’ll probably feel safer signing too. Now, press your thumb. Hard.”
In an instant, Reggie stamped the contract. The magic circles on it activated automatically, enforcing it.
Next, Ariletti glanced at the notebook and pointed with his index finger.
“Let’s see… Start by giving me your pocket dimension.”
“Huh?”
“Take out all your teleport scrolls too. Ah, no, wait. Not like that.”
“…”
“Just give me everything you’ve got.”
He was shamelessly brazen.
Reggie’s face turned pale.
“W-wait. Give me that contract back…!”
The contract read:
-
Reggie (the subordinate) pledges lifelong obedience to Ariletti (the superior) and must follow all instructions. In return, Ariletti will fully support Reggie’s sister, Eliza, in all ways.
-
If Reggie betrays or rebels, Ariletti may cancel all agreements and report him under Berthel Empire law.
-
Ariletti has no obligation to pay Reggie for labor.
Also, Reggie must never, ever, ever try to kill Ariletti again.
“Wait, this—!”
The last clause alone carried immense resentment…
‘No pay, no end, lifetime?!’
By the time Reggie realized he’d signed a slave contract, it was already too late.
On the way out of the cave with Reggie, Glenn thought to himself:
‘Reggie’s parents were executed for attempted murder overnight… Only their extraordinary son survived?’
“This may be familiar… Teacher, you supported the First Prince in the first life, right?”
“Huh?”
Ariletti, carried in his arms, was startled.
“Yeah… why suddenly?”
“And Reggie also supported the First Prince in the first life?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Ariletti didn’t like discussing past lives directly. This was his third life, and in the previous two he had served different princes—he only reluctantly admitted this.
Glenn couldn’t ask further because Ariletti looked uncomfortable, but a strange sense of déjà vu remained.
“Why do you look uneasy, Sogaju?”
“Huh? Ah… nothing.”
“That doesn’t look like nothing.”
“Hmm?”
“If you want us all to die together, I won’t refuse.”
Ariletti’s short finger pointed straight ahead. A sheer cliff lay before them.
Lasiann, holding onto Glenn’s sleeve, looked determined.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll follow…”
“No, no!”
What kind of resolve was this from these kids? Glenn hurriedly stepped back.
Even as they headed back toward the cave entrance, the strange feeling lingered.
