Chapter 22: Chapter 19: Short Negotiations…

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 19: Short Negotiations…

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“Let’s renegotiate your proposal, my lady.” I purposely showed a faint smile to our guests.

In front of me, there were two members of the royal family.

One of them is an attractive white-haired middle-aged woman with a ponytail and a pair of golden eyes. The woman is at least 1.60 meters tall. She's wearing a large red coat and a black shirt underneath along with some expensive-looking leather boots and pants. Her outfit was decorated with several golden accessories while there was a golden rapier on hand. Her name is Eliana Rilaes Marcel.

The other one is a twelve-year-old girl with long blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes. The girl is around 1.42 meters tall. She was wearing a blue-colored frilly princess dress, like the ones you see in children's movies. It looked really uncomfortable to wear… She also had twice as many accessories as the middle-aged woman. Her facial features could only be described as "innocent" although there was a certain mature aura around her. Her name is Marina Aranela Marcel and she is the Crown Princess of the Empire.

The middle-aged woman is the aunt of the princess.

These two individuals were looking at me with dumbfounded expressions. Their shock was due to the crest that is currently tattooed on my hand. That tattoo is actually the Holy Symbol of Lia and Thiasis.

“But before we talk about the tournament and the scholarship, let’s set some basic rules shall we?” I grinned from ear to ear.

Despite my confident and calm demeanor, I’m actually quite nervous and even a bit stressed…

That is, of course, something natural given that I am currently dealing with the future ruler of the country where I currently live and her aunt.

I know I'm also a prince just like her but I don't remember most of my life as a prince yet, so I can't relate to them…

(Julius, you know what to do. Just tell them the same things we agreed beforehand and everything should go as planned.) Lia reassured me.

Well, their impact on me is still little compared to my meeting with Melius and my meeting with Lia.

When I heard Lia's words echoing in my mind, I nodded and prepared myself for the negotiation tactics we had agreed upon.

When Martin came to warn us about Marina and her aunt, Thiasis quickly changed places with Lia. Apparently, Lia had read the minds of the two royals and found out something extremely concerning…

They were coming here for the sole purpose of offering a scholarship to the twins for them to go to the most prestigious institution in the Empire, the Imperial Academy. A place where the most talented individuals gather in order to pursue greater knowledge.

I have read a bit about the academy and Mom has told me a few things as well. This institution is one of the few academies in the Empire that allows commoners to be admitted through scholarships.

At first, you would think that it was actually a great thing for my sisters, but… I’m afraid there was something sinister lying underneath that unbelievable offer.

Eliana was planning on taking the twins back to the capital under the pretense to have them study at the Imperial Academy. While that part is seemingly true, her real motive is that she wants to ensure the loyalty of my parents and my aunt to the Emperor by taking in my sisters as “guests” when in reality they would be taken as hostages.

I was, of course, enraged by the mere thought of them being used for the sake of something so horrible. So when Lia told about what Eliana was planning, the two of us hatched a plan to turn this situation in our favor.

It was time for my skills and the knowledge I acquired as a law student to shine.

Now… I never became a fully-fledged lawyer since I was only in my second year. However, I was able to learn a few techniques and read about several things that will prove useful for this negotiation.

The end justifies the means or so they say. If Eliana is willing to do such horrible things just for the sake of ensuring the "loyalty" of my parents, then I will try to do my absolute damnedest to completely ruin her plans.

This world isn't prepared for contract law!

“First of all, since you have seen this emblem, you must swear absolute secrecy. The Goddess will not forgive anyone besides the people in this room having the knowledge that I am in contact with her or the fact that I have this emblem.” I fed the crest in the back of my hand with even more mana, making the holy symbol shine brightly. “I'm sure that you two are aware of what happens to the sinners who don’t follow the will of the gods.” I erased the smile I had on my face and looked at them with a blank expression.

The punishment is eternal damnation, as usual.

I saw Marina visibly flinch as soon as I mentioned the possible fate that awaited them if they didn’t comply with my demands. She looked quite pale.

I felt a bit bad about her getting involved in this since she was actually not aware of what her aunt was planning to do. However, she DID want my sisters and me to become her servants… This was all confirmed by Lia.

“...” On the other hand, Eliana looked like she had bitten a bitter bug. “Sigh… Understood... No one, not even my brother will know about what happens in this room. I am not crazy enough to sacrifice my comfortable afterlife for an eternity of damnation due to a small misunderstanding like this one...” She sighed heavily as she swore to keep this negotiation a secret.

I then moved my gaze towards the Crown Princess. Marina gulped and nodded feebly. I then looked back at her aunt when the princess agreed to the rule I had set. 

“Second of all, you’re not allowed to tell any lies from now on, Eliana Rilaes Marcel.” After I said her full name, the emblem on my hand started pulsating repeatedly. “The goddess is watching this meeting after all. So why don‘t you show us your true self?” I smiled as I saw Eliana's defeated expression.

“Jeez... Just why in the world did the Goddess of Knowledge give you that holy symbol?” She complained. “But if that is the will of the goddess, I will comply.” She agreed to the second rule I imposed.

At that moment, I made eye contact with my Aunt. I remembered what she had told me about Eliana minutes before she arrived at the house.

“Eliana Rilaes Marcel might seem like an easygoing and friendly person, but don’t be deceived by that attitude... In reality, she’s a master schemer and manipulator who will do anything to get what she wants. She only acts in the best interest of the Royal Family and her brother, the Emperor.” The words of my Auntie echoed through my mind.

I usually forget that Auntie is a noble. She's probably the one who has had the most interactions with Eliana out of all of us.

Everything she has told me will help me a lot.

“Thank you very much for agreeing to that, leader of the [Ten Songs of Rokkshar].” I smiled at the former princess.

The Ten Songs of Rokkshar is a group of elite warriors and mages at the service of the Emperor. The group is usually composed of members of the Royal Family and is currently the strongest force in the Empire after my dad and my aunt. This group was created in honor of the ten elites who aided Rokkshar during the [Thousand Year War]. Eliana and her other nine sisters are the current members of the group.

When they are all together, the Ten Songs of Rokkshar are the only people who can fight on equal grounds against my dad and my aunt.

That is all I could learn about her before she arrived.

"Now then. Let's put everything over the table, shall we?" I kept smiling at the opponent I had in front of me.

"Before anything else, I want to ask two things: 1) Why are you in contact with the Goddess? And 2) Why did she give you that Holy Symbol?" She looked at me with a serious expression.

"The Goddess gave a mission to me. Per her orders, that is all that I can tell you." I told her a half-truth with a straight face.

"You're not answering my questions at all, child." She complained to me with a blank expression.

"And I don't have to do it." I sneered. "Now, I'll tell you exactly what I want from you and we'll maybe be able to reach an agreement." I said nonchalantly.

"And what could you possibly want from us?" She asked me.

"The same thing you want... Security." I acted like I was already winning. "You want to ensure the loyalty of my parents by taking all of their children as unknowing hostages, and in turn make the three of us loyal servants to the crown, isn't that right?" I had a shit-eating grin on my face.

Eliana simply looked at me very intently for a few moments. It was like she was trying to decipher my thought process.

"Yes, that is indeed the case." She nodded and confirmed something that we already knew.

I could feel the angry gazes that were being directed to the former princess. Those belonged to my parents and my aunt.

"Well, that won't be happening at all." I made the Holy Symbol of Lia shine even brighter than ever before. "Neither I nor the Goddess wishes for that to happen." I shook my head vigorously.

"Then? What are you going to propose instead?" She seemed to be quite annoyed due to my attitude.

I smiled as soon as she asked that.

"My proposal is pretty simple. My sisters and I will get those scholarships and we'll have the right to decide whether we want to go or not. Of course, I will represent her highness in one of the tournaments you mentioned as a sign of goodwill." I looked at the Crown Princess with a compassionate expression. "Though, if we ever decide to attend the academy, I have two conditions that I want you to fulfill." My gaze quickly moved back to the aunt of the princess.

(You're doing well, Julius. Keep at it.) Lia tried to encourage me with her usual cold tone...

"And those are?" Eliana was already looking pretty annoyed thanks to my antics.

"The first one would be that I want the protection of the Royal Family for all three of us in case we ever came into conflict with any nobles and their families." I closed my eyes as I remembered the disgusting things my mother and Lia told me about the Imperial Academy.

The Academy is one of the few educational institutions that allow people of all backgrounds to be students or teachers. It is a place where both commoners, nobles, and even royalty can mingle freely. The institution has several rules that forbid the use of the authority of nobles and royalty against commoners. In the eyes of the academy, all students are equal, no matter their origin or their standing in society.

All that is good on paper, however, the reality is way more different than the image of inclusion the academy is trying to sell.

No matter what the academy does, the nobles will always be able to use their influence and move strings to hide any incriminatory evidence against them.

Even outside the academy, nobles are able to use their authority to punish anyone who wronged them while they were in the academy.

Lia told me that there were overwhelming amounts of violent crimes like rape or even murder against commoners during the time my mom was a student of the academy.

Lia also told me that my own mother was barely able to avoid a terrible fate like that due to the help of her teacher, who was a noble. My mother is not even aware of this...

So, if my sisters ever decide to go there, I will not allow them to suffer something like that... I will definitely protect them from those people.

"Consider it done." She nodded before looking at my sisters. "You're much more intelligent than I initially thought. I think I like you~." Eliana then smiled warmly at me while trying to flatter me. She had quickly realized my intentions.

"My second condition is that we will not be forced to work under any member of the royal family and nobility nor will we become servants of any kind." I immediately told her my second condition.

"Then what do I gain from all this? What's the point of this deal for me?" Eliana's warm smile quickly disappeared. She was frowning due to how unfair my deal started to look to her.

"You gain something pretty valuable, you know?" I shrugged again before taking a small bite from my pancakes. "You will get some peace of mind." I used a napkin to clean some of the sweet honey from my lips after eating my delicious pancakes.

I then looked back at my parents and my aunt. I could also see that Mia and her parents were still looking pretty terrified about the events currently unfolding at their home… I'll make some more pancakes for them later.

"You'll get the peace of mind that not a single one of them will go on a rampage at the Capital." I smiled at them and winked at the trio.

My Mom, my Dad, and my Aunt all looked at Eliana with seriously intimidating expressions… I was feeling some shivers down my spine and everything...

"Don't you think it would be pretty bad if they did that? Especially considering that the other Nine Songs are all dead and the Empire will be pretty vulnerable until the next generation is ready to take over." I said to Eliana with a blank tone.

"How do you even know about that…?" Eliana looked at me wide-eyed. She was in complete shock.

Whoops! It appears that I revealed something that I shouldn't have revealed… I'm so clumsy!

Haha! Just kidding, it was all according to our plans.

Anyway… According to Lia, the other Nine Songs, or rather, Eliana's sisters, all died while repelling the attack of a black-scaled dragon a few months ago.

"It is impossible to hide something like that from the Goddess of Knowledge." I said with confidence. "Now do we have a deal? If you agree with these conditions, put your hand over the crest and swear that you will fulfill them under Lady Lia's name." I placed my hand in the middle of the table. The Holy Symbol was still shining brightly.

I simply stared at the speechless Eliana with a smile on my face.

I could even hear a few gasps coming from behind me. Even my parents were unaware of the deaths of the other Nine Songs.

That is only natural since the Royal Family suppressed any information about the event in order for our country not to appear vulnerable to our neighbors.

I'm not intending to get this country dragged into war since it would also affect me, so this information will not leave this room. I'll make sure of it.

(You have done very well. We're closer to releasing Melius thanks to this.) Lia complimented me.

(Thank you! It does feel like we will be making some progress soon.) I thought of the conversation we Lia and I had before the Princess and her Aunt arrived.

You must be wondering why I decided to represent Marina in one of those tournaments... The answer is pretty simple my nonexistent friend!

You see… At first, I thought that there was actually no merit for me to go to the Imperial Academy since I can learn the things that they teach there from my mother or directly from Lia, the actual Goddess of Knowledge.

But it turns out that there is something crucial that I need to learn in order to release Melius that neither Lia nor my mom can teach me… That something is called [Spatial Magic].

My mom doesn't know how to use it at all and while Lia and Thiasis can use it, Lia says that they are negligent at best and incompetent at worst when it comes to using this magic. She says that sending my necklace back in time was an acceptable result since things could have ended a lot worse for me than that… For example, she could have ended up sending half of my body back in time, leaving only a bloodied torso in the present…

Yeah, I decided to forbid her from using that kind of magic again on me…

Anyway, there's actually someone who is a really capable master of Spatial Magic in the Capital.

Meeting that person and learning how to use that magic are enough reasons for me to attend the academy for a brief period of time, despite all the demerits.

"Are you sure you didn't adopt a Demon by mistake? Sheesh… I haven't been this beaten so unilaterally by someone since my grandmother died…" She looked at my parents before putting her touching the crest in the middle of the back of my hand.

Little does she know that I'm actually the child of a Demon. Of course, I won't tell her that.

"How rude! I won't allow you to call my child something so terrible!" My mom got seriously pissed off.

Eliana ignored my mom. She took a deep breath and then closed her eyes.

"Under the name of the Goddess who knows it all that there is, I, Eliana Rilaes Marcel, swear upon this Holy Symbol that I will uphold all the conditions imposed on me and that I will never tell anyone about what was said in this room… If this oath is ever broken, I accept my punishment of eternal damnation and torture by the hands of the Goddess of Death." As soon as she swore her oath, a part of the mana that was on the emblem was absorbed by Eliana.

The mana that was absorbed by her immediately manifested in the form of chains made out of the [Light Element]… Those chains were binding our hands together.

However, these chains wouldn't last very long. They started to quickly fade away as if they had never been there, to begin with.

That was a sign that our deal was now protected by the authority of Lia. Eliana will have a hard time going against the conditions I imposed.

That includes the small little insurance I included without telling her. Tee-hee~.

She really should have read the small print on the Holy Symbol of Lia, which is currently emitting a blinding light.

Now, this small and harmless insurance is actually the one thing that will give ME some peace of mind.

Hmm? Wanna know what the insurance is? Well, I think I'll save that secret information for myself~.

Hopefully, that insurance will never be used, but it is pretty neat to have it, especially against someone like Eliana.

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However, I can tell you that this little insurance really overcompensates the fact that I could only put three conditions on my deal.

Ah, I forgot to mention that Lia could only allow me to impose three conditions on the deal due to a severe lack of power she’s currently suffering due to her job protecting my homeland and aiding my biological parents.

So even if I tried to put even more conditions on Eliana, they wouldn’t be really enforced. Although that doesn’t really matter since I’m pretty satisfied with this deal.

(Well done, Julius. With this, we were able to get ourselves out of this sticky situation.) Lia sounded somewhat pleased that everything had gone well so far.

(We have to be thankful that the royals are just as superstitious as you told me.) I said with relief.

I was feeling extremely well due to the fact that we were able to handle this situation. 

Unfortunately, someone didn't share the same sentiment I had…

"I'm not happy with this deal! It is too unfair!" Marina, the princess, spoke to me with tears in her eyes.

Oh… It seems like I have ignored her for far too long… That's my bad.

"Become my servant! You have no right to refuse!" She pointed at me while she was pouting. Tears of frustration were streaming down her cheeks.

"I do have the right to refuse, your highness." I replied while pointing at the emblem in my hand.

"Marina, forget about making him your subordinate. The Goddess does not approve of that." Eliana came to the rescue, even though she didn't seem to be happy about it.

The princess was, unfortunately, having none of that…

She quickly climbed the table and got closer to me, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt.

Oh boy… This is not going to end well...

"I want you! I want only you! Become my servant or else!" She was still crying tears of frustration. She looked pretty pissed off too.

Pretty much everyone in the room was completely caught off guard by this since the princess had been behaving well and politely during all of this meeting...

(Was this a part of the plan as well?) I asked Lia with a lot of sarcasm.

(More or less. She's just a brat who has never been told 'no' in her life. Her tantrum will surely end sooner rather than later.) Lia said nonchalantly.

"Or else what, your highness? I'm sure you know what happens to those who try to harm people who are following the will of the gods." I said to the angry princess with a pretty casual tone.

"Grr…! I don't care! You will be my servant whether you like it or not!" Marina got angrier… She started shaking me while holding the collar of my shirt as if her life depended on it...

"Marina, why are you acting so unsightly all of a sudden!?" Eliana was pretty flabbergasted by the actions of her niece.

"Instead of standing there with your mouth agape you could take her away from me, you know?" I complained while looking at Eliana.

I was about to look at my parents for help but unfortunately, the princess was having none of that too...

"Don't you dare to ignore me!" Marina started shaking me even more vigorously...

(Julius, you're not making this situation any better… Luckily for you, Lia and I have decided to switch again!) Thiasis suddenly spoke in my mind.

(You have such incredible timing, Thiasis. I think I'll need your help…) I was glad to hear Thiasis in my mind again.

(Hehehe! You can praise me more~!) She said happily. (Now, are you ready to hear my marvelous solution for your predicament?) She tried to appear cool and mysterious…

(Yes, please!) I indulged her.

I truly did not anticipate what she was about to propose...

(Kiss her.) Thiasis said without any hesitation. She also sounded like she was looking forward to a situation like this one...

(Are you serious, Thiasis? I think that will most definitely get me jailed or executed. For a variety of reasons...) I kept making eye contact with the angry princess in front of me.

(I was just kidding, of course! That flag is not ready yet.) Thiasis suddenly mentioned something strange about flags... (I'll be serious now, okay? Just tell her this…-) Thiasis started to whisper in my mind even though there was no need to do that.

(And you are sure that this will work?) I was a bit skeptical after hearing Thiasis' solution.

(Julius, just trust me! I'm the part that rules over emotions, I know my stuff!) She enthusiastically reassured me.

I guess trying that won't make the situation any worse than it already is.

"You'll come with me to the castle, right this instant! You'll serve me for the rest of your life!" Marina kept angrily shaking me while crying tears of frustration.

"I'll pass. I'm pretty happy with my current life." I said with a blank expression.

"Stop rejecting me! You are not allowed to do that! A commoner like you should not reject ME, the future Empress!" Mariana got angrier than ever before.

She stopped shaking me and raised her hand, seemingly preparing herself to slap me.

As soon as her hand came down and it was about to reach my cheek, I intercepted it and got myself closer to Marina.

"Huh…? What are you…-" She was looking pretty surprised that I had stopped her hand.

"I'll say it clear Marina, and I will say it just this once... I will never become your servant. Never ever." I was clear and firm with her.

"..." Marina looked at me with a mix of impotence, anger, and frustration. Even more tears started streaming down her cheeks...

With that sight in my mind, I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket with my free hand. 

"However, I am not against the idea of becoming your friend." I said to Marina while clearing her tears with the handkerchief I had in my pocket.

Before anyone starts doubting my sanity or Thiasis’ she actually does have a point. Yes, I am aware that becoming friends with the daughter of a family who basically enslaves otherworlders is not a good look, but hear me out…

First of all, by becoming the adoptive son of the Skull Crusher, it is already written in stone that I will end up meeting the Emperor sooner or later, just because of the mere fact that my Dad is still more or less working under his orders… There’s also the fact that I ended up meeting his daughter and sister all of a sudden, so what tells me that he won’t come to see my Dad’s progress eventually? Even my parents and Lia didn’t expect the visit of Eliana and Marina.

There’s also the matter that I will be representing Marina in a tournament, three years from now. The odds of meeting the Emperor were already pretty high before this, so why not just accelerate my meeting with him and get that over with?

He is not aware that I am on otherworlder, and I’m obviously planning to keep it that way. The only ways he could know about it is through the skill [Appraisal] in its max level, reading my mind, or taking a peek at my memories as Lia did previously. All of those skills can be blocked by the power of Lia. A power that she’s currently using on me.

See where I am going? As long as Lia is watching over me, he will never be able to find out about my origin. So I can be friends with Marina and go to the capital to learn Spatial Magic without any kind of trouble.

"Ehh?" The previous angry expression she had was completely replaced by one of complete bewilderment.

(Nicely done! You really caught her by surprise there!) Thiasis seemed satisfied with the result.

I was pretty satisfied too since I didn't have to worry about an angry princess anymore.

"That should give you even more peace of mind, my lady." I smiled while looking at Eliana.

"Seriously… In what orphanage did you find this child? I want to pick one up too." Eliana said to my parents in a joking manner.

I was found in the forest, ma'am. You should try your luck there. Don't bother to return from the forest, though.

"I wonder~." My mother dodged her question. She seemed pretty content as well.

It is a good thing that this unplanned meeting with the royals is about to end on a good note. I cannot deny that it is all thanks to Lia.

Though I do feel a bit conflicted and a little dumbfounded that Thiasis' suggestion actually worked...

(You're welcome!) Thiasis said happily after reading my mind again… (Also, you're not done just yet!) She seemed excited about what was about to happen.

"A friend…? You want to be my friend, but not my servant?" Marina seemed extremely confused.

"Yes, that is exactly what I want." I nodded.

“You mean the kind that spends time with each other?” Marina seemed surprisingly flustered. Her reddened eyes and cheeks made her look really adorable if you forget about her tantrum from before.

“I suppose...” I nodded again while feeling slightly confused.

“The kind that exchanges letters constantly as well?” Marina immediately went from flustered to fired-up…

“Yes, I suppose there is that too… I guess…” I was looking at Marina with a bewildered expression.

“I see… A friend… That’s what you want to be… My friend…” Marina started mumbling something. Her fired-up attitude from a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.

While she was mumbling to herself, I could only just think to myself: “Is this the first time she makes a friend?” 

I know it is extremely uncommon for royalty to be friends with peasants, but she should have friends within the noble families or even within her own family… Right?

(I genuinely love the moment where a kid gets their first friend... It is so cute and innocent! It warms this beating heart of mine!) Thiasis said something that immediately caught my attention.

(Thiasis, are you serious? Am I actually her first friend...?) I couldn’t hide my surprise and shock about the revelation.

(Well, her father is kinda overzealous about who gets to associate with his daughters, so commoners are normally out of the question. And about nobles… While Marina knows most noble kids her age and she is on good terms with most of them, they can’t really be called ‘friends’ friends, you know? She doesn’t have any interactions with them except when there are official events or tea parties. As for her family… She’s close to her sisters and Eliana and that's about it.) Thiasis explained to me. (So to answer your question, yeah, you are actually her first friend.) Thiasis said nonchalantly.

For a moment, I was left speechless… I couldn't believe what Thiasis had just told me…

While I was in that confused state, Marina suddenly moved even closer to me… Her face was a few centimeters away from mine. If she moved forward a bit more, our nose would end up touching…

"This is an order, you have to write to me twice a month! I will send someone to deliver my letters and to get your letters back to me. You must absolutely not fail to write back to me!" She started giving me orders with a big smile on her face.

I was about to just say yes for the sake of it, but the devilish side of me suddenly decided to take over.

"That is not how friends ask for something, Marina." I decided to play dumb and talk to her with a teasing tone. I even decided to play with fire and call her by her name.

"Ehh?" Marina was immediately caught off guard by that.

"If you ask for it properly, then I will agree to send you a couple of letters." A teasing smile formed in my face due to how entertaining this was becoming.

"Hey, stop playing around. That kind of disrespect against the Crown Princess is not allowed. This could get you executed." Eliana spoke to me with a deadpan and fake threatening tone. Despite her tone, she was actually smiling. She seemed to find this situation funny.

"That's right! I'm the princess. I will not beg anyone! Even if you're my first friend, I won't do it!" Marina got indignant and didn't realize that her aunt was actually also teasing her…

"I'm not telling you to beg, I'm just saying that you could ask more nicely, you know?" I shrugged as if it wasn't my problem. "I suppose you don't really want to be in contact with someone, like me, I understand that..." I said to her with clear disappointment (fake). 

I was obviously having a blast playing around for a bit.

"It is not that! My pride as a princess will not…" Marina suddenly stopped talking before finishing her sentence. She then looked at me with a defeated expression. "Please exchange letters with me…" She muttered in such a low volume that I couldn't actually hear what she had said.

"Huh? What did you just say, Marina? I couldn't hear you." I still took my chance to tease her.

 "Please exchange letters with me!" Marina yelled while looking at me with annoyance. "Are you happy now!?"

"I am now." I smiled at her after having my fun. "It will be my pleasure to exchange letters with you, Marina." I decided to keep calling her by her name.

"Of course you will! It would be unforgivable if you didn't after I sacrificed my pride to ask…" Marina averted her gaze. However, I was able to notice that she was smiling from ear to ear.

I immediately grabbed one of her hands with the hand that had the Holy Symbol of Lia tattooed on it.

"W-W-Wait! Why are you touching a princess so casually all of a sudden!?" Marina looked at me with embarrassment.

"You still haven't agreed to our deal. I will add the part about writing letters to each other. Does the deal sound fair to you now?" I asked with a smile.

"I suppose with a condition like that it is now way fairer for both parties…" Marina tried to act with dignity but failed miserably. She still looked somewhat embarrassed. "I swear upon Lady Lia's name that I, Marina Arenela Marcel, swear that I will uphold all the conditions imposed on me and that I will never tell anyone about what was said in this room… If this oath is ever broken, I accept my punishment of eternal damnation and torture by the hands of the Goddess of Death." Just like with her aunt, some of my mana was absorbed by Marina.

A few seconds later, that mana manifested itself in the form of chains of light.

"Well, we should be good to go now." I said with satisfaction while the chains of light quickly faded away and the Holy Symbol of Lia lost all color.

The Holy Symbol didn't even leave a single mark on my hand when it disappeared, however, I knew for a fact that it was still there. Lia had told me that unless she wanted to take it away from me, the Holy Symbol would not be completely erased. It would just remain hidden.

“So, who wants to eat some more pancakes?” I said to everyone in the room in order to ease some tension and make them forget about this whole ordeal.

And just like that, I was able to survive my first encounter with the royalty of the Empire. Unbeknownst to me, I wasn’t aware of the amount of drama, crazy events, and good fortune my friendship with Marina would bring into my life in the future…

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Chapter 19: Short Negotiations…

END

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