it wasn’t clear if the target was calrad, the whole of viseltium, or a third party she had no idea of, but it seemed certain that it originated from malice rather than in good faith.

    ‘then it’s not a bad thing for me either.’

    she didn’t believe in love at first sight. louis franto certainly had no feelings for her, that she was sure of. he just thought of her as a tool to achieve his own needs. seira thought it was even more advantageous if that was the case.

    ‘i’ll have to play with him accordingly,’ she decided.

    it would’ve been awkward if it was someone who had feelings for her, but there was nothing to worry if that wasn’t the case. she was going to pretend that she was head over heels in love with him with all her might. even louis would surely be fooled. and then…

    ‘it will gradually reveal itself.’

    someone hoping for askan’s downfall would eventually emerge. to cut off and disrupt the alliance she and louis created.

    seira smiled brightly and looked at louis.

    “all you have to do now is to sign this.”

    “i see.”

    nodding, louis took something out of his pockets. seira presumed it was the duke’s seal, but her eyes widened as she saw what was in his hand.

    ‘no way… no way!’

    “why do you look so surprised? this is essential if we are to pretend to be lovers.”

    seira couldn’t hide her awkward expression as he put his hand over hers.

    “please look at this and always think of it. we share the same thing now.”

    the ring he put on his finger was studded with a transparent crystal like that of a diamond.

    “this is a magic tool,” she said as she studied the ring at a closer distance.

    the amount of mana she could see was unusual. the color, even the way it was concentrated was different.

    “that’s right.”

    his eyes folded as he laughed after putting a similar-looking ring on his finger. it may differ in size, but everyone would definitely notice they were the exact same pair.

    “i think this will please you more than jewelry.”

    that was a fact of course. if it had been a simple piece of jewelry, she would’ve taken it off as soon as she entered her bedroom, but this would be stuck to her as if they were one.

    “thank you, louis,” she smiled at him, trying to regain composure from her earlier blunder, “i really like it.”

    “i’m glad to hear that.”

    he looked down at her contended expression, unable to take her eyes off of the ring.

    “but now that you have that, you know what to do, right?” louis asked her as he rose from his seat.

    “what to do…?” seira asked, wondering what he meant.

    “we need to finish testing before we sign the contract,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “aren’t you curious how much power this black rubble has?”

    “ah…!”

    at his words, seira jumped from her seat and quickly followed him. as louis said, the test was a procedure that was the heart of why they were signing the contract today.

    * * *

    “do i always have to do this? no?”

    in front of them was a glass tub filled with sticky liquid. to be honest, she was very reluctant to go inside and try to use her power to see if losses were minimized.

    ‘isn’t that the beast’s blood?’

    the color was different, but its texture was similar when she touched it slightly.

    louis gave her a reassuring smile and answered her embarrassing question, “of course. it’s the most efficient method, so it’s much better to use when you are in the ecliptic.”

    seira tried her best not to cry and loosened her gown.

    “it’s not toxic nor poisonous…” louis told her, “should i go in first if you are still hesitant?”

    “no,” seira shook her head, “it’s not because it looks dangerous…”

    she just didn’t like dipping herself in an unknown liquid. heaving a long sigh, seira took off her gown. she walked in with only her underwear covering her private parts.

    ‘this is for askan’s revival,’ she told herself, ‘now is not the time to be bothered covering myself up.’

    even though the room was relatively warm, seira shivered and got goosebumps. perhaps it was because louis’ eyes were observing her as his test subject.

    deciding to get it done and over with as quickly as she could, seira sat down in the glass tub until her shoulders were soaked in the suspicious liquid. it felt slightly cold, but gradually turned lukewarm after soaking her body in it.

    ‘well… it’s not so gross after all,’ she thought to herself.

    it was quite manageable considering she was buried in what may look like odorless and colorless mud. louis connected a cube containing black crystals at the end of the tub and approached her curiously.

    “how is it? do you still feel uncomfortable?” he asked.

    “yes, well… it’s not that bad after all,” seira admitted.

    “then i’ll hop in too. i’m going to take off my robes,” he said and then raised a playful brow, “i think it’s better you don’t look.”

    “…?!”

    seira stared at louis, and soon understood what he meant after a while.

    as his upper body got exposed when he took off his robes, large and small scars were slowly revealed. like that of a pure-blooded alpha, it wasn’t difficult to fully appreciate his perfect body covered with dense muscles.