The relationship between the royals, the nobles, and the wizards maintained a precarious balance.

Because of the curse placed upon the royal family, almost all direct royal lineage members had no choice but to contract with wizards, which was the root cause. This led to wizards gradually being granted power. Those who sought to befriend these newly empowered wizards, and those who utilized their magical power for personal gain naturally emerged, solidifying the wizards’ support base even further.

On the other hand, the wizards were originally commoners—and since magical power was an innate trait akin to a mutation, occasionally a wizard was born into the noble class, but such instances were extremely rare, and there were none powerful enough to be truly noteworthy. Because of this, not a few nobles found it highly distasteful to see them acting like powerful elites after gaining authority. There were those who openly antagonized the wizards, and many who, while pretending to be close to them, slandered them behind their backs.

Therefore, the current reality was that both the nobles and the wizards were carefully dealing with one another, maintaining a facade of intimacy while keeping each other in check.

Some royals and nobles were inextricably linked to wizards like needle and thread, and whenever there was an event at the palace and the nobles gathered, the wizards contracted with them naturally accompanied them. Whether it was a major event or a small one, it was common to see at least a few wizards wherever you went…….

“The Guild Master never shows up even for major events.”

Isaac muttered. Though it was not a loud voice, Brick, standing next to him, nodded.

“They say he was practically mad about magical research since he was young. That’s why some people say it’s actually a relief. Imagine how much more of a headache it would have been if a wizard contracted with the King had openly lusted for power and shown political ambition. But why him all of a sudden?”

Instead of answering Brick’s confused question, Isaac scanned the inside of the Grand Hall. In this spacious area where nearly a hundred royals and nobles were seated, with their escorts, attendants, and royal guards standing by the walls, there were naturally more than a dozen wizards visible as well.

Since attendance at the regularly held monthly State Council meeting wasn’t mandatory for the nobles, there was no way the Guild Master would naturally come to a place like this. And yet, the reason Isaac found himself scanning the room to see if, by any chance, that man was visible was because the Guild Master’s crest was so vividly etched into his brain.

Isaac looked at the Prince, who was sitting on the right side of the King, who was seated dead center at the very front of the Grand Hall. Sitting with his usual expressionless face, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“…….”

The Witch of Roberni is dwelling within the Guild Master’s body.

The Prince likely already suspected this fact as well. If so, given the Prince’s personality, there was no way he would wait long. Furthermore, the witch would have also realized that the Prince had caught on to her. He had to make a move before the witch could run away.

If there was one saving grace, it was that finding the next body for the witch to transfer into wouldn’t be easy, and that she couldn’t simply slip out of her current body without securing a new one; that was about it.

Finding a human body for a witch to comfortably dwell in was no easy task. Not only must it be compatible with her cursed energy, but it also needs a minimum amount of magical power to contain her. This inevitably requires the person to be a mage. However, the higher the rank of the mage, the more deeply they understand the price to be paid for a contract that exchanges both body and soul. Because through their research and use of magic, they are the ones who know best the dangers and horrors of a magical contract.  

For the witch, finding a mage willing to enter into such a contract—one that leads the soul to destruction—is no simple matter either. At least, it cannot be done in a day or two. Unless she already has a target bearing cursed energy nearby. No, even then, unless that person harbors a desire so intense that they would risk their own destruction, it remains difficult.  

Therefore, while it is not an urgent matter requiring action every second or minute, neither can one simply sit back and do nothing.…… And he would not do that, either.  

“Confronting the Wizard Guild is both foolish and troublesome, isn’t it?”  

Isaac spoke again, and once more, Brick nodded.

“You can say that again. Even though he’s the King right now, he wouldn’t be able to just casually dismiss them.”

Right. That was exactly it. In a situation where the wizards’ power was strong enough to bring down flying birds, no matter how much the Prince received everyone’s awe, he couldn’t rashly attack the Guild Master.

‘No, who knows……, knowing him, he might just storm in and slash the Guild Master down……. I’m actually terrified he might do just that.’

Just thinking about it made the future look so bleak that Isaac hunched his shoulders.

“But I guess even the Wizard Guild has caught a streak of bad luck; there have been a lot of incidents lately that make them lose face. Like what happened yesterday.”

Brick muttered. Isaac looked at him, puzzled.

“Why, what happened yesterday?”

“Huh? Ah. You don’t know? Tsk, tsk, being stuck in the Blue Shadow Palace has really slowed down your news intake. I’m talking about Lord Ruoden. He gave his contracted wizard a severe beating.”

Isaac blinked at Brick, wondering what on earth he was talking about now.

Lord Ruoden was the eldest son of the King’s second brother, making him the King’s nephew. Although he was known to have a somewhat fiery temper, he was generally magnanimous, highly sociable, and quite brilliant, thus holding a solid position in the palace in his own right. Most importantly, he was famous for treating his people exceptionally well, making him definitely not the type of person to harshly treat the wizard he was contracted with. Let alone give them a beating.

“What happened to make him do that?”

“I don’t know the exact reason, but apparently, his contract with the wizard was temporarily broken. Just a couple of days ago, on the night of the new moon, of all times.”

Isaac flinched, furrowing his brow.

The night of the new moon. That meant Lord Ruoden must have had to endure that horrific pain in its entirety.

“Maybe he was in so much agony he felt like he was going to die, because he started violently stabbing his own body with a knife, turning his entire room into a sea of blood. Seeing that, his attendants were terrified out of their wits and hurriedly brought the wizard, so it didn’t last too long, but in just over an hour, Lord Ruoden’s hair turned completely white and he became skin and bones.”

“So…….”

“Yeah, so the moment he regained his senses, he was so furious that his hair stood on end, he lost all reason and just started beating the wizard right then and there.”

Isaac clicked his tongue. Well, it must have been a pain beyond imagination, so it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand the sentiment, but,

“You know how incredibly prideful wizards are. To give them a beating in front of people……. It’s only because the Court Wizards take an oath of loyalty not to harm the royal family when entering the palace that they didn’t retaliate, otherwise, Lord Ruoden would have had nightmares for a long time.”

“Right. Plus, the wizard he’s contracted with is famous for having pride that pierces the sky and being incredibly arrogant.”

“Who was it again?”

“You know, the genius wizard who was taken in as the Guild Master’s adopted son. The one who got his arm sliced off by Prince Kyan not too long ago.”

Only then did Isaac remember the young wizard he had seen a few days ago.

Even now, what clearly came to mind were those eyes that harbored nothing but pure resentment, devoid of any light, as he turned to leave that day. Even thinking about it again, they were eyes so pitch-black they made his spine tingle.

“That man……? But why was the contract suddenly broken?”

“Who knows. Even the wizard himself said he stubbornly endured it even though he knew he was at fault. According to the people who witnessed that scene, the wizard’s eyes were so terrifying, but he still wiped the blood off Lord Ruoden with his own hands and took care of him.”

“After that, once Lord Ruoden had calmed down, he apparently sent the wizard a gift as an apology, but who knows,”  Brick shrugged lightly. Then, with a look that clearly showed it was bothering him, he frowned.

“But you know, is it normal for a contract like that to just break one-sidedly?”

Isaac glanced at Brick, who seemed to be pondering something, and answered, “Well.”

“Why.”

“No, it’s just that there have been talks that the wizard’s behavior has been a bit strange lately.”

“……? Strange in what way.”

“He’s become noticeably quieter than before, and his expression has darkened significantly. A wizard who is close to my older brother mentioned in passing that the demonic energy (Sagi) hovering around him has grown so thick it’s worrisome. So it’s been weighing on my brother’s mind too.”

“Well, my brother is someone who makes a big deal out of the smallest things, so I just assumed that’s what it was,” Brick clicked his tongue lightly. True to those words, perhaps because Brick’s brother, Brown, held the position of Vice-Captain of the Royal Guard, he was a delicate individual who paid attention to even the most minute details; it was a running joke among the guards that you only needed to listen to a tenth of Brown’s worries.

“…….”

Isaac let out a heavy sigh. Somehow, he didn’t have a good feeling about this.

A magical contract cannot fundamentally be broken unilaterally by one side. To break it unilaterally, there must be an overwhelmingly stronger magical interference, or you must possess something that can act as a substitute for the other party, usually something close to the essence of life, like a piece of their body or blood—or, one side must die.

Even though it was a small voice, sensing that the presence behind them was bothering him, a minor official sitting right in front of them glanced back. Both of them quickly feigned ignorance and stared straight ahead with solemn faces. As usual, the State Council meeting was proceeding without any special agenda.

Isaac could see Lord Ruoden sitting some distance ahead in the Grand Hall. Just as Brick had said, his hair had turned completely white, and he looked at least ten years older than when Isaac had seen him previously. It was a terrifying pain that snatched away even a person’s vitality.

Right in front of Ruoden, in the very front seat of the Grand Hall, sat the King, who always gave off a gentle, round impression, right in the center. Next to him was the Prime Minister, who looked strict but good-natured; the Secretary, who always looked peaceful; and the Prince, who looked languid, completely devoid of any expression.

‘I really don’t know. I really don’t know what he’s thinking.’ That made him even more nervous and fearful. If it were just someone he saw from afar like this, he would just appreciate the living sculpture and feel warm inside.

“Mmm……, even looking at him again, Prince Kyan is blinding just to look at……. If he could just sit there doing absolutely nothing, I couldn’t ask for more.”

Brick muttered next to him. Like Brick, Isaac replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the Prince.

“What are you talking about. The poems and songs praising the young hero who returned after suppressing the magical beasts on the border will resonate throughout the capital for the next hundred years.”

“……That’s because those people have absolutely no reason to serve him directly.”

‘That is true……, but even so, as the person currently serving him directly, I can’t exactly say ‘he shouldn’t do anything,’ Isaac thought, inwardly agreeing with him. Brick shot a quick glance at Isaac.

“So. Are you safe?”

That subtle question sounding deeply meaningful wasn’t just his imagination. Isaac frowned slightly and glared at the bastard.

“I am perfectly safe!”

“You don’t look safe to me?”

Brick’s gaze blatantly swept over Isaac here and there. His gaze staring openly at the bandages wrapped tightly around his arms and legs was stinging.

“No, this is just……, anyway, I’m safe. Plus, Prince Kyan didn’t even do this.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that the Prince had absolutely zero responsibility for him walking around wrapped in bandages like this, but Isaac just clicked his tongue and vaguely glossed over it. Although he had been walking around wrapped in bandages since the day before the new moon when he escaped the burning warehouse a few days ago, there were no actual wounds underneath. Most of them were just the completely useless bites given by those cats who only ever ran their mouths and pissed people off, though they did provide the only real help in healing the wounds quickly. But he couldn’t exactly show up perfectly fine the very next day after being battered to a pulp, so he had been keeping the bandages on continuously.

“Right, if Prince Kyan doesn’t like someone, he just chops their head off; he doesn’t exactly leave them half-dead. But since you showed up battered like that, people are…….”

Brick trailed off, his words slurring. Looking at him with a strangely suspicious gaze, Isaac, who had become somewhat out of touch with the rumors since he started working at the Blue Shadow Palace, pressed him.

“People are what.”

“…….Saying that Prince Kyan secretly favors you.”

The look in Brick’s eyes as he asked this was incredibly dubious. Isaac’s jaw dropped, and he blinked before hunching his shoulders. Hearing such wildly unexpected nonsense made his spine tingle.

“What kind of bizarre rumor is that.”

“Why. They asked where you went when you were out of sight.”

“…….Uh, exactly once. That time during break when I dozed off under the tree shade like a crazy person.”

That happened just yesterday, and the rumor had already spread that far. This palace was already famous for that, but rumors truly travelled fast. Isaac scrunched his face.

No matter how close it was, running around inside the palace searching for cats had made him exhausted. Plus, perhaps because the tension had finally released, sleep came pouring over him heavily after lunch. So he thought he’d just close his eyes for a moment until the end of his lunch break, and ended up lying in the shade of a tree in the backyard. Even as he closed his eyes, he never imagined that the first thing he’d see when he opened them would be the yellowish sunlight of late afternoon.

He was devastated. Unbelieving, he was so confused he didn’t know if he was currently opening his eyes and dreaming, or if he was still asleep without even opening his eyes. Aside from the fact that he felt incredibly refreshed and light after taking a perfect, sweet nap…….

He practically flew to the Prince’s office, panting heavily, thinking he was a dead man. The Prince was indifferent to everything around him and paid absolutely no attention to what his subordinates did, but he was never lenient toward someone neglecting their duties.

‘Why didn’t anyone wake me up? Just what kind of punishment is going to fall on me?’ Isaac, entering the office with a complexion turning blue, met eyes perfectly with the Prince, who was flipping through a bundle of papers.

‘I’m sorry. I just closed my eyes for a moment…….’

To Isaac, who was standing rigidly at attention and speaking, the Prince simply looked at him silently. But that expressionless gaze only lasted a brief moment. The Prince soon dropped his gaze back to the papers, and that was it. He didn’t say a single word, continuing to review his work as if nothing had happened. And Isaac stood there stiffly, wondering when the thunderous scolding would fall, agonizing over whether it would happen after that paper bundle was flipped, or the next one. Until the day had completely darkened, and the thick bundle of five stacks of paper had all been flipped through, and the attendant came to announce that dinner was ready.

Even after that, absolutely nothing happened, and Isaac had been following him around, carefully studying the Prince’s mood ever since.

It was an incident from just yesterday, but looking back on it now, he felt like it wasn’t a big deal after all. It wasn’t the Prince’s personality to put off tasks, nor did he hold grudges. Furthermore, when he went to the dining hall for dinner, Isaac had grumbled to the Head Attendant, who was stealing bizarre glances at him, asking why he hadn’t woken him up because he had completely misjudged the time. The Head Attendant had waved his hands wildly and made excuses, saying he had tried to wake him up.

Apparently, only after the Prince, who was reading in the study, closed his book and looked around, asking, ‘Where is the escort?’ did the Head Attendant realize Isaac was missing. During the palace maintenance, he had been busy talking with the underlings and lost his mind for a moment. He was so startled he shouted, ‘I saw him taking a nap earlier……, I will send someone to find him immediately!’ To which the Prince, gazing out the window at Isaac sleeping under the tree for a moment, simply said, ‘Forget it. Leave him be,’ and that was the end of it.

Still, the Head Chamberlain agonizing over whether he should wake him or not, ultimately strictly obeyed the Prince’s command without missing a single syllable——and thanks to that, preserving his life until now, also ended up just leaving Isaac be. And the result was Isaac’s incredibly sweet, deep sleep, sprawled out clueless to the world until late afternoon.

“So why did he just leave you be……?”

Brick mumbled, continuously tilting his head with a dubious look in his eyes.

“That’s what I’m saying……. But what does it matter if he was just dissatisfied with it, huh……?”

If this weren’t the Grand Hall right in the middle of a State Council meeting, he would have grabbed this bastard by the collar. Thinking that, Isaac glared at Brick with the whites of his eyes showing.

“No, rather than dissatisfaction, it’s just too strange. Prince Kyan isn’t the type to do that…….”

“He’s not the type to do what—of course, I don’t think he is either, but—still, he can be surprisingly generous to his subordinates.”

“……Even if you say that, Isaac, think about it. If someone neglects their duty like this, even if he doesn’t kill them, he’s the type to just coldly say, ‘You don’t need to come back starting tomorrow.’”

“While you were wrapped in bandages and wandering around, I can see why people might think that. Wondering if Prince Kyan has taken quite a liking to you.”

“What does wandering around wrapped in bandages have to do with him taking a liking to me?”

What kind of bizarre logic was this? Isaac looked at Brick in disbelief, and Brick, returning a look of equal disbelief, gave him a scolding rebuke. “Why has this guy, whose head usually spins so fast and catches on quick, become so dense?”

“Think about it. He doesn’t eliminate you, and he doesn’t pay you any mind; he just leaves you be, even if you get hurt, without getting rid of you. Don’t those two things have exactly one thing in common? You don’t know?”

While listening to Brick click his tongue, a lightbulb finally went off in Isaac’s head. He finally understood what this guy was talking about. Isaac’s face instantly rotted.

“So what you’re saying is…….”

“Where did the people who used to be his favorites go? It’s because of him that their bodies got ruined and they resigned.”

“Moreover, you went to the Blue Shadow Palace as an escort in the first place—which everyone perfectly understands means ‘paramour’—right?”

Brick, carefully explaining step-by-step, suddenly lowered his voice.

“Now, so just tell me the truth. What’s the real story?”

“…….You guys placed another bet, didn’t you.”

When Isaac asked bleakly, Brick smiled brightly instead of answering and patted Isaac’s shoulder. He did.

Isaac methodically ground Brick’s foot with his heel and turned his gaze back to the front. He didn’t even look back at the sound of a silent scream from beside him.

It was something he already knew, but there were far too many words and far too much talk within this palace. He didn’t even know how many baseless rumors, mixed with speculation and conjecture, circulated. If it was a rumor about a highly famous or prominent person, a simple sneeze on the street would often be distorted into them catching a terminal illness. Let alone if it was about that Prince.

I guess by now, somewhere in the palace, I’m already known as a masochistic favorite whose mistakes are forgiven because he takes Prince Kyan’s sadistic tendencies with his whole body…….

Isaac lightly pressed his head, feeling a sudden headache coming on, and cast his gaze toward the front of the Grand Hall.

Even without saying a word or making a single movement, that sculptural man, who caught the eye more than anyone else, was sitting expressionlessly, resting a hand languidly on his temple.

“Honestly, if a person is that good-looking, they transcend gender. I can say with absolute certainty that I have zero interest in men and only like women, but sometimes when I look at Prince Kyan, I think, ‘If it’s with him, I could probably sleep with him.’”

Wondering what kind of nonsense Brick, muttering in the same direction as Isaac, was spouting now, Isaac obediently nodded his head. “Mmm, I suppose that’s possible.”

Isaac himself often found his gaze stolen by the Prince. Since he could openly look at him so often, he thought being the Prince’s escort had its perks. Although he never thought about intertwining it with the idea of sleeping with him, …… Well, sleeping with him…….Yeah, that’s definitely a no. The agonizing impact on his lower half would be far too immense.

Imagining it for a brief second, Isaac shook his head vigorously.

“It would be nice if he were just a bit gentler……. But then again, there would probably be plenty of people who would volunteer to be Prince Kyan’s bed partner. His looks aside, given his background, there are plenty of people harboring admiration for Prince Kyan.”

When Isaac muttered regretfully, Brick tilted his head dubiously, saying, “Well.”

“Isn’t the issue his size? That’s not a problem that can be overcome by goodwill alone, you know.”

“No, still, if he just did it a bit gently and wasn’t so rough, somehow or other…………. I mean, not ME!!”

Isaac, turning his head, felt the piercing stares coming from beside him and corrected his posture. However, Brick’s suspicious gaze didn’t easily fade.

“You said you were practicing with a sausage.”

“…………………”

Isaac closed his eyes, feeling like he was vomiting blood. He wondered exactly where and how this baseless rumor was circulating. No, he wasn’t curious. He absolutely did not want to know.

Looking at Isaac, who was pressing his dizzy forehead in distress, Brick suddenly spoke seriously, patting his shoulder.

“I don’t have those kinds of hobbies at all, but buddy, for the sake of the camaraderie we’ve shared working together for so long, I could lend you my physical body once for your safety.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN LEND ME, YOU CRAZY BASTARD! I’D RATHER JUST USE THE SAUSAGE!!”

Without even realizing it, Isaac had seized Brick by the collar.

The Grand Hall fell silent. Realizing too late, when he came to his senses, the eyes of everyone in the room were focused on the back. Isaac’s face, frozen in the posture of gripping Brick’s collar, even met the Prince’s gaze.

‘What do I do about this…….’

The stinging gazes of the people were one thing, but the vivid blue eyes staring expressionlessly in this direction were even more terrifying. His heart pounded even harder as the topic he had just brought out in the open was what it was. Cold sweat trickled down.

“What is going on back there?”

The Prime Minister, who was conducting the meeting, raised his white eyebrows and shouted.

‘Oh boy, this suspension was clearly meant to be,’ Isaac straightened his posture, steadying his darkening vision. Even amidst all this, the whispering sounds reaching his ears—’A Royal Guard? No, an escort? Whose escort?’, ‘Ah, that guy. You know, Prince Kyan’s…….’, ‘Ah, the very…….’—were incredibly bothersome. Seeing the gazes instantly shift to sympathy and pity after that ‘the very’, he felt he didn’t even need to hear what came next to know what it was.

But right now, that wasn’t the problem. Whether he received a suspension or some other punishment, what did it matter; causing a disturbance among the Royal Guards and escorts during a State Council meeting was a serious slight against the higher-ups. It wouldn’t be strange at all if that Prince chopped his neck clean off on the spot for this.

“What affiliation are you?”

The Prime Minister spoke again, bearing a look of fury. Even in this situation, Isaac didn’t change his expression, but he broke into a cold sweat as he felt the Prince’s gaze directed this way. But faced with the aggressive pressing of the Prime Minister, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut forever, so he slowly, rigidly opened his tightly frozen lips.

“Blue Shadow Palace, direct escort to Prince Kyan,”

It was right when Isaac squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.

Right at that moment, it happened.

Suddenly, a painful, choking sound like ‘Guh-uck’ echoed. It was from the front of the Grand Hall. While people’s gazes were turning toward it, the sound of something heavy collapsing, thud, followed.

The man who had been sitting in the front row of the Grand Hall had collapsed. It was Lord Ruoden. Grasping his throat as if suffocating, his face turned blue as he gasped for air.

“Lord Ruoden!”

In a flash, the inside of the Grand Hall erupted into chaos as people flocked around Lord Ruoden. In the ensuing commotion, Isaac, who had escaped the people’s gazes, also turned his eyes in shock.

Grasping his neck and wheezing, Lord Ruoden’s eyes were half rolled back in his head. A hastily summoned physician knelt beside him and examined him. Finally losing consciousness, a faint crest briefly flashed and vanished on Lord Ruoden’s forehead.

The faint, silvery crest that seemed to be drawn with light powder flashed for only a few seconds, but it was ample time for the countless gazes focused on him to notice it. And many of those people knew what it was.

“The contract is…….!”

The contract was broken.

The contract made with the wizard.