Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

The goblin entered the marquis’ room, spitting out a thick curse. Dominic frowned. Normally foul-mouthed, the goblin seemed especially irritable today.

“How did the mission go?” the marquis asked, indifferent to the goblin’s mood.

“The mission was carried out, but I couldn’t confirm the target’s death. The mage’s sibling was quite perceptive and seemed to have jumped out of the window immediately.”

Seeing the marquis’ expression sour, the goblin quickly added, “Don’t worry. Even if they took a single sip, they won’t survive. The poison is potent enough to kill even a demon. I can guarantee that.”

Marquis Schiller, arms crossed, tapped his fingers, processing the goblin’s report. “One more thing, the young mage who was guarding the princess.”

Dominic turned his head towards the goblin. “You encountered Binaeril Dalheim?”

“Was that his name? Anyway, he attacked without warning, and I barely escaped.”

The goblin’s bloodshot eyes and tattered clothes explained the reason. Dominic sneered at the goblin. “You were beaten.”

“…The guards were closing in, and my mission was to assassinate the princess, not to engage in a brawl.”

“And you think that’s a convincing excuse in your state?”

“Listen, knight. Why are you so unpleasant? Do you think mocking me will restore your pride after being beaten by a kid? If I had fought properly, he would be dead by my hand.”

Marquis Viktor Schiller shouted, “Goblin, are you saying you couldn’t confirm the death of either princess, and your identity was exposed to their guard?”

The goblin smirked and replied, “You’re really uptight. Didn’t you hear me? The princesses are as good as dead. The guard kid is not a problem.”

“Shut up! You insolent fool. I will decide what to do. They didn’t discover I ordered the assassination, did they?”

The goblin felt a sting at those words but maintained a nonchalant expression and replied bluntly, “How would I know if they did? Don’t worry. Nothing will harm your source of funds.”

After the goblin left, Marquis Schiller grabbed Dominic. “Commander Dominic, are you fully recovered?”

“I heard you’ve been training hard since returning from Thornwinter Swamp.”

Dominic, caressing the sword at his waist, answered, “Not a single day has been wasted as I dream of revenge.”

“You know what I want, right?”

“Shall I eliminate the goblin?”

“…Not yet. But soon, there will be a need. Be prepared. I need to check the atmosphere at the royal castle.”

Binaeril was heading towards the capital, where Marquis Schiller was staying. While running, Veritas spoke to him.

-Hey, Binaeril.

‘What is it?’

– We should add a condition to our contract.

‘Suddenly?’

– Yes. I think our contract has been a bit too loose.

The contract with the Book of Truth, Veritas.

In exchange for teaching Binaeril magic, he would retrieve its pages.

– In retrospect, it’s excessively unfair.

‘You’re realizing that now?’

– I’ll add a supplementary clause. To motivate you to help me.

‘Let’s hear it.’

– As you know, my knowledge is limitless. I know everything about the world. That’s who I am. The encyclopedia of magic, the repository of researchers’ records, the totality of knowledge itself!

‘I’ve heard your boasting enough, get to the point.’

– Hmph, so indifferent. The new condition is simple. For every page you recover, I will answer any one question.

Binaeril reined in his horse and halted.

This… wasn’t a bad proposal.

No, it was rather good.

At least it wasn’t a toxic clause that would harm him.

‘What’s the catch?’

– What do you mean?

‘Why are you doing something good for me?’

– What do you mean? I’ve always been on your side. The fact that you can use magic, and have survived with your excessive mana, is all thanks to me, isn’t it?

It was true, but the tone made it hard to admit.

Veritas had a talent for making even the same words sound disagreeable.

‘Any question?’

– Yes, any question.

‘Even about the fragment Zilph mentioned?’

Veritas had never wanted Binaeril to know about the fragment.

– Of course. However, only one question per recovered page. It seems advantageous to you, but I know.

‘Know what?’

– Questions always align with the questioner’s status. Considering the ignorant fool you are, any question you ask will likely be trivial.

Meanwhile, as Binaeril was traveling to find Marquis Schiller,

Marquis Schiller had already left for the royal castle.

The attempt to assassinate the princess had quickly spread among the noble faction.

In a slightly different form.

“The second princess tried to jump off with her sister!”

Viscount Walter Hartman urgently gathered the nobles to deliver the news.

“Is it certain?”

“Absolutely! News from our spies in the castle.”

Marquis Felix Papen shivered lightly at the capabilities of the dark mages.

“How on earth? Can dark mages even control people’s minds?”

“Giving Marquis Schiller the opportunity was a good decision, Marquis Papen.”

“Are both princesses dead?”

“They are certainly in critical condition. This opportunity was crafted by Marquis Schiller!”

All eyes of the noble faction were focused on Marquis Papen.

Marquis Schiller had refused to attend the assembly and was absent.

Since Marquis Schiller was absent, the decision-making power rested with Marquis Papen.

“Good, this is our chance to seize Essen Castle without bloodshed. We will enter the castle and wipe out the remaining royalists!”

“But, Marquis, our soldiers are mostly in their territories. The troops we brought to the capital are less than one-tenth of our forces…”

“The people in the castle are in even more chaos than we are. As long as we block the castle’s knights, it’s as good as having no enemy forces. Let’s march!”

The goblin’s mission failure was causing an uncontrollable ripple effect centered around Essen.

At Marquis Schiller’s temporary residence, now vacant due to his departure,

the goblin locked himself in his room under the pretense of restocking his potions, while Dominic continued his training and guarded the house.

As the mansion settled into a quiet afternoon, a sudden commotion erupted.

“What is the meaning of this! Barging in without notice!”

“The Marquis is not here right now!”

“A mage, you say? We have no knowledge of that!”

Dominic could hear the butler’s perplexed voice dealing with unexpected visitors.

Sheathing his sword, Dominic went to investigate.

“What’s going on?”

“Captain! This person suddenly showed up, insisting on meeting the Marquis…”

Dominic’s eyebrows shot up in surprise upon seeing the visitor.

“Dominic!”

A flustered Binaeril came into his view.

Dominic stood on the second-floor balcony, while Binaeril was at the first-floor entrance.

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“How did you get here?”

“Where is Marquis Schiller?”

“…You’ve received a title and yet you don’t know your place. The Marquis is not your subordinate.”

“Listen, Platinum Knight. I don’t have time to argue with you. If the Marquis is not here, bring me the mage named Goblin.”

Dominic’s expression hardened.

‘How does he know about Goblin?’

If Goblin had contacted Binaeril, it meant some information had definitely leaked.

“I don’t know anyone by that name. What makes you think you can show your face here so brazenly?”

‘So he’s going to deny it.’

It was exactly the response he had expected.

‘Let’s see if he can keep lying when faced with the truth.’

“Goblin is not an ordinary mage. From the potions he uses, he seems to be one of those dark mages.

Goblin knew who I was and mentioned your name. He seemed to dislike you.

Also, while he didn’t reveal who his backer was, he did mention he had an ’employer.’”

“Who would hire a dark mage to harm the princesses, and who would know both Dominic and Binaeril’s names? It could only be one person.”

There was no denying it now.

“Quite the deduction.”

“Tell me where Goblin is. I have something to settle with him.”

“And if I don’t know?”

“I’ll rip it out of your mouth if I have to.”

Dominic drew his sword.

“Think you can try?”  

The two men stood facing each other, neither willing to budge. The tension between them swelled, threatening to explode at any moment.

Just then, a voice broke the silence.  

“This is touching! Hiding me like that, Sir Knight? I’m a bit moved.”  

From the guest room on the first floor, Goblin revealed himself. Dominic and Binaeril turned their gazes toward him instantly.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t know where he was?”  

“Goblin, stay put! What do you think you’re doing?”  

“He said he knows everything already.”  

“Knowing and admitting are two different things. If you keep acting like this, we have no reason to keep you alive.”  

“Don’t be so stiff. It looks like this kid came for revenge on the princess’s behalf, but he overlooked one thing.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“You’re the only one who knows the Marquis is behind this. If we silence this young mage, no one else will find out.”  

Goblin wiggled a vial of potion between his fingers as he spoke.  

“I prepared this elixir just for such an occasion.”

It was a dark, blood-red potion, far more potent than the one he had consumed during their first encounter. The aura of mana emanating from it was intense.

“Elixir?”  

“Don’t know about it? Our dark mages call these potions elixirs, made by maximizing the power contained within magic stones.”  

Binaeril didn’t know, but it was similar to the one Gospelt Louis had taken during Elfenbine’s subjugation training. These elixirs amplified the user’s mana but posed a risk of corrupting their mind.

Goblin gulped down the dark red elixir like water. His muscles swelled like balloons. The already large Goblin grew so massive that his head almost touched the second-floor railing where Dominic stood.  

“Haha, this overflowing power! Sir Knight, let’s cooperate as fellow losers!”  

The housekeepers and servants fled in terror at his monstrous size.

“Die!”  

Goblin’s enormous fist came crashing down towards Binaeril.