Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

“Do we not need to exchange more greetings?”

“It’s fine.”

Binaeril substituted a brief nod for a farewell to Rike.

“Father, did you hear the speech? I was moved. The Second Princess is so impressive.”

“I heard it too. And now, you should call her Your Majesty the Empress.”

Lady Vivian was quite talkative in front of Duke Dux.

It was understandable why he doted on his daughter.

They were preparing to depart for the duchy.

“Do you know how to ride?”

“A little.”

“That’s fortunate. We couldn’t prepare a carriage for the hurried trip to Essen.”

“Father, what about me?” Vivian asked.

“It will be uncomfortable, but you will have to ride with me, Vivian.”

Vivian showed a displeased look.

“I don’t want to. You’re too fat, and there’s no room.”

“F-fat…fat, you say…”

Duke Dux made a face like a hurt young girl.

Sylvia ran out of the castle, calling Binaeril’s name.

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yes. The coronation is over, so there’s no reason to stay.”

She pouted, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

“Your tone… Did you properly greet Her Majesty?”

“More or less.”

Binaeril was not a citizen of the empire. He didn’t need to observe the strict formalities for the new Empress.

The baronial title granted by Charlotte, the First Empress, was more of a courtesy.

“I’ll miss you.”

“Don’t be weird.”

“Not me, Her Majesty! Her Majesty asked me to tell you.”

“Rike did?”

“She didn’t say much earlier. Tell her I will miss her too.”

“And this.”

She took off the necklace she was wearing and handed it to Binaeril.

It was a Miao tribe necklace she had received from Sori in Hoenberg.

“Why this?”

“It’s a token of my gratitude. I’ll be buried in paperwork helping Her Majesty, so you’ll need it more.”

“There’s no need. Just take it.”

She personally put the necklace around Binaeril’s neck.

A mysterious spirit energy could be felt. It might have been just his imagination, but he felt lighter.

“…Thank you.”

“I’m just lending it to you. Return it later. And make sure to properly greet Her Majesty next time.”

Binaeril smiled as he replied.

“Understood.”

The two waved hands in place of a formal farewell. For some reason, he felt a prickling at the back of his head.

Vivian was staring at Binaeril with a peculiar expression.

“Father.”

“I will ride with Sir Binaeril.”

“W-what?”

She needed no one’s permission.

Vivian walked over and extended her hand to Binaeril, who was seated on the saddle. For a moment, he didn’t understand, but then he realized and took her hand, helping her up onto the saddle.

Duke Dux looked at his daughter with a complicated expression, a mix of shock, anger, and betrayal.

“Alright, let’s depart!” Vivian’s loud proclamation signaled the start, and the procession began to move slowly.

As they left the royal castle and exited Essen’s outer walls, the procession started to pick up speed. The grand scenery of Essen quickly faded into the distance.

Another demon fell to the flying magic bullet.

“Graargh!” The massive orc, standing at a height of two meters, looked down at its pierced chest in disbelief before collapsing.

“Whew…” This was their third battle since leaving Essen.

Around Binaeril lay the bodies of orcs, each with a cleanly pierced body part.

“Y-you’re amazing, Sir Mage!” Sir Baron, one of the Duke’s knights, sheathed his sword and spoke with genuine admiration.

“Is it over?”

“Yes. Out of the twenty orcs, you alone took down more than half of them… We took care of the rest.”

Under Duke Dux’s command, they were making their way to the duchy as quickly as possible. Naturally, they traveled less on the main roads, which led to more frequent encounters with demons.

But in the three battles so far, there had been no fatalities. Less than a dozen soldiers had sustained minor injuries. It was a miraculous outcome.

“These demons just keep appearing, tireless. Baron, casualties?”

“None, sir.”

Duke Dux, appearing weary from the battle, emerged.

“Again?”

“Yes, this time as well…” Sir Baron pointed to Binaeril.

It was astonishing that the young mage was handling demons that would typically require several knights.

“Sir Binaeril.”

“…You’ve done well.”

“No, I’m just earning my keep.”

Binaeril replied nonchalantly.

‘At this rate, he’s more than earned his keep,’ thought Duke Dux, striving to conceal his emotions. Though he had met a few mages on the battlefield, none were like Binaeril. He generally distrusted mages in battle; they often needed time to chant spells and could endanger their comrades despite that.

But Binaeril was different. When a fight broke out, he would dive into the front lines, drawing all attention and efficiently taking down enemies with swift movements and effective spells. His performance was enough to change Duke Dux’s perception of mages.

‘It’s no empty talk that he guarded the princess,’ he thought, noting Binaeril’s young appearance and age.

“Let’s rest for today.”

“Are we camping?”

“Yes, we’ll camp here tonight.”

Binaeril entered the tent set up by the soldiers and let out a long sigh.

Though Binaeril had volunteered to take on the dangers for the safety of the troops, it wasn’t without difficulty. Every moment of battle with the demons was a life-and-death situation, and the mental strain was significant. Despite this, Binaeril always charged to the front lines, driven by his own training.

Reports about Yunnaeril Dalheim made Binaeril anxious. He didn’t know the extent of his brother’s power and could only speculate based on his reputation as the Sword of the Order and Knight of Salvation. The only person he could compare him to was…

‘Dominic Schiller.’

Binaeril pushed himself on the battlefield, thinking of Dominic. How did Dominic slay the demons? Did he dodge or attack? Was he faster? At times, Yunnaeril’s image overlapped with Dominic’s in his mind.

As he washed his face with water brought by a soldier, Binaeril calmed the excitement from the battle. His hands trembled from the extensive use of mana. He was tired, but he had gained something—Sylvia’s Miao tribe necklace. It had made his movements more agile. It was thanks to this necklace that he could keep up with the Duke’s army’s forced march and evade attacks in the midst of demons.

“…!”

Eden, as always, appeared with a familiar, affectionate expression and nestled in his hand. Binaeril felt his ability to handle Eden had also grown. Managing Eden’s assistance while using magic was a daunting task for him, so he had given Eden a single, autonomous command: ‘Protect me.’ Eden faithfully executed this order, often shielding him from unavoidable attacks. Binaeril finally felt he had mastered handling Eden.

With the Miao tribe necklace enhancing his physical agility, magic bullets for close combat, the power of Veritas for wide-area magic, and Eden for solid defense, Binaeril was steadily improving. Yet, he still felt it was not enough.

Someone spoke from outside his tent, interrupting his thoughts.

“Sir Dalheim? Are you there?”

“Yes. Come in.”

It was Sir Baron, one of the Duke’s knights.

“Sorry to disturb your rest.”

“It’s fine. What is it?”

They hadn’t spoken much, but Sir Baron was a calm and earnest knight, trusted by the strong-willed Duke Dux to stay by his side. Despite his usual demeanor, Sir Baron hesitated, looking at Binaeril nervously.

“Feel free to speak,” Binaeril encouraged.

Taking a deep breath, Sir Baron finally spoke, “Sir Binaeril, would you be willing to duel with me?”

Binaeril was taken aback.

“A duel? With you, Sir Baron? Did I offend you in some way?”

A knight’s challenge to a duel was a life-or-death fight, usually thrown at someone they bore a grudge against or who had insulted them. Reflecting on his actions, Binaeril couldn’t recall having done anything wrong.

‘Is he upset because I took too much credit for slaying the demons?’ Binaeril wondered. Baron quickly corrected himself.

“Oh, no! Not a duel, a sparring match. I misspoke.”

“A sparring match?”

“Yes. I’ve been impressed watching you fight. I know it’s improper to ask a guest of the Duke for such a request, but if you wouldn’t mind…”

Binaeril finally understood why Baron was so hesitant. He wanted to test his skills but was concerned that asking Binaeril, who had been working hard in battle and was a guest, might be seen as disrespectful. If Binaeril were a more authoritative or inflexible person, he could have reported this to the Duke immediately.

“Alright. Feel free to make such requests without hesitation.”

“Th-thank you!”

Baron bowed deeply, looking grateful.

“What’s wrong, Vivian?” Duke Dux asked as Vivian burst into the tent where he was resting, calculating the remaining distance to the castle.

“Sir Binaeril, Sir Binaeril!”

“What about Sir Binaeril? Has something happened?” The Duke jumped up from his seat.

Had Binaeril collapsed? The Duke had thought he might be overexerting himself in the recent battles with the demons, but he had seemed fine when they returned to the camp.

“No, Sir Binaeril is having a duel with Sir Baron!”

The Duke dashed out to assess the situation. Had Baron done something wrong? Knowing Baron’s character, it was unlikely he had acted arrogantly or looked down on Binaeril. So, was it Binaeril?

A group of soldiers had gathered at one side of the makeshift camp.

“What is happening here!” The Duke’s shout made the nearby soldiers shrink back.

“Why are they dueling? Why wasn’t I informed?”

But contrary to the Duke’s expectations, the atmosphere wasn’t tense.

“Your Grace, it’s not a duel. I requested a sparring match with Sir Binaeril. I didn’t think it was significant enough to report…”

Understanding the situation, the Duke scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.

“Hmph, so it’s a sparring match, not a duel?”

Vivian had used the term ‘duel,’ but she hadn’t meant it as a fight to the death.

“Why create such misunderstandings? Did you request this?”

“Yes. Sir Binaeril graciously accepted.”

Binaeril, smiling awkwardly, nodded at the Duke.

“Ah, I see.”

The Duke, who had been about to turn away, decided to sit down instead.

“Your Grace?”

“I’ll watch. Go ahead with the sparring. Sir Binaeril, is that alright?”

“I don’t mind.”