IRLDM 03

Chapter 3:………………………………

 The Contract Is Formed

Leon Riefmann stared blankly at the scene before him, unable to erase the disbelief from his expression.

Fwoosh.

Blue flames burned brightly—
and at their center, a small hand.

“Hah.”

Leon sucked in a short breath without realizing it.

So that’s how she got through the traps…

When the traps surrounding the tower began to deactivate one by one, Leon had sensed that something extraordinary had intruded upon the tower.

In truth, the traps weren’t of his own making. The tower had once belonged to an ancient magic knight.

Because of the magic left behind by its original owner, traps would spring up everywhere unless the intruder possessed tremendous magical power. They were troublesome enough that even Leon himself had struggled to avoid them when he first entered the tower.

“…What the hell.”

Yet the one who dismantled all those traps and appeared before him was… a tiny woman. One who seemed to possess not even a speck of magic.

Then the tower must have detected the magic she was hiding and removed the traps on its own. With power this immense…

Leon sensed an overwhelming magical force radiating broadly around her. The fact that she had managed to conceal such power at all was astonishing.

Magic granted only to a chosen few nobles… and a mere maid possesses it?

Leon stepped back and slowly scanned the woman from head to toe.

Black hair fluttering loosely, shining violet eyes, skin so pale it seemed almost translucent, and slightly parted red lips.

Once he truly took her in, everything about her—previously dull and colorless—suddenly became vivid.

“I can do anything. Whatever it is. So please, help me.”

Until then, Lowell had silently endured Leon’s conflicted gaze. As she withdrew the flames from her hand, she finally spoke.

“I don’t know why, but I’ve been able to use magic for some time now. I never learned it properly because I didn’t feel the need to… but now I do. Desperately.”

Leon’s unfocused gaze sharpened again as it locked onto her.

“…And what do I gain by helping you?”

“I’ll give you my magic. You need magic, don’t you?”

Lowell replied without missing a beat.

“…What?”

“You were expelled from the knight order recently, weren’t you? For acting independently. And because of that, you were disgracefully cast out of your family as well.”

At her fearless words, which struck directly at his rawest nerve, a flash of anger crossed Leon’s face. Catching it instantly, Lowell hurried on before he could truly explode.

“So—please make a contract with me. Teach me magic. In return, I’ll give you my magic.”

Just as Leon’s reason was about to be swallowed by rage, her final words pulled him back.

“You want revenge, don’t you?”

At that, memories from the summer one year ago replayed vividly in Leon’s mind.

“Leon Riefmann! Return to formation immediately!”

“We’re almost at the plains! We can wipe out the monsters all at once!”

“Riefmann! If you don’t return at once, you’ll be punished under military law!”

“Vice-Captain Riefmann! Please stop and ret—”

Whoosh.

“AAAGH!”

While Leon was lost in those memories, Lowell quietly observed his rapidly darkening expression.

She knew exactly what kind of person Leon was.

After all, you’re a character from my book.

Tall at a glance, with a well-built physique, gleaming silver hair, and deep blue eyes—

This man, in perfect balance, was Leon Riefmann. The villain of her novel.

Facing him like this, details she had long forgotten began to surface one by one.

In the original story, he gathered power for revenge, eventually resorted to forbidden magic, fell into corruption, and was ultimately executed by the awakened protagonist.

That’s the kind of person you are. Someone who will do anything to achieve your goal.

“You were wronged, weren’t you? It wasn’t even a serious injury. But just because the knight who was hurt while trying to stop you happened to be the emperor’s cousin, you were expelled in retaliation.”

Leon’s eyes shook violently.

And Lowell didn’t miss that moment.

“So absorb my magic. If you gain merit with that strengthened power, who knows? You might be able to return to the knight order.”

She’s right.

The thought flashed through Leon’s mind. With that much magic absorbed, dealing with a few monsters would be effortless.

It wouldn’t just be reinstatement—I might even aim for knight commander…

Only then did Leon properly meet Lowell’s gaze.

She stood surrounded by uncontained magic, yet wore an expression utterly innocent—completely mismatched with her power. As strange as the contrast was, the chaos in Leon’s mind began to settle.

“…You want me to teach you magic.”

At last, Leon spoke.

“Yes!”

Leon looked down into those sparkling violet eyes. He felt as though he were being drawn in—but truthfully, there was no real disadvantage to him.

It was difficult to believe that someone with such immense magic didn’t know how to use it properly, but that wasn’t his concern. All he needed was her magic.

“What’s your name?”

Staring expressionlessly at Lowell’s bright smile, Leon asked in a flat voice.

“Lowell.”

“Your family name?”

“I don’t have one. I was an orphan hired by Duke Heinstein’s household.”

“So just Lowell.”

“Yes.”

“That’ll be easy to remember.”

Snap.

As the brief exchange ended, Leon snapped his fingers. A scroll and pen appeared in midair.

“Wow.”

“This is a magic contract. An absolute one. Once you sign, it can never be undone.”

Leon spoke dryly as Lowell blinked in fascination.

“I don’t mind!”

In stark contrast to Leon’s tone, Lowell’s reply was brimming with energy.

“Up—!”

She rose onto her toes to read the floating scroll. Since it hovered at Leon’s eye level, the text was hard to see.

Clicking his tongue in mild annoyance, Leon waved his hand, lowering it to her height.

[‘Party A (Leon Riefmann)’ and ‘Party B (Lowell)’ hereby enter into the following contract:

Article 1. Party A may absorb magic from Party B up to a level Party A deems sufficient.
Article 2. In exchange, Party A shall provide Party B with knowledge of magic.
Article 3. Both parties must faithfully fulfill their obligations. Failure to do so shall render the contract null.]**

“I’m Party B?”

“Obviously. Did you think I’d be Party B?”

“Hmph. Fine.”

Lowell narrowed her eyes briefly at Leon, then lowered her gaze. After carefully reading every line, she signed the contract.

Fwoosh.

The scroll ignited the moment she set the pen down.

Thus began an irrevocable contract.

“That makes it official. I look forward to working with you.”

As the scroll vanished completely, Leon smiled in what he considered a friendly manner and extended his hand.

But as Lowell looked into the blue eyes burning with a desire for revenge—despite the curved smile—she felt a sense of unease rather than warmth.

“Likewise.”

Still, that unease wasn’t enough to undo the hard-won contract. So her lips curved gently as she took his hand.

“Let’s sit and have some tea. To celebrate a fine agreement.”

After the handshake, Leon gestured to a corner of the room.

Where he pointed stood a Gothic marble table, standing alone with artistic presence among dusty bookshelves.

“Sure.”

Though the mismatch between the room and the table felt strange, Lowell said nothing and headed over.

I didn’t notice earlier because I was tied up—but this place is huge.

When Leon left the room, Lowell sat in a plush chair that looked just as out of place as the table and surveyed her surroundings.

Layer upon layer of bookshelves filled the space, packed tightly with countless magic tomes.

Though dust covered the shelves, the spines of the books were polished smooth—clear proof they’d been read again and again.

A moment later, the door creaked open and Leon returned.

“This was what I had in storage.”

Sitting across from her, he used magic to brew the tea instantly.

“By the way—where did you hear about why I was expelled?”

As a sweet aroma filled the room, Leon lifted his teacup and asked.

“…Huh?”

Lowell, who had been staring at the books, turned to him awkwardly.

“The matter with the Riefmann family aside, what happened inside the knight order was classified. How did you know?”

“Uh… the market?”

She panicked internally but managed to answer without hesitation.

“The market?”

“Well… rumors circulate there, don’t they?”

“So my story was circulating in the market.”

“…Yes.”

Lowell smiled awkwardly and reached for her cup.

“Nonsense.”

Leon immediately refuted it, forcing her to withdraw her hand.

“Huh—?”

Her voice cracked.

“Ahem. Why… do you think that?”

Avoiding Leon’s sharp gaze, she fixed her eyes on the teacup.

“It wasn’t the market. That damn Lannistan spread it.”

Leon spat out the knight commander’s name with venom. Lowell looked up, catching sight of his jaw clenched in rage.

“Petty bastard.”

As Leon muttered about tearing everything down, Lowell felt inexplicably guilty toward “Lannistan” and laughed awkwardly to herself.

“…Haha, I see.”

She swallowed the truth—that she knew because she had written it—along with her tea.

“Come to think of it, your hair color is unusual.”

Leon, finally calmer, noticed as Lowell lifted her cup.

Moonlight streamed through the window, glinting off her deep black hair.

“Oh, this?”

Lowell lifted the tip of her hair.

“Yeah. I was born with it. Strange, right?”

In this world, people had hair colors like a painter’s palette. Black hair was actually the rare one.

Your silver hair is far stranger, if you ask me.

She thought, glancing at Leon’s gleaming hair. It paired strikingly well with his sharp brows and strong nose.

“……”

For a while, only the clear sound of teacups meeting saucers filled the room.

“Ah—right!”

The long silence was broken by Lowell’s sudden shout.

“…?”

Leon looked at her in surprise.

“I forgot something important!”

She carefully set her cup down on the table. A clear clink echoed across the marble.

“Let’s get married.”

“Pff—!”

Leon immediately sprayed his tea across the table.

“Ah! Are you okay?”

As Leon coughed violently, Lowell searched frantically for tissues.

“…W-What did you say?”

“Huh? Oh—I said let’s get married.”

What in the world is this woman saying?

As Leon flushed in shock, his gaze landed on Lowell—who looked calmer than anyone in the room.