Chapter 10
If she were just a normal human with no magic, Ariella would’ve already fainted from the pressure of Vepar’s dark energy.
He was clearly trying to make her pass out.
But doing that—right in front of the Demon King—was basically ignoring his authority.
‘Seriously, how has this place even been running until now?’
Ariella reacted on instinct. She raised her own magic to protect herself.
Ludwig noticed the tension and tried to step in.
“Vepar! Stop—!”
Fwoooosh—!
Before he could finish, something shocking happened.
‘Huh?’
A huge surge of power burst out from Ariella’s body.
It was an incredibly strong magical force.
Even the air around her twisted from the energy, creating strange waves.
Vepar felt it too.
‘What the—? How can a human have this kind of power?!’
Her aura was heavy, like it controlled the entire room.
Even though Vepar had lived for centuries, her power was pushing him back.
Stronger than him.
“Urgh!”
Vepar stumbled backward in shock.
Everyone in the room was stunned.
But the one most shocked of all—
‘What the heck?! What is this?!’
—was Ariella herself.
This magic was way stronger than anything she had ever felt, even when she trained in secret back in the human world.
‘Wait… this isn’t coming from me, is it?’
Even while standing off against Vepar, Ariella was able to focus on the flow of energy.
She quickly realized something.
This power wasn’t just coming from her.
It was being pulled in from somewhere else, then reshaped into her own.
It was fast. Powerful. Clean.
But where was it coming from…?
“Grrrkkk!”
“M-Milord?”
“My lord!”
Everyone turned at the sudden noise.
Ariella looked too.
“Ludwig?”
The Demon King collapsed onto the table, eyes rolled back.
* **
The Demon King’s bedroom.
Richmond raised his bony hand and chanted.
“Water Ball!”
Hundreds of tiny water drops floated in the air, then merged into one big ball.
It shimmered in an invisible hand… then dropped straight down.
Splash!
Right onto the unconscious Demon King’s face.
“Puh—Pfwah!”
Ludwig gasped and shot up, coughing.
Ariella watched the scene with mixed feelings.
He was the ruler of this whole territory, yet they woke him up by throwing water in his face?
Did they always treat him like this?
“What is this?!”
Water ran down his face and chin. His sharp jawline was dripping.
With his wet black hair and pale skin, he looked strangely… elegant.
If it had been a different moment, Ariella might’ve admired the sight.
But no. She had just watched him pass out with his eyes rolled back.
Not impressive.
“You’re awake. That’s a relief.”
Gruev, the kobold butler, sighed in relief.
There were four people in the room: Ludwig, Richmond, Gruev, and Ariella.
Ulken had gone to patrol the outer walls.
Vepar had disappeared after Ludwig fainted—clearly embarrassed after being overpowered by a human.
“Feeling okay?”
Ariella asked, worry in her voice.
“Ah… yeah.”
Ludwig nodded slowly, still dazed.
Ariella grew even more concerned.
He’s the Demon King… my contract partner… the one who’s supposed to protect me.
And yet he fainted in the middle of a meeting?
“My lord,” Richmond said, “may I take a look at your contract?”
“The contract? Why?”
“It might explain what just happened.”
Ludwig wiped his wet hands on the blanket and pulled a scroll from inside his coat.
It was the magical contract that had appeared in the air when they first formed the bond.
Richmond unrolled it and studied it silently.
He had no eyes or brain, but somehow, he could read.
Ariella, who’d once studied biology books, couldn’t help but wonder how.
Then—
“Hoooh. This is…”
Richmond let out a surprised noise.
He looked up at Ludwig.
“Did you actually read this before signing it?”
Ariella remembered how Ludwig had tried to read the contract upside down.
Ludwig replied gruffly:
“The contract only appeared after I accepted. I didn’t have time to read anything before that.”
“But the summoning circle must’ve already been drawn. Didn’t you analyze the runes and incantations first?”
Richmond stared at him.
Ludwig rolled his eyes.
Richmond sighed.
“My lord, the contract you signed… is a Guardian’s Contract.”
“A what?”
“A Guardian’s Contract?”
Both Ludwig and Ariella looked confused.
Ludwig had clearly never heard of it before.
And Ariella—
‘I didn’t read about that in any of the grimoires. Not all demon contracts are the same?’
But the book she had studied was gone now. She couldn’t double-check.
Richmond explained.
“There are different types of contracts. The Guardian’s Contract is one of the most binding ones.”
Ludwig raised an eyebrow.
“Most binding?”
“Yes. You already know that your powers resonate and grow together. But this type of contract goes further. It also shares your life force.”
Ariella was shocked too.
Richmond looked straight at Ludwig.
“This is serious. In a normal contract, if the Demon King dies, the human dies too. But if the human dies, the Demon King is fine.”
“Yeah?”
“Because usually the Demon King has the upper hand. They hold all the power, so they set the terms.”
But in this case, both lives were equal.
Ariella had drawn a summoning circle that was actually disadvantageous to the demon.
And Ludwig had signed it without knowing.
“With this contract, if Ariella dies—
you die too.”
“……!”
Even Ariella hadn’t known that.
She knew the contract forced the Demon King to protect her.
But she didn’t know the cost of failure was his death.
‘Oh no.’
The worst part?
Neither of them knew this before signing.
Ariella glanced nervously at Ludwig.
What if he tried to cancel the contract now?
But then—
“Doesn’t matter.”
Ludwig’s voice was calm.
“Nothing changes. I just have to protect you like I already planned. Like you’re my own life.”
Ariella, Richmond, and Gruev were all stunned.
Even after learning his own life was at risk, Ludwig was acting like it was no big deal.
He looked at Ariella with steady eyes.
“Do you think I’d bring someone all the way here, then just let them die? I wouldn’t have made a contract if I didn’t mean to protect you. No matter what happens. I’ll handle it. Simple as that.”
His voice was firm.
“I’ll take responsibility. I already made that decision.”
Ariella’s expression changed slightly.
‘So… he can say cool things sometimes?’
Still, she didn’t trust him completely.
Especially not after watching him faint so easily.
“Hmm. I see.”
Richmond nodded.
He raised a bony finger.
“But this must stay a secret. Only the four of us should know. Not even the other vassals.”
“Why?” Ariella asked.
“Because if other Demon Kings find out this human’s death means your death…”
“They’ll come after her.”
“One little human, and they can take your whole territory.”
Ludwig asked, honestly confused:
“Wait… are there really Demon Kings out there who want this territory?”
Richmond let out a fake cough.
“It’s possible. Just in case.”
Ludwig nodded.
“Okay. So, we understand the contract now. But why did I pass out earlier?”
The conversation returned to the incident.
Ludwig scratched his head.
“She… sucked up all my magic. It felt like I was being dragged by the collar.”
He turned to Richmond.
“Is that also because of the contract? The Guardian thing?”
Richmond shook his head.
“The contract is part of it. But that alone wouldn’t do this.”
Ludwig frowned.
“Then what’s the reason? Explain it simply.”
“I looked over the contract. There are no special magic-sharing rules. Unlike life force, magic can only be shared within each person’s natural limit. This is the same as any other contract.”
“So why did it happen?”
Richmond turned away from Ludwig and looked at Ariella.
“Because your contractor… is a very special human.”
