The duke awoke with a jolt. He realized he was no longer in the forest or near the cliff as he looked around. He was in an old, run-down room. The walls were constructed of wood, and the bed he was laying in resembled a commoner’s bed. With each movement he made, a creaking sound came from the bed. The room had a tiny fireplace, which gave it warm and cozy air. Then his gaze was drawn to the exterior of a little window on his left side. The sky has already taken on a crimson and orange color.

‘It was probably dawn at this point.’ As he clutched his head, the duke contemplated. His recollection of the previous events was vague. One of his knights had fallen down the cliff, which was the last thing he recalled. Shortly after that, he felt a searing ache in the back of his neck, and everything went dark.

.

“Your grace, Duke Bartje Taleba, you’re awake.” He turned to face the source of the remark. A hooded figure sat comfortably on a wooden chair in the center of the room, near the door. The duke couldn’t tell the figure’s gender because they were wearing a white mask and a hood that fully concealed them.

The person who spoke was accompanied by two other individuals. They were simply standing next to the person who was sitting. The one on the left had a towering building, while the one on the right had a smaller one.

“Who are you and where am I?” The duke said this with caution in his voice. He looked for anything that could be used as a weapon or a spot where he could flee if things went wrong.

“Duke, calm down. We will not hurt you.” Malaya remarked quietly as she gazed at the Duke. Seeing the Duke up close gave her a prickly sensation within. The duke had the same fiery red hair as his son, Kristopher. ‘I definitely despised him for every reason. However, it is not yet time for him to get his retribution.’ Her heart thump with fury remembering the day she took over the body of Malaya.

Malaya’s voice became calmer as she continued to talk. “We have been summoned by the Saintess to assist you. We’re going to aid you in reclaiming your fief, Duke.”

“The Saintess?”

“Yes.” Malaya took out the golden ring she had received from Hyun Jae. The duke’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the ring. The appearance of the saintess’ seal was generally recognized throughout the empire. Not only that, but any magician who saw the ring would immediately sense the little unique quantity of divine Lifa emanating from it. Making them realize immediately right away that it was the Saintess’ seal ring.

“As you are aware, your son, the young lord Kristopher, has developed a strong friendship with the saintess at the academy. As a response, the Saintess requested that we assist you at any costs.” Malaya elaborated.

The Duke looked at the three with skepticism. However, because of the ring the middle hooded person carried, the credibility that they were the Saintess’ people grew stronger. Not only that, but if the saintess could leave her seal ring to them, it appears they were a far closer ally to her. ‘For once, that useless son of mine has done something good.’ The duke couldn’t help but smile when he thought about it.

‘To receive the Saintess help at a time like this, the goddess of light surely still favored him. The influence of the Saintess is no joke. If she willed it, she could also affect even the decisions the emperor made.’ The duke thought as something on his mind started to develop. ‘It would be great if my son would become much closer with the Saintess after this.’

If Malaya heard the duke’s thought, she would probably snap and give a duke a much greater punishment than what cruel plan she had already in mind. But now, she just looked at the duke who was muttering things and grinning at the same time. ‘Did he finally become crazy?’ Malaya thought as she observed the duke. Then it suddenly turned to them once again, after finishing whatever he was dwelling upon.

“Can I see the faces of the people that will aid me? It’s not that I don’t trust you and I completely believe that you came from the Saintess herself.” The duke said. “I just wanted to know the identity of the people who will help me so that I could thank them properly after all this chaos where done.”

Malaya smirked behind her mask, although the duke couldn’t see it. “Then if you completely believe us, there is no need for you to see our faces duke. But if you insist, when we take back the Taleba duchy once again, we will gladly show ourselves. But you will probably get surprised if you see us.” Malaya stood up from her chair. 

“It’s alright then!” The duke tried to shake off the sudden heavy atmosphere by laughing it off. “If you don’t want me to know your identity, it’s alright for me too.” 

“Then we have a deal now duke.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. We will help you and in exchange, you don’t need to know our identity aside from the fact that we are people that came from the Saintess. Will that be alright with you?” Malaya asked.

“Is that all you needed from me?” 

“Actually there is one more thing.”

The duke looked up to Malaya’s words. His eyes squirmed a little. But since all of them were wearing hoods and masks, he couldn’t make out or read the expression they were making.

“What is it?” The duke said calmly.

“It’s very simple. When you regained your duchy, I would like to have an honest answer about some questions and one request until I’m satisfied.”

“Questions and a request?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. It will not do any harm to you or to anyone close to you probably.”

The duke’s brow rose at Malaya’s last remarks. ‘Probably?’

Malaya brought out a scroll from her sleeves and opened it. “This is the contract for our help. If you agree with our deal, you could sign this up.” Malaya reached out the scroll towards the duke.

It’s the same as the conditions that Malaya stated before. They will help out the duke but they will not expose their identity to him until everything was over. Plus the questionable things that they want to ask and request at the end of the agreement. If one failed to comply with the conditions of the contract, they will receive a divine punishment from the goddess of light.

That’s quite a heavy punishment. In this world, whenever one makes deal with contracts such as this, whatever punishment one set for the contract, they will actually receive it if one failed to comply. Making deals with contracts is not a joking manner since your life will be put on the line.

“For the time being, I can’t tell you what questions and the request I’ll be asking. But, because we’re going to assist you in reclaiming your position and territory from those slaves, that’s not such a horrible deal, is it, Duke? In comparison to us, you have a lot to lose if you don’t act right now. You probably understand what I mean.” Malaya stated this as she stared at the duke, who was clenching his teeth.

‘They were right, compared to them, I have so many things to lose.’ He glanced at the contract he was holding. ‘No matter how you look at this, there is something that feels off with the contract. But…’ The duke then bit his thumb making blood flowed out from it. Then he stamped it in the contract.

“I agree with the terms in the contract.” He said as he reached the contract back to Malaya. ‘If he could regain his fief and wealth then maybe he could do something if there is something off with the contract.’

Malaya was completely grinning now inside her mask. She brought out a dagger from her hilt at her back and slice her thumb making a small drop of blood emerged from the cut. Then she stamped it on the contract.

The contract glowed before it disappeared in the air.

“Thank you for your cooperation duke,” Malaya said when the deal between her and the duke was sealed.

“When will we act?” The duke asked.

“You don’t have to do anything duke.” Malaya said. “Just sit back here and be safe.” 

Rein opened the door for Malaya. “The reclamation of the main city will begin when the sun rose at the highest peak today,” Malaya said as she turned around.

“They all shall be heading now to the main city at this time,” Malaya added as she made her way out of the room. She glanced at the sky that was starting to become bright now. ‘Sigh. With all this unexpected revolution my workload increased. After this, I think a one to two-day break will suffice for me.’