Chapter 227 – Contract
I asked Sophia, who was looking down at me with cold eyes, with her back to the moonlight.
“When did the hypnosis wear off? I didn’t feel anything like that at all.”
Then, Sophia, who was sitting on my body, surprisingly answered my question obediently.
“You hypnotized the soldier when you escaped from Elven Wood, right? That was right then.”
“Indeed.”
Only then did I realize that I had made a fatal mistake in my haste.
They overlooked the fact that when hypnotism was used in front of a hypnotized person, defects could occur in the delicate technique.
A room filled with strange tension.
I asked Sophia.
“So what are you going to do now? Are you going to kill me?”
Then Sophia did not answer right away.
No, it would be correct to say that I couldn’t do it.
Her initial hypnosis that I put on her was ‘dependence’ and ‘love’.
That’s probably why you’re hesitant.
Just because her hypnosis is broken doesn’t mean the emotions she felt will disappear.
Sophia, who had been silent for a long time, asked with a trembling voice.
“Why did you do that? Why did you keep me alive until the end when you asked me to kill you?”
I looked straight into Sophia’s eyes and said.
“Because I felt like I could have you only if I did that.”
“Lies.”
“I’m not lying. You were essential to my plan.”
I said that and lifted my right hand to stroke her cheek.
Then Sophia, who was crying, was startled and strongly slapped my hand away.
“… Don’t touch me.”
“Okay. Surrender, surrender.”
In response to her low growl, I raised both my hands in a surrender sign.
“If I had known this would happen, I would have included a clause saying that you cannot attack me when writing the Geass Scroll.”
“Are you kidding me in this situation?”
“No, I’m serious. I never thought the hypnosis would be broken like this.”
The hypnotism book created by the reincarnated dwarf Nakamura was so complete that it was treated as a banned book.
The person who created it probably didn’t even assume that it could be used on a 6th rank mage.
“So what are you planning to do? Are you going to kill me and leave this house now that the hypnosis is broken?”
“That’s…”
Sophia hesitated in her answer.
And it wasn’t hard to guess why she did this.
Even though the hypnosis has been broken, the memories remain.
And it seems that the time she spent with me wasn’t as bad as she thought.
Because she never had a real family of her own, she willingly made me and other people become her family.
“Let’s be honest. You had many chances to kill me and get away with it. But you didn’t.”
At first, she was dependent on Prince Tippetarius to save her from her hellish life.
That’s why he tried to somehow fulfill the role given to him by Prince Tippetarius.
Because that was the very reason for his existence.
However, through her hypnosis, I changed the object of her dependence to me, and her obsession and twisted affection for her prince slowly transferred to me and her family.
If I had really treated her like a slave, she would have betrayed me at this moment without any hesitation.
But the fact that she didn’t do that was like proof that she could no longer leave my side.
“Sophia, aren’t you hesitating right now? Should you kill me or not?”
The moment I asked that question, Sophia, who was holding the blade to her neck, closed her eyes and obediently admitted.
“You’re right.”
Then he thrust the blade he was holding at my neck even harder.
“That’s why I thought I had to kill you even more.”
The tension suddenly rises again.
The sharp blade penetrates, and a drop of red blood falls down the nape of the neck.
I asked a question, feeling cold sweat forming on my back.
“Why did you come to that conclusion?”
From the context of the conversation, it seemed like there was no reason to kill me?
But Sophia’s answer to this question was surprising.
“Because I am a hero.”
She declared so.
“I can confidently say that I have reached the limit that a talented human being can reach. However, even I, who had trained myself so well, could not avoid succumbing to you in the end. So, if I cannot kill you here and now, then in the future Isn’t this synonymous with saying that there is no more hope left for humanity and the heroes of the future?”
“… So you’re going to kill me?”
“Yes. That’s my mission as a warrior.”
I looked up and asked Sophia as she said those words.
“Then why are you crying?”
It was hard to see her face because her hair cast a shadow, but she was clearly crying.
“… I hate killing you too, but someone has to do it.”
Transparent tears flowed down Sophia’s white cheeks as she said that.
It’s truly an instantaneous moment.
I swallowed my saliva out of nervousness and opened my mouth.
“If that makes you angry, you can kill me. But can you handle it?”
“… What?”
“The moment I die, Oz will literally turn to ashes and disappear from the map without a trace.”
My life has long since ceased to be mine alone.
If I died here, it was clear that at least two – no, three people would go crazy to seek revenge.
If that happens, Ozma will definitely be finished.
“…”
Perhaps because my words were so realistic, Sophia pursed her lips.
I thought it was time to give her one of her suggestions.
“So let’s make a contract with me.”
“… Contract?”
“I will make this country, Oz, a better country for people to live in than before. If what I say is a lie, you can watch from the sidelines and kill me.”
“Are you willing to risk your life?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s not reasonable. If I knew you, I would have made a more detailed plan…”
“But they won’t believe you if you don’t bet this much, right?”
Although I’ve only been with her for less than a year, I knew that she would trust me only if I did this.
And fortunately, this bold bet worked, as the blade that was pressed against her neck was completely drained of its strength.
“Okay. Let’s make a contract, Kaldrashu.”
Sophia said as she withdrew her blade.
“But if the day comes that you betray my trust, I will cut off your head without hesitation.”
To hide my nervousness, I nodded with a bold smile.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Rather, it was what I hoped for.
***
‘I took ten years.’
After somehow successfully persuading Sophia and sending her down to the first floor, I shook off my heart that was pounding with fear.
To be honest, persuading her on the spot was almost like a gamble on her part.
Even as Sophia’s mind was becoming exhausted due to the constant torture, she had a very cruel personality and continued to reject my attempts to appease her for three months.
In the middle of the night, thanks to Sophia, I suddenly fell asleep and got out of bed and changed my sweaty clothes into new ones.
‘It didn’t seem like he really had any intention of killing me.’
If you were planning on killing me somehow, you would have done it while I wasn’t awake yet.
But she waited for me to wake up, and we talked for quite a long time.
In other words, from the moment he woke me up, the control of the story was already handed over to me.
“Sseu-eup-“
To prevent scars from forming on my neck, I applied toad ointment to the long cut and laid down on the bed again.
“I’ll have to rework the protection spell from scratch.”
So far, we have only considered intrusion from the outside, but have not considered intrusion from the inside at all.
To be honest, although this case is a special exception, I couldn’t help but feel a chill in my stomach when I thought that I had neglected my guard and almost died without even realizing it.
How many hours had passed since I started counting the stains on the ceiling and devising a new protection method?
When I realized that the sky outside the window was getting brighter, I fainted as I realized that I had been worrying all morning and couldn’t sleep at all.
***
When I opened my eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky.
“What happened? You overslept.”
When I went down to the first floor with shaky steps like a zombie, Dorothea, who was eating a chicken sandwich for lunch, asked that question.
“I just had a hard time sleeping in the early morning.”
“Really? Then have a cup of morning coffee.”
Dorothea said and held out the cup of coffee she was drinking.
Since I was already in need of caffeine, I didn’t refuse her kindness, so I downed my cup of coffee in one go, looked toward the living room, and asked.
“What about Camilla and Sofia?”
“The two of you went out to buy groceries earlier. It’s almost time to come back.”
A normal conversation, no different from usual.
But what happened last night was not a dream.
“I’ve been there.”
Did you say that even tigers will come if you tell them?
At that moment, the front door opened, and Camilla and Sofia, wearing maid uniforms, entered the house. As she naturally made eye contact with Sofia, she spoke with her mouth.
‘You know the secret, right?’
It looks like life will continue to be risky for the time being.
