CH 25.2

Rumdrax’s eyes grew as if they were about to pop out.

He quickly turned to the Dragon’s Pledge and started to check the authenticity.

A paper infused with magic had a faintly different aroma depending on the time the magic was cast.

Old magic paper smelled of dewy old trees in the early morning forest. As soon as he took the Pledge, Rumdrax swore he could smell it.

However, as a fraudster, he had to suspect others to survive—and so he asked again.

“If you don’t believe it, I’ll tear it up.”

Rumdrax’s eyes widened.

“Hey, don’t do that!”

Rumdrax waved his hand.

There were two ways to verify the authenticity of the Dragon Pledge.

First by seeing what would happen if one of the parties to the contract unilaterally violated the Pledge.

While the second was by tearing up the paper.

The real Dragon’s Pledge showed a vision of the Dragon when someone tore the Pledge.

It was just an apparition, but it was so real that people who saw it would get scared and wet themselves.

“Never do that.”

Rumdrax shook his head and put the paper gently on the table.

He calmed down a little after he raised his tone earlier. Then, he folded his arms in front of his chest.

He continued after crossing his legs.

“What do you want to ask me to do?”

Rumdrax no longer questioned my identity. I was glad I didn’t have to prove myself anymore.

“Be my person.”

“W-what?”

Rumdrax burst out laughing. Then he got up from his seat while ruffling his hair.

He put on the old man mask again and picked up the wig he had thrown.

I watched him without stopping him.

His response was somewhat expected.

Zoe, Cassion, and Rupert didn’t believe me at first.

I didn’t expect him to be any different from them.

“If you asked me to find someone you can trust to be your guardian, I would help you without writing a contract out of the sincerity that you helped me out of prison. But you want me to be your person? I don’t just become anyone’s.”

Rumdrax seemed to know the Irenberg very well. Just from hearing my name, he knew about my guardianship.

He was a man of rumor, and it was a given that he had the gift of connecting things together.

“I want more people on my side.”

I wanted it, Rumdrax.

People skilled in their field were needed, but sometimes people like Rumdrax were also needed.

I was desperate for someone to create the odds for me.

‘And Rumdrax is perfect for it.’

That’s why I must have him on my side.

“I will take back my request earlier.”

Rumdrax’s eyes looked unsure.

He didn’t think I’d let him go easily. There’s no way he didn’t know that I went through a lot to get him out of the prison.

“I’m leaving, you know.”

Rumdrax hesitated when he was about to leave.

I knew this would happen.

Then, I said with a grin.

“Sure, go ahead. But let’s just do one thing together. You want to see the Kingdom’s sacred object, don’t you?”

Rumdrax swept his silver hair with his hands.

It seemed that he was about to put his hair in order to wear the wig again.

“Do you know what this Kingdom’s most sacred thing is?”

“Tree.”

I was confident in the negotiations of Rumdrax because I knew more than he thought.

Rumdrax’s hand stopped in the air like his time had stopped. Janice poured the tea into my teacup, and while I sipped it calmly, he didn’t even blink.

“The tree, its sacred thing. A wooden knife, to be exact.”

Rumdrax brought his hand to his face. The wig in his hand fell to his feet.

“Who are you?”

Rumdrax’s eyes became serious.

Have you finally decided to deal with me properly? Or did you come to hate me?

“Well, someone who knows quite a bit about the royal family? And someone who will be quite close to the royal family.”

Rumdrax’s mouth twitched.

It was a sign of him biting the bait I threw. When you got something to bite the bait, you had to pull it hard to catch the big fish.

“If you could help me in the future, I will give you the right to go in and out of the palace freely.”

It would be a tempting proposition for Rumdrax.

I didn’t know why, but he wanted that sacred object. He must go to the palace to obtain it.

I went in and out of the palace often.

For a con man like Roomdrax to enter and exit the palace, he must go through a series of processes of creating a fake identity and attracting the necessary people to help him.

It was a laborious task.

But if I married Cassion and guaranteed his fake identity, he could go in and out of the palace without question.

He returned and sat down in his chair.

“What do you ask for, my client? Let’s hear it. The Dragon Pledge is a price to listen to.”

I put the teacup down. Janice stepped back when she noticed a critical conversation was starting.

“It’s a rip-off. Put it down here, the Dragon’s Pledge.”

“Cutting to the chase, aren’t you?”

“I’m not the one who wants a high price for a request.”

I snapped back and took the Dragon’s Pledge from his hand.

“What I’m going to ask you to do is…….”

I explained calmly.

Rumdrax listened without blinking.

His mouth opened and closed.

“You want me to buy you a bank? Why don’t you buy it yourself? Buying a bank wouldn’t be a big deal if you burned me out of jail.”

“I’d love to, but….”

“You can’t let anyone know.”