Chương 4: Soul contract
"A contract?"
His expression went blank upon hearing what the woman in front of him just said. That was the reason he tilted his head while replying to that question.
What could she even mean by 'a contract'? Were they going to start some business or something? Surely not.
"Yes. A contract. To be exact, a soul contract."
He had a clue. No, it would've been much more appropriate to say that he was aware of what it was about. After all, he was the one who wrote about it in his novel.
Soul Contract. A type of contract where two people swear upon their mana and soul itself to the conditions both of them or either one of them had set.
The person violating the terms of the contract would face heavy consequences. The worst of it being death. It wasn't something that anyone could accept easily.
To Jaden, who suddenly woke up inside his novel a few hours ago, that proposal from Aliana was literally a manifestation of a death warrant.
"Let me think for a bit."
"Sure. You have one candle worth of time."
Snap
Aliana lit a candle that was present on the dining table with a snap of her finger. How was something like that possible without even using matches?
Jaden had witnessed magic for the first time in his life. Even though it wasn't something unusual for Aliana, magic didn't exist in Jaden's original world.
Wait. Wasn't this actually the second time he witnessed the magic? Jaden remembered how the water formed words to communicate with him.
Who was it that played such a trick on him? Wouldn't it possibly be Aliana who had just displayed her magic spell? That was the reason Jaden's curiosity made him speak.
"... Was the thing with water also your doing?"
Aliana knew Jaden's true identity. It wouldn't have been strange if it was her who used magic to use water as a way of communication. But his conclusion was soon rendered incorrect.
Aliana had a confused look on her face, as if she had no idea about it at all. At first, Jaden thought that maybe she was messing around, but then her words assured him of one thing.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I don't remember doing anything prior to our meeting here."
Jaden was beyond confused by her answer. Aliana had no reason to lie to him about it.
Despite the fact that Jaden had already asked her two questions a while ago, Aliana replied to his third question. That's why Jaden thought that she might reply to a fourth question too.
His glance slowly moved towards his own outfit. That was one of the things he had multiple questions about. If he had woken up in a different body, then why were his clothes the same as in the original world?
He pulled on the fabric of the jacket, which was barely visible under the blazer over it. Curiosity flooded his eyes when he spoke.
"Then... do you happen to know anything about this?"
That question made Aliana squint her eyes, trying to examine those odd-looking clothes. If she knew about Jaden, then certainly she might've had a clue or two about his clothes too.
Not accurate, yet somewhat valid. Those assumptions he was making might as well prove to be harmful to him one day, but that's a story for the future.
"Not everything... Only certain details."
Deep in his thoughts, Jaden flinched at the sudden words. The candle size had halved by the time Aliana began explaining.
The first was that the jacket would create an illusion to deceive others. They would only see the type of clothes he wished for them to see instead of the jacket.
The second fact was that it possessed the ability to revert itself back to its primary state. Aliana had just begun explaining, and Jaden was confused. That called for a demonstration.
"Try wiping your hands on it..."
Hearing those words, Jaden felt a bit uneasy. But when he tried to follow her words, the brownish-red stains that got onto his jacket vanished within a second.
The astonishment on his face had no time to even display itself properly as Aliana continued with her explanation without stopping.
"Anyway... the third thing is..."
His expression brightened up after listening to what it was. The first two abilities were indeed what one would find useful, yet the third one piqued his interest the most. What was it, you ask?
The jacket could transform into any outfit the user desired to wear. The illusion it could create was another thing when it came to it.
Not that she said it by herself, but that was all that she knew. The serene gaze accompanying the solitary silence took over the room.
Fwoosh
The bright flames of the candle that flickered a moment ago died out, leaving behind a trail of smoke. What left after that was Aliana's faint smile.
"So... your answer?"
Aliana's gaze, still unwavering, awaited Jaden's answer. She wasn't forcing him to agree to it. What she wanted was for Jaden to choose for himself.
Jaden smiled lightly at himself. Looking straight into Aliana's eyes, his smile vanished. The seriousness relayed through his body language left Aliana baffled.
"I accept."
As soon as he said that, a thread of blue light appeared from his chest. Like some illusion, it flew forward while gradually turning red as it approached Aliana.
The very next moment, it faded away with a light, sparkly flash. The fragments of red glistened in the air shortly before disappearing.
"With this, it's complete. The soul contract."
Aliana had a calm smile on her lips. The contract had been established before he could even realise it.
However, he had overlooked a grave thing. This was, maybe, the result of his carelessness, or, should we say, of being overly cautious?
"What about the conditions we should be following according to the contract?"
Jaden didn't know what terms were included in the contract. Aliana had easily led him into a trap with her sweet words all this while.
There were three conditions he had to follow accordingly. The first was that he would need to do whatever she asked of him. Basically, a sla-
When she revealed the conditions, he finally understood how badly he had messed up. But he was calm despite that. Jaden was the author of 'Light of Dragonaria'.
The soul contract was mentioned in only twelve chapters of his novel. And one of those had mentioned the way to break the contract.
The second condition wasn't really bad because it stated that he couldn't tell anyone about their conversations' details. He had no one he could go to and tell all this stuff to either way.
"Lastly, you aren't allowed to die."
Aliana was speaking as if she were angry. But Jaden couldn't have been bothered any more by how she acted. He had a severe issue to take care of. Thankfully, luck was still in his favour.
"All conditions are good. But let's still alter the contents of the contract a bit."
The contract they made was something that had such a possibility, but only within twenty-four hours of forming the pact. The first condition was most ridiculous since it might've ended up being shackles for him someday.
"Add 'Only if I find it reasonable' to the first condition."
"Fine. I allow you to alter that condition. But as we just got into a contract, it will take some time."
Aliana had already gotten what she desired. And it wasn't like she was suffering any losses here. He had asked her for only one thing, and that was his freedom to choose.
Aliana, who grew up with a harsh upbringing, knew how important it was more than anyone else. That was also one of the reasons why she ended up as a villain in the novel.
'I know that much. You know who I am, right?"
"A third-rate trash author?"
"Anyway... shall we start talking about my plans?"
Aliana said this while snapping her fingers. A red light glistened in an odd pattern. An object—no, a weapon—that Jaden recognised popped out of nowhere.
------------------
The glistening red rose-shaped hilt, along with a shiny blue blade, made the sword look fabulous. No one could possibly deny that it was a true masterpiece by some skilled blacksmith. A sword meant to go down history.
"Frozen Rose? Why do you have it...?"
He gasped, fascinated by the flashy appearance of the sword. Jaden had an interest in swords and swordsmanship even in his original world.
Frozen Rose was originally the sword used by the protagonists of 'Light of Dragonaria'. It was strong enough to cut apart the sky if a skilled swordmaster used it.
The very sword, which even demon generals feared. It was a magic sword. Making mana flow throughout it and capable of maintaining the use of magic alongside swordsmanship, the sword was something that would make anyone envious.
"I borrowed it with permission."
"From whom?"
"The person who made it."
That sword wasn't something that was supposed to exist at that place. Let alone borrowing it; even the protagonist had a hard time getting a glance at it.
Just a second had passed since Aliana had left Jaden in a jitter. How much worse could it have gotten? That's when Aliana dropped another bomb on him.
Snap
The sword lay on the table while something else filled her right hand. Jaden's face distorted after a glance at it. He recognised it with only one glance.
A gorgeous bracelet made of gold chain with a white crystal fixed to it. It's appearance would've left anyone unable to speak.
Eeeeek-!
Or at least that's how it was supposed to be... Jaden's soul almost left his body upon seeing it.
"Wha- Wha- What is that bracelet doing here-?!"
"I borrowed it. With permission, of course."
Spinning it around her index finger in the air, Aliana smiled at Jaden. If not for being taken by utter surprise, Jaden's thoughts would've leaked out.
'No. No. No. No. That isn't something you can just borrow. It's 'that' bracelet, you know-'
Tears of the Goddess. The crystal on the bracelet was a sacred treasure for forest elves. It could heal any wound, injury, or disease.
The elves never gave it to others. Even when the protagonists asked for it, they were kicked out of the forest within a few moments.
"And just how did you manage to borrow these two treasures?"
"Oh. Well, that's... I took them and left a note saying that I would return them later."
Aliana put on a silly look on her face and continued smiling. Jaden's lips were left gaping due to the loss of words.
'Isn't that plain stealing...?'
His expression stiffened like never before. He kneeled down on the floor before even realising it. That's just how absurdly precious those two items were.
Aliana looked out the window nearby. It was too dark outside. The light from the chandelier in the dining room was falling out through the glass.
Aliana and Jaden's reflection was slightly visible on the window pane. She stared at the reflection of Jaden getting up from the floor. Putting the bracelet beside the sword, Aliana spoke.
"Never mind minor stuff, and listen to my plan now."
'Minor stuff, you say?'
Jaden knew how much of an impact these two items could have on the world. The sword was more than enough to slaughter a whole nation if it were to fall into the hands of some madman.
While the bracelets' abilities were so good that they could help heal people on the verge of death, people trying to covet it won't be any less.
"You know what Jaden's age is as of now?"
"No idea, I suppose."
"It's 17 years. Same as me."
Aliana said this while pointing at herself. If he had to count his own age, then mentally he would've been twenty years old. What Aliana said about his physical age sounded like nonsense to him.
"And what's that got to do with your plans?"
"16 years is the legal age for marriage in this world."
Aliana walked a bit away. Jaden saw the ends of her dress fluttering in the air as she turned around.
"...Sorry? ...Come again?"
"What I was saying is, getting proposed to by your hidden lover on their birthday sounds good, right?"
"Propose? Hidden lover? Birthday?"
His face went pale with no expressions while bombarding those questions. All he could wish for was for it not to be reality.
He would've preferred two minutes of silence over the answer Aliana gave him. That wasn't what he had in mind at all.
"Yeah. Proposing, you will be. To me. You are my hidden lover, or you can just take it the other way around. It's your birthday. You will be turning 18."
The brightest smile on her face made him lose track of his own thought process. The monologue continued without even letting him time to get himself together.
"And it's tomorrow. Same day as Crown Prince Lenon's birthday."
Aliana walked up close to Jaden, whose right eye twitched a bit, trying to process the absurd conversation.
"That's just a part of my plan."
A grin surfaced on her face as her index finger slowly touched Jaden's chin. She calmly pushed it upward while speaking with an enthusiastic tone.
"We both are going to steal the show."
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
AbyssKun00
AbyssKun00 When one smiles, the other cries.
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