It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 212
“With me?”
I nodded and stepped past Halid, moving closer to Ardin.
Then, lowering my voice to a whisper:
“Would you like to make a deal with me?”
“A deal…? What do you mean? Do you require drugs or magical tools?”
“Compared to what I intend to give you, those things would not balance the scales.”
I took out the contract I had written the day I discussed Lionel and Ardin, and held it out to him.
“Read it.”
Ardin unfolded the neatly folded paper, and his eyes widened in shock.
“What is… this…”
He would not believe it.
Because what I offered was the removal of the leash that forced him into obedience to Felix Silias until the man’s death.
“That is impossible.”
Ardin said flatly.
“The history of Silias is longer than that of the Empire of Lubarque. Do you know how many mages throughout that long time have tried to break their leashes? I was one of them.”
Of course they would.
I did not think any of them lacked effort.
It was simply that I was a little special.
“I expected you would not believe me.”
I nodded calmly.
“Then let me ask one more thing. If it is proven possible, can you follow the contract as written?”
What lay on the opposite side of the scale.
That was Ardin becoming the head of House Silias and standing with us.
Ardin would have understood that intention well enough.
“That would not be difficult.”
Ardin declared that once the leash was removed, eliminating his brother Felix and becoming head of Silias himself, as well as forming a perfect alliance with Luanax, would pose no problem whatsoever.
“Good.”
I took the contract back from Ardin’s hand.
“Then get a taste of it now. After that, think and decide as much as you want. It is not something that will be completed overnight anyway.”
That was why it was a method impossible to attempt in the Capital.
Ardin had to return to Silias every day and report the day’s events to Felix.
Had we begun this back then, Felix would have tried to kill Ardin before he could gain freedom. Even a genius mage with extraordinary talent like Ardin could not disobey the head of his house. He would have died in vain.
“…Understood. Then tell me what I must do.”
“Mm… first, could you remove your shirt?”
Without complaint, Ardin took off his shirt and turned his back to me. He could guess what I intended to attempt.
On the surface nothing was visible, but right now Ardin’s spine was surely wrapped in magic twisted like snakes, filled with malicious intent.
If Felix so wished, with a single gesture he could crush Ardin’s cervical vertebrae. It was, quite literally, a leash.
Its starting point was from the head.
Since trying something on the head or neck from the beginning would be frightening, I decided to place my hand at the center of his back instead.
‘I hope it will not hurt, but I have no idea what will happen.’
“Do you need to touch him?”
Halid, who had been standing beside me expressionless as if hearing nothing, suddenly asked.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“I see.”
With that acknowledgment, Halid fell silent again.
Manifestation of divinity: Type – Healing
As I placed my hand firmly on the middle of Ardin’s back and drew up divine power, the sacred stigmata on my lower abdomen burned fiercely.
‘I struggled with whether this could even be considered a target for healing.’
More precisely, I judged that healing alone would not be enough.
Overlapping manifestation of power: Type – Punishment
The dark magic coiled around Ardin’s spine included the ability to strike back at anyone attempting to remove it, so I had to find a way to protect myself.
As if understanding my intent, God granted me a third authority after Healing and Precognition, which was Punishment.
‘I must be the only one in this world to receive this kind of favoritism.’
At least in this matter, I was certain.
In the three years I spent at the monastery, I had read every record about past popes, saintesses, and saints without exception.
Intensity of manifestation – High. Target: Ardin Silias.
When I overruled, I felt a massive amount of divine power being sucked away.
Which meant my prediction had been correct.
