Chapter 16: Jester’s Contract.

I entered the meeting room. Luxurious and peaceful as always.

And there she was.

Seles Von Valenthrone. My fiancée.

Brown hair cascading over her shoulders, green eyes glowing with self-importance. Her posture screamed elegance, grace and control.

She looked delicate—almost fragile. The kind of girl a cold-hearted knight might die to protect.

Or so the Original Rael believed. In reality? She was a bitch.

Her nose was slightly crooked, her eyes radiated entitlement and that expression—pure Karen energy.

If you asked me to rate her beauty? A generous 2 out of 10. And those two points were only for the curves she had.

That’s it.

I never understood beauty anyway. I judged people by how they acted.

And Seles?

She acted like royalty at a pig farm.

Still, that didn’t mean I hated her.

Not really. Hating was a grand word. I just found her annoying as I remembered all the memories of the previous Rael.

I remembered all the fake sweetness.

How she used to twist her words like vines around his neck.

“Rael, I saw this bracelet today. Not very expensive, just… exquisite?”

And Rael would nod like a trained dog. Hand over money, enchanted silks and rare perfume—whatever she wanted.

There was also how she used to put on her noble airs and treat Stella like a rag on the floor.

All because she could.

And Rael?

That bastard just stood there. Like a background character in his own life.

Seles had even slapped Stella. Right in front of him once.

Why? Because she didn’t like the way she bowed.

And Rael?

He apologized to her.

To Seles. Not to Stella. He apologized to the one who threw the slap.

I remembered how Stella just stood there, holding her cheek, blinking away the sting like she was used to it. And she probably was.

And Rael still claimed to care about her.

A man who couldn’t even protect someone he cared about.

Pathetic.

Even now, I could see Stella, standing behind Seles. Her light pink eyes had lost their usual shine. And her face—her pale cheeks—was red.

Not just flushed. Red. Like someone had slapped her.

I could already guess what had happened.

Tsk.

My lips turned into a grin as I took a seat on a couch opposite Seles. Her green eyes locked onto me, scanning me like a predator.

“Hey, Sel.” I gave her a small smile.

Seles’s gaze didn’t waver. “I need to talk about something important.”

At those words, Stella turned to leave—quiet and professional as always.

I let her. The door clicked shut behind her.

Seles inhaled just a bit too dramatically.

“I want to break our engagement.” Her tone was soft, like she was forcing calm over something that wasn’t.

I had to give it to her—this girl could act.

Then again, which woman couldn’t?

But I wasn’t about to fall behind.

So I acted too… just a bit more dramatically. I drew in a shaky breath. Let my hands tremble just a little. Widened my eyes like I’d been stabbed in the heart.

“Wh–what are you talking about, Sel…?”

Perfect.

Man, I was getting good at this. I mean, I wasn’t bad in my last life either, but now?

Now I was a damn Oscar winner.

Probably thanks to my class. I mean, who else is better at fooling people than a jester?

Seles didn’t drop the act either.

“Please… just forget about me.” Her voice was low and then—

Yep, there it was.

She started sobbing.

Honestly? I was kind of jealous. That’s a skill right there.

Girls could just cry and poof—insta-victim. Even if they had stabbed a man fifteen times, the crowd would be like, “Aww, poor girl. That guy must’ve tripped and fell on her knife. Multiple times.”

But I couldn’t let myself get distracted.

So I matched her tone. “Why… why do you want to break the engagement?”

“Please, Rael… The Patriarch himself asked me to convince you.” Her voice trembled with tears. “Can you please… ask your father to annul our engagement?”

Ah. There it was.

The last puzzle piece clicked into place.

I already knew she wanted out of this engagement.

So why hadn’t the Valenthrone Patriarch just contacted my father directly?

Why bother sending Seles?

Why the acting?

But now it made sense.

The entire Empire knew I was being sent off to the Demon Academy—a glorified death sentence.

If the Valenthrone family broke off the engagement now, it’d look bad. Real bad. Like they were abandoning a sinking ship.

Like they never believed I’d return alive.

So instead… They wanted me to break it.

That way, the story becomes: Rael loved her so much, he let her go for her own good.

Hell, if they spun it right, they could even squeeze a fat sum from my father for “compensation”.

What a load of bullshit.

This fucking bitch.

Still, I didn’t let anything show on my face. “Okay… I’ll do it. Just for you. For my love.”

I felt an urge to die from cringe at the exact moment those words left my mouth. But I controlled myself.

This was an opportunity I could use.

I slid one hand into my pocket, tapping my AetherLink once — stopping the recording.

I didn’t need to save what was coming next. This much was enough to make sure I never owed her a single damn coin, even if I broke the engagement.

Just a little insurance.

Seles smiled weakly. “Thank—”

“But before that…” I cut in, standing up from the couch.

I walked toward her, slow and casual. “I need you to do something for me.”

Seles stiffened. Her hand came up slightly, instinctively — like she thought I was talking about something else.

As if I would even be interested in her. So, I ignored it.

“You know my family won’t take this lightly,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “Especially since I was the one who begged for this engagement.”

It was just bullshit.

I knew my father. If I wanted to break the engagement, no one could really do anything.

Even those fucking old geezers of the elder council. But I didn’t need to tell her that.

Seles blinked. “Then… what do you want?”

I gave her a gentle smile. The kind of smile that looked sweet if you didn’t know it was laced with poison.

“Nothing serious. Just a small gesture,” I said, tilting my head slightly. “You see, if I break the engagement, my family is going to demand compensation. Proof that I didn’t get manipulated.”

She frowned. “So…?”

“So I need something I can show him. Something valuable.”

Her eyes narrowed, already cautious.

“What do you want?”

“Give me The Crimson’s Tear.” My voice was low.

“No. I can’t do that. Grandpa won’t allow it. It’s his most prized possession ” Her rejection was immediate and didn’t leave any room for complaints.

But who would I be if I backed down here, right?

“You don’t need to ask for permission, Sel… sneak it out just for a day. I promise I’ll return it as soon as my father signs the annulments.” My voice probably sounded like the whispers of the devil to her.

I mean, Seles had the potential to be really smart… But right now, she was still immature. She hadn’t really seen how harsh the world can be.

She was still trying to prove herself.

To her grandfather. To the patriarch.

She wanted to show them she could handle this on her own.

And people like that—the ones chasing validation—were really easy to manipulate.

This was just… a little lesson.

As for returning it after a day?

Well… we’d see about that.

Seles still hesitated, her brow twitching.

Why was she this cautious?

She knew Rael—at least the old one. A fool who’d probably set himself on fire if she cried hard enough.

And yet… she was still hesitating.

Smart girl. Too smart for her own good.

So I gave her a little nudge. “Don’t you trust me, Sel?”

Ahh… the classic line.

Haven’t used it in a while.

And I won’t lie—

I missed it.

“I can even sign a soul contract… guaranteeing I’ll return it,” I added, keeping my voice low and sincere.

That got her attention.

She didn’t trust me but she trusted the soul contract. Like everyone else in this world did.

If only she knew how easy it was to fake one.

Not that anyone else knew either.

It was a trick discovered two years from now—completely by accident.

Apparently, if you soak a freshly written soul contract in a mix of blacktail lizard essence and stallion’s milk for a day, it loses its binding power.

The contract looks the same. Same glow, same mana pulse—at least to low-ranked Resonants.

But the binding? Useless.

As for how I knew exactly what to mix… it was simple.

The information was there in Noah’s original novel but so buried and vague that no normal reader would’ve connected the dots.

I only remembered the details about it because when I butchered that novel to make a game, I slipped in that mechanic as a hidden Easter egg.

Just for fun.

Something for the nerds who liked to break systems.

Black-Tail Lizard essence and Stallion’s Milk.

Noah didn’t provide the description of those monsters specifically, so I had to get creative. I forced my inner artist to sketch out designs, stats, loot tables—everything.

I don’t know if the monster would look the same though.

Well anyways, I’d spent the last five days forging nearly a hundred of those little gems. Just in case.

I mean, who wouldn’t exploit that kind of info?

In this world, people trusted soul contracts more than they trusted their own blood. That kind of blind faith was practically begging to be abused.

But of course, these fakes weren’t perfect. Anyone above C-rank could recognise it easily.

But Seles? She was barely F-rank.

She didn’t even have the knowledge that something like this could be possible.

“Okay…” She agreed reluctantly.

Perfect.

I took out a red button from my pocket. And tapped it lightly.

A few seconds later, Stella arrived. Her cheeks had returned to normal. She bowed politely.

“In my room—third drawer of my study table. There’s a high-rank soul contract. Bring it to me.”

Stella didn’t even question why I would need that… But I could see the concern on her face as she left.

It didn’t take long for her to bring the soul contract.

I wrote the terms on it myself. I wanted to pull out something like Duke Astravore… writing a contract in the air. But that was something exclusive to high-ranking individuals.

So, paper and ink it was.

__

I, Rael Von Ashborn, promise to return the treasure The Crimson’s Tear to Seles Von Velathrone immediately after the marriage between us is annulled or within 24 hours, whichever is earlier.

_

Seles read it once, then nodded.

I channelled mana into the contract. A faint glow shimmered before it was absorbed into my body.

She did the same.

But I didn’t feel anything.

Of course I didn’t.

I wasn’t being reckless here, trusting blindly in something Noah probably wrote on a whim.

I tested it properly.

The first time I forged a fake contract, I experimented with it. Not on some innocent person.

I used a convict. The one guy who was caught for the most heinous crime.

He didn’t die—well, not from the contract anyway. The man was hanged for his crimes shortly after.

But the contract? Didn’t do a damn thing.

After the signing was done, Seles got up. “I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

Before she completely left I walked towards her.

“Wait–” I took a step forward. She paused at the door.

I raised my hands slightly like I wanted a parting hug.

She didn’t resist. She actually closed her eyes.

SLAP!!!!!

My slap echoed across the room.

Her head jerked to the side. Her eyes flew open.

I gave her a light smile. “Sorry about that. I just… wanted a hug. But it seems my flaw activated. I’ll just go before it activates again.”

It was complete bullshit. But it felt good.

I just wanted a little payback for Stella and all the other annoying crap she pulled on my predecessor.

My palm still tingled slightly.

I walked past her without even looking back.

As soon as I exited the meeting room, I heard a loud scream… which I ignored politely.

So did Stella, who was already following me in silence like nothing had happened.

__

Author’s Note

Sorry For long Chapter.

Btw do check out auxiliary volume for details about power system.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep