Veridia’s words froze Kai. For a moment, he couldn’t hide the surprise on his face.

And by the time he composed himself again, it was already too late. A small smile had appeared on Veridia’s lips. She had seen it. Seen enough to know that her guess had been correct.

Kai didn’t understand how.

There should have been no way for her to know anything was wrong in Sylvastra. The matter had been handled quietly, and very few people in Lancephil even knew the details.

Did she still have spies somewhere?

Agents who had avoided being caught even after the fall of the Archine Tower? Or did she possess some other method—something even Kai hadn’t accounted for?

Instead of denying it or circling around the topic, Kai chose the direct approach.

“How much do you know?” he asked.

Veridia shrugged slightly. “Not much,” she said. “Just enough to make a calculated guess.”

She leaned back against the bed. “I wasn’t a Tower Master for nothing. You develop a habit of connecting clues.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “How do you think I figured out that you aren’t Arzan?”

Kai frowned. “I am Arzan.”

Veridia smirked faintly. She reached for more herbs, chewing them slowly before answering.

“There used to be a theater in my hometown,” she said. “A long time ago. One of the actors played a prince so often that he eventually began believing he was one.” She glanced at Kai. “I suppose portraying someone for long enough makes you believe you actually are that person.”

Kai’s expression hardened at her words. “If you’re trying to anger me, it’s not working. It’s just making me irritated.” He leaned slightly forward. “Tell me, how do you know my request has anything to do with the elves?”

Veridia sighed softly, as if disappointed he had ignored the previous remark. “I kept an eye on the civil war for a while,” she said. “And I already knew about your connection with the elves.”

Kai’s brow furrowed.

“From your visit to Duke Blackwood’s estate,” she continued calmly. “And the fact that you went toward Sylvastra afterward.”

Kai didn’t respond immediately. He waited a few seconds and then replied. “That doesn’t prove much. My connection with the elves is already known to many people.”

Veridia nodded at that. “I know,” she said. “I know what you said in the meeting with the nobles as well.”

A faint smile crossed her face. “More than a few of them complained loudly about it afterward. And servants tend to have very loose mouths when coins are involved.” She leaned slightly back against the bed. “But that’s not the main reason.”

Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly but regardless, Veridia continued. “I know because Maledicia targeted Sylvastra a while ago.”

“You have connections with Maleficia?” he asked immediately.

As the words left his mouth, mana surged through his body. It gathered beneath his skin, ready to form a spell in an instant.

If Veridia had any real connection with Maleficia, he would kill her here and now.

But Veridia frowned before he could do anything.

“Calm yourself,” she said. “I have no connections with them. At best, I know some of their external agents.”

Kai didn’t relax. “What agents?”

“They exist in almost every kingdom,” Veridia replied. “They’re not actually members of the organization. They simply work for them… Mostly thief guilds. I only heard about what happened in Sylvastra weeks after it occurred. But once I did, the pieces were easy to connect.”

She offered a restrained smile.

“You have connections with the elves. Maleficia targeted Sylvastra. And now you’re here asking for my help. That’s enough information to guess why you came.”

Kai slowly let the mana inside his body settle. She didn’t seem to be lying. Everything about the way she spoke said that she was being truthful. And even if she was lying, verifying her claim would not be difficult.

The Watchers were already investigating thief guilds across the kingdom.

Finally, Kai exhaled quietly.

“I’m not going to explain the details,” he said. “But yes, it is connected to the elves.” He leaned forward slightly. “If you accept my condition, I’ll heal you. And in return, you’ll do something for me.”

Veridia nodded slowly. “I assume it’s something dangerous.”

“Everything is dangerous for Mages. We don’t grow any other way. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have come to you,” he said.

Her eyes glinted in curiosity. “So what is it? You came all the way to me because it’s something only I can do. And if you only needed a Magus, you could’ve gone to Elias.”

Kai didn’t say anything right away.

The fact that she knew about his connection with Elias told him enough. Her information network was far broader than he had expected. She had revealed it deliberately too.

But Kai wasn’t interested in playing those games right now.

“You’ll know what it is if this conversation leads somewhere,” he said. “Right now, you need me more than I need you. You should know there’s no one else who can heal you.”

Veridia didn’t try to deny it and nodded. “But I’m still curious,” she said after a moment, “how you even know how to heal astral spaces? Without that knowledge, my condition is impossible to fix.”

Kai waved the concern away. “I’ll handle it. You don’t need to worry about that. But in exchange, you’ll have to follow my terms.”

Veridia’s expression darkened. “I’m not going to become your slave,” she said sharply. “I’ve spent enough of my life being one.”

“I have no intention of keeping you under me for long. I don’t want that headache. But there will be several conditions you’ll have to agree to before we make any deal.”

Veridia went silent for a few seconds.

“You want a mana oath,” she said silently.

“Yes, that’s the only way I see this working.”

As he said that, Kai wondered if she would even consider it. No matter what, Veridia was still a Magus, and in every era one carried enormous egos. They disliked working under anyone, and most of them preferred giving their word over binding themselves with magic.

Of course, that was because they had reputations to maintain. Veridia didn’t.

Her reputation had shattered after their duel, and most of the world believed she was already dead.

Still, there was a chance she would reject the proposal simply out of pride and choose death instead.

But after a long silence—almost two minutes—Veridia finally sighed.

“Let me see the terms,” she said. “Then I’ll decide.”

Kai almost showed his surprise, but he managed to hide it. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out the parchment and unfolded it.

As soon as Veridia saw the length of it, her eyes widened. She looked at him as if he had gone mad. “How many clauses does this mana oath even have?”

“Twenty-two for now,” Kai replied calmly. “We can discuss them once you’ve read through everything.”

Veridia sighed. “I’ve never seen a mana oath this extensive.”

Still, she began reading.

As her eyes moved across the parchment, Kai leaned back in the chair and calmly spread his mana senses through the room.

Veridia likely noticed the movement, but she said nothing. Kai wasn’t probing the room itself.

His senses moved outward, brushing against the surroundings beyond the walls. Several presences stood outside—her apprentices. Whether they were guarding the place or trying to eavesdrop didn’t matter.

Kai simply wanted to be certain he had a clear path out if Veridia decided she didn’t like the terms of the oath. If their discussion failed, there was a real chance Veridia might attempt something the moment she had the opportunity.

Now that he was standing right in front of her, it might be the only chance she would ever get.

He was confident he could handle the Mages outside if things turned violent. But Veridia was a Magus, and they often possessed tricks that even other Mages could overlook. It didn’t matter her Mana heart was broken, she could have other ways he was unaware of.

But after about five minutes, Veridia finally lowered the parchment. She looked directly at him. “What exactly does this mean?” she asked.

Kai stayed silent, and she tapped one of the clauses with her finger.

“It says I can never hold a public position once I’m healed. I can’t use spells while inside Lancephil. And according to this oath, I won’t even be allowed to hold a position in another kingdom.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“I won’t even be able to cast spells above the second circle outside Lancephil unless you allow it. How is that any different from a slave contract?”

Kai tightened his lips. “It isn’t a slave contract. You’ll still be able to live however you want. I won’t put you on trial for the crimes you committed under Regina.” He paused slightly. “You can live a normal life for the next century or two. You could even try to reach the sixth circle.”

Veridia frowned deeper. “I’m not going to live like a commoner. And you know as well as I do that pursuing the sixth circle is practically a death sentence.”

“You could still live comfortably. I’m sure you have plenty of gold saved.” His eyes briefly moved toward the herbs on the table. “There’s no other way you could afford this many magical herbs.”

Veridia’s expression didn’t change. She still looked offended by what he had presented and looked prepared to deny the mana oath altogether.

Kai saw that clearly. And he knew there was only one way to sort this out—explain the reason behind the clauses.

He inhaled sharply and looked at her.

“Do you really think I can heal you and then allow you to walk free the way you were before? You’ve been a threat to me and to the kingdom. I would be stupid if I let you be like before.”

Veridia shook her head. “I have been,” she admitted. “But I have no plans to continue like that anymore. If Regina fell, I would never succeed where she failed. And I have no reason to try.”

Kai looked at her for a moment. “I can’t believe that.”

Veridia lowered her gaze back to the parchment. “Then add it to the oath,” she said calmly. “Instead of restricting my spells like this.”

A part of Kai almost wanted to believe her. But the more practical part of him knew better.

A fifth-circle Mage could influence a kingdom in countless ways without ever directly casting a spell on someone.

Still, he could also see that Veridia would not budge if the oath remained exactly as it was written.

Kai had never expected her to accept every clause without argument. Mana oath negotiations were rarely that simple. So instead of pressing that point further, he asked, “What other clauses do you disagree with?”

Veridia simply said. “A few more.”

She began listing them one by one. From there, the negotiation truly began.

Kai didn’t mind adjusting certain parts. For example, the clause that required her to follow every command he gave during the task was one he expected her to challenge.

Even he knew it essentially amounted to a suicide pact. Under such a clause, he could simply order her to end her own life and the oath would force her to obey. But Kai had included that clause intentionally.

In mana oath negotiations, it was often wise to place extreme terms into the draft. When those were revised, the other party would feel like they were gaining ground in the negotiation.

And when someone believed they were winning, they were far more likely to overlook the clauses that truly mattered.

Of course, there was no guarantee the strategy would actually work. But it was still better than nothing.

Kai modified the clause slightly. Instead of requiring her to follow every command without exception, he added that he could not force her to obey any order that would directly cost her life—unless she chose to accept it herself.

Veridia also pushed back on several other points.

One of them involved the clause requiring her to reveal every crime she had committed under Regina’s command, including how their relationship had started.

According to her, such a clause would only guarantee her punishment later.

She knew very well that once those details were known, she would never be able to escape the consequences. She was willing to speak about those matters, but only if the oath clearly stated there would be no repercussions for what she revealed.

Kai agreed to that without much resistance.

Information was far more valuable than imprisoning a Magus. Moreover, keeping someone like Veridia locked away would require enormous resources.

While a part of him still believed she deserved punishment for her crimes, that was something he could deal with later.

Right now, there were far larger problems.

Besides, once he advanced further in his circles, dealing with Veridia would not be difficult. So the negotiations continued.

For more than an hour, they argued over clause after clause. Veridia challenged most of the points he had written.

The only ones she didn’t contest were the basic conditions—such as the requirement that she would not betray him or anyone in his party during the task he intended to involve her in.

Those were simple necessities for trust.

Eventually, they reached a compromise.

The original twenty-two clauses were reduced to seventeen.

But the remaining terms were strong enough that Kai felt confident bringing her with him to the Earth plane.

Once both of them agreed, Veridia placed her hand over the parchment and began swearing each clause through her mana.

Kai felt the familiar pull as the oath formed. The invisible binding settled around them, locking the agreement into place.

When it was done, Veridia leaned back and sighed. “I hope I haven’t made a mistake.” She looked at him. “Now you need to do your part of the promise and heal me.”

Kai nodded. “Gladly.” He stood slightly. “But for that, I need to enter your astral space.”

The moment he said it, Veridia’s face went pale. She stared at him as if he had just said something absurd.

“What?”

***

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