Venion stormed through the mansion, rushing towards the training grounds. There was nobody there, even the soldiers that normally trained weren't there. It looked completely abandoned, after the expedition the remaining guards and soldiers could be counted on two hands. Not far from the training grounds was the shed where Lucas slept most of the time. Visiting the dusty and almost falling apart shack didn't reveal where the bright-colored one was. The tome that contained all of his teachings was also gone. 'The library!'
Yet he got the same result from exploring the library. Surprisingly, it looked pretty clean, like someone had been taking care of the books. The shelves were ordered in a nice and clean way. The books were categorized into certain topics and were all positioned right next to each other, not a single one sticking out. The desk in the middle had a few books and a piece of paper lying on it. Looking closer, Venion found that the title of the book on top was 'The Kingdom in the North, Frigus', the other titles were similar. They were all about the kingdoms surrounding the one they live in now.
The piece of paper next to the book had a bunch of scribbles on them. It looked like someone had been writing it in a hurry, but it was still readable. "Lammy, if you can find this, please go to the nearby city for a week or two. I need your help."
'Who the hell is Lammy? Is it one of the maids? I should ask Havi. Hmm, so if Lucas were to run he would either go to the city or to one of the neighboring kingdoms. But why leave now? If the lord ordered it to the contract, he would be forced to return, no matter where he was at. The contract doesn't care about distance.'
'Still, it doesn't make sense that he's not to be found anywhere and left this convenient note. He must've run away without knowing we can simply recall him. What is in the city that is so important, he shouldn't have visited any village in his entire life. Is he getting external help? None of this makes any sense, I need to visit Havi.'
'Where is he now? I've already searched all the places he visits during the weeks he lived here. The canteen is the only option left.'
The canteen didn't reveal any more clues as to his whereabouts, it only made it vaguer, but the answer was quite simple.
"Havi, do you know where Lucas has gone to?", Venion was in the lord's office. Havi looked a lot happier than he normally did, his stressed-out and hurrying nature had disappeared. Everything was going his way, he had his mines that created decent income, a powerful son that would politically marry someone else to boost his own standing, and a powerful slave.
He was delighted that he had made it, 'I've finally surpassed my ancestor.', is what he thought before Venion interrupted his self-gloating.
"Of course, I'd know where my slave is, he has gone to the final mine to clear it out. You see, he wanted the next set of runes to grow even more powerful to protect my household. Isn't he wonderful?"
"I'm sad to ruin your fantasy sir, I'm afraid to say that Lucas might never come back or at least betray us.", Havi was shocked, how could that even happen? Lucas was chained down. If he ever got released from the chains that would be a disaster for him.
"What do you mean?!", he lost his previous happy demeanor and replaced it with a worrying one.
"Lucas didn't tell you the whole story of the expedition, he lied to you. This shouldn't be possible, but he still succeeded."
Venion didn't mind lying to the baron if that meant he could get more information or pursue his own plans.
"Does that mean that he broke the contract and didn't suffer any consequences? How did he void the contract?"
"He didn't void it, only a mage of Rank 3 or higher could destroy a life contract, but I don't think he would receive any kind of help. It wouldn't make any sense to help someone like him."
"What do we do now?"
"Do you still feel the connection with him through the contract?", Havi simply nodded to confirm his suspicions. "That means he is still bound to it, he needs to follow instructions. This means that as long as you can feel that connection, he will return to this mansion."
"Yesterday I sent him to clear the final mine. So he'll come back when he is done.", Venion was walking back and forth. 'This should've never happened, I should've just killed him when he awakened.'
"Which words did you use to instruct him?", it was a strange question, but it definitely made sense in this scenario. "He asked if he could go to the final mine to clear it. That he would give me the desired results."
"What did he mean with clear it, you need to be specific if you give them instructions. Lucas made the request so it's his interpretation of clearing it that matters. If his intentions are different than yours the contract can be confused about what it needs to do. For example, if you ask him to clean a room, you will have a different interpretation of what 'clean' is. It's the person who asks or gives the requests that the meaning is taken from. You interpreted his clearing as killing all monsters, but perhaps Lucas had a different idea in his mind when requesting it."
"Are you serious? That brat tricked me?!", Havi was mad, very mad. He was a noble, no, a Baron, a high rank for any commoner. Yet some mere slave tricked him, "How dare he do such a thing!"
"Please, sir, this is important, which words did he use?"
"I can't remember it completely, but it was something about making sure that there weren't any monsters left in the mine and that he would make sure to give results that I would like and then return to the mansion."
"Did he say 'I would like' or 'You would like'?"
"Euhm..", the baron had to scratch his head to move a single cog in his head, yet nothing appeared. Havi couldn't remember it.
"Either way, Lucas will most likely return, but we must be wary of his betrayal."
"Wait, you said that he didn't tell me the whole story, how do you know that.", Venion forgot to give him the source, but instead of telling it himself he simply got the perpetrator to come and explain himself. Liam was called into the office, when he saw his hosts, he started to sweat again. After surviving his interrogation, he was once again in the spotlight, but this time it could result in an even worse situation. 'Shit'
"Liam, Venion told me that Lucas lied to me when he was explaining what happened during your last expedition, is that true?"
"He didn't exactly lie, but he wasn't telling the whole truth as well. He hid some details and obscured some happenings."
"SO HE LIED ABOUT IT AND YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!!!", Havi was furious, he was belittled by some lower ranks, by some peasant.
"My lord, I was surprised as well, but I couldn't interrupt you, sir."
"You should've still done something! Your pay will be reduced and your authority will be limited from here on. Learn from your mistakes and never, EVER, do something like this again. Understood?!"
Liam was delighted to know what his punishment was, if he lost his job or standing he would have to figure out everything again. He would have to move with his family and search for a new household that would accept a dishonored knight. Yet all he got was a demotion, which was nothing for Liam when he was previously threatened with the death of his children.
"I understand my lord.", Havi calmed down now that Liam had apologized. Venion still wasn't done though. He wasn't about to leak that Lucas could use dark magic or he would shoot himself in the foot, no he had others thoughts spooking his head.
"I have another question sir Havi, do you have a maid named Lammy?"