...
Cold sweat fell profusely on my temples. Right now I'm as scared as Sala. It's just that, Sala is currently under the influence of His Highness Yvone's magic so her fears will definitely be distorted. While me. I had to face the terrible memories of the ruins and the shadowy figure of Cemille who had turned into Baskerville.
I'm sure that Cemille's shadow figure that turned into Baskerville appeared because of the influence of His Highness Yvone's magic and also because he could disrupt the flow of time so that he could make Cemille's Baskerville form come out prematurely like time was accelerated.
"How about it, Young Lady?. If you don't want to, I will take Cemille away from here because he might harm you. But if you still want to have Cemille, you can make a pet contract with he" he said.
Of course I realized that if Cemille was Baskerville he would definitely harm me!. The image of that nightmare in the ruins was enough to prove it.
But, what is a pet contract?.
"This is beyond my predictions. Because Kharel is sick and emits a lot of mana in this residence, so naturally Cemille consumes it and will become a Baskerville faster... I didn't even expect Kharel to come out of the castle sick, my goodness," continued His Highness Yvone again. He explained why did Cemille become Baskerville?. He also seemed to complain a little because of Kharel but he didn't blame it.
But what does it mean beyond his predictions?.
Is he talking about Cemille turning into a baskerville or Kharel getting sick?.
But now I know one thing. Apparently, the Ether mana that came out of Kharel's body was the reason why Cemille's growth into Baskerville was faster than her time.
The image of the black plume of smoke that formed Baskerville's figure was actually just a projection that His Highness Yvone created with his time distortion magic to show me.
Luckily, His Highness Yvone knew about all these conditions, so he came here on purpose to take Cemille from me.
But what was he going to do with Cemille when he said he would take Cemille if I didn't do the pet contract?. Maybe he will kill Cemille because Baskerville is dangerous, right?!.
Suddenly I remembered the days I spent with Cemille. Even though it's only been a short time, I realized that I really love Cemille, my little dog. I don't want him to die....
There are only two choices, Cemille will be killed by His Highness Yvone or I will tie a contract with Cemille but not with a totem contract but with a pet contract so that Cemille will obey if I give Cemille what he needs, namely mana.
This is different from the totem contract which is like being forced to become a protector by subduing it with big power.
People who have more mana than totems can control the totems under their orders so that like it or not, they can only submit and enter into a contract to become guardian animals or weapons for the saints. That's what it says in the book.
Contracting with pet status is much more binding but also more profitable. One of the features of a pet contract is that you get protection without having to summon it first.
A sacred beast that has a pet contract will appear automatically when it senses that there is a threat of danger approaching its contracted employer because pet contractors have closer ties. The two of them not only have different mana, but also share blood, feelings and souls.
But unfortunately only people who have ether mana can form a pet contract with a sacred animal!.
Also keep in mind, binding a pet contract requires the consent of the party to be contracted. In other words, Cemille and I must both accept each other's contract. Usually, sacred beasts who want to enter into a pet contract will see how much ether mana their prospective master has. If his ether mana exceeded the sacred beast's, then they would agree to his pet contract.
But, will Cemille agree to this pet contract?.
I don't even know how big mine is. Is mine bigger than Cemille's?.
If my mana is small or if Cemille doesn't agree to it, His Highness Yvone will definitely take Cemille to be killed because sacred animals that don't have any contracts with humans will be very dangerous.
But, I also don't want to part with Cemille. I don't want him to die.
Ah!. All of this is Ether's mana fault!. I also couldn't bear it if Cemille had to be killed. However, I already have feelings for Cemille between master and pet, so I have to make a decision now!.
Geez. This is outrageous!. A little girl like me is forced to make difficult decisions!.
"Cellia loves Cemille. Don't take Cemille away!" I said.
"So, you want to make a pet contract with Cemille?" Asked His Highness Yvone again to confirm.
I didn't answer but chose to just nod my head as if I was between understanding and not understanding what a pet contract was. I just want to stay with Cemille.
"OK, then I'll help you. Come here" His Highness Yvone motioned for me to come closer to he.
My legs trembled because Cemille's Baskerville shadow form was still near His Highness Yvone, but I kept walking and was sure it wouldn't harm me, especially since His Highness Yvone was there. So it must be safe, right?.
"Okay. Enough. Stay there, okay?. I will start the contract," said His Highness Yvone who suddenly asked me to stop walking so that now I was standing still in front of he with a distance of three small steps from he.
His Highness Yvone started muttering like she was casting a spell and suddenly a magic circle appeared under where I was currently standing.
His Highness Yvone placed Cemille below and the same magic circle as mine appeared below where Cemille was.
A moment later a soft and warm wind that moved around my body appeared. The wind carried a voice that whispered to me in a strange language but somehow I could understand what he was talking about.
I nodded in agreement after hearing the wind's question then suddenly I felt my chest quickly feel hot and then the hot feeling quickly disappeared as if there had just been a fire that passed at the speed of a gust of wind.
"Ligabis..." said His Highness Yvone and the wind surrounding my body disappeared.
"Now you have entered into a pet contract with Cemille. If you have any problems, you can ask me or your daddy..." said His Highness Yvone.
So the contract is finished?. That fast?.
When the contract was completed, Cemille turned into Baskerville and then suddenly took human form!.
Cemille looked like a teenage boy around fifteen years old. His eyes were red, his hair was black and long flowing. On his head were dog-like ears that were almost the same color as his hair so they seemed to blend in with the hair on his head.
So that's Cemille's human form?. For some reason, he still looks cute!. I want to stroke his head!. His hair looks so soft!.
Cemille smiled and showed his canine teeth. But that didn't scare me because Cemille's smile was very sweet!. It still felt the same when I saw Cemille smiling in his little dog form.
"Hello, little princess Cellia. From now on, please give me lots of food," Cemille said to me. He suddenly lifted my small body and carried me.
Cemille Then touched my forehead with his forehead. Instantly, Cemille changed his appearance and now he looked like Vincent!. I mean, he's like my personal knight!. I was amazed by his appearance and suddenly a thought struck me.
Can sacred animals really have human form?!. This is terrible!. How do you differentiate them from real humans?!.
Wait.
What about dragons?!.
Can dragons also take human form?!. It should be possible, right?. Dragons are the highest race in the hierarchy of sacred animals. Dragon is the leader of the sacred animal race and he should be able to change his form into a human without even having to have a contract.
Dragons are the only sacred animals that have large amounts of mana.
Ting!.
His Highness Yvone finally released his magic and now I saw Sala who was silent, looking confused. He was no longer hysterical with fear, but he was still sobbing from crying so hard earlier.
"Sala!" I called Sala and Salamanca saw me who was still in Cemille's arms. Her gaze looked confused.
Somehow I became relieved. It seems that Sala is not aware that the figure of Cemille in his human form is the baskerville she is so afraid of.
"Okay. This way, Duke Leonhart won't be angry a d worry anymore..." said His Highness Yvone and now my thoughts turned to daddy.
Right!. Daddy!.
What if daddy finds out that I made a pet contract with Baskerville?.
Or did he already think something like this would happen? Or, could it be that from the start father was forced again by His Highness Yvone to make me enter into a pet contract with Baskerville?!. Like when he forced the marriage contract at that time?.
But for what?. Was all this something that His Highness Yvone had planned from the start? It looks like that. Or was it purely because Cemille was exposed to ether mana outside of her time that he had to become Baskerville?.
No!. Sooner or later. Cemille will definitely be baskerville!.
So. Was it His Highness Yvone's plan from the start to get me into a pet contract and he already discussed this with daddy?. But for what?!!. What is the reason?!.
I'm completely out of ideas and can't think anymore. Should I ask His Highness Yvone directly for the reason?.
But if I ask, will he answer honestly?.
I'm not sure he will tell me the real reason. Moreover, I'm still small. He'll probably wait until I'm older and then he'll tell me the reason.
But waiting for me to grow up first is still quite long!. I can't keep my curiosity for so long!. I could really die of curiosity about it!.
Ah. This sucks!.
If only I could understand His Highness Yvone's way of thinking!.
"..."
Of course, I can!.
Oh right!. I'm a genius!. I just need to stay close to His Highness Yvone and that way, I will naturally start to understand he unpredictable way of thinking!?.
Approach concept. I'm going to start doing that!?. Yes. I feel like I need to do that for my survival!.
Nice idea!. If I can understand his way of thinking, in the future I will definitely not be toyed with by him and I can cancel my marriage to him!.
But ...
How can I stay close to His Highness Yvone?.
Should I detain Kharel so he stays here?. That way, His Highness Yvone will definitely visit here often and I can start a mission to understand his way of thinking!?.
Okay. Looks like I have to start thinking about this now. I'm afraid that if Kharel will be taken home today by him that I will lose my chance.
So, what should I do first for this approach mission?.
Oh stupid me. Of course, get close to him.
I got down from Cemille's arms then took a step forward and actually went to approach His Highness Yvone literally.
Okay. This sounds stupid, but I can only do this to start my approach mission!.