The birth of contract.
The initial purpose was to allow magicians to control powerful helpers, ensuring that these helpers whom they called attendants would protect them while chanting magic, thus ensuring the smooth casting of magic.
Thus, the attendant contract was the first and original form of contract magic, with the most stable mechanism and the most reasonable procedures.
Once this type of contract took effect, not only was it powerful, but the difficulty of forcibly terminating it was also huge. Especially when the master fulfilled the wishes and conditions proposed by their attendant during the contract, the power of the contract would significantly increase.
Because the master had already fulfilled the promises made in their contract, the attendant who had had their wish granted naturally couldn't back out. Otherwise, wouldn't it leave the master empty-handed?
Taking this into consideration, mechanisms were established when the attendant contract was created. Once the master fulfilled the attendant's wishes or conditions during the contract, its power would increase dramatically, making it difficult to cancel.
Due to this, some attendants, when intentionally forming an attendant contract, wisely set a predetermined time for the contract to take effect, promising to serve for a few years or even decades. Once the time limit was reached, the contract would automatically be released, preventing them from being entangled for a lifetime.
Given these factors, once the attendant contract was in effect, it was nearly impossible to terminate it, and only some extremely rare and specific methods could forcibly cancel an already effective attendant contract.
However, the slavery contract, being one-sided and forceful, was a different story altogether.
This type of contract magic, which deprived people of their human rights and required unconditional obedience to the master's commands, was no longer considered contract magic but rather a form of domination, manipulation, and brainwashing.
Such contracts were highly unstable, with a very imbalanced structure, making it less difficult to forcibly cancel compared to the attendant contract.
In general, as long as a magician's magical energy was stronger than the magician who cast the slavery contract, any magician could forcefully cancel and terminate the slavery contract.
Some powerful swordsmen could also resist the effects of a slavery contract based on their power.
For example, a swordsman who practiced special swordsmanship and activated the attributes within their magical energy, thus making their sword technique akin to magic, could mostly resist the slavery contract.
Take the Holy Dragon Sword Style as an example.
Swordsmen who practiced this special swordsmanship would develop a body comparable to that of a great dragon and possess an anti-magic attribute. They could even withstand the direct impact of tactical-class magic, which meant forcibly planting a slavery contract into their bodies was basically impossible.
Even without practicing special swordsmanship, as long as a swordsman had power surpassing the magician who cast the slavery contract, they could activate their magical energy through their swordsmanship, break free from the contract's constraints, and regain their freedom.
Therefore, there were various means to abolish the slavery contract, providing those enslaved with the possibility of resistance. This resulted in incidents of slave rebellions every year on the Akasha Continent, as some slaves saw hope in breaking free from their slavery.
Exploiting this dynamic, the Basolo family orchestrated the attack on the Frenzel residence using slaves without fear or concern.
"I bet they'll claim that an unknown magician had offered freedom to the slaves as a condition, inciting these slaves to attack this place."
Yuri spoke, pointing to the tactical-class barrier enveloping the entire Frenzel residence.
"Well, this time, a Tactical-Class Magician is definitely involved. But the thing is, the Basolo family doesn't have any Tactical-Class Magician under their command, so they have a valid excuse to justify themselves."
Even a perceptive person could see that the Basolo family couldn't escape involvement in this matter.
But, even if that were the case, so what?
"In the end, as long as nothing happens to me, the kingdom and the royal family can turn a blind eye to this incident. That's politics for you." Yuri remarked helplessly.
After all, within the royal capital, there were plenty who preferred her to stay in the royal capital.
The royal family, in particular, wanted Yuri under their watchful eyes to make themselves feel at ease. Other nobles also had their own plans and agendas; some even harbored grievances against the Frenzel family, disliking her Strategic-Class Magician status and not minding causing trouble for her behind the scenes.
In the midst of all this, if the Basolo family utilized their connections both openly and covertly, they could smooth things over and blur the lines between major and minor issues.
Of course, bystanders might choose to ignore this incident, but Yuri certainly wouldn't.
If the Basolo family truly did all of this, Yuri would undoubtedly retaliate. Yet if what they did could secure the marriage, the Basolo family was more than willing to pay the price. After all, as both of them were marquis families, she wouldn't go so far as to destroy their family.
At most, they would have to pay some price for her retaliation, and this price was something they could afford.
Therefore, as long as Yuri, this important Strategic-Class Magician, remained unharmed and the royal family's bottom line wasn't breached, the Basolo family was fearless.
The only uncertain factor was the Tactical-Class Magician.
Their identity was unknown, and their involvement would undoubtedly raise suspicions from various factions, including the royal family.
Yet, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Wasn't suspicion good?
The more the royal family suspects, the more they worry that some unknown party might be targeting Yuri, making them more prone to keep her in the royal capital.
At the same time, the Basolo family could shift all responsibility for the masked people who attacked Riezel to the suspected Tactical-Class Magician, thus cleaning themselves entirely.
This complex web of schemes made it crystal clear how the royal family and the nobles would react. It was precisely because of this understanding that the Basolo family dared to launch such a blatant attack, confident in predicting the responses of the royal family and nobles.
However—
"But, that is assuming I'm okay..." Yuri chuckled without any apparent reason. "If something truly happens to me, the Basolo family will be in deep trouble, even if they don't end up dead."
Her words carried hidden implications that Riezel could discern.
"Are you suggesting...?" Riezel looked at her, surprised.
"They're trying to play tricks, right? Well, let them try then." Yuri grinned. "After this incident is over, everyone will know I'm seriously injured."
As her words came out, Riezel felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.
For the Basolo family's plan to work seamlessly, it was crucial that Yuri, this key character, remained unharmed. If anything went wrong with her, the Basolo family would be finished, and the royal family and the kingdom's major nobles wouldn't turn a blind eye.
They would thoroughly investigate the incident, identify the mastermind behind the attack on the Frenzel residence, and take appropriate action.
The illusions created by the Basolo family would be useless once Jinas began a serious investigation.
"Let's go." Yuri said cheerfully. "Let's take care of things here first. Once the barrier is removed, I won't be able to move around freely here anymore."
It was precisely for that purpose that she seemed so relaxed, taking her time without rushing to remove the tactical-class barrier covering the Frenzel residence.
"Is this really okay?" Riezel said hesitantly. "Even if you pretend—I mean, even if you're seriously injured, letting the Basolo family be held accountable, the fact that you were attacked will still be true. If news of your serious injury spreads, the royal family will be even more concerned about your safety, and you won't be able to leave the royal capital, right?"
"So what?" Yuri retorted nonchalantly. "As long as the truth about this mess gets out, can the Basolo family still continue proposing a marriage with my family?"
Certainly not.
Once news spread about Yuri being seriously injured due to the Basolo family's planned attack, she would have every reason to reject the marriage. The residents in her territory would also refuse to cooperate with a noble who harmed their lord.
In this case, the Basolo family's plans to create a 'fait accompli' would also fail.
"Moreover, I still haven't received any instructions from the King to stay, have I?" Yuri continued casually. "As the one seriously injured in this incident, it's reasonable and fair for me to escape this 'unsafe' royal capital and return to my own territory to save my life, isn't it?"
Reasonable and fair? What a load of crap!
If she were seriously injured in the royal capital, the reasonable and fair thing to do would be to escape to the royal palace, seeking the protection of the royal family. This would truly be a reasonable and fair course of action.
Yuri's move indicated that she was preparing to play a political game.
In case she actually slipped out of the royal capital and the royal family saw that the situation was already resolved, even if they suspected something fishy about Yuri's 'serious injury', they could only turn a blind eye and choose to ignore it.
The Basolo family had their own tricks and games, so it was only natural that Yuri, as the head of the Frenzel family, could play as well.
After all, political maneuvering between nobles was not uncommon in any kingdom, and the royal family might even appreciate it.
If all the nobles suddenly stopped competing with each other, the royal family would be on edge, overly suspicious of a coup d'etat, fearing that the next day they might wake up to find their dynasty over.
Considering this, as long as it did not touch absolute red lines, the royal family generally turned a blind eye to the power struggles between nobles, whether it was the Basolo family plotting against the Frenzel family or the Frenzel family retaliating against the Basolo family.
"However, there's a problem we need to address." Yuri changed the topic, bringing Riezel back to reality.
"What is it?" Riezel asked instinctively.
"The current commotion is not big enough..." Yuri said faintly as she gazed outside the window. "Only this level of chaos is not enough to prove that something big has happened here, something that could harm a Strategic-Class Magician protected by multiple Sword Masters and a hundred skilled knights."
As the saying goes, to prove that someone was burned alive in the fire, there needs to be a sufficiently intense blaze.
"It would be best if a tactical-class magic is unleashed here, causing widespread destruction." Yuri addressed the problem.
"The Lady can't do it herself." Marilyn indifferently chimed in. "Her magical energy is too distinctive. If some court magician were to investigate, it would surely be exposed."
The question was, where could they find an unknown Tactical-Class Magician at this time and in this situation?
This was the only loophole in Yuri's plan that hadn't been resolved yet. If this loophole wasn't addressed, she would have to resort to other means.
"Using items like alchemical bombs as substitutes should achieve the same effect, though the cleanup afterward might be a bit troublesome..." Yuri explained with a sigh.
Upon hearing that, Riezel remained silent.
After a while, he sighed.
"As long as a tactical-class magic lands here, right?"
Hearing his sudden question, Yuri and Marilyn looked at him in wonder.
"Alright. Leave it to me then."
After saying that, Riezel left the corridor without waiting for Yuri's answer, heading directly to the exit.
Yuri and Marilyn exchanged a confused glance, both having an incredible speculation in their minds.
'Could it be...?'