The pen stayed frozen midair and Darren and Duke's eyes darted between me and the empty-seeming space.
"Reina, what-"
I raised my hand at the Duke before I spoke up, "It's useless now that you've been caught. Please come and sit here so that we can talk properly."
The space near the pen distorted and a person appeared, for a moment I was surprised as I saw him.
He seemed like a man in his early thirties who had long pink hair tied in a ponytail hanging over his shoulder and sharp blue eyes, he wore a simple white shirt under a long white and blue robe and black dress pants along with the badge that justified his colossal aura earlier.
I stood up and curtsied to the man, "Greetings to the Archmage of the Mage's Tower, I'm Reina Aurelius."
I straightened back up and found his eyes staring at me as he held the pen in between his long, slender fingers.
"Silas." He spoke curtly and moved from his place walking towards me.
I sat down beside the Duke while Archmage Silas sat in front of us and Darren stood behind him with his hands at his back.
I pushed the contract in front of the Archmage and he stared at me for a moment before he leaned ahead and signed it without any word.
"We can start now."
"Why do you have the Dragon's mana?" Silas asked right off the bat and I sighed before starting to tell him everything from the beginning.
He would know if lied and if he were to become my business partner then I required some level of transparancy and convenience between us.
The Archmage didn't say anything and kept listening silently until I ended the whole story for the third time since I had returned from the cave before he asked.
"Why did you decide to help the Dragon? The vision he showed you could've been a lie to gain sympathy."
"It wasn't a lie."
"How can you be so sure of it?"
"A lie would have sounded logical if he were alive or close to death but dead for centuries and trapped in that cave with nothing but solitude, there was no use for him to lie to me."
"What if he wanted to use your body as its new vessel?"
"I had actually agreed to it in exchange for saving Rune." I clarified making the Duke clench his fists. Darren stared at me with wide eyes but he didn't say anything.
"And then?" The Archmage asked.
"He failed to do so."
"He attempted?"
"He was far too weak to take over me."
His pink eyebrows twitched only by a fraction before he maintained his stony composure. He was quite a handsome man and for some reason, he seemed familiar.
"You're that strong?"
"Considering he made me his successor he must have seen something."
His lips twitched this time and the Duke sighed.
"Silas, can you please stop with this tone?"
The Archmage seemed to have ignored the Duke as he kept staring at me.
"You said you are the new owner of the Dragon's lair now."
"Yes."
"Is that why you suggested a trade with the Mage's Tower because the other nobles would be prejudiced against the Dragon?" He asked.
"I didn't suggest the trade with Mage's Tower specifically. I only asked Father if he had someone trustworthy who could keep the Dragon's lair a secret and be a good business partner."
Silas's eyes for the first time went over to the Duke before returning to me.
"We didn't start on a good footing but I trust my father's choice." I said and his eyebrows furrowed a little.
"The amount of magic stones in the lair is quite a lot and I intend to have only one business partner whom I could trust with this task. We could discuss the terms later after you've made a decision."
"I wish to see this lair." Silas spoke up, "I need to see it with my own eyes not only the amount of the magic stones but also that place."
I stared at him for a moment, his face was stoic but his eyes were like raging stormy seas, he was barely able to hold his overwhelming curiosity within those two orbs.
"Fine."
After an hour, we were at the entrance of the cave, I was walking in the front while the adults followed me.
We stopped as we reached the entrance of the lair and I faced the Mages who had stunned expressions. Darren's jaw comfortably sat on the ground and the stoic-faced Silas's eyes were wide.
I walked inside followed by the Duke while Silas and Darren were stuck outside.
"Why can't we move?" Darren grunted as he pushed against the mana barrier.
"You can't, unless I allow you in here." I answered and the two stared at me.
"Then, please allow us inside, Young Miss!" Darren spoke up.
"Are you sure though? Once you enter you will be a part of my business." I warned and Darren looked at Silas.
Darren's curiosity was evident in the way he was staring at the lair with glowing eyes while Silas gave me a hard stare.
"Just so you know, even if you decide to come back here again, you will never find this lair. You will end up getting lost in the labyrinth of the underground caves."
"The decision is yours to make, you see this cave?" I gestured at all the space around me filled with the glowing magic stones, "There's more inside."
Darren kept looking at Silas with pleading eyes and I waited patiently. They had bit the bait, I wasn't letting them off the hook that easily.
"Archmage?" Darren spoke up and Silas sighed loudly.
"Your daughter is smarter than you." He said to Duke instead.
"She's like her mother." The Duke countered.
"She was foolish enough to fall for you." Silas retorted.
"Then, my daughter is smarter than both me and Serene." Silas clicked his tongue as the Duke said that.
I couldn't understand their dynamics but it seemed like these two had known each other for a long time and Silas was even acquainted with my late mother, Duchess Serene Aurelius.
"You accept or not?" I prompted and Silas looked at me.
"Fine, we have a deal."
I smiled, "I hope you don't go back on your word, Archmage."
"You don't trust people at all."
"You are not allowed to say that." I kept the smile on making his face go sour.
"Let us in."
I allowed the two to enter the lair and Darren instantly skipped over to the magic stones that were growing everywhere like an excited child in a toy shop.
"Such raw and pure and high-quality magic stones! They will cost a fortune once they hit the market!"
Silas examined the stones quietly while I and the Duke stood at a distance letting him do his thing.
"I didn't expect you to bring in the Mage's Tower, Father." I said.
"You asked me to bring someone trustworthy and also someone who could be a good business partner."
"You brought the best possible person."
The Duke sighed and then smiled at me, "I'm glad."
Silas after examining the whole place returned to us, "It exceeds my expectations."
"Shall we return then? I have other work pending." I said and Silas tilted his head slightly and looked at the Duke.
I walked out of the lair followed by the three.
"Is it an urgent business that you need to tend to?" Silas asked as he walked beside me.
His long legs were easily able to catch up with me.
"Yes, there are a few things that I was supposed to check today." I answered as I kept walking hearing the footsteps of Darren and the Duke behind me.
"Then, this way will be efficient." Silas said and my eyes widened as I felt him picking me up from the ground into his arms.
"What are you doing?" I asked and he turned around to look at Darren and the Duke.
"You two can come by the carriage, we're going ahead." Silas hollered.
"What?!" Darren gasped.
"Where are you taking my daughter?" Duke snapped.
I couldn't understand at first but it clicked once there was a pillar of pink light that swallowed us and I realised that he used a teleportation spell on us.
I only had to blink once before I found myself right outside the Duke's study still in Silas's arms.
"Aren't you quite bold to abduct a Duke's daughter right in front of his eyes?" I commented and he looked down at me.
"You don't seem fazed by the teleportation spell." He said instead.
Suddenly there was a sound of something clattering to the floor and I and Silas turned to look at the three figures who stared at us with wide eyes.