01. You should have told me if it wasn’t, if it wasn’t!

A hall so vast that an entire mansion could easily fit inside.

With no decorations, not even a single piece of furniture, it felt even wider and emptier.

At the center of the hall sat an enormous golden chair that didn’t match the place at all.

Carved into the backrest were blazing flames, and on both armrests were bizarre, unidentifiable creatures.

It was a design difficult to accept even if one gathered all artistic sensibilities in the world.

On that chair, a slender man with wavy black hair was lounging at an angle.

His beauty was a blend of darkness and divinity, like a fallen angel sculpted after being cast down by the gods.

The grotesque chair that resembled a creature from hell only made his beauty stand out more sharply.

He wore nothing but a black robe the same color as his hair over bare skin, and between the parted robe, well-developed muscles cast sharp shadows.

In front of him stood a young woman with silver hair, the exact opposite of the man, standing in perfect posture.

She was Beatrice, the third imperial princess of the Scotra Empire, who had turned twenty this year.

Beatrice, her face showing clear signs of tension, barely managed to withstand the indifferent gaze of the man.

She lowered her green eyes and clenched her teeth so she wouldn’t faint.

Dragons really were something else, the pressure was unbelievable. She couldn’t even breathe properly.

She drew in a deep breath and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Great Dragon Setentias, I have come to renew our contract, in accordance with the oath of the Dragon Lord.”

The man looked at her with eyes as black and shining as obsidian.

“Name.”

“Pardon?”

“I asked what your name is. You expect to make a contract without even giving your own?”

Only then did Beatrice realize her greeting had been improper.

Idiot! She had been so nervous she skipped the etiquette her older sister taught her!

“M-my apologies! I will start again.”

When she bowed her head in apology, the man let out a soft laugh, as if he were entertained.

“Very well, try again.”

Beatrice straightened her posture and bowed deeply at the waist.

“It is an honor to meet you. I am Beatrice Dragona, third imperial princess of the Scotra Empire. In accordance with the oath of the Dragon Lord, I request the renewal of our contract.”

The man pointed at her hair, which shimmered softly like moonlight.

“Your hair is silver.”

The direct line of the Dragona imperial family had always been radiant blond.

But the third princess who had come to make the contract, no matter how kindly you looked at her, was not blond.

“Ah, that is because I inherited my mother’s side strongly. I mean, yes. My father is indeed Albert Dragona, Emperor of the Scotra Empire.”

He was the one who brought it up, yet he showed no interest in her explanation, idly twirling his own hair around his fingers.

“Your age?”

“I turned twenty this year.”

He nodded slowly as he murmured.

“A Dragona by blood and twenty years of age. You meet the terms of the contract.”

His black hair shifted over his forehead, making his skin, white as blank paper, stand out even more.

Dragons were said to carry divinity in their very presence, yet his atmosphere felt strangely distant from that image.

It wasn’t that he lacked any sense of holiness, but the dark and heavy aura surrounding him was far stronger.

Beatrice cautiously lifted her head to steal a glance at him.

According to the books, they were described as infinitely benevolent and warm in appearance…

His high, sharp nose, the defined jawline, and the long, narrow eyes…

There was undeniably a solemn and stern impression to him.

And yet, perhaps because his posture was slouched and his clothes exposed far too much, he also radiated a distinctly roguish air.

Beatrice clicked her tongue inwardly. Books were just books, after all.

“Then… may I ask that you renew the contract?”

“Yes. You may ask.”

The man rose to his feet.

As the robe swung open and exposed his upper body completely, Beatrice quickly lowered her gaze.

Noticing it, the man chuckled faintly and snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the robe vanished and changed into a black suit.

“It is still a contract, after all. I was dressed far too casually. My apologies.”

“I-it’s fine!”

He seemed to take a single step, yet suddenly he was right in front of her.

He smiled lightly and tapped Beatrice’s forehead with his finger.

[Soul Contract.]

A sheet of paper glowing gold appeared in midair.

“Look, you see the two signature lines at the bottom? Write your name on the lower one and sign beside it.”

At his words, Beatrice’s face grew flustered. With cheeks turning red, she spoke.

“Um… Lord Setentias. I’m very sorry, but I didn’t bring a pen…”

“That’s fine. Just use your finger. It’s literally a contract of the soul.”

“Oh, thank goodness. Understood!”

Beatrice held the contract and was about to check its contents when the man let out a small sigh.

“Now look here, didn’t you say this was merely a renewal? There are no added clauses. Just sign it. I detest waiting.”

He spoke in a distinctly old-fashioned manner.

It was the speech once used by high-ranking nobles, but rarely heard in the imperial capital nowadays.

Perhaps because of that…

His tone felt overwhelmingly pressuring to Beatrice.

“I-I’m sorry. This is my first time making a contract with a dragon. Then… I’ll sign.”

It was a contract that had existed for hundreds of years.

Since there were no changes, the imperial household surely had a complete grasp of its contents.

If she angered the dragon and he refused to renew the contract, it would be disastrous.

She quickly raised her index finger and neatly wrote her name, adding her signature beside it.

I hope this is okay…

The man snatched the contract from her hands, wrote his own name above hers in the upper field, and signed.

When he grasped the contract with both hands and pulled, another identical sheet appeared.

Then he handed one to Beatrice.

“Congratulations. The contract is complete. Here.”

His long, narrow eyes curved like a crescent moon, and his red lips rose in a smile.

Beatrice accepted the contract with a moved expression.

But something strange caught her eye.

“Wait a moment, Lord Setentias. Is it fine if the contract isn’t signed with your real name?”

“Of course it must be the real name. A contract signed with an alias has no validity.”

Trying not to offend him, she spoke carefully.

“Ah… it seems you wrote your name incorrectly in the signature field…”

In the signature space, the name was not Setentias but Trestia.

“That is correct. That is my name. Trestia.”

“Ah, then Lord Setentias’s true name is Trestia?”

“No. Setentias is Setentias’s real name, and my real name is Trestia.”

Beatrice stared blankly at him. What on earth was he saying?

“I’m terribly sorry, but… you are the Gold Dragon of Wisdom, Lord Setentias, aren’t you?”

“No. I am the Black Dragon, Trestia.”

“I apologize again, but… you’re not referring to that Trestia, the Mad Dragon who caused the Bammoseom Massacre thirty years ago… are you?”

The man grinned and rolled up the contract, tucking it into his clothes.

“That’s right. That Trestia. Though calling a dragon ‘mad’ is a bit much. Humans call me that?”

Mad dragon, another way to say crazy dragon.

The dragon who caused the massacre on Bammoseom thirty years ago was named Trestia.

“Kyaaah! What are you doing!”

Beatrice forgot he was the destructive, merciless Mad Dragon and screamed at him.

“What do you mean, what am I doing? You asked me to make a contract, so I made one.”

“I thought you were Lord Setentias! You should have said you weren’t! And I clearly said it was a renewal!”

“I thought you were joking. I assumed humans these days risk their lives to joke. Are you truly not a fool? You saw my black hair and black eyes and still thought I was a Gold Dragon?”

“Marianne told me Lord Setentias has unusual tastes!”

Trestia waved a hand dismissively, clearly uninterested.

“Doesn’t matter. The contract is done. There’s no value in continuing this conversation.”

“It’s not ‘done’! Cancel it right now! I need to renew the contract with Lord Setentias!”

Seeing Beatrice turn pale as she shouted, he merely shrugged.

“A Soul Contract cannot be undone. Unfortunate for you.”