“Greltheaven,” I said, looking at the tiny city in front of me. Many people in the capital still couldn’t believe it had produced the legacy.

Well, I am glad it did, because I am its guardian.

I had to spend a huge amount of political capital and promised things I usually wouldn’t. Sabotaged some people’s bids and threatened a few to get this job.

It will be worth it.

Silver may be the host, but I am its guardian. Not even a dust will move it without my permission, and I plan to wield it with an iron fist to get the benefits I need.

His Highness, the Crown Prince, wants 100% emotion essence and I am going to give it to him, after taking my cut-off course.

The job is the most desirable. It gives one control over the rarest material in the world.

Since my name had been finalized. I have been contacted by hundreds of people, powerful people. Lords, generals, and professionals like the alchemists and artificers, all of them want the emotion essence.

The ship finally docked at the port, and I walked out, under the protection of the guards. These twelve are part of the Crown Prince’s force; they are here to protect me and to keep an eye on me.

“Welcome to Greltheaven, Lord Rutto,” said the blond man. “Thank you, adviser, Robin,” I replied.

The man smiled and took me toward the carriage, without asking about my journey and other things that etiquette requires.

I controlled my anger. Being a guardian isn’t the only duty I have been given. The Crown prince had also asked me to poach people close to Count Darrow, to know his brother's plans.

He is the biggest threat to his accent to become emperor.

Hun!

Soon, we reached the carriage, and he opened the door. I stepped inside, only to see there were two people already sitting inside.

Count Darrow and Nikos Schagen.

I couldn’t help but become surprised, seeing the old man. He was thought to be dead, but he was clearly not. I am going to report it to the Crown Prince. The moment I walked away from these people.

“Lord Count, Sir Schagen,” I greeted. Controlling the turmoil of emotions, I am feeling in my heart.

The old man is Prince Grelt's loyalist, while Count Darrow is his uncle and now both of them sitting in front of me.

“Lord Rutto, welcome to Greltheaven,” said Count Darrow.

“Thank you, my lord,” I said, glancing at the window to see the carriage wasn’t moving. I could also see my guards trying to reach the carriage, but being stopped.

“I have a request, Lord Rutto. I hope you will hand over the imperial contract and the writ,” said Count, with a smile on his face become bigger.

I had feelings but didn’t expect him to ask for them directly.

“Lord Count, I have been appointed as the guardian of the legacy by his majesty, the emperor. It is my duty to present them to the host,” I replied. Hoping the name of the emperor would stop them.

“Sure, it is no problem. I just hope you will travel safely to legacy; there are a lot of assassinations happening in the city, Lord Rutto.” “Just yesterday, an attempt was made at port. The port master was lucky to get away alive. You might not be able to,” he said with a friendly smile.

I could see it in his eyes. If I didn’t do what he said, I wouldn’t be leaving the port, alive.

My guards are good, but if he used that man, then even they wouldn’t be able to do much before he separates my head from my body.

“The emperor wouldn’t like this, my lord,” I said, hoping he would relent. “You do not need to care about his majesty, Lord Rutto,” replied the Count, with his expressions turning serious.

“If this is what, my lord's desire,” I said with deep unwillingness and took out the imperial contract and writ of lordship.

“Have a safe journey, back to the capital, Lord Ruttnis,” said Count Darrow, as took the things from my hand. “I will, my lord,” I replied with gritted teeth and deep anger, which I didn’t dare to show.

I am in his domain; I don’t want to make him angry. He might kill me. I wouldn’t have thought that, but these people have become daring enough to break the emperor’s command.

They wouldn’t have any problem in killing me.

…

“Best of luck,” said Carla as the carriage stopped at Count Darrow’s mansion. “I wish you could come with me,” I said to her, taking her hand.

“I will be there,” she said.

“You know what I mean,” I said, looking at her. “I know, but me, being able to attend the party is already enough,” she said.

I looked at her eyes, before taking her lips into mine and kissed her for a minute, before pulling back.

“One day, you will be there,” I promised to her. “I know,” she said softly.

I kissed her one last time before opening the door and walking out.

The mansion of Count Darrow is lit up for the party; it is my honor. Today, I will be formally bestowed with the lordship.

It took longer than I had thought, a month. It is supposed to have taken a week, but the times are different; many things are happening in the capital.

I didn’t walk toward the ballroom but to the office of Count Darrow.

As I reached, the guards opened the door; I nodded at the old woman as I usually do and entered inside and was surprised, to see only three people inside.

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Even Mage York isn’t present.

Aside from Count Darrow and Lancel, there is an unknown old man with a head full of green hair.

He looked to be in his seventies and standing straight like a stick. My gaze was immediately attracted to his black eyes. They were sharp as a sword, that for a moment, I felt like, they might cut me.

He is not Joel Rutto, whom I had been informed of coming. Joel Rutto is a middle-aged man, while this is an old man.

“My Lords,” I greeted Count and Lancel.

“Remus, take a seat,” said Count. “Thank you, my lord,” I said as I took the seat. He smiled and looked at the old man, who nodded and placed a beautiful purple beast skin scroll that was clearly made by the high-level scrollmaker.

However, what attracted me was the seal of the imperial house and the power radiating from it.

“Remus, this is the imperial contract that every host of the legacy signs with the emperor,” informed Count Darrow.

It is a contract that is powerful enough to bind the hosts of legacy. They might resist other contracts related to the legacy, but not this one. The emperor has power over the land he rules, and that whole power binds the person to it. The binding is stronger if the person is a citizen of the empire.

I nodded without looking and opened the scroll.

The first thing I saw was a seal of the emperor and this one projected the power so strong that made me go weak in my knees. The emperor had used his skills on the contract, making it extremely hard to break.

When I looked at the text below, I saw another thing that made it powerful.

Blood ink.

The ink used to write the contract had used the blood of the emperor. It increases the effect of the skills, making it nearly unbreakable.

The emperor does not use his blood lightly, given the things that could be done with it, but he does it when it comes to the legacies.

I am not surprised. I had been informed of this by an old man, Vanis, and others.

I begin to read it carefully; not daring to miss a single word, a stop, or a comma. This text will decide my future, bind me. I need to understand it if I ever need to get out of it,

It is one strict contract. The best I had ever seen, with extremely few loopholes, I could see and even those loopholes couldn’t be used without getting discovered by it.

The contract is the same word to word, what the old man had shown me. The only thing that is different is my name and the name of the establishment.

Seeing that, I wanted to laugh with joy.

To others, it is an unbreakable contract, but for me. There is a huge loophole.

“You will need to sign it with the blood ink,” said the old man and placed a kit in front of me.

I nodded and punctured my finger with a sharp end and squeezed a drop of blood into the ink pot. I mixed it using the small glass rod twelve times, before dipping the pen inside.

I took the pen to the scroll and activated my Contract Skill before signing at the end of the scroll.

The scratching sound rang out, and I felt the power of the contract. It is as vast as the empire and if I break it, this power will come down on me.

I didn’t even dare to imagine what it would do to me.

I folded the scroll and handed it back to the old man. It is his responsibility.

“Congratulations, Remus,” said the Count. I didn’t know what there was to congratulate, I had just bonded myself to the emperor's will with the near unbreakable contract.

“Thank you, my lord,” I replied.

“Now, it is time to give you the real prize,” he said and handed me another scroll. “This is a writ of a lordship. With this, you have become a nobleman.” He said and I could see a mocking smile appearing on Lancel’s lips.

“Welcome to nobility, Lord Silver,” he said. “It is a great honor, my lord,” I replied, accepting the writ.

Lord Silver.

It feels so grand, but unfortunately, it is not. It is an empty title, a landless one. Some referred as a fake title. The real nobles are those who have the land attached to their title and could be inherited by their heirs.

My children wouldn’t be able to inherit it unless they inherit the legacy.

They understand the legacies enough to not give an actual title. They give it enough to make it seem like a prize, but it is no price. It is an iron shackle in pretty wrapping.

However, it did come with benefits that normal lords didn’t have, but these benefits were useless in the coming times.

The benefits the synod had provided are much greater than this.

“Remus, you must have already guessed, but let me introduce you formally. This is Sir Nikos Schagen, the guardian of your legacy,” introduced the Count.

Imperial Knight Schagen. No wonder this man felt dangerous. He is dangerous, extremely so.

“I will be in your care, Sir Schagen,” I said to the old man. Not mentioning anything about Joel Rutto

“The honor is all mine, Lord Silver,” said Sir Schagen as he shook my hand. His hand is gentle but felt like iron, I do not doubt that this man would have any problem in finishing me within a second.

I don’t think, even Stone could last long in front of him.

“Let’s go. I am sure the people must be waiting to meet the new lord in the Greltheaven,” said Count Darrow, and a second later, we walked out of the office and entered a ballroom packed with people.