Rose Empire

Chapter 14: Arrogant Thoughts 

　　Lilith was not only the only adventurer Charlotte knew but also the only living spirit pact mage Charlotte had ever met. 

　　Spirit pact mages were quite famous in the Oran Empire, thanks to an ancient legend. 

　　Legend has it that the predecessor of the Oran Empire, the Wimburton Empire, once gathered almost all the spirit pact mages in the world. 

　　One day, the last emperor of the Wimburton Empire made a bet with a spirit pact mage whether it would snow across the entire empire that winter. The emperor believed it would not, while the spirit pact mage believed it would. They agreed that if the emperor won, the spirit pact mage would serve him for the rest of his life. If the spirit pact mage won, the emperor would have to pay the mage a daily amount of grain, starting with one grain on the first day, two on the second, four on the third, eight on the fourth, and so on, until the mage's death. 

　　At that time, the territory of the Wimburton Empire was only slightly smaller than that of the current Oran Empire, and many regions had a consistently mild climate, making snow across the entire empire almost impossible. However, that very year, the Wimburton Empire was blanketed in heavy snow. 

　　The emperor lost the bet and had to fulfill the agreement. 

　　It was then that the emperor realized, as time passed, that even if he confiscated all the grain in the country, it would not be enough to pay the debt promised to the spirit pact mage. 

　　Some ministers advised the emperor to stop fulfilling the agreement, or the nation would perish. The emperor could only say helplessly, "A contract with a spirit pact mage cannot be broken." He continued to confiscate grain from the empire. 

　　In the end, the Wimburton Empire collapsed in an unprecedented famine. 

　　After the fall of the Wimburton Empire, the Oran Empire rose from its ruins. 

　　At the beginning of the Oran Empire's establishment, spirit pact mages were classified alongside necromancers as "the unforgivable," and a large-scale purge of spirit pact mages within the empire was carried out. Cultivation materials and knowledge related to spirit pact mages were destroyed, and this campaign lasted for over a hundred years. 

　　A single person had brought down a millennium-old empire, and spirit pact mages left behind a terrifying legend. 

　　Due to a lack of historical records and evidence, Charlotte did not know how much truth the legend held, but it was true that the Oran Empire had attempted to eradicate spirit pact mages with the full force of the nation at its founding. Although the policy was gradually abandoned after the death of the founding emperor, that period of history had indeed caused significant damage to the legacy of spirit pact mages. 

　　Complete lineages of spirit pact mages within the Oran Empire had almost disappeared, and the surviving cultivation methods were all incomplete, some even fabricated or riddled with errors. 

　　The cultivation method Lilith used was said to have been pieced together by her from ancient texts, but it still had many issues. The most serious one was that Lilith could not fully determine whether she was engaging in the act of "forming a contract" with someone. 

　　Sometimes Lilith felt she was clearly forming a contract, but the supernatural power of the spirit pact mage within her showed no reaction. Other times, when she did not intend to form a contract, her supernatural power would take it upon itself to turn her casual promises into unbreakable vows. 

　　For example, just now, Lilith's statement, "Unless you kiss my toes," was clearly an angry remark, yet the supernatural power of the spirit pact mage activated on its own. 

　　"It's not working, ahhhh..." 

　　Charlotte's convoy set off again, and Lilith, who had joined them, rolled on the floor of the carriage. 

　　As the legend goes, "A contract with a spirit pact mage cannot be broken." The contracts of spirit pact mages are binding on both parties, whether it be the opponent or the mage themselves. 

　　In truth, Lilith had been Charlotte's friend for over a decade. Although there were often "conflicts of interest" between them, they had indeed gone through multiple life-and-death crises together. Charlotte had never intended to use a contract to bind Lilith; the previous contract was more a result of Charlotte's mischievous nature. 

　　Seeing Lilith cry so sadly, Charlotte came up with a solution. She and Renee announced the formation of an adventuring party, and Lilith declared her membership, which should have fulfilled the agreement. 

　　However, it had no effect. Lilith's contractual bindings remained. 

　　The supernatural power of the spirit pact did not consider Lilith to have fulfilled the agreement. 

　　It seemed that in judging whether the contracting parties had fulfilled their obligations, spirit pact mages had a set of standards that went beyond mere wordplay. 

　　Charlotte took out a cake made by Renee and pushed it toward Lilith. "Stop crying. It's just a contract. I don't plan to force you to do anything." 

　　"You don't understand!" Lilith took a big bite of the cake and pointed a short finger at Charlotte. "I'm only a one-wing spirit pact mage. I can only maintain one contract at a time. As long as the contract with you remains unfulfilled, I can't form another one!" 

　　"Damn it, you pervert!" Lilith puffed up her cheeks in anger again. "You won't even let a little girl like me go!" 

　　"I don't believe you're a little girl," Charlotte retorted, then her expression turned serious. "I sought you out because I need your help with something." 

　　"What is it?" Lilith asked. 

　　"It's this..." Charlotte took out a piece of parchment from her luggage. 

　　Lilith unfolded the parchment, which bore blurred and hard-to-read ancient text. However, this was no problem for Lilith, as the contents of the parchment were something she, Charlotte, and Renee had brought back from the Luyang ruins four years ago. 

　　Years ago, Lilith had pieced together clues from countless ancient texts and folk legends, speculating that in the central part of the Kanpei Mountains, in a place called the Dajis Basin, there should be ruins of a city that existed at least a hundred thousand years ago. In folk legends, it was called "Luyang." 

　　At the time, the young Charlotte was extremely interested in the existence of the Luyang ruins because the church's "Scriptures" stated that Igg, the God, was born a hundred thousand years ago. Charlotte wanted to see what this city, which might have predated the God, looked like. 

　　So, she persuaded Lilith to join her in searching for Luyang. 

　　It was an incredibly dangerous journey, but also one filled with rewards. 

　　"Are you really sure about this?" Lilith gently traced the ink on the parchment, her expression growing serious. Over the years, Lilith and Charlotte's research had confirmed that these texts recorded the rituals and cultivation methods of a very ancient supernatural lineage. 

　　"Miss, have you really thought this through? We still can't confirm whether this ancient lineage is complete or safe, can we?" Renee chimed in. 

　　Charlotte shook her head. "This parchment was copied from an obelisk. That obelisk was clearly a commemorative structure, so the lineage carved on it is likely to be relatively complete. As for safety... I think if ancient people could practice this lineage, I should be able to as well. Of course, more importantly..." 

　　Charlotte paused for a moment. 

　　The carriage shook as it traveled over the bumpy road, the wheels creaking. For a moment, the interior of the carriage grew even quieter. 

　　Finally, Charlotte smiled. "Lilith, Renee, you know... more importantly, I've always wanted to see what mages were like before the birth of the God." 

　　The carriage fell silent once more. Charlotte's words were like a heavy stone pressing on Lilith and Renee is hearts. 

　　The God, Igg, the creator of the world, the omnipotent, omniscient, supreme, and only God. 

　　He was not an idol fabricated by some religion, nor a vague concept of primitive worship. 

　　He truly existed. 

　　Every supernatural being in this world could feel His presence. The stronger the supernatural being, the closer they were to Him, and the more they could comprehend His supremacy and greatness. 

　　Yet, Charlotte longed to catch a glimpse of a world untouched by the God is power. 

　　The mere existence of such a thought was enough to make the natives of this world tremble. 

　　For the rest of the journey, Renee and Lilith spoke very little. 

　　By noon the next day, the convoy suddenly came to a halt. 

　　The gray-haired old knight, Jack Moore, rode up to Charlotte's carriage and said, "Miss, we've arrived at the territory of Baron Lanwan."

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