*Cough!* *Cough!*
Riezel coughed furiously, choking on the tea that had just been sprayed out.
"Are you okay?!"
Yuri was startled by this and quickly patted Riezel's back, trying to make him feel a bit better.
Meanwhile, Marilyn frowned, looking at Lizbeth with a slightly exasperated expression.
"A-Are you okay?"
Seeing Riezel's reaction, Lizbeth was instantly flustered, looking like she had no idea what had happened but felt like she must have done something wrong. Despite her earlier bold statement, she was now frightened, leaving everyone unsure whether to call her brave or timid.
"...What did you just say? Did I hear you wrong, or did you say something wrong?"
Riezel finally caught his breath and, looking at the pitiful princess, couldn't help but ask.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Lizbeth seemed to have lost confidence.
Seeing this, Marilyn couldn't stand it any longer and decided to break the silence.
"You meant to say you want to be an attendant, not a slave, right?"
Marilyn's tone was a bit cold, making it seem like she was angry at Lizbeth.
Surprisingly, Lizbeth hurriedly shook her head.
"No, I mean to be a slave..." Lizbeth tightened her grip on the sword in her arms. "Someone like me... how could I propose to be an attendant?"
"What's wrong with someone like you?" Marilyn's frown deepened and her voice became colder. "You're a princess, one of the most outstanding members of the royal family. Normally, even proposing to be an attendant for someone else would be considered degrading, so why speak so self-deprecatingly?"
"..."
Lizbeth fell silent, not appearing to agree with Marilyn's view.
Nevertheless, this seemed to make Marilyn even angrier. She wanted to say more to Lizbeth, but since she understood she didn't have the standing to do so, she emitted a frustrated aura.
"Okay, wait a sec, let me sort this out first..."
Riezel raised his hand, stopping the conversation between the two.
"Whether it's being an attendant or a slave, to me, it's honestly an absurd situation, okay?"
"First of all, what's going on?"
"Why the sudden proposal to be my slave—uh, attendant?"
Riezel paused momentarily and finally changed 'slave' to 'attendant' in his wording.
He couldn't help but worry that he might be misunderstanding something.
A princess, especially one as beautiful, talented, and with such a nice figure, actually said she wanted to be his slave?
To prevent his thoughts from falling to the dark side, he could only change his wording, forcing himself not to think wrongly.
However, as soon as Riezel finished speaking, Lizbeth suddenly seemed on the verge of tears.
"Am I not worthy?"
Lizbeth stood up and bowed deeply to Riezel.
"I'm sorry... It seems I got carried away... Someone like me really doesn't even deserve to be a slave... Please forgive my overstepping..."
Her eyes were not only filled with tears as she spoke, but she also wore a pitiful expression.
"Or... you could just think of me as a pesky parasitic worm that accidentally stuck to you or like some dog-tail grass you picked up by mistake! Just don't throw me away, please... I'll do whatever you ask!"
Upon hearing Lizbeth's ridiculous words, Riezel's mouth twitched slightly.
Even Yuri and Marilyn were left speechless, staring at Lizbeth with strange looks.
"I-Is that still not okay?"
Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Lizbeth immediately burst into tears again and bowed repeatedly.
"Please forgive me! Someone like me, like a parasitic worm or dog-tail grass, must be very disgusting! If I dirty Lord Sword Saint's hands, it would be truly unforgivable!"
"Just think of me as a speck of dust or a small, insignificant stone that you can carry around with you!"
At this point, Lizbeth carefully raised her head, looking at Riezel.
"Is that… still not okay?"
She looked as pitiful as one could imagine, so much so that, despite Riezel not doing anything, he suddenly felt like a terrible rascal, overwhelmed with a strong sense of guilt.
Even Yuri and Marilyn seemed to share the same sentiment, looking at Riezel as if it was his fault.
"L-Lord Sword Saint?"
Seeing that everyone, especially Riezel, remained silent, Lizbeth grew desperate, continuing to bow and apologize.
"Okay, stop!"
Riezel quickly reached out to stop Lizbeth.
Lizbeth froze immediately, her tearful eyes fixed on him, looking like a child being scolded and too scared to move.
"..."
Riezel was silent for a moment, then spoke with a deadpan expression.
"Okay, sit down first and wait here for a moment since I have something to take care of. I'll come back and talk to you in a bit."
Riezel quickly stood up and grabbed Yuri's hand.
"Let's go outside."
Riezel didn't give Yuri a chance to respond, quickly pulling her out with a sense of urgency.
Only Marilyn and Lizbeth remained in the reception room, looking silently at each other, causing the atmosphere to suddenly turn tense.
===
Outside the reception room, at the corner of the hallway, Riezel had brought Yuri directly here.
"What's up with that princess?"
Riezel, usually composed, looked unusually bewildered.
"I almost thought she was being bullied or something. Do you know something?"
"I do..." Yuri made a bitter smile. "I didn't expect that the ninth princess, who has just started making waves this year and has been all the buzz in the royal capital recently, would have such a... unique personality..."
"You know, this isn't just a personality; it's a whole different thing..." Riezel sighed, calming himself. "So, what the heck is going on?"
Unable to continue his conversation with Lizbeth, he had to turn to Yuri for answers.
Since Ian mentioned that Yuri and Marilyn seemed to know why Lizbeth was visiting, he had no choice but to consult Yuri.
Yuri's bitter smile instantly vanished, replaced by an unhappy expression.
"I think the royal family must have sent her here to be your attendant."
When Yuri said this, her expression looked like she was recalling something unpleasant, clearly upset.
"What? Why did they send her to be my attendant?" Riezel asked reflexively, his state of mind finally returning to normal.
"Why else? It's obviously the royal family's usual trick..." Yuri replied with a cold expression and voice. "You know, right? For a magician to form an attendant contract with a swordsman, the primary condition is to grant the attendant a wish."
Needless to say, this was common knowledge, as not only did magicians and swordsmen know it, but regular people did too.
An attendant contract was a fairly equal agreement that benefited both parties involved.
A magician needed a strong attendant to protect them and buy time to use magic during battles, while the attendant made a wish as a condition and pledged loyalty to the magician.
If the attendant didn't make a wish or if the magician couldn't fulfill the attendant's wish, the attendant contract wouldn't take effect. Even if an agreement was made in advance but not fulfilled later, the attendant could always nullify the contract at any time and leave the magician they pledged to serve.
In such cases, some people devised ways to exploit the attendant contract.
"In truth, there are quite a few high-ranking individuals who cultivate valuable, powerful, or specialized talented swordsmen around them."
Yuri explained, revealing the truth of the attendant contract.
"However, all of those swordsmen aren't meant for their own use but are given to those they believe have greater value."
Apparently, these high-ranking individuals instructed their cultivated swordsmen to form attendant contracts with their targets and made wishes that benefited them, thus achieving some undisclosed objectives.
"For example, the royal family would send some of their talented swordsmen to the side of influential, high-status nobles, ordering those swordsmen to make a wish for the nobles, who are magicians, to never betray the kingdom."
"In this way, they can restrain the nobles and prevent them from doing anything harmful to the kingdom."
At this point, Yuri's expression and voice grew colder.
"As long as the nobles have no intentions of harming the country and are genuinely interested in those swordsmen, they will agree to that wish."
In short, with the contract in place, the nobles would be unable to do anything detrimental to the kingdom, and at that point, the royal family could fully trust them and be at ease.
Clearly, this was a common tactic used by the royal family and many nobles to control their outstanding subordinates, which was not just prevalent here in Jinas but also widely used in other countries on the Akasha Continent.
Many high-ranking individuals even used this method to test their subordinates to see if they were willing to establish such contracts.
If they agreed, it showed they had no intentions of betrayal.
If they refused, it meant they were disloyal and had ulterior motives.
Now, Riezel found himself in such a situation.
"I think they believe that even if they can't bind you to this kingdom, they need to make sure you won't act against it, which is why they sent someone to be your attendant, making their wish something like 'you can't harm the kingdom' or the like."
Yuri turned to Riezel, looking seriously at him.
"However, I didn't expect them to actually send the ninth princess to you. It seems they value you so much that they're worried the person they sent wouldn't be enough to sway you."
After hearing Yuri's explanation, Riezel frowned and became lost in thought.