Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage's Book-Chapter 22

Binaeril shared his plan.

“You’re really going to do that? Do you think it will work?”

“We have to try. We can’t expect the timid princess to solve this on her own. She’ll just worry. Will you do it?”

Sylvia’s hesitation was brief. She was always ready to stand up for her lord.

“Of course.”

Back in the training room, the Dean and the imperial princess were in a somber mood.

“They’re both concerned for you,” said the Dean.

Rike smiled sadly.

“I know.”

“They just have different ways of showing it.”

“Indeed.”

Seeing Rike’s melancholic expression, the Dean found no further words of comfort.

Rike hesitated before speaking.

“Master, wouldn’t it be better if you withdrew your recommendation for me?”

“Binaeril was right. I mean his initial point. You accepted me as your student and recommended me because of my status. If I weren’t a princess…”

“Please, don’t say that,” the Dean interrupted sternly.

“Your abilities are sufficient. You just haven’t had many opportunities to show them. Trust me; I’ve trained many students with my own hands.”

Rike didn’t seem convinced, so the Dean added another point.

“If you return home without achieving anything, will the regent leave it at that?”

“I’ll submit a leave of absence and go to the imperial palace. After my sister’s situation is resolved, I can return.”

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The Dean shook his head.

“The scholar exam doesn’t last long. Princess, please be a little more brazen. Once the exam starts, no one will question your talent.”

“What is my talent?” she asked.

“You know it, Princess…”

At that moment, a staff member burst into the training room.

“Dean! There’s a fight!”

“A talent for causing trouble… Hey, don’t you know how to knock?”

The staff member, bowing apologetically, explained the situation again.

“There’s a fight in the square where the students are gathered. You need to come quickly.”

“A fight? A brawl?”

“No, just two people.”

“Then just break it up. Why call me?”

“Well…”

The staff member glanced around nervously.

“It’s the tournament winner and runner-up.”

The unexpected news made both stand up.

“What? An imperial princess? How dare an imperial palace resident enroll in Elfenbine?”

Binaeril shouted loudly in the student-crowded square, making sure everyone heard.

“Hey, it’s Binaeril, the tournament winner.”

“The winner’s here? Really.”

All eyes turned to Binaeril.

“Some had to fight hard in the tournament to get selected, while others got selected just by sitting around. Isn’t that unfair?”

The crowd nodded in agreement with his words.

“Whether a princess or not, if they’re at Elfenbine, they should follow Elfenbine’s rules. If she’s skilled and competent, no one would have an issue, right?”

Binaeril asked a nearby student.

Caught off guard, the student stammered, “Y-yes, that’s right.”

“Then at least come out and show your skills. If the princess is truly talented, no one would object.”

The vague complaints from the students were crystallized through the tournament winner’s voice.

Binaeril skillfully unified the students’ voices into one opinion: that skill alone should determine selection.

It was time for the next actor in this play to make their entrance.

“Hey, don’t slander the Princess.”

Sylvia took on the antithesis role in this play.

Since enrolling at Elfenbine, she had always been by Rike’s side, and naturally, the students saw her as Rike’s ally.

“It’s the runner-up!”

“But isn’t she on the Princess’s side?”

“Yes, I’ve seen them together in class.”

“Slander? I just stated the facts. Unless the cowardly princess steps up and shows her skills, right?”

Binaeril provoked her, though it was part of his plan.

Sylvia, hearing his taunts, rolled up her sleeves.

“You need a good beating today.”

“You’re not serious, are you…?”

Sylvia seemed very serious.

Binaeril barely dodged her punch and signaled with his eyes.

‘Hey, take it easy!’

Sylvia replied with her eyes.

‘It won’t look real otherwise.’

“Hey, they’re fighting!”

“Where? Who’s fighting whom?”

“The winner and the runner-up are going at it again!”

Sylvia showed no signs of holding back. Binaeril dodged her initial punch and blocked her kick with his arms, feeling the impact despite not using reinforcement magic.

As the fight started, the students formed a circle around them. Binaeril whispered.

“Just pretend to hit.”

“You’re the winner. That means you can handle anything I throw at you, right?”

It seemed Sylvia had no intention of holding back.

This was beyond Binaeril’s plan. Had he provoked her too much? If Sylvia was serious, he couldn’t take her lightly.

As the commotion grew, faculty members joined the crowd.

“What are you doing!”

“Stop! Unauthorized duels are prohibited on campus!”

“Eden, please keep them away.”

Binaeril whispered to the ring.

Eden seeped into the ground, creating a wave that pushed people back.

“W-whoa?”

“What’s happening?”

People stumbled and fell, creating more space.

Binaeril dodged Sylvia’s fierce attacks, waiting for the next step of his plan.

Just then, a tall figure appeared above the crowd.

It was Dean Yulio.

“What are they doing?”

The Dean watched the spectacle from a distance.

Sylvia was attacking furiously, and Binaeril was desperately dodging and looking towards him.

‘…Does he want me to stop them?’

But if that were the case, the fight wouldn’t have started.

There seemed no reason for them to fight in the crowded square.

Binaeril had said, ‘Just show your ability.’

“Hmm…”

Binaeril was setting the stage.

The Dean glanced at Rike.

“Stop it.”

Rike pushed through the crowd towards the fighting pair.

She didn’t mind being criticized herself. She could endure it.

But she couldn’t stand seeing her friends fight because of her.

“Stop, please stop!”

Somehow, the closer she got, the more intense the fight became.

Magic clashed, power against power, drowning out her voice.

She needed to stop them without anyone getting hurt.

“The princess is here.”

“The imperial princess showed up.”

“That’s her?”

The ground had risen like a basin around Binaeril and Sylvia. Rike climbed the edge and walked into the midst of the chaotic magic.

The students murmured, but their stares didn’t matter now.

Stopping the fight was all that mattered.

She needed a spell to stop them without causing harm.

“Kneel before the ground beneath your feet becomes a swamp.”

The ground beneath the two fighters sank, trapping their legs up to their knees.

The students watching, and even Binaeril and Sylvia, were surprised.

Using elemental magic to alter the terrain on such a scale was a third-tier spell.

“Stop.”

Rike declared, panting, to the two.

“There’s no need to fight because of me. The rank of a mage doesn’t matter to me. Please, stop fighting.”

Binaeril pulled himself out of the ground and approached Rike.

“Rike, well done.”

“Look around.”

It was quiet.

All the disgruntled students had witnessed Rike’s skill firsthand.

Sylvia also pulled herself from the mud, with a cut on her shin from a rock.

“Oh, Sylvia, you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine…”

Before Sylvia could protest, Rike cast her second spell, healing light emanating from her hands.

“Healing magic…”

Many students were witnessing this rare talent for the first time.

Binaeril beamed.

Dean Yulio, watching from a distance, smiled broadly.

“Good, good. Now no one can question her. This is excellent.”

A teacher’s heart swelled with pride at their student’s success.

Meanwhile, Dean Yulio...

Was summoned by the Tower Master for not stopping the students' fight.