"Fine. I agree. Let's use a soul contract then," Ramiela replied as she gave up.
She didn't expect her secret to be blatantly revealed by a human. As a prideful angel, she felt awful and ashamed of herself.
"Soul contract? Alright. That's better," Lawrend replied.
He was only hoping to control her since he didn't like the fact that there was an unknown variable in his own home. It was a surprise to him that she wanted a soul contract herself.
The two of them discussed the terms together.
It would all be summarized to:
* Don't kill Lawrend or Aezel to complete your mission.
* Don't reveal my secret to anyone.
Once the terms were finished, Lawrend and each of his maids made a soul contract with Ramiel.
Parts of their souls separated from them and melded onto Ramiela's soul. And vice-versa, a small piece of Ramiela's soul was also mixed into theirs.
"Thank you, Ramiela," Lawrend said to her with a smile on his face. With this, he can relax.
"Human, you have my approval. You're quite smart," Ramiela replied.
She was genuinely impressed by him. He was talented, smart, and a good man.
"It wouldn't have worked without their help," Lawrend replied calmly. He then turned his head and looked at Humility.
If it weren't for Humility thinking fast and saying what she said, then he would have already failed. He was honestly quite thankful to her.
"You can take all the credit, Master. I simply supported you," Humility replied.
"Yes, Master. You improved so much compared to the time we first met," Aleshia said.
Back then, he was naive, simple-minded, and even a coward. Now, he could think several steps ahead of an angel. That's really impressive, in her opinion.
"Hahahaha…" Lawrend laughed awkwardly.
It was hard for him to admit, but remembering his memories from his previous life greatly benefitted him. He could vaguely feel the difference it made in his thinking.
"Since everything is okay, can I go now, Lawrend?" Clova asked.
"Yes, you can," Lawrend replied.
"If you need help again, don't be shy to call for me," Clova said before she flapped her wings and flew away.
By this time, the powerful mages and swordsmen in the city were already alarmed by her presence. Before they realized it, she was already flying back out of the city.
"Now that that's settled, let's go eat," Lawrend said.
And so, Humility went to the kitchen and cooked their dinner.
As for Ramiela, she sat far away from them. She didn't want to show her face to them, and she remembered that they knew that she watched Lawrend, Aezel, and Amene do it.
As they were waiting for the food to be served, Lawrend opened his mouth to speak.
"Everyone, I have something to say. Earlier, Aezel attempted to elevate the quality of her bloodline, but she failed. As a result, she suffered a backlash," Lawrend said.
"Oh no…" Elena stared at Lawrend worriedly.
The others had the same look on their faces.
"Don't worry, she's fine. The only problem was that we're gonna try a new solution that has never been tested before, and I'm the one that proposed it to her," Lawrend further explained.
"Is it dangerous, Master?" Amene asked.
"Yes, it's dangerous," Lawrend replied.
"Nyaa..?"
Grape walked in on them. Her hair was messy, and she looked like someone who had just woken up from sleep.
"Grape, good timing," Lawrend said.
Since she was already here, he didn't have to explain it to her later.
"Aezel and I will do a blood transfusion, and we will exchange 50% of our blood together. This is in the hopes that she would be able to increase the quality of her bloodline. When she succeeds, she'd be at a Grand Mage-level," Lawrend explained.
"Wow!" Aleshia exclaimed in amazement.
She was doing her best to catch up to Lawrend and Aezel. She was surprised and a little disappointed that she'd become stronger. She at least wanted to become on par with her in terms of strength.
"Tomorrow or the next day after tomorrow, we'll do it."
"Master, what do you want us to do?" Elena asked.
Since he was telling this to them so solemnly, he must have a reason.
"I want all of you to accompany the two of us at that time," Lawrend replied.
"Human, is this the reason why you don't want me to call any of my friends?" Ramiela asked.
She took an interest in their discussion when she heard that someone was about to become on par with her in terms of strength.
"Of course. I don't want you to call another angel after we finally managed to become strong enough to control you," Lawrend replied.
In truth, Aezel could already fight evenly with her, but ultimately, she was still at the strength of an Arch Mage, and Aezel was still at a disadvantage. That doesn't include the fact that he's also about to become as strong as a Grand Mage once he becomes an Arch Mage.
For example, if their battle was prolonged, Aezel would lose because Ramiela would simply have more mana to use as she was a real Grand Mage.
"Y-Y-You tricked me!" Ramiela shouted in disbelief.
She couldn't believe that this was his plan all along. She felt so stupid falling for it.
"I didn't trick you, and you simply didn't know those facts," Lawrend replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Grrr… I swear, I'll get back at you for this," Ramiela said.
Her face turned cold as usual, and she stared at him. She wanted to tear him apart, but she can't do that.
Her soul would be under his control if she broke the soul contract.
"Don't worry. I won't order her to kill you. We'll just keep you in check," Lawrend replied.
"..."
Ramiela stayed silent.
His words could be true or they could be empty promises.
"Sign another soul contract with me! You can't kill me as long as I don't betray you," Ramiela said with gritted teeth.
She hated the words that were coming out of her own mouth. By doing what she said, she won't be able to assassinate him if an opportunity arises.. That would be her only chance to go against him in the future.