Everyone’s eyes widened in shock as they scanned the terms laid out in the contract before them.
The document stated in no uncertain terms that should they pass the test, they would be bound to remain within the Dragon Empire for the rest of their lives. More troubling was the clause that declared they would be directly under the command of the Dragon Emperor, with their actions and words heavily restricted.
They wouldn’t be allowed to speak, write, or communicate in any way about what they had seen or heard within the Empire from the moment they had set foot…. inside their Empire.
“What is the meaning of this?” The Principal asked, her voice hardening as a deep frown creased her brow.
While she might understand and even agree with the need for secrecy as she had done before, the idea of her students being forced to spend their lives under the Dragon Emperor’s control was utterly unacceptable.
The Dragon Emperor met her gaze with a cold, unyielding stare, “This is My Empire. The laws here are my words, Sovereign.”
Yet, despite his bravado, a tremor of fear passed through his body as he felt the Principal’s immense power subtly press down on him. His eyes widened slightly, and he bit his lip, the icy composure slipping from his face, “W-What? Are you going to kill me?” he stammered, the edge of panic creeping into his voice. “Y-You know what will happen, right?”
The Principal remained silent, her eyes boring into him, unflinching. The tension in the air grew palpable, the entire group holding their breath as they waited for her response.
Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, the Dragon Emperor’s lips curled into a smirk, assuming he had the upper hand. But before he could do anything, the Principal said with icy dangerous words,
“Killing you means… I need to face your entire Empire’s Dragons, right?” she asked, her tone calm and collected as if the idea of battling an entire empire was of no concern to her.
The Dragon Emperor’s smirk faltered, replaced by a look of disbelief, “D-Do you think you—”
“I will kill them all… if that’s what’s necessary,” she stated calmly, shrugging as if the thought of mass slaughter was the most natural thing in the world.
As she had mentioned before, she generally refrained from interfering with her students’ decisions; however, this situation was entirely different… it was, in essence, an act of enslaving them here against their will.
And if he went through with this, it would inevitably lead to many other empires waging war on him to rescue their children… so either way, it would end in disaster.
Why not put an end to it now? That was her reasoning.
‘Damn, she is a dangerous one…’ Victor thought, genuinely wondering if this was the same woman he had been trying to toy with earlier.
Realizing his plan was falling apart and noticing the unsettling look in her eyes, he recalled the time she had beaten him to a pulp, even before she became sovereign!!
He swallowed hard before stammering, “F-Fine then! Since you requeste—”
“Hmm?”
“Ahem,” the Dragon Emperor corrected himself quickly, “I mean since you asked me so kindly… I will remove that clause.”
The Principal nodded, her expression stern and unyielding, but just as she was about to step back, the Dragon Emperor opened his mouth once more.
“H-However–”
Before he could utter another word, the Principal moved with lightning speed. Her fist connected with his gut, sending him crashing into the black wall.
BBOOOMMMMM!!
The impact was brutal.
Cough, Cough
The Dragon Emperor doubled over, coughing up blood as he gasped for air, “H-Hear me out!!” he choked out, his voice strained with pain. “I just want them to owe me a favour, that’s all!!” He raised his hands in a placating gesture, hoping to calm her wrath.
The Principal turned her gaze from the battered Dragon Emperor to the wall he had slammed into. To her surprise, there wasn’t even a dent. She had used half of her power in that punch, yet the wall remained completely unscathed.
‘Looks like it’s sturdier than I thought,’ she mused, her curiosity piqued by the resilience of the material. But her attention quickly returned to the Dragon Emperor, who was still struggling to regain his composure.
“It’s fine, Principal,” a soft yet determined voice interrupted.
The Principal turned to see Aqualina stepping forward, “It’s fine,” Aqualina repeated, nodding toward the Dragon Emperor.
“Since it’s only a favour, I do think it’s worth it.” She glanced at the others, her gaze steady, “I don’t think getting something for free is wise… it might come back to bite me. So, I will offer him one small favour that won’t cost anything serious.” As she spoke, the letters on her parchment shifted, reflecting the new terms before she signed it.
The contract shone brightly for a moment before dissolving into a stream of light that entered Aqualina’s body.
The others exchanged glances, realizing the logic in her words. Reluctantly, one by one, they followed her lead and signed their own contracts, watching as the magical documents disappeared into their bodies.
The Principal, however, was not yet satisfied, “Though the Chosen ones are the ones who need this trial… the rest of you, are you sure about this?” she asked, her voice carrying a note of caution as she looked at Lia, Vespherine, Ashara, Thalia, Kyra, Victor, and the other attendants who had accompanied the group.
A few of them frowned, clearly uneasy about what they were agreeing to. The implications of signing the contract were heavy, and they knew it.
Ashara hesitated for a moment before voicing the question that was on everyone’s mind. “I… I’ve been curious… what exactly is the test?” freēwebnovel.com
Of course! They hadn’t even asked what the trial entailed. All eyes turned to the Dragon Emperor, who was still wiping the blood from his lips, his expression unreadable.
The Dragon Emperor shrugged nonchalantly, “Don’t know.”
“Huh?” The group collectively blinked, taken aback by his nonchalant response.
“You’ll understand once you go inside,” he added with an enigmatic smile, leaving them more puzzled than before.
Ashara hesitated, but after seeing Victor sign without a moment’s doubt, she steeled herself and followed suit, signing her name on the contract.
Victor, however…
!~Ding~!
[Contract Invalid!]
[Cannot be formed due to your contract with #######]
Victor stared at the message, blinking in surprise.
His lips curled up, ‘Well, I didn’t expect that…’ he thought, glancing over at Aqualina, who was busy talking to Aether.
“Aether, you need to stay here and believe in me, okay?” Aqualina said, her tone serious as she looked him in the eyes.
Aether nodded, “Please be careful, Princess,” he replied, his voice lacking its usual comforting tone.
Aqualina frowned slightly, sensing something off in Aether’s demeanour…. his words seemed to lack warmth unlike before….. but she brushed it aside, focusing on the task ahead.
Helena glanced at Aether, longing to hear a few encouraging words from him, but with everyone present, she hesitated.
She sighed, feeling the weight of the moment, but then noticed Aether discreetly giving her a thumbs-up. Her beautiful smile returned, and she nodded, beginning to say, “Of co—” She quickly covered her mouth, remembering to maintain her composure, especially with Finnian watching her with a frown.
“Don’t worry, I will protect you!” Kai announced, stepping forward to reassure Vespherine.
As the group braced themselves for the trial ahead, the Dragon Emperor moved to the massive black wall.
He bit his lip and allowed a single drop of blood to fall onto the cold metal surface. The entire wall trembled before the peace symbol engraved upon it began to part, revealing a deep, black void beyond.
“Don’t die on me!” the Principal commanded sternly.
Everyone nodded, their expressions serious as they stepped toward the abyss… they entered the dark void, one by one.
Victor, the last to enter, paused and looked back at the Principal. Their eyes met briefly before he disappeared into the darkness.
Tuck!
The wall sealed shut behind them, leaving the Principal and the Dragon Emperor alone on the stony platform.
“You too…” the Dragon Emperor said suddenly, throwing a similar parchment toward the Principal.
This contract was different—its terms were simple: she must never reveal the details of this Empire to anyone. The Principal raised an eyebrow, a look of amusement crossing her face. “I wonder, why are you dragons all so secretive about everything that happens here?” she asked, signing the parchment without hesitation.
Stay tuned with empire
“It’s our law!!” the Dragon Emperor replied, his voice filled with strict pride. But the exchange wasn’t over. The Dragon Emperor turned toward Aether, who had been lingering in the background, and tossed another parchment in his direction. “You too,” he commanded.
Aether… actually, Celestia in disguise, holding Snowflake, nodded and began to sign th—
“HIIIISSSSSSSSSSSS~~~”
The trio—the Principal, Dragon Emperor, and Celestia—whirled around, their senses on high alert.
The eerie sound was coming from deep within the valley below.
Meanwhile, inside the summit…
A single message appeared on the screen before them, glowing white letters on a black background as if they were in a darkened cinema.
[Hello, everyone~ Welcome to my one and only game!]
The group stood in a dark, featureless space, their only source of light the floating screen before them.
“Game?” someone muttered, frowning in confusion.
[Yup, The One and Only Heart game! Hope you like it!]
The unexpected cheerfulness of the message caught them off guard. They exchanged uneasy glances, wondering if there was truly someone behind this strange game or if it was some kind of illusion.
[Now it’s time to see your true heart~]
Before anyone could react, the ground beneath them vanished, and they were plunged into the void.
THUD!
Each of them hit the unseen floor with a heavy impact, the world spinning around them as they struggled to understand what was happening.
______
[Author’s Note: Please check the comment section to see the pics]