How to Break a Contract?

Rellana's expression darkened completely the instant the envoy left.

She shot to her feet, her hand on her sword hilt, and stared fixedly at Horace Loux, her chest heaving with anger. "You... you actually signed it?!"

Her voice brimmed with disbelief and the fury of betrayal. "Do you have any idea what that contract means? You promised my sister..."

"It means I've acquired five Glintstone Artisans," Horace Loux interrupted calmly, setting the contract casually on the table.

"You!" Rellana trembled all over with rage.

"For a handful of artisans, you just... you just..."

"Backlash?" Horace Loux suddenly smiled, a hint of cunning in that smile that made Rellana uneasy.

He picked up the parchment, which glowed with True Magic, and with a slight shift of thought, the Great Runes Core deep within his soul began to operate.

He did not destroy the contract directly-that would immediately trigger a True Magic backlash and alert the Academy.

Instead, he imposed an extremely brief Great Rune on "the contract itself": [This contract's binding force may be temporarily overridden and waived under specific conditions].

He made the "exchange" portion of this Great Rune extremely minor and self-directed, incurring almost no cost.

The instant the Great Rune took effect, the power of the rules within the True Magic contract was gently "enveloped" by a more "overbearing" layer of Great Rune rules, as though encased in a transparent shell.

Then Horace Loux dispelled this temporary Great Rune.

The override vanished. Yet in the exceedingly brief instant when it appeared and disappeared, the Great Runes System's ability to "forcibly define rules" collided and interfered with the rules of the True Magic contract.

The structure of the True Magic contract's rules remained intact, but the "binding link" between it and its signatory experienced fluctuations bordering on "logical confusion" under the forceful intrusion and withdrawal of the Great Rune rules.

It was like a taut string being gently plucked and released. It remained connected, but the efficiency and precision with which it transmitted "vibrations"-binding force and backlash-had suffered permanent damage.

For Horace Loux, the result of that damage was this: the True Magic contract still nominally bound him, but if he "violated" it in the future, the resulting backlash would be extremely slow and weak. It might even fail to target him accurately because of the "confusion" in the rule link.

In other words, the contract had become a worthless piece of paper with drastically reduced enforceability-at least for him personally.

All of this happened in a flash, without a sound.

The True Magic glow on the parchment remained, seemingly unchanged.

Under Rellana's startled, uncertain gaze, Horace Loux casually picked up the contract.

Bayle's dragonflame ignited, and the parchment burned in his palm.

The anticipated flare of True Magic backlash never erupted. Only a little True Magic dust drifted away.

"You see," Horace Loux said, spreading his hands, leaving only embers in his palm.

"Problem solved."

Rellana stood dumbfounded, her hand still on her sword hilt, unable either to draw it or let go.

She had absolutely no idea what had happened.

He just casually destroyed a True Magic contract like that? With no backlash? How was that possible?

Could the Academy have used a fake contract? No, that couldn't be faked!

Her mind was a jumble. All the anger she had mustered to call him to account, along with the vengeful satisfaction of "finally having something on him," now lodged in her chest, unable to rise or settle, turning into an even more stifling knot that made her face alternate between red and white.

"You... what exactly did you do?!" she asked with difficulty, her voice a little strained.

"A little trick," Horace Loux said lightly.

"Contracts are rigid. People aren't. Besides, playing with rules and restrictions... I suppose I'm reasonably good at that."

He was referring to the Great Runes System.

But even if the Great Runes had no effect on the contract, he still had a walking cash dispenser of a lady backing him.

Using the Great Runes to redirect the backlash to the Formless Mother was easy for him. That Outer God would probably get a thrill out of it, too.

Rellana looked at him, her gaze impossibly complicated.

Her anger had not faded, but she was also stunned by this inconceivable method, with a deep sense of helplessness and an inexplicable irritation besides.

Why did this fellow always manage to do things that defied her expectations?

"Mind your health, Miss Knight," Horace Loux reminded her "kindly," pointing at her face.

"Your face is so red. Too much anger is bad for you."

Those words, seemingly concerned but actually teasing, became the final straw.

Rellana felt as though she was about to explode!

She did not want to see that detestable face again or hear that detestable voice!

She spun around, intending to storm out and slam the door with a deafening bang to express her extreme displeasure.

However, she had forgotten that, in her earlier agitation, she had unwittingly moved very close to the doorway, with her back to the door.

Thud!

There was a dull impact-not the door slamming, but her head... smacking squarely into the hard doorframe!

Fortunately, as a hero, she possessed an extraordinarily sturdy physique. The doorframe was thick hardwood clad in iron, yet the impact made it bulge slightly outward and groan under the strain.

She herself merely clutched her forehead, which had instantly turned red, and staggered a step, a little dazed.

The pain was secondary. More importantly, this sudden, utterly idiotic mishap turned all her anger, frustration, and mortification into overwhelming embarrassment and a sense of social death.

Everyone had to die someday, but not of embarrassment, especially not in front of this fellow.

Clutching her forehead, she turned around with extreme stiffness and looked at the culprit inside the room.

Horace Loux was clearly stunned for a moment, too. Then an utterly innocent expression appeared on his face, and he spread his hands. "Who told you to insist on posing against the doorframe?"

"You!" Rellana felt her vision darken-not from the collision, but from anger.

She could no longer hold back, nor did she care about aristocratic etiquette anymore. She glared at Horace Loux with all her might. If that look could be translated, it would probably mean, "Just you wait. This isn't over!"

Then, clutching her forehead, she rushed out of the room without looking back. This time, she remembered to duck beneath the doorframe, but her steps faltered, and from behind, she looked flustered and disheveled no matter how one looked at her.

Horace Loux watched her disappear at the end of the corridor, then glanced at the somewhat misshapen doorframe and shook his head. Yet an almost imperceptible curve lifted the corner of his mouth.

"She really... hasn't changed at all," he murmured, though it was unclear whether he meant this dramatic clash or the knight's ever-present tendency to fly off the handle.

Five Glintstone Artisans would soon be his.

And it seemed that the Twin Moon Knight's "revenge saga" still had a long way to run.

How did I do writing Rellana?