episode_0045

‘So, black magicians were truly this formidable.’

Emma, facing a black magician for the first time in her life, felt her heart pounding due to the tension and fear of the unknown.

But she knew well that if she appeared intimidated and devoured from the first meeting, she would make a fool of herself.

‘What are black magicians anyway, but despicable creatures who can’t even crawl out of their rat holes? Fungi of the shadows… No need to be scared..!’

Emma steeled herself, continuously repeating her arrogant nature, and spoke to the black magician, Lergo.

“Yes. I am the client. I’ve made preparations for the request…”

However, the formidable black magician, Lergo, sharply cut Emma off with a dismissive voice.

“Your words are short. Do you dare to be insolent in front of me? Perhaps this paltry noble lady sees me as some vulgar subordinate…”

The voice, dripping with pure ‘fear,’ seeped through Emma’s skin and constricted her heart.

Should she clash? Or should she submit? There was a fleeting moment of contemplation, but seeing the terrifying bird-beak mask broke Emma’s spirit.

“Ugh… I’ve made… preparations, Mr. Lergo. But I serve someone else, so extreme honorifics are too much. Please understand.”

Not attaching the honorific ‘-nim’ was the last shred of pride Emma could cling to in that moment.

“Very well. I, being generous, will understand that much. Now, come this way.”

Lergo chuckled, as if condescendingly granting her a favor, and pulled Emma toward the table right beside them.

*Whoosh*—Emma swallowed a tense gulp as she watched the black magician glide as if a ghost, his feet not touching the ground.

“Here… I’ve prepared the ingredients…”

Though intimidated, Emma, with a hesitant voice that couldn’t hide her suspicion, produced a bundle containing the ‘ingredients’ for black magic.

“A mere black magician doesn’t inspire trust. That’s what your eyes and voice say.”

“Ugh… It’s not that.”

Lergo, who had taken the bag, cackled ominously and spoke, and Emma, her thoughts caught off guard, flinched and turned her head away.

There was no doubting the eerie atmosphere Lergo exuded, but Emma, though crude, was still a magician.

Black magic, after all, was a strictly forbidden, shadowy art, its proper principles and mechanisms veiled in mystery.

Unless one is deeply involved in the underworld, black magic is a true abyss one would never encounter in a lifetime.

And the ‘Black Ritual Book of Schwarzkolom’ that Lizley had given Emma was also a book that accurately reflected the nature of black magic.

Since it wasn’t a properly printed and published book, it had the crude appearance of a child’s notebook, but its contents were unspeakably repulsive and horrific, with parts even cut out and damaged.

It was a monstrous book that concluded with the notion that if one wished to perform black magic, the only way was to seek out a skilled black magician themselves.

“Well, I understand. Black magic is strictly a domain of ‘talent.’ A mere magician like you wouldn’t be able to grasp even the hem of black magic’s robe, even if you sold your soul.”

And the next moment, Emma felt countless tentacles growing through her arms, legs, and abdomen.

Overwhelmed by the foreign sensation and nausea, Emma couldn’t hold it back and collapsed to the floor, gagging.

“Gagging!”

Though arrogant, in the face of true black magic, she was merely an ill-tempered puppy.

‘To inflict such pain without a beast form or a spell? What in the…!’

Just as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back the surging nausea, Emma snapped back to her senses with the pain of a kick to her shinbone.

The tentacles that had covered her body and the vomit she’d spewed on the floor had vanished without a trace.

All that remained was the throbbing pain in her shinbone from Lergo’s precise kick, and Lergo himself standing on his tiptoes.

“Pant pant… What was that…?”

“Brat, is this the magic you knew? Does the childish play you proudly call ‘light magic’ look the same as my art?”

Emma’s creaking mind realized that what Lergo had just performed was a powerful illusion magic.

“Don’t you, a mere subordinate, dare try to gauge me. I am the darkness of Delphi, and furthermore, of the Empire. That is why those above strive so hard to contain me within their shadows.”

Lergo stroked Emma’s chin and cheek with a hand clad in cold steel gauntlets.

She trembled like a scared sewer rat, unable to even think of batting away his hand.

Leaving the thoroughly frozen Emma, Lergo untied the bundle and took out the ‘ingredients’ one by one.

Lergo took out five small boxes, each with someone’s name written on it, and carefully checked their contents while reading the names written on the boxes.

“Ras Etgard, Irha Livingston, Eustace Clarence, Shasta Letzner, Pio Gastenvelt… A ‘Decay’ curse for unknown academy brats. Frankly, I don’t understand it with my mind.”

“Ugh… What… what do you mean?”

Seeing Emma on the verge of tears, the bird-beak mask replied with a cynical voice.

“Isn’t it so? Brats who merely attend classes and take exams, who could just quietly go to school, graduate, and play at being magicians… Why would they bother with black magic?”

‘Well, it’s not bad for me to deal with brats,’ Lergo added, but Emma could only sweat profusely.

“It’s like using a cow-slaughtering knife to catch a chicken [a proverb about overkill]. Honestly. And you didn’t even bring blood or bone fragments, just a bit of hair and some personal belongings… You know you can’t expect dramatic effects, right?”

The request Emma had made to the black magician Lergo was ‘Decay,’ one of the forbidden curses.

It involved creating a ‘cursed doll’ from the target’s body parts or belongings and linking it to the target.

Then, if the doll was damaged, the linked target would suffer from severe debilitation, temporarily or permanently, a malicious curse.

The effect of the debilitation varied greatly depending on what was used as the doll’s material, but with personal belongings like those Emma had stolen, it would only yield a temporary effect lasting at most about a week.

“For me… it’s a very important matter. Anyway, suffering severe lethargy for about three days is enough. I’m not trying to test you; it’s true there’s no risk of exposure, right?”

“Of course. Black magic is thoroughly the domain of the unknown. To break a curse, you’d have to kill me, or have a priest with incredibly powerful divine energy cling to it. Are there any such priests in the academy?”

Suddenly, Rosalie’s face flashed through Emma’s mind.

A repulsive woman, like a harlot, but quite a famous user of divine energy.

But Rosalie had opportunely left the academy, having received an urgent summons from an unknown source.

Furthermore, Rosalie in Emma’s mind was also not the caliber of person who could lift the curse of this malicious and powerful black magician.

“No, there aren’t.”

“Still, just in case, I’ll adjust it so that the effects appear rapidly over three days, especially on your pathetic ‘grand day.’ If you watch from nearby, you’ll see the effect gradually intensify with your own eyes.”

“If that’s possible… please do. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that black magic is so unfamiliar…”

Lergo clapped his hands, clad in steel gauntlets, with a *thwack!*

“Good. Then I’ll go get the contract. Wait here for a moment.”

“…..”

Lergo slid into a small room and returned shortly with the contract.

The contract was densely packed with detailed clauses: non-disclosure, mutual obligations, compensation, and penalties for failure, along with spaces for names and signatures.

“Upfront payment…?”

“Do you have a complaint? Where in the world is there a crazy person who demands post-payment from a black magician? If you simply disappear, should I, a wanted criminal, come hunting you down?”

Lergo’s chilling anger pierced Emma like a dagger, but Emma barely managed to cling to her fainting consciousness and stammered on.

“Originally, contracts are principle for a down payment… an interim payment, and then the balance… paid in installments… *Cough*…!”

However, Emma’s pathetic fighting spirit did not last long.

Because Lergo had gripped her by the neck and strangled her.

“Principle? Do you think this is some merchant’s deal or a housing contract? If you’ve crawled into the depths, follow the rules of the depths, brat. And can’t you see the penalty clause? You’re not the only one taking a unilateral loss.”

“*Gasp*!!… *Gasp*!!”

Only when she was on the verge of suffocating did Lergo release Emma’s neck.

“Most of my clients are nobles. Not some nameless nobodies like you, but dukes, marquises, and even imperial family members… Once they enter the black truth, they trust me. A black magician has nothing but credit.”

Because black magic was so malicious and brutal that discovery of involvement often led to severe punishment, requests were carried out based on trust, not mere financial transactions.

That was why it was virtually impossible to utilize black magic without considerable power, wealth, or military might.

Of course, trust wasn’t the only reason, but Lergo didn’t bother to explain that part.

“If you have a complaint, get out now. You should be grateful that I’m even dealing with a minion like you. I’m only taking this request because you said you were Gracia’s subordinate, so don’t be mistaken.”

Emma coughed and wiped away her tears, bowing her paltry head and begging for forgiveness.

‘This is someone Lizley arranged… He must have connections to the Imperial Prince. Yes… Money and pride, it’s an investment. An investment for Lizley and me…’

Given that he even mentioned royalty, and most importantly, because Lizley herself had arranged for this magician, the thought that it couldn’t possibly be a rotten rope [an idiom for an unreliable connection/aid] dispelled Emma’s hesitation.

‘If this goes well, you’ll receive quite a good reward, Emma. Not just a fee, but other things too. Leon promised it, so believe him.’

After first being introduced to black magic, Lizley’s voice, which had secretly whispered to her when she sought her out, sweetly lingered in her ears.

The thought that the command had been issued under Leon’s lead and that the compensation an Imperial Prince could offer would be far greater than a mere few coins dominated Emma’s mind.

“I’ll do it. The money… can I pay it now?”

“Do you, a mere minion, even have the means to pay in full upfront? Read the amount written on the contract. If you’re even a single coin short, I’ll consider it nothing, so if you don’t have the money, get out.”

The amount written on the contract was a huge sum, even combining the support Emma had received from Lizley with her own money.

“……”

Emma, however, dared not open her mouth this time to haggle or complain about the price, not knowing what terrible fate might befall her.

“Obviously, the petty cash of some insignificant noble can’t cover it. Just pay the consultation fee and leave. I’ll consider it nothing, and I’ll cut ties with Young Lady Gracia.”

“No…! It’s just… only a little short…”

Seeing Lergo mention cutting ties with Lizley, Emma shouted loudly, forgetting her fear.

Lergo saw this and, with a chillingly mocking voice, brought his eerie masked face close to Emma and said:

“Then, will you take out a private loan? Well… if it’s a small amount, that wouldn’t be so bad. I can bring in the ‘black hands’ for poor people like you in five minutes.”

Usury.

A word she had never once considered in her life, a true symbol of the abyss, but Emma, desperate, had no time to be picky.

“Whatever it is, I’ll take it. I’ll resolve everything here.”

“Good. Well, my research costs a lot of money, so I often use the black hands myself. I’ll call them for you, wait a moment.”

Lergo, cackling, vanished like a phantom with a *whoosh*, and in less than ten minutes, he returned with a man.

His face and arms were covered in scorched burn marks and knife scars.

No ordinary man followed Lergo into the black magician’s workshop.

“You wish to borrow money.”

“Yes.”

“A good fellow.”

The man exuded an aura as formidable as Lergo’s, but he was professional and rigid, pulling out a money pouch without much talk.

The deficient amount was 12 Talen gold coins. (1 Talen gold coin = approximately 6 million won, according to the author).

For Emma, a student and merely the young lady of a viscount family, it was no small sum, but she felt it was nothing compared to the compensation she would receive.

Moreover, if Lergo failed, the penalty fee alone would be more than enough to cover it.

The man swiftly signed two copies of the loan contract he’d brought and pressed Emma’s fingerprint on them.

“I’m a back-alley man, but unlike this worm, I can exert influence even in the light. If you don’t repay the money, I can directly demand payment from the Agnelli family. If you dare feign ignorance, your entire family will be wiped out.”

“Hey, calling me a worm..! You…”

Lergo briefly protested in an angry voice, but when the man gave him an indifferent look, he immediately tucked his tail between his legs.

It might have looked ridiculous, but Emma knew this scene was simply due to the unknown man vastly surpassing Lergo.

A man like an inferno, who, without uttering any threats or words, dominated the entire space simply by sitting there.

Emma racked her brain to somehow escape the situation where Lergo had her caught like a rat under the man’s overwhelming presence.

“Perhaps… may I ask just one thing?”

Mixing in as much coquetry and flattery as she could, praying it would work, Emma asked the man.

“What is it?”

“I heard that when making a contract with a black magician, the full amount must be paid upfront. But is there any guarantee that I can properly receive a penalty if the request fails?”

Lergo, hearing her audacious question, tried to unleash his usual ominous and terrifying aura.

But the blazing aura emitted by the man, who wore an intrigued expression, scattered Lergo’s efforts like a mirage.

“A smart but foolish young lady. That’s why a black magic contract usually requires a notary to enforce it. Or if the person themselves is an outstanding magician…”

The eerie man simply explained about black magic contracts.

He meant that the standard practice was to bring someone who could magically grant enforcement powers to the black magician if they failed to uphold the contract’s terms.

For a pathetic young lady like Emma to come to a black magician’s lair alone, without anyone accompanying her, was no different from a foolish act that couldn’t guarantee trust.

“In that sense, a pathetic young lady like you is both smart and foolish. She probably would have meekly stamped her seal without a word when threatened… Hehehe… If she were even more foolish, she would have fallen for a fraudulent contract.”

“Fraud..! How dare you say that after I’ve been in this business for years? I brought you here precisely because I intended to commission notarization!”

Emma, catching the slightly trembling voice, glared at Lergo, who couldn’t budge under the man’s presence, seizing the opportunity.

“Notarization isn’t free either. It requires 2 Talen gold coins. This is something few can do, so I’m actually giving you a discount.”

The man spoke in a dry voice, but Emma concluded that he was far more trustworthy than Lergo.

“Alright. Notarization, I’ll entrust it to you.”

“You accursed money-grubbing bastard. Brat, I’m telling you, you’re just throwing away your money! Do you think I’d fail even such a small request?”

However, Lergo’s threats no longer constrained Emma.

The fear and intimidation radiating from the bizarre bird-beak mask were entirely blocked by the man before her.

Meanwhile, Emma snorted at the faint, covetous look hidden in his seemingly emotionless eyes.

‘So, even a scumbag like him has good taste, huh? Whether powerful or authoritative… all men are ultimately the same when it comes to coveting pretty women.’

Though there were many errors in his background, it was the first time she had encountered such a beast-like man, exuding such an overwhelming presence, and Emma, somewhat pleased by it, gave him a playful wink as a courtesy.

“Alright, it’s all written. Check it. Once confirmed, drop a drop of blood on the contract.”

*Violation of Penalty Clause: **Black Magician Lergo shall lose his life upon violation of the penalty clause. (Contract Binding Magic of Notary Orca)** **Contractors:** Lergo, Emma Agnelli **Notary:** Orca*

Emma looked at the man named Orca and Lergo with startled eyes at the terrifying content.

Emma, with a dumbfounded expression, had her finger poked by Lergo to draw blood, which he then let drip onto the contract.

Next, Lergo, who had removed his gauntlet, and Orca, the notary, all dropped their blood onto the contract. The contract, having drunk the blood, glowed crimson before settling back down.

“This is how a ‘real’ contract, incorporating trust, money, and even life, is completed. You’ve learned a good lesson for a few gold coins, young lady.”

Beside Lergo, who clearly looked displeased, Orca cackled contentedly and continued speaking.

“This is why black magicians have high credibility when it comes to penalties. Since those worms have nothing to stake but their own lives. You can put aside your worries about being swindled out of the penalty.”

“Quiet… Stop interfering and go home. You’re annoying.”

Orca shrugged his shoulders, then handed the completed contracts to Emma and rose from his seat.

“I hope you won’t have cause to regret a mere 14 Talen gold coins. The duration is short, so bear that in mind.”

“Thank you, Mr. Orca. I hope we can meet again under good circumstances.”

Emma spoke with a flushed face and a touch of allure, and the man grinned, waved his hand, and vanished.

Lergo, who had inexplicably become submissive, snapped at Emma and went to create the ‘dolls,’ returning thirty minutes later with five cursed dolls.

“Here. Damage them at the appropriate time. For evidence destruction, I recommend burning them completely.”

“Understood.”

Emma, having returned to her initial demure demeanor, took the dolls and left.

“How delightful.”

Lergo chuckled as he watched her go.

*Clank*—

About five minutes later, the door opened again, and Orca entered.

And then…

“Master-niiiiim!!!!”

Plague Doctor Lergo approached Orca with the most adorable voice, intending to throw himself into his arms—

“Oof…!!!”

“Ow!! Hey, you should take off your mask before hugging.”

—but headbutted him due to his bird-beak mask and was rejected.

Orca grumbled slightly but gently removed the plague doctor mask Lergo was wearing.

“Hehehe!!! How was it? Did I seem like a truly malicious, evil, and terrifying black magician??”

“Yeah. You could be an actor. It seems our minion has a talent for acting.”

Plague Doctor Pisces was cuddling in Orca’s, no… Ras Etgard’s embrace, acting coy.

This place, where even the moonlight hid, was truly Delphi’s Black Rose Thicket.