Gunmage
Chapter 169: Chains and contracts

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Chains and contracts

Add numbers to them, and the future of the continent is anyone’s guess.

Best-case scenario? A new dragon monarchy arises.

Worst case? We all get wiped out. Some of them could be very extreme, after all.

A dragon monarchy.

Lyra thought to herself.

Dragons were something like myths or more accurately, legends. Their existence was a fact, but humans like her would most likely never even get a chance to see one.

Nothing could be certain, though. Perhaps she’d be privy to more secrets when she became the leader of the Cross family.

Just then, her younger sister spoke.

"Umm. Teacher?"

"Yes?"

Madame Cross responded, her tone flat but expectant.

"From what you’ve said... Lady Selaphiel marries her grandsons, right?"

"Yes."

The reply was quick, unbothered.

"So, is her partner selected from the main family or the branch family?"

"Well, it depends. Only on special occasions or conditions does she not pick anyone from the main family. One thing to note is that she values magical prowess more than anything.

So if someone from the branch family is significantly better than someone from the main family, that person could be picked.

Depending on their personality, hair color, physique and other aspects—I’m not too sure."

She adjusted her posture, or perhaps the weight of her centuries of observation.

"Offspring produced from this union grow up to become the new main family.

It’s a really sticky situation. I’ve been following them for centuries now, and even I can’t fully grasp the system they use."

Sofia gulped.

"So what you’re saying is—main family and magical prowess are the two necessary criteria?"

"Yes."

Madame Cross responded again.

"In this generation, the person who checks all the descriptions is—"

"Lugh,"

Lyra interrupted.

"That’s an obvious choice,"

The elf added, brushing a strand of hair behind her pointed ear.

"The mere fact that he awakened is irresistible. Even if he were a street urchin with no connections to the Von Heim family, I reckon he would still become the head in a few years’ time.

That greedy witch will do everything possible to obtain him."

"Arrgghh..."

Sofia groaned, clutching her head in frustration.

"Does that mean I don’t even have a chance?"

"A chance?"

Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, a chance! If Selaphiel is going to sign a contract with him anyway, then what is the point of it all? Greedy, selfish! Shameless woman!"

"Good. That’s very good!"

The elf in the room egged her on, smiling slyly.

"You’re developing the right mindset, Sofia!"

Lyra sighed.

"I don’t think Lugh will do it if he doesn’t want to."

Her younger sister dropped her hands, visibly deflating.

"What makes you say that?"

"Contrary to how he looks, Lugh can be... really stubborn at times."

"Oh? And how would you know?"

"Just an educated guess."

The silence stretched long between them, filling the room like slow fog.

"You’ve known Lugh since before, haven’t you?"

Sofia asked, her tone quiet but pointed.

"Whaaat? Nooooo."

"You’re not very good at lying. Come to think of it, you also sailed the Devil Sea... and survived Drakensmar."

"Yes. And I still haven’t gotten my medals,"

Lyra added resentfully.

"No changing the subject!"

"Will you two quiet down?"

Oddly, the voice belonged to Xhi.

She sat with her arms crossed, and her eyes narrowed.

"You said something about Selaphiel signing a contract with Lugh. What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, that?"

Sofia began nervously.

"I meant a marriage contract."

Xhi frowned, turning slowly to the others.

"Since when do marriages need contracts?"

"Since like forever?"

Sofia replied with a shrug. She continued

’"I promise to love you, to stand by you, in sickness and in health, forever and ever" — as if those vows weren’t tight enough, a legal contract is added to, you know... thicken the chains."

"It’s till death do us part, you fool."

Lyra interjected without looking up.

"Actually, it’s both."

Madame Cross added calmly.

"Eh?"

Both girls turned to her, confused.

"It was once forever and ever. But such vows were obviously problematic during intermarriages between elves and humans. This all happened centuries ago, during Jazeer’s colonial rule over Ophris."

She had gone into lecturer mode again. Everyone listened.

"To love you forever would imply after death. This made it difficult for elves whose partners had passed on due to old age to find a spouse again, despite their original partners’ wishes.

There were a lot of reasons for this. For one, elves are very particular about contracts. Guilt is also a factor. And then the most unpredictable one... Love"

Xhi smiled ever so slightly.

"There were even rumors of an elf some four to seven thousand years ago—I’m not really sure of the figure because this happened way before I was born—who loved her human husband so deeply she couldn’t live a day without him."

"What happened when he died?"

Lyra asked cautiously.

"Legends say she ran mad, slaughtered her way through half of Jazeer, and burned down the Sacred Tree as revenge for not receiving the Elixir of Life when she needed it most."

"Ohh. What happened next?"

"The legends don’t say."

Then her tone shifted, back to normal.

"To be honest, it’s most likely not a true story. It’s more of a myth."

"And why do you say that?"

Xhi asked.

Madame Cross replied smoothly,

"Because it has a lot of different endings. Some say she ran mad and started a new religion. Others say she became the number one practitioner of forbidden magic.

There’s even a version where she killed and ate the heart of an ancient dragon to preserve her youth.

Yes, I know—an elf preserving her youth sounds absurd, but that’s just how these stories go. Each is more ridiculous than the last.

They all seem to agree on one fact, though: that she ran mad."

"Are there any other endings? Less dramatic ones?"

Lyra questioned.

"Why yes, there are quite a few,"

The elf replied lightly.

"One says she migrated to the far south of the continent to establish her own kingdom.

Others are less savoury. For instance, that she killed all her male children who didn’t resemble her husband... and married the ones who did."

"Sheesh. Why must the characters in your stories act so psychotic?"

It was a rhetorical question, which was why Lyra wasn’t expecting an answer.

"Well,"

Madame Cross said,

"It’s been scientifically proven that the practice of magic leads to mental instability."

Everyone stilled.

Lyra batted her lashes, slowly.

"Say what?"