Throne of Magical Arcana

Staring at the parchment in hand, Beaulac felt that it was just a joke. The so-called magic rite was too simple and ridiculous. It seemed that this magic rite just came from a piece of folktale.

How could anyone manage to summon the most powerful demon like that?

Although Beaulac never learned magic, he had some basic understanding of magic rites. As one of the most flourishing families with a long history in Holy Heilz Empire, the Gorse family had gathered a lot of precious documents related to magic, so the family members could be profound enough for their adventures outside of the empire. There were rumors saying that the Gorse family was the descendant of Thanos, the Sun King, from the ancient Sylvanas Magic Empire.

However, although at the first glance, the magic rite looked rather ridiculous, it was surely creepy. Maybe something powerful and mysterious was hiding behind it.

After around ten minutes, Beaulac started talking to himself as if he was puffing himself with the courage, “It wouldn’t do any harm if I just tried it… Maybe it’s just a joke, but maybe… I’m ready for signing the compact anyway.”

He clenched his fists and the look on his face was quite distorted. His eyes were filled with enthusiasm and cruelty.

Looking up at the clock, Beaulac realized that it was already close to eleven thirty at night. He hurriedly set off to find the candle, mirror, apple, and knife.

However, the faster he rushed, the harder it was for him to collect all the materials. After more than ten minutes, he finally found a mirror and a knife, but the white candle and the apple were still nowhere to be found.

He was very regretful that he had dismissed all the servants and gave them one day off. He never had to rummage around himself!

His forehead was covered with sweat, and he even wanted to slap himself in the face, for he was going to miss that great opportunity tonight! It was almost twelve at midnight!

However, eventually, he managed to find a white candle and an apple in the kitchen.

He had never felt luckier before. Holding the candle and the apple in his hands, he felt the sincere joy.

Hurriedly running back to the study, Beaulac blew out the rest of the candles and only left one to provide light. Then, he placed all the items on the desk.

It was only two minutes to midnight. Beaulac made his blond hair a great mess and now he looked like a vicious wizard in the folktales.

After finishing all the work, he sat behind the desk and waited. Suddenly, a thought worried him greatly. He wondered if the clock was accurate.

Taking out his fancy pocket watch, Beaulac double-checked the time, but then he started to doubt if his pocket watch was still working properly.

Although Beaulac knew that it probably did not need to be this accurate, he was still very nervous. He felt that this was his last gleam of hope.

Tick-tack… Tick-tack… The sound of the clock sounded rather loud. Beaulac’s heart beat fiercely as if it was going to jump out of his chest. His blood was flowing faster and faster.

Dang… The clock struck twelve. Beaulac’s back suddenly straightened. He hurriedly blew out the candle and lit up the white one. Under such a great sense of pressure, he almost broke the candle.

The dim candlelight looked rather mysterious and dreamlike in the mirror, as if countless demons were hiding in the shadow.

In the dark closed room, Beaulac shivered from the atmosphere. He started believing in this magic rite now.

With his trembling hands, he picked up the knife and the green apple and started peeling it. Although he never peeled an apple himself, with his power equivalent to a high-level squire, Beaulac was quite good at controlling his hands. A few times, he almost failed, but still successfully got the job done.

When he looked in the mirror, he saw his face covered by his messy hair. The candlelight lit up part of his face.

He never looked at himself in this way, and Beaulac even dared not to recognize himself in the mirror, as if he had already fallen in the hell. The long and thin apple peel fell on the desk. Beaulac hurriedly looked up, hoping that the summoning had worked.

However, all he could see in the mirror was still himself.

Beaulac was very upset. He had no idea which step was wrong.

Suddenly, a cool draft rose in the closed study, making the candlelight flicker. Beaulac hurriedly looked in the mirror again and saw that there was a creepy smile on his face.

The ‘Beaulac’ in the mirror, with that vicious smile, started pulling the skin off from his face, and the bloody flesh underneath was revealed.

Beaulac wanted to scream but found himself unable to. He wanted to stay away from the mirror but discovered that he had been trapped on the seat.

The blood and flesh started wriggling and finally turned into a white-faced demon with a long red tongue hanging.

“You have summoned me, from the deepest places in hell. Now, you may say your request.”

The extremely cold voice made Beaulac shiver, but at the same time he finally realized what was going on—he had indeed summoned the demon! The rite worked!

“I want to… I want to become a knight! A grand knight! No… I want to be the Gorse Duke!” burst out Beaulac, feeling extremely thrilled. At this time, in his eyes, the ugly and horrible demon was his last hope!

“You get; you pay. That’s the rule of demons. Are you ready to pay?” With its long tongue hanging down, the demon put on a cold smile.

When Beaulac was just about to nod, a thought flashed through his mind and he stopped himself. Instead, he asked, “The costs are different, aren’t they? For different things.”

“Of course. I’m one of the seven most powerful demons from hell, and my name is Greed. Your pay must satisfy me,” said the demon.

The demon’s words reminded Beaulac of the most ancient story told in his family. In that ancient story, there were seven mysterious demons from ancient times, for example, Greed and Wrath.

Thus, Beaulac had completely believed in the compact and asked respectfully, “Your Excellency, Greed, what would cost me to be the duke, and what would it be to be a grand knight? What about just becoming a knight?”

When trading with a demon, one had to be extremely careful. Beaulac remembered the note left by his father.

Greed responded, “If you want to become the duke, you have to give me your soul when you die. No worries. Your soul will still be able to enjoy the endless happiness in my realm. If you choose to become a grand knight, you have to give me the rest of your life after reaching fifty. No matter who you are and how powerful you become, you can only live up to fifty years. If you just want to become a knight, you shall give me ten years of your life.”

Beaulac took a deep breath and became hesitant. Of course, he did not want to sell his soul to the demon. What was the point of he becoming the duke if he had to die at fifty?

However, the demon, Greed, seemed to be quite different. It was not lying about anything, and it was very clear about all the consequences.

After a long time, Beaulac asked in the low voice, “After I make the choice this time, if somehow I fail to hit my final target, can I summon you and make another choice again?”

“No problem. But that will be another trade,” said Greed.

“Then…” Beaulac took a deep breath, “I choose to become a knight who still has the potential to become a grand knight.”

“As you wish. However, to do so, I have to slightly change your destiny track. So, you have to tell me in details whatever happened to you. The more detailed your description is, the more likely I can make sure that you can still become a grand knight in the future,” said the demon in a very well-mannered way.

Beaulac could not wait to become a knight and did not doubt the demon’s words. He was told that the more a prophet knew about a person, the more accurate the fortunetelling result would be.

“… My first time… happened when I was seduced by my father’s mistress. She’s getting old now, and I’m pulling away from her…” Beaulac confessed his life experience in great details, including his personality and many habits.

Outside of the study, the secret guard was just staring at the other end of the corridor. According to the tradition of the family, the guards could not interfere with inheritors’ doing. As long as the inheritors had not sold their souls and betrayed the family, they could do whatever they had to become the duke, even including seeking the power from demons.

The motto of the family was: power and means form the foundation of everything.

Therefore, the guard did not stop Beaulac in the black market but simply protected the young master and later he was about to report this to the old duke. When he knew that the young master was looking for some white candles and apples, the guard wondered why the magic rite was so strange.

Soon after the rite started, the guard felt dizzy and then lost his consciousness.

…

In another room of the villa, wearing a black hood, smiling, Lucien was quietly looking at the mirror in front of them and listening to Beaulac’s life story.

The best way to get someone’s detailed information was to let the person talk himself!

Sometimes, even without using magic, one could steal another person’s memory as long as the biggest weakness of the mind was found!