“How much are you willing to pay for your own freedom?”

The absurd question had invaded Rigel Winters' mind multiple times. Sometimes he’d giggle at his own mind. Indeed, the fact that such questions exist within him was absurd. If it cost you dearly, can you really call it freedom?

“How long has he been unemployed this time?” a question popped up. The once silent dungeon now filled with the sound of lock being unlocked and chain being pulled. It was quite noisy but Rigel had to put so much effort to hear the sound surrounding him. 

Rigel recognized it as one of the prison warden’s voices. He tried to focus his mind because he himself was also curious. How long had he been trapped in this darkness? He only remembered the first few days when he still could see. And this time he almost lost his hearing ability completely, it must be more than a month.

“Forty-three days.” Another voice answered. “He worked so hard on his last mission. But the outcome was kinda scary—though expected from him.”

“His price rose up since the last mission. But it’s hard to control him.”

“If only he was not so powerful, and more masters could form a contract with him, it would be easier to pay his debt.”

Rigel felt someone freed him from the chain linked to the stone wall. And now the coldness of handcuffs brought both of his wrists together.

“But if he was not powerful, it would take longer to pay his debt. After all, you know the sin he committed.”

“An irony. Isn’t it?”

Rigel Winters was conscious. And in his heart, he smiled mockingly at the guards. But none of them could see it. Now his physical body was like a zombie. He could not see, speak, and move. And even hearing things is difficult.

After all, as a prisoner, he’d destined to be bound by a curse until he could finish the debt from the sin he committed. 

***

In this Alrauna Kingdom, the criminal who had been captured would be judged based on the weight of their evildoing. Those who steal and do small delinquency shall be submitted to the district court. But the murderer, rapist, and those who cause riots within the kingdom would be sent to supreme court, to be put on trial in front of the Scale of Dike. 

At the supreme court then, an ancient magic would be performed and the weight of the sin of the criminal would be weighed. Some were lucky enough to be sentenced right to death while the other would spend their life time paying a huge sum of sin debt.

Rigel Winters was one of the unfortunates. 

“Prisoner class four. Number 399 C. Rigel Winters.”

The supreme court was built as a big colosseum. The witness of the trial could watch how the supreme court judge recited the spell of justice—“Canticum Iustitiae” while holding the Scale of Dike in the center of the arena. The result of the trial would form a fire script flying in the air—the binding curse for the immoral. 

Rigel was dragged by two prison guards. He was thrown into the cold granite floor. The coldness touched his cheek and his chin hit the hard surface. 

He cursed both of the men who treated him in such a rude way in his mind. 

“So...” A youthful voice belongs to the crown prince—Cain Aldebaran. “You are saying to me this man is a class four prisoner?” 

The class four, or the most dangerous type of criminals who had been left alive by the Scale. Criminal who escapes death sentences just by a millimeter.

“This skinny man?”

Rigel could not see yet. But he’s already so sure that the contractor candidate this time would be unlikeable. His voice is full of uncertainty, and also a hint of disdain.

“The fact that not everyone could be a contractor of this man, and the huge sum of sin debt left in his tab would assure you that he’s strong enough to be your personal guard, your majesty.” The supreme court judge, a man with a long beard and small round glasses answered calmly. 

Such an answer may not be harmful to others. But for Cain, he knew that aside from making this lowly criminal as his personal guard, this trial was also a test for him. Would the prince of Alrauna be capable enough to put a leash on the most dangerous and powerful criminal? 

“I would put my trust in you then. You are so good at making assessments of people after all,” Cain answered with a mocking smile curved on his lip. “Shall we begin?” 

The supreme court judge coughed twice awkwardly. A hint of redness on his cheek. He thought the prince would not understand the subtle challenge in his explanation before. But not only perfectly grasp it, Cain even replied to him with such confidence. 

The colosseum which was first filled with gossip and whispers went quiet in a mere second. The second verse of the ‘Canticum Iustitiae’ sung by the judge. It was a word to bind the criminal to the contractor. To clarify how much the task given by the master could clear the tab of the servant.

At first, only a small fire appeared on both sides of the Scale. As time went by, wildfire arose in the air. 

“Blue fire!”

“Had you not witnessed his first trial? He is so close to being sentenced to death by black flame. Why so surprised that the blue fire appears now?” 

“He’s indeed a class four.”

At the other side of the colosseum, Estelle Aldebaran watched how his little brother walked closer to his servant-to-be. The beautiful blonde princess bit her thumb nail, kinda worried about how far her little brother could go through this contract ritual. On the floor below where Rigel laid, a bluish-white magic circle appeared. It was Cain’s. The rune of the royal lineage was distinctive, different from the rune used in the magic belonging to the commoners. 

The Supreme Court Judge raised one of his white brow. He honestly did not expect for Cain’s power to be this strong.  

“Are you sure there’s no better candidate for being the prince's personal guard, your majesty?” Beside Estelle, Alan Phoenix—the king's advisor—asked. “Are you sure his majesty the crown prince would be safe in the protection of a criminal?”

“I’ve checked Winters’ background, Alan.” Estelle answered gently. She was worried. But not about if Rigel would commit treason to his current master—his brother. She was just not sure if her brother had the capacity to form a contract with someone so powerful. After all, Cain was only an eighteen year old. He’s a prince that was educated by the best mentors and taught magic by the best masters, yet he’s still so young. “I do not think he’s gonna be dangerous for Cain.”

“Why?”

“Call it a woman's intuition?” A sweet smile gave Alan a signal that his princess would not answer further questions. As a wise advisor that knew each personality of the royals quite well, Alan then shut his mouth. His eyes also turned to the prince. 

Cain could feel he was being engulfed in the strong wave of power. A warm blue flame touched his skin but did not burn even just a strand of his hair. He lifted his hand, directed it to Rigel’s nape.

Slowly, Rigel’s dull brown clothes were torn by invisible force. The blade of wind scarred his back with a seal of the royal family. Red blood on white skin was such a terrifying sight. If Rigel could scream, he would definitely make people who watch his trial go deaf. 

The process of binding his soul to a new master is always painful. This had been the twelfth time wind scarred his back and put some bloody rune on his skin. The old scar left by his latest contractor has not faded away yet, and now his skin is being marked once again. What made it worse, this time he felt three times the pain than usual. 

Cain has an abundance of magic power. Even among royalties and compared to his elder sister, he was still one of the best magic users. Add the fact that he was welcoming the challenge given by the supreme court judge, he intended to put a strong leash on his servant. He had to show that  he is able to tame dangerous monsters and overcome difficulties. 

Unfortunately, the young prince didn’t realize the amount of magic force he released now was hurting Rigel all over the place. If usually Rigel had to endure being scratched, tattooed by a sharp needle, or being sliced by a dagger, at this time the red haired guy felt like he was being skinned alive!

On the other side, Cain could feel the pressure of collision between two power sources. His own energy was like water trying to tame the fiery one which belongs to Rigel. Wind blade scarred Cain’s right palm, forming a sign identical to one on Rigel’s back.

A lot of blood stained the granite floor. The red liquid then turned black and vanished slowly into the air as times went by. The process took about twenty minutes and during that time Rigel finally regained his senses. He could hear better. He could finally make a sound–though it was still only a grunt. His sense of smell finally detected the aroma of iron. 

Rigel blinked several times. At first it was like he could see light on the end of the pitch black tunnel. Then he saw a blonde young man wearing a blue cape with gold rim. His face was similar to the image of the current king of Alrauna, minus the charisma and elegance. 

Brat. The word automatically came to Rigel’s mind when he could perfectly see the image of his new contractor. 

“Tsk. I am not sure we’ll  get along…” said Cain as he saw how light back to Rigel’s pupil. His new servant did not seem to be like a tame guard dog. 

Rigel agreed. The contractor this time fit perfectly to what he would consider a bad client. A rich bratty young master.

The pact was completed. Both Estelle and Alan stepped up from their position to Cain. Estelle took Cain’s right hand and examined his wound. She sighed in relief to see the wound was not as deep as she predicted. Alan gave his handkerchief to Estelle. 

“We should stop the bleeding as soon as possible.”

Cain let Estelle wipe blood from his palm. 

"Should we get a royal paramedic?"

"No need. It will heal soon."

The view at the center of the colosseum was quite an irony. It was Rigel who bled profusely and yet everyone just paid attention to Cain’s wound. Rigel of course understood the reasoning behind this kind of treatment. Whoever this new master of his, whatever his status, Rigel as a debtor would always be the one less important in the court.

“Food…”  

Rigel had not eaten anything for almost two weeks since he lost his ability to move. No one in jail would take pity and feed him. He was left alone in catatonic state and treated like a human sized doll in the corner of the dungeon.

“Give me some food.” was his first sentence to Cain. Such an unexpected request made Cain raise one of his eyebrows. No question. No introduction. Just a simple request. Nobody ever dared to talk so casually to him at the first meeting for years. But it could not be helped. The binding pact that made Rigel regain his sense and it also made him realize he was famished to the point he could roast a big buffalo and eat it as it is. 

“Give him some food. Wait. Just throw him in the bath first." Cain wrinkled his nose. The iron odor mixed with the smell of sweat and dirty clothes was simply unpleasant. "Take him to my study in an hour."

Two guards in imperial uniform moved closer to Rigel. They lifted him up and dragged him to the exit door. When seeing Rigel's back silhouette, Cain felt a familiarity that he hated.

"I hope our father will shut up after this. After all, I have fulfilled my promise to let someone guard me everywhere."

"It is necessary." Estelle said in a gentle manner. She patted Cain's shoulder, giving him some sense of being understood. "We all know you are strong, Cain. But to have a personal bodyguard is a form of insurance toward the unknown threat."

"I agree with her grace." Alan who followed behind the two blonde siblings added. The three royalties walked outside the court, back to the carriage. The coachman who had waited for them gave a deep salute while placing his hat in front of his chest. They cross a small forest connecting the palace garden to the back hall of the court. Alan looked outside the window carriage. His eyes could see the sight of little fairy and small animals playing in the bush. It would be nice if Alrauna could stay in such a peaceful state. But since the crowning ceremony for the only prince coming closer, anyone could guess that more trouble would follow as well. 

"As long as we can not comprehend the motive of the enemy targeting you, the more guard you have is better. His majesty the king must only want to keep you safe no matter what."

Cain gave side eyes to Alan, the ever so patient advisor simply smiled at him. The atmosphere inside the carriage was tense. But it was only Cain who showed dissatisfaction. Both his elder sister and the king's advisor thought the opposite and their smiles show pure calmness. 

"I did not intend to cross the line. But I believe this is the best precaution we could make right now."

"I am not a baby." Cain clenched his fist. “I can protect myself.” 

"Sometimes I think it is better if you are still a baby." Estelle giggled. "Then I could protect you just by embracing you tightly."

Fondness was evident in her tone. Cain blushed a little. He also loved his sister dearly. But inside the carriage, there was also Alan. And he minded very much to be seen as a spoiled brat. Alan grew up together with him and Estelle, and that’s one more reason for Cain not wanting to be seen spoiled by Estelle.  

"But, sis… you know…"

Cain absolutely did not think placing a criminal to be his bodyguard is a good decision. Even a fool understands that if the kind people could not be trusted, then this man who owes a big sin debt is of course several times more prone to betrayal. Once Cain lessened the control he had, that Winters guy definitely would break free. 

"You can dispose of him whenever you feel like it." Estelle answered before Cain could argue. “You do not want someone closer to guard you. Am I wrong?”

Silence. Cain avoided Estelle’s blue eyes. His sister is a good expression reader after all.

Alan sighed softly. He might find Cain is hard to deal with because the prince is indeed still a child at heart. Add top tier stubbornness to the equation and everyone should know why Alan treats him with utmost patience. But if he should pick who is harder to handle, then Estell is the answer. The first princess of Alrauna simply someone you should not make an enemy with. She is smart, strong willed, and her personality is just nice. 

The carriage stopped in front of the  hall of the main palace. Alan got out first and then offered his hand to help Estelle step down from the carriage. She was so graceful and charismatic despite her gentle demeanor. Such contradictions made Cain find it difficult to reject her most of the time. 

"Let's have lunch together." 

"Nah. You both lovers could eat together." Cain waved his hand. "Take your sweet time. I would not inform her majesty the queen."

"Cain. What–?"

Alan coughed lightly. A faint pink blush appeared on his cheek. 

"I am not a kid, Estelle." Cain rolled his eyes. "You might think you hide it well. And yes. You really do. But not from me."