The wizards possessed nearly limitless powers like that of a god but had a critical flaw that kept them from being one.

The one limit they did have was far too critical.

The fate of those that abused their magic without the Purifier was absolutely horrendous.

The scenes in the original novel that described the process were unnecessarily detailed and gruesome.

The author's obsession with describing each and every step of such scenes of gradual insanity as malignity accumulated in their bodies made me feel like I was going insane as well.

But once these wizards suffering from hallucinations come in the presence of the Purifier, they finally are granted the peace that they had been ever so desperate of.

It was much akin to the sensation of crawling under cozy, heavy blankets after a tiresome day out in the cold –

The ecstatic feeling of bringing together the most wonderful in the world-

An absolute state of peace that one would never be able to achieve through ordinary means.

The way the original novel described the powers of the Purifier closely resembled that of drugs.

Hence, the wizards couldn't help but be obsessed over the Purifier.

The protagonist had his powers sealed to avoid becoming reliant on the Purifier.

Now that he had found the Purifier before the other wizards, he was sure to try and make me his own.

The silver lining was that he wasn't aware of the fact that eating me alive will grant him immunity from malignity.

He found out about that after he had already devoured Aerta in the original novel, so he should be oblivious of this detail just yet.

However, getting eaten alive was not the only threat to my safety as the Purifier.

I filled my head with the worst possible scenarios as I trod behind him.

Of course, none of my worrying showed from the outside.

He led me down a quiet hallway.

The room he brought us into was surprisingly ostentatious, unlike the rest of the inn.

I assumed this was where they greet and serve their personal guests.

It was just the two of us in the room.

Unlike me, who was all tense and anxious, he seemed pretty comfortable in this situation.

He buried himself within the comfortable cushions of the sofa and beckoned me to come sit on the other side.

"Your Grace."

He lifted his eyebrows as I referred to him by his title.

"You know much more than you seem."

"......"

"Well, we should probably get better acquainted. Why don't you call me by my name?"

I hesitated for a moment, then let his name slip through my lips.

"Yes, Master Carnoire."

I had read his name a countless number of times in the novel, but to say it with my own mouth was an entirely different thing.

The words tickled my lips.

Zahid seemed amused by the fact that I was aware of his title, as well as his name.

He leaned forward and asked in a subtly alluring voice.

"And your name is?"

Zahid was well aware of his beauty and knew how to use it to his disposal.

That was exactly what he was doing right now.

It was a habit of his to allure the person he was talking to with his entrancing looks into manipulating them to do as he wished.

I answered, struggling to resist his tempestuous eyes.

"It's Aerta. Aerta Arlez, sire."

"Aerta."

He put on a subtle grin as he let the sound of my name resonate in his mouth.

The smile on his face was quite bewitching.

His face certainly was a treat to one's eyes.

I couldn't help but marvel at his face, even in amidst a nerve-wracking situation like this.

"I am more than willing to pay five hundred million markas. Any other terms in this contract that I should know about?"

Zahid's unexpected question woke me up from my entrancement.

I answered with a question of my own.

"Are you saying that you're willing to accept any other terms?"

Instead of a response, all I got was a low chuckle.

Though he didn't necessarily say anything, his answer was clear.

He was only willing to accept the terms that suits his interests.

The gears in my head began to turn at full speed.

There was no use asking him to let me go after a couple of years, because there was no way he was going to let the Purifier out of his grasp.

After giving it some brief thought, I offered him a condition he would likely accept.

"I'm going to need you to provide for my family's food and shelter."

The protagonist was known to get his job done.

I didn't have a single doubt that he would provide my siblings with more financial support than they will ever need.

Once he accepted the term with a brief nod, I carefully slipped one last condition in.

"And...... please don't kill me."

Zahid's eyes grew a slight bit wider.

He scrunched his brows in confusion and asked back as if he couldn't understand.

"Why would I kill you? You must for sure know your own worth to have come all this way to find me."

Indeed, our fates have begun to change.

But as a character in this novel, I couldn't just ignore the fate that had been written for me.

Though I was aware that mere words wouldn't mean a thing once things begin to go downhill, I still wanted to hear from his own mouth that he wouldn't hurt me or my siblings.

I waited for his response in silence, and he narrowed his eyes.

"Not killing you is easy."

Zahid was right.

Staying alive was often much more painful than dying.

I came searching for the protagonist in an attempt to survive.

Although the road I was choosing seemed like a flower-strewn path, there were sharp thorns hiding underneath it.

The protagonist wished to have the Purifier all to himself.

If I was to survive without getting devoured, he would surely attempt to get rid of Cheryl and Ethan, his competitors.

I had to escape before his thorns tore me into pieces.

Five years.

It was just five years until the twins turned fifteen, the age in which they were destined to manifest into wizards.

I was planning to run far away with them as soon as they did so,

"......"

Zahid stared deep into my eyes for a moment in silence.

I couldn't help but be a bit scared.

It felt as if his translucent amethyst eyes could read what was going on in my mind.

Even though I was well aware that Zahid had no such abilities, I filled my mind with random thoughts just in case.

"Very well. I will notify you of my side of the terms in the near future."

He slowly leaned back into the cushion.

"I do need some time to come up with a way to make sure you don't run away from me. Can't just pour five hundred million markas down the drain, don't you think?"

He replied with a pleasant smile on his face, and I simply nodded.

Zahid didn't bother to ask me any personal questions.

He probably already had a private investigation of everything about me the moment I spoke to him on the first floor.

Before the end of today, he would receive a report about all there is to know about 'Aerta Arlez'.

I slowly blinked my eyes.

"Not a single soul in this entire empire would dare to betray you, sire."

"Are you sure? I have a pretty good eye for people, you know."

He whispered, flashing a cheeky grin.

"Someone with guts like you could most definitely be able to pull it off."

"Why, thank you."

Zahid let out a quiet chuckle at my audacious response.

Knowing that I was spared for the night, I could feel the tension drain from my face.

Having gained a peace of mind, I looked up at Zahid with a light-hearted smile on my face.

"Is there something else you want from me?"

He asked, letting out a small snicker.

I was waiting this entire time for him to ask that.

I beamed unabashedly.

"The stew downstairs. Can I take some home?"

***

Oh, how I missed our torn down home!

Upon hauling the heavy pot of stew all the way home, I froze to find light leaking out of the windows.

"Cheryl, Ethan!"

"Aerta!"

"Aerta's here?"

The twins came running in my direction, butting my stomach with their small heads.

I put the heavy pot of stew aside and gave them big bear hugs.

"What are you guys doing, not sleeping till this late?"

"We were worried sick about you! We were just planning to go straight to the patrol guards had anything happened to you."

Cheryl responded astutely.

Ethan added on as he rubbed his face on my legs like a koala.

"I, I was afraid that something might have happened to you......"

To be honest, that was a pretty legitimate plan for ten-year-olds.

The sad truth was that the patrol guards never cared for the people of the slums.

Had I not made it back safely tonight, the twins would not have had any luck in finding me by going to the guards.

Heck, they would have been lucky if they didn't get beaten and kicked out by the guards.

Instead of bursting their bubbles, I squeezed them tightly in my arms one more time.

"I'm fine guys. Guess what I brought?"

I let them peek into the pot.

As I lifted the lid, the savory aroma of the stew filled the dingy kitchen.

It was a stew filled with parsnips, radishes, potatoes, onions, and much more veggies, as well as large chunks of chicken meat.

The hearty stew drew out yelps of joy from the twins.

I kissed the adorable faces and put the pot on the stove.

"Let me heat it up for you two."

After gobbling up the entire pot, the twins fell asleep with content smiles on their faces.

My heart was glowing from having fed them a proper meal for the first time in a while.

This contentment was soon overtaken, however, by the overwhelming string of events that took place today.

An encounter with the protagonist.

Throughout the eighteen years I have been here, this was by far one of the most impactful moments.

Zahid would probably have found out by now that I had nothing but debt to my name.

He would also be questioning how on earth a girl from the slums managed to find the secret lair of the information guild and figured out the secret code, as well as the fact that the owner of the guild was the Duke.

In no means was I going to answer his questions; this will someday be the joker up my sleeve.

There was one small problem, however.

I did not know the entire future, as I didn't read through the entire novel.

Written for adults, the original story contained a lot of pornographic and violent scenes and was explicit to the point where it felt gory.

I wasn't able to get through the entire thing and stopped reading it in the middle.

I did remember most of the major events and characters.

Not to mention, I tried my best to retain the information ever since I realized that I was going to need it.

Regardless...... I couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated.

I scooched in closer to the sleeping twins.

"Well, at least you guys will get to eat warm food every day......"

I murmured to myself. The cool midnight breeze took my murmurs, as well as my worries, deep into the night as I fell asleep.

It was the next morning when the world flipped upside down.

I was getting ready to leave the house for my early morning shift, when a well-dressed old gentleman knocked on our door.

"Is this the Arlez residence?"

The reflection of our run-down shack on his shiny, polished shoes seemed a bit ironic.

I lowered my voice so I wouldn't wake the twins.

"Yes, it is. How can I help you?"

"I am here on behalf of the Duke of Carnoire."

Zahid had sent him.

He handed me a piece of paper.

I stared at the paper for a long while, then looked up at the old gentleman with incredulous eyes.

"Wha....huh....What is this exactly?"

The gentleman grinned, leaning forward to catch my trembling gaze.

"A marriage contract, my lady."