In a dark room with several lamps on the walls, a group of people in dark cloaks and hoods covering their faces were gathered. In front of the crowd, a middle-aged man was kneeling, trembling with fear, his head was lowered to the ground, not daring to look at the people in cloaks.

 

The silence was broken by a dark figure in the center of the crowd, his cold commanding tone penetrated the ears of the trembling man.

 

- If you kill him, we will lower your family and even pay extra.

 

After a short silence, the bent man hesitantly asked a question.

 

- B-but I can't do that, the e-eуternal guard is always with him. Moreover, it is rumored that the keeper of the seven sees every movement in the castle.

 

Hearing what the man who had bent down said, the figure in the center of the crowd snorted and said in a vile tone.

 

- Do you really want your family to die, you have a pretty beautiful daughter, I think she will make an excellent servant.

 

Hearing this, the bent man clenched his jaws and stammered.

 

- Don't, I'll do my best, just don't touch my family. I belittle you!

 

The man in the center, hearing the agreement, nodded satisfactorily and said in a more serious tone.

 

- Don't worry too much, you are the child's personal and beloved butler, so getting close to him won't be a problem for you. As for the eternal guards, our people will distract them for a few minutes, you should have enough time to kill an ordinary child, right?

 

- Wh... what about the guardian? -  The butler, who was bending down, asked in a frightened voice.

 

Thinking, the man in the center looked at the people standing next to him and, after waiting for a positive nod from them, said.

 

- You don't have to worry about it, just know that the guardian won't interfere. And now let's move on to the contract.

 

Having said that, another man in black approached the man in the center and handed over a thin square plate of white color. Taking it, he left the center of the crowd and approached the butler and said.

 

- Get up.

 

Standing up, the butler lowered his head, not daring to look at the face of the person in front of him. His gaze caught on the plastic held by the man in black. He noticed that there were strange lines on the white plate, along which yellow energy flowed in a weak stream.

 

- This is a contract tile, take it in your hands and lead a little rush. - the man in black said in a commanding tone, handing the plate into the hands of the butler.

 

Taking the plate, the butler hesitantly injected a small amount of his rasu into the plate. His rashu easily entered, mixed with the rashu already in the record. After a few seconds of mixing, the rashu forcibly returned to the butler's body and spreading, began mixing with his own rashu. A moment after mixing, the butler felt an incredible pain, as if a piece of his essence was being forcibly torn off.

 

From the pain, he collapsed to the ground screaming and writhing, after a minute of suffering, the plate, which he miraculously did not drop from his hands, flashed a bright yellow color.

 

Seeing this, the man in the black raincoat snatched the record from the hands of the panting butler and said in a cold tone.

 

- Now a part of your soul is in this plate, if you want to betray us and tell the eternal guard, we will immediately find out about it, and your family will die in the most cruel and painful way imaginable. Do you understand that clearly?

 

The butler, hearing the question, quickly nodded his head, his gaze reflected incredible horror and despair.

 

- Okay, now go.

 

Getting up heavily, the butler staggered to the exit, followed by several people in black cloaks. As he left the room, one of the cloaked men asked.

 

- Are you sure he won't betray us? - After all, he was with the child for quite a long time, and surely the guards imposed a spiritual contract on him?

 

- Don't worry, although he spent a long time with the child, our intelligence found out that for him, his family comes first. Especially recently, our people have been secretly giving him a variety of drugs to stimulate his emotions in the direction we need. As for the contract, the high-quality spiritual plate had to get rid of it.

 

- Okay, what are we going to do with him and his family after he kills the boy?

 

- Hmm, what are you talking about? His family has been dead for a long time. As for the butler himself, a few ches after the murder, we simply activate the spiritual plate, and he will die.

 

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Walking through the corridors of the ornate castle, the butler named Franz, gloomily thought about what to do. A few days ago, in my bedroom in the palace, I saw a small box standing on the table. This surprised him very much, since not everyone can get into the room of the personal butler of the heir to the throne. As an enhanced person who was specially trained to work with the prince, he knew that opening the box was dangerous.

 

Franz had already decided to call the guards, but a strange feeling arose that prevented him from doing so. Slowly approaching the box, he opened it, a paper envelope was visible inside, taking it in his hand, Franz noticed that there was something else under the envelope in the box.

 

Looking closely, he saw a small black bag in which something was lying, fearing to touch it, Franz opened the envelope and took out a sheet of high-quality paper, carefully read it. With every word he read, his face grew paler.

 

After quickly reading it to the end, Franz cast an indecisive glance at the bag. After a few seconds, he hesitantly stretched out his hand and opened it, seeing what was inside, his pupils dilated, and his body trembled.

 

Inside the pouch was a neatly severed ring finger, with a simple silver ring. Franz recognized at a glance the wedding ring he had given his wife.

 

A day later, following the instructions written in the letter, Franz arrived at a remote part of the castle. After waiting a few minutes next to him, a man in a black raincoat appeared out of nowhere, forcibly putting a bag on Franz's head and shouldering it, he disappeared in an unknown direction.

 

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Walking through the empty, beautifully decorated corridors, Franz approached a sturdy-looking door. Walking up to her and looking around, he stretched out his hand through a small hole near the door.

 

A moment later, he felt something sharp dig into his finger and took some blood away. But the procedure did not end there, and Franz felt a powerful wave of rush wash over his body and soul, after confirming his identity, it disappeared.

 

After checking, the door clicked open, allowing you to pass into a small corridor. Franz took out a slightly bleeding hand from the hole, slowly entered the corridor, the sound of the door locking was heard behind him, and another wave of powerful rush swept through the small closed corridor.

 

After confirming that everything was in order, another door opened in front of Franz. Entering it, a large bright room with an abundance of bookshelves along the walls opened in front of Franz, in the center of the room there was a large double bed. Behind the bed was an arched window the size of the ceiling, behind which the city could be seen stretching to the horizon. The strangeness of this window was that according to the layout, there should be no windows here, since this room was located in the very center of the castle.

 

There was a table with books scattered on it in front of the window, a 9-year-old child was sitting at the table itself. A prominent feature of the child was medium-length white hair and bright blue eyes. When he heard that someone had entered, he turned to the door with an excited and interested look. Seeing that it was Franz, joy appeared on the child's face and he jumped off the chair and rushed to hug him.

 

Running up and hugging Franz, the child screamed with joy.

 

- Uncle Franz, I'm so glad you came, I was so bored, you can't imagine! Come on, come on, I want to hear more of your stories.

 

The boy spoke joyfully, pulling Franz to the table. Walking behind the child, Franz looked at him with an indecisive look, but remembering his family, determination flashed into his eyes. Reaching under his suit, he pulled out a small, neat dagger.

 

- Wait a second, Ernes. - Franz said, stopping.

 

Uncomprehendingly, Ernes turned around only to feel a pain in his chest and hear a sad voice.

 

- Sorry, kid.