"Would you like to add anything?"
Lina considered it for a moment, then decided to include one more condition. "If one day you discover my identity by chance, I hope you won't immediately become hostile toward me and will be willing to listen to my explanation first."
Caelis tilted his head slightly, wondering what kind of past Lina had that made her so certain she would be hated without reason.
"Alright."
With a snap of his fingers, a seventh clause appeared on the contract. He no longer concerned himself with Lina's identity—what he had seen of her character was enough to convince him she was not an evil person.
"Is there anything else?"
"I think that's enough."
"So, when do you plan to tell him?" Caelis asked. Though eager to grow closer to Claude, he felt it would be disrespectful to approach him without allowing Lina to explain firsthand. Moreover, he understood that the woman he was about to enter into a contractual marriage with would not appreciate unilateral decisions regarding her son.
"I'll tell him as soon as possible. Give me a few days."
"I understand."
Silence settled between them once more. This time, Lina felt awkward—and she hated it. For some reason, a mischievous side of her that had long been buried began to stir.
"Ah… do we need to get used to being affectionate in public?"
Caelis stiffened instantly, and his lips turned pale. "What?"
Lina covered her lips, hiding an amused smile. She had not been mistaken the night before. The man who seemed so intimidating had clearly panicked when the topic of affection was brought up.
So, this man actually has a cute side.
Lina slowly began to realize that marrying the Grand Duke of the North was not entirely a bad thing. She had once resolved never to fall in love after taking Claude in as her son. Yet, she was still a young woman with a maiden heart. She wanted to know what it felt like to fall in love—or even just to walk side by side with a man she could rely on.
Caelis might never love her, and she herself did not know whether she ever would. But at the very least, she no longer felt any hostility toward him. She decided she would make the most of this contractual relationship.
"I was just joking," Lina said lightly as she inscribed her signature onto the contract using magic. "But the old butler was right. If we want to convince everyone that I'm your lover who bore your child, we'll have to act as if we care deeply for each other from time to time."
Caelis let out a quiet sigh. "If you don't mind, then I have no objections."
"Shall we start now?"
"What?" Once again, panic flashed across Caelis's golden eyes.
"You should have seen your expression," she teased. "You looked completely flustered." Lina let out a soft laugh before turning and walking toward Claude.
Caelis stared at her in disbelief. A bright smile still lingered on Lina's face as she spoke cheerfully with Claude.
He shook his head helplessly. This was the first time anyone had ever dared to tease him like this.
Strangely… he did not dislike it.
From that day forward, Caelis maintained a certain distance from Lina, yet he never missed a single meal with her and Claude. Most of his attention remained focused on the child, and with each passing day, he began to develop a bond with the boy.
Lina noticed that Caelis had started to keep his distance and avoid being alone with her. She considered this a good thing, as she needed some private time to contact her contracted monster.
She summoned Fatty.
During her stay at the palace, Lina entrusted the panda with gathering information about the Northern Territory.
As Caelis had mentioned, rumors about the Northern Lord's secret lover bringing a child into the region had already spread far and wide.
"Mistress, many are opposing little Clau becoming the heir," Fatty reported. "More precisely, they don't believe that Grand Duke Valerian actually has a lover."
"Why?"
Fatty explained that Caelis had never accepted any proposals and had never been seen close to any lady since becoming the Grand Duke.
"Besides," Fatty continued, "it's said that Grand Duke Caelis is not the true heir. He is the younger son. His older brother—the eldest son—disappeared over ten years ago, and no one knows what happened to him."
"Do you know his brother's name?"
"I tried asking around, but no one dared to mention it. It seems to be a forbidden name."
Lina fell into thought for a moment before asking another question. "How is the relationship between the beast clans and the Magic Tower?"
"It's very bad. Many mages are working together with swordsmen to capture beasts. The two sides hate each other. Mistress, no matter what happens, you must not unseal your powers."
"Why?"
"I heard that the mage Grand Duke Caelis hates the most is the White Calamity." Fatty continued chewing on his bamboo stick as if the information he had just revealed was nothing serious.
"What else?"
"What else would you like to know—ouch! Mistress, you're hurting me!"
Lina tugged on the panda's ear in annoyance. "I don't care about his hatred toward mages. I just want to know whether Claude will be in danger if he becomes his successor."
"I don't think so," Fatty replied, rubbing his ear. "As long as you show authority as the Grand Duchess of North."
"My authority? What do you mean?"
"The beast clans only respect strength," Fatty explained. "If you appear weak, how can little Clau grow into a ruler as powerful as the Grand Duke?"
"But if I use my powers, my identity as the White Calamity will be exposed."
Fatty slapped his forehead helplessly. "You have so many contracted beasts. Use them—ouch!"
"Everyone already knows about my four contracted beasts!" Lina snorted. "Do you think I'm foolish enough to summon them here?"
The only reason she had summoned the panda was that Fatty had never been used in battle. She had contracted him simply because he was cute, adorable—and unfortunately, lazy.
However, Fatty excelled at gathering information thanks to his innate talent: transformation. He could disguise himself as any lower-ranked beast without attracting suspicion.
"Mistress… you forgot about that sly fox!"
Lina froze.
Her first contracted beast—one she had obtained by accident at the age of ten—was one of the most powerful sacred creatures: a nine-tailed fox.
At that time, the fox had been on the brink of death due to severe internal injuries. The only way it could survive was by forming a contract with a master. Although Lina had saved it, the fox fell into a deep slumber and had never appeared again, not even when she was in danger.
No one knew that the Lady Lunar Frost Sovereign still possessed that sacred fox as one of her contracted beasts.
Coincidentally, the fox had awakened from its recovery four years ago. Lina had never summoned it, as she had been living under the guise of a weak commoner.
But now…
It was time.
Time for her to summon her strongest contracted beast from within her contract space.