Chapter 1: You’re All Plotting Against Me!

Mellen soared through the clouds, far from the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain.

Her Highness Fiora is just too clueless. If no one takes care of her, she’s going to die for sure.

He hovered in the air, glancing back toward the Frost Sanctum.

No matter how he thought about it, he just couldn’t relax.

Even though he had said he was abandoning that useless Dragon King, Mellen knew deep down that Fiora hadn’t chosen this path herself. She’d been forced into the position after the last Ice Dragon King vanished without a trace.

There had been no other choice. The title had to be passed on, and Fiora was the next in line.

Blaming her for the decline of the Ice Dragon Clan wasn’t really fair.

“Sigh… She makes it impossible for me to leave with peace of mind. Maybe I should at least go back and teach her how to cook and do laundry before I head out.”

The cold wind had already swept away his frustration.

Mellen turned around and headed back to the Frost Sanctum.

But as he got closer, he noticed something was very wrong.

A huge hole had been blasted into the wall of the sanctum.

In the snow just outside the hole, a young man was standing in front of Fiora, who was in her human form.

Her tiny face was soaked with tears, and the black-haired man standing across from her gave off a threatening vibe that instantly put Mellen on alert.

“Her Highness Fiora!!”

He dove straight down, aiming to ram into the black-haired man with all his might.

The man quickly stepped away from Fiora and led Mellen away in another direction.

To Mellen’s surprise, the young man didn’t run—he faced him head-on.

He crossed his arms in front of himself, lowered his center of gravity, and braced for impact.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh—!!”

Mellen roared, using every bit of strength to slam into him, dragging the man over the edge of the cliff.

They both plummeted toward the snowy peak below.

Mellen managed to spread his wings mid-air and stay airborne.

The black-haired man, however, crashed hard into the flat ground a hundred meters below, sending snow flying everywhere.

“You dare lay hands on the Ice Dragon King, human? Die!!”

Mellen dove down again, claws raised, ready to crush him.

But the young man slowly stood back up.

“Please wait, Ice Dragon Clan member.”

He calmly raised both hands, showing that he wasn’t planning to fight back.

“…”

Mellen paused.

“I don’t want to fight you.”

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“I just want to talk things through calmly.”

Mellen took a deep breath.

He wasn’t a hot-headed type.

If this man had managed to overpower Fiora—who was stronger than Mellen—then he definitely wasn’t an ordinary human.

There was a good chance Mellen wouldn’t win in a fight.

“Speak, human.”

“Thank you for not attacking again. I’m Leon, the Sword Saint of the Donghui Kingdom,” the man introduced himself.

“I came here to protect Fiora. She’s in serious danger. People from Donghui Kingdom are after her.”

———-

“Mellen, please don’t die…”

Fiora lay at the edge of the cliff, unable to see what was happening below through the clouds and mist.

She felt so helpless.

I’m in no condition to fight… I can’t even transform.

And Leon’s strength is ridiculous…

How could someone as old as Mellen possibly survive this?

“Wuwuwuwu… Mellen, I’m so sorry…”

“If I had known something like this would happen, I would’ve listened to you more and practiced harder… learned more spells… picked up more skills…”

“You died such a miserable death…”

Fiora remembered Mellen’s nagging voice and his smile. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling. Her heart was breaking.

Then, suddenly—

“Her Highness Fiora, this old man’s not that easy to kill.”

Mellen flew back up in dragon form and landed in front of her, turning back into his butler self.

“Mellen!!”

“Ow, ow, ow… These old bones can’t take this anymore. Please be gentle, Your Highness.”

Fiora flung herself at him with so much force, she nearly broke his back.

“Did you kill that jerk Sword Saint?”

“Of course.”

“When traveling the world, it’s important to always have a hidden trick or two. You should remember that, Your Highness.”

“Mellen, you’re the best!”

Fiora didn’t even question it. She believed him completely and started hopping around excitedly.

“Let’s go, Your Highness Fiora. Time to head home.”

“You’re not leaving anymore, Mellen?”

“I was just mad earlier, that’s all. In truth, I went down the mountain to buy supplies for you.”

The two of them walked side by side, chatting like nothing had happened.

“What kind of supplies?”

“I ordered the snacks, toys, and novels you asked for last time. We just have to go pick them up.”

“Really? Even that one—Everyone’s Flexing, Human or Ghost, Only My Sister’s Getting Wrecked?”

“Yes. That author got ambushed recently by fans demanding an update. They locked him in a basement and made him write for three days straight.”

“Haha! Serves him right! Finally he stopped slacking! Leon’s dead, and now I can go back to my beautiful life of goofing off and waiting for death.”

Fiora laughed happily, Hehehe\~

She looked just like a silly husky.

For a second, a strange light flickered in Mellen’s eyes… but then it vanished, and his usual calm face returned.

“Your Highness Fiora, please sign the purchase list.”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm!”

He handed her the list and a pen.

Fiora glanced at it without much thought and signed it.

“There’s another one.”

He handed over a second paper, and she signed that one too.

“And one more, Your Highness.”

“Mellen, couldn’t you have just given me all of them at once?”

“Sorry, Your Highness. This old brain’s not what it used to be.”

“There’s just one last one.”

“Hmph! Are you messing with me?”

Fiora puffed up her cheeks and glared at him, but she still signed the paper without reading it.

But this time, Mellen’s expression changed completely. His face turned cold.

“Your Highness Fiora… you really are a fool.”

“Eh?”

“Take a look at what you just signed.”

It wasn’t a purchase list.

The words on it were strange… almost unreal.

Fiora felt like her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Her hands started to shake. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead as she read the title aloud:

“s*ave Contract.”

“Party A: Leon Alex. Party B: Fiora Esdragon.”

“Effective immediately, Party B becomes the s*ave of Party A.”

“The terms are as follows…”

She read every cruel and ridiculous term on the contract.

Her scalp tingled. Her body froze.

At the bottom of the page, she saw Leon’s signature next to Party A.

And hers… next to Party B.

The collar on her neck began to glow. It resonated with the contract’s magic.

She knew what this meant—the s*ave contract had been activated.

“Mellen… Leon… You two planned this together?!”