Chapter 31: Pact With the Future

“These three conditions,” Aurora said, lifting her head and staring at the large belly before her with a gloomy expression. “They won’t have any strange side effects, will they?”

Future Aurora waved a hand, her face honest and open.

“Absolutely not. Side effects? The first future me planted those when she altered the contract. In her timeline, she turned into a succubus. Succubi are demons, and a demon can’t stand not messing with someone.”

She touched her big belly, her tone carrying the certainty of someone who had been through it and knew what she was talking about.

“Demons aren’t proper folk. What proper person would screw themselves over?”

Aurora was silent for three seconds. She looked at the “proper person” in front of her with a ball-shaped belly and decided to believe that sentence for now.

They say pregnancy makes you forgetful for three years. This one was so pregnant, surely she was too silly to lie.

“Alright, I’ll pick the third one. The magical weapon is you.”

“Good eye.”

Future Aurora nodded in satisfaction and gave a practical comment.

“Chopping people is one thing, but the real value of this thing isn’t there.”

She paused, as if thinking how to phrase it.

“Your weapon’s form is determined by your will. Whatever shape you think it should be in your mind, it can become. That means you can do a lot of tricks, not at the ordinary level of ‘I want a greatsword,’ but truly adapting to the situation.”

Aurora’s eyes lit up.

“For example?”

“For example,” the countess tilted her head. “You can use it to chop people today, pick locks tomorrow, and draw a magic array on the ground the day after. Figure it out yourself. We’re modern people with high IQs. This thing will be ten times more useful in our hands than in someone else’s.”

Aurora touched her chin, thoughtful.

This really suited her tastes.

This one’s good. I’ll take this one!

Aurora put away the contract and waited a full three seconds.

She was waiting for her future self to suddenly change expression.

She was waiting…

Her shoulders started trembling. The corners of her mouth kept lifting.

No, she couldn’t laugh yet.

“Pfft… Haha… Hahaha!”

But nothing happened.

Future Aurora waved her hand, shooing Aurora away.

“The window’s over there. Jump down and you’ll go back. Don’t stand around in my room taking up my bed. I want to sleep.”

Then she began to move toward the bed, her big belly leading the way. She walked two steps and rested. Her movements were so slow it was astonishing, giving Aurora a guilty feeling that she should help her.

Aurora was silent for a moment, then stood up to make way for her future self.

“Really no trap?”

“Do I look like I have the energy to trick you?”

The countess lay on the bed.

“Don’t bother me. The doctor says I’m close to giving birth.”

Aurora silently turned to the window.

She stepped out onto the windowsill. Cold wind hit her face.

On different timelines, her experiences were different, and so was her attitude toward Balian.

So the future wasn’t fixed.

The thought circled in her mind, unexpectedly making her mood a little better.

Aurora jumped.

She opened her eyes again. She was truly awake.

It wasn’t a dream.

Aurora stared blankly at the bed canopy above for two seconds before pulling herself out of the chaotic remnants of the dream: her future self, the contract, the countess with the big belly lazily driving her away…

Then she turned her head, and her gaze landed on the black-haired attendant dozing with closed eyes by the bedside.

The content of the precognitive dream immediately popped into her mind.

Big hands, grabbing her ankles, spreading them, then lifting high…

Before her reflexes could even kick in, Aurora’s foot had already kicked out.

Bang.

Balian flew solidly off the chair and hit the floor with a dull thud. Aurora sat up, her heart still racing, and grabbed a pillow to throw at him.

“Who told you to come in!”

Balian slowly pushed himself up from the floor, looking dazed, his black eyes wearing the standard innocent expression of “I was just sitting here, not doing anything.”

He patted the wrinkles on his sleeve.

“Miss, last night it was this subordinate who carried you back. You were sleeping on the desk yesterday, and I was afraid you’d catch a cold.”

Aurora’s face flushed red.

Carried back?

Such obvious impropriety, and no one in this house manages it?!

She pulled the blanket up to her neck, pointed at the door, and her voice was a full octave higher than before:

“Get out!!”

Balian got up sullenly, put the thrown pillow back by the bed, then bowed and closed the door.

Aurora sat on the bed, the blanket piled up to her chin, breathing silently for a while. Then she pulled the blanket higher and buried her whole face in it.

It was dark inside the blanket. Good. She couldn’t see anything.

After about half a minute like that, Aurora pulled her face out of the blanket, took a deep breath, and forced herself to switch back to normal mode.

Aurora thought she had to make things clear with everyone, including Balian.

She was a non-marriage person, a puritan!

But maybe not exactly?

The doctrine of the Goddess Orthodoxy generally encouraged childbirth and didn’t care about chastity. Sometimes it even encouraged adultery, as long as the children born looked like they met the standards of orthodox believers.

In other words, at least don’t with actual goblins and orcs.

Under such a doctrine, declaring that you didn’t want to bear children was somewhat blasphemous.

As for advertising oneself as a homosexual…

Considering that she had many female teammates whose sexual orientations were unknown, she felt that doing so would make people think she was a pervert.

As everyone knew, Aurora was a sensible person who wouldn’t bring internet subcultures into reality.

What a hassle.

Oh well. Take the road step by step, eat the food bite by bite.

First, she would follow her future self’s advice and improve her personal strength. Then she’d find a way to send Balian away via the Celestine line or the martial arts tournament, while expanding cooperation with the guild and strengthening her own power.

Aurora threw off the blanket and got out of bed. As soon as her silk-clad feet touched the floor, she felt a chill that shot straight to her brain.

She wasn’t wearing shoes.

Clearly, she wouldn’t be barefoot when writing documents.

So, there could only be one explanation.

Aurora held her head, feeling her heart twitch.

She decided to set up a bed in her room for Vapgis and have her come live with her as a guard.

By the way, where was Vapgis? She needed to find her and ask for help developing new skills.

The off-shoulder dress from last night was still intact on her. She glanced at the hem and decided she couldn’t be bothered to change, since there were no outside guests in the mansion, any embarrassment would stay within.

Aurora pushed open the bedroom door and walked out, carrying her dress.

She stopped a passing maid in the hallway.

“Where is Vapgis?”

The maid paused for a second before answering: “Miss, Miss Vapgis disappeared early this morning. I didn’t notice…”

Aurora waved a hand and turned to the next person.

She asked two more. One said she seemed to have gone toward the garden. Another said she had seen her heading toward the basement. The two answers contradicted each other, so they were useless.

Carrying her dress, Aurora searched along the corridor. She passed the garden: no one. Passed the study: no one. Passed the basement entrance, door closed, no sound inside.

She paused at the end of the corridor.

Then she smelled something.

The aroma of meat, plus a hint of cream, and something bubbling in a pot, drifting out through the vents at the corner of the corridor.

Aurora looked down at the dress she was still holding, sighed, and turned toward the kitchen.

Vapgis was holding a bowl and wolfing down the leftover cream of mushroom soup from last night!

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