Death... and me

Maeralya also looked at the Soul Binding Contract in surprise. Both Trika and her could tell with their Divine Senses that the contract was the real deal. If Rean and Roan signed it, it would absolutely take effect. What did that mean? It meant that the twins would die straight away. Maeralya had never had any relation with those two, that's for sure. She was a virgin, after all. One must remember that her actual age was still very young when her cultivation was considered. It was very normal for someone with her background to not have had a relationship yet.

However, as real as the Soul Binding Contract looked, Trika decided to stop Rean and Roan from signing it with their blood. "Stop. Use mine instead." She then took another contract and wrote the same things as Rean. She just wanted to be sure that the twins were using a real Soul Binding Contract.

Rean signed the contract with a smile as Roan wondered if it was even worth it. 'Your ideas sometimes impress even me. But not in a good way, though.'

Rean laughed in response. 'Hahaha! Come on! She was going to kill us anyway, so ain't this better than nothing? I had to pull out some shocking news, you know? Otherwise, it would be impossible to stop that old woman.'

Roan shook his head, saying, 'However, there's a flaw in your plan. If Maeralya decided to sign a contract as well, our ability to ignore Soul Binding Contracts would be discovered straight away. In fact, Maeralya will know for a fact that we can do it since she knows it's a lie.'

Rean shrugged his shoulders after hearing that. 'If you have a better idea, be my guest.'

Roan shook his head. He didn't have one, so it was better to bet in whatever Rean had planned for a change. 'Whatever. I also saw the trick behind the contract's words. It was written -We are in a relationship-, but the contract had never described what kind of relationship.'

Rean nodded with a happy expression. 'I knew you would notice that. Indeed. The -We are in a relationship- can pretty much be any relationship. In this case, we three are in a captain-subordinate relationship. I can totally use it in the future. The trick was what I previously said. I told Trika we are lovers with Maeralya, but those were just my own words. Because of that, she automatically attributed the -relationship- in the contract to be that between lovers.'

'Let's see how it plays out, then,' Roan said, ending the conversation.

Soon after, the Soul Binding Contract burnt out as its power entered the twins' foreheads. Of course, the Soul Dummy immediately acted and took the contract in their place instead.

Trika hoped that the twins would die. They had to! Otherwise, how would she explain Maeralya's actions to her parents later? Maeralya, of course, was simply waiting for the twins to drop dead on the ground. However...

...

...

...

Nothing happened!

"What?!" Both Maeralya and Trika were shocked by that.

"This is a lie! Aunt Trika. I swear! I have nothing to do with those two!" Maeralya obviously denied everything.

"Shut up!" Unfortunately for her, Trika saw the contract taking effect. There was no 'doubt' that the twins were telling the truth. Maeralya really was in a relationship with both of them. Well, in a certain way, the twins weren't lying either... in the contract, that is.

Maeralya didn't give up. "Let me sign a Soul Binding Contract as well! I can prove I'm not lying!"

Unfortunately, Trika thought that to be a way for Maeralya to kill herself. If she signed a Soul Binding Contract stating that the twins were lying, she would die straight away. The twins already proved they weren't lying, so Maeralya must be wanting to die, just like she said a moment ago.

Trika then looked at the twins and asked, "Do you know what you have done? I should have all of you killed right now to cover the truth."

Rean shrugged his shoulders after hearing that. "Our beloved Maeralya is even willing to sign another Soul Binding Contract and die from it just to protect us. If you do so, do you think she won't try to commit suicide in the future? The three of us promised we would rather die than be taken apart. We aren't afraid of you. At most, we'll just die."

Trika gritted her teeth when she heard that. However, looking at how much Maeralya wanted to sign that contract to 'prove' she wasn't lying, she could only accept that Rean was telling the truth. "You love them that much?"

Maeralya wanted to cry after that. Who loves who? She didn't love anyone at all! First of all, she was sure the twins didn't love her either! How the hell did this situation come to be? Unfortunately, Trika simply didn't want to hear any words from her anymore. She totally believed the twins were telling the truth after they signed the contract.

Trika then pulled the twins close to her with her spatial powers before saying, "Whatever. If bringing you two means she won't try and commit suicide, then I shall do that first. We'll discuss this bullshit again once we're back at the clan."

Rean shook his head, though. "Senior, Maeralya and us two have been together for many years already. We know her personality. If you truly do that, she'll still want to kill herself. You must understand that her difficulties in the clan did not stop at the boring life she had."

Trika looked at Maeralya for a bit and then at Rean. "You said you can convince her to not do that, right?"

Rean nodded, saying, "I can try. However, if I convince her, what will stop you from killing us after that?"

Trika pondered over it for a bit before taking another Soul Binding Contract. She then wrote down that as long as the twins succeeded, she wouldn't kill them. However, they had to keep the story about their relationship with Maeralya hidden. No one should know about that. Soon after, she signed it. "Happy now?"

The twins nodded in response. "That's good enough."