“I just want to confirm that. You haven’t forgotten the contents of our contract, have you?”

Ed pulled out the contract he had drafted with Prodia.

It was voluminous enough to fill a thin book.

Irtis was visibly shocked.

“Hey… what is that?”

“As I just told you, it’s a contract.”

“What?”

Irtis looked back at Prodia.

“Prodia, you…!”

You shoved a single-page contract at me?

Prodia pretended not to hear, but Irtis was already up in her face.

“Contractor, why are you avoiding my gaze?”

“I had a pre-made form with the Prihi Corporation. I had no choice.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Hearing their conversation, Ed smirked.

“I may not know the details, but it seems you, Grand Mage, have entered into an exploitative… no, an unfair contract with her.”

“You purposely said it wrong, didn’t you.”

Ed pushed up his glasses with his middle finger.

“If you had first sought the trustworthy Prihi Corporation, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“This bastard?”

“Enough!”

Prodia stepped in between the two men.

“Ed, don’t provoke Irtis.”

“Oh, I was merely trying to assist.”

“And Irtis, you’re the only one I plan to help win, anyway. Isn’t that enough?”

“……Fine.”

Irtis backed off for now.

“Ed, back to our previous discussion. Which part of the contract are you referring to?”

Ed grinned and opened the contract toward Prodia.

“Look here. If it’s proven that false information was provided to the other party, the contract can be terminated.”

Hearing about the termination of the contract, Prodia was slightly flustered.

Ed pointed at Irtis and Luca.

“You did say that with these two, we’d have an advantage in a choir competition.”

Upon hearing that, Irtis and Luca shouted in surprise.

“The trust fund was for a choir?”

Caught off guard, Prodia was momentarily flustered.

‘I wasn’t planning to talk about the trust fund like this…!’

The timing was horrible.

Originally, she planned to make the two practice singing whenever Ed wasn’t around.

But Ed had beaten her to it.

“Would it be okay if I listen to both of your singing abilities?”

Irtis and Luca were greatly flustered by his request.

Then Ed asked with a smile.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

That obnoxious brat.
Prodia bit her lip.

From next to her, Irtis, who had been watching her, sent telepathy.

[Prodia, did you tell that guy that we can sing well?]

What could be done now?

[It’s similar.] [Why did you do that? I’ve never sung before.] [What?]

How could that be? Certainly, in Irtis’s ability window, there existed a scam skill called Singing Power (S).

[You really have never sung in your life?] [That’s what I’m saying.] [Why not?] [I’ve never wanted to sing.]

Ah.

As a child, he lost his memory, and as an adult, he struggled for survival in a bleak tower.

‘As if he’d want to sing.’

Why hadn’t she thought of that?

‘Even if his natural singing ability is good, the problem would be severe if he has no singing experience.’

How about Luca?

Prodia glanced at Luca.

Luca also seemed to have roughly caught on to the situation.

If their singing was bad, Ed would probably cancel the contract and leave.

And that would certainly cause a hiccup in Prodia’s plan.

Luca also looked at Prodia with an expression of not knowing what to do.

Then Ed urged Prodia.

“Surely you didn’t lie to me?”

“No, why would I.”

“Then show me. I’m really curious about the singing skills of those two people you’re so confident about.”

Saying so, Ed leisurely sat down on the parlor sofa.

Prodia tightly closed her eyes.

There was no other choice.

[Irtis, listen well. From what I see, you have a natural talent for singing. So just try it.] [What are you talking about? You’ve never heard me sing.] [Don’t I know? I’m the empire’s best home tutor. I can tell just by looking at a student’s potential.] [But…]

He hesitated for a moment.

[Actually, I don’t know any songs.]

Damn it.

Prodia asked.

[Not even the national anthem or hymns? Lullabies or folk songs from childhood?]

No answer.

[A lullaby…?]

After a brief silence, he mumbled in a small voice.

[There’s one song that the tower master used to sing to me every night.]

A lullaby.

It wasn’t a bad choice from Prodia’s perspective.

‘A calm and easy-to-follow song. Perfect for the first time.’

But weren’t his relations with the tower master bad?

‘He even sang lullabies?’

Now was not the time to be curious about that.

Prodia asked Irtis.

[Do you remember that song?] […Yes.] [Please, Irtis. Trust me and sing it just once.]

He pondered for a moment.

Of course, he remembered the lyrics and melody of the lullaby clearly.

He had no choice but to.

Since the first day he entered the tower, the tower master sang that song to him every night as he lay sleepless.

He had never sung along, but his head and heart remembered.

‘Ah, I really don’t know how to sing.’

But there was no other way.

He didn’t like that merchant, but there must be a reason Prodia recruited him.

If so, he should make it possible.

Finally making a decision, Irtis spoke to Ed.

“Listen well, I’ll sing just once.”

“Ah, once is enough.”

Irtis cleared his throat.

Could he do it well?

It felt like he was stepping into an unexplored world for the first time.

His body tensed for the first time.

But it had to be done.

He slowly cleared his throat.

And finally, the first shocking line flowed from Irtis’s mouth.