Leon waited until the quiet of night wrapped around the house before he set the books out on the table.
Lyra had long since fallen asleep, but Leon didn't have that privilege. The oil lamp on the table burned low, casting a soft, golden glow over the neat stack of tomes he'd purchased earlier.
He cracked open the thickest one first. Binding Contracts & Mana Enforcement.
The first pages were heavy with dense legal jargon, even more complicated than back home, but Leon read every line carefully, tracing each character with his fingertip as though engraving it into memory.
In this kingdom, legal contracts weren't just ink and parchment. Mana bound them, seared the intent of both parties into the document itself. A single drop of blood mixed with mana, layered atop a signature, could turn words into law. Courts took these contracts as absolute truths. Because magic, unlike men, supposedly didn't lie.
Leon snorted softly at that thought.
"Magic's as honest as the hands that wield it," he muttered under his breath.
Hours crawled by. He devoured sections on precedent, enforcement laws, and even a subsection on the ethical limitations of mana signatures. For every paragraph he consumed, he jotted notes into a small leather-bound notebook.
But the more he read, the more the weight of the case pressed on him.
The brothers' will had a mana seal. That alone meant the court would favor it automatically. Without undeniable proof of coercion, Mara's hidden will, no matter how heartfelt, might as well be kindling.
If Daren had written a will in secret leaving everything to Mara, it meant he'd already anticipated conflict. But then why, barely weeks later, sign another document that stripped her of everything?
Leon leaned back, rubbing his temple, his gaze blurring on the flickering lamplight.
The second book, Applied Mana Jurisprudence, was no better. It was thicker, if anything, its spine stiff from lack of handling. He skimmed through theoretical frameworks, law clerk interpretations, and court case summaries until his eyes burned. Still, nothing conclusive.
He reached for the third tome. Foundations of Civil Law.
By now, the crickets outside were a soft chorus, and the lamp's light had begun to falter, oil thinning in the glass. Leon barely noticed.
Somewhere past midnight, his fingers stopped on a section buried deep within the book's latter half. An obscure commentary on mana-bound agreements penned by a court archivist nearly fifty years ago.
He leaned closer, breath catching as his eyes darted across the cramped handwriting in the margins:
[It is commonly believed that all sealed contracts are alike, yet few know to look beneath the surface. The mana attunement of the signer leaves traces imperceptible to untrained eyes. A signature given in full willingness resonates cleanly, its energy flowing without obstruction. However, a contract signed under coercion carries a subtle distortion. A faint ripple where the mana resists binding.]
Leon froze. There it was.
He ran his thumb over the edge of the page, his mind racing.
If he could prove Daren had signed the brothers' will under duress, then no amount of forged witnesses or fake smiles would save them. A coerced mana signature would unravel an entire contract's validity.
It wouldn't be easy. He'd need the right tools, possibly even someone trained in mana resonance detection.
Leon sat back slowly, exhaling through his nose, the weight of exhaustion finally catching up with him. His body ached from hours hunched over parchment, but his mind buzzed.
Tomorrow, he'd confirm his suspicion.
For now, though, he closed the book gently, fingers lingering on its worn leather cover. He blew out the lamp, plunging the room into darkness, and stretched out on the cot without bothering to undress.
Sleep claimed him almost instantly.
The next morning, Leon woke early, long before the sun crested the horizon. Lyra was still asleep, curled beneath the thin blanket, her breathing soft and even. He quietly slipped out into the cool morning air.
The village was barely stirring. A few merchants were just beginning to roll open their shutters, and the cobbled street still glistened faintly from last night's mist. Leon kept his hood up and his pace brisk.
While reading last night, he already had a candidate in mind. Kaelen.
Kaelen was a court-certified mana examiner. But he was different from the others. He lived on the fringes of the law, a man who was known for his irritable temper and casual way of doing things. It reminded Leon of his former self.
By the time he reached the eastern edge of the district, the streets narrowed into winding alleys. Rotting wood lined the cramped buildings, and the air carried the faint tang of rusted iron and stale wine. Leon stopped before a nondescript door with a faint sigil carved into the lintel.
He knocked twice.
Moments later, the door cracked open. A single amber eye peered through, sharp and assessing.
"Not taking clients," a gravelly voice said.
Leon stepped closer, lowering his hood just enough for Kaelen to see his face. "I need a mana resonance detection. Quietly. And I'm willing to pay."
The door stayed silent for a long heartbeat before sliding open.
Inside, the air smelled of ink, old parchment, and faintly burnt mana. The small study was cluttered with scrolls, crystal instruments, and runed glass orbs humming softly on tables.
A man sat cross-legged on a cushion near the far wall. Leon was taken aback. He looked to be in his mid twenties and gave off a harmless air but years of dealing with countless people made Leon know that this was just a façade.
Kaelen's gaze swept Leon up and down, pausing briefly on the satchel at his side. "You don't look like someone who can afford me," he said bluntly.
Leon didn't flinch. "You don't look like someone who can afford to turn me away."
That earned him a dry chuckle.
"Sharp tongue," Kaelen said, motioning for him to sit. "Show me what you want tested."
Leon slid a folded piece of parchment across the table: a random, harmless document he'd prepared earlier to gauge Kaelen's skill.
Kaelen laid his fingertips over the parchment, his mana flaring faintly as he murmured an incantation. Fine threads of blue light spread across the surface, coiling like veins beneath translucent skin.
After a moment, he glanced up. "Signed freely," he said simply.
Leon's chest loosened slightly and he leaned forward lowering his voice. "I'll have a real document for you soon. Something delicate. If anyone finds out, it'll cost more than gold."
Kaelen's expression didn't change. "Secrecy has a price."
Leon nodded. "So name it."
The man studied him for a moment then smiled.
"I want your sister. Can you afford that?"
Leon frowned then stood up without warning.
"I'll take my leave."
Kaelen watched him walk to the door then called out.
"Wait."
Leon paused but didn't turn back.
"I'll do it."
"I didn't agree to your condition."
Kaelen showed a real smile.
"Lyra is my friend. It's good that you're finally changing for better."
Leon finally turned around and observed him for a second before turning around to leave.