I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 73: Magic Amplifier (4)

Once I saw Miss Sophia kneeling reverently on the floor, asking me to give her orders, it didn’t take me long to get a rough idea of what was going on.

For one thing, I had already experienced the side effects of the potion she had taken.

The side effect of amplifying the biggest emotion one has at the time of use, while slightly suppressing the others.

Having already suffered a small embarrassment with her prototype, I had some idea of her sudden change in personality.

I have no idea what her amplified emotion is now, by the way.

…I suppose I can ask this much, since I’ve been told to give orders.

“Miss Sophia.”

“Yes, Lady Ariana.”

“May I ask what kind of feelings you have for me right now?”

“The greatest feeling I have for you is loyalty, followed closely by respect.

Ever since the day you believed in my research when no one else did, and funded my research with your own money, I have pledged my loyalty to you.”

Loyalty and respect…not bad feelings.

I’d worried about what if she harbored the kind of feelings I couldn’t reciprocate, but thankfully, she doesn’t seem to.

At least she seems to have the basic feelings that a competent subordinate should have for their boss.

Just knowing that she’s completely my person is an achievement in itself.

“Do you mind if I continue with my questions?”

“Please do, Lady Ariana.”

“Then I was wondering earlier, what were the other potions in your bag?”

Obviously, I had only asked her to research the development of the Magic Amplifier, and she had packed a bunch of other potions aside from that.

It was only natural that my curiosity would kick in.

“Just a moment, Lady Ariana.”

In response to my question, Ms. Sophia pulled several potions out of her bag and lined them up one by one on the floor as she knelt down to explain.

“The one on the far left is the fourth prototype, and the one I gave to Ariana earlier was the third.

They were all a little bit flawed, and I was going to scrap them, but I thought I’d bring them along in case you were curious about where I spent your research funds.”

I counted at least ten different prototypes.

I can feel the effort she’s put into the research I’ve entrusted her with, just by counting the jars in front of me.

“Are they prototypes because they don’t work? Or are they reagents that we can’t use because they have other problems?”

“Most of them are prototypes because they don’t perform well: the catalysts don’t give as immediate a reaction as I thought they would, or the reactants don’t break down properly.

Especially for something like the seventh prototype, it’s practically a waste in terms of performance.”

“It’s that bad? How bad is it that….?”

“It doesn’t have any of the magic amplifier effects it’s supposed to have, and it’s become an object that emphasizes its side effects.

It’s not impossible to figure out how to use it, but it’s definitely not the best Magic Amplifier that Ariana ordered.”

It’s an object that emphasizes its side effects instead of the original purpose of the magic amplifier….

“When you say side effects, do you mean like the one Ms. Sophia is experiencing right now, where she’s becoming more emotionally attached?”

“Pretty much.”

So, to summarize, the contents of this seventh prototype are a potion that, when drunk, causes a person to become emotional without any other symptoms?

Ms. Sophia considers this potion to be defective and wants to discard it.

“…This seventh prototype, if you don’t want to throw it away, can I have it?”

“Of course, Lady Ariana. It was going to be disposed of anyway, so I hope you can use it for something meaningful.”

“Oh, no, I’m not saying I’m going to use it right away, I’m just keeping it as insurance!”

…Well, it can’t hurt to have it on hand, just in case.

Over the next few days, I received several of the prototypes Sophia described that had room for improvement or could be used for other purposes.

I returned the rest of the reagents back to her bag.

“Please keep the formulas for the prototypes you handed over today. I may need them again in the future.

I don’t suppose you forgot the formulas or destroyed anything you wrote down because they were prototypes?”

“I kept a record of all the materials I used in my research.”

“Good.”

Once I got confirmation from Ms. Sophia that she still had her old research records, I couldn’t help but smile at her.

Clearly, Miss Sophia, like Miss Natalia, has the qualifications to be a capable subordinate of mine in the future.

After all, the research funds I gave her were enough to get me the reagents I wanted, plus a lot of additional results.

So a desire to keep her around a little longer, if possible, is starting to creep into my head.

After all, if I let Miss Sophia use the potions she’s developed at will, she could cause a lot of trouble in the future.

The drugs she has created, including this new magic amplifier, are things that change the conventional wisdom of this world in many ways.

Not to mention revitalizing the Kylie family, her home base.

Turning the entire Kylie estate into a workshop to produce Miss Sophia’s potions would probably attract all the wealth and honor in the kingdom and beyond.

The strongest form of power in this world is, of course, magical power.

In that regard, there is no clearer means of turning money into force than this magical amplifier.

While I’ve supported her research out of my own need, I’m a little concerned about leaving her alone.

There’s a good chance that something could go wrong, especially with Miss Sophia’s safety.

Even if she uses a magic amplifier despite the side effects, the power of the magic she uses is not enough to reach that of an archmage.

This is understandable, given that she’s never been particularly gifted with magic in the first place.

In other words, it’s only a matter of time before Miss Sophia’s knowledge becomes a danger to her own body the moment she’s unable to protect herself.

As it happens, Miss Sophia’s loyalty to me is at its most extreme right now, and I think she still has a bit more time before the drug wears off….

To put the thought in my head into action, I turned to Elise.

“Elise, can I have two blank sheets of paper please?”

“Here you go, Ariana.”

“Thank you.”

I lightly complimented her on her readiness as a servant of the Duke, and then turned to my other servant and summon.

“Purr, I want you to write down what I’m about to say on a piece of paper in magic characters.”

“Kuuuu!”

In this world, one of the surest ways to make a treaty is a magical contract written with arcane magic on a piece of paper.

Unlike words written in ordinary ink, they can’t be forged, so naturally their power is much stronger than a simple paper contract.

In other words, no matter how unreasonable a contract may seem, once it’s signed, it’s absolute.

I recited to Purr what the contract should say off the top of my head, one by one, from beginning to end.

After she had written down the clauses of the contract from start to finish with arcane magic, following my words, she returned to me with two magical contracts that read exactly the same.

Ariana Anastasia (hereinafter referred to as “A”) and Sophia Kylie (hereinafter referred to as “B”) enter into the following contract with respect to the employment relationship indicated below.

Article 1 Party B is forever loyal to Party A. If the provisions below conflict with other provisions below, the contents of this provision shall take precedence.

Article 2 The exclusive distribution rights for drugs made by Party B shall all belong to Party A, and if Party A belongs to the Kingdom of Leavrov, it shall belong to the Kingdom of Leavrov.

Article 3 The production and supply of drugs produced through Party B’s alchemy are decided by Party A, and Party B must unconditionally follow Party A’s decision.

Article 4 Party A shall pay sufficient research funds to Party B when necessary. If the research funds provided by Party A are insufficient, Party B may terminate the contract at any time.

Article 5 When Party B’s potion is developed, Party A shall pay sufficient technology patent royalties commensurate with it. If the amount of technology patent usage fee paid by Party A is insufficient, Party B may terminate the contract at any time.

Article 6: Party A visits Kylie’s territory at least once a year

I was quite pleased to see that the contract was worded exactly the same.

Article 1, “Forever Loyal,” especially resonated with me.

I felt a little smug, thinking that I’d created a magic clause that would make her obey me no matter what unjust orders I gave her.

Of course, this contract was not written to…bully Miss Sophia, so of course I also included a clause to reward her for her research.

And of course, I didn’t forget to mention the revitalization of the Kylie estate, which was the original purpose of Miss Sophia’s alchemical research.

Of course, there’s a loose clause that says she can terminate the contract at any time if she runs out of money for research or patent fees.

In Article 1, there is a clause that says, “Party B will be forever loyal to Party A,” so it is not very effective in practice.

It’s not very loyal to break a contract because you’re running out of money, is it?

I must have villainous blood running through my veins to come up with this idea on the spur of the moment while she’s drugged.

I feel a little sorry for Miss Sophia, who may not have sobered up yet, but she was wrong to show her weakness in front of me.

“…….”

Taking the contract I handed her, Ms. Sophia began to read the contents of the document without a word.

“I think Article 1 is a little rough, but surprisingly, the rest of it doesn’t seem like a bad contract….

If nothing else, this will allow me to continue my relationship with Ariana in the future, or I might as well just sign it for you….”

As I watched Ms. Sophia mumble something for quite some time while reading the contract, I began to have a question.

Why is she reading the contract so carefully right now, when her loyalty to me is obviously at its peak as a side effect of her medication?

Is she reading my unfair contract with a cool head after the emotionally-charged side effects of the medication have worn off?

“Ms. Sophia, if you don’t like anything in the contract, please let….”

“I wrote it all down, Lady Ariana!”

“What?”

Wary of creating political weakness, I called her by name and cautiously asked her about the contract.

Miss Sophia immediately smiled her usual bright smile and handed me back the contract with her signature on both sheets.

“I look forward to serving you in the future, Lady Ariana!”

“…Yes.”

The side effects of the magic amplifier…they’re still there, aren’t they?

“Miss Sophia take one of the two contracts and don’t say anything about it until later.”

“Yes, I will have them framed and wake up every morning reading them to thank you, Lady Ariana!”

“…You don’t have to do that.”

Luckily, she still had some of the drug-induced emotional amplification left in her.

Otherwise, there’s no way she’d sign this contract with me without a single complaint, right?

“Thank you, Lady Ariana, and I’ll see you tomorrow at the academy!”

As I watched her walk away from me with a stupidly energetic smile on her face, I felt a small, but tingling sensation in my heart.

So much for being a villainous heroine.