I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 113
Sudden murder.
The silence lasted only a moment before panic erupted.
“He—Heek!”
“The—The Regent committed murder…!!”
He had killed someone without hesitation in front of everyone’s eyes.
Ferda was the only one unperturbed by the chaotic scene.
He was merely looking down at the woman he had killed.
“A terrible waste of time.”
The woman did not move.
It was only natural. How could she move with her brow pierced through?
While everyone else faltered at Ferda’s abrupt action, only Ferda remained calm and resolute.
“Stop the useless acting, Witch. It must be tiring to sprawl out like that.”
At that moment, the body everyone had assumed was dead began to twitch.
“Heek!”
“The—The corpse is moving!”
Like a marionette with poorly connected joints, it jerked unnaturally and stood up.
With a hole in its forehead, it opened its mouth.
“……How did you know?”
An awkward smile spread across the terrified woman’s face.
Crack—.
A moment later, the form began to split.
The skin sloughed off like a molting shell, revealing the body inside.
Hair made of white scales, pupils slit vertically, and a staff entwined with two snakes.
A snake-like tongue flicked out from her mouth.
Her identity was instantly recognizable.
“The Snake Witch, Yor!”
“A Witch has entered our castle!”
The people who had been kneeling fled in a frenzy.
In an instant, a circular void formed around the Witch and Ferda.
‘Yor Philiaz.’
Ferda knew that name as well.
Her notoriety made her one of the most prominent among the witches.
As a skilled Witch, her demonic energy was thick.
And as dense as that energy was, it pressed down ruthlessly on her surroundings.
The Witch lifted the hem of her skirt and offered a playful greeting.
“Pleasure to meet you, Regent of Valdrova.”
It wasn’t a gravelly voice, but a shrill, high-pitched one.
Malice felt thick within it.
“You’re the first person to pierce my brow the moment we met. Shouldn’t you treat the Grand Duke’s consort with a bit more dignity?”
“Don’t exaggerate. If I had intended to kill you, I would have used a different method.”
“My, how valiant. My hobby is ripping out the hearts of such valiant humans….”
She licked her blade-like fingernails.
“I suppose you’re planning to indulge that hobby?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Yor’s figure vanished.
No, something flying at a speed the eye couldn’t track had pounced on her.
It was Ruri.
She pinned Yor down by crushing her neck with her foot.
“Your heart will be ripped out before that, Witch.”
Ruri growled.
But the Witch was not flustered.
Rather, she looked up as if finding it cute.
“My, what a cute little flat-chested lady. You should temper that personality and live a bit more roundly. Isn’t that how one becomes an adult?”
She then glanced down at Ruri’s skirt and smiled complacently.
“Quite cute.”
“You crazy bitch—”
“Enough.”
Just as Ruri’s fist was about to shatter the Witch’s mouth, Ferda stepped in.
“I don’t have time to play games with you, Yor Philiaz.”
Ferda flicked his finger.
“Stop trying to dig for information with useless provocations. Leave the message Big Sister sent and get lost.”
Yor narrowed her eyes at his words.
She, who had been making exaggerated gestures, seemed genuinely surprised.
“Well, I’ll grant you knowing about the information gathering, but how did you know that too?”
“Because things ended too cleanly despite Echidna meeting with an accident.”
Witches and demons.
Those entangled with those two usually suffer terribly.
“It’s your job to forever hunt and curse the human who killed a Witch.”
“Hmm…… what foolish talk. Don’t you know Echidna was an excommunicated child?”
“If a Witch has an excuse, what wouldn’t they do?”
“Fufu, that is true.”
At that moment, the form of Yor that Ruri had pinned down scattered into dozens of snakes.
Yor walked out from among the crowd as if nothing had happened.
“Our Regent knows far too much about witches for no reason.”
She turned serious, looking bored.
“Anyway, I’ll give you Big Sister’s message.”
One of the snakes on Yor’s staff writhed and spat out something long.
It was a sealed scroll.
Yor cleared her throat and recited its contents.
“Ferda Valdrova, you have been invited by Lucy Philiaz, the Pillar of the Roots of Philiaz, Mother of Witches, and Big Sister. I hereby declare your obligation to uphold this invitation.”
She playfully mimicked a King’s messenger before tilting the invitation toward Ferda.
“If you unfurl this invitation, you will arrive at the Witch’s Garden immediately.”
Then, as if remembering something, she gave a bright smile and added one more thing.
“There are no traps.”
Ferda looked down at the invitation silently.
“You must not accept it.”
Ruri grabbed him from the side.
“Flat-chested lady, I’m sorry, but this is a conversation for adults. Could you step out?”
“Shut up, Witch.”
Ruri’s expression grew even fiercer.
Anger and loathing on a different dimension than before were visible.
“Know that the only reason your maw hasn’t been ripped open yet is because I am being patient.”
“Oh, how scary. But this unnie’s maw is already ripped open. Want to see?”
The skin of her mouth split open with a crack, revealing an interior that looked like it could swallow a human head whole.
“Hiiiiieek!”
People shrieked and backed away at the Witch’s grotesque appearance, and Yor cackled with satisfaction.
Ferda did not join in the atmosphere, only staring down at the invitation.
“Why should I go?”
Ferda asked her.
Yor replied with a smile in her eyes.
“Because Echidna died while touching the Rune you created.”
A simple answer he already knew.
“That’s enough.”
“Are you serious?”
Hearing Ferda’s answer, Ruri turned her head.
She was so shocked that her burning bloodlust vanished instantly.
“The opponent is a Witch. And their leader at that. They are beings who hate men and treat them as playthings; do you really believe those words?”
“My, how hurtful. Hey, even we have emotions, you know?”
Yor made an exaggerated gesture at Ruri’s words before glancing at Ferda.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Though I’m curious too. What are you trusting to act like this?”
Ferda accepted the invitation in silence.
Yor shrugged.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Come alone. Well, you’ll only be able to come alone anyway, but I’m telling you so you don’t waste your effort. Then….”
Her gaze shifted toward someone.
It was Zedd.
Upon seeing him, she smiled brightly.
“Handsome gigolo boy. How have you been?”
“Ayy, I’ve been doing well. How have you been, noona?”
“Hoho, since when was I your noona? But it does feel good to hear it from such a handsome boy.”
What was felt, contrary to her smiling eyes, was bloodlust.
“You know, don’t you? There are a bucketload of women who hold a grudge against you.”
“Haha, I know, but I don’t really want to worry about it.”
“Of course, of course. Don’t worry about it. That way, I can kill you very painfully when you let your guard down. Please live like that for the rest of your life.”
She flicked a finger at Zedd with a smile.
“Then, adieu~.”
Her figure sank into the ground and vanished completely.
In the silence left by the Witch, people looked at each other and sighed in relief.
Everyone returned to their livelihoods, but the two did not move from the spot.
Ferda stood there, quietly looking down at the invitation.
“You must not go.”
Ruri stopped Ferda again.
“Do you know where you are going right now?”
“To the Witch’s Garden, presumably.”
The Witch’s Garden.
The space for all witches where they are born and given the name Philiaz.
Since he had been summoned by Lucy Philiaz, he would surely head there.
“Do you even know where that Witch’s Garden is located?”
Limbo.
the space between dimensions.
A place where the time spent passing through the minute cracks is but an instant, making it unrecognizable to ordinary humans.
Lucy Philiaz, the First Witch, had built the witches’ home in that location.
“If you enter, Ferda-nim, you might not be able to return.”
“That won’t happen.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“Because I was formally invited to her domain.”
Ferda knew well about witches.
They had their own rules, and the Witch’s Garden was a sacred area.
They could not use that sacred area as a trap of hatred and loathing.
Even if it were for a man they hated.
“And I must get Echidna back.”
“That Witch is not that important.”
Ruri could not understand.
To her, it only looked like he, who spoke as if he lived for Valdroba, was risking his life for a single Witch.
“If you fall into a trap and die, Ferda-nim, Valdroba-nim will be alone.”
Ferda wavered slightly at those words.
The image of her being alone entered his mind.
“Please do not forget your position.”
However, as her words continued, Ferda realized.
My position.
‘My position is……’
That I am still insufficient to stand by your side.
Ferda unfurled the invitation.
A sensation of being sucked in.
It felt as if his body was being decomposed.
From a body into masses.
From masses into molecules.
From molecules into atoms.
The sensation of even those atoms being split apart.
It was a sensation that made it difficult for even mages, let alone ordinary humans, to maintain their sanity.
It was the same for Ferda.
His instincts were constantly screaming that this was fatal even for a 4-star Mage, who was considered a formal sorcerer.
However, despite the alarms, Ferda’s body was safely transported.
‘Incredible.’
Limbo is a minute space between spaces.
An infinite space because it does not exist and cannot be perceived.
To specify that location and transport someone perfectly was something Ferda could never do.
It was proof of how long she had lived in Limbo, and how she had understood and utilized it.
At the same time, it was proof of why the existence of witches could not be eradicated from the Serdes Continent, even if they were depicted as a plague.
Ferda opened his eyes.
A sky swirling dizzyingly with various colors.
Dark, damp grass and a path laid out beneath it.
At the end of the path were briars and black roses forming a wall.
Ferda moved along the path.
Before him, an alien wooden gate welcomed him.
It was an Eastern-style structure that existed only in records.
—Ho-oh?
A voice echoed throughout the garden.
Ferda knew this voice.
It belonged to Lucy Philiaz.
—It hasn’t even been an hour—no, not even ten minutes since the invitation arrived, and you opened it immediately? What a hasty fellow. Or are you that confident in your own skills?
She let out a laugh.
Creeeeeak—
The gate leading into the garden opened.
—Whichever it is, I want to see your face at least once, child. Come in quickly.
An alien-style building that had been hidden by the gate came into view.
It was called the Rose Pavilion.
—My, he really came.
—The man who is the Dragon’s consort entered the Witch’s domain.
Flippant voices echoed throughout the Witch’s Garden.
Soon, a grave voice guided Ferda once more.
—Come closer, child.
Ferda took a step.
He moved forward, maintaining his etiquette as an invited guest and his authority as the Red Dragon’s consort.
As he climbed the pavilion and entered the entrance, he was greeted by women sitting together in a gazebo.
Their clothes were all different, but they all wore black veils to hide their faces.
This was the etiquette of the witches belonging to the Witch’s Garden.
Among them, only one person, the woman sitting in the highest seat in the center, was the same.
The only thing that could be guessed from her silhouette was that her build was close to that of Ruri or Mori.
Seeing her sitting on a long wooden chair with a tobacco pipe in her mouth, one could see the behavior of those who were advanced in age.
The owner of the Rose Pavilion.
Mother of all witches.
Big Sister.
She was Lucy Philiaz.
Though her face was hidden by the black cloth, he could feel her gaze scanning Ferda’s entire body.
“You are quite frail for someone who acts so valiantly.”
It was a weightiness on a different dimension than when he looked at Ruri, who had a similar build.
“Welcome to this young girl’s garden, child.”
Ferda replied to her.
“Thank you for the invitation, Big Sister.”
“My, you don’t use honorifics in front of our Big Sister?”
“He must be dying to be cursed.”
“Should I give him one right now, kid?”
There was an edge to the witches’ tone.
“Be silent.”
When Lucy gave a short command, the witches even stifled their breathing.
“This girl apologizes on their behalf. My children have much resentment regarding men.”
“I don’t mind. Rather, I apologize if I was rude. Should I use formal speech?”
“There is no need for that.”
Puffs of snow-white tobacco smoke drifted from behind the veil.
“It would be unsettling to hear formal speech from a monster like you.”
“A monster?”
“Did that bother you? Yes, it must be very disappointing to hear such words for a child who is only 19 years old.”
She let out a cackle and blew out tobacco smoke.
“However, these two eyes of mine see more than you think.”
He could understand why the gaze he felt was unsettling.
Those eyes were literally seeing through Ferda.
“It is a wisdom that comes from living a long time. Among other things, this girl can see how many people you have killed.”
Lucy’s head tilted to the left.
“In your eyes, truly many people have died.”
“…….”
Was she talking only about the point since his return?
Even if that were the case, he had killed many people, but the word ‘monster’ she used did not fit the present.
‘A monster……’
Yes, he was a monster.
He had hated people to keep his hatred rolling.
He was hated by as many people, and he had killed even more.
Even if they were people who didn’t need to be sacrificed, he left no one alive unless they wouldn’t become a great source of future trouble.
The Ferda of those days was indeed a monster.
‘Can even time not undo those karmic debts?’
Was it because such a heart did not change even when time was turned back?
Was that why that voice still remained inside Ferda’s body?
Amidst those questions, a question he wanted to ask suddenly came to mind.
“Do you know who I killed as well?”
The fact that among those numerous victims, Lucy Philiaz—she was there too.
