I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 114
Chapter 114
“Whom did I kill, you ask?”
Lucy chuckled, pressing the pipe to her lips.
“Hmm, it would be quite wonderful if I could discern such convenient things, child. Then I could have helped these young ones whenever they came to me for advice.”
Lucy flicked the ash into an ashtray.
“However, I do know the name of someone you recently killed.”
Lucy snapped her fingers.
Snap—!
At that moment, one of the pillars—wrapped in several layers of the vines that blanketed the garden—moved toward the pavilion.
Once it was close enough to Lucy, the vines unraveled smoothly.
It wasn’t a mere pillar.
It was a crystal.
Inside the transparent crystal, like a mosquito trapped in amber, was a woman.
“Child, do you know this girl’s name?”
It was a truly simple question.
“Echidna Philiaz.”
It was Echidna.
Her face looked peaceful, as if she were resting in a casket left open before a funeral.
“The Rune you created made her like that.”
Lucy pointed with her finger.
“If you have something to say, speak.”
There was a nuance in her voice suggesting he should choose his words carefully.
Ferda looked at the sight and asked:
“Did she go without pain?”
His tone was utterly indifferent.
“Heh.”
Lucy’s laughter echoed throughout the pavilion.
“Hehehehe….”
The witches seemed to grow tense at that laughter.
Demonic energy surged forth.
It stimulated his entire body with a force rivaling a Dragon Fear.
“Child, you are truly, truly brazen.”
Lucy stood up and descended the stairs.
“You kill a child of Philiaz, and all you ask is if she died without pain?”
She stood before Ferda.
He hadn’t been sure when looking from a distance, but now he was certain.
She was shorter than Ruri.
“A witch’s grudge is like a frost that lasts a hundred years. It does not simply mean that you alone will die a painful death.”
Mana was laced into her voice.
It pricked at Ferda’s five senses.
As if she weren’t merely threatening him, but showing him the future he would face.
“I shall slowly destroy everything around you, prevent you from even choosing to take your own life, and break you down completely, until the very, very end.”
In reality, there were many who had lived and died in such misery.
It was recorded in history, but Ferda remained unphased.
Ferda already knew.
He knew she was bluffing.
“Being brazen is something we both share, Pavilion Master.”
“What?”
One of Lucy’s eyebrows shot up.
Ferda gestured with his chin toward the crystal where Echidna was preserved.
“What is it if not brazen to lie and say someone is dead while keeping them trapped in a crystal when they are clearly alive?”
As Ferda spoke, the atmosphere shifted.
The threatening demonic energy Lucy had been emitting vanished.
And as if it had never been there, the anger disappeared from her voice.
“How did you know?”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? That a witch’s grudge is like a hundred-year frost and that you cast curses through generations.”
Ferda turned his head toward the crystal.
He looked at Echidna’s peaceful face.
“If your intention was truly to curse me because she died because of me, I don’t think you would have left her with such a peaceful expression for our meeting.”
“Fufu, it seems you know a fair bit about witches.”
As if satisfied, Lucy floated into the air.
She drifted over to the crystal containing Echidna, her clothes fluttering.
“Echidna, this poor thing. I told her time and again that loving a man leads only to tragedy, yet she remained stubborn.”
“Is the person who kicked her out the one pitying her?”
“She simply didn’t fit the name of Philiaz. That does not change the fact that I cherish this child.”
These were words unbecoming of the leader of the witches who loathed all men.
Lucy looked up at the crystal for a moment and said:
“Child, since she died due to your mistake, I shall take this girl back.”
At this unilateral declaration, Ferda replied instantly.
“I refuse.”
This time, demonic energy erupted from the other witches, as if they found his response offensive.
“How funny. Do you think you’re in a position to refuse?”
“I think he’s trying to crawl all over us because we’re being too easy on him. Should we give him a taste of something bitter?”
Their cackling laughter rang out chaotically, yet within it, one could feel genuine loathing and rage.
“Quiet.”
That, too, vanished at Lucy’s two syllables.
Seeing her suppress these masses of malice showed just how tightly the Big Sister held the witches in her grip.
“Do not worry. I am not so foolish that I cannot distinguish between public and private matters. If something is lost, something must be gained.”
Hmm….
While smoking her pipe and letting out an audible breath, Lucy spoke.
“How about this?”
A spark flickered on her small index finger.
A red spark, at that.
‘Lightning of the Heavens’ Overturned.’
She was casually manifesting pure power—the kind Lucy Philiaz had left behind, which was impossible to wield without a medium.
“You are a mage, and you seem to have a talent for lightning. I believe you would master the knack for it quickly with just a little instruction. How about it? I shall personally teach you.”
How about it?
‘It is an attractive offer.’
The Lightning of the Heavens’ Overturned was a legendary element that Ferda had yet to find a clue for.
He had conducted countless studies using the branch of the World Tree struck by her lightning, but he had never been able to find his bearings.
Even with a staff created for it, he had made no progress over generations.
‘If I could grasp that power….’
He would become strong. Just like his days as an 8th-circle Archmage.
Therefore, Ferda answered.
“I refuse.”
Lucy’s hand faltered.
It seemed even Lucy, who thought she had offered an appropriate reward, hadn’t expected him to decline.
“Ho-oh, child. Is this girl that precious to you?”
“She is important.”
“More than the Lightning of the Heavens’ Overturned?”
The finest magical element that could make Ferda stronger.
Ferda always needed to become stronger.
“She is important.”
However, for Ferda right now, becoming stronger was a secondary issue.
“There is someone I know who needs to learn what happiness is.”
For Ferda, Valdroba was always the first priority.
“For that person to be happy, I need Echidna’s abilities.”
“So you mean to use her, child. As the Big Sister and the Pavilion Master, I am not so dull as to let those words slide.”
“Is it not the way of humans to use one another anyway? Just as that girl uses me, I am simply using her.”
While Ferda did work the naive Echidna hard, it wasn’t as if Echidna was being cheated with her eyes wide open.
Zedd and Mori could stand as witnesses to that.
“Yes, I suppose that is what society is.”
Lucy exhaled smoke as if letting out a sigh.
She snapped her fingers.
Snap—!
At that moment, the transparent crystal began to melt into water.
The witches watching the scene asked in surprise.
“Oh my, are you letting her go?”
“I thought it was an attractive offer, but if he says he doesn’t need it, what else can I do?”
It was strange to see her not being obsessive, which was unlike a witch.
Lucy stared only at Ferda.
Beneath the black cloth, the slight glimpse of her lower face suggested she couldn’t hide her amusement.
Soon, the crystal melted completely, and the contents within woke up.
She seemed to have lost consciousness, but she managed to stand on her own two feet.
The eyebrows of the peacefully sleeping Echidna twitched.
“Huh? What on earth happened….”
She rubbed her head with both hands and looked around.
The first person her eyes landed on was Ferda.
Perhaps because she had been subjected to so many gazes of hatred and loathing, her gloomy smile felt like an angel’s.
“Oh my, Regent-nim. You’re handsome today as well. Hehe….”
She let her gaze drift and surveyed the surroundings.
“Huh? This place looks familiar… for some reason, it feels similar to the Rose Pavilion….”
Her words cut off abruptly when she saw the Big Sister, Lucy, standing beside her.
“H-Hieee!? B-B-B-Big Sister!?”
Echidna was startled out of her wits.
She was so shocked she even bit her tongue.
It was a reaction that bordered on discourtesy, but Lucy responded as if she didn’t mind.
“It has been a while, child. Have you been well?”
“Y-Yes! O-O-Of course! I’ve been doing very well!”
“I may have been the one to excommunicate you, but I believe I told you to contact me frequently? It seems you weren’t listening.”
“T-That’s… it’s because contact doesn’t work from inside the castle….”
“Ho-oh, then you mean to say it is the Regent’s fault? Should I just take care of that Regent over there?”
“What? No! There’s no way!?”
Echidna whipped her head around to look at Ferda and said:
“I absolutely didn’t mean it that way!”
Whether she did or not.
“Of course, I might be uncomfortable to be around. Still, we are practically family, sharing the same blood; shouldn’t you at least let me hear your voice?”
“U-Uncomfortable!? I have never once thought such a thing!”
She spoke with a forced smile that had zero persuasiveness.
The other witches chuckled at the sight and began to chime in.
“Oh my? That’s a lie.”
“A lie? Unnies, I didn’t think that….”
“Dear, just be honest.”
“You’ve been excommunicated anyway, so what’s the problem? Even the Big Sister won’t be able to say anything.”
“Besides, isn’t it important to evaluate how things look from an outsider’s perspective?”
The voices chattered around Echidna.
Ferda saw right through their intentions.
They were trying to lead Echidna into a trap, like luring prey.
“Uh….”
Shrinking like a frightened turtle, Echidna glanced around before opening her mouth.
“Well… I suppose it is a little uncomfortable?”
Lucy’s hand, holding the pipe, stiffened.
“H-Honestly, I find it uncomfortable every time someone who has lived longer than my grandmother refers to herself as a young girl….”
“Pffft….”
“Kekeke….”
The witches who had egged her on struggled to hold back their laughter.
Lucy’s reaction was truly simple.
Snap—!
With a snap of her fingers, the roots that had moved the crystal bound Echidna’s entire body.
“Echidna, our foolish Echidna.”
Her voice was laced with anger.
It was distinctly different from the act she had put on for Ferda.
“Since you haven’t been thrashed by your big sister, you’re spouting ‘nonsense you don’t even mean’ again. You mustn’t say such frivolous things in front of others.”
“Aaaah! My arm is falling off! My arm! My arm!”
“Do not worry. If your arm falls off, I’ll make sure to pull out your leg as well so it won’t feel lonely, and use them as decorations.”
“I’m sorry! Unnie isn’t small! You’re a very tiny girl! A beautiful girl!!!”
The witches cackled as they watched the scene of Echidna being tortured.
Only after tormenting her violently with the thorny vines did she finally let her go.
With disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, a trembling Echidna crawled toward Ferda.
“Waaaaah, Regent-niim. My arms and legs hurt so much. It hurts, so, hug, I need a hug—puek!”
“Get away.”
Ferda pushed her head away.
The witches burst into full-blown laughter.
With nowhere to go, Echidna let out a whimper and cast her gaze to the floor.
“Do you truly intend to take that deficient thing with you?”
It was a question asked as if she were now worried for him.
“If something like that were a flaw, I wouldn’t have brought her in the first place.”
“If that is your wish, then so be it.”
Lucy gave up easily.
It was ending suspiciously anticlimactically.
What was she plotting?
Ferda did not let down his guard until the very end.
“Go back. Echidna. Make sure to contact me at least once a week.”
“Yes, I will. Regent-nim, shall we go back?”
As she reached out her hand, Lucy forcibly lowered it.
“The Regent is going to stay with me a little longer.”
“What? Alone here?”
It was a bewildering statement for Echidna.
This was the stronghold of witches who treated men as playthings.
Ferda was no different from defenseless prey.
Lucy scolded her as if she were being pathetic.
“He has already walked into the middle of it; what does it matter whether you are here or not?”
“Ah, I suppose that’s true….”
Like a prairie dog watching an approaching storm, a restless Echidna stole a glance at Ferda.
Ferda read her face and replied.
“There is no need to worry. Go back and give a message to Ruri.”
“W-What kind of message should I give?”
“Tell her I will return soon. That will be enough.”
“Y-Yes! Of course….”
At Lucy’s gesture, Echidna’s body disintegrated and vanished.
She would have returned to the study where she originally was.
Lucy watched the scene and then spoke to Ferda.
“Let’s walk for a bit. I wish for this conversation to be between just the two of us.”
Leaving the quietly sitting witches behind, she led the way.
They walked out of the Rose Pavilion and through the garden.
The place, where nature did not exist, was created purely by Lucy’s will.
Therefore, the colors and shapes were different from what one felt in nature.
The leaves were sky-blue, and the sky was purple.
“It is a truly beautiful garden, is it not?”
Lucy asked.
“It’s bizarre.”
“Then that is a relief.”
She pressed the pipe to her lips.
“For it must mean you haven’t gone completely mad yet.”
Those words, accompanied by a smile, made Ferda tensed.
It was just as he was trying to read the meaning behind that smile.
He sensed a presence from the rose vines.
Ferda used a Shadow Hand hidden within his clothes to pull his own head back.
Something flew past where his head had just been.
Whoosh!
A giant’s lance.
No, it was a rose thorn so massive it wouldn’t have been strange to call it that.
Ferda quickly increased the distance between them.
“…What is the meaning of this?”
“There is no need to think deeply; it is exactly what it looks like. I attacked you.”
“Why?”
“Since it would be better to get to the point rather than engage in shallow provocation or conversation, am I not attacking you directly?”
In other words, she was inciting a fight.
As she said, Ferda did not intend to get entangled in that provocation.
Getting entangled would be madness.
Though he had once been an Archmage, he was currently a 4th-circle mage.
His opponent was the leader of the witches, whom even 8th-circle mages didn’t know how to handle.
And at the same time, this was her home ground.
‘And Lucy is not someone so obsessed with combat that she would provoke someone like this.’
There was definitely a reason for her provocation.
What was her scheme?
“Are you curious about my intentions?”
Lucy was a mage who had lived for a long time.
Reading Ferda’s thoughts was as easy as pie.
“Rather than knowing such things, I shall give you a reason why you have no choice but to move.”
She tilted her pipe as if pointing.
The vines of the rose garden writhed like thorny earthworms.
“If you do not come at me, I shall erase your very existence from the life of that unfortunate lizard.”
Her mouth curled into a fishy smile.
That, too, was a provocation whose intent was clear.
A light emanated from Ferda’s eyes.
He could not back down.
