I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 117
Chapter 117
The Smell
After Ferda received the Witch’s invitation, the castle staff all returned to their duties.
Except for one person.
Ruri Silverwind—she alone stared down at the spot where Ferda had vanished after receiving the invitation.
By now, she should have been cleaning, but she couldn’t bring herself to focus on anything.
Complex emotions kept swirling through her mind, tormenting her.
‘Why did he make such a choice?’
Unable to read Ferda’s intentions, dark thoughts kept creeping in.
Even a saint would have been shaken by this.
Looking back at Ferda’s actions, it was inevitable.
He had brought witches and demons into the castle, made a deal with a Great Demon, and now he had accepted an invitation from the head of the witches.
The man had done everything he was told not to do.
‘If they were ordinary humans, what would I have done?’
The answer was simple.
If it had been anyone else, she would have exiled them without hesitation for even one of those acts.
But in Ferda’s case, it wasn’t just one reason; there was a mountain of them.
It was more than enough to warrant an execution.
The reason she hadn’t done so to Ferda was simple.
‘Because I can trust him.’
Ferda was someone who would do anything for the sake of her master.
In fact, he had handled major troubles with flexibility and had yet to cause a real problem.
This invitation, too, was something for which he could be trusted.
However, the situation had changed.
Ruri had seen Ferda’s weakness.
Ever since she realized he was a ridiculously fragile human, she couldn’t look at him the same way as before.
He was just another weak human.
And if a human posed a potential threat,
‘I must kill him.’
Ruri looked down at her hands.
The promise she had made to Ferda came to mind.
—I will kill you with these hands.
Ruri thought to herself.
‘If he ever tries to harm Milady, could I truly kill him?’
She was a Dragon Spawn.
She was not one to hesitate when it came to killing humans.
It was she who had killed the associates of the 3rd Imperial Prince when they tried to use Valdroba as a stepping stone for power, and it was she who had tried to kill Ferda during their first meeting.
But her heart was not the same as it was then.
What if?
What if he was hated by Valdroba, the engagement was broken, and there was more than enough justification—could she really kill Ferda?
She wasn’t sure about that either.
‘I too…’
What those hands wanted to grasp was not Ferda’s neck.
‘It would be nice if I could just lean on that man with a peaceful mind…’
Just as her master, Valdroba, did.
She wanted to just watch his actions without thinking about anything.
She wanted to see humans flocking to this desolate land and prospering.
At first, there was a reason she couldn’t rely on him.
It was because she thought Ferda was a human no different from the 3rd Imperial Prince.
Her job had been to find any excuse to chase him away.
But even now, when all those misunderstandings had been cleared, Ruri couldn’t do it.
‘Ferda-nim is a human.’
Humans are mortals.
They are destined to die, and as they approach that destiny, they always become unstable.
That was something even Ferda could not escape.
In Ruri’s eyes, that weak image of him still seemed to linger vividly.
Someone had to keep their senses sharp.
It had to be Ruri.
She had to maintain her vigilance and find fault with anything in his actions that could even remotely be considered malice.
It wasn’t just for Valdroba’s sake.
‘I must protect him.’
That man who wanted to protect her master.
She had to protect him from the things that constantly tested him.
She was staring vacantly at the spot when it happened.
She felt a surge of mana within the castle.
Ruri knew exactly where the source was.
Because she knew the location, she also knew who had returned.
‘Ferda-nim.’
True to her Silverwind bloodline, Ruri dashed toward the location at high speed.
Echidna was standing in the place where only Mori should have been.
She met Ruri’s eyes with a look of utter confusion.
“A-all hell broke loose, didn’t it…?”
She tried to brush it off with an awkward laugh and a gesture, but Ruri strode toward her.
Seeing Ruri’s expression, Echidna’s face turned pale.
“Chief Researcher.”
“Y-yes!?”
“Tell me the truth.”
Echidna’s shoulders slumped, overwhelmed by Ruri’s aura.
“Where did you leave Ferda-nim, and why did you come back alone?”
“T-that’s… Big Sister wanted to see the Regent—”
“What did you do to Ferda-nim?”
At the mention of ‘Big Sister,’ her aura grew even stronger.
Finally, on the verge of tears, Echidna began to speak hurriedly.
“H-he’ll be safe! The Regent told me to pass on the word that you shouldn’t worry…!”
BOOM!
An immense force echoed right next to Echidna’s head.
Ruri’s leg had kicked the bookshelf with all her might.
Books tumbled out from the impact.
“Can you guarantee those words?”
“P-pardon?”
“Since you returned unscathed, are you guaranteeing that Ferda-nim is also safe?”
“T-that’s…”
He is fine.
He will return safely.
It was a situation she could have settled just by saying those words.
“I-I’m not so sure about that either…”
Echidna couldn’t do it.
As a witch of the Philiaz, she knew the nature of witches well.
What she didn’t know was the inner thoughts of Big Sister, Lucy Philiaz.
It was a place too dangerous to guarantee he would be okay, and she couldn’t read her intentions either.
Hearing that, Ruri’s face tightened.
She looked angry, but she was merely distressed.
Though it wasn’t a question asked to hear a superficial comfort, hearing that even Echidna didn’t know made her anxiety grow.
‘I can’t leave him there alone.’
She recalled what had happened between Ferda and Abel.
If a helpless situation like that occurred again, Ruri wouldn’t even be able to help.
“Chief Researcher, you were a witch too, weren’t you?”
“O-of course…?”
“Can you take me to the place called the Witch’s Garden?”
“T-the Garden? No matter how much I try to go…”
“Can you or can’t you?”
Ruri pressed for an answer, and Echidna replied.
“I-I can’t… Even if I try to go, entering that space is up to Big Sister. If Big Sister doesn’t allow it, it’s impossible to go. If I force it, I could die, or worse, become a phantom drifting eternally in Limbo!”
Mages who use Teleport magic incorrectly end up as phantoms trapped in time and space.
It was a fate perhaps more cruel than death.
It meant she couldn’t even force the impossible.
‘Most of all, if it’s to be done, I must be the one to do it.’
But what could she do?
She, who only knew how to use brute force.
What could she possibly…
“Oh?”
Just then, a sensation pierced through Echidna’s mind.
Looking at Ruri as if she had been waiting for this, she said.
“F-Ferda-nim is here!”
“!!”
Hearing those words, Ruri pulled back her foot that had been pinning Echidna.
She ran toward the spot where he had vanished as if she might miss him.
Just as Echidna said, Ferda was standing there.
To the point where her imagination seemed foolish, Ferda was perfectly fine.
A black suit and gray hair.
And blue eyes like a deep lake.
Her shaken heart found peace upon seeing his figure.
Instead, she hardened her gaze and approached him.
“Ferda-nim.”
However, she couldn’t quite hide the tremor in her voice.
Pretending to be composed, she asked him.
“What did that witch do to you?”
Ferda replied.
“Nothing happened.”
“I cannot believe that nothing happened after you went all the way to the Witch’s Garden. Moreover, didn’t you say Big Sister spent time with you, Ferda-nim?”
Ferda nodded as if acknowledging her point and replied again.
“We merely had a conversation.”
“What was that conversation about?”
“We spoke about the topic that we couldn’t reach a conclusion on.”
That meant Ferda’s weakness had been shown to the witch.
Ruri’s hands, politely clasped, tightened.
“Did you… make a deal with that witch?”
“I did not make a deal.”
Had he stopped there, Ruri might have been slightly relieved.
“Instead, I gave her my help.”
But she couldn’t be.
Big Sister, Lucy Philiaz.
Though she was a witch rarely seen, Ruri had seen her before.
“Did that person say she wanted to help Valdroba-nim?”
“Yes.”
“Then she must have mentioned me as well.”
“She did.”
Her face surged with emotion.
“Do you know why I ignored her words about wanting to help Valdroba-nim?”
“…”
“Because witches are a group that considers everything other than themselves to be enemies or toys. They are wicked beings who enjoy their own amusement by taking advantage of others’ revenge. The descendants of Silverwind were also victims of that amusement. When we held her accountable for that incident, do you know what Lucy Philiaz said?”
“…”
“She said that Philiaz cannot be controlled over such a trivial matter.”
Ruri was a Dragon Spawn.
Among them, she was a descendant of the Silverwind, who had the strongest bonds.
One could tell how angry she was at a woman who disregarded familial love.
“You are also just a trivial part of what that damn woman says, Ferda-nim. Those things have no such thing as compassion. They intend to ensnare you relentlessly and then make you their toy.”
The anger and words Ruri felt were reasonable to some extent.
Talking to a witch was like holding a bomb that could go off at any moment.
That was the general perception and common sense.
“Do you suspect I will betray you?”
At Ferda’s question, Ruri clenched her fists tight.
“Yes.”
In truth, it wasn’t that.
“I suspect you might harm Milady.”
I just don’t want to see you being toyed with by a witch.
Her sharp words stabbed at Ferda once again.
“That’s a relief.”
“…Excuse me?”
At Ferda’s words, Ruri looked up.
“What do you mean? How is that a relief?”
“Because since you think that way, I don’t have to make any idle assumptions.”
“…”
Ferda looked down at Ruri with deep eyes.
“As you say, I might harm her one day. I might mistake it for being for her sake and walk the wrong path. If you are keeping my vigilance sharp like that, doesn’t it mean there will be a chance to set me straight even if I go astray?”
“It sounds like nothing more than pushing the responsibility onto me.”
“It is also that.”
“You are irresponsible.”
“I have no choice. Since you are the person I trust most.”
Trust.
“It’s because I trust you enough to show you this weakness I possess.”
Hearing those words, something Ruri couldn’t control welled up in her chest.
‘Again.’
Like that day, the smell of ash brushed past her faintly.
And someone overlapped with Ferda’s face.
Silverwind.
He didn’t resemble the person who had taken her in when she was empty in the slightest, yet she found herself making that mistake.
The heart of a soldier, which had been cold and steel-like, began to soften.
She lowered her head, her lips twitching as she tried to hide that feeling.
Ferda had no way of knowing Ruri’s heart.
Instead, he placed his hand on her head.
“My judgment will be clouded someday, but for now, please trust me. I won’t be toyed with by that witch.”
He gently stroked her hair of his own accord.
The illusion grew larger, and the scent grew closer.
The smell of ash from that day…
Wait a minute.
This isn’t the smell of ash.
“…The smell.”
“Hmm?”
Ruri sniffed and, after catching the scent properly, lifted her head.
“The smell of cigarettes…”
Her expression was foul.
“Why is the smell of cigarettes so strong on your body, Ferda-nim?”
“That is…”
Ferda recalled Lucy Philiaz’s actions.
How many times had she blown that thick cigarette smoke right into his face?
‘Don’t tell me…’
No, it wasn’t ‘don’t tell me.’
It was certain.
The reason Lucy Philiaz had blown that cigarette smoke so persistently was to create a situation like this.
‘She really screwed me over.’
They say there’s never a quiet day when you’re involved with a witch.
“…First, you must wash, I suppose?”
Ruri pulled out a green towel.
Ferda, feeling like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, said this.
“…Please be gentle.”
However, the word mercy did not exist in Ruri’s dictionary.
Ferda recalled what the Big Sister, Lucy, had said.
“The line of emotion…”
Lucy Philiaz told him to draw a line between the two emotions.
He didn’t know how to draw that line, but Lucy had given him a clue.
‘The Mana Cultivation Method, Shape of Shadow.’
The phrase was as follows:
‘I become the shadow, and the shadow becomes me.’
She had said that within those words lay the clue to controlling the two emotions he possessed.
“If the shadow can truly become me, then anything is possible… is it?”
Ferda muttered Lucy’s words and slightly raised his shadow hand.
This is a hand.
‘But at the same time, it is not a hand.’
Because it wasn’t a hand, it wasn’t strange even if the fingers bent beyond a certain point. Rather, by snapping the fingers, he could freely switch the front and back.
Or he could transform the shape to mimic a foot, and although crude, he could even make it into a beast’s paw.
‘So this is a hand, and yet not a hand.’
He stared back and forth between the hand made of black mana and his own hand, lost in deep thought.
Ferda released his control and moved according to the flow of his thoughts.
The shadow hand was a hand, yet at the same time, it wasn’t.
‘This shadow is also my body, yet not my body.’
In that case.
‘Couldn’t I also create something that is my Circle, yet at the same time, not my Circle?’
