I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 17
The attendant asked back in surprise.
“Excuse me? Are you saying you’ll be taking her, milord?”
“Think about it. As you said, this child won’t be able to do her chores properly and will keep acting like this. Then you’ll have to keep cleaning up after her. Isn’t that right?”
“…….”
The attendant’s lips quirked out.
She was doing exactly that right now, and the thought that she would have to continue doing so in the future made irritation well up inside her.
“You have the authority to give her orders. Do you not?”
“Well, yes, I suppose so.”
“If you have that kind of authority, you could tell her to get out of this house.”
“Hmm…… but she is a child the master cherishes.”
“Those are just words. But think about it.”
Ferda tempted the attendant.
“The brighter a gem shines, the more easily its flaws are seen. Looking at the long term, who do you think will suffer? Your master is currently enjoying a change in fortune, now being called a Sage. Wouldn’t it be the decision of a loyal attendant to correct and cover up such a person’s flaws?”
“…….”
The attendant’s gaze shifted.
She began to think that Ferda’s persuasion was strangely correct.
The fact that she was hesitating meant she had already been swayed.
Ferda decided to deliver the finishing blow.
“I shall help make that decision easier for you.”
Ferda took out three gold coins and pressed them into the attendant’s hand.
“O-Oh my! Oh my goodness……!!”
The attendant’s eyes went wide.
Three whole gold coins.
Commoners could toil in the fields for their entire lives and still find it difficult to hold even a single gold coin.
Having received three of them at once, the attendant’s head couldn’t help but spin.
‘Right, to cover up the master’s flaws, someone like this brat is……!’
The attendant cleared her throat and soon began to rub her hands together obsequiously.
“Oh, milord. What would you like me to do?”
“It is simple. All language has power. You only need to give the command. Tell her to discard her name from this moment on.”
“Oh, I understand. Hey, kid! Put that down and come here!”
The girl stood up and walked over to the attendant’s side.
“Now, you wretched brat. Listen carefully to what I say from now on.”
At the attendant’s words, the girl nodded.
“From this moment, you are throwing away your name. And from now on, this gentleman will be your master. So, follow him. Understood?”
The girl’s eyes slowly looked up at Ferda.
Those hollow, unfocused eyes seemed to be posing a question to him.
Ferda looked into those eyes and asked.
“Do you accept me as your master?”
To Ferda’s question, the girl replied.
A slow nod.
“Good, it is confirmed then.”
Ferda looked up toward the middle-aged attendant.
The woman was preoccupied with fondling the gold coins.
“Since the deal is done, I shall tell you one interesting fact.”
“An interesting…… fact?”
Now that he had obtained what he wanted, it was time to reveal the truth.
“Why your master cherishes this girl, despite her being so incredibly dull-witted.”
“Well…… it’s because she’s pretty enough…….”
“No. Your master, Hellus Phobidas, likes women with large breasts. And he likes women who giggle and swoon over his trivial jokes. He is a man plagued by a terrible inferiority complex. Because he lacks the confidence to best intelligent women, he prefers those with empty heads. And even if she is pretty, there is absolutely no reason for him to favor a wooden, child-like servant such as this.”
The middle-aged attendant’s face gradually stiffened.
She couldn’t understand why he was suddenly telling her this, but the context of the story felt like it was screaming that she had made a mistake.
“If I told you that this girl is actually the source of the insight your master possesses, would you believe me?”
“What do you mean by that? How could such a dull girl possibly……”
Confusion flickered in her eyes.
Only then did the attendant realize.
That she had been oblivious and blinded by greed.
And that she had fallen into a trap.
With trembling hands, she held out the three gold coins again.
“I-I wish to cancel this. I’ll give the money back, so please take the child back—”
“No. There is no need. And even if you were to return it, you would not be able to return alive.”
“W-Why?”
“You have understood what I said, haven’t you? What you have just heard is akin to glimpsing the shameful secrets of a god. I hope you understand this as well.”
It was inevitable.
Those who peer into the shameful secrets of a god must die.
The attendant’s face froze cold.
“The reason I am telling you this is a gesture of goodwill, at the very least. It means you should take that money and run away quickly.”
Ferda advised her coldly, as usual.
“The moment you are caught by your master, you will vanish without a trace.”
* * *
“Do you believe that a human can suddenly achieve enlightenment?”
Ferda asked Ruri.
Ruri gave her answer.
“I do.”
“Why?”
“One might think humans live by knowledge accumulated over years, but they cannot survive on such accumulation alone. I believe they have survived because of flashes of brilliance that cannot be caught up to by mere accumulation of knowledge.”
It was a perspective befitting the attendant of an immortal.
“You are right to some extent. But you are also wrong.”
“In what way, sir?”
“It is said that one cannot dig a well by digging for a hundred days in a place without a water vein. No matter how much one realizes, it is impossible for non-existent wisdom to spring forth.”
Ferda looked down at the name on the list.
Hellus Phobidas.
“This man is the same.”
“If the meaning of what you are saying is true, then the Sage of Water is a figurehead and……”
Ruri turned her gaze.
A blonde girl, roughly the same height as her, stood demurely.
Her eyes were unfocused, making it impossible to tell where she was looking—a face perfectly suited to being called dim-witted.
“Do you mean this dim-witted child is the source?”
Ferda spoke while making a gesture as if pulling a leash.
“Have you ever heard of the Slave Sage?”
Humanity stores and compresses knowledge, learning from the past to pioneer the future.
In Ferda’s world, where they do not clash physically, that is what they are called.
Predicting the unpredictable, controlling the uncontrollable.
That is the core of those who pursue knowledge, and they move toward it in their own ways.
Whether by combining knowledge with knowledge to derive new conclusions.
By excavating lost technology through exploration and investigation.
Or by entreating the gods to obtain the desired answers.
Or by stepping into forbidden territory that one must never enter.
‘And among those, the most effective is indeed the forbidden territory.’
Not the god’s smile, nor the god’s kiss, but glimpsing the god’s shameful secrets.
This girl Ferda had brought was also one who had stepped into the forbidden territory.
To possess wisdom capable of shaking the world, an enormous price was required, and that price was actually quite simple.
‘Who am I?’
One becomes unable to ask that question.
It is a question so simple it borders on trivial, yet it is also everything.
Who one is connects to what one lives for, and what one lives for leads to action.
But at the same time, it was because they could not think that thought that they survived.
Ultimate knowledge and wisdom that cannot move on its own and cannot think for itself.
The ultimate tool.
“That is how a Slave Sage is born.”
“Losing oneself in exchange for power…… what a truly foolish choice.”
“Yes, a truly foolish choice.”
Ferda muttered as if feeling bitter.
Ruri could not understand why he wore such an expression.
“So, what forbidden thing did she obtain to end up like this?”
“It is simple.”
Ferda tapped the girl’s head.
“The Library of All Things.”
“The Library of All Things?”
“Would you believe it if I told you that more books are contained within this small head than in all of Escoleia?”
“…….”
Ruri stole a glance at the girl.
She was an ordinary girl with not a speck of mana or any ominous aura.
She was a child one would simply pass by, thinking her a simpleton if encountered on the street.
To think she held more books than the Library of All Things, which is called the collection of human intellect.
It was hard to believe, but Ruri did not protest.
In any case, it was Ferda who had made the choice, and it was his responsibility alone.
“Look at me.”
Ferda instructed the girl.
The girl’s eyes fixed on Ferda.
“Before I grant you a name, I shall give you your highest priority command.”
Ferda spoke clearly, syllable by syllable.
“This command shall be your breath, it shall be remembered like your heartbeat, and it shall become an absolute, unchangeable truth.”
She nodded.
Ferda commanded her as if reciting an incantation.
“The Ruler of Great Power, the Red Dragon, Duke Valdrova, shall be the beginning of your existence and your end. You shall devote your entire life to her.”
She nodded.
“I, Ferda Valdrova, as the proxy of Duke Valdrova, shall hold the right of command and shall give you orders.”
She nodded.
“However, if I act against Duke Valdrova’s convictions or in opposition to her, you may raise an objection. If, in the end, you cannot understand……”
After a very brief silence, he opened his mouth again.
“I permit you to use the final resort: to revolt. Do you remember everything?”
She nodded.
“Good. From now on, your name is Mori.”
The girl was granted the name Mori.
A strange vitality began to swirl in the girl’s eyes.
* * *
“Excluding Bernel Marquis, you have succeeded in recruiting everyone.”
In the office of Valdrova Castle.
“He will come soon as well.”
“Are you certain?”
“If he does not come even after I have told him all that, then I must give up.”
There was no obsession or passion, no sense that he must absolutely have him.
It was a feeling of letting a connection that flows like time simply drift away.
‘It’s no different from the behavior of immortals.’
Even Ruri, who clearly distinguished between the two, was confused.
Ruri looked down at the paper with four names and four lines drawn.
“So, are these four the end for now?”
Ferda shook his head.
“Actually, there is one more.”
“Who is it?”
Ferda wrote down the name of the person he had in mind.
-Ruri Valdrova.
“It is you.”
Ferda said so.
Ruri showed sincere disgust.
“I have not the slightest intention of standing by your side. Do not be mistaken just because we have become a bit closer.”
Ferda did not overlook her loyalty.
“It is fine. That is not what I wish for either. Rather, it is closer to you watching over me and hating me exactly as you did before.”
“……What does that mean?”
“If Mori ever comes to lead a rebellion, you must be the one at the vanguard.”
“…….”
Ruri’s expression stiffened.
She was more shaken than when she had heard the word ‘helper.’
“Does that mean…… I must kill you?”
“That is right.”
“Why?”
Ferda replied.
“Unlike immortal beings like dragons, humans are destined to die someday.”
“……!”
Ruri unconsciously clenched her fist.
It was something she had once said to Valdrova.
“Because we die someday, we change and our eyes grow clouded. When I become like that, I might make excuses about it being for the Duke’s sake while only satisfying my own greed.”
Eyes strangely warped with sadness.
They slowly lifted and turned toward Ruri.
Blue eyes gazed at her, filled with profound emotion.
Ruri could feel it clearly.
“So, as her attendant, you must watch over me.”
That this man was prepared to offer up even his own life.
“So that my King, my fiancé, is not hurt.”
Ruri spoke with difficulty, her lips trembling.
“……You speak like humans who do not know their place.”
The harsh words slipped out unintentionally.
Ruri nodded in response to the proposal.
“I understand. Having heard your words, I believe I can do at least that much.”
“I am grateful. You are a loyal dragon spawn indeed.”
“However, since you seem to be unaware of one thing, I shall correct you.”
Ruri erased the surname part of her name.
It meant she was not Valdrova’s spawn.
“My real name is this.”
-Ruri Silverwind.
“I shall take my leave then……”
As Ruri left the office, Ferda stared blankly at her name.
‘I didn’t expect that.’
The surname Ruri had written caused Ferda no small amount of shock.
When a dragon spawn completes the Ascension Ceremony, they receive the name of that dragon as their surname.
Just as Ferda had gone from Rosnova to Valdrova, Ruri should also possess the surname of the one she inherited from.
She was not Valdrova, but Silverwind.
‘That means she is a Silver Dragon spawn.’
Thinking about it calmly, it was something he could have noticed.
The mobility to move in the blink of an eye.
Wind-attribute magic.
Everything was possible if one inherited the blood of a Silver Dragon.
But it was also something that didn’t fit together in Ferda’s mind.
Because,
‘Silverwind died at Valdrova’s hands.’
After killing the Black Dragon, Godwin, Valdrova had gone on a rampage.
There was one who had sacrificed their life to stop her, and that was the Silver Dragon, Silverwind.
‘Because of that, they are practically mortal enemies.’
The reason Valdrova became an evil dragon was also because the influence of Silverwind’s faction was strong.
He commanded many spawn and had great prestige.
‘A Silver Dragon spawn swore loyalty to the Red Dragon…….’
Ferda tapped his chin with his hand resting on the armrest.
‘Does that mean she is pretending to be loyal?’
Ferda immediately dismissed the thought.
‘Ruri is more loyal than anyone.’
There was no room for doubt.
Taking care of everything for her solitary master was not something that could be done out of mere duty.
‘Does that mean she is rejecting her blood as a Silver Dragon spawn?’
He dismissed that as well.
Blood is thicker than water.
That saying was a more absolute factor in dragon society than in human society.
‘I cannot tell.’
Ferda traced back through his future.
Come to think of it, there were a few things that bothered him.
It was when he had gone to her to kill Valdrova.
‘Ruri wasn’t there then.’
The castle they had built was half-destroyed, and the only thing inside the Lair was Valdrova, who seemed to be waiting only for the moment of her death.
Even in the moment she was dying, Ruri did not appear.
‘It would be good if I could find out the reason…….’
Since it had been outside the realm of interest for the old Ferda, there was no way for him to know.
For now, he only knew the fact that she, who was currently so loyal, would one day turn her back on Valdrova.
‘I might need to look into this.’
Whether he liked it or not, it was something that would undoubtedly bring sorrow to his partner, so Ferda did not hesitate.
* * *
The next day, a carriage arrived in front of Valdrova Castle.
Bernel Marquis had arrived.
