I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 22
Grrrrr—.
The sound of a savage beast echoed from within the Lair.
To anyone else, it would have been a chilling sound, one easily described as a resonance of pure fury.
But Ruri, standing within the Lair, knew the true meaning of that sound.
It was Valdrova’s groan.
She was suffering.
Instead of lying coiled as she usually did, she was sprawled flat against the floor.
She trembled violently, her sharp claws scraping fruitlessly against the ground.
-Ruri….
Valdrova called out to her attendant tentatively.
As always, Ruri replied calmly.
“Yes.”
-Are there… no monsters coming… today as well?
Ruri shook her head.
“Regrettably, there are none.”
-Is that so? Then a difficult time has begun….
Valdrova slowly forced herself up.
Her mind felt as if it were wandering through a fog so thick she couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Wanting to turn her thoughts elsewhere, if only for a moment, she asked:
-What is… my fiancé doing?
Ruri answered.
“He is meeting with every lord in the Archducal territory. To be honest, calling it a meeting is an understatement; it is closer to blackmail. He is telling them that if they prove incompetent, he will expose everything they have done.”
-I see. It seems he is doing well.
A strange smile bloomed on Valdrova’s agonized face.
A face that looked both happy and sad.
It was an expression Ruri had never truly seen before Ferda arrived.
“It seems Ferda-nim has noticed.”
Valdrova’s face stiffened.
-Noticed what?
“That you are self-harming, my Master. Last night, you struck your body with such force that the entire castle shook. It seems he deduced what you were doing from that.”
-Is that so?
“So… please, be more careful this time.”
-Yes, thank you for telling me.
Valdrova turned her head and retreated further back.
-You have worked hard. You may go now.
“……Yes.”
Ruri gave a slight bow and turned away.
Her steps were heavy.
She knew exactly what Valdrova was about to do.
She would violate her own body with the overflowing power she could not contain.
-Ruri.
Valdrova called her once more.
“Speak, my Master.”
-No matter what happens… do not let my fiancé in here. This… is an order.
It was a dignified voice.
But within it lay a profound sorrow.
Ruri could feel it.
The ghost of the Third Prince was still haunting her.
“I understand.”
The loyal attendant simply obeyed the command.
Late at night within the castle, Ruri stood silently before the entrance to the Lair.
-Krowaaaaa!
A faint roar reached Ruri’s ears.
Her hands, folded politely in front of her, tightened.
She applied pressure to keep her hands from moving elsewhere of their own accord.
‘I must not cover my ears.’
Ruri found those roars painful to hear.
It wasn’t the shout of a warrior charging into battle, but rather the desperate scream of a woman who had lost a child.
As a loyal attendant, having to stand by and listen to her master’s screams was agonizing.
‘There is nothing I can do even if I go in.’
Ruri had strived to be a capable attendant.
She kept Valdrova Castle in peak condition so it could be used at any time.
She constantly monitored politics and trends so that her master would not be left behind upon her return.
She had lived for Valdrova, never wasting a single second of the twenty-four hours in a day.
‘Even so… there are things I cannot do.’
She was powerless against the murderous intent Valdrova radiated.
The only thing Ruri could do was enter after the self-harm was over to treat the wounds.
Ruri had no way to prevent the act from happening in the first place.
-Krowaaaaa!
The scream echoed again.
‘So, I must listen.’
This was the punishment given to an incompetent attendant who could only stand by and watch her master’s pain.
Ruri’s hands, which had been gripping her skirts, were now clasped together.
Ruri recognized the gesture.
‘Is this… a prayer?’
How ridiculous.
Dragon spawn do not believe in gods.
Their gods are the dragons.
The great rulers of the continent, the Transcendentals—they were living gods and idols.
It was the same for Ruri.
Silverwind, who had shared their blood, was a god, and Valdrova was her god as well.
One was dead, and the other was helpless.
Ruri asked herself:
‘Then to whom should I pray?’
There was no answer.
She simply prayed silently to a nameless god she didn’t even believe in.
Please.
Someone, please end my Master’s suffering.
It was then.
“What are you doing here?”
Ruri woke from her prayer and lifted her head.
Faint moonlight streamed in through the window.
In that pale light stood the silhouette of a man she knew well.
It was him.
The man who had fearlessly wedged himself into her master’s life.
“Go back.”
She gave her usual cold warning.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Where I’m going is right behind you.”
The man, who had been quiet for several days, was suddenly making such a demand.
He had realized that Valdrova was suffering right now.
‘He heard that? When even I can barely hear it?’
How could this man have noticed when the sound shouldn’t even have reached him?
Pushing the question aside, Ruri replied once more.
“You cannot enter. This is the Master’s order.”
“Did the Archduke tell you not to let me in?”
“Yes. She said she does not wish to see a human like you.”
She added words that hadn’t been spoken.
Ruri’s heart was shaken enough to do so.
“I backed down yesterday, so you should back down today.”
“This is not a negotiation.”
“Neither am I negotiating.”
Ferda took a step forward instead.
“Do not move any further.”
A strange light, like the moon, flickered in Ruri’s silver eyes.
A sharp, pure white wind began to coil around Ruri’s body like a blade.
Ferda instinctively knew.
The moment that wind struck him, his body would be sliced clean through like a reed in late autumn.
“I can stop it.”
Ferda said.
“What exactly do you think you can stop?”
“Your master’s—and my fiancé’s—self-harm.”
“……!”
Ruri’s eyes widened for an instant.
But she quickly regained her composure.
“This is not a problem that can be solved so easily. How can a mortal like you suppress a dragon’s nature?”
“It is possible.”
“No, you are simply trying to see what you want to see.”
“Exactly. I look only at what I want to see and run toward it.”
He took another step.
“Isn’t that what life is about?”
“I told you to stop!”
The sharp wind coiled around Ruri’s arm flew toward Ferda’s right hand.
Ferda’s arm jerked violently.
It hung limply, looking mangled.
Ruri was momentarily flustered by the sight.
‘I only meant to give him a light blow…?’
Just before impact, she had removed the sharpness, intending for a heavy blunt strike to hit Ferda’s body.
It was a force meant to cause a small bruise at most.
“See?”
However, Ruri pushed her momentum.
She thought he would realize she was a woman he could not easily handle.
“I can strike you down with my own hands. This is my final warning. Go back quietly.”
Ferda looked down at his dislocated right arm.
“……Are orders that important to you?”
“I am an attendant. I have a duty to uphold my Master’s commands.”
“I see.”
When Ferda looked up again, Ruri flinched.
Ferda moved forward, step by step.
“Then this time, make sure to actually cut me.”
Determination dwelt in his blue eyes.
Ruri prepared her blades of wind once more.
“Do not stake your life on something so useless.”
“You say that without even knowing the value of what I am trying to do.”
“You are merely a human. How can someone like you solve what dragons, who have researched and sought answers for an eternity, could not?”
Common sense dictated it was impossible.
Mortals cannot overcome immortals.
They are fragile creatures who would die a pathetic death with a single flick of a finger.
A mortal’s role is to live forever grateful for their mercy.
How could such a mortal solve an immortal’s problem?
“I asked you once before, didn’t I? If you believed a human could suddenly achieve enlightenment.”
“…….”
“What did you answer then?”
She knew.
But she didn’t want to answer.
So, Ferda answered for her.
“You said they survived because they possess flashes of brilliance that cannot be matched by the mere accumulation of knowledge.”
Again.
This man was throwing her own words back at her.
Ferda, who had been far away, was now only three steps away.
If she fired, his arm would be severed.
There was no time to adjust the force.
Ruri’s hands began to tremble.
The sharp wind coiling around her hands dissipated.
“Why…….”
Ruri looked up at him.
His face didn’t wear its usual expressionless mask, nor was it a face of contempt.
“Why…… do you keep coming closer?”
It was the face of a helpless child.
“It’s simple.”
Ferda placed a hand on Ruri’s head.
“If you truly intended to stop me, you would have done so long ago.”
Ruri’s physical abilities were dozens of times superior to the frail Ferda.
Knocking him unconscious or throwing him far away before he even got close would have been effortless.
Instead of threatening him with wind magic and arguing, she could have just used force.
“You, too, wanted to believe in what I believe.”
In the miracles a mortal can bring.
Ferda walked past Ruri and headed down the stairs.
Ruri could not even offer a rebuttal as she watched him disappear.
The steady click of his shoes faded down the corridor.
‘It hurts like hell.’
His hand was stinging from the lethal wind Ruri had unleashed.
The impact had traveled up to his shoulder, dislocating it.
‘I’ve had frequent dislocations since long ago.’
He was used to setting bones.
Ferda pulled on his own arm and snapped the bone back into place.
Crack-!
“Ugh, huff…….”
He took a deep breath and collected himself.
He still had work to do.
Ferda lifted his head and looked up.
A massive iron door entered his field of vision.
‘It feels… very different from usual.’
Ferda recalled the first time he stood before this door.
Back then, he was weak and hadn’t even drunk the Engagement Wine.
But now, it felt even more severe.
Ferda felt as if he were standing before the gates of Hell.
If he entered, he would surely die.
-Krowaaaaaaa—
A sound that chilled his very bones.
Just because he had stopped fearing dragons didn’t mean their murderous intent was completely neutralized.
‘Truly worthy of a Transcendental of Power.’
Ferda opened the side door and stepped inside.
The interior resembled an ordinary cave.
It was a dry, comfortable, yet dark space.
-Ruri…… why have you come here? I told you not to come h—.
The voice cut off.
She realized the one who had entered was not Ruri.
The sound of her massive body shifting echoed loudly.
-Why…… are you here?
The Emperor’s voice was laced with bewilderment.
-Why…… at a time like this, are you the one to come?
To that question, Ferda opened his mouth.
“I won’t say… it’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
Ferda looked ahead.
His naked eyes could not pierce the darkness.
“Because my night vision is too poor to see your face.”
-Get out of here this instant!
A roar laced with Dragon Fear thundered.
But it was not enough to shake Ferda.
“My King, I have found a way to solve your pain.”
-It is not needed. Who said they wanted such a thing from you?
Ferda took a step forward.
He heard Valdrova squirming.
She was retreating.
-I…… I do not wish to harm anyone. So please, do not come!
Valdrova pleaded.
“I cannot do that.”
Ferda refused.
-Please…….
“I don’t care who dies or gets hurt.”
-Do not come…….
“But I cannot stand by while you harm yourself.”
Golden eyes flashed in the darkness.
-I told you not to come!!
The suppressed bloodlust exploded.
Along with Valdrova’s savage roar, something burst through the darkness.
It was Valdrova’s claws.
They lunged toward Ferda’s small body.
Thump!
The claws slammed down on the spot where Ferda had been standing.
-Ah!
Valdrova regained her senses too late.
But the water was already spilled.
-Ah…… ah…….
Valdrova let out a groan of despair.
The ghost of the Third Prince whispered in her ear.
You have killed your fiancé once again.
She fell into chaos.
The voice of the Red Dragon Valdrova, an immortal who had lived for an eternity and ruled the skies, trembled.
-I…… I didn’t mean to…….
The bloodlust that had targeted her now enveloped her own body.
Beyond self-loathing, it led toward a rampage.
But then, she saw something standing between her claws.
It was Ferda.
He stood there calmly, looking down at Valdrova’s foot.
“Thank you.”
He said.
“I didn’t expect you to reach out your hand before I even said a word.”
The moment Ferda had been hoping for had arrived.
He placed his hand upon Valdrova’s.
-There is a rational reason why you can become Ferda Valdrova.
Mori had explained to Ferda.
-Ferda-nim, you rotated your Red Circle by recalling your emotions for the Red Dragon Valdrova. Is that correct?
“Yes, that’s right.”
-The Blue Circle is called cold mana because it provides a consistent effect to all magic. On the other hand, the Red Circle is specialized for specific elements, so its effects vary significantly depending on the nature of the magic and its creative ideology. This is because the mana is not completely pure; it is imbued with emotion.
He knew that as well.
That was why Ferda’s destructive magic was more effective than that of other mages.
-The Red Circle is usually formed based on negative emotions. Therefore, contact with that mana is forbidden.
“Because it can cause mental contamination.”
Mori nodded.
-If your mana is composed of your emotions for the dragon, I believe you can see an effect by injecting that mana into the dragon.
Ferda had thought it was absurd.
To solve it with mana based on these emotions that even I don’t fully understand?
“Is there no other way?”
Shake, shake.
Mori firmly denied it.
There was only one possibility given to him.
“Is that so…….”
Then he had no choice but to believe.
Ferda released his mana.
He poured all his focus into digging from his fingertips into the layers beneath Valdrova’s skin.
-What are you doing?
As Valdrova asked, she felt something surging through her body.
When that backflowing sensation reached Valdrova’s heart, her golden eyes flew wide open.
-This is…… what on earth is this?
Valdrova’s voice, which had been distorted by pain, became much clearer.
-The thing inside me…… the thing that was boiling is disappearing. Ferda, what is this?
“I don’t know either.”
Ferda quietly silenced her.
“But if this benefits you, then all you have to do is accept my mana.”
-I understand…….
Through her skin, Valdrova focused on the changes within herself.
The violent pounding of her heart slowed.
The uncontrollable bloodlust began to subside.
The urge to destroy, her very nature—everything settled under the name of tranquility.
‘It seems the hypothesis was correct.’
The mana generated by Ferda’s Red Circle could suppress Valdrova’s bloodlust.
‘There is something I can do for her.’
If the bloodlust could be suppressed, she would no longer have to destroy herself.
‘And…… she doesn’t have to be in pain.’
There was no need to drag up a painful past to torture herself.
‘To do that…… I must pour in as much of my mana as possible.’
In the meantime, the Red Circle within Ferda’s core was spinning violently.
Mana was being generated several times faster than usual.
Ferda unreservedly radiated that mana toward Valdrova’s skin.
-Ferda……!
Valdrova cried out in surprise.
-You are bleeding!
Nosebleed was trickling down from Ferda’s nose. Mana Burning Out was setting in.
-Stop now. I am fine!
Normally, Ferda would have stopped before this point, but not today.
‘Just a little more…….’
He squeezed out every last drop to give to her.
Ferda did not stop until she entered a state of complete stability.
Even if it meant his death.
“Ah…….”
Finally, the overload came.
His vision blurred as if a thick fog had set in.
Pushed to a point where even mental strength could not sustain him, Ferda would likely be unable to get out of bed for several days.
‘I had already made up my mind.’
So, he had no regrets about this impulse and recklessness.
Ferda was about to close his eyes.
It was then.
Something touching Ferda’s palm was squirming.
That squirming conveyed a single piece of information.
‘Is she getting smaller?’
It wasn’t his imagination.
The rough, hard dragon hide was gradually becoming soft and shrinking.
It slowly grew smaller until it reached a form similar to a human hand and touched him.
‘It’s small.’
So small that the hand couldn’t even fully wrap around Ferda’s.
‘And soft.’
That information made his heart race in a way he had never felt before.
‘She Polymorphed into a human.’
It was the moment he could see her true face.
“Why…….”
A melodious voice was thick with moisture.
She spoke in a voice that sounded as if she were about to cry.
“Why won’t you listen to me……?”
It was a fragile question, unlike Valdrova.
But even though she asked, it did not reach Ferda’s ears.
His mind was pushed to the edge, as if hanging off a cliff.
He could barely hold onto his fading vision.
What held his consciousness was an intense longing.
‘No matter what…….’
And a selfish greed.
‘I want to see her.’
Ferda squeezed out his last remaining strength.
He gripped the hand that was touching his.
He laced his fingers tightly with hers so as not to lose them and pulled her waist toward him.
Through his blurred focus, a woman with crimson hair came vividly into view.
“Ah.”
Ferda let out a gasp.
That sound contained everything of the emotions Ferda held.
It was a sigh of repentance for his shallow and arrogant imagination,
And a cry of joy upon realizing that this world held a beauty beyond his wildest dreams.
“I finally see you.”
Ferda smiled.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. My heart.”
