I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 23
“What on earth were you doing last night?”
It was Zed who asked the question.
The brown-haired man looked down at a certain spot with an expression of sheer disbelief.
His gaze was fixed on Ferda, who was lying in bed.
“Nothing happened.”
“Nothing happened? A man who had ’nothing happen’ doesn’t lie in bed unable to move a muscle.”
Ferda was moving only his face, as if he had lost all strength below his neck.
Ferda always made his rounds in the morning.
Since he had never missed a single day, his sudden failure to appear was enough to lead anyone to surmise that something had gone wrong.
And just as Zed suspected, Ferda was currently bedridden and immobile.
“If I say nothing happened, then nothing happened.”
“If you say so.”
Since Ferda kept insisting otherwise, Zed couldn’t press him any further.
‘There’s no need to mention it.’
He had been struck by a blocking attendant and nearly killed by his fiancée, only to nearly die for real because he poured all his mana into that same fiancée.
In the simple world of the nobility, such a story would be summarized as him being a complete idiot.
So, Ferda chose not to speak of it and savored the memory alone.
‘It was a truly intense night.’
The pain in his arm had not yet faded, but he had received a reward worthy of it.
‘The Dragon’s Countenance.’
Usually, the term referred to a King’s face, but this was literally the face of a dragon.
Just as a tenant farmer would consider it the greatest honor to behold the King’s face once, it was the greatest honor for Ferda to have seen that dragon’s countenance.
‘That was my last memory.’
Ferda recalled Valdrova’s face from his final moments of consciousness.
After that face, his consciousness had cut out, and when he woke up, he saw the ceiling above his bed.
And Zed’s face.
The fellow was still hovering around.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it? Just say the word.”
“Get your face out of my sight. You’re ruining the mood.”
“…….”
He didn’t want to overlay the lingering afterglow with the image of a pretty-faced man.
Zed moved his face away as requested, wearing a sour expression that seemed to say, ‘Is this guy insane?’
“How is Bernel’s research coming along?”
“That? He said he doesn’t have to do that tedious business of cutting tendons and flesh anymore. He’s doing quite well.”
Zed had been assisting Bernel to ensure there were no inconveniences in his research.
He had done enough work to take pride in his contribution.
“Are you certain?”
“Probably certain.”
“Do you know that ‘probably’ and ‘certain’ are words that can’t really exist together?”
“I didn’t let that Bernel hyung-nim sleep properly. Usually, after about three days of no sleep, people lose their minds and give up, but he’s remarkably stubborn. He was crying and wailing about wanting to sleep, but he kept sitting there clinging to the research, saying it was essential work and he couldn’t just gloss over it. So it’s probably certain.”
“I see.”
Though Bernel had suffered under Zed, Ferda wasn’t particularly concerned.
All work is inherently painful.
He simply focused on the joyful fact that a great step had been taken in magical engineering.
“So, how long do you have to stay in bed? Can’t you work today?”
“It seems so. I should recover on my own in about a day.”
“Um… do I need to look after you?”
His voice was thick with annoyance.
“No, I’d like to be alone. I have things to think about.”
“I’ve been waiting for those words. Phew. I’m going to go rest, so don’t look for me for at least two days.”
“Very well.”
Zed shook his head and withdrew from the room.
Ferda closed his eyes while lying in bed.
It wasn’t to go back to sleep, but to recall the memory more vividly.
‘It is a great harvest.’
Ferda immersed himself in the recollection.
‘A truly great harvest.’
A picture drawn around small, glossy lips.
Two pairs of black horns and red hair.
Embedded in those two large eyes were golden cat-like pupils.
They sparkled, moist with dew.
That was the Polymorph form of the Red Dragon, Valdrova.
‘There were many unexpected parts.’
When Ferda first saw her, she appeared wearing armor.
And her height had easily exceeded two meters.
But in reality, she was the height of an ordinary woman, about a head shorter than himself.
‘And… she didn’t have a scary face.’
As the pinnacle of power, Valdrova possessed the most terrifying form among all dragons.
She was a dragon so fearsome that no one dared to underestimate her.
They say that when a dragon uses Polymorph, their appearance changes according to their nature.
When still, she was an iron lady, an alluring rose.
An impression that suggested anyone who dared to grasp her carelessly would be pricked by her thorns and forced to regret their arrogance.
‘……But that wasn’t it.’
She had a gentle face, unbefitting a sovereign.
The corners of the eyes often determine a woman’s impression, and hers were downturned like a puppy’s.
A face that seemed better suited for a child-like beaming smile than a mature one.
‘Considering her social anxiety and timid nature, it does suit her.’
A beauty where everything was an exception, yet everything was as expected.
Ferda thought as he recalled her image.
‘I want to see her again.’
It was the first time he had felt such an emotion since he had developed the habit of remembering things in minute detail.
Even though it was clearly imprinted in his mind, he felt a longing to see it in person.
‘I want to see her again.’
Ferda could now understand the feelings of men suffering from lovesickness.
He felt like tearing his hair out or running to her this instant.
“You seem to be indulging in some strange fantasies.”
Suddenly, the voice of the young attendant rang out.
“I would appreciate it if you stopped immediately.”
Opening his eyes, he saw the silver-eyed girl looking down at him.
Her attitude and expression were as businesslike as ever.
“How is your body?”
Ruri asked.
“I think I’m getting better.”
“Of course you must be better. It was I, and no one else, who treated you personally.”
“You’re quite skilled. It couldn’t have been easy.”
“It was more difficult than when I heal Master’s wounds, but it was manageable.”
Ruri looked down with a slight frown.
Strangely, the way she looked at Ferda was quite different from her usual gaze.
“You could have died if you weren’t careful.”
Her tone was worried.
“Overloading your mana circuits while they are in operation… a normal human would have stopped long before that from the burning pain.”
“It was nothing much for me.”
“I know. That you’re the type of person who enjoys that sort of thing.”
Ferda muttered something incomprehensible before continuing.
“Thank you.”
An abrupt word of gratitude.
“For what?”
“This was the first time Master’s screaming has stopped.”
Her face remained expressionless.
“And it is the first time I have seen Master fall into a peaceful sleep. That night, Ferda-nim, you did a great deal for Master.”
However, sorrow was reflected in her eyes.
“And I am sorry.”
Her gaze drifted down to Ferda’s right arm.
“Because you blew my arm away?”
“…….”
She bit her lip and nodded.
A dragon spawn acknowledging her own fault and apologizing to a human.
“It’s fine. I won’t hold a grudge or hate you for something like that.”
“……Are you really okay after being hit that hard?”
“My body was weak to begin with. It happens often, so you don’t need to worry. I should be able to move well enough.”
“Can you move now?”
“I’ll probably be able to when the time comes.”
For now, he still couldn’t move anything except his face.
“Haven’t I always said? I think highly of your loyalty. It’s like—.”
“Like a dog’s?”
“Yes.”
Ruri nodded upon hearing that.
“That’s right. I am a bitch.”
“I didn’t go quite that far.”
Only then did Ferda realize.
That definitely sounds like an insult.
“In any case, you’ve done your best in what you could do. You didn’t ruin things by overreaching for what you couldn’t, did you? That is enough.”
“…….”
“I am expressing my gratitude to you for looking after her until I could meet her.”
“If you put it that way, then thank you.”
Ruri’s expression brightened a bit.
The heavy atmosphere lifted to some extent.
“So, how is my fiancée’s condition?”
“I was just about to talk about that…….”
Her face turned heavy again.
“Do not even think about meeting her for the time being.”
Ferda’s face also turned serious.
“After saying it was thanks to me and all that?”
“That is that, and this is this.”
Ruri had returned to being the stern little maid.
Ferda asked her for the reason.
“What is the reason for that?”
“The act you committed when you met is the problem.”
“Act? Just because of a hand-hold?”
Holding hands was hardly a grand enough event to be called an ‘act.’
“I am talking about giving her mana.”
“Is that something that could be a problem for your Master?”
“If I had to say, it’s a problem for both of you.”
Her eyes stared intently at Ferda.
Ferda also recognized the seriousness and asked her.
“Did something happen to the Duke?”
“Since her contact with Ferda-nim, she has started making female sounds.”
Question marks bloomed in Ferda’s mind.
“Female sounds?”
“They are the sounds furthest removed from a sovereign. They are the sounds she hates most, after screaming.”
Ferda couldn’t quite grasp what those sounds were.
But he didn’t try to find out.
“And what is my problem?”
“Ferda-nim, you squeezed out mana to the point of nearly losing your life to save Master.”
“Yes, as long as I didn’t die, it’s fine.”
“That kind of results-oriented thinking won’t work. If you wish to stand proudly as her fiancé, at least reach the 4th Circle before you speak.”
The 4th Circle.
The stage called the true beginning of a mage.
Ferda wondered why she was setting the standard so precisely.
So, he mentally recalled the amount of mana he had poured out and calculated it.
‘The mana amount was exactly around the 4th Circle.’
An amount of mana that would have been impossible without the Red Circle.
And a mana recovery speed that would have been truly impossible if the Red Circle hadn’t been rotating rapidly.
If everything had been off by even a single beat, Ferda would have ended up as either a corpse or a cripple.
‘But at the same time, it was possible because it was me.’
Being able to endure and squeeze out such a violent flow was only possible because he was a mage who had reached the 9th Circle.
‘However, because I squeezed it out like this, it will be difficult to operate the Red Circle properly for a while.’
By Ferda’s estimation, it would take about a month to return to his original condition.
“If you are to be her husband, you need to start taking care of your body from now on. Do not take unnecessary risks.”
Ruri’s hand smoothed the wrinkles in the blanket and tucked it snugly up to his neck.
It was a service she had never provided before.
“And for today, you are to rest without thinking of anything. If you need anything, I will come, so just call. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Ferda nodded obediently.
“And congratulations.”
“For what?”
“Didn’t you reach the 3rd Circle?”
“?”
Ferda couldn’t understand what that meant.
At least, not until he focused on his dantian.
‘……What?’
Just as she said, three circles were rotating inside Ferda’s body.
He had reached the 3rd Circle.
The next day, after confirming that his body could move, Ferda returned to his office and spoke with Bernel.
“I heard you’ve made great progress in your research. Congratulations.”
“A-Ah, no. It’s barely the beginning…….”
“A month and a half? You’re making progress at a truly groundbreaking speed.”
“I-I suppose so.”
Bernel replied with a trembling voice.
It was indeed a groundbreaking speed.
The past month and a half had been more meaningful than the seven years he had spent researching until now.
‘The equipment is better, the environment is better, and the specimens are better, but…….’
Above all, the pressure pushed him to the limit.
‘Am I the type who gets stronger when pushed to the edge?’
He felt like he was going insane from the lack of sleep.
But it wasn’t entirely bad, as he was able to identify blind spots he had never noticed before and shore up his weaknesses.
Through work that could only be done when one wasn’t in their right mind, his hypotheses had become solid enough to move into experimentation.
“From now on, I don’t need living specimens, but instead, I’ll need a lot of monster corpses…….”
“Monster corpses?”
It was like looking for sand in a desert or trees in a forest.
The Eastern Region was crawling with monsters.
“Duke Valdrova is active on the front lines; should I have them bring back what she catches there?”
“I heard she’s catching ones the size of houses. For me to research those……. there are many problems. They’re too big…….”
“Then couldn’t you just become large yourself? I’m sure Echidna can use an Enlargement spell……?”
“Ah, it’s not a matter of size. The biggest problem is that if such corpses stay in the East for too long, erosion occurs, and the land could become like the black soil of the far East. I don’t want to go that far. Besides, something that large might have a different structure.”
“What do you mean by a different structure?”
“Yes. Since they grow large by eating Junk Mana, there’s a certain hardness to the materials formed from it. If they become too hard, and the structure becomes too dense and compressed into crystals, they actually become unusable for research.”
Sensing that a technical explanation was about to begin, Ferda grasped the context and cut the conversation short.
“I think I get the gist of it. So you need to start with smaller ones first to proceed step by step?”
“Yes. The research I’m doing now is focused on things similar to or smaller than the one you caught for me, Regent-nim. Those are more widely known, and if we’re going to get them, they’re easier to find…….”
“So, roughly how many hundreds of monsters do you need?”
“That is…….”
Bernel glanced at him tentatively.
“I think I’ll need at least…… over 1,000……?”
Ferda thought upon hearing that.
‘He’s a real money-eating hippo.’
He was making a demand that would shock not only ordinary nobles but even wealthy high-ranking ones.
If Ferda hadn’t known who this man was, he might have kicked him right out of the castle gates.
But Ferda knew that this man would eventually succeed.
“Understood. I’ll speak to the lords first.”
“H-Huh? Can we r-really get that many?”
“Even on a bad day, dozens of monsters are caught. Do you no longer need living ones?”
“I-It would be good to have them, but since they have to be managed…….”
“Don’t worry. Zed seems to be doing a good job with management, so I’ll assign him to you.”
“No! I don’t need him! It’s not like I’m showing noticeable progress like in the early stages! Yes! I don’t need him! So you don’t have to tell him, hahaha! Please! Spare me!”
Bernel pleaded, recoiling in horror.
“If you say so.”
“S-So, how do you plan to get the corpses? Do you have to go hunting again?”
“Hmm…….”
Ferda had captured one alive because it was something he could manage, but he couldn’t go hunting every single time.
“The most standard way would be to put out a bounty, but…….”
Expenses were already high for facilities and equipment, so he was reluctant to increase them further, even by a pittance.
“For now, it would be best to make them offer the initial supply as a tribute.”
“Tribute……?”
Ferda replied to Bernel, who was asking with a blank expression.
“The world is full of fools.”
And Ferda knew exactly how to lure those fools.
