Translator: Nox

I Married the Dragon I Killed

Chapter 28

The title of Sage is one that can never be self-proclaimed; its criteria are strictly applied.

Among the Sages known on the Serdes Continent, Hellus Phobidas attained the title through an exceptionally unusual path.

He was neither from Escoleia, the city of scholars, nor was he a mage of common birth who had been expected to show genius. He had started as a mere nobody.

Regarding the moment he became a Sage, Hellus left behind this anecdote:

One day, while sleeping as usual, he awoke to confront an absolute being.

This absolute being appeared in the form of a god and offered him a choice between two things.

The potential to reach the rank of a 7th-circle Archmage.

Or the wisdom and knowledge that encompasses all things.

Though he could have attained the 7th circle and ruled over all, Hellus claimed he chose wisdom and knowledge to help all people.

It was a remarkably fresh load of bullshit.

Yet, no human dared to raise an objection to that story.

Regardless of the truth, he was a man called a Sage, and he possessed knowledge and wisdom that bordered on the miraculous.

Though he was a worldly man, it was said that his wisdom never wavered, and in some sense, he could be evaluated as a superhuman.

In reality, however, Hellus Phobidas was no such superhuman.

He was a man as honest with his emotions as any ordinary person.

And currently, Hellus wore a look of intense displeasure.

His gaze looked down at a woman kneeling before him.

His eyes were filled with rage, as if she were the root of all evil.

The middle-aged woman had once been his servant.

Hellus had spent half of his accumulated fortune to find this woman.

Skilled mages and trackers had pursued her trail, finally succeeding in bringing her back to his mansion.

When she first entered the mansion, she had been beaten like a dog.

After an entire night of being lashed by servants, her bones were broken, and she was barely able to keep her body upright.

She kept her head lowered to the floor, trembling in terror.

She opened her mouth.

“P-please spare me, Master….”

“Master?”

Hellus let out a smirk.

“Yes, I was your master. That’s right. Do you know what happens to a servant who abandons her master and runs away?”

He tapped his palm with the club he held in his hand.

“They get beaten like a dog.”

“P-please spare me. I beg you….”

With her broken hands, the middle-aged servant clasped them together and pleaded desperately.

Only a few teeth remained in her slightly parted mouth.

“Fine, I’ll forgive you. That is, if you tell me where that brat you smuggled away is.”

“I don’t know! I was simply deceived and had the child taken from me!”

Hellus kicked the servant in the head.

“Do I look like an idiot to you!? Two gold coins were found in your pocket, and you think I don’t know where they came from!?”

“Agh! Please, just spare my life, I beg of you!”

“Right, I’ll spare you. Once I find that brat! So hurry up and squeeze out whatever wisdom you have left and think! Think! Think!”

Hellus could hardly suppress the impulse to end her life right then and there.

But he couldn’t.

Regardless, this woman was the only clue to reclaiming ‘it.’

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

A man wearing a black bandana entered.

“Sage-nim. I have completed the request you entrusted to us.”

It was the best news he had heard in a long time.

Hellus ran toward the man with the bright face of a child receiving a toy.

“Oh! Show me. What is the result?”

“After inquiring based on the montage created from the servant’s description, we have concluded that he is the Regent of Valdrova.”

“The Regent of… Valdrova?”

“I expected you to be surprised. He was someone we did not anticipate either.”

He wasn’t surprised by the identity.

He knew Valdrova was a dragon, but he made that sound because he didn’t know what a Regent was.

“After confirming in the Far East, they said it was the Regent and a maid, so it is certain.”

“What kind of people are they?”

“As you know, he recently became the consort of Duke Valdrova and began managing the Duchy—”

“Ah, fine.”

Hellus waved his hand, cutting him off.

“Enough. So it’s safe to say those damn bastards took what is mine?”

“That is correct.”

Hellus could roughly understand.

It meant the person who took it was the consort of a ruler, didn’t it?

‘They came from the Far East to take it? Why? Did they happen to realize its use?’

Hellus bit his nails in anxiety.

It was the reason he was able to become so famous, his very source of income.

That was why he had cherished it while simultaneously using it as a servant.

If you want to hide a tree, the forest is the best place for it.

‘And of all things, because of that stupid bitch….’

He never imagined the servant would sell that young thing off.

Hellus looked down at her with eyes full of fury.

The middle-aged servant sobbed.

“Congratulations, Master. N-now you know who it is, don’t you?”

She forced her broken fingers together, praying and begging again and again.

“Please spare me now. I beg of you. No matter where I go, I won’t breathe a word about you, Master. I’ll live quietly. Please….”

Hellus looked down at her with cold, hollow eyes.

A change of heart.

It was said that the mind going into the latrine is different from the mind coming out.

Now that concrete information had been revealed, there was no reason to leave behind a useless source of trouble.

Hellus turned his head toward the Black Bandana.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Kill her. This useless woman.”

“H-hey, that wasn’t the deal!”

The man in the black bandana drew his sword and approached the servant.

An inescapable death drew near.

The servant, who had only cried and begged submissively, erupted in a final burst of desperate rage.

“You filthy bastard! I know the truth about you! I know what you did through that young girl! You’re no Sage! You’re—”

The old servant’s head fell to the floor.

Her head rolled pathetically, her face frozen in the same screaming expression she died with.

The man in the black bandana flicked the blood off his blade.

“Since the mission seems to be over with this, will you provide the payment?”

“Of course.”

It was a jewelry box containing an amount equivalent to a quarter of his fortune.

The man checked it briefly and tucked it into a leather pack.

“Thank you for using Black Bandana. Customer.”

He did only what was required, took his reward, and made a clean exit.

That was the nature of the secret organization known as Black Bandana.

With this, he had spent three-quarters of his wealth.

‘It was something I had to do.’

Being stingy would only lead to disaster.

Hellus looked down at the two montages the man had left behind.

A handsome man with grey hair and a silver-haired girl with a side-up ponytail.

Hellus’s fat face twisted with rage.

‘A piece of trash like this dares to covet my property?’

Vowing that he would never let these people off easily, Hellus began to scheme.

“How do I take it back from them….”

There were plenty of ways.

Who was he?

A Sage.

A man whom every kingdom sent love calls to, asking him to become their advisor.

He was a figure of national treasure status, someone who naturally received frequent contact even from the Empire.

‘I can use the Imperial Inspection. Whether he’s a Regent or whatever, he’s no better than a dog before the Empire.’

Though the opponent was said to be the Duke’s fiancé, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Valdrova had not shown herself to humans since the assassination of the Third Prince.

It had been that way until now, and it would surely be the same now.

Hellus placed his hand on the crystal ball on his desk.

Reacting to his mana, the crystal ball began to blink.

After a moment, the light of the crystal ball stabilized, and a voice echoed in Hellus’s mind.

—I greet the Sage of Water! I am Hans, a communication mage of the Great Arken Empire!

“May I speak with Sir Karl Harvest for a moment?”

—Sir Karl Harvest? Understood. Please wait a moment.

After a brief wait, a lively voice came through.

—Oh, Sage-nim! Hello! Have you been well?

“Haha, I’ve been doing well. And you?”

—I’m losing sleep every night! I’m simply counting the days until you join our Empire.

“Haha, is that so?”

He had a feeling the conversation would go well.

Hellus decided to get straight to the point.

“Listen. There is actually something that has been troubling me lately.”

—Something troubling you?

“I have a young maidservant, and she was kidnapped by some rogue. So, I recently exhausted my knowledge and wisdom to finally find out where she is.”

—Where is it? Just say the word! We will help.

“The… Regent of Valdrova? Or so I’m told.”

—The Regent of Valdrova!

Karl replied in a surprised voice.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

—No, I just thought it was quite a coincidence! I’ve been hearing lately that the young fellow has been acting up.

“He must be quite famous then?”

—Our Eradication Squad was already planning to go and establish discipline.

“Oh, is that so? But he is someone associated with a dragon; won’t it be dangerous?”

—Haha! Don’t worry too much! You know as well as I do that dragons don’t usually interfere in human affairs, right?

“T-that’s true, yes.”

Hellus didn’t actually know that.

—That young brat will have to handle it alone, so what can he do? No matter how much he runs wild, he is powerless under the laws of the Empire! There are reports that even the local lords are wary of him, so we must show him who holds the upper hand!

Hellus smiled.

“Then I’ll ask this favor of you. While you’re teaching him a lesson, please bring that young girl here! If you do, I will gladly join the side of the Empire as you wished!”

—Oh! You’ll do that for us? Then I shall gladly grant that request! Haha!

“Yes, I’ll send a montage. You just need to bring that child. I’m counting on you!”

—Of course, leave it to me!

Hellus cut the communication with a satisfied face.

‘This is the power and fame I can enjoy as a Sage.’

Having tasted it once, he could never abandon it.

‘If only I can get that child back… I won’t just be a pretender; I’ll become a true Sage again.’

Therefore, he had to reclaim her no matter what.

---

“Your Excellency. A letter has arrived from the Empire.”

“Hmm, has what was coming finally arrived?”

The elderly lord, Ulvera Consilus, stroked his beard as he picked up the letter on the tray.

Seeing the Imperial seal, he hoped that perhaps the logistics department was sending an apology.

“Hmm….”

However, as soon as he saw the sender’s column, Consilus felt his blood begin to boil.

—Eradication Squad

“Hahaha….”

Consilus let out a laugh to vent his speechless rage.

“Arwen.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“A letter from the Eradication Squad has flown into our territory. It seems they’ve finally found something to eat here.”

“That filthy lot dares….”

Arwen was fuming, looking ready to draw his sword at any moment.

Consilus tilted the letter toward the brazier in front of him, as if it wasn’t even worth looking at.

“Hmm….”

But suddenly, he felt that he might as well read the contents.

That intuition was correct.

—What kind of person is Ferda Valdrova?

They were not targeting Count Consilus, but Ferda.

“These arrogant bastards were aiming for the Regent.”

Arwen was startled.

“They would do such a thing to the man who is to be the dragon’s consort?”

“Do those within the walls of the Empire think they’ve ever seen a dragon? They are the kind of people who are more afraid of forest trolls.”

A fist close by is more felt than a sword far away.

They hear words to fear the dragon’s wrath, but this was a generation where very few had actually experienced it.

“And if you think about it, it’s not entirely impossible.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, haven’t we also treated Lady Valdrova as non-existent until now?”

“Ah….”

“And we looked down on him for being the Duke’s fiancé as well.”

“That is true, but….”

Arwen also realized it then and flushed.

“Still, I can’t believe a mere knight would dare send such a letter intending to shake down the Regent….”

“It is proof of how much the Arken Empire is rotting.”

The nobles are soaked in pleasure, and the knights’ swords have rusted.

To maintain the public sentiment of the Imperial city, they were sucking the local taxes dry and killing them off.

They had tried to start uprisings a few times, but each time they were suppressed and killed without a sound.

‘The pillars established by the ancestors are sturdy enough that they won’t collapse even if gnawed upon, but….’

When the time to fall comes, it will undoubtedly collapse helplessly.

Consilus, who was once just a mere Count, had intended to live a lukewarm life within that flow.

But now it was different.

“Ferda Valdrova….”

A man like a ray of light, a pinch of salt.

When help was needed, he was the only one providing support without a word.

Solely for the development and well-being of the territory.

Perhaps that was why,

“Despicable wretches.”

Consilus couldn’t help but be angry.

He was an old man who played both sides, but he was a leader who protected the Empire and his subjects.

He finally felt like something was moving in the Far East, and he could not forgive the youngsters who dared to throw a wrench in the works.

“I’ll have to put a ring through the Eradication Squad’s nose.”

Not just a check or a threat, but complete suppression.

He could not leave those who made even a decent lord look like a villain to their own devices.

What was needed for that was to use Ferda Valdrova.

‘They do not know what a great existence the one who becomes Valdrova’s partner is.’

So, he decided to pour out insults about Ferda.

To be precise, he wrote a story about Ferda even threatening the lords and added that he was a man of atrocious character.

“Send this to the Eradication Squad. A reply will likely come quickly.”

“Understood. Shall I inform the Regent of Valdrova in advance?”

Count Consilus pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

“No, let’s keep it between us. Everything will be resolved once we arrive anyway.”

“Understood.”

Though he didn’t say it, Consilus also wanted to see one last thing.

He wanted to see how Ferda would act when he came face to face with the Eradication Squad.

And his expectations were not betrayed.