I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
The Qualifications to Be a King’s Consort
After leaving the dragon’s Lair, Ruri led Ferda to a particular location.
It was inside a castle built halfway up a mountain, visible even from a great distance.
A path ascended directly from the cave leading to the Lair, and following it brought them straight into the main entrance hall.
“It’s quite tidy.”
Ferda could feel that Valdrova was more sincere about this marriage than anyone else.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of building a proper castle atop her own Lair, nor would she have tailored everything to human standards.
‘She said it was built for the engagement with the Third Prince.’
If the Third Prince were to marry Archduke Valdrova, he would gain the power that came with it.
He would essentially become the king of the Eastern Region, so a residence befitting such a status had been prepared.
However, an incident had occurred where the prince was literally dismantled into his constituent parts.
As a result, the place had become a site that essentially no one used.
Ferda expected it to be neglected after the Third Prince’s death, but it was surprisingly well-maintained.
It didn’t feel like it had been rushed through a cleaning just because he was coming; he could sense the meticulous care that went into its constant upkeep.
“Who manages this castle?”
“I do.”
“Anyone besides you?”
“I am the only one who serves the Master.”
“Then all of this is…?”
“I manage it all myself. That should be a sufficient answer.”
Ruri replied curtly, without pause.
She seemed incredibly displeased that he had accepted the engagement.
‘Like a dog.’
He didn’t mean it as an insult, but literally.
A dog growling because it felt threatened that the affection it received was being directed elsewhere.
Because of that, Ferda was able to let it slide.
‘As long as she doesn’t bite me, it doesn’t matter.’
A guard dog only needs to guard the house well.
Ruri led the way and showed Ferda to an extremely spacious bedroom.
‘It’s about the size of five of my old rooms combined.’
It was on par with the chambers of the Emperor of the Empire, let alone his father, Erembalt.
“This is the guest bedroom.”
“A guest room is this grand?”
“The guest is being received by a dragon, a Ruler—not just anyone.”
At the very least, a dragon was a being equal to the Emperor of the Empire.
Regardless, the fact that he was shown to this room allowed Ferda to clearly understand his current standing.
“So, for now, I am strictly a ‘guest’?”
“Yes. Since you are not yet the fiancé, you are ‘strictly’ a guest.”
“Do you always show this much hostility to guests?”
It was a question asked out of pure curiosity.
“No. I just happen to dislike humans.”
“Honest, aren’t you?”
“And among them, I happen to dislike you the most.”
“You’re unnecessarily honest.”
“There is no reason to hide it.”
Ruri shrugged with an expressionless face.
She was so spiteful it felt as if she were practically begging him to hit her.
“Fine, I suppose it’s better not to hide it.”
Ferda actually believed this was better.
It was a hundred times better than those nobles who smiled brightly while thinking of stabbing him in the back.
Every time Ferda accepted her attitude calmly, Ruri would glare at him with even more distaste.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Are you not afraid of me?”
Ferda tilted his head at the question.
“Why should I be afraid?”
“I tried to snap your neck. If the Master hadn’t given the signal, I would have broken it then and there.”
Cr-crack.
As Ruri clenched and unclenched her slender hands, a chilling sound erupted from her knuckles.
‘That I would have died…’
He already knew Ruri harbored murderous intent.
However, Ferda had no intention of avoiding Ruri’s hands.
‘If the engagement hadn’t gone through, I had no reason to live anyway.’
At that time, he thought dying wouldn’t be so bad.
Hiding his inner thoughts, he changed the subject.
“Let’s postpone the useless power struggle for later. So, when is the engagement ceremony?”
“The engagement ceremony with the Master is in one month.”
“Will it be held officially?”
“If by ‘officially’ you mean inviting people we don’t care about and making a fuss, then no. It will be held simply in the Lair. Just the three of us.”
“Three?”
“The Master, myself, and the guest.”
She pointed a finger toward Ferda with mock politeness.
“I see. One month from now.”
“Since we’re on the subject, I’ll say one more thing,” Ruri added.
“The ceremony is in a month, but that is also a deadline.”
“A deadline for what?”
“A deadline for you to prove that you are capable of being her fiancé.”
Ferda thought once more.
Getting married is damn hard.
“Did Archduke Valdrova order this?”
“No. This is my own will.”
“Acting on your own, then. Is an attendant allowed to show such will?”
“It is something that must be done if necessary. To be honest, our Master is far too soft compared to her reputation.”
She really was incredibly honest.
“You probably know that already. That is why you didn’t even bow your head before Valdrova the Tyrant. You are the only human in history to maintain such an attitude while standing before a dragon.”
“Is that so?”
“Since the Master decided she would get engaged to a human, I let it go, but unlike the Master, I am not soft.”
Ruri’s eyes flashed sharply.
It was a gaze cold enough to make one feel as if a well-honed blade were pressed against their throat.
“As the partner of a Great Presence, I believe you must possess the ‘status’ to match.”
A dragon and a human.
The gap between them was far greater than that between an Emperor and a beggar.
In short, she was setting an absurd condition.
“So? Are you expecting a mere human like me to obtain power rivaling a dragon right this moment?”
“How could that be possible? I have no grand expectations for you to become strong immediately.”
Ruri snorted.
“You simply need to show that you have potential.”
She raised a small, clenched fist as she spoke.
“Willpower is unnecessary. Willpower doesn’t solve everything. It is important that you show, within a month, that even a weakling like you possesses a shred of potential.”
She emphasized her point with a sharp, clear tone.
“That is the first hurdle for a fiancé who is to inherit Valdrova’s castle.”
Taking all of that in with his eyes and ears, Ferda thought:
‘My fiancée has a truly good person by her side.’
Though she was foul-mouthed and hated him intensely, Ferda liked Ruri.
She hated humans, yet she didn’t hide what was required of a fiancé and demanded it of him.
That meant her loyalty to Valdrova outweighed even her own loathing.
‘She’s this loyal… so why did I never see her?’
When Ferda had raided Valdrova’s Lair in his past life, Ruri had not been there.
He tilted his head at the strange discrepancy, but since it wasn’t urgent, he pushed it to the back of his mind.
“Understood. Suppose I show my capability. How high must I climb? Do I need to become something like the Emperor of the Empire?”
Ruri shook her head.
“At least enough so that you aren’t looked down upon by other ‘Presences’.”
It meant he needed a level of ability that easily surpassed the Emperor of the Empire.
“I see.”
“?”
When Ferda responded calmly, Ruri tilted her head.
“Aren’t you being a bit too arrogant? Are you stupid? Or do you take dragons lightly? Either way, I don’t like it.”
“It’s neither.”
“Do not think this will be easy. Especially for a human as weak as you.”
“Coincidentally, I don’t think it will be easy either.”
“Then why the attitude?”
“Don’t worry about my attitude. All I have to do is show enough ability to satisfy you within a month, right?”
“…”
Ruri pouted.
Having her own words thrown back at her, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
‘He’s overflowing with confidence.’
Ruri thought about it, but she couldn’t fathom the source of that confidence.
Ruri already knew how the title of Valdrova’s fiancé was used in the Arken Empire.
It had become a sort of idiom used when kicking out talentless half-wits; how could such a man possess talent rivaling a Presence?
But Ferda was different.
‘It’s enough.’
He was the Archmage who had reached the 8th Circle at the youngest age in the continent’s history and had cast a 9th Circle Wish spell.
He was a man who had once brought the Emperor of the Empire to his knees beneath his feet.
‘Attaining a status that isn’t overshadowed by a dragon is possible.’
As long as it was possible, it was nothing to Ferda.
A sense of certainty settled on Ferda’s face.
“Disgusting human.”
Ruri said, looking exasperated.
The castle built above Valdrova’s Lair was called Valdrova Castle, named after her.
Ferda stayed at Valdrova Castle for a week.
Overall, life wasn’t bad.
However, he had to handle almost everything on his own.
Nobles always traveled with servants to attend to their needs. If they didn’t have at least one person following them around, their dignity as a noble wouldn’t stand.
Therefore, if any other noble had been told to live without an attendant, they would have jumped in outrage, asking if they were being mocked.
But for Ferda, this too was no issue.
‘I’ve grown used to living alone.’
If anything, having someone come to dress him would have been more uncomfortable.
For him, having become accustomed to standing on his own, life in Valdrova’s home was generally free of discomfort.
‘Actually, it’s better than when I was at the mansion.’
When he was in the Rosnova family, he was always sitting on pins and needles.
Even while being hated, he had no one he could trust.
If anyone seemed to get close to him, they were always the type who were anxious to pull him into a swamp.
‘The one named Ruri hates me, but compared to back then, she’s a saint.’
At least Ruri didn’t put strange things in his food or play childish pranks like soaping the marble floors.
By that standard alone, she was practically a precious puppy.
‘Well, I don’t know how long that will last.’
Ruri had thrown a task at Ferda.
To show that he wasn’t a hopeless half-wit but had potential.
‘The deadline is one month.’
What could he show within that time?
Ferda considered what he could do from various angles.
But only one conclusion emerged.
‘Only magic.’
Ferda had a talent for magic.
If he showed a glimpse of that talent to Ruri, she would acknowledge him, even if only a little.
‘To use magic, I must form a Mana Circle.’
A Circle is created by taking the chaotically moving mana within the body and circulating it into a single ring to form a circuit.
The problem was that Ferda didn’t know how to create that kind of Circle.
‘No, I do know a way.’
He just needed to harbor overwhelming vengefulness and hatred.
If he walked the path he had trodden before, he would become an 8th Circle mage even faster than last time.
‘But I must not do that.’
Ferda recalled the words his master had spoken.
—The first button is the most important. Whether your first Circle is Red or Blue determines a mage’s life. But I suppose you don’t need to worry about such things.
His master was a gluttonous, lecherous man who cared only for money, but he was a man who had fulfilled his role in magic training.
A Red Circle is a mana circuit formed by the turbulence of emotions.
A Blue Circle is a mana circuit formed based on calm meditation.
Each had clear advantages and disadvantages.
The Blue Circle formed slowly but was stable.
Because it allowed one to calmly assess the situation in any circumstance, 80% of mages possessed Blue Circles through their training.
On the other hand, the Red Circle formed quickly but was unstable.
Unlike the Blue Circle, which emphasized composure, emotional turbulence was its main driving force.
Thus, while one could become strong quickly, they were prone to being consumed by those emotions and becoming a madman.
‘What I must do is break through to a Blue Circle.’
To avoid the same future, that was the correct answer.
However, circumstances were not on Ferda’s side.
‘I was told it takes at least three years for a Blue Circle to form.’
He had to show a satisfactory result within the remaining three weeks.
It was an incredibly tight timeframe, yet Ferda did not panic.
He was sure he could manage it somehow.
“Are you making preparations?”
Ruri, who had always silently handed him his breakfast, asked a question for the first time.
Ferda replied quietly as he poked at his salad with a fork.
“I am preparing.”
“For someone who is preparing, there hasn’t been a single change.”
“I’m in the middle of doing it, thinking that it will happen eventually.”
“I see.”
Ruri didn’t seem to expect much.
For the past few days, Ferda had been researching and looking into methods to break through to a Circle.
But the only thing he could clearly realize was that even if the two types of Circles used the same mana, their essence was different.
‘I might end up failing to meet the qualifications by the engagement ceremony.’
It wasn’t like Ferda to talk big and then achieve nothing.
However, he would calmly search for a way today as well.
Just as he was about to greet a new morning.
Rumble—!
The sound of a collision and vibrations that shook heaven and earth flowed through the castle.
It was something that had happened nearby.
“What was that?”
Ruri answered.
“The Master is currently conducting a monster subjugation today.”
“Monster subjugation?”
“Sweeping away the things that crawl in from the Demonic Land at the eastern edge.”
Rumble!
Normally, he would have let it go with a simple ‘Is that so?’, but today Ferda was quite different.
‘Perhaps…’
Ferda had a hunch.
That the answer he was looking for might be there.
“I want to see that battle.”
“Pardon?”
Ruri replied with an expressionless face.
“It would be better if you didn’t.”
“Why?”
“The mind of a mortal is fragile. No one has remained sane after witnessing the Master’s battle.”
Ferda thought back to his past self.
At that time, he was possessed by madness.
He had been able to encounter the beings called Rulers, the dragons, several times.
But among them, the one that had chilled him the most was the Red Dragon.
‘It might have been because she was showing hostility.’
Still, there was such a thing as status.
Even when he was an Archmage, he had felt fear; what about him now?
He might wet himself and let out a pathetic scream.
“So, do not harbor useless curiosity.”
“No.”
Ferda shook his head at Ruri’s warning.
This wasn’t useless curiosity.
It was an inquiry to find the right answer, and—
“I want to watch. That fight.”
It was the duty of one who would take her as his partner.
