I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The council, where only those of Duke rank or higher gathered, came to an end.
Ferda followed the other nobles out of the council chamber.
“Regent-nim.”
Zed and Arwen, who had been waiting for Ferda, approached him.
Scanning Ferda’s complexion, Zed asked, “Did you suffer some kind of insult inside? You look like you’re ready to kill someone.”
“If you call it an insult, then yes, I was insulted.”
He had been forced to stand by while hearing Valdrova slandered as an evil dragon.
It was not easy for a man who had become an Archmage for the sake of revenge to ignore the surging emotions within him.
Thus, it was better to avoid becoming the subject of idle gossip altogether.
Ferda shifted the subject.
“Where is Ruri?”
“Ruri-yang is… well. Where did she go?”
“She said she had business to attend to before the meeting ended and left her spot. I’m not sure exactly where she went.”
“Is that so?”
“I apologize. I should have kept track of her beforehand…”
“No need. She isn’t exactly an easy woman to keep tabs on.”
Ferda did not press further.
He already knew where she was going anyway.
If Ruri had done as she’d mentioned before, she would have moved to speak with Silverwind.
‘A conversation, huh.’
Ferda recalled the look in Goz Silverwind’s eyes when that topic had been broached.
He had been suppressing his rage with a restraint that was clumsy at best.
If Ferda had spoken to Silverwind there, a brawl might have broken out on the spot.
Had it not been for Blancaros’s neutral zone, things might have turned even uglier.
‘I wonder if that talk will go well.’
It was just as Ferda was thinking that.
“Regent Ferda Valdrova?”
A man in pure white, perfectly suited to the snowy-white space.
His posture was disciplined, befitting the confidant of the neutral zone’s absolute ruler.
He was the hand of Blancaros.
“My Master summons you. Would you be willing to accompany me?”
“To a private meeting?”
“Yes. He says he wishes to discuss the motion you proposed earlier.”
This was unusual.
For the sake of maintaining neutrality, Blancaros did not summon humans to private quarters.
‘Still, the situation demands it.’
Since Blancaros, who claimed to stand on neutral ground, had arbitrarily passed the motion, the proposer would need a briefing.
In the first place, the reason Ferda had endured that unfairness was for this very moment.
“I understand.”
“I shall lead the way. This way, please.”
Ferda followed his guidance and moved his feet.
Blancaros’s reception room was a place that did not seem like a dragon’s dwelling.
Normally, a dragon’s residence would be grand and massive.
It should be so delicate and majestic that no Emperor would dare compare their palace to it.
The Grand Council chamber had certainly possessed an appearance befitting such dignity.
However, Blancaros’s reception room was different.
It was a place overflowing with a human touch.
It was not unnecessarily large, nor was it needlessly grand.
It was small and practical, looking like the office of a minor lord.
“Welcome.”
Sitting behind a marble desk at the far end, Blancaros greeted him aloud.
Ferda’s steps halted as he entered.
Blancaros was not the only one inside.
A presence glowing blue within the white space.
Erica Iorga.
She was sitting there, occupying one of the seats.
Erica was looking at Ferda.
When her fierce expression met Ferda’s gaze, his face became even more displeased.
Zed and Arwen, standing behind him, broke into a cold sweat for no reason.
“Why is she glaring like that? Did you do something wrong?”
Ferda shrugged.
“Me, do something wrong? As if that’s possible.”
“It certainly looks like it, though?”
Ferda did not respond and walked forward.
Ignoring Erica, he gave a polite greeting to Blancaros.
“I am very grateful to Blancaros-nim for inviting me like this, but…”
Ferda glanced slightly toward Erica.
“I have nothing to say to this woman. May I leave?”
“Pfft…”
“Ahem!”
Ferda throwing out such verbal abuse, and Zed and Arwen behind him—standing like folding screens—letting out grand snorts.
Even as a dragon spawn, the status of a representative is nearly equal to that of a dragon.
Ferda had essentially just called a dragon ‘this woman.’
It was the kind of thing a human would do if they were itching to die young.
“Heeem…”
“Wh-What? This woman…?”
Blancaros let out a low hum as if he had expected this.
Erica, the party in question, glared at Ferda with a look of pure absurdity.
But she endured.
The purpose of arranging this meeting was to talk, and above all, physical force could not be used in this space.
Erica forced a smile.
“Good to see you again, Regent Ferda. Let us speak with our voices instead of those trivial mental transmissions.”
“Do as you wish.”
Ferda covered his ears.
The smile Erica had been wearing vanished instantly.
“Are you going to keep being this childish?”
“It is only just. You insulted my fiancée; did you expect me to say something pleasant? How would you feel if I called Iorga-nim a water lizard?”
“Gasp.”
“Ahem, hem…”
Zed and Arwen were nearly choking.
If they could, they wanted to run out of the room right this second.
Erica endured those words.
She bit her lower lip hard and forced herself to take a deep breath.
“Let us consider the mutual insults settled with that. I shall offer an additional apology for my verbal abuse. However, there was a reason for it.”
Ferda took his hands off his ears.
Since she had endured the insult and moved past it, it was clear she had a will to converse.
“First, let us dismiss the attendants and speak among those in charge.”
“Understood. Both of you, withdraw.”
“Yes!”
The moment Ferda gave permission, they withdrew at a brisk pace.
Only three men and women remained in the white space.
“Since our emotions are heightened, I will be brief and clear. I am on Valdrova-nim’s side.”
“How very reassuring.”
Ferda spoke with sarcasm.
“While the entirety of Iorga is currently maintaining a stance that keeps Valdrova-nim in check, the core executives have always held Valdrova-nim’s contributions in high regard.”
Yeah, right.
“You do not believe me. I stood on the front lines of that war. I witnessed and felt that spectacle of every dragon fighting with these two eyes. Her appearance is still vivid in my mind.”
The fine hairs on her arms stood on end.
“The sight of her being the only one to stand in the way of Godwin at the moment he tried to take the continent down with him…”
Hearing those words, Blancaros closed his eyes in silence.
He, too, had participated in that battle and seen it.
Erica continued her words.
“Delivering the final blow to Godwin, who sought to destroy everything—whether they were evil dragons or guardian dragons—carried a great risk. Every dragon knew this. And they hesitated. But Valdrova-nim threw herself into it purely. It was as if a black mass was pierced and scattered by a red spear. Of course… while the end led to another tragedy and finished cruelly… even so, she was not someone who deserved to live with the name of an evil dragon.”
“I saw how you were itching to tear her apart while mocking her as if she were speaking nonsense. Am I supposed to believe that?”
“Which is why I am apologizing for the insult. But it was something that had to be done.”
“You’re saying you had to disgrace her? Does that even make sense?”
“Because if I didn’t mock that claim and suppress it, it would be dangerous!”
“What would be?”
“Silverwind.”
Another group of dragons.
Ferda recalled Silverwind, who hadn’t uttered a single word.
“If I hadn’t stepped forward, Silverwind would have. I have no desire for those folk, whose heads are filled with nothing but blocks of ice, to turn this meeting into a disaster. They would have demanded a war of dragons before you could even declare the conquest of the Far East.”
“Are you saying you nitpicked and mocked everything just to protect me?”
Erica was speechless at those words.
She seemed to be debating whether or not to say this.
“It isn’t just for you, Regent Ferda. As you said, if her nature isn’t that of an evil dragon, but rather her being eroded by Godwin into a state of madness…”
For a moment, Ferda saw a wounded beast in Erica’s eyes.
“The precedent of a perfect being becoming imperfect is more dangerous than you can imagine. Enough to collapse the balance of the continent.”
Hearing that, Ferda understood.
Why she had been so hostile toward Valdrova.
And why Blancaros had ended it so unilaterally.
Ferda summarized what he understood into a single sentence and threw it at her.
“It seems Iorga-nim has the same symptoms.”
Erica nodded with a pained expression.
“At first, the symptoms were nothing more than a sense of unease. There are many among the dragon spawn who suffer aftereffects from the fight with Godwin. But for the past thirty years, she has begun to find the suffering unbearable. She is becoming unstable.”
“So, what is her state now?”
“She has entered hibernation. She chose not to move until a way was found.”
This meant that Iorga, a pillar of magic, was absent.
Hearing that, Ferda suddenly grew curious.
“Then, what about Odograsa-nim?”
“I do not know for certain. Since he does not keep spawn and is himself the object of faith, he would not reveal his own flaws to anyone.”
Those armed with faith would naturally believe he was whole.
If so, things lined up.
This was not simply a personal problem for Valdrova.
‘It was an issue that could shake the very society of dragons.’
When Ferda showed signs of being somewhat convinced, Erica lowered her voice and explained calmly.
“If the claim that her nature is not that of an evil dragon, but rather that she is being shaken because of Godwin, is accepted, everyone is in danger. Not just Valdrova, but the status of others will be shaken as well. It would be perfect prey for those who cause chaos, like the Purple Dragons and the War Dragons. That is why we are buying time until we find a cure.”
“Is that so?”
Ferda stood up from his seat as if there were nothing more to hear.
“Then it seems you are nothing more than a coward.”
“A… coward?”
Erica was about to flare up, unable to take it any longer.
But that thought was brief.
The moment she saw Ferda’s eyes, she was overwhelmed.
“What will you do in the end?” he asked.
“What end are you talking about?”
“What were you planning to do when the crisis of it finally being exposed arrives after hiding it and hiding it, when it reaches an irreversible stage?”
“That is…”
“You would likely try to hide the secret you hold even if it meant selling my fiancée’s life.”
“Do you think I would do something so unscrupulous?!”
“Is it not the case, then?”
Erica could not answer.
She couldn’t agree, but she couldn’t deny it either.
She just kept her mouth shut like a mute who had eaten honey, clenching her fists tight.
“Let’s end the talk here. May I go?”
Ferda asked Blancaros.
Nothing had been resolved, but it wasn’t something that could be fixed right this moment either.
“…You may.”
With Blancaros’s permission, Ferda walked out.
Erica stood there, rooted to the spot.
She couldn’t do anything.
To show herself being overwhelmed by a human while bearing the title of the head of the dragon spawn.
It was a pathetic sight.
But it was certain that if the same situation arose again, Erica would freeze up in the exact same way.
Ferda’s eyes, filled with loathing.
In them, she saw a glimpse of her own distant future.
The Serdes Human Magic Society.
Sitting in the President’s office was not an arrogant young woman, but a sturdy man.
“Uuugh…”
That man was working his pen while making a sound like a ghoul rising from hell.
He had been working for four days straight without rest on the documents left by the President, Erdes.
“Uuuu… Huh?”
A moment later, circular sparks began to fly in front of him.
He knew whose hands were causing this phenomenon.
Normally, he would have stood up to welcome them, but Blue no longer had the mental energy to even think of such a thing.
“Blue-gun! I’m back!”
It was Erdes who offered a bright greeting.
“You’re back already?”
“I clocked out the second the meeting ended. It’s no fun being the only one left out, you know?”
“For saying that, your appearance is a bit strange…?”
She hadn’t come back like someone who had been to a meeting, but like someone who had been to a tourist attraction, with things hanging all over her.
“How picky. I did some sightseeing in the city afterward, you got a problem?”
“…How could I possibly?”
Blue let out a sigh as he approved the last remaining document and slumped over the desk.
“Is all the work done?”
“The backlogged stuff is mostly finished.”
“See? Isn’t it great how clearly the work is divided? I do the resting, and Blue-gun does the working. The division of labor is clear, isn’t it?”
“It’s clear, but it’s weird…?”
“Besides, while I was there, I stopped by and bought some local specialty honey bread. Where else could you find such an angelic boss?”
She wriggled her eyebrows with a ‘how about that’ look.
Fine, let’s at least eat something delicious.
Blue opened the box she handed over.
“…Isn’t it empty?”
“Really? Ah, it must have been so delicious that I ate it all. Sorry. Make sure to throw the box away properly, okay?”
Blue nodded like a man who had made a great resolution.
“I’m quitting. I’m resigning.”
“Ah, I can’t let you do that. Blue-gun has to serve me for another thousand years. There’s no right of refusal. That’s the contract we made.”
“God dammit.”
Blue feigned crying loudly with a face that had lost all hope.
“So… how was it?”
“What was?”
“Didn’t you go because of that man, Ferda Valdrova?”
“That man? Hmm…”
She tilted her head back and forth while resting her chin on her index finger before answering.
“He was peculiar.”
“Peculiar…?”
Blue’s eyes widened.
“Was he peculiar enough for the strongest Archmage of humanity to use the word peculiar?”
“I’m not giving you anything even if you flatter me like that, okay? He was just somehow fascinating.”
Erdes perched on the desk and looked down at Blue.
“That human had a Red Circle, you know?”
“A Red Circle!”
“And he’d even learned black magic. The smell was wafting off him.”
“Bl-Black magic?!”
Blue’s complexion turned pale.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of black magic.
“Is that person st-still alive?”
“Of course. Do you think I’m some kind of murderer who goes into a frenzy without regard for time or place?”
“Well, seeing as the President came out without causing any particular trouble… that man must truly be a peculiar human.”
“I couldn’t lay a hand on him right away. He’s the husband of a mad dragon; what kind of state would I end up in if I messed with him?”
Erdes’s eyebrows furrowed in discomfort.
Her feet, dangling off the floor, began to kick the air.
“Blue-gun. If your parents had suddenly left you, how do you think you would have felt?”
“Uh… well. Wouldn’t I be angry?”
“Just angry? Hmm? Would you just shout something like ‘Argh! I can’t forgive the parents who abandoned me!’?”
“The President might do that… but for a normal person, they would also be sorrowful.”
Erdes snapped her fingers.
“Yes, exactly. It’s what’s commonly expressed as a whirlwind of emotions. Normal humans are usually overwhelmed and crushed by them, unable to feel which one is superior. Even if they were to distinguish the superiority, it’s almost impossible to be possessed by just one.”
“I suppose so?”
“Don’t you get what I’m saying?”
“I’m sorry. With my dull head, I don’t quite understand…”
“Do you want to write fifty pages of reflection?”
“Ah, wait a second. I think I might remember…?”
“Stupid. I mean that you can’t create a Red Circle with just that.”
“Ah, I really could have remembered it.”
“Stubborn even though you’re stupid. For you, it’s a hundred pages.”
“Ack! That’s too much! I handled all the public affairs while you were gone!”
“Public is public, and private is private.”
While Blue grumbled, Erdes clicked her tongue.
“So what you’re trying to say is that it’s difficult for Ferda Valdrova to possess a Red Circle?”
“Exactly.”
“But isn’t emotion a relative factor?”
“True. The yardstick is different for everyone. But even taking that into account, that guy Ferda far exceeds my categories.”
“Is he to that extent?”
“A Red Circle is created when the scales of emotion break. But at that adolescent age, it’s impossible for the scales to break. In order for the scales to break due to anger, one has to be broken to the point where they firmly believe that even the reason they stand tall every morning is because of anger.”
“Uhm… that’s a bit of a crude analogy, but still, wasn’t there the incident where he was kicked out of his family? That seems like it could explain it.”
He became the fiancé of Valdrova.
That, which was practically a death sentence, was enough to make Ferda’s sorrow explode.
“That kid accepted it.”
“Meaning?”
“Accepting something means there is reason. That, in turn, means the anger is not sufficient.”
“So what you’re saying is that since there was no occasion for the scales to break, a Red Circle couldn’t have been created?”
“Exactly.”
“But the Regent has a Red Circle.”
“He does.”
“Even though the conditions aren’t sufficient, a Red Circle was created…”
“And he achieved the 4th Circle in less than a year.”
“And… there were various other incidents as well.”
The execution of Thessalos Walcher.
The battle that took place inside the Imperial warehouse.
“There is black magic in common there.”
“Black magic…”
While they stared at each other for a long time, Blue suddenly realized.
Even a school dog can recite poetry after three years.
Having served under her for a full ten years, he could finally read Erdes’s mind.
“Are you saying you think Regent Valdrova… made a contract with a demon?”
Seeing him reach the conclusion, she smiled.
“Can’t you smell it?”
