I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 63
What they encountered was unlike any ordinary prison.
A typical prison was divided into sections by iron bars. But here, coffin-like incubators were tilted against the walls, each housing a single prisoner.
It wasn’t just humans trapped inside.
Orcs, elves, goblins, and even members of rare races were lying there, deathly still and pale.
One of the knights, observing the scene, made a discovery.
“They’re all alive. They’re still breathing.”
“Let’s get them out, quickly!”
As the knight moved to open an incubator, Zed stepped in to block him.
“Get who out? The only thing we’re here to save is one demon.”
“Are we supposed to just watch innocent people die? That goes against the code of chivalry!”
“And you call yourselves knights, Sir Zed?”
Zed looked at them with a face full of pathetic disdain.
“They’ll either die slowly in the blizzard or go pop and die here. The latter is probably kinder. I’m going to find that demon brat.”
Zed added as he prepared to leave the room.
“And for the record, I’m a paratrooper.”
Don’t waste your sympathy.
The knights had no choice but to admit Zed was right.
Though they left carrying a heavy burden of guilt, Zed harbored no such petty emotions.
They began inspecting the rooms containing the incubators one by one.
However, their meticulous search proved unnecessary; they were able to identify the target almost immediately.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
“Waaaaah! Let me out! Let me out, I say! What did I do so wrong that you’d lock me in a place like this?!”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A woman’s voice, screaming frantically, echoed loudly down the hallway.
“That feels like it, doesn’t it?”
“I’m praying it’s not.”
They headed toward the source of the noise and found an incubator shaking violently.
“Open this!! Open it right now! Do you not know who I am?! I am Penelope, daughter of the Great Demon Sitri!”
“Ha, damn it. It is her.”
Even though they had achieved their goal, their faces were far from pleased.
With bitter expressions, the three knights opened the door to the incubator.
The demon, who had been pounding on the door and throwing a tantrum, froze in surprise.
“What? You actually opened it? Wait, time! Time! Hyaaa! Don’t hit me! I’ll be quiet this time! Really, really, this time I’ll… huh? What? You’re not the guards?”
Penelope slowly opened her eyes and peered at the men surrounding her.
“Are you—”
“Where are the real guards? Who are you people? Did you come to kill me?”
“Are you Penel—”
“Wait a second! I didn’t do anything! I have nothing to do with those bastards! Please spare me, ghk!”
Zed promptly muffled Penelope’s mouth.
The noise that had filled the incubator room died instantly.
“From now on, you are only allowed to answer ‘yes’ or ’no.’ Nod if it’s yes, shake your head if it’s no. Got it?”
“Mmph, mmph.”
“Shut it, girl.”
“……”
Penelope quieted down immediately once a blade was held to her. She nodded.
“Is your name Penelope?”
Nod, nod.
“You’re sure?”
Nod, nod.
“We’ve made a deal with your mother, the Great Demon Sitri. We infiltrated this facility on the condition that we get you out. Follow us quietly.”
“Mmph, mmph?!”
“Ah, I told you, only yes or no.”
“Mmmph! Mmph, mmph!”
“She’s resisting pretty violently.”
“Doesn’t it look like she has something to say?”
“Does it? Hey, pinky. I’ll let you go for a second. Answer concisely within three seconds.”
With that warning, Zed removed his hand from her mouth.
“WaitasecondlistentomystorythereasonIgotcaughtisnotbecauseIactuallygotcaughtbutinfactmmphmmph!!”
“That was a waste of time. Gag her and let’s move.”
“Agreed.”
The woman, who had been spewing words like a machine gun, ended up unable to say another word and was carried away bound.
In the process, she struggled so much that one of the knights knocked her unconscious with a single blow.
While walking through the blizzard, Ferda felt a strange current in the air above him.
It wasn’t just his imagination.
Count Consilus, who was leading the way, looked back and asked.
“Did you feel that just now?”
“Ah, I felt it.”
“What did you feel?”
Marco, who was struggling just to walk, didn’t have the luxury of paying attention to his surroundings.
“A wind other than the wind.”
“A wind other than the wind?”
“Silver Dragon spawn. They are searching for intruders on this mountain.”
Marco, whose face was already pale, turned even more ghostly.
“Then aren’t we in big trouble?”
“Not necessarily. The fact that they passed over our heads means they haven’t found us yet.”
It was a concerning development.
If a force equivalent to two knights were to drop from the sky like meteors right now, there would be no hope.
“We need to pick up the pace.”
Ferda moved along the path cleared by Consilus.
A short while later, a black silhouette grew closer within the white void of his vision.
They had returned to the cave they started from.
There, six people, including Zed, were waiting.
“You’ve arrived?”
“The target?”
“We have her.”
Zed gave the unconscious pink-haired woman beside him a light kick.
Pink hair and pale skin.
Unlike a typical demon, her skin glowed like white jade.
However, the ram-like horns, the black sclera of her eyes, the bat wings, and the long spade-tipped tail left no doubt that she was a demon.
“That ended quickly.”
“The research wing was empty. There was no one there. I could have handled it alone. What about the living quarters?”
“No major issues. It seems neither side had any unusual encounters. Let’s head back.”
After confirming everyone had completed their missions, they began to step onto the Gate.
Ferda thought about the situation.
That ended too easily.
There were about three minutes remaining.
It was just enough time to finish and return.
It wasn’t urgent, but it wasn’t exactly leisurely either—it was just the right amount of time.
As if everything had been calculated.
It went too well.
The balance of the deal was too perfect.
It was strange.
Demons only make deals that favor themselves.
“We need to move quickly.”
The mage guarding the Gate spoke up.
“What’s the matter?”
“The Silver Dragon spawn that were circling above are heading this way.”
“They’re coming here?”
“Yes. It seems they’ve noticed us.”
“Erased the traces quickly! Erase everything and evacuate immediately!”
They could not let it be discovered that people from the Valdrova Principality had come here.
They busily began to erase their tracks with the tools they had brought.
Only two minutes remained.
Ferda thought.
Within this remaining time, he had to resolve the uneasy feeling he had.
“Uugh… uuuugh?”
Penelope woke up, looking around in a daze.
Then, seeing Zed’s face, her eyes snapped wide.
“Mmph! Mmph-mmph!”
“Stay still. I’m going to make you comfortable.”
“Mmph! Mmph-mmph-mmph!!”
As Zed raised his dagger, Penelope shook her head frantically.
The sight of her with tears and snot streaming down her face was an unmistakable sign of terror.
Ferda found that sight suspicious.
“Wait.”
Zed’s dagger stopped.
“What is it?”
“Take off the gag. I need to hear what she has to say.”
“I doubt there’s anything worth hearing….”
Zed muttered, but removed the gag nonetheless.
“Mmph, phew! Thank you. No, more importantly, I need to add to what I said earlier! I—”
“Shut up. I decide what you say. Or I’ll slit your throat.”
“Hieek! Don’t do that! Don’t kill me! I’ll answer anything! Yes!”
“That’s it.”
Ferda gestured with his chin toward Penelope.
“Why are you afraid of dying?”
“Is… is there any being that isn’t afraid of dying?”
“An adventurer who dies in Serdes is simply reverse-summoned back to Hell, aren’t they? It might be painful for a moment, but for your kind, it’s nothing more than going home. Is it not?”
“T-That’s true, but my situation is different! If I go back, I’ll really die!”
Penelope screamed as if having a fit.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, rather than being rescued, my mother wants me dead! I can’t go back to Hell!”
Penelope sobbed, struggling desperately for her life.
“Then tell me why she’s trying to kill you.”
“Because I, well….”
Penelope searched for the right words.
“Don’t try to be clever. Tell the truth.”
“No, I can’t tell the truth! Because I’m not supposed to! Waaaaah! I’m going crazy from frustration! Why am I so stupid?!”
Something she couldn’t tell the truth about.
Something she knew, but was absolutely forbidden from revealing.
And the Great Demon, Sitri, was trying to kill her.
What could possibly point to all of that?
Ferda pondered.
There was definitely an answer to this puzzle.
A story he might have heard once before.
Something he might have brushed off as idle gossip.
But thinking back, it was something truly important.
Never make a deal with a demon.
“I see.”
In that moment, a flash of insight struck Ferda’s mind.
Ferda looked down at her and murmured.
“It was you.”
“Regent-nim!”
Zed shouted at the top of his lungs.
He was the last one with a foot still on the ground.
“You have to come quickly! There’s not much time left! How long? Thirty seconds!”
He had been watching the conversation between Ferda and Penelope and now urged him on.
Having made his judgment, Ferda stood up.
“Sir Zed.”
“Yes?”
“I’m counting on you to take care of this baggage.”
“Pardon? What do you….”
Ferda threw his bag to Zed.
“Whoa?!”
Zed caught the suddenly thrown bag.
He managed to snag it with his excellent reflexes.
But immediately, another object flew toward Zed.
It was pink fur.
“Ukyaaaaa?!”
“Guh!”
It collided with Zed’s body and went straight into the Gate.
The thing that had pushed Zed was Penelope’s body.
Zed, who had caught her, widened his eyes.
This Bending Bridge could only evacuate eight people.
“Regent—”
The dimensional portal closed.
Zed’s cry was cut short.
Ferda was left alone in the cold mountain range.
If he were truly left alone, it wouldn’t be a huge problem.
He would just have to wait for rescue.
However, things would not go as Ferda expected.
It’s coming.
That thing.
In that moment, surprisingly, the sound of the howling blizzard began to grow distant.
In its place came the sound of footsteps treading on snow.
Soon, a figure emerged through the pure white blizzard.
Despite the fact that not a single ray of moonlight reached the ground, his form was vividly felt.
“Oh? This is a truly unexpected situation.”
Silver hair, pointed horns, and silver eyes.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, a Silver Dragon spawn.
It was definitely the one that had been circling above his head.
“Certainly, when I heard the report, I was told there would be one little rat… but there’s a slightly different rat here, isn’t there?”
He smirked.
Like a cat looking at a rat caught in a trap.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Regent of Valdrova.”
Ruri, who had returned to Valdrova Castle, immediately began cleaning.
It had been neglected for twenty days.
She had left the basic cleaning to the spirits, but they didn’t work hard without supervision.
Therefore, she proceeded with the cleaning late at night.
“Is the cleaning finished?”
—Kyuung.
“Good work. You may return now.”
—Kyuung!
The spirits were excited at the word ’off-duty.’
The spirits who had been helping Ruri clean were reverse-summoned.
Before long, she was left alone in the room.
Ruri looked around the room she had cleaned.
It was a bedroom.
To be precise, it was the place where Valdrova and Ferda would stay together after their wedding.
As he was only her fiancé now, it was a distant story.
But Ruri did not slack off.
Ruri was a maid.
A maid’s duty was to adjust and maintain the environment that made up the master’s life.
To create that environment, it would normally require more than fifty servants in residence.
If perfection was desired, a hundred would be necessary.
However, there were no servants in this castle except for Ruri.
But it was enough.
Unlike weak human maids, she was a dragon spawn.
She was one of the strongest even among the Silver Dragon’s spawn.
Her abilities made it possible to keep this castle perfect.
Even after decades, the place maintained its pristine condition without major construction.
That is what I can do.
Maintaining perfection.
Perfection meant staying within expectations.
Staying within expectations meant being able to control.
There was no element in this castle she could not control.
Her life formed a perfect circle.
Ferda….
At least, until he appeared.
Ferda Rosnova.
When she first met Ferda, he was a weak human.
In appearance, he was just a greenhorn noble slightly older than herself.
One of those third-rate humans with nothing to expect from.
No, he wasn’t.
Ferda was different from her expectations.
And yet, it wasn’t that he was the exact opposite, either.
She couldn’t see even an inch ahead with him.
He acted arrogantly, but he always took responsibility.
He looked like an emotionless psychopath, but when he stood before Valdrova, he looked like a boy who knew nothing.
Acting beyond his age, yet acting his age.
Something that couldn’t be defined even if she tried.
An incomplete being.
A variable….
Yes.
The reason the calm flow of things was being ruined now was because of that variable.
Ruri hated variables.
Things she couldn’t control made her feel powerless.
And she hated being powerless.
So, she had to eliminate it.
But she couldn’t eliminate Ferda.
Because he was Valdrova’s fiancé.
And so, everything began to change, and situations beyond her control were being created.
It wasn’t bad.
It meant a positive change.
The stagnant territory began to develop, and Ferda was gradually solidifying his recognition and fame.
He was changing everything by fearlessly proceeding with things Ruri would never have done.
The emotions she felt toward those amazing achievements were subtle.
Ruri already knew what that emotion was.
Impatience.
That a brat who had lived only eighteen years,
When she had lived hundreds of years longer,
And served for hundreds of years longer.
That a man who hadn’t even been around for a year might change everything.
That he might take everything away.
That was why she tried to meet Silverwind.
While everything was changing, perhaps they hadn’t changed either.
And even if they hadn’t changed, couldn’t she have done something about it?
There was nothing I could do.
She was powerless.
In terms of the situation, in terms of strength, everything went beyond her expectations.
And… I….
She had ended up lighting the fuse on that taut line.
By pointlessly contacting Silverwind,
By pointlessly making Ferda face Goz.
Of course, she might have been able to resolve that situation more smoothly.
If Ferda hadn’t spoken so harshly,
If he hadn’t shown such blatant hostility, things might have gone amicably.
Yes.
It was Ferda who escalated things.
It would have been easier if she could just blame others like that, but Ruri couldn’t.
If I hadn’t stepped forward in the first place… none of this would have happened.
The starting point of everything was Ruri.
And yet, the words she had spat out were:
“Who… asked you for help?”
She squeezed her hand tight.
They were awkward now, but that awkwardness would last much longer.
How should she look at him from now on, and how should she face him?
Ruri had no idea what to do.
An uncontrollable variable.
It was confusing as it even delved into Ruri’s emotions.
A breeze stirred in front of the dazed Ruri.
A wind spirit suddenly manifested and stood by Ruri’s side.
—Kyuung! Kyuung!
The spirit was in a fluster.
Ruri realized it was the spirit she had sent to monitor the situation at Count Consilus’s castle.
“Speak.”
The wind spirit reported in a panicked voice.
She tried to listen to the story calmly, but she couldn’t dare to.
“Is that… true?”
The variable was constantly in motion.
