Translator: Nox

I Married the Dragon I Killed

Chapter 77

Tilda, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, stopped her greeting and stepped aside.

From that moment on, Ferda did not spare her a single glance.

Red-faced from the humiliating situation, Tilda hurried away from the spot.

Watching her leave, Stefan asked Ferda, “Did you happen to hear the rumors?”

“What rumors?”

“She was mocking the exhibits, wondering if they’d even make any money….”

“Is that so?”

Ferda’s expression remained indifferent. He had no idea what kind of situation Stefan had been in.

“Then why were you so hostile?”

Stefan wanted to know the reason. Unless he had overheard those materialistic comments, there wasn’t a single person who would be hostile toward Tilda upon their first meeting. After all, she was a beauty who took after their mother.

“I didn’t intend to be harsh at first. But upon seeing her, I changed my mind.”

“In what way, sir?”

“It was unpleasant. Her eyes.”

“Her eyes? What about them…?”

“Isn’t your younger sister the type who isn’t satisfied unless she has everyone under her thumb and beneath her feet?”

Stefan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How… how did you know that?”

“She had exactly those kinds of eyes.”

Ferda had hated countless people. To fuel that hatred, he had needed to categorize human types, and several traits remained vividly etched in his mind.

Tilda Pascal was the type Ferda despised most.

Those with greed that far exceeded their lack of ability.

Those who tried to roll humans around in their palms like toys.

Marveling at the fact that Ferda had seen through Tilda’s true nature at a glance, Stefan decided to change the subject. They were in the middle of busy exhibition preparations and had no time for idle chatter.

“Have you met Mr. Bernel?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you place the Mana Stones…?”

“Can we exhibit them tomorrow? He seems busy today, and I don’t wish to disturb him.”

“Well, alright. Then I’ll make it look like we’re strategically hiding the main attraction.”

I should at least display the Mana Stones to draw attention, Stefan grumbled under his breath.

However, the exhibition itself wasn’t the primary focus. It was merely a side show; the main presentation was the priority.

The highlights of that presentation would be the Mana Stones and the Magical Engineering Rifle hanging over there.

Ferda and Stefan looked up at the Magical Engineering Rifle.

“Regent-nim, have you seen a demonstration of that?”

“I’ve seen something similar.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Back then, it didn’t look like that.”

The rifle that fired Mana Bullets had been something much larger and more complex. This object, with various parts dangling from it, was so cluttered it felt as though it had been simplified from something even worse.

“How does it look to you?”

“To me?”

“To you, or to other merchants.”

“Well, um….”

Stefan scratched his head.

Looking at that object, Tilda had questioned if it would make any money. In truth, the reactions of other merchants were similar. Stefan felt the same.

It wasn’t easy to speak ill of something he was sponsoring.

“Wouldn’t the evaluation improve if the exterior were made a bit cleaner?”

“You’re saying it’s ugly.”

“Yes.”

“I suppose it is.”

Ferda agreed. Looking at the object now, it resembled a work of art more than a functioning mechanical device.

For Ferda, this Magical Engineering Rifle was of the utmost importance right now.

“It would be good if we could draw in the northern and southern merchants with this….”

“I’ll do my best to handle the north.”

Stefan didn’t mention the south. With his eldest brother, Merchant, standing guard there, he didn’t want to make any guarantees.

Let’s not expect too much on the first try, he thought, but then something completely unexpected happened.

---

Scholars who lived their whole lives clutching books were intellectuals.

Though often mocked as frogs in a well, there were moments when such intellectuals were absolutely necessary. Especially for a group dealing with information, the process of filtering and processing data was paramount.

Black Bandana did not overlook this.

Black Bandana.

With the black bandana as their symbol, they were a secret organization spread across the Serdes Continent, collecting and selling information. To efficiently process the data they handled, they needed the intellectuals of Escoleia.

That was why Garnet, a member of Black Bandana, had come here.

“Hmm.”

She was adorned like a common noblewoman from the south, wearing clothes with minimal fabric. Her dark skin contrasted with her ash-grey hair. Her race and appearance were perfect for posing as a desert dweller from the deep south.

However, there was one problem.

“Are you here alone, young lady?”

Men swarmed like flies toward her voluptuous attire.

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing else, but I would like to escort you—cough!”

As soon as the man met her eyes, he let out a dry cough. Then, looking aghast, he backed away.

“M-my apologies. I’ll be on my way.”

“…Huh?”

Garnet watched him scurry away with one eyebrow raised. She had no idea why the man had approached her in the first place.

A man dressed in northern attire approached her.

“Oh, come on, Boss. Try to smile. Are you here to kill someone? Are we an assassin guild?”

This man, acting familiar, was also a member of Black Bandana who had come to Halim to find information processors. Which meant he was here to work.

Garnet looked back and forth between his face and the glass in his hand and asked, “Are you drinking while on the clock?”

“It’s a must for undercover work. To persuade rather than threaten, you need to ease the tension, and for northern warriors, booze is essential.”

“A blade would be more suited for coaxing a weakling than that glass, wouldn’t it? Are you trying to hire another one like that slippery brat who ran off with the data and pocketed the kickbacks?”

“Ah, I was out of it back then. I handled him personally, didn’t I?”

“Because you were drinking. Drink one more glass. I’ll shove my hand down your throat, pull out your stomach, and squeeze every drop out of it.”

Garnet showed her lethal resolve. She was a woman of her word.

“Oh boy, there you go being scary again. Smile! A woman is most beautiful when she smiles. Not with a face like she’s about to kill someone.”

“Shut up and get to work. I’ll take care of myself.”

The northern man chuckled, raised his glass, and disappeared again.

Garnet sighed and covered her mouth with a folding fan.

‘This is why I said I hated the noblewoman concept.’

She was beautiful enough to pull off the expensive clothes, but that was it. Her life had been spent in a violent world closer to battlefields filled with blood and flesh than flower beds. Her gaze was fierce, and her mannerisms inevitably carried a masculine edge.

She never wanted to wear these cumbersome clothes that exposed her skin and jingled with every movement ever again. Yet, despite the discomfort, she had come to Halim.

It was because of one person.

Garnet decided to move without further delay. The presentation was about to begin.

The presentation was held at the Opera House. It was the perfect venue, as it could accommodate many people and possessed great acoustics.

Garnet stepped inside. Pretending to look for her seat, her gaze quickly scanned the surroundings.

‘There he is.’

The orchestra seats, the location closest to the stage. Two front rows were completely empty, surrounded by his aides in a state of full security.

Garnet silently spoke his name.

‘Ferda Valdroba.’

The initial investigation had started with Hellus Phobidas. She had been hired when that man claimed his young daughter had been kidnapped, and while searching for her, she had learned of Ferda Valdroba.

‘It only got more fascinating.’

The report that Valdroba had gained a fiancé was impactful enough, but her interest accelerated as she began digging in earnest. Information from the far east was updated weekly, and each update showed remarkable development.

‘And today, he attended this Halim event.’

Garnet wanted to see the man in person, and she finally could.

He had ash-grey hair similar to hers and was quite tall. Though hidden by a slim uniform, she could tell at a glance that his body was not physically trained.

‘There are no major distinguishing features in his appearance, but…’

His aura was different. Even though she could only see the back of his head and neck as he sat on the sofa chair, he exuded a dignity that only a man in his fifties could possess. A relaxed composure and calmness unburdened by youthful passion. It wouldn’t be strange if quite a few women were infatuated with him.

‘I heard the Chancellor of Escoleia gave him a spot in this main presentation?’

Exhibitions, especially the main presentations, were organized through years of rigorous screening. Even the Chancellor himself had competed with other scholars to stand on that main stage. To have passed him through single-handedly meant he was confident enough to stake his own position.

‘His influence has been strangely growing lately; as expected, he must have a connection with Regent Ferda.’

He’s worth digging into intensively.

Muttering this, she took out a notepad and began scribbling. As part of the continent’s largest information network, she was fulfilling her duty.

“Excuse me, Madam?”

“Huh?”

The employee gasped for air the moment they met her eyes.

“Hick! M-my apologies if I have offended you!”

However, Garnet was merely lost in thought; she wasn’t in a bad mood. If she were, it would have been because of the employee’s attitude.

“No, it’s fine. Could you tell me where my seat is?”

“Yes! I will guide you.”

The seat assigned to Garnet was one of the Opera House box seats. Since it was dead center and Ferda was within her line of sight, it wasn’t bad.

‘I’ll have to wait and see.’

It was the moment to see for herself exactly what Regent Ferda’s eye for talent was like.

---

Meanwhile, Ferda was receiving the “kisses” of many nobles.

Since he had rented out the expensive front seats in their entirety, no one should have been passing through, but many people went out of their way to walk past and greet Ferda.

“I greet the consort of the Guardian of the Far East. I am the owner of the Jade Merchant Guild….”

“I greet the great Regent of the Far East! If I may introduce myself, I am currently active in mercenary work….”

Not just scholars, but knights, nobles, and merchants as well, all tried to stick their names in and get noticed. For those who lacked both status and wealth, this was the best way to catch the eye of one of the few high-ranking nobles.

Usually, nobles would block off the path entirely to prevent such situations. One or two people could be laughed off, but when dozens were lined up, it was bound to become a nuisance.

Nevertheless, Ferda let them be. It was because he wanted to see if any familiar faces would appear.

But to a surprising degree, he saw only “husks” unknown to him.

It was a waste of time, but it wasn’t necessarily bad. He had nothing else to do until the presentation started anyway.

‘There are certainly a lot of people.’

Stefan, who had arrived earlier, said that the opening presentation hadn’t even filled half of this Opera House. Contrary to his words, it was packed today. There were even fistfights over ticketed seats.

Since it was a place where the most promising and innovative content among scholars was summarized and presented, the nobles and merchants were all on edge.

However, the biggest competitors in that presentation were not the merchants or nobles, but the presenting scholars themselves.

“Greetings! I am the scholar….”

—Snore!

—Zzzzz!

The nobles and merchants began to drop off as soon as they heard the voices, let alone the explanation stages.

Ferda, sitting in the VIP seat, was also resisting the temptation of sleep, but it wasn’t easy. He began to suspect that this wasn’t a presentation, but a sleep magic resistance contest.

“Malcolm.”

“Yes!”

Malcolm was wide-eyed while everyone else was exhausted. Since he knew nothing, he didn’t need to understand anything, and thus had no reason to feel sleepy.

“When is Bernel’s turn?”

“I’ll check! Um… it’s right after Bernard Wayne’s Monster Appearance Prediction Device presentation!”

“I see. I can hear you just fine, so lower your voice. Isn’t the presenter looking this way?”

“Huh? Oh!!”

As it was a place to introduce life’s work, the presenters were sensitive. Malcolm also realized his mistake and shut his mouth.

While he was half-dozing and listening to the presenters, a voice snapped Ferda’s mind awake.

“The item I will introduce is the .”

It was the voice of the Chancellor of Escoleia. His turn had come.

As if they shared Ferda’s thoughts, the eyes of the dozing people began to shine again.

“First, to briefly explain the operating principle of this prediction device, when a monster appears, heterogeneous mana is instantaneously detected in the surrounding air. I have identified the pattern of that mana and devised an algorithm, and through that formula, I have secured runes….”

However, he continued with an overwhelmingly tedious explanation that caused even that light to vanish and everyone to fall back into a deep sleep.

‘By the time Bernel comes out, eighty percent will be asleep.’

Ferda, who sponsored him, didn’t have the confidence to endure the sleep magic disguised as an explanation.

I’m sorry, Bernel.

No, actually, he wasn’t sorry. If you’re annoyed, you should do better.

“Haha, you’re all quite bored, aren’t you? My apologies. There aren’t many peers in a place like this. I will show a brief demonstration.”

At least as the Chancellor, he had some intuition and moved on to the demonstration. The equipment he brought was in the shape of a metal pillar.

“Basically, this prediction device is designed to be handled by Mana Walkers as well as Magic Walkers. If you simply inject mana and activate the formula like this….”

Woooooong—.

“The device operates like this. Haha, now the explanation will be a bit easier and more interesting. Now, if you look here, there is this screen, right? This screen was made so that anyone who can simply read a map can use it. If a monster appears here, it makes a specific ‘beep— beep—’ sound….”

Beep— beep—.

“Huh? Ah, yes, like this. But that doesn’t mean a monster is appearing. There’s a specific issue when first starting it up.”

Beep— beep—.

“Wait? Just a moment. This is an item that was tested according to the blueprints, so why is this…?”

Beep—. Beep—.

“Uh-oh?”

Bernard, flustered, began fiddling with the device. He pounded on it while checking for defects.

Ferda had a gut feeling. That was not a malfunction.

“Everyone, get ready.”

“Pardon?”

“They are coming.”

The center point displayed on the screen began to flash, and the candles lighting the presentation hall started to flicker in unison.

“Oh my, what’s happening?”

“Is it an earthquake?”

People failed to recognize the gravity of the situation. Among them, those with combat experience immediately reached for their weapons.

A rift appeared in the space around the Monster Appearance Prediction Device.

From within the rift, where dizzying colors unfolded, something squeezed its way out.

It was the head of a wolf. No, a monster with the head of a wolf.

Graaaaaagh!!!

The monster’s roar echoed.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Uwaaaah!!”

Piercing screams and the sound of chairs overturning erupted in succession. With the sudden appearance of the monster, the presentation hall instantly turned into a scene of chaos.

Taking advantage of the momentum, the wolf-monster began to pull itself out of the rift.

It was then.

“Lightning Spear.”

As soon as Ferda finished his words, the chanted magic flew toward the monster emerging from the rift.

A single bolt of flash, swallowing the light of the swaying chandeliers, pierced the wolf’s head.

Pshh!

It pierced straight through from the wolf-monster’s brain to its heart.

It vomited green blood, a certain and instant death.

Ferda looked at the creature and thought:

That’s one.