I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Even in an age sung of as an era of peace, the nature of war does not change.
Someone fights to take what they do not have, and someone fights to protect what they possess.
Man against man.
Group against group.
Nation against nation.
The victor takes everything, and the loser loses even more.
The peaceful small village that once farmed wheat was no different.
Before they could even taste the golden bounty of autumn, they were reduced to refugees wandering the wilderness.
In the middle of a plain where a chilly wind blew, they huddled together, sharing body heat to endure the winter.
They welcomed the sight of the three men sent as envoys returning, but that joy did not last long.
There was no light of hope in their expressions.
“It seems this village won’t work either.”
“Did they say they have nothing to eat themselves?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It seems they’re struggling to survive the winter too.”
Winter makes hearts stingy.
At the end of autumn’s abundance lies a time of cruel endurance; to survive that cruelty, people have no choice but to be exclusionary.
For those who had become refugees in such a situation, only death lay in wait.
“Damn them. If they’re fellow humans and Alte believers, they could at least give us a little food…”
“May the light of judgment strike those bastards…”
“That’s enough.”
As the voices blaming the village grew louder, a man stepped forward.
The man wore half-plate armor and was the only one carrying armaments.
“They’re just trying to live, so what can we do? They probably have nothing to eat either. With the Empire in such a mess lately, corrupt officials must be running rampant.”
“Still, we have weapons… If we just asked for a little…”
“Don’t do anything foolish. We should be grateful we walked out of there on our own two feet.”
“Leave? Where else is there to go from here?”
They looked out over the vast plains.
The winter earth was parched and desolate.
The only land remaining for them was death.
“What about going south? At least it’s warm there.”
Just as there are lands of ice and Frost Giants in the Far North, the Far South is home to lands of fire and lava giants.
The concept of a cold winter does not exist there.
The village head shook his head.
“That’s not a good idea. I heard the southern days are hot, but the nights are even colder. Many people have died underestimating the temperature difference. And…”
“And?”
“They said in that village that southern bandits are waiting for exactly this time.”
They wouldn’t be the first refugees heading south to escape the bitter winter cold.
Bandits would be prepared to strike at this time to plunder their meager possessions or sell them into slavery.
“Then what are we supposed to do? Are you saying we should just sit here and suck our thumbs?”
The refugees felt frustrated by the man’s behavior.
The village head felt just as stifled.
It was his job to be the light that found the best path forward under such dire conditions.
After about three minutes of agonizing thought, he spoke.
“Let’s go to the Far East Front.”
Everyone was shocked by the man’s choice.
“The Far East? You mean the Demonic Land?”
“I heard it’s a place where humans can’t even live. You mean there?”
The man explained as he looked at them.
“The village we just visited told me. They said the Empire is looking for workers in the Far East. Apparently, the man who is the Regent there is building a village. They said the daily wage is decent and there’s plenty of room to sleep. There will surely be enough to eat as well. If we contribute, I’m sure they’ll accept us as residents.”
“But to go to that land where monsters swarm…”
They hesitated, glancing at each other with a sense of repulsion.
The man sighed.
Until just a moment ago, they showed hope at foolish options, yet they were indecisive when presented with a viable one.
The man asked them.
“Then are you all just going to stay here and die?”
“…”
“It’ll be the same no matter which village we poke around in. Unless we resort to banditry, it won’t be easy to buy food with a few coins, and I won’t become a beast in human skin. Nor will I allow you all to do such things.”
“…”
“If we go to the Far East, there will at least be jobs. They’ll give us money to buy food to survive today and a place to stay. For people like us living day to day, isn’t that more than enough?”
Though there was resistance to the idea of the Far East, no one could voice a better alternative.
Would they abandon God and become a band of refugee bandits?
Or would they head toward the wasteland for a new hope?
Whether they died this way or that, they had to choose the place where they could hold a little more hope.
Isabella entered Ferda’s office and reported.
“Reporting. There are 30 refugees from a village called White Bridge.”
White Bridge. A village located in the mid-western part of the continent, within the territory of Duke Yurei.
“This is the third group of refugees from Duke Yurei’s territory. What is the available labor force?”
“A total of six households arrived. There are 15 capable laborers, one elderly person, and 14 children.”
“Are there any specialized personnel?”
“White Bridge was originally a village near a quarry. Some of them are stonemasons and have knowledge of construction.”
“Stonemasons will be useful. Understood. How many more can we accommodate moving forward?”
“Based on what I’ve checked…”
Isabella flipped through her documents before answering.
“We can accommodate 300 more.”
“There are quite a few buildings.”
“A great many. Normally, if this many refugees had gathered, half of them would have had to live in tents.”
Ferda rose from his seat and headed to the balcony.
As he swung the door open, the cold wind rushed in as if it had been waiting for the chance.
The dry, cold wind licked the remaining moisture from Ferda’s face.
He felt it vividly against his skin.
The season of death was drawing closer.
‘Refugees are overflowing.’
It was the time when refugees were most numerous and died in the greatest numbers.
That also meant it was another opportunity for the underpopulated Far East.
Ferda looked down from the office balcony.
A place that normally should have shown only a thicket of bare, thorny branches.
Instead, he saw wide-open plains and buildings.
In the spot where only chaotic forests should have been, he saw buildings where people lived.
And he saw the 30 refugees who had just arrived huddled around a brazier.
As Ferda’s approval came through, he saw officials handing out relief supplies to them.
Tears of emotion flowed down faces gaunt from hunger, and smiles of joy bloomed.
Just like that, the population grew to 300, and it became a village.
‘It’s becoming just like the village’s name.’
Hestia, the woman who guards the hearth.
The name of the city that had won overwhelmingly, beating out all the candidates Isabella had suggested.
Already, 20 buildings had been constructed, and buildings intended as communal spaces were being transformed into shops and inns, starting to form a commercial district.
That was possible because of several favorable factors.
‘The support from the South was the greatest.’
When he first heard that Halim would provide support, he hadn’t expected much.
Usually, “support” meant just dipping a toe in to add a line to a resume for a bard to recite.
But when the delegation from Halim arrived, he could see how sincere they were.
Hundreds of workers, long lines of construction materials, and even elephants.
It was on a scale incomparable to the support from the Pascal Company.
‘Did Isabella say she was almost afraid of what they would demand in return?’
If Isabella, who handled everything calmly, said that much, one could tell how total their support was.
Regardless, they had quickly erected their own architectural styles using the materials brought from the South.
In just two weeks, a place for the envoys to stay and a trading post had been built, and the number of buildings had increased by about ten.
‘Other than that, it’s definitely…’
A place where large bundles of logs floated in the air.
If one looked closely, the figure of a sturdy man could be seen in the middle of them.
That man, dressed in armor that didn’t suit a construction site.
That man was, in any case, the greatest contributor.
‘Just who are you?’
The way he suddenly appeared, shouldered ten logs, and moved them in a flash was extraordinary.
He felt like asking for tips from anyone who might have opened that helmet, but no one had ever seen inside that armor.
He disappeared immediately once the work was done.
Sometimes he didn’t show up at all, and other times he would suddenly dash off somewhere in the middle of working, but even so, he always did more than enough work for the money he received.
‘Noblesse oblige… is it?’
Service for the weak.
People praised him for possessing excellent chivalry even in simple labor.
‘It’s highly likely a ruse to get a title.’
It was a foolish thought to believe it was done with a pure heart.
Ferda was preparing for what the man might demand, commensurate with the value of the service he had provided.
“Were there any other unusual matters?”
“If you mean unusual matters… it’s not a major problem right now, but there is one thing.”
“What is it?”
“There seems to be an issue with the food and monster supply lines; they are about four days late from the scheduled delivery date.”
Four days.
The transportation environment was poor, and means of travel were limited.
However, to Ferda, this was a significant enough problem.
Ferda had agreed to receive everything from Stefan as a top priority.
The word “top priority” included the meaning of supplying everything according to the scheduled delivery date.
The fact that it was four days late, not just one, meant a problem had arisen in the contract.
‘Stefan.’
He was a man whose head worked well as a merchant. His calculations were precise, and the strategies he presented weren’t bad.
‘But that’s all.’
Stefan had a passive and compromising disposition.
In the tasks Ferda had to carry out, that personality would be a major obstacle.
‘Should I discard Stefan?’
Ferda had nothing to lose.
He could simply return what Stefan had invested as treasure.
Furthermore, since Halim was actively helping with growth, it was a reality that he could partner with them instead.
Inwardly, Halim was likely hoping for that as well.
‘Discarding him is easy enough.’
What to do.
It was while Ferda was contemplating.
Knock, knock—.
“Ferda-nim.”
Ruri called for Ferda.
“Stefan Pascal-nim wishes to see you.”
Speak of the devil.
“Tell him to enter.”
The door opened and a man walked in.
It was difficult to believe it was the man Ferda knew.
Stefan Pascal.
As the second-generation head of a corporation, he had been flush with wealth and a bit of fat on his face during their first meeting.
But now, that fat was nowhere to be found.
He had become haggard, like a refugee who hadn’t had a proper meal.
Ferda sensed that something had happened to him.
“It is the first time I’ve seen you since the exhibition, Regent-nim.”
Ferda didn’t show his thoughts for now.
“I was just talking about you.”
“It’s because the supply volume is late. Yes, I apologize for that. And…”
He struggled to speak again.
“I think it’s best if… the connection between the Pascal Trading Company and you ends here.”
It was a request for contract termination.
Hearing those words, Ferda put his hand to his face.
No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
Ferda had been considering terminating the contract himself, but it wasn’t something Stefan should have brought up first.
Ferda would just gain something new, but Stefan would lose everything.
He was curious where this irrational judgment had come from.
Therefore, Ferda did not say, ‘Very well.’
“Why?”
He asked, and Stefan answered.
“I don’t think it’s an area I can handle anymore.”
Ferda asked.
“What is the area you handle?”
“The things I can do… and the things I possess.”
“What I expect from you hasn’t changed. Everything is the same.”
“…”
“What has changed must be your heart.”
Stefan could not answer.
Ferda leaned forward.
“If the reason is convincing, I will terminate it at any time. So tell me. What on earth happened?”
Stefan’s words forced their way through his lips.
He unburdened himself.
The story of the dinner with his father.
And the friction between brothers over Halim.
The things he had lost because of it.
Only then could Ferda look into the internal circumstances of Stefan that he hadn’t known.
“Merchit got angry with you, and you said you would monopolize the rights to Halim?”
“…Yes.”
“So the mercenaries who were originally guarding you all left, and things started falling apart?”
It was a story that could certainly happen if one understood the systems within the Empire.
As the commercial sector was the most developed, mercenaries also operated in the form of companies.
The Pascal Mercenary Company, founded by Merchit Pascal, was undoubtedly the top in the industry.
The number of mercenaries belonging to it exceeded 10,000, and if you included the small and medium-sized ones they subcontracted to, it exceeded 30,000.
Since he had come into conflict with such a Merchit Pascal, the price was high.
It was as if the sword and shield in Stefan’s hands had all vanished in an instant.
“Even though you filled that void, they weren’t reliable, and incidents were breaking out.”
“That’s right…”
When security is weak, the system crumbles.
The goods that were supposed to be supplied to Ferda as a priority were also stolen.
It was like an exhibition hall without glass windows.
“So… even the carriages heading for the Prince’s territory… were attacked.”
Now the reason for the delayed delivery was revealed.
“I found out two days ago. The carriages were attacked and everyone… Sandy, Coven…”
Stefan covered his face, unable to continue.
That incident had become the decisive moment that broke his spirit.
“I can’t do it anymore. I was a person who wasn’t cut out for this from the start. Wanting the Pascal Company, wanting to monopolize magic engineering… they were all things I shouldn’t have tried to have.”
“…”
“So I will give up. Regent-nim. Thank you for giving this pathetic man a chance until now—”
“That monopoly.”
Ferda cut in before he could finish.
“Was it something we needed?”
“Mo—monopoly, you mean?”
“Yes. Was that something necessary for the interests we need to protect?”
In this state, Stefan thought.
Was it a necessary thing…?
It would have been enough to share the pie without insisting on monopolizing it himself.
“Think carefully about the reason you had then and answer me.”
Following Ferda’s words, Stefan recalled the memories of that day.
And he answered.
“…Yes.”
“Then you mean you fought to protect what is ours.”
“…”
“You fought for the first time, but in the end, you were left frustrated.”
“That’s right.”
“Are you ashamed of the fact that you failed?”
Stefan hung his head low.
“It is a shameful thing.”
“So you were trying to avoid this situation by terminating the contract?”
“I wasn’t avoiding it.”
“That is avoidance. You are compromising instead of facing the pain.”
“That incident was also an opportunity for me to reflect on myself.”
Stefan laughed hollowly.
His pupils were unfocused.
“I have no ability, yet I’m pointlessly greedy, and I don’t even have the courage to hold onto something. I’m a third-rate fool who only comes to his senses… after losing everything.”
Self-reproach and self-loathing.
One could see how many burdens were pressing down on his hunched back.
Because Ferda, too, had had such experiences.
“Is that why you couldn’t reach out to me?”
“…Yes.”
Lest his own incompetence grow larger.
Lest he show his shame and be held in contempt for it.
The fear grew and grew, finally crushing him and forcing him to his knees.
“Stefan.”
“Yes, Regent-nim.”
“I only asked for one thing. Do you remember what it was?”
He knew.
Because he had said it so clearly that it was still vividly etched in his mind even at this moment.
“You said… to become the master of the Pascal Company.”
“That was the contract we made. What did you do for that contract? You supplied goods.”
“That’s right.”
“You filled the supplies that were lacking throughout the Prince’s territory and opened the paths. Such processes could not have been easy, and yet you endured.”
“…”
“To become the master of the Pascal Company.”
Stefan did not answer.
Lest he show this surging emotion, he kept his mouth shut as if he were a simpleton.
Ferda’s words continued.
“I say again, we made a contract.”
“…”
“You supply us with goods, and I make you the master of the Pascal Company.”
Those were the words that had pressured Stefan.
But strangely, at this moment, he felt no pressure.
“That means if you fight to become the master of the company, I will gladly take your side.”
Instead, he felt the weight pressing down on his shoulders fall away.
“So I will ask you one last time.”
Ferda asked one final time in a calm voice.
“Do you truly want to give up everything?”
Vitality began to return to Stefan’s corpse-like eyes.
Everything he had come to give up and lay down began to be seen anew.
Stefan is a merchant.
Who in the world likes losing everything?
He didn’t want to feel the happiness of possessing nothing.
His wish was to use failure as a stepping stone and leap toward success.
“Uuugh…”
Stefan shed tears.
Along with this sorrow rising in his throat, he brought out his true feelings that had been with him since he was young.
“I want to become… the master of the Pascal Company.”
Stefan sobbed with his nose pressed against the marble floor.
He wailed, unable to say another word.
Ferda looked down at him and spoke softly.
“Administrator Isabella.”
Isabella, who had been watching the whole situation, pushed up her glasses.
“Please speak.”
“Summon all the nobles of the entire Far East Prince’s territory to the Far East Front Alliance Hall.”
“Understood. How should I list the reason for the summons?”
Ferda spoke calmly.
“Sabotage against the entire Prince’s territory.”
