Chapter 117

Chapter 117: That Smell

After Ferda received the witch’s invitation, all the castle staff returned to their duties.
Except for one person.
Ruri Silverwind alone stood gazing at the place where Ferda had vanished after receiving the invitation.
By now, she should have been cleaning, but at that moment, her hands could grasp nothing.
Complex emotions kept swirling in her mind, tormenting her.
“Why did you make that choice?”
She could not read Ferda’s true thoughts, and dark assumptions kept crowding into her mind.
This was something that would make even a saint waver.
Recalling what Ferda had done, it was unavoidable.
He brought a witch and a demon into the castle, made a deal with a Great Demon, and was now responding to the summons of the Leader of the Witches.
He was a man who did everything he shouldn’t.
“If they were ordinary humans, what would I have done?”
What would I do?
I would have expelled them without hesitation for a single one of those reasons.
Yet Ferda didn’t have just one of those reasons; he had them in heaps.
That was more than enough justification for execution.
The reason she hadn’t done that to Ferda was simple.
“Because I can trust him.”
Ferda was someone who would do anything for her Master.
In reality, he handled even major crises with flexibility and hadn’t caused any inconvenience thus far.
This invitation, too, was something she could entrust to him.
However, the situation changed.
Ruri saw Ferda’s vulnerability.
Upon realizing that he was also a ridiculously frail human, she could no longer look at him as before.
An equally frail human.
If he were a human posing a potential threat,
“I must kill him.”
Ruri looked at her own hands.
She remembered the promise she made to Ferda.
— With these hands, I will kill you.
Ruri thought.
“If he attempts to harm my Master, could I truly kill him?”
She was a Dragon Scion.
Slaying humans was something she never hesitated to do.
She was the one who killed the Third Prince’s retainers when they tried to use Valdrova merely as a stepping stone to power, and it was she who tried to kill Ferda when they first met.
Yet her heart was no longer the same as back then.
What if
She earned Valdrova’s hatred, and even if there were full justification to break the engagement, could she truly bring herself to kill Ferda?
Even of that, she was uncertain.
“I, too……”
What those two hands wished to seize was not Ferda’s throat.
“It would be nice if I could trust that man with peace of mind…….”
Just as her Master Valdrova does.
She only wanted to watch his actions without overthinking.
She wanted to see humans gather and prosper in this desolate land.
At first, there was a reason she couldn’t trust him.
Because she believed Ferda was a human no different from the Third Prince.
Her duty was to catch him on the slightest pretext in his conduct and drive him away.
Yet even now, with all those misunderstandings resolved, Ruri could not do that.
“Ferda-nim is human.”
Humans are Mortals.
Destined to perish one day, and as they draw near that fated death, they inevitably become unstable.
That was something even Ferda could not escape.
In Ruri’s eyes, that fragile appearance still seemed barely visible.
Someone has to keep their sanity.
That person had to be Ruri.
She needed to stay sharp and search for the slightest flaw in any action of his that appeared even remotely malicious.
It was not solely for Valdrova’s sake.
“I must protect.”
That man who wishes to protect my Master.
She had to shield him from the things that constantly tested him.
It was while she was staring fixedly at that spot.
She sensed a surge of magical power from within the castle.
Ruri knew where the epicenter was.
Knowing where, she could tell who had returned.
“Ferda-nim.”
True to her Silverwind bloodline, Ruri dashed there at tremendous speed.
Originally, only Mori should have been present, but Echidna stood there instead.
She wore an expression as if she failed to grasp the situation and met Ruri’s gaze.
— Ha, did a huge commotion break out……?
She tried to brush it off with an awkward laugh and nervous gestures, but Ruri approached her with long strides.
Observing Ruri’s expression, Echidna’s complexion turned pale.
— Head of Research.
— Y-Yes?!
— Report the truth.
Pressured by Ruri’s aura, Echidna’s shoulders shrank back.
— Where did you leave Ferda-nim to return alone?
— I-It’s just that…… the Eldest Sister wanted to see the Regent—.
— What did she do to Ferda-nim?
At the mention of “Eldest Sister,” her aura intensified even further.
Finally, she began to speak urgently, on the verge of tears.
— Ah, he will be safe! The Regent said not to worry and told me to pass along a message……!
Kuwung!
Tremendous force struck right beside Echidna’s head.
Her leg kicked the study desk with all her strength.
Books rattled and tumbled from the impact.
— Can you guarantee those words?
— Y-Yes?
— Just as you returned unharmed, do you guarantee that Ferda-nim is safe as well?
— I-It’s just…….
He is fine.
He will return safely.
It was a situation that could be resolved simply by stating that.
— I, I don’t really know…….
Echidna could not bring herself to say it.
As a former witch of the Philias clan, she knew the nature of witches well.
What she did not know were the inner thoughts of Eldest Sister Lucy Philias.
It was far too dangerous a place to guarantee safety, and she could not decipher her intentions either.
Hearing those words, Ruri’s face hardened.
She looked furious, but her heart was merely troubled.
It wasn’t a question asked just to hear fragmentary comfort, but hearing “I don’t know either” only amplified her anxiety.
“I cannot leave him there alone.”
She remembered what happened between Ferda and Abel.
If a helpless situation like that one were to occur again, Ruri would be powerless to help.
— Head of Research, you were a witch too, weren’t you?
— O-Of course……?
— Can you take me to the place called the Witch’s Garden?
— T-The Garden? No matter how much I try to go…….
— Can you? Or can you not?
Ruri pressed for an answer, and Echidna shot back.
— Ah, I can’t…… Even if I try to go, entering that space is the Eldest Sister’s domain. If the Eldest Sister does not permit it, entering is impossible. If forced, one could die, no, become a specter drifting in Limbo forever!
Mages who abuse teleportation magic turn into specters trapped across time and space.
Perhaps a fate even harsher than death itself.
It meant she couldn’t even utilize the unreasonable demand of “make it happen even if it’s impossible.”
“Above all, if it must be done, I have to do it myself.”
What can I do?
All I know is how to wield brute force.
Just what can I…….
— Huh?
At that moment, a distinct sensation pierced Echidna’s awareness.
As if she had been waiting precisely for this, she looked at Ruri and declared:
— F-Ferda-nim has arrived!
— !!
Hearing those words, Ruri also pulled back the foot that pinned her down.
As if terrified of losing him, she darted toward the spot where he had vanished.
Just as Echidna had said, Ferda was standing there.
He was entirely unharmed, to the point of making her imagination seem foolish.
A black suit, gray hair.
And deep blue eyes like a lake.
Her racing heart found relief upon confirming his figure.
Instead, she focused strength into her eyes and stepped toward him.
— Ferda-nim.
Yet she could not conceal the tremor in her voice.
She asked, feigning composure.
— What did that witch do?
Ferda replied.
— Nothing happened.
— Going all the way to the Witch’s Garden and claiming nothing happened is not believable. Besides, didn’t the Eldest Sister spend time with Ferda-nim?
Ferda nodded as if agreeing with those words, and answered again.
— We only talked.
— What on earth did you talk about?
— We spoke about a matter that had not reached a conclusion between you and me.
Those words implied that Ferda’s vulnerability had been revealed to the witch.
Strength flooded her politely clasped hands.
— Don’t tell me… did you make a deal with that witch?
— I didn’t make a deal.
If he had only said that, Ruri might have felt slightly relieved.
— Instead, she helped me.
Yet she couldn’t.
The Eldest Sister, Lucy Philias.
A witch rarely seen, but Ruri had seen her before.
— Did that scoundrel say she wants to help Valdrova-nim?
— Yes.
— Then my past was brought up as well, wasn’t it?
— Yes.
A face boiling with emotion.
— Do you know why I ignored those claims about wanting to help Valdrova-nim?
— ……
— Because witches are a faction that views everything other than themselves as an enemy and a plaything. They are scum who enjoy their own amusement using others’ vengeance. The descendants of Silverwind also fell victim to that amusement. When accountability was demanded for that incident, do you know what Lucy Philias said?
— ……
— She said that the Philias cannot be governed by such a trivial matter.
Ruri is a Dragon Spawn.
Among them, a descendant of Silverwind possessing the strongest cohesion.
One could tell how enraged she was with someone who disregarded familial devotion.
— Ferda-nim is also merely a trivial piece in what that cursed woman speaks of. They possess no compassion. They scheme to bind Ferda-nim tightly and turn him into their toy.
What Ruri felt and said held genuine merit.
Speaking with a witch was akin to holding a bomb that could detonate at any second.
That was the standard perception and common sense.
— Do you suspect that I might betray her?
At Ferda’s question, Ruri clenched her fist tightly.
— Yes.
In truth, it wasn’t that.
— I suspect because it seems Ferda-nim might harm my Master.
“I don’t want to see a witch manipulate you.”
Another sharp statement pierced Ferda.
— That is a relief.
— …… What?
At Ferda’s response, Ruri raised her head.
— What do you mean? How is that a relief?
— Because you think that way, I have no need to mistakenly assume otherwise on my own.
— ……
Ferda looked at Ruri with deep eyes.
— As you say, one day I might bring harm to her. I could mistake it for an intention for her benefit and take the wrong path. But if you keep me in check like this, doesn’t that mean there is a chance to correct me if I stray?
— That only sounds as if you are shifting the responsibility onto me.
— That is also true.
— You are irresponsible.
— It cannot be helped. The person I trust most is you, after all.
Trust.
— Because I trust you enough to show you this weakness of mine.
Hearing those words, something uncontrollable welled up within Ruri’s chest.
“Again.”
Just like that day, the faint scent of ash brushed past.
And someone’s visage superimposed onto Ferda’s face.
Silverwind.
He does not resemble that person who embraced her in her void in the slightest, yet she ends up confusing him with him.
The soldier’s cold, steely heart softens.
She tries to conceal that sensation, shifting her lips nervously and bowing her head.
Ferda could not fathom Ruri’s inner heart.
Instead, he rested a hand upon her head.
— One day my judgment might cloud, but for now, please believe in me. I will not be manipulated by that witch.
He strokes her head gently at his leisure.
The misunderstanding expands, and the scent draws closer.
The scent of ash from that day……
Wait a moment.
This is not the scent of ash.
— …… Smell.
— Hm?
Ruri sniffs properly, then lifts her head.
— Cigarette smoke……
Her expression turned to disgust.
— Why does Ferda-nim’s body reek so heavily of cigarettes?
— That is……
Ferda recalled Lucy Philias’s actions.
How many times had she blown cigarette smoke straight into his face while smoking?
“Don’t tell me……”
No, it wasn’t ‘don’t tell me.’
It was certain.
Lucy Philias blew cigarette smoke with such malice precisely to engineer this very situation.
“She truly is toying with me.”
They say that once one gets entangled with a witch, peaceful days are over.
— …… You should wash first, shouldn’t you?
Ruri extended a green towel toward him.
Ferda muttered this with the heavy heart of cattle being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
— …… Please, be gentle.
Yet the word ‘mercy’ did not exist in Ruri’s dictionary.
Ferda remembered the words Eldest Sister Lucy had spoken.
— The line of emotion……
Lucy Philias told him to draw a line between two emotions.
He did not know how to draw that line, but Lucy provided a clue.
“Mana Cultivation Method, Shadow Form.”
The phrase goes like this:
“I become the shadow, and the shadow becomes me.”
She stated that the key to controlling the two emotions Ferda harbors resides there.
— If the shadow can truly become me, then nothing would be impossible…… huh?
Ferda murmured the words Lucy had stated, and idly raised his shadow hand.
This is a hand.
“Yet simultaneously, it is not a hand.”
Because it is not a physical hand, it is not strange even if the fingers bend past a certain threshold. Rather, by snapping the fingers, the front and back can be inverted freely.
Or by altering its shape, it can mimic a foot, and, crudely, even become the paw of a beast.
“So this is a hand, and not a hand.”
He alternated his gaze between the hand forged of black mana and his own flesh hand, contemplating deeply.
Ferda released his restraint and moved alongside his flow of thought.
The shadow hand is a hand, yet simultaneously not a hand.
“This shadow is also my body, yet not my body.”
Then.
“Can I not create something that is my Circle, yet simultaneously not my Circle?”