Chapter 199

I Married the Dragon I Killed

Chapter 199: Taming the Maid

— ……I will take the necessary measures so that you can be excused from the expedition, just as you requested…….
— I am sorry. Even though it is a difficult time…….
— It is not so difficult that Valdrova-nim needs to worry.
— Blancaros warned me.
— Blancaros-nim, you say?
Erica was startled.
As Iorga’s representative, she had consistently attended the Grand Council, so she had faced Blancaros most of the time.
She took pride in knowing his disposition.
— If it were him, he would desire the conquest of the Demonic Land, so why would he…… allow Valdrova-nim’s entry……?
— He must be more afraid of me than that.
— Ah…….
She felt like a fool for having asked the question.
150 years ago, the dragon who played the most important role in the Dragon-Demon War, and simultaneously gained an atrocious reputation.
Between the death of Godwin and the death of Silverwind, there was a mediator named Valdrova.
Many people died, and many spawns died.
Dragon spawns never forget those against whom they hold a grudge once they experience death.
Even among the Guardian Dragons, it could not be said that they had a good relationship; nevertheless, she was hated by everyone, regardless of faction.
Erica had also hated her for a long time.
Now that she remembered it, things felt awkward again.
— How is Iorga’s condition?
Erica shrank back and trembled.
— She is fine.
— She must be having a hard time, right?
— …….
What is wrong with this person?
Even if she tried to deceive her, she could not.
Those innocent-looking golden eyes merely gazed at her in silence, yet it felt as if they made her inner thoughts completely visible.
— ……As you say, Iorga-nim’s situation is not good.
In the end, Erica told the truth.
— An energy similar to Valdrova-nim’s, the energy of Godwin, is trying to consume Iorga-nim, so she chose to enter hibernation.
— I see…….
Valdrova’s expression was grave.
It was evident that she was genuinely worried about Iorga.
— There is one thing I am curious about, may I ask?
The question “may I ask” sounded terribly uncomfortable.
— Please, speak.
— ……Can you tell me why Iorga killed her own fiancé……?
She knew that she had killed her fiancé.
All dragons knew it, but they were unaware of the circumstances.
Erica hesitated for a moment.
Iorga was like a mother to her.
Divine punishment would surely fall upon a child who spoke ill of their parent.
Erica told the story cautiously.
— As you know, Iorga-nim is the Phase of Magic. The magic achieved by her hands is closer to purity than any other.
— Yes. That is right.
— Because she is such a person, she hoped that her spouse would be long-lived and a noble existence. So she took one of the High Elves as her partner.
— Yes.
— ……However, that partner could not resist the temptation of magic and ended up committing a taboo. He touched Iorga-nim’s magic. So Iorga-nim, in her anger, killed that fiancé with her own hands.
— …….
— Starting from that incident as a turning point, she became hostile toward the High Elves. Because Iorga-nim had set a trap, they refused to hand over the body, saying that.
She told everything just as it was.
Valdrova, with her head tilted, was picturing the incident in her mind.
— ……How was Iorga?
— What do you mean by “how”……?
— Did she cry?
Erica could not hide her bewilderment as she answered.
— Iorga-nim is always the same. She is someone who takes her duty seriously, so she does not waste emotions on such trivial matters.
— Is that so? Yes, I suppose so…….
As if she were hurriedly cleaning up, Valdrova’s words did not sound comforting.
Iorga, crying.
That Iorga, armed with cold and rational judgment, would let herself be carried away by sentiment was like a terrible sacrilege.
If Storeus had said that, it would have been something to protest against even at the risk of death.
But Valdrova was different.
Like longtime sisters, like an older sister asking for news of her younger sister, she asked with concern.
Perhaps.
She thought that Valdrova might know more than she did.
She was curious.
But she did not ask.
Simply facing another dragon like this was no easy task.
Instead, she changed the subject.
— So, does Valdrova-nim intend to continue her activities as the Armored Knight……?
— That will not work.
— Eh? Why…….?
— Look here, the armor is slightly cracked. If I apply a bit more force, it seems like it will break…….
She showed the gauntlet part.
As she said, on the ordinary-looking exterior, a strange crack was visible.
Erica suddenly remembered how she had clenched her fist while walking ahead earlier.
“Just by clenching her fist once, the armor made by Frontesis-nim broke?”
Bronze Dragon, Frontesis.
A divine blacksmith who is the only one in the Serdes Continent who can handle the strongest metals.
The dwarves revere him like a god, and half of the legendary treasures that appear in countless heroic tales were made by him.
“Wait a minute…….”
The identity of the Armored Knight is Valdrova.
Parts that she had not wanted to understand suddenly began to make sense.
— T-that…….
— Yes?
— By any chance, in the Eumyangsil……?
— Eumyangsil?
— The place you went underground with Regent Ferda, you know?
— Ah, yes.
— By any chance, were you able to escape from there because you shared affection……?
— Uhm, eh??
Valdrova remembered when she was trapped in that secret room.
What came to her mind were moist eyes and lips.
But what she actually did was pinch her cheek.
“……Or do humans share affection that way?”
Affection between a man and a woman.
It is a terribly moving word, but from a dragon’s perspective, it could be something incomprehensible.
Thinking about it that way, even pinching cheeks felt like something incredibly embarrassing.
Valdrova’s face turned bright red.
— C-could that…… be the case?
Seeing that expression, Erica was convinced.
“They did it, they did it.”
In human society, sharing intimacy with one’s fiancé is no big deal.
The fact that Ferda had not suffered anything strange was a great relief.
— Ah.
But even that fact was known only to Erica, herself.
— Why are you like that?
— Uhm…… are you going to publicly announce that the Armored Knight is Valdrova-nim?
— Eh? Ah, will that not work?
Valdrova stuttered shyly.
In reality, facing Erica like this was something she should not be doing either.
The face of Ruri, who had looked at her with burning eyes, telling her under no circumstances to let Erica or Isabella find out, was terrifying.
— If you keep hiding it, then Regent Ferda-nim will be a bit…….
— Would there be a problem?
There is a problem.
Being in the Eumyangsil with the Armored Knight and coming out is a serious stigma.
She had silenced the expedition members, but that also has its limits.
Words without feet travel a thousand ri; it would surely spread in an instant.
— ……It is nothing.
Erica hid this fact.
Nothing will happen.
Anyway, back then it ended as a simple occurrence, so there is no need to explain.
Erica thought so.
Ruri was organizing Ferda’s office.
Given that Ferda’s office was always managed by himself, it was always kept clean.
Organizing only meant wiping the dust off the window frame once and leaving, without even taking 3 minutes.
Even so, Ruri entered there deliberately.
There was absolutely no way to relieve this stress received from Storeus’s pressure.
When she lived as a warrior, she substituted that anxiety by killing frost giants, and when she lived as a peaceful maid, she relieved it by eating.
But those methods had limits.
So the newly discovered method of stress relief was Ferda.
Just being near him reassured her.
Of course, Ruri herself did not properly recognize that fact.
She only thought it was similar to usual.
“I am just going to say hello and leave.”
In the process, they might chat a bit about this and that, but that was something they always did, right?
Ferda must have gone to look for Mori to translate books, and when he returns, she will be able to complain that he is trying to translate strange books again.
Nothing to get nervous about.
“If it is something I can read, maybe we can talk about this too……?”
Unconsciously, she picked up one of the books he brought.
At that moment, the sound of the office door opening pierced Ruri’s ears.
She pulled herself together, turned her head, and greeted politely…….
— Hello, Miss Maid!!
— ……Is it you?
— What is with that look as if you were seeing a cockroach?!
— You are below that. At least cockroaches die.
— Wow, terrible verbal abuse. Calling a demon a cockroach.
Ruri made a pathetic face and waved her hand at her.
— Do not slack off and get out of here. Everyone else is working.
— Come on, do not say such disappointing things. I am working too, you know?
— Spouting lies that would not even work on a chick.
— No, really! Did you not know? Even if I look like this, I am the Product Planning Director of the Hestia Trading Company?
The company is doomed.
If she could exhale Breath, she would wish to expel it refreshingly.
But all that came out was a sigh, so she had no choice but to let it escape.
— Anyway, as Product Planning Director, I also prepared a great gift for Regent Ferda-nim!
— What is it?
— Ta-da!
She brought a banner.
On that banner, it said:
— Congratulations on the opening.
Ruri tilted her head as she looked at the phrase.
— Did you dig a tunnel or something?
— Yes, rumors spread everywhere that it was dug, right?
Where is that exactly?
That smile on that shameless face annoyed her for some reason.
It was definitely not of the good kind.
— I need to show this to the Regent first, but where did the Regent go?
— He went to call the Secretary to translate books.
— Ah, that cute blonde girl with two moms?
— Two moms?
— You know? The woman with glasses and the gloomy woman.
Isabella and Echidna.
— When I tried to approach, the two moms came and threatened to kill me, was it okay to approach?
— Do not think everyone is like you, low-ranking demon.
— Come on, that is too much. I can be useful too, you know.
Penelope pouted, made nasal sounds, and pretended to wipe tears with her fist.
Ruri wanted to hit her once.
She crept up and glanced at Ferda’s desk.
On his desk lay a book brought from the East.
— Eh?
Penelope recognized the writing.
— This is Eastern writing, right?
— Do you know about Eastern writing?
— Yes, well, when I had nothing to do, reading human novels and slacking off was my job, so… eh?
Penelope’s words stopped as she read the title of the book.
— What? Why is this here… eh? Could this be too?
— What is it?
— No, it is a bit embarrassing, could one say?
Penelope also checked the book in Ruri’s hand, looked back and forth between the book and Ruri, and smiled.
That expression finally touched Ruri’s reverse scale.
— Why are you making that face?
— No, I cannot help it~ Our Dragon Spawn-nim, who is more persistent than us demons, holding a book like that, it is fitting, should I say? With that child’s body, is she like a girl in the middle of puberty?
— Should I take that as you wanting me to bend your spine?
— Ah! Not that~ Ah, should I say it? If I say it, there is no turning back~
Penelope’s sly laughter did not cease.
As Ruri approached with the intention of truly bending her spine, she opened her mouth.
— Stop, stop! You do not know what Eastern writing is like, right?
— That is why I am like this, isn’t it?
— Do you not even know what the book you are holding right now is about?
— Yes.
— Mmm, right, right. So, kueck! Ah, I will tell you! Release this hand! My neck will break! It will break like an empty lantern!
She truly only listens when force is used.
Ruri released her force.
— ……So, basically, this is a novel?
— Novel?
— Yes. Do you see this book here?
She showed the book on the desk.
— The title is Guunjimong. You will not know what it is up to here, right?
— What is that?
— If you interpret the title, it says: ‘The story of a simple third-rate scholar who reincarnated as an invincible general and slept with 49 beauties.’
— He became a general… and what?
— He slept with 49 women.
— The meaning of ‘slept’ is…
— So, this.
Penelope made an obscene hand gesture.
She barely held on to her dazed mind, enough to say that she suffered a mental attack from a demon.
— ……So that means it is an erotic book?
— It is yaseol (erotic novel).
— ……All of them?
— Yes.
Her mind went blank.
Ferda went to look for Mori to read these erotic novels?
Making that blonde girl translate lewd content?
“He would not know.”
Ferda has common sense.
As much as Mori lacks a sense of self, would he make that young girl do something so terrible?
Her instincts refused to understand, but her head kept trying to comprehend, creating conflict.
— And do you know the real reason why I was laughing?
— ……What is it?
— The title of that book is…
Penelope whispered cautiously.
The moment she heard the title of the book, Ruri’s professional expression shattered.
— ……Do not joke.
— It is not a joke~ No matter how I look at it, isn’t it destiny??
— Shut up!
— Keuck!
Ruri, having lost her reason, grabbed Penelope by the neck.
— Damn demon! Daring to mock a dragon spawn! I will kill you right here and settle everything!
— Keuck-geck! Help! Help! Jed! Ferda! Valdrova-nim! Save me-ueck!
— ……What is everyone doing?
She could not kill her.
The ones who suddenly entered were Ferda and Mori.
His voice shook Ruri, and Penelope escaped at that moment.
Ruri remained with her back turned, and Penelope hurried toward Ferda, looking for a way out.
— Oh, oh, you are here! My savior?
— Step back and speak. What business do you have here?
— What else! I am working as the Planning Director of the Hestia Trading Company!
— What work?
— I came to look for some inspiration, could one say?
Ferda understood.
It meant that she was slacking off like a useless person, just as it looked.
— If you have no business, return.
— Yes, I will. Since you are about to have a tremendous amount of business right now, nihahap-heuk!
Penelope’s body flew sideways as she tried to leave with a sly laugh.
Ruri had kicked her hard in the side, sending her flying.
— More violent than usual.
…
Ruri remained with her back turned, saying nothing.
— Ruri?
!
Ruri raised her head to look at Ferda.
Ferda, upon facing her, was even more surprised.
There was no dragon spawn with a professional expression.
Only a naive girl in a maid uniform who looked extremely nervous.
Her silver eyes trembled like an earthquake, and her face was bright red like a persimmon.
From her lips came the breath rising from her startled chest.
Ferda realized upon seeing that.
— Did you catch a cold?
…
— Dragon spawns also catch colds, I see. Would it not be better for you to rest today?
…
— That in your hand, isn’t it my book?
!
Ruri hugged that book tightly out of reflex.
In her head, the curse-like word Penelope spat lingered.
The title of that book was,
— Give me that book back.
49 Ways to Tame the Shameless Maid.
Ferda looked as polite as always.
That polite appearance stirred Ruri’s emotions even more.
Although she knew how soft that hand was, it seemed terribly rough and large to her.
Ruri’s heart beat with that roughness.
— It, it is real…!
She ended up mispronouncing like a fool.
— I have to read that book.
49 Ways to Tame the Shameless Maid.
— No!
— There is no ‘no’, it is mine.
— I belong to Valdrova-nim!
— …?
He wondered what nonsense she was suddenly spouting.
— I brought that, and the property rights are mine—.
— I said I do not like it!!
Ruri shouted.
So nervous was she, her hidden horns and tail revealed themselves, threatening Ferda.
Wondering what on earth this situation was, Ferda stepped back slightly.
In that instant, Ruri scooped up all the books from the desk.
Her face, with hair flying, was visible.
— T-this…!
With a face as if she were about to cry, she said this.
— Masochistic pervert!
Along with the sudden abusive language, Ruri flew out like the wind.
She disappeared like the wind before he could say anything.
In the awkwardness, Ferda and Mori looked at each other.
— It seems there is nothing to do right now.
…
Mori showing a terribly discouraged reaction.
Ferda stroked her head in silence.