Chapter 245

I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 245: Innocent Children

Innocent Children
Chapter 245. Innocent Children
Ferda headed to the scene.
It was because he received a report that survivors had emerged.
However, if they had been survivors of the Imperial Army or the Allied Forces, Ferda would never have moved in such a manner.
Surprisingly, they were survivors of the Kingdom of Heinckel.
Most of the survivors of the Kingdom of Heinckel had their souls nearly exhausted, muttering to themselves or half-dead from dehydration.
They were so shattered that killing them would be an act of mercy, even if they were alive.
Yet what he had before his eyes were children, and aside from being a little hungry, they seemed to be in their right minds.
— They say they are children who were confined in the basement and used for Dark Elf research. Looking at the cross-section of the castle, it is certain that they are children who came up from the entrance leading to the basement.
— Why are they covered in blankets?
— Their bodies were cold, so we covered them.
Upon hearing those words, Ferda took a young girl’s hand.
Even in a climate where dehydration would easily occur, her body was cold as ice.
“Undead?”
They were not undead. If they were, no pulse would be felt.
It was just that these children had blood flowing several times colder than that of other humans.
Ferda’s eyes examined the girl in silence.
The girl pulled her head back as if she were frightened.
At her recoil, Ferda instead looked at her fiercely.
— Please stop.
The boy who appeared to be the eldest spoke to Ferda.
— What did you say?
— Please stop. You look scary when you glare like that.
Ferda stared at the boy, then shifted his gaze toward the other children.
Peculiar.
The emotions the children felt under Ferda’s gaze were identical.
Not similar, but identical.
Ferda let go of that hand, and the girl quickly ran behind the older boy.
Looking at them in silence, he spoke.
— Ruri.
— Yes.
— How many mana suppressors did we bring here?
— Ten.
— Good. Put them on the hands of all these children. And escort them in iron cages.
William made a surprised expression at Ferda’s decision.
Ruri obediently followed Ferda’s decision and placed mana suppressors on the children’s hands.
Having decided the treatment of the children, Ferda turned his body around.
— Regent-nim, these are children.
William stood next to Ferda and said.
— Because they are children, I am stopping here.
Ferda said with a fierce expression.
— If they were not children, I would have slit their throats right here.
— They are innocent children, why are you giving them this treatment?
— You cannot see it, but I saw it.
It was when Ferda induced fear in the girl.
Faintly, mana flowed from the girl’s body.
That distinctive flow was felt only when a Circle was opened.
If she were a Blue Circle user, that flow should have moved at a constant speed.
So he provoked her.
As the fear grew, the girl’s mana flow also accelerated.
The moment the fear reached its peak, the boy boldly stopped Ferda.
A similar mana also flowed within that boy’s body, and the other children had flows just as active as the girl’s.
All of those children were Red Circle openers.
However, the Red Circle was not the only problem.
Ferda clearly remembered the color of their eyes.
Darker than the light emanating when Jed possessed the eyes of the Red Eye Tribe.
Those were, unmistakably, demon eyes.
Ferda immediately contacted Erica, the Tower Master of the Blue Eyes.
Hearing that the children created by demons possessed strange characteristics, she came running barefoot.
Erica deployed observation magic multiple times and examined the children closely.
— Amazing.
After an hour-long examination, what came out of her mouth was an exclamation.
— These children… their minds are connected as one.
— Connected means…?
— It is the exact same texture as the mental connection of the High Elves. The same state as those tribes who have no secrets with a unified mind.
The mental connection of the High Elves.
It was not such a surprising story.
Mental link… he had guessed to some extent that it would exist.
To match the demanding conditions of the Legion, they would have divided minds through Trauma and focused only on euphoria, but even that would have been insufficient.
There would definitely be parts that fell apart.
To compensate for that risk, they used the medium of mental linking.
— These children… all went through tremendous pain. Opening the Red Circle, it wouldn’t be strange for their minds to collapse… but they didn’t collapse.
— What do you think is the reason?
— Probably because of that boy.
The boy in the middle.
He became the support for the pain and helped the children’s Circle opening.
That is why the children rely on that boy.
— What would you like done with these children?
Ferda asked Erica.
Erica agonized, then answered.
— Do you know why the High Elves… insist on isolationism?
A unified mind is pure white.
Beautiful and clean, but tainted by a single drop of water.
The High Elves were the same.
Because if one is corrupted, it spreads in an instant.
— These children are the same. Since their minds are linked, they will read and share each other’s thoughts. And if they experience pain, that pain will attempt to devour one another.
— …
— The best method is, after all…
Erica held back from speaking.
Ferda understood the meaning and nodded silently.
— For now, let us discuss with the others.
This was not something that could be decided unilaterally.
Ferda decided to summon the leaders of the Allied Forces and the Imperial Army to discuss the matter.
All the supreme leaders gathered again in the place where they had first congregated for the formation of the Allied Forces.
However, the attendees had changed greatly since the beginning.
Some were replaced by Legion commanders, and some kingdoms had no commanders left, so they were replaced by brigade commanders.
The only one who remained unchanged on the side of the Allied Forces was King Hudret.
The Imperial Army was the same.
Except for Ferda and the Commander of the 2nd Corps, all had been replaced by subordinates.
Ureas’s seat was naturally taken by Olivia.
She was always calm and steered the atmosphere smoothly.
— As you know, the Second Prince suffered an unfortunate accident and passed away, so this young lady will take his place. I will do my best to conduct the meeting in accordance with the intentions of the Arken Empire.
— Please do so. Then let us move on to the main topic.
Hudret crossed his arms and asked Ferda.
— I heard that survivors were found. But I also heard that those survivors are people of the Kingdom of Heinckel.
— That is correct.
— Why did you do such a thing?
Hudret’s expression was fierce.
Ferda answered calmly.
— Those five survivors were all children.
— Children…
— Furthermore, there were no traces of brainwashing by Trauma entities. There are aftereffects of extreme fear, but nothing problematic.
— Then are they truly spotless civilians?
— Not exactly.
He did not want to tell an awkward lie and offend unnecessarily.
Ferda recounted the facts just as they were.
— The children share three characteristics in common. First, all were forced to open Red Circles. Second, they possess dark red eyes. Third, they share their minds with each other.
— They share minds?
— They share not only thoughts, but also emotions. It is the same principle as the mental link of the High Elves.
— The demons do so many things we have never seen or heard of.
Hudret thought of something.
However, unable to find an answer on his own, he looked at Ferda and asked.
— What do you think was the purpose of creating such existences?
— To perfect joint magic.
— Joint magic?
— Siege or anti-siege magic circles are vast, and such preparations are usually joint labor. The fact that a task taking a month alone can be finished in 3 days is only possible because it is a joint effort.
— That is true.
The corps commanders nodded as if understanding.
— Because the roles are divided, preparation is faster, but joint work carries a chronic illness due to its nature.
— What is that?
— There are parts of joint work that cannot be conveyed verbally, so omissions inevitably occur. Because of that, the completion rates of joint magic circles cannot exceed 98%.
The remaining 2% of magic is a considerable area that determines safety and power.
— But if they share thoughts, that problem disappears.
— Precisely.
— Interesting. Connecting minds to draw massive magic circles and achieve 100% completion…
An intrigued look.
The corps commanders also showed very interested expressions just listening to Ferda’s explanation.
As he related this story, concern welled up within Ferda.
It first occurred to him what he would do if Hudret claimed ownership.
— It is a pity.
However, Hudret was a more upright human than expected.
— Having to kill such valuable assets.
He decisively gave up and intended to execute the children.
At those words, Olivia reacted as if shocked.
— Will you kill the children, Your Majesty Hudret?
— Do not try to appeal to my emotions by acting innocent, Princess. This is a matter of principle.
Whether offended by the aggressive words, Olivia’s voice turned slightly rigid.
— Principle, you say?
— In the Imperial Army, many here have seen the reality, so they will know it well. Before entering the castle of the Kingdom of Heinckel, when we put our heads together and spoke, what did we say?
King Hudret answered.
— No survivors. We agreed to see everyone dead.
— That is right.
— Regent Ferda, as you stated, in this war the civilians of the Kingdom of Heinckel were tremendously formidable forces. Because of that, we lost dozens of elites, and above all, the terribly regrettable outcome of losing the king emerged.
Hudret clenched his fist tightly and declared.
— What we desired was the eradication of demons. The answer is to burn and eliminate everything those demons created. Are you saying we should render their deaths meaningless by letting ourselves be swayed by mere personal affection? This is the will of the Allied Forces, and the duty of the Imperial Army that must be fulfilled.
Olivia listened to those words and thought deeply.
— …You are right.
— Princess.
Olivia looked at Ferda with a pitiful face.
— The Imperial Army has also suffered many casualties. The Second Prince died, and Count Rooster also lost his life. In this situation, if we take in those who survived demonic experiments…
Olivia closed her mouth there.
It meant that it could become a political issue.
Since she was an apprentice Saintess, he thought she would appeal for mercy.
She, too, represented the will of the Alte Order.
Before darkness there is no forgiveness; purifying with light is their will.
Internally, Ferda also took this matter for granted.
Leaving future trouble behind was a foolish act.
Burning them and hanging them was more rational than taking in children when no one knew what the demons had done to them.
— Looking at the Regent, he does not seem to have a very compassionate personality either.
King Hudret’s words ambushed Ferda.
Raising his eyes slightly, Hudret smiled faintly as he rose from his seat.
— Keep them detained. Execution tomorrow morning, hang them, and on our way back home we can hold a memorial service, can we not?
The meeting ended like that.
The five children William saved were to be executed tomorrow morning.
— Regent-nim, do you plan to execute the children just like that?
On the way back to the camp, William, who followed behind as an escort, asked.
— Hudret’s judgment is correct. They are children I have no reason to keep alive.
It was a judgment clear enough to understand why he would intoxicate himself calling himself a vessel of the Emperor.
The Imperial Army suffered heavy casualties, and the Allied Forces did as well.
He could not overlook the possibility that they might become the source of a new calamity by keeping those of uncertain origin alive.
— Even so, they are children, are they not? Seriously… they knew nothing, they are just children.
— Accept it. You cannot save everything in the world.
…..
— We lost too much to do that.
The Far East troops were mostly knights with infantry largely in the rear, so sacrifices were few, but the main force of the Imperial Army was different.
It was not right for Ferda to act like a benevolent general and show mercy.
— I—.
— William.
…..
— Say no more.
There was no further reason to argue.
It would obviously turn into an emotional fight, and if that happened, who would lose was an obvious story.
William spoke no further.
Until they returned to camp, they did not exchange a single word in the end.
That night, Ferda continued reading.
His chest felt heavy and sleep would not come.
Tomorrow, everything ends.
He would be able to return to Valdrova’s embrace.
It did not feel as though he could not sleep out of such excitement.
For some reason, he felt that something was about to happen.
Ferda only wished to confirm that matter, so he was chasing away sleep.
Ding-ding-ding!
The alarm bell rang ceaselessly.
Ferda did not waver.
As if what was bound to come had arrived, he quietly closed his book and set it aside.
— Ferda-nim.
Ruri, who entered, reported to Ferda.
— A report came in stating that all the children scheduled to be executed have escaped.
— When did they escape?
— Judging by the progress, approximately 1 hour ago. A horse is missing, so they definitely mounted a horse and moved.
— I see.
There was no way those children planned and executed an escape like that.
Someone definitely aided in that escape, and is moving alongside them.
And that someone did not require much thought to identify.
— Shall we track and retrieve them?
Ruri had lived as a warrior for a long time.
She was so skilled in tracking and swift that she would find them in 10 minutes at most.
Ferda thought deeply, then called her name again.
— Ruri.
— Yes.
— You are busy tending to my condition.
— …Do those words mean?
— It will likely be difficult to deploy you on a trivial search effort.
— …Understood. Shall I prepare coffee?
— Yes.
It seemed he would not be able to just pass this night quietly.
Ferda decided to wait until the next report.