Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Vain Hope

Vain Hope
Chapter 46. False Hope

Leaving behind Vernel with his face sunken into the void, Ferda conversed with Count Consilirus.
— Regarding the Grand Council…….
The topic of conversation was the Grand Council attended by all high nobility.
— I heard the response that they would like you to participate in that matter.
— Ah, good. To think that a voice worthy of representing the Far East would finally emerge…….
A single tear dripped from the corners of Consilirus’s wrinkled eyes.
— My apologies. As I get older, I find myself crying more easily.
— Pay it no mind. They say only those with the rank of duke or higher may attend. Do you know anything about it?
— I cannot say I know it thoroughly, but I will do my best to answer your questions as best I can.
— What do you think my position will be there?
Consilirus exhaled at that question, choosing his words cautiously.
Undoubtedly, it was not good news.
— To be frank, it will not be good. You are still a novice regent of less than a year, and young, at that. What’s more, you occupy the position of a proxy, not a co-ruler. To interpret it for you…….
Consilirus stroked his beard, acting like the haughty noble as he replied.
— It will be like putting a real sword into the hands of a novice who should be handling a toy sword, merely as a test.
— Do you see it that way as well?
Ferda threw an incisive question.
Consilirus laughed heartily.
— How could that be? Although you have immature aspects, seeing you seek my counsel for the development of the Grand Duchy, I know at least that you sincerely wish to grow.
— I am glad to hear you say that.
— In any case, only five people, including attendants, may enter the White House, the neutral zone of Blancaros. Bringing unnecessarily large retinues is forbidden.
— Nothing is more unpleasant than showing off before a chrysalis. Do most nobles fill all those spots?
— That is correct. Attendants dress as attendants, heirs dress as heirs, flaunting themselves. If you wish, I will attach my knights as escort and prepare everything so that you attend with maximum splendor.
— It is not necessary.
Although it is said that a noble’s image is important, he did not want to compete with fake smiles and ornamentation.
— If there are people you wish to bring, that is fine. But couldn’t you take at least one of ours? They will not tarnish the Grand Duke’s reputation.
Ferda frowned.
He was sick of the nobles’ rhetoric of hiding their true intentions and slipping in requests with cunning.
— I hate beating around the bush. If you trust me and I trust you, speak clearly. What is the goal? Do you want me to take you?
— What glory would this old man seek by showing his face at the Grand Council? Ahem…….
Ferda threw a direct question, and Consilirus coughed dryly with an embarrassed expression.
— You know Sir Arwen, right?
— Your knight, you mean.
He was a knight they had encountered often since their first meeting hunting the bear monster, who had even escorted them to the Empire.
— I wish for that young man to witness the Grand Council.
— Giving experience to a mere knight?
— He may be a mere knight, but he is loyal and his chivalry is exemplary. Perhaps because he has only served the Far East his entire life, his horizons are narrow, which is a pity. He has never seen proper things. I thought showing him the wider world at the Grand Council would provide stimulation.
Count Consilirus’s request was unprecedented even among nobles.
Taking a mere knight to the Grand Council to broaden his horizons…….
One might wonder if they were blood relatives.
— By any chance, what is your relationship with Arwen?
— Johoho, of course we are strangers. A relationship where I once saw him on a battlefield, forgotten in my memory, but unforgettable to the young man.
Consilirus has no family.
Precisely, they all died.
His wife died, then his son died, and he gave up on remarrying.
And he entered the Far East voluntarily.
For the childless Consilirus, Arwen would be like a son.
— Understood. I will bring Arwen.
— Thank you for indulging this old man’s useless stubbornness. Is there anything else you are curious about?
— What do you think about submitting an agenda item to the Grand Council?
— An agenda item……. Of course, since you hold equal authority, no one would object…….
It was worse than when he had asked what Ferda’s position was.
— Beyond ‘not being good’, it could backfire. A higher probability of making enemies than allies.
— It doesn’t matter.
Ferda’s face was marked with determination.
— Forgive me, but might this humble servant hear what that agenda item is?
— I will ask there whether it is right to call Valdrova an evil dragon.
— Valdrova…….
Consilirus instinctively brought a finger to his temple.
— You know she is not an evil dragon, right?
— Of course. I cannot say I know her well, but I know at least that her nature is not as perverse as the rumors say.
— The reason she is designated as an evil dragon is because she cannot suppress her own nature. Is that not so?
— As far as is known…… yes.
— But what if that boiling nature could be suppressed?
— If her blood qi can be suppressed and she has no intention of harming humans, the false accusation of evil dragon could be easily dismissed. But it would be better not to expect too much. There will be no one at the Grand Council who takes Valdrova’s side.
— Then we will simply change that. Of course, if they are convinced by my explanation and still only insist…….
Murderous intent filled Ferda’s eyes.
— Naturally, they will have to present the answer or the corresponding price.
Consilirus’s Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably.
That suffocating feeling he felt at first sight.
Those were the eyes that killed Thesalos Walcher without batting an eye.
— The conference hall is the domain of Blancaros. I pray that no violence occurs.
— Do not worry. I am not a fool.
Ferda rested his chin in his hand.
Within a month.
The Grand Council is attended by nobles with the rank of duke or higher, and kings.
‘And dragon spawn.’
Representatives of absolutes who can overturn an entire nation.
It is human society, and simultaneously, jumping into dragon society.
If Ferda, who must handle both, does not feel burdened, that would be a lie.
Even so, he had to do it.
That was the meaning of Ferda’s existence here.
Ferda decided who his companions would be.
First, Sir Arwen, as Count Consilirus requested.
Jed Swallow, excellent as a figurehead.
‘Three, including myself, should be enough.’
Three would match the nobles attending the Grand Council, but Ferda did not bother filling the quota.
Bringing other lords did not suit his temperament, and they did not dare ask either.
While thinking that the three of them would go, an unexpected figure approached Ferda with a request.
— I will also accompany you to the Grand Council.
It was Ruri.
Ferda told her.
— There will be nothing tasty there.
— Do you take me for a pig?
— You, pi—.
— Say something strange again and I’ll scrub you once more.
Ferda shut his mouth.
She was a woman who followed through on her words.
— At least I won’t do anything to damage Ferda-nim’s dignity. So will you permit it?
— I’ll say it again. You going there will be of no use. They say Silverwind regularly participates.
Silver Dragon, Silverwind.
Ruri is not a descendant of Valdrova, but a Silver Dragon who inherits the blood of Silverwind.
The descendants of Silver Dragons hate Valdrova.
Because she killed Silverwind.
They dislike the regent, so what about Ruri, a descendant of a Silver Dragon?
To them, Ruri’s existence is no different from that of a traitor.
There was no reason for her to meddle in a place where she would hear nothing good.
Contrary to what Ferda thought that she would understand quite well, she reacted differently.
— That is precisely why I am going.
Upon hearing those words, Ferda’s face grew more serious as he inquired.
— Then, state your purpose for going clearly. Do not think of hiding it from me.
Ferda’s voice became fierce.
— ……I just want to exchange information.
Ruri muttered something under her breath and answered like that.
— I have been living too isolated from Silverwind until now. I need to verify if they still hold a grudge against my lady.
— It is not even necessary to verify that.
Ruri is a dragon descendant.
A descendant of a Silver Dragon, to be exact.
Which means she knows the thinking of Silver Dragons better than anyone.
— They will not harbor goodwill toward Valdrova.
— A long time has passed; that hatred might have diminished.
— When a dragon holds a grudge, it does not stop. You know that too, don’t you?
Dragons do not give up on revenge.
Even if the one holding the grudge dies, it passes on to the next generation, becoming the target of that revenge.
Silverwind will never forgive Valdrova.
Ruri, being skilled enough as a dragon descendant, could not ignore it.
— Even so, I just want to try talking.
Ferda looked into Ruri’s eyes.
She too wanted to cling to the hope called ‘what if?’.
— No.
Ferda’s eyes coldly drew the line.
Precisely because of that, no.
Because he knew that hope had no future.
— The three of us will go, so you stay here and watch over the place.
Ruri’s body trembled greatly.
True feelings desperately masked by a stone-faced expression.
Nevertheless, deep resentment could be sensed.
— ……Understood.
Ruri walked away without even saying goodbye.
Ferda occasionally tried the cultivation method again.
Entering a state of concentration for awakening was perfect.
Yet there is no rotation of the Red Circle to support it.
“What am I lacking?”
If revenge is lacking, fill it with revenge.
To that end, Ferda envied those stronger than him, striving to fight against their status and power.
But how is this heart filled?
Every year, every month, every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
Is it only satisfied by looking at her alone?
“Satisfaction…….”
A ridiculous word.
Greed is not thirst.
Once thirst disappears, only an even greater thirst takes its place.
Filling and filling and repeating that thirst, and before you know it, reason falls as a tool to satisfy that desire.
Ferda exerted revenge for the sake of revenge itself, killed countless people.
Emotion springs entirely from Ferda’s heart.
Therefore, the more urgently he tries to resolve this emotion, the more prone he is to falling down the wrong path.
“What exactly is it that I lack?”
He closed his eyes and quietly entered his mental world.
Her face.
The greatest desire was to see the face he had encountered only once more.
Yet Valdrova will not show her face.
She suffers from anthropophobia.
So he erased that thought from his mind.
This will one day devour him.
— ……As expected, meditation is not my constitution.
He was a man more accustomed to filling than emptying his mind.
Better to fill other wandering thoughts with a walk than to sit feeding delusions.
Thus, Ferda rose from his seat.
It was late at night, with the moon tilting toward the west.
The blue moonlight flooded the quiet hallway.
Ferda stopped by the window, gazing at the moon.
It was a full moon.
— Anna Rosnova.
A name that flowed like a breath.
It was his mother’s name.
On full moon nights, he always thought of his mother.
Ferda had disliked nights since childhood.
He imagined monsters lurking in the dark shadows, fantasizing that they would pounce on him.
Of course, he still did not like nights.
Because whenever Ferda unintentionally faced danger, it was always at night.
Even hating such nights, looking at the moon provided the little comfort he had.
What shone brightest in the darkest place was the only way to remember his mother’s faint smile.
Up until the moment he was consumed by revenge,
He had found his comfort there.
“Mother…….”
Beautiful mother with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Ferda was filled with that thought.
To distance himself a bit from obsession and see himself objectively, he filled himself with his mother’s existence.
It was then.
Footsteps echoing down the long hallway began to be heard.
Clank-clank, clank-clank.
In another castle, one might think it was a guard or knight patrolling.
However, the only one who can patrol Castle Valdrova is Ruri.
And Ruri wore a maid uniform, not armor.
“Which means…….”
Ferda doubted his own thoughts.
That something so absurd could not happen at that moment.
Nevertheless, the approaching sound and the silhouette being revealed convinced Ferda.
What emerged from the darkness was Dragoon Dragon armor.
The only one who can wear that and wander through this castle.
My fiancée.
Valdrova.
She was right before his eyes now.