Chapter 67

I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 67: The Second Tea

Chapter 67. The Second Tea
Ferda examined the events at Valdrova Castle.
He had been away for an entire month, so he wondered if anything had happened, but everything was progressing without a hitch.
The first place he headed to was Vernel’s laboratory.
Vernel’s theories, once so difficult to comprehend, were gradually being refined to the point of becoming understandable.
It was an achievement attained with the help of fifteen assistants.
“Though the great mountain is still far away.”
His greatest challenge was, as expected, Malcolm.
— Master Malcolm, could you place this in the right entrance?
— The right, you say?! Understood!
— No, the right! The hand you eat rice with! No, not there! Aaaargh!
For those who had spent their lives competing with geniuses, Malcolm was nothing short of a calamity.
If you used words that were even slightly difficult, a question mark would immediately appear above his head.
The greatest idiot in the world, incapable of telling left from right, let alone the four cardinal directions.
Making an idiot understand something that even geniuses couldn’t grasp.
Vernel had pulled out so much hair that his once lush head now showed his scalp.
The culprit, Malcolm, simply looked bright and cheerful like a dog out for a walk.
“In the end, magitechnology is something for non-wizard humans to use.”
If a human at Malcolm’s level could grasp its purpose and operate it, even ordinary people would be able to use it.
That was the ultimate goal Ferda desired.
“Anyway, this place seems to be doing well.”
As he walked past, watching Vernel hold his head, Ferda heard a boisterous voice from a corner of the corridor.
— Hyyaaang?!
The moment he heard that noisy voice, he knew.
It was the demon Penelope.
— What is this witch?! Why is a witch brazenly walking through a dragon’s castle?!
The witch she was referring to was, without a doubt, Echidna.
— Fufufufu, a demon wanders around here, so why couldn’t a witch wander around toooo?
Wondering why those two were entangled, the reason was quickly revealed.
— Hey, Miss Echidna? Can you calm down and listen to me?
It was Jed’s fault.
Upon getting closer, the situation was evident.
Penelope was clinging to Jed’s leg, Jed was bewildered, and Echidna was pointing a knife at Jed.
Echidna’s eyes were half-closed.
— Aaaah, Master Jed. Don’t worry. I won’t hurt Master Jed. I am only trying to perform the Contract Separation Art.
— Contract Separation Art?
— Yes, it is a method to sever the area where Master Jed engraved the mark and grant him a new life to avoid the curse. Then Master Jed will have a perfectly clean body just like before.
— …Does that sound like you’re saying you’re going to cut off my arm?
— And you would have to live a painful life every day. But that little bit of pain is nothing!
Jed’s true feelings slipped out unintentionally due to disbelief.
— Are you crazy?
— It’s okay! Even with only one arm, I will love Master Jed forever!
— But what if I love my arm?!
— We will overcome it! With our love!
A disaster was unfolding here in its own way.
Just by listening to the story, the cause could easily be inferred.
“It’s because of the pact made with Penelope.”
On the day of the rescue, Ferda had Penelope and Jed form a contract.
So that Penelope’s body would not return to Hell and, at the same time, to keep watch over her movements.
And he firmly placed a silence device on her so she could never speak of Sitri’s Life Vessel without his permission.
Although she was in a position with a dog leash on, for Penelope it was the best possible condition.
Wasn’t it better than living as a fugitive everywhere? She could hide safely inside the dragon’s nest.
“Is it… also good for Jed, perhaps?”
He is the type of guy who reflexively lunges at anyone as long as she is a woman.
Penelope was also a woman, so he figured it wouldn’t be bad.
Ferda did not explain Penelope’s exact utility to Jed.
Just knowing that she was Sitri’s incredibly precious daughter was enough.
While Jed was trapped between a demon and a witch, his eyes met Ferda’s.
Jed’s eyes said this:
Save me.
A true man speaks with his back.
Ferda manly turned his back on him.
Sort it out yourself.
“Regardless, this is moving along smoothly.”
He didn’t know what had happened while he was away from the castle.
— Lord Ferda.
A small girl in a maid uniform, Ruri, approached as usual.
— I have prepared it.
— Understood.
Ferda adjusted his tie for no reason.
Black hands extended from his clothes and began straightening his outfit once more.
He had risked dealing with a demon to obtain information.
He had killed whatever threatened her so as not to lose Ruri.
Two situations threatening the survival of the nation had presented themselves before him.
Yet even combining all those moments, nothing was as nerve-racking as this particular instant.
Like hiding the bedsheet he had wet as a child inside a wardrobe.
Like hiding a secret that might not be known now, but would one day come to light.
That anxiety also vanished when the balcony door opened.
What came into view was a wide, open balcony next to a tea table.
And the strange dragon armor.
“Today as well, huh?”
He had already seen it twice, so it wasn’t that surprising.
She was sitting motionlessly, looking toward here.
The helmet crafted from the face of the dragon Valdrova intimidated anyone facing it.
“Why is she just staring at me?”
Ferda stepped forward for now.
He arbitrarily imagined what kind of expression she might be making behind that helmet.
Before reaching the worst of his imagination, he realized.
— Koo…
She was asleep.
Valdrova’s head tilted forward.
It dipped as if to bury itself in the floor, and then returned to its original position.
— Mmnya… mm… mm?
Valdrova’s helmet, which had been waiting in silence, lifted and turned toward Ferda.
— Mm… Ferda-ssi…?
A voice echoing faintly.
Staring intently at Ferda.
— Ah?! Ferda-ssi?!
She hastily stood up from her seat and greeted Ferda.
— A-A-Are you here?!
— Yes. I present my respects to Archduchess Valdrova.
— Ah, ah, welcome, Ferda-ssi. It’s just that I was…
Valdrova was incapable of coming up with a proper excuse.
Ferda helped her out.
— It seems you had many things on your mind. You were even lost in thought.
— Eh? Ah, actually, it’s because I fell asleep…
— Usually, when a king wakes from an oversight, etiquette demands saying that.
— Ah, t-that is true. Yes. I was t-thinking. Yes!
She nodded repeatedly, looking joyful at having found a good justification.
She was a woman bad at lying.
— Are you all right, Ferda-ssi?
— Yes.
— I heard there was an issue with the carriage. That is why you stopped in Count Consillus’s territory…
Ferda glanced sideways at Ruri.
Standing like a folding screen, she bowed her head slightly.
So Ferda affirmed it as well.
— Yes, that is correct.
— Were you injured or anything like that?
— It was no big issue. It was resolved with light maintenance.
— What a relief. I was a bit worried.
She felt genuinely relieved.
That reaction became the reason secrecy was needed.
— What did you discuss at the Grand Council?
Ferda recounted the story of what took place at the Grand Council.
A simple tale of a territorial dispute.
— I see. In the Serdes Continent… Of course, I have heard that wars break out from time to time.
The territorial dispute between elves and dwarves.
— Are they still fighting? It seemed to be that way in the old days as well…
Mostly stories of that nature.
Conflict and anger.
No stories that would make blossoms of laughter bloom.
Yet Valdrova listened with profound attention.
That is why it felt terrifying.
Worrying he might make a mistake, caught in her innocence.
It was not easy to step onto that field of pure snow with muddy feet.
— And…
The story reached its climax.
— We discussed the Eastern Conquest.
— The Eastern Conquest?
— We declared that we would conquer the Demon Land in our border region.
— Ah.
The Demon Land.
At those words, even Valdrova, who had been showing agreement, fell silent.
She was fidgeting with her forearm for no reason.
Her gaze drifted beyond the balcony.
The early autumn scenery where colors shifted with greater richness.
And the typical landscape seen by the people of the Serdes Continent.
— That place they now call the Demon Land also…
A voice soaked in faint memories.
— Once had such a beautiful scenery.
Complex emotions dwelt within that voice.
— It has turned black now, but it can regain those beautiful colors once more, right?
Of course.
He could have simply ended it with those words, but Ferda could not do that.
— It will not be easy.
Ferda did not speak with certainty.
— But I will do whatever it takes to reclaim the scenery you once saw.
Instead, he revealed his resolve.
— Is that so?
Valdrova also seemed touched by those words, and her expression brightened.
— If there is anything I can assist with, I will help as much as I can.
She clenched her fist tightly.
— My fiancé is working hard, so I cannot simply be idling around.
— If Your Highness extends your hand to me, it will be an unmatched honor for me.
Watching that, Ferda felt his heart settle in peace.
Being able to accept it as it was, without needing to deeply read into internal thoughts.
This must be what true purity is.
— A… is there no other story?
— There is nothing else.
— Ah, yes…
Valdrova, her tone fading into one lacking confidence.
What is the matter?
What story was she expecting?
Ferda brought the cooling black tea to his lips.
— That is, Ruri said…
— Yes.
— That you held the hand of a woman named Olivia.
— Pffft.
He choked and sprayed the black tea in spectacular fashion.
Valdrova was more flustered than Ferda, who had sprayed the tea.
— Ferda-ssi?! Are you all right?!
— Yes, I am fine.
— I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you… I just wanted to talk…
Ferda wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and looked away.
His eyes met those of Ruri, who stood like a folding screen.
Did you really tell her even that?
While glaring at her with that question in his eyes, Ruri averted hers.
It would be a lie to say resentment didn’t well up inside him.
Suddenly his head ached.
What should he say to escape this situation?
That she took his hand first?
That he held her hand, but it held no great significance?
Dozens of excuses surfaced in his head, but Ferda erased them immediately.
— I apologize. Holding another woman’s hand before Your Highness…
— Yes, betrayal? I don’t care about that!
She waved her hands and said:
— Ferda-ssi is also a man… and I heard that person is incredibly pretty, yes, I think that can happen.
She muttered as if she understood, but her restless fingers and lowered head spoke otherwise.
Ferda’s heart was weighed down by guilt.
— So the thing is…
Her eyes looked downward cautiously.
— Perhaps…
She tilted her head slightly toward Ferda and asked him:
— Perhaps you… want to hold my hand as well…?
Ferda’s head rang with a dull thud.
— …Yes?
He asked foolishly.
— Your Highness’s hand, you say?
— Yes. I already held it once before… and I think I can at least do that…
“Though my face is still impossible.”
She waited for an answer, muttering that last part under her breath.
— W-What do you think?
Unlike that lighthearted feeling, Ferda was more cautious than ever.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
He cannot simply let it slip away.
Suppressing his trembling, he swallowed hard to clear his throat in search of a rational voice.
— I… want to hold it.
— I understand. Just a moment.
She took off the gauntlet.
Unlike the large gauntlet, a small, slender hand revealed itself before Ferda.
An arm so delicate that it could not be perceived as the Aspect of Power.
She clenched that fist shyly, making it even smaller.
— H-Here it is!
She showed the palm of her hand and extended it to him.
Ferda looked at it as if enraptured.
The slender fingers and even the lines on her palm looked like a painting.
Ferda carefully placed his hand over her palm—.
— Hic?!
Valdrova’s hand pulled back with a jerk.
He didn’t even get to feel its softness.
— What is the matter?
— No, it’s… it’s just… I might not control my strength properly… just a little more mental preparation…
Her words trailed off, and ragged breathing could be heard from inside the helmet.
Thinking she might say she had changed her mind, his heart sank involuntarily.
She placed her mismatched hands over her chest and caught her breath.
Since the tension did not fade easily, Ferda suggested to her:
— If controlling your strength is difficult, what if I place mine on top?
— Hah! There is that method! Let’s do it… that way.
Valdrova carefully placed her hand back on the table, palm facing up.
Ferda once again placed his hand over hers.
Crack—.
At that moment, the sound of something breaking was heard.
Looking closely, the table had cracked.
“Was this table made of granite, by any chance?”
A material boasting high resistance that wouldn’t break even if a meteorite fell from the sky.
If a table was made of that, it was practically the hardest table on the continent.
“They said it doesn’t crack easily, but as expected…”
They didn’t call her the Aspect of Power for nothing.
Thinking of that, Ferda suddenly remembered his own past actions.
The first meeting with her.
The urge to see Valdrova’s face.
“Back then, I’m sure I even intertwined our fingers.”
Ferda was thankful that his right hand had not been crushed at that moment.
Feeling that eerie chill, Ferda still couldn’t let go of Valdrova’s hand.
Small and soft.
A warm body temperature and a pulse that could be clearly felt.
A small part that he would never want to let go of in his entire life.
If he had to let go, at least he wanted to feel it without regrets.
“Even if my hand ends up crushed, maybe it’s fine.”
He contemplated simply taking the risk, but Ferda’s reason suppressed that thought.
— Are you still suffering from that blood rage lately?
Valdrova shook her head.
— Nooo… I am fine.
— Her Highness Valdrova could not hunt yesterday.
— R-Ruri?!
Valdrova was taken aback.
Ruri dropped the information out of nowhere and closed her mouth again.
— Is that true?
— T-That is… yes… But it will be fine. Just because they didn’t come out yesterday doesn’t guarantee the monsters won’t come today.
— But there is no guarantee they will come either.
— Y-Yes, that is… true.
— If she cannot hunt, she will harm herself.
— …
Valdrova closed her mouth.
In this atmosphere, she didn’t know what to say.
Yet conversation was not actually necessary.
— Ah…
Valdrova felt something flowing into the back of her hand.
A familiar sensation.
It was what had calmed her blood rage before.
— Ferda-ssi…
— It’s all right.
Valdrova closed her mouth.
As it entered her body, it was calming her heart.
Despite having felt it once before, an exclamation of admiration almost escaped her.
That sensation, which could only be resolved by flying into a rage, was being mitigated so peacefully.
— Um, Ferda-ssi…
— Yes.
— I think this is enough.
— Is that so?
— Yes.
Ferda stopped the injection of mana.
Silence circulated.
An uncomfortable silence beyond comparison.
Yet neither dared to break that silence.
It felt as though the moment they opened their mouths, both would stand from their seats without fail.
Because it felt as though this connected hand, achieved with such effort, would pull apart.
Just a little longer.
He relished this awkward silence.