Chapter 68

I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 68: Change

Chapter 68. Change
Around the time the sun setting in the west painted the dusk,
Ruri began cleaning up after the tea party while commanding the spirits.
The water spirits washed the dishes, and the wind spirits dried them.
The desserts that Ferda and Valdrova hadn’t touched went straight into Ruri’s mouth.
It was a perfect division of roles.
Except for the fact that Ferda had not yet stood up.
— Why did you say something so useless?
asked Ferda.
It would be a lie to say there were no mixed emotions.
Ruri stared at him with a professional expression.
— Womanizer.
Ferda frowned.
— That is not being a womanizer.
— I simply stated the visible facts. That you held that damn woman’s hand.
— Were you trying to ruin my moment?
— Ruin your moment? Shouldn’t you be thanking me?
— What?
What kind of nonsense is this?
— If I hadn’t said that, do you think she would have even held your hand?
— The hand?
— Yes, the hand. That hand that was relishing hers, Master. Thanks to whom do you think that was?
What on earth is this…
Yet thinking back on what happened today, she wasn’t wrong.
Ferda had approached the tea party with the intention of doing his best not to hurt her.
Today he had no intention whatsoever of holding Valdrova’s hand.
“If she hadn’t mentioned Olivia,”
he wouldn’t have been able to hold her hand.
“If she hadn’t told her that she wouldn’t go hunting today,”
she would have suffered tonight.
It was all because Ruri said something that could cause a misunderstanding.
— Was all of that calculated on your part?
— Isn’t that obvious?
Ruri snorted.
— Master, you are a greedy person. You are the type to step forward with just a small provocation. I thought that if I mentioned that woman, you would make a move naturally.
He had forgotten it for an instant.
She has managed this castle longer than anyone and has observed Valdrova.
So she knows her better than anyone.
Ferda could not hide his internal surprise.
Had she ever helped him this much before?
Ruri had tried to help several times as a maid.
Yet it was always indirect help for Valdrova’s sake.
This was the first time she intervened directly to help.
Is that why? She looked different from usual.
— Why are you looking at me like that?
inquired Ruri under his fixed gaze.
— Just… you look a bit different from usual.
— In what way do I look different, exactly?
— I’m not sure. Should I say cute?
She froze.
— C-Cute…?
— If I had to define it, it would be like a cute dog or pig.
— …..
Ruri’s expression twisted drastically.
Ferda knew that feeling well.
That disgust from when they first met.
No, it was even greater than back then.
— If you are going to say useless things, get out already. You’re in the way of cleaning.
— All right.
Not wanting to be caught in the crossfire of that irritable voice, Ferda also tried to leave quickly.
— Ferda-nim.
called Ruri.
Amidst the sunset entering diagonally, Ruri could be seen standing, her back to the light.
Not the sharp-tongued maid, but the childlike Ruri.
— Don’t worry.
Before she could say anything, Ferda spoke first.
Ruri said nothing either.
She only nodded slightly.
Valdrova’s Lair.
A place that was an enormous raw cave in itself, excluding the heavy iron door.
An armored dragoness with the head of a red dragon entered that place.
Aspect of Fire and Power, Valdrova.
She had just returned from the tea party.
Valdrova stood in the middle of the cave and tilted her head slightly upward.
Only then did she finally realize she was alone.
She pressed the gem embedded in her chest.
Sssss—.
Then the interior of the armored dragon’s armor was exposed, disgorging its contents.
What was inside was a woman 160 cm tall.
— Huaaaa…
Valdrova breathed heavily like someone who had escaped a terrible battlefield.
No, for her, a battlefield would have been easier.
Even when subjugating monsters coming in waves for 6 hours straight, it wasn’t this hard.
At most, 2 hours.
Just sitting and talking with Ferda.
Even so, every moment was overwhelming for Valdrova.
Even while wearing this massive armor.
Valdrova looked at the armor and muttered:
— I couldn’t take it off today either…
That armor was something the Bronze Dragon made for Valdrova, who shape-shifts.
So that she could project an enormous, intimidating, and threatening voice worthy of a terrifying Red Dragon.
The intention was solely to display dignity as a dragon and ruler.
Yet in actual use, it was a hiding place contrary to its purpose.
Like a snail’s shell.
— What would uncle say if he saw this…?
With an empty laugh, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror placed beside her.
Two pairs of horns, golden cat-like eyes, and red hair flowing like ruby threads.
Few people had seen Valdrova in this form.
Only Ruri and the dragons remembered her face.
Thus, there were few evaluations of her transformed shape.
Ruri said she was a balanced beauty that concealed outer strength with softness.
Another dragon simply said “softie.”
And the human Ferda…
— Huuut…
She doesn’t want to think about that.
Remembering that face from that moment makes her mind go blank.
She feels her body floating, as if a hundred hands were tickling her.
She couldn’t control the situation of ceasing to be herself.
— I want to hear it…
I want to hear “you are pretty.”
I want to hear “you are beautiful.”
She wanted to show her true self, not the armor, and hear those words.
That is why she wore a beautiful dress beneath the armor.
Does Ferda know?
That inside the armor he is looking at, there is a woman in a dress.
Yet she lacks the courage to show it, so she hides inside the armor every time.
— Even though I am like this…
A voice steeped in shame.
She recalled what Ruri said before the tea party.
— He held Olivia Arken’s hand and walked around the White House.
Valdrova understood it.
A man like Ferda could hold the hand of a beautiful woman, couldn’t he?
Correct.
That could happen.
— So that’s how it is…
She was jealous.
Naturally, she couldn’t help being jealous.
My fiancé holding another woman’s hand.
The person with whom I am supposed to spend a hundred years, holding another woman’s hand.
At the same time she felt jealous, Valdrova found her own state ridiculous.
— When I’m the one who ran away every time…
Ferda was always waiting.
The one who hid because she lacked the courage to show herself was Valdrova.
And even so, to get jealous like this.
— Foolishness.
A self-reproach.
— Silly, stupid.
However, what it ends with is a smile.
— Still… I did well in the end.
Who would have thought that the words “let’s hold hands” would come out of her own mouth.
It was impulsive, but without that impulse, she never would have dared to say it.
— …..
Valdrova stared intently at her right hand.
The hand Ferda held.
Ferda’s warmth still lingered on that hand.
— It was lukewarm…
Valdrova felt it clearly.
What a warm heart he has.
How much he can care for others.
“That is why this castle is becoming lively as well.”
1 year since he entered this castle.
The castle is becoming lively, and news about the development of the territory keeps arriving.
Things Valdrova didn’t do, and couldn’t do, he was doing.
What she felt before that sight was admiration.
“So I have to change as well.”
And stimulation.
Valdrova repeated in her head that she had to do it.
Because that would be the best reward she could give Ferda, who came as her fiancé.
— I’m sleepy…
Heavy eyelids, a languid body.
She, who could not close an eye on the days the blood rage roared, now feels she could sleep soundly if she closes her eyes.
She should turn back into her dragon form and sleep, but Valdrova didn’t want to dare.
She wants to treasure this warmth he left behind, this trace, just a little longer.
Valdrova lay down just like that.
Lying on her side, curling up like a spiral, tightly embracing the warmth of her right hand.
She thought about tomorrow.
Her tomorrows were always a continuation of pain.
She didn’t want to think about it, and when the thought came, she rushed to escape into sleep.
Yet today is different.
The tomorrow drawn in her head made her feel alive.
What should I do?,
how should I do it?,
so that Ferda-san likes it?
Drawing an endless line without conclusion, she fell asleep.

In the central region of the Serdes Continent, there stood a building piercing the sky.
It was the tallest building on the continent, a Magic Tower.
A Magic Tower built by the Blue Dragon, Iorga, where all the Blue Dragon Spawns live the entirety of their lives inside that tower.
The name of the building was Blue Eye.
Eyes exist to see.
Blue Eye, as its name suggests, was a surveillance network made to observe everything beneath the sky.
Ranks are divided according to position in the Magic Tower.
The top floor is the dwelling of the dragon Iorga.
Just below was the position of Erika Iorga, representative of the Dragon Spawns.
And she was…
— It seems the humans are starting to notice.
— Not openly, but the laxity of Blue Eye’s surveillance magic is being pointed out.
She felt herself aging more than ever.
She was resolving agendas and documents surrounded by elders.
— To what extent can the humans calculate and estimate?
— Since there were no precise data, they seem to estimate a 30% reduction from now on.
30%.
A figure absolutely not negligible.
— At this rate, they might notice Iorga-nim’s absence…
The Blue Dragon, Iorga.
Aspect of Magic, possessor of magical power rivaling an Absolute, actually representing half the magical power of the Magic Tower.
Yet Iorga was also being eroded by Godwin’s darkness.
The simple fact of living in seclusion without showing himself carried far too great a risk.
That is why Iorga made the arbitrary decision to crystallize his own body.
— What will you do?
The elder mages left the sentence hanging, awaiting Erika’s answer.
As the head of the Blue Dragon Spawns, she was calmer than anyone.
Erika, reviewing documents, looked to the last page and tossed them onto the desk.
— It is still within the normal range.
The elders were startled at those words.
— How can 30% be a normal range?
— The actual loss of magical power in our Magic Tower is 50%, half.
The magical power to feed the Blue Eye surveillance network is severely lacking.
If it extends as far as before, there is no depth; if it focuses on depth, the range narrows.
— Humans estimating 30% means the substitutes are showing 20% effectiveness.
That is why they were abandoning existing methods and seeking substitutes with flexibility.
Concentrating surveillance on frequent areas and replacing areas outside surveillance with manpower linked to the Adventurers Guild.
— We need to analyze more and find substitutes.
— We cannot use adventurers forever. If we do not cure the root, everything is useless.
— Isn’t that why we are going through all this trouble to cure the root?
Erika’s eyes flashed sternly toward that elder.
— If you can produce a countermeasure at this very moment, I will shut up. Try proposing one.
— That… is not possible.
The elder whimpered and bowed his head.
Erika sighed through her nose and appeased them gently.
— I know how anxious you all are. I am the same. Right now our Magic Tower, Blue Eye, faces an unprecedented crisis. To maintain the reputation of the Eye that watches over the continent, we would fall short even using all our magical power.
Yet we cannot do that.
— However, if we do that, achieving Iorga-nim’s cure becomes impossible. Given that he felt his condition worsening and entered hibernation, we have little time left.
In truth, they were in a situation where everything was scarce.
Mana, time, manpower.
— But we must appear to be handling it with that very composure. Without confidence, this tower built with so much effort will collapse in an instant.
Blue Eye dominates and watches with magic.
Because we must clearly show that they have a firm grip over magic.
— Understood.
— We have no choice but to trust the Leader.
The council of elders withdrew like that.
When the last one left and the door closed,
— Fuuuuuu!!
Erika, who wore the face of an iron leader, exhaled like a pressure cooker releasing steam.
— Shit…
What came out of her mouth was a curse.
They say the crown is heavy.
The crown Erika bears felt as if it would break her neck one day.
“I can’t annihilate them all either.”
Looking down on other races is inherent to the nature of Dragon Spawns.
Other Dragon Spawns would have threatened or used violence immediately, saying “how dare a human talk back,” but the descendants of Iorga could not dare do that.
Magic is a tool for rational beings.
Getting angry is irrational, a sign that magic is in danger.
Their greatest weapon is composure.
Showing that nothing is different from usual, that they are confident they will overcome whatever comes.
So Leader Erika only accumulated an indecipherable internal sickness.
— Huu…
Erika stood from her seat.
She felt she would explode if she stayed seated, so she tried to cool her head by looking out at the scenery.
The rich colors of early autumn speckled like dots.
A landscape changing year after year, yet her thoughts were always similar.
Great Northern Mountain.
“The place where blockheads with only ice cubes in their heads live.”
Western Plains.
“Territory of religious fanatics stuffed with pretense.”
Southern Desert.
“Playground of extremists indulging in self-destruction.”
Eastern Black Land.
“…Ferda Valdrova.”
No, a bit different from usual.
Originally she would have thought “the slowly rotting grave of the greedy.”
Yet since the Grand Council, it had been overwritten with the name of a human.
— What will you do in the end?
His words still echoed in her head.
The end of the secret created by Godwin.
— The end, huh…
She traced the end over and over again.
No answer came.
Neither an optimistic future nor a pessimistic future
could be accepted.
No one knows the future.
Prediction may be possible, but seeing completely through it is impossible.
— Shameless bastard…
The descendants of Iorga live the present to prepare for the future.
Erika Iorga was the same.
Neither pessimistic nor optimistic.
That is the rationality Iorga pursues.
Yet.
When thinking of Ferda, those words kept spinning in her ears.
Like a buzzing mosquito.
What will you do?
What about that?
What are you going to do?
What can you do?
— Huu…
Erika sensed she had reached her limit and raised a finger.
At that moment, a small droplet of water condensed on her finger.
That droplet spread out in the shape of a curtain, instantly covering her surroundings completely.
— Huu.
She took a deep breath.
And,
— And what?!
she screamed.
— What makes you so special?!
Stamping her feet on the floor, waving her hands wildly.
— I barely crushed that proposal and blocked those damn ice blockheads, and you act so haughtily?! What makes you so special?! A mere human! A mere human!! What makes you so special!!
If she cannot calm down, she vents.
— Ah, I don’t care! I quit! I won’t do it! Why do I have to do this?! What’s the point?! Everyone just nags me!! When they can’t even do it themselves!
She screamed for several minutes, releasing what she held inside.
Knock, knock—.
— Um, Erika-nim?
Her secretary came looking for her and opened the door.
Erika, who had been screaming as if having a fit, moved in a hurry.
She dispelled the water curtain and sat in her seat.
She returned to her usual appearance as Leader.
— What is it?
The secretary began to report, unable to imagine that this was the woman who had been kicking and rolling around.
— I came to report the research records on the Rosnova Family you mentioned. Do you have time?
The timing is artistic.
Erika felt unnecessarily guilty.
— Speak.
— First, the Rosnova Family itself had no major issues. It is one of the knight families of the Empire, achieved human-level feats, barely maintaining its lineage; a common family of that type.
— So you are saying there is no problem with Regent Ferda’s family?
— At least the Rosnova Family is clean.
She turned to the next page.
— The problem is the person who is Regent Ferda’s biological mother, Anna Rosnova.
— Why her?
— There is not a single piece of information about the biological mother.
— Not a single one? Do you mean she is an ordinary commoner or something like that?
— No. Not that category. I am not sure if we need to investigate deeper, but it is as if…
The woman hesitated briefly, wondering if she could say this.
— Does it feel like chasing a ghost that never existed in the first place?
— A ghost?
The most irresponsible words an investigator could say.
Yet Erika never overlooked those words.
These are the children of Iorga, and they know Erika well.
The fact that they brought this up meant they had dug very deep and still not a speck of dust had come out.
Erika muttered:
— The reason there is an egg is because there is a hen.
There is a cause because there is a result.
There is a mother because there is a son.
Even dragons, who are gods, have a creator.
Digging for information to learn even a little about Ferda, only to receive unknown questions in return.
“What kind of man is he, exactly?”
Just as she thought that,
Stomp, stomp, stomp— sounds were heard from the stairs.
Unbecoming of Iorga, who values rationality, a man pale with fright rushed up.
— B-Big problem!
— What is with all the fuss?
— T-That! T-This!
What he handed her was an image transmitted by magic.
A scene of several Dragon Spawns retrieving bodies in a snowfield.
— The Silver Dragon Spawns… died?
— Yes.
That alone was already a grave matter.
All Dragon Spawns remember the deaths of those with whom they share blood.
Silver Wind, famous for having the strongest bonds, would not leave their enemy in peace.
If it were only this, she would think “a wind of blood will blow somewhere.”
Yet that urgency told her it was not that simple.
— The next page has…!!
The Silver Wind group flying in the sky.
Among them, a Dragon Spawn with large wings was visible.
— The ice blockhead Captain himself…?
For Goz Silver Wind to move personally is no ordinary matter.
It is not merely the end of an individual, but the intent to destroy everything that person possesses.
Why?
Why is he moving personally?
Erika thought.
A figure immediately came to her mind.
“Don’t tell me…”
That cannot be.
That bastard isn’t that stupid.
Knowing full well what his relationship with Silver Wind is, he couldn’t do something so insane.
Yet she had to be sure, so she asked with difficulty:
— Who laid a hand on the descendant of Silver Wind?
He answered, and her worry turned into reality.
— Regent Ferda Valdrova!
The fuse was lit.