Chapter 71

I Married the Dragon I Killed

Chapter 71: Change Boldly

Change Boldly
Chapter 71. Change Must Be Bold

Ferda was slightly stunned upon hearing those words.
She had laid out her reasoning wonderfully, only for the conclusion to go completely off on a tangent.
A demon’s child?
Is this woman trying to joke after saying all that?
That was how it seemed, but Erdes’s expression was serious.
No, she wore a smile tinged with mischief, yet it was the face of someone utterly convinced those words were not a joke at all.
Ferda thought.
How should he react?
Should he jump with rage or maintain that expression of sheer exasperation?
It was Erdes who spoke in the middle of that awkward situation.
— I went to see Erembalt Rosnova.
It did not seem like a simple visit.
She must have definitively turned the place upside down.
The Rosnova family.
Given that she was involved, he had assumed a background check was a certainty.
Erdes blinked at Ferda’s reaction.
— Well, well. Your reaction is a bit unexpected. Still, many people lose their minds when you mess with their family.
— That man is someone who wanted to deny my very existence.
After his mother died, Erembalt Rosnova never treated Ferda like a son.
He condoned the bullying from his siblings and servants, and even fostered an environment that encouraged it.
The father was at the very center of that harassment.
— What a lovely father-and-son relationship~. Although he didn’t deny your existence. Maybe it’s because you are living well under Valdrova’s command.
Erdes continued as if playing her next card.
— But your mother wasn’t like that.
Mother.
— Well, well. Looks like you loved mommy terribly? Did your expression change?
Erdes found a weakness and smiled mockingly.
— Were you bewitched by that bitch, spent dreamlike years, and only came to your senses after she died? Is that it?
Her childish and immature gestures began to grate on his nerves.
— It was truly incredible. Do you know what he said? He believed he had loved a woman he never loved, and lived like that for ten whole years. Did he hypnotize himself for ten entire years? Mage blood doesn’t lie. Or is it demon blood?
The intention was clear without needing much thought.
That damn bitch was insulting his mother.
— Anna Rosnova was a wonderful mother.
— Even a hedgehog thinks its own offspring is cute. Even more so if it’s the child who severed the demon blood she loved so much.
— Hedgehog or goblin, I don’t care. If you keep flapping that mouth, I won’t stay still either.
— And if you don’t stay still? What will happen?
Light flashed in Erdes’s eyes.
— Do you think your petty maternal love will change my speculation?
Erdes was shaking Ferda’s emotions.
She hates black magic.
She hates demons.
She hates Red Circle wielders.
Ferda read that intention.
She is trying to provoke a frenzy by shaking his emotions.
Look, this is the true face of those who follow black magic.
Yes, an obvious intention.
Even so, he couldn’t stop himself.
Those who stepped into Alte’s Sacred Ground, the doctrine of granting mercy—he had killed them without pity.
Mother is a sacred domain.
He had killed every last person who touched her.
“Erdes Roton.”
It seems even this life is destined to end by my hands.
— Don’t you think you have strayed too far from the topic, Erdes Roton?
A tone like that of a young noble lady.
Ferda remembered this voice.
For Ferda, who remembers the people he hates better than the ones he likes, she was an unforgettable presence.
He turned his head. There she was.
A woman with blue hair and a uniform.
Erica Iorga.
The leader of the Blue Dragon Spawn.
Why is she here?
Ferda glanced sideways at Ruri.
Ruri gave a slight thumbs-up, as if to respond.
It seems she is an ally for now.
— Straying from the topic? What do you mean?
— The topic right now is undoubtedly about the death of Abel Silverwind, isn’t it? The intention to shake his emotions by casually calling his mother a demon is more than clear.
— A demon’s child, so naturally he received benefits from Sitri?
— Demons do not help other demons. And it is absurd that Archdemon Sitri would help him just because they are of the same race.
She defended Ferda using the characteristics of demons.
Erdes smiled, twirling a strand of hair resembling golden thread around her index finger.
Which meant she was annoyed.
— Long time no see, Erica-chan. Have you been well?
— Yes, long time no see, Erdes Roton.
Erdes addressing her casually, Erica laughing with formality.
Yet between them unfolded a war of nerves no less intense than the one between Goz and Ferda.
— Lord Iorga is doing well, right? Hmm? I heard there has been a lot of gossip at the Magic Tower lately?
— Nothing to worry about. Compared to the criticism you received, it is a drop in the ocean, dust on a fly’s front leg. A manageable level.
— Ah, really? Even so, a gem that ought to shine splendidly cannot have flaws. At least the leader shouldn’t tolerate that, right?
— It is fine. It belongs to a different class than those who claim to be gems while not even knowing they are cracked glass.
Two people keeping a smile in a situation where a single brush would be a fatal blow.
Unlike with Ferda, a deep chasm could be felt between them.
Contemplating that dialogue, he felt his anger over the insult slowly dissipate.
— To continue with the defense: what Ferda-nim uses are Shadow Arts. It does not align with Sitri, who governs illusion and lust, so saying he made a contract with a demon does not fit.
— Amon could have given him Marbas’s grimoire. That is not impossible.
Amon is a demon of fire, Marbas a demon of ice: mortal enemies.
— If it benefited him, sure. But that makes no sense, and demons wouldn’t do something so meaningless. How can the authority on black magic not know that?
Just as Erica said.
I would be doing the work while someone else took the credit.
Demons would never tolerate that.
And Erdes knew it too.
That she was throwing a tantrum.
She was merely being stubborn, trying to shake him by force.
Erica suddenly appearing to interfere was incredibly annoying.
— So it’s fine for the dragon’s future consort to use black magic? Or is it a cheap trick to drive Valdrova to suicide by framing her as a wicked, evil dragon? Erica-chan, are your insides pitch-black, unlike those pure white clothes?
— Just because the Regent of Valdrova uses black magic does not mean his nature is evil.
She asserted firmly, and Erdes let out a hollow laugh as if stunned.
— Erica-chan. I have said it repeatedly. That damn black magic is the filth contaminating Serdes. I want to exterminate them all.
That was Erica’s mysophobia.
— Human Red Circles originate from emotions. The easiest are negative emotions. Those negative emotions draw out darkness. Those who use black magic are threats.
— Among a knight’s virtues is the use of anger. If you know how to manage negative emotions, it is never a bad thing.
— It is the magic of those demon bastards trying to swallow the continent.
— Even if a demon’s intention is impure, you cannot claim something is unconditionally evil just because it derived from a demon.
— Ha, still stuck in that Dragon-Demon War. And so? You participated too, used black magic to turn the tide, so you have a say?
This was another surprising fact.
Erica Iorga.
Unlike other spawn, an Elemental Master who commands all elements, and a Meister.
Today was the first time he learned that she used black magic.
— Erica-chan, that isn’t magic. It is a tool that grants omnipotence to humans, brings out their inner evil nature, and makes not only them unhappy, but others as well?
— No, you are mistaken.
Erica also asserted firmly.
— Magic is a tool; the one who wields it decides. Even if it is magic from Hell, if it is worth researching and developing, it must be used.
— So you think this brat will use it well?
Erdes pointed at Ferda with her chin.
Erica also directed her eyes toward Ferda.
She held a look of determination.
— When it is time to change, you must do so boldly.
Erica articulated each syllable clearly.
— Erica Iorga, as the representative of all the Blue Dragon Spawn, proposes an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Valdrova right here and now.
She pressed the other side using the impact of the sudden declaration of alliance.
— If the Silverwind faction declares all-out war, the Iorga faction will fight to protect the Grand Duchy of Valdrova.
Her persuasive voice countered her opponent’s momentum.
Erdes, who had been twirling her hair, put on an exasperated face.
— You are making a huge mistake, Erica-chan. Jumping into a pit of fire?
— As always, you are far too extreme. If we leave Regent Ferda like this, I know exactly how you will harass him. How could I just stand by with folded arms?
— Why don’t you just stand by with folded arms? Who asked you to butt in? What does that have to do with Erica-chan?
— He is the man who declared the reconquest of the Far East for the first time in a hundred years. As someone who protects the continent, if he made that declaration, I have no choice but to support him.
— Hmm. So you take the side of that little young thing?
Her eyes grew even more vicious.
It was clear her hands were itching to throw the conversation away and fight right now.
Goz, who had been observing in silence, opened his mouth.
— Erdes.
— Exactly, you say something too! There are two of them, two of us, so something might work!
— I am leaving.
— I’ll deal with that bitch, so what?
Erdes’s eyes widened as she glared at Goz.
— What nonsense are you talking? I’m not done speaking yet?!
— What I wanted was the whole story. I only needed to know what that earthworm Abel did.
— I already said it!! That is a trap Regent Ferda could have dug—
— He had already made a deal before dying, hadn’t he?
— Well, yes—!!
— Then it’s over. The earthworm made a deal, the Regent executed it. That does not change.
— Why did he execute it arbitrarily?! Those ice-headed bastards suddenly starting to think?!
— A guy who bargained with a demon but couldn’t defeat a single human: that fate comes cheap.
Goz stood up as if he had nothing left to say and walked toward the door.
— Then I take my leave.
His eyes swept briefly over Ruri one last time before exiting the hall.
Erdes, watching his retreating back with an expression of disgust, stared intently at Ferda.
— Looks like the story is over. Regent Ferda, shall we leave it here?
Eyebrows twitching three times per second.
It carried the question of whether he had nothing to explain, and the provocation to fight further.
Ferda, cool-headed, responded.
— I will see you out.
— No. Maybe it’s not necessary? Being near black mages makes me want to die. Or kill them? I’m not sure. Anyway, that’s how things are?
She revealed her disgust without hiding it any longer.
Then she turned around and ran down the corridor shouting.
— Ah, shit! Come with me! Seriously!! You can’t even escort a lady, just abandoning her… is that your racial trait?!
The death of Abel Silverwind.
Ferda’s deal with a demon.
Contrary to the thought that those two storms would sweep everything away, it had concluded safely for now.
He wanted to take a breath, but he couldn’t right at this moment.
Ferda turned his gaze forward.
The seats Goz and Erdes had occupied were now taken by Erica.
Ferda asked her.
— Why did you help me?
At that question, Erica raised an eyebrow.
A voice filled with the pride of a Dragon Spawn.
— Shouldn’t you be saying thank you here? I helped you.
— It was something I could have handled alone.
— You were being swept into Erdes’s pace as you said that. That woman’s needlework is incredible. I have fought with her so much that I can let it slide, but it isn’t easy for others.
True.
Ferda had gotten wrapped up in it without thinking as well.
— And you proposed an alliance arbitrarily.
— If you had complaints, why didn’t you pour cold water on it? Did you also provoke those ice-headed fools?
He had never wanted her help, but saying it wasn’t useful would be a lie sustained only by pride.
— Of course, I express my gratitude for smoothing things over.
— I gladly accept that gratitude.
— But the alliance is something to think about more deeply.
— It seems my sincerity in this defense did not reach you.
— I don’t believe in such things.
— Yes, I know. People like you need proof.
She snapped her fingers as if she had been waiting.
At that moment, a clipboard materialized in mid-air and settled before the refreshment table.
— What is this?
— Do you see the date here? One hundred and fifty years ago.
— Yes.
— The day the first Grand Council opened under Lord Blancaros after the first Dragon-Demon War. The day before that bastard was designated an evil dragon due to his wicked nature. This is what Lord Iorga proposed the following day.
The document’s header read:
— Project: Hestia
Hestia was the name from an obscure ancient myth, the woman who guards the fire.
Security level: highest. Execution priority: maximum. Noted additionally.
Ferda reviewed the contents.
The central point was that Iorga was researching how to eliminate Godwin’s madness embedded within Valdrova’s body, something still ongoing.
He skimmed through the dates on the rest and closed it.
— What are you trying to say?
— Simply that Lord Iorga’s will did not use Lord Valdrova as a shield.
— Why must we interpret it that way? If Lord Iorga felt threatened by Godwin back then and started it, that’s where it ends.
— I knew you would think that, so I brought something else.
She set the document aside and took out a heavy object.
A crystal ball.
— This contains the record of this proposal. It proves Lord Iorga intended to protect Lord Valdrova.
If it is a voice recording, that is different.
Above all, this was not made to be shown to outsiders, so their true intentions would be clearer.
Ferda nodded.
He infused mana into the crystal ball, and it replayed the situation from back then.
— Lord Iorga, is this proposal what I think it is?
Erica’s voice.
Someone answered that voice.
— Correct.
Very brief, but Ferda knew this was the voice of the Blue Dragon Iorga.
Only a recording, yet with a resonance that showed how deeply his mana flowed.
— I object.
The opposing voice was Erica’s again.
She objected with more ferocity than anyone audible.
— We don’t have a single reason to help that damn lizard!
— Ahem!
Erica cleared her throat and paused the playback momentarily.
She tried to explain calmly, but a flustered tone slipped out.
— At that time, many of our spawn had died, so we were distraught. Please keep that in mind.
— I will.
The content itself was unpleasant, but one thing was certain.
The contents of this crystal ball were raw, unedited.
— No. We must help. That child has no reason to be called an evil dragon. Her frenzy was due to Godwin’s influence.
— Then shouldn’t we kill her? If she is unstable, isn’t that what we must do?
— We cannot kill her. Godwin is already dead, Silverwind is dead too. No more sacrifices.
— I don’t understand, Lord Iorga. Don’t you hate Lord Valdrova more than anyone? Helping an enemy?
— I hate her. But only because she is stupid. Not because her nature is evil. We cannot kill her.
He felt it.
Iorga understands Valdrova.
And cared.
— What if a second Godwin is born? What if that is our future?
— It won’t happen. That child constantly endures and resists her unstable self.
Purely, this research was to help Valdrova.
— Because she is that stupid, she can do even all of that.
But then the trash talk began.
— She’s only good at fighting, clumsy, and not very smart, knows nothing, so her head is just a flower garden,
— Ahem!
— On top of that, shy, gets hurt easily, can’t even assert herself properly,
— Ahem-ahem-ahem!
— The Phase of Power can’t even command a single spawn, insisting on shouldering everything alone; she’s no different from a red lizard with wings flapping around without using her brain—.
— Cough! Cough-cough! Cough!
Erica coughed like someone choking, finally stopping the recording.
“…..”
Erica’s forehead was damp with cold sweat.
Erica could remember now.
What dialogue followed this.
That was why she asked Ferda politely.
— U-um… would ten more minutes be alright?