Chapter 135
The story continues off the page
The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
“Me?”
“Who else would you summon besides Lord Ferda? It’s not as though you know anyone else.”
Luri answered curtly.
It was a foolish enough question that her irritation was understandable.
“I see.”
Ferda changed clothes more quickly than usual and headed for the lair.
An iron door far too large for a human body.
It was his first visit to this place since the first time he had suffered from bloodlust.
Ferda carefully knocked on the iron door.
Someone opened it as though they had been waiting for him.
“Mr. Ferda.”
Waldrova, who had opened the door to greet him, was dressed in a gown rather than armor.
Ferda nearly lost his ability to speak, feeling as though his soul were slipping away, but he came to his senses and greeted her.
“It is an honor to see you, Your Highness. Thank you for inviting me to the Great Dragon’s Nest.”
“Not at all. I wanted Mr. Ferda to come here at least once….”
Shyness colored her delicate voice.
That soft voice resonated in Ferda’s heart.
Ferda looked away and surveyed the place.
This place was large, dark, and barren.
But it was Waldrova’s room.
His fiancée’s room.
In other words, a woman’s room.
Even though it was far from the room of an ordinary woman, he still felt nervous.
“M-May I ask why you summoned me?”
He had been so tense that he ended up stammering.
Waldrova answered without paying any attention to it.
“I heard you were setting out on campaign. That you were going to a place with enormous monsters….”
“That is correct.”
Ferda wondered if she was anxious, so he added,
“But you have nothing to worry about. Their numbers have fallen considerably, so humans can handle them.”
“Yes, I believe in you, Mr. Ferda. That’s why I called you.”
Waldrova fidgeted with her fingers.
“So I wanted to help you, Mr. Ferda… so I could be of some strength to you.”
Help? How?
When Ferda asked the question with his expression, Waldrova cleared her throat.
Then she extended both hands forward as though she were acting in a play.
“Ferda!”
she exclaimed.
“If you return safely after completing your conquest, I shall give you the treasure I cherish most from my hoard…!”
Ferda looked at her silently.
Waldrova faltered, then extended her hands again and said,
“N-No, be surprised….”
Realizing that she was expecting a reaction, Ferda lowered his head.
“I am deeply moved that you would reward me so generously in recognition of my service.”
Only then did the awkward atmosphere dissipate.
“However, there is no need to give me a treasure.”
“But the other dragons do this. They give good things to people who do their work for them….”
“That is how you treat other people, whereas I am your fiancé, am I not?”
She then made a gesture as though the world had collapsed.
Had he said something wrong?
“If you’re my fiancé, do you not need things like my treasure?”
“I meant that I would do it even if you didn’t give me anything.”
“Oh.”
Only then did Waldrova understand what he meant.
She covered her face with one hand.
The shame of having misunderstood him, mixed with embarrassment at his words about devotion, made her face burn.
“I still want to give you something. You worked so hard even while I was away, Mr. Ferda… Is that all right?”
“Yes. Refusing any further would hardly be the proper way to treat my fiancée.”
“Y-Yes….”
The conversation broke off.
Both of them were at a loss for what to say.
“Master.”
Luri cut in.
“Why don’t you decide what gift to give Lord Ferda?”
“Huh? Oh, yes! Right!”
She nodded rapidly and cleared her throat.
“W-Would you like to see my storeroom?”
Had some lecherous demon possessed him?
The words threatened to take on a completely different meaning.
“If you permit me, I would be delighted to accompany you.”
“Yes, then come with me.”
Waldrova led the way to the treasure vault.
When they reached the entrance, Luri stopped following and bowed.
“The two of you take your time and enjoy yourselves.”
The two of them entered the vault.
Unlike the cave-like lair, the treasure vault connected to it was properly decorated.
“Wow….”
Waldrova was more excited than Ferda, who was visiting for the first time.
“There’s really a lot when I look at it in human form. I always thought there wasn’t much because I only saw it as a dragon….”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, there’s a huge amount, right?”
“Yes.”
Honestly, Ferda wondered if it was really that much.
It would be a lot for a human, but it was very little for a dragon.
The hoards possessed by ordinary dragons were dozens of times larger than the treasure piled up here.
Evil dragons openly robbed others as part of their daily lives.
Even so-called guardian dragons took tremendous amounts of gold and artifacts as funds for protection and development.
But the infamous Waldrova had not engaged in such thuggish behavior and had only lived in seclusion, so there was no way her hoard could have grown.
Waldrova fiddled with a gold coin and said,
“I heard this money is being used to build your village, Mr. Ferda.”
“That is why I always feel bad about using Your Highness’s possessions.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I am using your possessions….”
“Why is that a problem? I’m happy you’re using them.”
Her aura was radiant like the morning sun.
It was clear that she was smiling with satisfaction.
This woman was simply happy that he was using her belongings.
Ferda liked that pure side of her.
“Please say things like that only to me.”
“Why?”
“If you said that to that little attendant, she would surely come running with a murderous glare.”
“Ah! I-I will!”
Waldrova nodded repeatedly, showing her fear.
Thus, they resumed their tour of the treasure vault.
Ferda followed behind Waldrova, looking around.
‘There isn’t a single thing useful here.’
Dragons had a collector’s instinct, and most of them collected things related to their attributes.
Iorga collected water-related objects and magic tools, while Silverwind collected wind-related objects and steel products.
If Waldrova followed the same pattern, she should naturally collect things related to fire or weapons.
Yet Ferda could not find a single item befitting the attribute of power in Waldrova’s collection.
He had thought there would be at least one lost or sealed magic sword.
As he looked around, wondering if there truly was nothing, he finally discovered a weapon.
“What is that….”
No, it was a weapon, but he wondered whether he should really call it one.
It was an ordinary, exceedingly old spear.
Its gray color contrasted with the room’s dazzling gold, and its material was unclear.
“Would you like it?”
Seeing him stare, Waldrova asked.
“May I ask what that is?”
“It’s something I used a very long time ago.”
“How long ago?”
“Hmm… well… around the beginning of time?”
It was an ancient relic measured in an entirely different unit of time.
“It was the weapon I used when I fought the chaos that covered the world. It’s something that has been with me my entire life.”
It had literally shared the history of her existence.
Since the conversation had turned toward weapons, Ferda followed the flow and asked her,
“Do you have any weapons besides that spear?”
“Probably not…? I haven’t used anything called a weapon since then… Even if I did use one, they all broke after a single swing, so I stopped touching them.”
“I see.”
It sounded less as though she thought weapons were useless and more as though she was afraid they would break.
“If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”
“No. It has been with you your whole life, so how could I accept it?”
It had a story behind it, so he could not ask for such a thing.
Above all, it was useless.
“Would you like to receive something like a weapon, Mr. Ferda?”
“I was hoping for one, a little.”
“I don’t think I have any weapons… Hmm, then shall I give you some material instead?”
“Material?”
“Then… shall I remove my reverse scale and give it to you?”
A dragon’s scales were, naturally, incredible materials.
They were difficult to work with, but a single one could be used to create a historical artifact.
Some dragon Spawns were bestowed scales and used them to make weapons or armor.
The power of a dragon’s scales was proportional to their size, and the largest one was the reverse scale.
The reverse scale that concealed the weak spot behind the ear was the largest.
To offer it meant that she trusted him enough to entrust him with her life.
“If you want it, Mr. Ferda, I can give it to you.”
“……I’ll accept the sentiment instead. Please take good care of yourself, Your Highness.”
Ferda naturally refused the offer.
The tour began again.
Waldrova only half-heartedly guided him; whenever she saw something that looked interesting, she immediately grew curious and scampered over to it.
Ferda passed by gold that was only nice to look at, trying to find a magic artifact.
“……Hm?”
In this room, he spotted an object with a shape as unfamiliar as the spear.
It was a large picture frame.
It was the size of a painting meant to be hung in the most conspicuous spot at the entrance to a castle.
‘She doesn’t seem like the type to collect art….’
Wondering what sort of painting it was, Ferda turned the frame around.
“Ah, that…!”
Waldrova belatedly tried to stop him, but Ferda had already turned the frame over.
“Oh.”
He understood why she had reacted so sensitively.
Because the painting in that frame was Waldrova herself.