Chapter 177
The story continues off the page
The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
The Beginning-of-Spring Festival isn't called a zoo for nothing.
It is a place where, among a gathering of about five hundred people, more than a hundred affairs are discovered in the act.
By unspoken rule, everything that happened that day was to be buried and forgotten.
Because once people started bringing it up, things would become uncontrollably sordid and ugly.
For that reason, the fact that it had begun to be mentioned also meant the matter would continue in a sordid, ugly fashion.
Ferda read the letter that had arrived at Count Consilius's domain.
The wording was formal, but its contents could be summarized simply and brutally.
Arwen Wolfheart, a knight of Count Consilius, had raped Lyudmila Purity, the third daughter of House Purity.
It said they were now heading to Count Consilius's castle to verify the facts.
“Is this true?”
Ferda slowly shifted his eyes from the letter.
The man standing like a criminal answered with difficulty.
“……It isn't true.”
“You didn't sleep with her?”
“We did sleep together, but that too…… was by mutual consent.”
“Right. I didn't think so.”
He wasn't being sarcastic; he genuinely couldn't imagine Arwen having done it.
When he thought of Arwen and the woman named Lyudmila, neither gave the impression that one had forced the other.
The reason he was being so coercive was simple.
“It seems there is another purpose here. What do you think it is?”
“The dowry.”
It was customary for noble families to send a dowry when marrying off their daughters.
Since the head of the household assumed all responsibility after marriage, it was considered a matter of course among them.
But nothing in the world was fair, and the amount of the dowry varied according to rank and circumstances.
The lower the groom's family ranked than the bride-to-be's, and the more responsibility lay with him, the smaller the dowry.
Arwen was now just a minor frontier knight.
Add the allegation that he had raped a young lady, and the situation called for him to pay compensation rather than receive a dowry.
“……I'm sorry.”
“It would be fortunate if it ended with an apology.”
Consilius sighed heavily and covered his face.
He smacked his lips with a grave expression, then spoke again.
“Arwen.”
“Yes, Your Excellency……”
“Can you take responsibility for this woman named Lyudmila for the rest of your life?”
“……What? When you say take responsibility for life……”
“How else can one take responsibility for an innocent maiden?”
“O-of course, I should reap what I sow, but I don't think things will work out that well……”
“Why wouldn't they? All I need to do is adopt you as my son.”
“M-me?”
Arwen blinked.
Ferda saw Malcolm superimposed over Arwen's face.
Consilius said with a frown,
“Why are you pretending not to know? Everyone in the knights knows, at least secretly.”
“I truly didn't know.”
Arwen had often heard other knights tell him he would become the young master.
But Arwen naturally thought it was just a joke among the knights.
Consilius clicked his tongue and told Ferda,
“Judging from his sorry state, if I pass the succession on to this fellow, the Far East may suffer a great calamity. I'll just hand him over to House Purity.”
“I agree.”
“N-no! Please don't abandon me!”
Seeing him flounder over the mischievous joke, Consilius laughed as though incredulous.
Without wasting time, they immediately proceeded with the adoption ceremony.
“Arwen the Wolfheart. As of today, I grant you the right of succession to House Consilius as its adopted son, and Ferda Valdrova, Regent and representative of the Grand Duke, shall bear witness to this fact.”
Arwen drew his sword and laid it on the floor before replying.
“I, Knight Arwen, swear as a knight of the county to protect this domain and, accepting my adoptive father's will, to uphold and exalt the honor of this house.”
“Haven't you sullied the name already?”
Consilius replied mischievously, clicking his tongue.
“Under normal circumstances, we should have held a more splendid succession ceremony, but things turned out this way, so……”
“……I'm sorry.”
Thus, their master-and-servant relationship changed into one of father and son, but nothing else was different.
That was because they were already as close as father and son.
A short while later, they received word that a group was headed for Count Consilius's domain.
The crest of House Purity fluttered in the wind on the flag flying from their standard.
* * *
In the North, the concept of nobility differed from that of other countries.
It had been less than a hundred years since the Kingdom Alliance had been formed, and people had only begun adopting recognizable titles around then.
Thus, nobles' ‘roots’ were sometimes called into question.
House Purity was a family of warriors and one of the oldest houses in the Northern Kingdom Alliance.
The closer a place was to the Northern Wall, the closer it was to death, and warriors who stood close to death were considered honorable.
House Purity was among the North's most honorable noble families.
Those watching their procession from beyond the walls could tell.
Draped in death like cloaks, they seemed to turn even the warm spring sunlight into frost.
Among the black-haired men with fierce expressions, one man with graying hair and a beard stood out.
Valery Purity, head of House Purity.
A warrior recognizes a warrior, and a true warrior is recognized by all.
Though he was now an old man carrying a cane, everyone knew that he had once been a warrior who stood on the threshold of death.
The most out-of-place person among them was Lady Lyudmila Purity.
Amid the grim-faced men, she was waving brightly at Arwen.
Arwen felt conflicted as he watched her.
“I greet the head of House Purity of the Northern Kingdom Alliance, guardian of the Great Snow Mountain.”
Consilius offered a formal greeting.
The head of House Purity returned the greeting politely.
“I greet Count Consilius, protector of the Serdes Continent from the Demon Lands.”
He did not stop there and cast his gaze toward Ferda.
“And I see we have Regent Ferda Valdrova as well.”
“It is a pleasure to see you, my lord. This is our first meeting since the Grand Duke Council.”
“We didn't even exchange a greeting then. Can that be called a meeting?”
“The atmosphere was so murderous that I found myself watching my step.”
“You were watching your step……? How shameless of you, after making such a groundbreaking statement.”
Valery Purity chuckled.
“Let us get to the matter. Even if we are deciding whether someone lives or dies, shouldn't we settle it like nobles?”
“Indeed. This way……”
Count Consilius escorted him to his residence and welcomed his guest.
After exchanging trivial pleasantries, Consilius seized an opportunity, patted Arwen on the back, and broached the subject.
“This boy here is Arwen Wolfheart.”
“Hmm……”
A sharp gaze gleamed beneath eyes drooping with age.
Arwen felt a chill as though his entire body were being scanned.
“The Empire's men are so unimpressive that I thought this one was some dandy, but the Far East seems to be different?”
“We live in a place where one mistake turns it into a sea of blood. How could we be like the people in the central regions?”
“People from the central regions! I like that expression!”
Valery laughed heartily.
Consilius joined him with a hearty laugh, then spoke cautiously.
“Though he has lived alongside us in this harsh environment, Arwen is a young man who believes in chivalry. He holds to the conviction that the old, women, and children must be protected.”
By implication, he said Arwen was not the shameless criminal accused of rape.
Valery waved his hand.
“Don't worry. I know it isn't true. Nor is this some shameless attempt to reduce the dowry. Lyudmila also said that she loves him.”
“If so, then why did you bring it up……?”
“These days, my eldest son is handling my duties for health reasons. The man standing behind me on the right is my eldest son. The one on the left is my second son.”
The hulking warrior introduced to them offered a greeting.
His gaze toward Consilius was gruff, but held respect.
It was only his gaze toward Arwen that sent a chill down the spine.
How strange.
The two certainly looked like brothers, but once Lyudmila was included, one couldn't help wondering whether they really shared blood.
“It seems the two brothers treat their third sister like a precious jewel?”
“Please understand. My eldest and second daughters both took after me and were so aggressive that they often fought even with these brutes. But Lyudmila alone took perfectly after her late mother. She embroidered and mended my worn training clothes, and packed my lunches, so she was more a mother than her mother.”
“Please don't say things like that……”
Lyudmila hid her face as if embarrassed.
Consilius chuckled.
“A proper young lady, warm with family love. It would be wonderful if this led to marriage without any problems.”
“I agree.”
Unless the current head had any strong objection, it meant things would proceed smoothly.
“Which brings me to the matter……”
Valery Purity looked at Arwen and asked,
“Since we'll be family from now on, may I hear your resolve?”
“My resolve……?”
Arwen swallowed hard once before answering.
“I swear I will protect Lyudmila as my lifelong companion, without bringing disgrace upon the name of my adoptive father and House Consilius, or that of my future father-in-law and House Purity.”
“Good spirit.”
Valery nodded, seemingly satisfied.
“I am satisfied, but I can't speak for the man who will become the next head.”
Valery subtly turned his head back.
“You know I'm not very bright. If I don't get physical with someone, I understand absolutely nothing.”
Igor Purity, the heir apparent, grinned and flexed his fingers, loosening his joints.
Crack!
Crack!
“What about the second son? You do use your head a little, don't you?”
“Maybe it's because an arrow got stuck in my head last year? I don't understand very well when things are explained only with words, either.”
The Great Warrior, Sergei Purity, also loosened up.
Crack!
Crack!
“Oh? Then, well……”
Respecting their opinions, Valery said,
“How about the future heads of the family cultivate some fellowship?”
“I agree. That's what we should do, isn't it, future Count Consilius?”
Igor wore a face like an incarnation of vengeance risen from hell.
Even when Arwen tried to look detached, he had no way to overcome the terror approaching him.
“……I will go.”
“Ho ho, that's the spirit!”
“Your guts pass muster. This should be a fun ‘conversation.’”
Arwen rose from his seat.
Igor and Sergei placed their hands on Arwen's shoulders.
Hands as large as pot lids gripped him with enough force to crush both shoulders.
Arwen was escorted to the door half-restrained.
“Brothers.”
Lyudmila's voice came like rain in a drought.
Her gentleness seized control of the icy atmosphere.
“Is he the man who will be my husband now?”
“Don't worry. My small, adorable Lyudmila, would I make you a widow?”
“We'll only go easy on him. Just enough.”
The softness was like coaxing a daughter.
“You'll only spar with him, right?”
“Of course.”
“We'll do exactly that much. Promise~”
Lyudmila's face relaxed after extracting that promise from her brothers.
That heartwarming atmosphere lasted only a moment.
Their gazes at Arwen still held a deep murderous intent.
“Eastern country bumpkin.”
“……Yes.”
“Do you know what sparring in the North is like?”
“……What is it like?”
“A sparring session lasts five minutes. If one guy gets knocked unconscious within those five minutes, we start over from the beginning.”
“……”
“How many minutes can you last?”
Arwen squeezed his eyes shut.
He already felt as though he might faint.
* * *
Count Consilius and Duke Purity discussed the dowry and coordinated the date of the betrothal.
Since Ferda was not needed for anything beyond that, he went out to the garden, quietly basked in the spring sunshine, and caught his breath.
“Regent Ferda?”
A woman's melodious voice interrupted his rest.
She greeted him with a pure smile.
“Lyudmila Purity. I greet you, Regent Ferda.”
Lyudmila curtsied, lightly lifting her dress.
Unlike her two black-haired brothers, she had voluminous brown hair.
She had clearly put great effort into dressing herself up and giving off the impression of a strong-willed northern woman, but her overall awkwardness stood out more.
“We do not use the title Regent Valdrova, Lady Purity. Please call me Regent Ferda.”
“Ah! I was rude.”
Lyudmila's face flushed bright red as she apologized.
Her embarrassment lasted only a moment before she readily began talking to him again.
“I had such a wonderful time at the Beginning-of-Spring Festival. Thanks to you, I was able to talk a lot with Sir Arwen as well. Come to think of it, I should have greeted you, Regent, but……”
“It's all right. Having to return every greeting was exhausting, so by not doing so, you spared me the burden.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
The conversation came to an abrupt halt.
Just as he was about to enjoy the silence again,
“……And another thing!”
Lyudmila brought up a new topic.
She spoke so brightly that it hardly felt like he was talking to a superior.
“You looked incredibly cool dancing with His Highness the Grand Duke!!”
And it was a subject he hadn't wanted brought up, either.
“My dancing must have been a disaster that day……”
“No! When I saw how hard you tried to dance well, Regent, I nearly cried!”
She had nearly cried at that dreadful dance.
Was this woman teasing him?
That should have been what he thought, but Lyudmila really did have tears glistening in her eyes.
“The two of you love each other, and you both want to do your best for one another. It felt so painfully touching because that feeling didn't seem to get through to one another.”
“……Thank you.”
“Lady Valdrova didn't seem like such a frightening person.”
“Is that so?”
“Have you ever seen Lady Valdrova's face, Regent Ferda?”
“I've seen her twice.”
“What is she like? She must be very beautiful……”
“She is beautiful.”
“I'm curious……”
Lyudmila mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers.
“I'd like to talk with her sometime. I never had time to talk with other young ladies while I was in the North. It might even be nice to become friends with Her Highness the Grand Duke……”
Friends.
Ferda came sharply to his senses at that moment.
When Ferda whipped his head around, Lyudmila covered her mouth.
“Oh my, I was rude again. Someone as lowly as me could never presume to meet Her Highness Grand Duke Valdrova……”
“Lady Purity.”
Ferda, too, ended up doing something rude.
He narrowed the distance with the woman engaged to Arwen and clasped both her hands.
Ferda asked in a voice filled with profound longing,
“Would you like to meet Her Highness the Grand Duke?”
“Pardon?”
“It is possible even today.”
Ferda did not want to let this opportunity pass.