Chapter 3
-There is nothing the Empire cannot conquer.
The central region, which could be called the heart of the Serdes Continent.
It was the slogan of the Arken Empire, which extended its influence outward from there.
It was excellent for enthralling the people within the Empire, but in the outlying regions, it was nothing short of absurd.
In fact, when Ferda was with the Rosnova family, he was taught first and foremost that it was pointless bullshit.
There were actually countless lands in Serdes that could not be conquered, and the East was one of the prime examples.
‘The Land of Demons.’
The East had once become a land swarming with demons after the Demon King appeared.
Though the threat was ultimately stopped, its aftermath caused plants to grow abnormally fast and animals to become several times more ferocious.
That was how the Land of Demons came to be.
Valdrowa was the king who reigned over the Land of Demons at the front line.
‘So that’s why she was also called the Demon Dragon?’
In any case, the image the public had of her was that of a savage dragon.
Rumors said she was growing stronger by absorbing the Demon King’s power, or secretly creating monster armies.
‘She has far more pointless notoriety than anything she’s actually done warrants.’
There were plenty of conspiracies painting her as someone who deserved to die, yet not a single person had ever reprimanded her or raised the matter in earnest.
Even a fool knew that touching a dragon’s whisker was suicide.
Rustle—.
As I walked along the path, the sound of something moving reached my ears.
When Ferda subtly directed his awareness toward it,
“There’s no need to worry.”
The maid walking ahead beat him to it.
“As long as I’m beside you, those things won’t dare attack recklessly.”
So it was a monster after all.
Come to think of it, did this woman have eyes in the back of her head?
‘Well, she serves that dragon, so she was bound to be on a different level.’
Ferda slowly observed her from behind.
Her features were doll-like.
Her form-fitting maid uniform revealed the contours of her body, which was unmistakably that of a girl in the midst of growing up.
Her hair was tied up in a side ponytail, and its softly rounded lines completed the image of a young lady.
If he had not met her in Valdrowa’s domain, he would have thought she was just one of the many pretty maids.
“What is your name?”
“Luri.”
She answered in a flat tone.
“Nice to meet you, Luri. How much longer will it take?”
“Two more hours.”
“That’s a long time. It didn’t seem to take you that long to get here.”
“Of course not. It would take me only ten seconds to come here alone.”
Two hours and ten seconds.
The difference in efficiency was stark.
“Then why don’t we use that method to go to the lair?”
“Wouldn’t I have to carry you, Lord Ferda?”
“You needn’t worry about me. I can endure something as simple as flying.”
“No. I simply don’t want to.”
“……”
What an unbearably insolent thing to say.
If an ordinary maid in a maid uniform had said something like that, wouldn’t he have slapped her across the face immediately?
“If you don’t want to, it can’t be helped.”
Yet Ferda did not.
More than one noble had come to a distant foreign land, let their pride get the better of them, and died, and the decisive factor was her identity.
‘A dragon spawn.’
Dragon spawns were created through the so-called ‘Ascension Ceremony,’ in which a dragon chose them and bestowed its blood upon them.
Simply accepting that blood awakened magic instinctively and granted them immense power.
Even with a body that small, she had enough strength to easily subdue a couple of knights.
‘And she can even conceal her tail and horns…….’
That meant she possessed a strength on an entirely different level from ordinary dragon spawns.
So Ferda silently followed behind her.
Even that was not easy for Ferda, whose stamina was abysmal.
His pace gradually slowed, and the distance between him and Luri steadily widened.
When they had fallen a certain distance behind, Luri turned her head.
“Are you tired?”
Ferda nodded.
“Yes, I am. Could we rest for a moment?”
“There’s no time to rest. Let’s move quickly. My mistress is waiting.”
Silver hair and silver eyes.
Unlike her youthful face, the sinister gleam in her slit-pupiled eyes urged Ferda onward.
“Whew, fine.”
Ferda caught his breath as best he could.
Even getting married was no easy task.
* * *
The red dragon’s lair, or ‘lair,’ lay somewhat farther away from what was known as the Empire’s front line.
After passing through a dense forest that had never been properly developed, they came upon a solitary mountain, with a castle built halfway up its slope.
It was a massive castle, large enough to be visible from afar on a clear day.
‘There were even people who mistook that for Valdrowa’s lair.’
But Valdrowa did not live in the castle.
The entire mountain was her lair.
When they reached the entrance, Luri turned and roughly recited a few warnings.
“It’s a little dark, but there’s nothing underfoot, so please don’t make a needless fuss.”
“Understood.”
“Well, stalactites do occasionally fall…… Just dodge them yourself. If you can, that is.”
Luri explained carelessly.
Instead of reacting to the provocation, Ferda nodded.
“Understood.”
“Then.”
Luri once again went ahead and entered.
Soon, a huge iron door blocked their path.
It was merely a thick iron door, with no ornate carvings or anything of the sort.
It felt like a sealed door built with every ounce of effort to keep whatever lay beyond it from getting out.
Luri gave it a light knock.
“Mistress. Your fiancé has arrived.”
No answer came.
Instead, a massive writhing movement beyond the door made the ground tremble.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
Even with the heavy iron door between them, he could clearly feel it.
The fact that a truly terrifying dragon lived beyond it.
Thunk—.
The sound of something hard tapping against the iron door.
Luri turned her head toward Ferda.
“I’ll receive the message.”
With that, Luri opened a small iron door set beside the large one and went inside.
Beyond the door, it was quiet as the grave, and Ferda waited patiently.
Three minutes later, Luri came out and said,
“There will be a message from Grand Duke Valdrowa.”
Luri cleared her throat and began to speak.
“I know that you came here to become engaged to me by order of the Arken Empire. I commend you for setting foot here despite being fully aware of the atrocities I have committed.”
Ferda did not like that.
Judging by the context, something negative was certain to come next.
And Ferda’s prediction proved correct.
“However, I have no intention of forcing you into an engagement. Therefore, return to wherever you came from.”
For those who had expected him to die, this was the best possible outcome.
He was free.
If he had been the Ferda of his childhood, he would undoubtedly have cheered, bowed, and withdrawn.
But the Ferda of now was different.
“Is that so? Go and deliver this message.”
Luri’s brow twitched.
“It is true that the ruler of the nation appointed me, but I set foot here solely of my own will as Ferda Rosnova. Therefore, I will not return. We shall proceed with the engagement.”
“……”
Luri stared fixedly at Ferda upon hearing that.
Her expressionless face was cold and bewildered, but Ferda was neither.
“Are you not going to deliver the message?”
“……Understood.”
Luri opened the iron door again and went inside.
Ten minutes later, when Luri came out again, she was carrying a large bundle of something.
“I shall deliver her message. She holds you in high regard for coming here of your own accord. In recognition of your courage, she will give you treasure from her hoard and funds with which to establish yourself. Take the money and build a new foundation in a new home.”
Clink—.
Inside the pouch was gold and silver treasure.
She also tossed over a sheet of paper, which was undoubtedly some sort of certificate from the Grand Duke.
Ferda looked down at it.
But his eyes regarded the gold as though it were a lump of stone.
“Go and tell her this. I have no interest in power. I came here solely because I am interested in becoming Grand Duke Valdrowa’s fiancé.”
“……”
“You keep freezing up. It wouldn’t do for the Grand Duke’s attendant to be so slow, would it?”
Without answering, Luri stepped through the iron door.
“……Sigh.”
No, she seemed about to put one foot inside, but then sighed and slammed the door shut with a bang!
Luri’s usually businesslike face remained expressionless.
But Ferda, who had harbored hatred and a thirst for revenge for so long, knew.
He could read the emotion in her eyes well enough.
Disgust.
“I won’t waste words. Turn around and leave.”
An order steeped in emotion.
But Ferda did not panic.
“That is a rather short message from Grand Duke Valdrowa.”
“No. I’m saying this of my own will, as my mistress’s attendant.”
She slowly walked toward Ferda.
Each time she set down a foot, her appearance changed.
A pair of horns that pierced the sky sprouted from her head, and the skirt falling to her ankles billowed wide.
She revealed the form of the dragon spawn she had concealed and threatened Ferda.
‘Dragon Fear?’
He had expected it to be extraordinary, but it exceeded his expectations.
A dragon spawn working as an attendant could use Dragon Fear?
Ferda felt his throat tighten and cold sweat pour down his body.
Despite that, his mind remained calm.
To someone who had seen far greater things, this was merely a little performance.
“I know your kind well.”
“What kind of human am I?”
“The kind who, despite being a lowly mortal, cannot control his greed and believes he can manipulate the heavens with his own hands.”
He could feel the hatred in her words, grounded in experience.
“Trash filled with ambitions and power to seize, with no thought for my mistress.”
Ferda felt a sense of déjà vu at those words.
He wondered where he had heard that before, but the answer lay in something Huren had brought up just a few hours earlier.
“Is that why the Third Prince died?”
Luri nodded.
“Yes. He was full of thoughts of marrying my mistress and making her serve him like an attendant. It was laughable. I don’t know how he thought he could keep her from noticing.”
Ferda muttered under his breath.
‘So that was why?’
Ferda had understood Valdrowa’s emotions after consuming her heart.
So he knew that, at the very least, she was not a tyrant who killed the Third Prince merely because he was beneath her station.
The Third Prince had been plotting on far too grand a scale.
He had withdrawn from the imperial succession only to seize even greater power and usurp the throne.
‘Above all, he was far too arrogant.’
“So when my mistress is giving you this money, leave this place at once. If you wish, I’ll grab you by the scruff and escort you all the way back to the Empire.”
Hatred with reason behind it.
At the same time, it was hatred Ferda had no reason to receive.
Yet Ferda did not get angry.
He had realized too much to be shaken by such laughable disgust.
“I, Ferda Rosnova, will speak here with complete sincerity and not a trace of falsehood.”
Ferda looked down at her with solemn eyes and spoke.
“I, Ferda Rosnova, did not come here because of anyone’s pressure.”
He recalled the emotions he had learned through Valdrowa’s heart.
She had dreamed countless dreams, yet every one of them had been frustrated.
She had endured slander and hostile stares directed at her, while fighting the murderous impulses within herself.
Even she herself had not been on her own side.
And still, she had fought without end.
It was something even Ferda could not do.
“I, Ferda Rosnova, desire neither power nor treasure.”
Valdrowa might not remember, but Ferda did.
He remembered how Valdrowa had offered up her own life and wished for someone to be happy.
He remembered how she had given even selfish Ferda her heart.
So, even if you do not know me now—
“I, Ferda Rosnova, came here purely as the man destined to become Valdrowa’s fiancé.”
As long as I remember,
I will stand on your side.
“Since we are to become husband and wife, tell her that I wish to clear up our misunderstandings by speaking with each other directly, through our own mouths and ears, not through an attendant.”
Luri’s patience finally reached its limit.
“You insolent bastard! Do you even know who my mistress is, to dare spout such nonsense—!”
A small, dainty hand shot toward Ferda’s throat.
The moment it seized him, Ferda’s neck would snap cleanly, like a reed in autumn.
Thunk—.
The sound of someone knocking on the iron door.
Luri immediately regained her composure.
At the same time, the Dragon Fear that had been vibrating disappeared.
The girl who had revealed killing intent toward Ferda bowed to him.
“Excuse me.”
“Go ahead.”
Ferda remained calm to the very end.
Luri returned after hearing Valdrowa’s will.
Her doll-like face looked strangely dissatisfied.
Ferda instinctively knew it was good news.
“She understood your intentions and says that she will proceed with the engagement.”
Just as expected.
No matter how insolent an attendant was, she could not defy her mistress’s wishes.
“I see. Understood.”
“Then, this way…….”
The deadly conversation they had just shared was nowhere to be seen; she returned to her businesslike manner.
Ferda followed behind her again.
* * *
Late at night, beneath Valdrowa’s castle.
Valdrowa’s attendant, Luri, returned to the dragon’s lair.
She entered past the firmly shut iron door.
Inside, a huge red-scaled dragon lay curled up in elegant repose.
-You have returned?
Her golden, slit-pupiled eyes shone through the darkness.
Luri bowed in an elegant, disciplined posture.
“I stand before the Great Twelve Rulers, before the embodiment of absolute power among them. Truly, you lie in a manner befitting the embodiment of the power that rules the world.”
-Do I? I am merely lying down.
“True elegance looks ugly when imitated. What has become so ingrained in the body that one is unaware of it is true elegance.”
-Is that so……?
Luri’s eyes sparkled as though she sincerely meant it.
Valdrowa reacted as if she could not understand.
“Do you truly intend to become engaged to a mortal?”
-Is that not what I wished for? You respected my wishes as well.
“At the time, I said it only because I had no choice. You may still change your mind. Having the courage to reverse one’s decision is also a virtue of a sovereign.”
Despite persistently urging her to reconsider, Valdrowa shook her head.
-I have no intention of reversing my decision. That remains my sole thought even now.
“Tsk…….”
Luri clicked her tongue, her face full of dissatisfaction.
Valdrowa ignored the disrespectful behavior and asked,
-Tell me. What sort of man is he…… the man who will become my consort?
Luri shook her head vehemently.
“Don’t ask. He’s a pathetically weak human.”
-How weak?
“I assumed his body would be sturdy because he came from a knightly family, but he was so frail that he looked ready to die from the journey here.”
-And?
“He’s extraordinarily ugly. I believed him when he said he was eighteen, but his face looked like an old man’s, as though he never took care of it.”
-Luri.
“I’m sorry. He is rather handsome. Like a man who has made quite a few women cry.”
-No, that is not what I was asking, was it?
Luri knew what answer Valdrowa wanted.
She did not want to bring it up, but she had no choice.
“He is not ordinary.”
-Not ordinary?
“I am a dragon spawn, one who inherited the blood of a dragon. So it is easy for me to touch upon a mortal’s fear. However…….”
Luri recalled Ferda from her memories.
“He was never afraid of me, not even once. Therefore…… he should be able to look my mistress straight in the eye.”
-Is that so?
Luri furrowed her brow.
A human being able to look a dragon straight in the eye was something that should never happen.
-That is wonderful.
A smile, by contrast, appeared on Valdrowa’s face.
-Someone who can face me normally, you mean.
“Norm……ally?”
It was far removed from the normal Luri knew.
It was normal for humans to face one another.
But for a human to face a dragon was impossible.
A normal relationship was one in which the dragon ruled and the human obeyed.
Luri had many things she wanted to say, but she could not bring herself to open her mouth.
In any case, if her mistress was satisfied, that was all that mattered.
-