Chapter 64
The story continues off the page
The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
A blizzard raged so fiercely that it was impossible to see ahead.
Cold air drifted in from time to time.
Yet the atmosphere, colder still, seemed to pierce Ferda’s heart.
His eyes fixed clearly on the intruder.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Regent.”
He introduced himself with a brazen expression as he stepped through the snow.
“My name is Abel, one of Silverwind’s descendants. You may not remember me, but I was guarding the door when the Grand Council was held.”
“……”
“What are you doing in such a remote place? Did you come sightseeing to enjoy the northern snow?”
“……”
“Hmm, but for someone who came sightseeing, that was a rather foolish thing to do. Anyone of your standing, Regent, would know this is Silverwind territory—not some senile old man who came to gather herbs.”
“……”
Abel slowly approached Ferda, taunting him.
Ferda stepped backward, matching Abel’s advance.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you so frightened that you’ve lost your nerve?”
“I’m merely fascinated.”
“What? What’s so fascinating?”
“How could I not be fascinated when the beast before my eyes is speaking?”
There was no one before Ferda but Abel.
“Ha-ha, is that so?”
Abel smiled even more broadly.
The moment his prowling step struck the ground, his figure vanished.
Whoosh—!
He moved in front of Ferda, leaving only wind and sound behind.
He laughed loudly.
“What a wicked joke. Ha-ha!”
Abel tapped Ferda’s chest with his index finger as though flicking someone’s forehead.
Crack!
“Guhk!”
Bones broke with a vicious sound.
Ferda let out a cry of pain.
“Oh dear! Does it hurt? I only gave you a little tap.”
“Cough, cough!”
“No, but I really did only tap you. What are you going to do if your ribs break from that? Huh? How can someone who’s a regent have such a weak body? You won’t have much left of yourself after a night of consummating your marriage.”
Ferda spat out the blood pooled in his mouth.
His expression was unconcerned, as though he had merely spat.
“You sure do talk a fucking lot.”
“Wow, this is truly amazing. I heard you recklessly stood up to Lord Goz. So it isn’t simply because you have Lord Blancaros backing you.”
Abel grabbed Ferda by the collar and lifted him.
He raised a fingernail in warning.
“But it’s unwise to keep mouthing off to Silverwind’s descendants. We’re not exactly a merciful people, you know?”
Ferda calmly checked how much mana he had left.
He had enough mana to use fourth-tier magic several times.
‘Can I beat this Dragon spawn?’
Impossible.
This was on an entirely different level from fighting the dark elf.
Yet he did not show the slightest sign of being at a disadvantage.
Ferda scoffed in response.
“Were Silverwind’s descendants a people who encouraged making deals with demons?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb. I already know you’re the one who will clean up after Sitri. You were probably after the demon we were supposed to rescue.”
His grip around Ferda’s neck tightened for a moment.
It was just enough to cause slight discomfort.
That meant he had been shaken.
Ferda continued to provoke him.
“What were you planning to do after getting involved with that bitch? Had you grown tired of the rules you’d upheld for hundreds of years and decided to indulge in a promiscuous sex life?”
“Ha! Do you think we’re beasts like you, breeding and raising children? Fighting is better than such boring nonsense!”
His vertically slit pupils flashed sharply.
“Someone unfit for the throne is sitting on it right now. He calls himself Silverwind’s heir and carries his father’s soul within him.”
The blade of rebellion was aimed at Goz Silverwind.
“How strange. He doesn’t suit you, either.”
“Ah, I know. If I opposed Goz, I’d be beaten into a bloody pulp and dead within seconds. Captain Goz is that strong.”
He smiled coldly.
“But Luri Silverwind is different.”
A familiar name sprang from his lips.
“Do you know how remarkable that girl is?”
“I know she’s strong.”
“She isn’t merely strong. She was the only person who could challenge Captain Goz, commander of the Silverwing Mobile Brigade and the royal guard. When people discussed who would succeed Lord Silverwind, the two of them were the only names that came up.”
“Is that why Goz is trying to kill her?”
“No. Captain Goz wants to keep her by his side. That’s why the war hasn’t begun.”
So that was why the war had not begun?
“What does that mean?”
“Valdrova and Silverwind. If war broke out between them, whose side do you think Luri Silverwind would take? If she remained loyal to Valdrova, she would have to die. Captain Goz won’t allow that death.”
It was unexpected.
So the reason they had been unable to wage war until now was Luri’s presence there.
Ferda understood Abel’s intention in bringing up this subject.
“But you’re different from Goz.”
“Luri is a warrior who doesn’t use a sword. What else is there to do to such a warrior?”
“Take away her sword.”
“Exactly. Not using a famous sword despite holding it is a sin in itself. And all I intend to do is use the sword Luri Silverwind has left untouched.”
Ferda understood.
That was the condition of his deal with Sitri.
Luri possessed the power to oppose Goz.
In exchange for helping Abel make that power entirely his own, Sitri was backing him.
‘Even stagnant waters eventually rot.’
No matter how powerful a Dragon spawn was, time rendered them helpless.
His greed was trying to kill everything.
‘Luri….’
Ferda called her name inwardly.
A strange irritation rose from deep within his chest.
That irritation took root in the form of murderous intent.
The irritation slipped past his lips as a laugh.
“How astonishing.”
“Ha-ha, now that you’re about to die, have you finally found the energy to flatter me?”
“No. Compensating for one’s weaknesses is important. And if you lack something, knowing how to borrow it is fundamental.”
Ferda laughed along with him.
“What truly astonishes me is that a blockhead like you has the brains to think of something so fundamental.”
Crack!
Abel snapped Ferda’s index finger.
“Guhhh……”
“You really do say whatever you please. This won’t do. I’ll have to play with you a little longer.”
He released the broken index finger and grabbed Ferda’s middle finger instead.
“That’s how it should be. Then that bitch Luri will submit.”
“Luri won’t even blink.”
That girl hated humans.
And she hated Ferda.
Nothing he did was ever good enough for her, and she disliked everything he did.
So even threats would not change her.
And you’ll be dead before she gets here.
That was when it happened.
Another sound pierced through the blizzard.
A small figure appeared amid the snow-white flurries.
“What… are you doing?”
It was Luri.
Her expression was markedly different from the one Ferda had imagined.
She was shaken.
* * *
The story Luri heard from the spirit was simple.
Ferda had made a deal with a demon to infiltrate.
And he had fallen into a trap.
At least, that was how it appeared from what the spirit had seen.
Thus, Luri flew swiftly to Count Consilius’s domain and determined where Ferda had gone.
It took a total of five minutes.
She entered the cave with a plan to quickly take Ferda and escape.
But she was already too late.
A Silver Dragon spawn was there.
And Ferda was battered and bloodied.
“What… are you doing?”
Threatening killing intent radiated from Luri’s body.
Despite being a Dragon spawn, Luri’s killing intent was powerful enough to manifest a Dragon Fear.
Although that killing intent was aimed at Abel, he did not panic.
He smiled brightly at her arrival and spoke.
“Luri Silverwind. It’s been a while. Do you remember me?”
“You were with Percival.”
“Oh, you do remember me. Well, it hasn’t even been two weeks, so I suppose that’s only natural.”
Abel smiled faintly.
Luri found that smile unpleasant.
She wanted nothing more than to leave this place immediately.
The more that discomfort grew, the harsher Luri’s expression became.
“Release Lord Ferda.”
“I’d rather not.”
“If you refuse—.”
“What will you do? Start a war?”
Luri faltered at those words.
“You’ve entered Silverwind territory. The human here is in the same situation.”
“……”
“I have legitimate grounds. Luri Silverwind, if you truly are a Silverwind, you know what happens to those who trespass on our territory. They’re arrested, and if they resist too fiercely…?”
Biting her lower lip, she forced the words out.
“Summary execution…… ”
“You know the rules! Yes! Execution!”
Abel shouted excitedly.
There was no way she could accept that.
“If you kill my fiancé, Valdrova won’t stand by. Then all of Silverwind will have to stand against them.”
“Go ahead! If you can! Then war will break out!”
Abel cackled mockingly.
“What will you gain from that? Silverwind’s descendants will die one after another, and your liege will be burdened with another guilt.”
“Ugh……!”
“Do you want that? If you do, go ahead and shout it from the rooftops!”
Luri was deeply shaken.
Every time he spoke, he struck precisely at her weak points.
“Luri. This bastard is acting on a demon’s orders.”
“A demon’s…?”
Crack!
“Good grief, you keep saying pointless things. Don’t you know your life is in my hands? Why are you acting so cocky?”
Luri’s gaze held an even deeper hatred.
But to Abel, even that hatred was almost cute.
“Let’s say I did join hands with a demon. If you want to testify, go ahead and testify! Say that this man was bewitched by a demon, and that I’m holding two trespassers who were led here by it! But no one will listen.”
He acted as though he had nothing to hide.
No, on the surface, he had no choice but to act that way.
“There won’t be a trace on my body that I made a deal with a demon.”
That was probably true.
Ferda had made a deal with Sitri as well, but he had no seal proving that they had entered into a contract.
All he had was circumstantial evidence.
But no one would believe that evidence.
A traitor, Luri, and a royal guardsman, Abel.
The difference already lay in who was speaking.
“You may kill me here. But what do you think will happen to you?”
“I……”
“You betrayed your father, and now you’ll be unable to protect the very thing you wanted to protect. Aren’t you truly incompetent?”
Abel continued to provoke her.
No words came from Luri’s mouth.
“Incompetent Luri. There’s nothing you can do here.”
Luri thought about what the best choice would be.
If she left him alone, war would break out.
Even if she did not leave him alone, war would break out.
The castle she had protected would crumble.
A variable.
She could not control the variable.
She never had been able to.
“What should I……”
She asked carefully, her lips trembling.
This was the only way.
A small sacrifice that could protect everyone.
“What should I do?”
Luri knelt.
Even Abel, who had been laughing mockingly, looked startled.
“Ha-ha…… it’s true.”
Abel’s body trembled.
“Luri Silverwind really is kneeling.”
He had never imagined it.
The unyielding wall of the North.
The frost giants’ nightmare.
Luri Silverwind, the figure at the center of that reputation, had crumbled at the mere utterance of a few words.
A cold smile spread across Abel’s lips.
Luri Silverwind’s power now belonged to him.
That sense of accomplishment lasted only a moment.
“If that is what you want.”
Then Ferda’s voice rang out.
“I’ll do it.”
At the same time, Abel’s body jerked violently.
“Guhk!”
Abel vomited blood where he stood.
All the strength left his body, and he sank to his knees.
Ferda released the collar he had been gripping.
Abel felt it clearly.
Something was pressing down hard on his heart.
Was it Luri’s doing?
That was impossible.
Although she could use spirit arts and simple magic, affecting something inside him without external trauma was impossible.
There was only one variable left.
Abel raised his head, blood streaming from his mouth.
Ferda, whom he had been playing with, stood tall before him.
Blue light blazed from his eyes.
As expected, it was his doing.
But there was one thing Abel had not expected.
That was the darkness.
Only pitch-black darkness filled the space, darkness even a Dragon spawn’s eyes could not pierce.
Luri had come.
He could roughly guess how she had gotten there.
She must have left a wind spirit behind and received its report.
After hearing that he was in danger, she had certainly rushed after him.
It was an extremely swift response.
But it was the worst possible outcome.
She would have been the most reliable reinforcement of all, but at this moment, her arrival was a disastrous move.
Because Abel had been targeting Luri.
Abel began to speak.
Every time he said something, Ferda could feel his words burrowing into Luri’s heart.
Abel saw straight through Luri.
He was needlessly clever.
‘Was this the deal?’
Ferda instinctively knew it was the demon’s advice.
‘A story that would never have worked if a demon had told it.’
But if one of her own kind told it, she could not help but waver.
A dilemma.
He was forcing an impossible choice between Valdrova and Silverwind’s descendants.
‘Neither side can be abandoned.’
Ferda knew why.
And because of that—
“What should I do?”
He watched Luri kneel.
The best choice, one that could encompass both options.
And
‘the worst choice.’
Only now did he understand.
‘Is this how you ensnared Luri?’
The demon’s scheme and an ambition beyond one’s station.
All of it had extended its claws toward the girl who had tried to protect the peace.
‘Is that why you didn’t remain at Valdrova’s side?’
Because she loved peace,
because she loved Valdrova,
had she chosen the worst option of sacrificing herself?
That was when it happened.
The mana circuits within Ferda’s body began to turn.
It was an entirely different sensation from when he had thought of Valdrova and desperately searched for her.
Something buried deep in his chest began to stir.
It caressed Ferda’s heart and twirled the circle in his mana core with a finger.
Valdrova’s face overlapped with Luri’s helpless expression.
She was suffering.
That something whispered in a sweet voice.
Are you just going to watch?
No.
He could not simply watch.
He knew that was not Valdrova.
But if Luri disappeared, that would become Valdrova’s future.
‘That cannot happen.’
The chains of restraint shattered.
The mana created in the Red Circle spread stealthily in every direction.
It swallowed everything in the darkness.
Thus, everything was in Ferda’s grasp.
The cave.
Luri too.
Abel as well.
Even his internal organs.
“Cough, guhck!”
Abel collapsed, writhing in pain.
Blood poured from his mouth.
He could not breathe.
His lungs had been damaged.
“You bas—bastard—cough!”
He tried to move, perhaps intending to drag Ferda down with him, but he could not move at all.
The dense darkness and the Red Circle, moving as though gone berserk.
They were enough to subdue a Dragon spawn.
Abel, who had held the upper hand only moments ago, now found the situation completely reversed.
“If you kill me……”
Abel spoke while vomiting blood.
“Every Silverwind will remember your face and name.”
The price for killing a Dragon spawn was not insignificant.
A life spent being hunted, praying each night that one would wake the next morning.
A life in which living could hardly be called living.
“I don’t care.”
Ferda was already accustomed to such things.
“I’m sick to death of threats from your kind.”
Ferda raised his hand.
His blackened palm looked as if he were holding something in it.
As though he were gripping an object with a rounded bottom that filled his palm.
As if he were gripping a heart.
“If your kind truly wants war that badly, I won’t avoid it either.”
Ferda clenched his fist.