My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 107: Chapter 107

Chapter 107 - The Custody Dispute

"Excellent. You’ve done well."

The labor union formed by the village workers would, in the end, become nothing more than a puppet unable to escape Ferda’s influence.

That was exactly the outcome Ferda wanted.

"Thank you. Oh, and we’ve also completed the official name change of the Dandolo Trading Company with the Empire."

From this point onward, it would officially operate as the Hestia Trading Company instead of the Dandolo Trading Company.

The family crest emblazoned on the tents would likewise be replaced with the crest of House Valdrova.

"Good work. Keep it up."

"Leave it to me."

And with that, the meeting with the provisional labor union came to an end.

"Since everything has been resolved peacefully, I believe you can return to your other duties now."

Instead of standing up, Ferda shifted his gaze toward the stack of documents Isabella had prepared.

"I believe there are still several disputes left."

"That’s true, but they can all be settled by the administrators under my authority."

"No, since I’m already here, I may as well resolve them. It would be better to finish them quickly. And..."

"And?"

"Trying to solve things through conversation like this feels... surprisingly refreshing."

"...Very well."

Can this really be called a conversation?

Though she had her doubts, Isabella voiced no complaints.

She stepped outside, and a short while later, two men entered the room.

"These are the stonemasons I mentioned before—the ones requiring mediation."

Ferda gave them a brief glance.

A dark-skinned man and a relatively fair-skinned man sat side by side.

At a glance, it was obvious that one was from the Southern Region while the other came from the Central Region.

Ferda questioned the darker man first.

"You’re from Halim?"

"Yes. I’ve spent twenty years doing nothing but fortress wall construction in Halim—"

"And you’re from the Empire?"

"That’s correct."

"I’ve heard the general story. In short, your construction methods differ, and you’re trying to reconcile them?"

The fair-skinned stonemason answered.

"Yes. We’ve been discussing how to build the walls according to the terrain and local conditions, but this Southerner simply refuses to understand..."

The Imperial stonemason clicked his tongue.

The Halim stonemason immediately scoffed.

"If you have to adjust your walls according to terrain and conditions, doesn’t that simply mean your walls aren’t perfect? The walls we build in Halim won’t collapse under any circumstances."

"You must’ve come from such a hot place that the winter winds froze your brain. People who’ve never once faced an invasion build walls out of sand—how could they possibly have any real craftsmanship?"

"If stuffing rocks into empty holes counts as construction, then even my three-year-old son would qualify as a master craftsman."

"You little—!"

"Enough."

Ferda stopped them before the hammers meant for striking stone could be swung at each other’s heads.

He understood the situation perfectly.

It was nothing more than a clash of pride between two master craftsmen.

"I understand both of your positions. Which means I can give you a very clear answer."

"So you’ve decided which construction method should be used?"

"As if."

No matter how intelligent Ferda was, he couldn’t compare himself to men who had spent their entire lives building walls.

But this particular problem had an obvious solution.

Ferda raised a single finger.

"One month."

"...Pardon?"

"Within that time, each of you will build a wall four meters high."

The two men stared blankly at him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Are... are you saying we should decide for ourselves whose method to use?"

"Exactly. That’s your job."

To the two craftsmen who had come seeking arbitration, it sounded like an utterly absurd verdict.

But Ferda wasn’t finished.

"Within one month, you will build a wall capable of withstanding my siege magic."

"...What?"

The two craftsmen looked at him in bewilderment.

They wondered if this was some kind of joke.

But Ferda’s eyes were completely serious.

"You can explain construction techniques all you want, but I wouldn’t understand them. So I’ll settle the matter in my own way."

He pointed at them.

"You know how to build strong walls."

Then he pointed at himself.

"And I know how to destroy them."

Even the Empire’s mighty walls, famous for their strength, had crumbled beneath his hands.

"So build the strongest wall you possibly can within one month. Then I’ll strike the exact center of that wall with Magic Blast. Understood?"

"And if the wall collapses?"

"Simple."

He drew his thumb across his throat.

The faces of both craftsmen turned pale.

"Y-You’re going to execute us because a wall built in just one month collapsed?"

"You produced a defective wall. The charges will be fraud and impersonating professional craftsmen. It may even escalate into endangering national security."

"That’s far too much of a leap."

"Is it, Administrator?"

Isabella shook her head.

"Those who fail to secure the nation’s borders are fortunate if execution is the only sentence recommended."

"So it seems."

The craftsmen realized this was no longer the time to cling to their pride.

The man they had considered their rival until moments ago no longer seemed like an enemy.

A far more terrifying enemy had appeared—one threatening both of their lives.

As cold sweat streamed down their faces, Ferda asked,

"Are you thinking about running away?"

"Cough!"

"O-Of course not!"

Ferda had seen right through them.

"You may run if you wish. Try it if you can. But I’ll hunt you down and drag you back. And when that happens... whether the wall exists or not won’t matter anymore."

Ferda let out a quiet sigh before calmly asking,

"Have either of you ever suffered so much that you couldn’t decide whether to beg to live... or beg to die?"

"......"

"If you’re curious about the process, I’d be more than happy to explain it."

"N-No thank you!"

"W-We have no intention of running away, so there’s no need to know such things! Hahaha...!"

Both men instantly snapped to attention.

Ferda nodded.

"Then I’ll assume you’ve fully understood."

"O-Of course! How could we not understand?!"

"Good. Then off you go. You now have twenty-nine days, twenty-three hours, and fifty-five minutes remaining. The sooner you start building that wall, the better."

"Y-Yes, sir!!"

The moment Ferda dismissed them, the two men fled as though escaping for their lives.

As the tense atmosphere settled, Ferda muttered,

"Conversation is a more effective tool than I expected."

"If you can even call that a conversation."

Though she said that, Isabella looked quite satisfied.

"At least they won’t waste time arguing without accomplishing anything now."

"If they still manage to fight after this, then perhaps they deserve some recognition for it. What’s the next dispute?"

"The next case is..."

Ferda continued resolving one dispute after another.

Unlike the two stonemasons, none of the others possessed such overwhelming pride, so everything was settled without the need for threats.

"Looks like that’s all of them."

At some point, every document Isabella had prepared had disappeared from the desk.

Just as they were about to finish...

"There is still one case remaining."

"One?"

Isabella pulled a single document from her folder and handed it to him.

"After watching how you’ve handled today’s cases, I believe you’re the most suitable person to judge this matter. I personally wrote this complaint."

Ferda looked at the name of the accused.

The moment he saw it, his breath caught in his throat.

He could already picture exactly how this was going to unfold.

"...You want to file a complaint against this person?"

"That’s correct."

Her blue eyes were utterly serious.

She firmly declared,

"I accuse Chief Researcher Echidna Phyliaz of neglecting her duties."

"You fucking bitch."

The first words out of Echidna’s mouth the instant they met were a curse.

The moment she received the telegram, she had flown straight here, and that was the very first thing she said.

This is... new.

Ferda had only ever seen her wearing that gloomy, carefree smile.

This blazing fury was completely unfamiliar.

Only now did she truly seem like a witch.

Despite being greeted with a barrage of profanity, Isabella remained completely unmoved.

She adjusted the glasses slipping down her nose and replied calmly,

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chief Researcher. Whether human or beast, one normally greets others upon meeting them. It seems you belong to neither category."

Isabella was no less formidable.

Echidna looked ready for her eyes to pop out of their sockets.

"You’re the one who picked the fight first, you know? Have you gotten so old that you’re tired of living already??"

"And exactly how did I provoke you? I merely stated the facts."

"You said I wasn’t doing my job! What exactly do you know to make that kind of accusation?!"

The battle of wills between the two proud women resembled the clash of two dragons.

And as always, it was the innocent bystanders who suffered.

"Y-Your Excellency the Regent..."

Stephan, caught in the crossfire, spoke with a trembling voice.

"What is it?"

"Th-That witch... who exactly is she?"

"A witch employed by our castle."

"Why have you kept this a secret all this time? I never heard there was a witch living here..."

"There was never any need to hide it.

Nor any particular reason to mention it."

That was true enough.

Stephan steadied himself while carefully watching the two women, trying not to become collateral damage.

After clearing her throat, Isabella addressed Ferda in a clear voice.

"As I stated earlier, I am formally accusing Chief Researcher Echidna Phyliaz of neglecting her duties. Her research progress lags behind even Vernel Marquis, who joined later, and she has never once submitted a progress report. Keeping records of one’s work is a researcher’s duty. Abandoning that duty is no different from neglecting one’s responsibilities."

Isabella’s argument was perfectly logical.

Under normal circumstances, Echidna would probably have apologized and let the matter go.

But this time, there was one reason she absolutely could not accept the accusation.

"So what exactly are you requesting...?"

Ferda swallowed hard before reading further.

"...Custody of Mori."

Custody.

What a ridiculously trivial reason, he thought.

Yet that single word—custody—was precisely why things had escalated to this point.

It was the reason Isabella had filed the complaint.

And the reason Echidna looked ready to kill someone.

"Please be reasonable. Do you truly believe such a violent witch is capable of properly caring for such a delicate child?"

"Mori-chan has been growing up perfectly fine under my care since long before you arrived. Your Excellency the Regent... you’re not seriously going to take her away from me just because of that woman’s words... are you?"

Echidna glared fiercely.

"Just asking—but if I did, would you kill me?"

"...Huh? N-No! No matter what happens, how could I ever lay a hand on Your Excellency...?"

Realizing what she had almost implied, Echidna hurriedly relaxed her expression.

At least she hadn’t completely lost her senses.

The more emotional the two women became, the greater Ferda’s headache grew.

How am I supposed to resolve this...?

This wasn’t something he could settle easily.

Creating that golem in the first place had been incredibly difficult.

And now that he knew she was a Rune Maker, he fully appreciated just how valuable she was.

But Isabella also has a point.

There had been no visible progress whatsoever on the golem.

Meanwhile, Mori’s wardrobe kept becoming more colorful with each passing day.

Anyone looking at the situation could reasonably conclude that Echidna had been neglecting her work.

Besides, the golem’s value is something we’re all anticipating right now.

Since the campaign to conquer the Eastern Region had already been announced, the priority of completing the golem had naturally risen as well.

It was time to push her research forward.

And the best way to pressure her... is through custody.

It was a dangerously delicate issue.

But witches were owners of the Red Circle.

As members of the Phyliaz family, their obsessions were frightening.

They were beings whose minds were driven by emotion, so they had to be handled with great care.

After glaring at each other for quite some time, Echidna finally made a proposal.

"If you’re going to take away my custody rights, then we should hear Mori-chan’s opinion first!"

At those words, Ferda turned toward Isabella.

"Very well."

Isabella showed an astonishing amount of interest in that suggestion.

As though the accusation of neglecting her duties no longer mattered at all.

In any case, in order to settle the matter, Ferda summoned Mori.

The neatly dressed young lady entered the room.

"Ah... she’s so adorable..."

"Ghk..."

Echidna squealed in delight, while Isabella, upon seeing Mori’s face, unconsciously let out an emotional sound of her own.

"Are all witches and Dragon Spawn like this?"

"How should I know?"

He had no interest in finding out.

Regardless, Ferda focused on what he needed to do.

"I’ll ask the question. Mori, what do you think is the best way to resolve this matter?"

Mori looked back and forth between Echidna and Isabella before writing her answer as she always did.

In elegant handwriting, she wrote:

— I believe the clearest solution is to split my body in half.

"...?"

Ferda seriously contemplated those words.

He wondered if it was some kind of poetic metaphor.

"Do you mean I should determine which of the two cares for you more?"

— Eliminating the source of the conflict is also one possible solution.

She really was asking someone to kill her.

After reading that, Ferda looked at Mori once more.

Dark circles hung heavily beneath her eyes.

"...Very well. I shall give my ruling."

Ferda finally spoke.

"For the next week, Mori will remain under my supervision."

"Whaaat?!"

"What?!"

Both Isabella and Echidna cried out in shock.

As expected, they immediately objected.

"T-There’s no such law! Y-You entrusted her to me!"

"That was merely a temporary arrangement until a proper solution could be found. Mori is property of the Grand Duchess’s territory. Therefore, I have the authority to decide who manages her—including myself."

Unable to hide her bewilderment, Isabella unconsciously adjusted her glasses.

"More importantly, Miss Mori is a delicate young lady. I don’t believe it’s appropriate for such a young girl to be placed under a man’s care..."

Scratch, scratch, scratch!

"It appears the person in question disagrees."

Mori vigorously drew a large X across the paper with her pen.

Apparently, she considered his verdict to be the ideal solution.

"For the coming week, Luri and I will take care of Mori. Since she rarely speaks anyway, having her beside us while we work shouldn’t cause any inconvenience."

"And what do you intend to do after that week?"

"That will depend on the accused’s results."

Ferda’s blue eyes shifted toward Echidna.

"Echidna."

His lowered voice sent a shiver through her body.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"You came here to research your golem. Correct?"

"Y-Yes... that’s right..."

"Vernel has already produced results, but you’ve shown nothing so far. I know you enjoy playing dress-up with dolls, but you must at least do the work you were hired to do."

"Uuu..."

Unable to argue, Echidna lowered her head.

"So I’ll grant you a six-month grace period. Until then, custody will rotate every week."

"Are you saying that after I spend one week with her, I have to hand her over to this witch for the following week?"

"Exactly."

Neither of them found the arrangement satisfactory.

They wanted full custody, not a weekly rotation like taking turns on duty.

"And..."

Ferda wasn’t finished.

"Mori will report her productivity directly to me. If her efficiency noticeably declines under one caretaker, the remaining time will immediately be transferred to the other without warning. And if the replacement’s performance also declines, Mori will remain under my command for an entire month."

If people fought over a toy, then naturally, the toy would be taken away.

The instant that ruling was announced, life returned to Mori’s eyes.

She quickly wrote another message on her notepad.

— I believe this judgment is worthy of a truly wise ruler.

"Good. Then this matter is settled."

Echidna glared fiercely at Isabella.

Her eyes were filled with resentment, as if blaming her for everything.

Oddly enough, however, her emotional circuits did not activate.

That meant the emotions contributing to her circuits were far removed from simple anger or resentment.

Isabella met her gaze without backing down.

Having once served as the chief secretary of the Magic Association, she was hardly lacking in resolve herself.

The rift between the two women only seemed to deepen.

Meanwhile, completely separate from their hostility, Mori looked noticeably more at ease.