Chapter 117: Chapter 117
Chapter 117 - That Smell
After Ferda received the Witch’s invitation, everyone working within the castle returned to their respective duties.
With the exception of one person.
Luri Silverwind alone stood gazing at the place where Ferda had disappeared after accepting the invitation.
She should have been cleaning by now, but she could not bring herself to do anything.
A tangle of emotions kept circling through her mind, tormenting her.
’Why did he make that choice?’
Unable to understand Ferda’s intentions, her thoughts kept drifting toward the worst possibilities.
Even a saint would have been shaken by something like this.
Looking back on everything Ferda had done, it was only natural.
He had brought a Witch and a Demon into the castle, made a deal with a Great Demon, and now had accepted an invitation from the leader of the Witches.
He was a man who had done everything people said should never be done.
’If it had been an ordinary human, what would I have done?’
What else?
For even one of those offenses, she would have exiled them without hesitation.
Yet Ferda had not committed just one.
He had accumulated them by the handful.
That alone was enough to warrant a death sentence.
The reason she had not done the same to Ferda was simple.
’Because I can trust him.’
Ferda was someone who would do anything for Master.
In truth, even when major troubles arose, he handled them with flexibility, and until now he had never caused any real problems.
Even this invitation was something she had been willing to accept because she trusted him.
But things had changed.
Luri had seen Ferda’s weakness.
Now that she knew he too was an unbelievably fragile human, she could no longer see him as she once had.
He was just another weak human.
And if a human possessed even the potential to become a threat...
’He must be killed.’
Luri lowered her gaze to her own hand.
She remembered the promise she had made to Ferda.
"With these hands... I will kill you."
Luri thought,
’If he ever tried to harm Master... could I truly kill him?’
She was a Dragon Spawn.
Killing humans had never been something she hesitated to do.
She had been the one who killed the Third Prince’s followers who had tried to use Grand Duchess Valdrova as nothing more than a stepping stone to power.
She had also tried to kill Ferda when they first met.
But her heart was no longer the same as it had been back then.
If...
If Valdrova came to hate him so much that even their engagement was broken off, giving her every justification she needed...
Could she really kill Ferda?
Even she no longer knew.
’Even I...’
What those hands wished to grasp was not Ferda’s throat.
’I wish... I could simply rely on that man without worrying.’
Just as her mistress, Valdrova, did.
She wanted to simply watch whatever he chose to do without thinking about it.
She wanted to see humans gather in this once desolate land and bring it prosperity.
At first, there had been a reason she could not rely on him.
She had believed Ferda was no different from the Third Prince.
Her duty had been to find fault with everything he did and drive him away.
But now that all those misunderstandings had been cleared up...
Luri still could not do it.
’Lord Ferda is human.’
Humans were mortals.
They were destined to die someday.
And as that destined death drew nearer, they inevitably became unstable.
Even Ferda had not been able to escape that fate.
To Luri, the image of his frailty still lingered vividly before her eyes.
Someone had to keep a clear head.
That someone had to be Luri.
She had to stay vigilant and seize upon even the slightest hint of malice in his actions.
Not simply for Valdrova’s sake.
’I have to protect him.’
The man who wanted nothing more than to protect Master.
She had to protect him from the countless trials that would continue to test him.
She stood there, staring blankly at the empty spot.
Then—
She sensed a ripple of Mana from somewhere inside the castle.
Luri immediately knew where it had originated.
And because she knew the location...
She also knew who had returned.
’Lord Ferda.’
Living up to the Silverwind bloodline, Luri rushed toward the source with astonishing speed.
A place where only Mori was supposed to be...
Instead, Echidna was standing there.
She met Luri’s gaze with a completely bewildered expression.
"U-Um... quite a commotion happened... didn’t it...?"
She tried to smooth things over with an awkward smile and nervous gestures.
Luri, however, strode directly toward her.
The moment Echidna saw Luri’s expression, all color drained from her face.
"Chief Researcher."
"Y-Yes!?"
"Tell me the truth."
Overwhelmed by Luri’s Aura, Echidna instinctively shrank her shoulders.
"Where is Lord Ferda? Why did only you return?"
"W-Well... Big Sister wanted to meet the Regent—"
"What did you do to Lord Ferda?"
The instant the words Big Sister left her mouth, Luri’s Aura intensified even further.
Nearly in tears, Echidna hurriedly blurted out,
"H-He’ll be safe! The Regent told me not to worry and asked me to pass along that message...!"
Boom!
A tremendous force slammed into the wall right beside Echidna’s head.
Luri’s kick struck the bookshelf with overwhelming power.
The impact sent books tumbling out one after another.
"Can you guarantee those words?"
"...Pardon?"
"Can you guarantee that because you returned safely, Lord Ferda is also safe?"
"Th-That..."
Safe.
He’ll come back safely.
Had she been able to say those words confidently, everything might have calmed down.
"B-But... I can’t really..."
Echidna couldn’t.
As a Witch of House Phyliaz, she understood the nature of Witches better than anyone.
The one thing she could never understand...was the true intentions of Big Sister Lucy Phyliaz.
It was far too dangerous a place to confidently say everything would be fine.
And she could not read Lucy’s motives at all.
Hearing that answer, Luri’s expression stiffened.
She looked furious.
In truth, she simply felt helpless.
She had not expected empty reassurance...
Yet hearing that even Echidna did not know only made her anxiety grow.
’I can’t leave him there alone.’
She remembered what had happened between Ferda and Abel.
If another situation like that arose...
Luri would be powerless to help him.
"Chief Researcher. You were a Witch as well, weren’t you?"
"O-Of course...?"
"Can you take me to the Witches’ Sanctuary?"
"T-The Sanctuary...? Even if I try..."
"Can you, or can you not?"
Luri pressed for an answer.
Echidna finally replied.
"N-No... Even if I try to go, entering that place depends entirely on Big Sister. If Big Sister doesn’t permit it, it’s impossible to enter. If someone forces their way in... they could die—or worse, become a wandering spirit drifting through Limbo forever!"
When Mages misused teleportation magic, they became trapped between time and space as wandering spirits.
Perhaps it was a fate even crueler than death.
In other words, this was not something that could be solved simply by forcing the impossible.
’More importantly... if anyone is going to do something, it has to be me.’
But what could she possibly do?
Someone who knew nothing except how to use brute force...
What could she...
"Huh?"
At that moment, a sensation suddenly entered Echidna’s mind.
As though she had been waiting for this all along, she turned toward Luri.
"L-Lord Ferda has returned!"
"...!!"
The moment she heard those words, Luri withdrew the foot that had been pinning Echidna down.
As though afraid she might miss him, she dashed toward the place where he had vanished.
Just as Echidna had said—
Ferda was standing there.
Far more unharmed than she had dared imagine.
A black suit.
Gray hair.
And blue eyes as deep as a tranquil lake.
The moment she saw his familiar figure, her shaken heart finally relaxed.
Still, she hardened her gaze and approached him.
"Lord Ferda."
Yet she could not hide the tremble in her voice.
Pretending to remain composed, she asked,
"What did that Witch do to you?"
Ferda answered,
"Nothing happened."
"I cannot believe that nothing happened after you went all the way to the Witches’ Sanctuary. Especially when Big Sister spent so much time with you."
Ferda nodded, as though agreeing with that point.
"We merely talked."
"What exactly did you talk about?"
"We discussed the topic that you and I never reached a conclusion on."
That meant...
The Witch had learned about Ferda’s weakness.
The hands she had politely clasped together tightened.
"Don’t tell me... you made a deal with that Witch?"
"I made no deal."
Had he stopped there...
Luri might have felt at least a little relieved.
"Instead, I helped her."
But she could not.
Big Sister.
Lucy Phyliaz.
Though she was rarely seen...
Luri had met her before.
"Did that woman say she wanted to help Lady Valdrova?"
"Yes."
"Then... she must have talked about me as well."
"Yes."
Her expression twisted.
"Do you know why I ignored her when she said she wanted to help Lady Valdrova?"
"..."
"Because Witches are a group that sees everyone except themselves as enemies or toys. They exploit other people’s vengeance for their own amusement. Even the descendants of Silverwind suffered because of those games. When I demanded she take responsibility for that incident... do you know what Lucy Phyliaz said?"
"..."
"She said that House Phyliaz could not be controlled over something so trivial."
Luri was a Dragon Spawn.
Among them, she belonged to the descendants of Silverwind, whose familial bonds were stronger than any other.
It was easy to imagine just how enraged she had been by someone who dismissed those bonds so casually.
"Lord Ferda, to that damned woman, you’re nothing more than another one of those insignificant trifles. Creatures like them feel no sympathy. They’ll bind you tighter and tighter until you become nothing more than one of their toys."
Luri’s anger—and her words—held a certain amount of truth.
Talking to a Witch was like carrying a bomb that could explode at any moment.
That was the common understanding.
It was common sense.
"Do you suspect that I might betray you?"
At Ferda’s question, Luri clenched her fists tightly.
"Yes."
In truth...that wasn’t it.
"I’m afraid... that Lord Ferda might end up hurting Master."
I simply don’t want to see you become another toy in a Witch’s game.
Her sharp words pierced Ferda once again.
"That’s a relief."
"...What?"
Luri raised her head at Ferda’s words.
"What do you mean? How is that a good thing?"
"Because if that’s how you think, then I don’t have to deceive myself with false assumptions."
"..."
Ferda looked down at Luri with gentle eyes.
"As you said, one day I may end up harming her. I may mistake my intentions as being for her sake and walk down the wrong path. If you’re constantly keeping me on guard like this, then even if I lose my way, won’t there still be a chance for you to set me back on the right path?"
"To me, it sounds like you’re simply pushing that responsibility onto me."
"In a way, I am."
"That’s irresponsible."
"It can’t be helped. You’re the person I trust the most."
Trust.
"I trust you enough to show you this weakness of mine."
The moment she heard those words, something beyond Luri’s control welled up inside her chest.
’Again.’
Just like that day...
The faint scent of ashes drifted through her senses.
Then someone’s face overlapped with Ferda’s.
Silverwind.
He looked nothing like the person who had taken in her once-empty self.
And yet...she mistook him for that person.
The heart of the cold, steel-like soldier softened.
Trying desperately to hide those feelings, she fidgeted with her lips and lowered her head.
Ferda had no way of knowing what was going through Luri’s heart.
Instead, he placed a hand gently on her head.
"Someday my judgment may become clouded. But for now, trust me. I won’t become a toy in that Witch’s hands."
He gently stroked her head without asking.
The misunderstanding only deepened.
And the scent grew stronger.
That scent of ashes from that day...
Wait.
This wasn’t the smell of ashes.
"...A smell."
"Hm?"
Luri sniffed carefully several times before lifting her head.
"...The smell of cigarettes."
Her expression had completely soured.
"Why do you smell so strongly of cigarettes, Lord Ferda?"
"That’s..."
Ferda recalled Lucy Phyliaz’s actions.
How many times had she deliberately blown thick clouds of cigarette smoke straight into his face?
’Don’t tell me...’
No.
There was no "don’t tell me."
He was certain.
Lucy Phyliaz had deliberately filled him with cigarette smoke to create exactly this situation.
’So this is how she gets back at me.’
People said that once you got involved with a Witch...you would never know another peaceful day.
"...First, you should take a bath."
Luri held up a green towel.
Feeling like an ox being led to the slaughterhouse, Ferda quietly said,
"...Please... be gentle."
But the word mercy did not exist in Luri’s dictionary.
***
Ferda recalled what Big Sister Lucy had told him.
"The line between emotions..."
Lucy Phyliaz had told him to draw a boundary between the two emotions.
He still had no idea how to draw that line.
But Lucy had given him a clue.
’The Mana Cultivation Method... Shape of Shadow.’
The passage read:
"I become the shadow, and the shadow becomes me."
She had said that somewhere within those words lay the key to controlling the two emotions inside him.
"If the shadow can truly become me... then wouldn’t anything be possible...?"
Muttering Lucy’s words to himself, Ferda casually raised his Shadow Hand.
This was a hand.
’But at the same time... it isn’t a hand.’
Because it wasn’t truly a hand, it didn’t matter if the fingers bent far beyond normal limits.
In fact, by bending them completely backward, he could freely reverse their orientation.
Or he could reshape it into a foot.
Though crude, he could even imitate the paw of a beast.
’Therefore, it is both a hand... and not a hand.’
Alternating his gaze between his own hand and the black Mana hand, Ferda sank into deep thought.
He released his conscious control and allowed his thoughts to flow naturally.
The Shadow Hand was both a hand...and not a hand.
’Then this shadow is both my body... and not my body.’
If that were true...
’Couldn’t I create something that is both one of my Circles... and at the same time not a Circle?’
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