My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Chapter 56 - This Isn’t How It Was Supposed to Go

Ferda stared at Goz with clear, unwavering eyes.

Luri’s silver hair and silver eyes.

She looked exactly the same as when their eyes had first met at the Grand Ducal Council.

"Welcome, Regent Valdrova."

"Chief Goz."

They addressed each other by name, exchanging only the bare minimum of formal courtesy.

Yet not a trace of respect could be found in either of their gazes.

"I didn’t even realize someone of your stature had entered. Normally, my subordinates would open the door for you themselves."

He was asking why Ferda had entered on his own.

"I didn’t think there was any need."

Ferda answered simply that it had been his choice.

Goz’s eyes shifted toward the entrance.

But there was nothing his subordinates could do except lower their heads.

"This is a matter concerning our own bloodline. In other words, a family affair. Outsiders should not interfere in family matters."

"I have no desire to involve myself in a family quarrel either."

Even as he said that, he stepped one pace forward.

Luri suddenly felt a gentle weight on her shoulder.

It was Ferda’s hand.

"But this child is someone cherished by the person I love. Should I simply stand by and watch a child dear to my beloved get hurt over nothing more than a family dispute?"

Ferda did not yield even an inch.

That, in itself, was a challenge to Goz’s authority.

And Goz despised being challenged.

"I thought so the first time we met, but you’ve got quite the nerve."

Goz rose from his seat.

At that instant, the pressure he exuded became even stronger.

Luri immediately fell to her knees and bowed her head.

Every other Silver Dragon Spawn followed suit and submitted.

Tilting his chin toward Luri, Goz asked,

"So, Regent Valdrova. How well do you really know Luri Silverwind, the Attendant of the one you love?"

"The Attendant of my one and only Fiancée."

"And?"

"That alone is enough."

"Indeed. That’s all you see. It seems this woman hasn’t told you everything."

His rough hand, hardened through countless battles, pointed directly at Luri.

"This woman is a spy sent by Lord Silverwind."

He revealed Luri’s true identity.

"Lord Silverwind planted her to watch over Valdrova and determine when she would become vulnerable. Until Lord Silverwind passed away, she was ordered to report back regularly."

"Is that so?"

"You don’t seem very convinced. Do I look like I’m lying?"

"Do I look like the sort of fool who would believe the words of someone openly hostile toward me?"

"I agree. Then why not ask the person herself? Luri Silverwind."

At the sound of her name, Luri felt her head grow even heavier.

"Tell him the truth. Was anything I said incorrect?"

"I... that isn’t..."

"Answer properly. Did I say anything false?"

Goz allowed not even the slightest excuse.

In the end, Luri told the truth.

"Under Lord Silverwind’s orders... I was monitoring Lady Valdrova."

"And what was the purpose?"

"...Just as Lord Goz said... it was to watch Lady Valdrova and identify her weaknesses."

Silence filled the room.

Luri could barely breathe.

But even more painful than that was the fact that, unable to raise her head, she couldn’t even see the expression on Ferda’s face.

At last, Ferda broke the silence.

"I’m not surprised."

His tone was coldly sarcastic.

Luri felt a chill run through her feet.

It was as though the ground had vanished beneath her, sending her plunging into a bottomless cliff.

"I always assumed there had to be a reason why a Spawn bearing the Silverwind name would swear loyalty to Valdrova."

Contempt.

A sense of betrayal.

Those negative emotions became a thick swamp that seemed ready to swallow Luri whole.

But only for a moment.

"So?"

With that single question, the crushing pressure surrounding Luri dispersed like a mirage.

Goz frowned.

"What do you mean, ’so’?"

"So what’s the problem?"

Luri slowly lifted her head and looked at Ferda.

As always, he wore the same stubborn expression.

Goz looked irritated by such an unexpected reaction.

"She’s a spy planted by Lord Silverwind. Surely you understood what I just said."

"Yes, she’s a spy. But she’s also the Attendant my Fiancée cherishes the most."

Ferda clasped his hands behind his back and straightened his chest.

"Even when everyone else turned their backs on her, this child remained by my Fiancée’s side as her loyal Attendant. She is a Spawn who devoted herself to Valdrova more than anyone else. That is the value she possesses now. Do you really think that value would be shaken by the words of someone I met only today?"

The hands Luri had pressed against the floor tightened unconsciously.

Those words almost caused her emotions to overflow.

"Believe it or not, that’s your choice. I can’t force someone who wasn’t born with Silverwind blood to understand. However..."

Goz’s eyes became even sharper.

"You’ve been remarkably insolent for quite some time now."

The air shook violently.

The fuse of a bomb capable of destroying an entire nation had already been lit and was rapidly burning down.

Goz’s face had reached the limit of his patience.

Dragon Spawn were not Dragons, but neither were they humans.

Every one of them believed themselves superior to humanity.

There was no way they could tolerate a mere human talking back to them.

An ordinary human would have bowed.

A wise human would have taken a step back to defuse the situation.

"So the one who should be showing proper respect isn’t me—it’s you."

But Ferda neither retreated nor bowed.

A blue light shimmered within Ferda’s eyes.

As Regent of Valdrova, he stood proudly on equal footing with Goz.

"You try to intimidate another person’s Attendant and sow discord between us, yet you presume to lecture me?"

He spoke each word clearly, as if to say that Goz was not the only one displeased by this conversation.

The veins on Goz’s neck bulged.

Luri knew very well.

He was far more suited to being a hot-blooded warrior than a calm leader.

"The only reason I haven’t snapped your neck is because of Lord Blancaros’s mercy and my own patience."

"Does Silverwind call fear ’patience’? You’re too frightened to confront my Fiancée directly, so instead you throw your weight around against her Attendant and her fiancé..."

Ferda’s narrowed eyes were filled with unmistakable contempt.

"Have you no shame?"

That was the moment their battle of wills reached its climax.

A fierce gale slammed against the windows in response to Ferda’s provocation.

Goz, who had remained seated until now, finally rose.

"Indeed... it is shameful. That I have to sit here and watch a mere human act so boldly..."

Goz took a step forward.

The veins bulging across his hand cracked loudly.

"I’ll wash away that shame here and now—with your blood."

Just as his hand was about to enter striking distance—

"Do not take another step."

Someone stepped in front of Goz.

Luri, who should have still been kneeling, had somehow risen and now stood directly before him, blocking his path.

"Luri, you..."

"He’s... Lady Valdrova’s husband."

She was still suffering under the instinctive urge to submit.

Even so, the reason she was able to stand was—

"I recognize this threat as a challenge against Lady Valdrova. Therefore, I will respond as well."

Resolve.

The resolve to stop him, even if it cost her own life.

Goz looked utterly disgusted.

"The warrior of the North has become nothing more than a loyal dog. To think you’ve even taken a human as your master."

Ironically, the enraged Goz became calmer instead.

The wind battering the windows ceased.

Goz sat back down and withdrew his oppressive aura.

"As Silverwind’s representative, I have nothing more to discuss with a dog. You may take her away, Regent Valdrova. I hope we never meet again."

As though nothing had happened, Ferda answered calmly,

"Very well. Excuse us."

Ferda no longer continued the contest of wills.

"Luri."

"Yes."

"Let’s go."

"...Yes."

With that, he led the still-trembling Luri out of the room, bringing the incident to an end.

***

Goz remained staring at the spot where Ferda and Luri had left, lost in thought.

Despite what his eyes saw before him, the image of Luri standing against him remained vividly imprinted in his mind.

"Luri of the Blade Wind."

The Spawn of Silverwind fought the creatures of the frozen wastes beyond the Northern Tundra’s ice wall.

Among them, the most vicious and dangerous enemies were the Frost Giants.

Like the monsters of the Far East, no one knew where they came from, yet they emerged endlessly, advancing into the realm of mankind to spread frost wherever they went.

Even five well-trained Dragon Spawn working together could barely bring one down.

But Luri was different.

With her small frame, she had fought three Frost Giants at once... and defeated them.

She had suffered grievous injuries, yet as long as she remained alive, she would recover again.

She was both a source of pride and a role model among those who defended the Cerdes Continent.

Even Goz had felt uneasy around her more than once.

’And yet that woman...’

Their reunion had been the worst possible one.

That ridiculous Maid outfit.

The timid manners of a young servant girl.

And on top of that...those foolish questions.

The question she had asked while clinging to the faintest thread of hope was nothing like the Luri of the Blade Wind.

Everything about it irritated him.

To think that pathetic woman was once someone I considered a threat...

But above all else, the thing that irritated him the most was—

’Ferda Valdrova...’

That human who had stood against him.

There had always been irritating humans.

The kind who believed they could control Dragons as they pleased.

The kind who relied solely on authority and treated Dragons as though they were no different from humans.

Those people were never given a second chance.

They were beheaded as examples.

That was the norm in Dragon society.

’He’s different from those humans.’

As much as he hated to admit it, the moment their eyes met, he had felt it clearly.

That man bore a face closer to that of an Immortal than anyone else.

Because of that, Goz knew instinctively.

’As long as that insolent bastard exists... this revenge will never be fulfilled.’

He clenched his fist tightly.

Not once had he forgotten Silverwind since his death.

Nor had a single day passed without his desire for revenge burning within him.

He could not allow that human to ruin everything now.

’Revenge... must be carried out.’

No matter what it took.

***

Luri silently followed behind Ferda.

The surroundings were so quiet that the sound of their footsteps echoed through the long corridor.

"Did everything go well?"

"..."

Luri remained silent.

"Won’t you say something?"

"...I don’t want to talk."

"Is that something you should say to the person who helped you?"

Luri’s footsteps stopped.

She stood there without moving.

Keeping her head lowered, she finally spoke.

"...Who..."

Her voice was damp with emotion as she forced the words out.

"...Asked you to help me?"

"..."

It was a perfect example of biting the hand that fed you.

Yet Ferda said nothing.

She was right.

She had never asked for his help.

Perhaps this had been something she could have resolved herself.

Perhaps he had acted rashly, driven by his own impulses.

"I see."

Ferda accepted it calmly.

"So I acted without thinking."

He quietly turned around.

Ferda started walking away alone.

"I’m sorry for interfering."

Without another word, he continued walking.

Luri blankly stared at his retreating back.

***

After leaving Silverwind’s private chamber, Luri silently followed behind Ferda.

She had no idea what words she should choose.

Her emotions churned like a whirlpool.

She quietly glanced up at his back.

It was broad.

It felt dependable enough that even if she leaned her entire weight against it, it would never collapse.

Just like...

Silverwind.

Like her father.

Yet the feeling she got from that back was completely different from what she had felt from Silverwind.

Her chest burned.

I’ve lived longer than him.

I’ve survived death countless more times than he has.

So why...

Why am I the weaker one?

"Did everything go well?"

Ferda asked.

When she remained silent for a long while, he glanced back over his shoulder and asked again.

His blue eyes shone between his gray hair.

"Won’t you say something?"

Luri forced herself to speak.

"...I don’t want to talk."

Instead of a mature response, what came out was childish sulking.

"Is that something you should say to the person who helped you?"

Helped her?

If Luri hadn’t stepped in back then, Ferda’s neck would have been snapped, and a disastrous storm would have swept across the continent.

And after doing something so reckless, he still called himself the one who had helped her?

She grumbled about Ferda inwardly, yet she also knew the truth.

If she hadn’t clung to that tiny shred of hope from the very beginning, none of this would have happened.

She should have thanked him for stepping in.

Just one sentence.

That was all it would take.

And yet...

Right now, she didn’t even want to admit that much.

Because if she spoke, she feared her trembling voice would betray her.

She feared revealing her incompetence as the Attendant serving Valdrova.

She feared showing him her weakness one more time.

Clenching her fist tightly, she raised her head.

"Who..."

Suppressing the resentment swelling inside her, she forced the words out.

"Who asked you to help me?"

Only after the words left her mouth did she realize her mistake.

That wasn’t how an adult handled things.

It was the pathetic behavior of someone unable to admit her own weakness.

The behavior of a child who had nothing left to cling to except pride.

She despised herself for it, but her throat tightened, and she could no longer speak.

Ferda looked down at that child before him.

His eyes were like emotions sunk to the bottom of a deep lake.

Those eyes seemed to drag Luri’s heart even deeper into the darkness.

At last, he nodded.

Luri replayed her regret over and over.

"I see."

This isn’t what I meant.

"So I acted without thinking."

That’s not what I wanted to say.

"I’m sorry for interfering."

Ferda began walking away once more.

Within Luri’s vision, she watched him disappear farther down the corridor.

Instinctively, she reached out her hand, trying to stop him.

But... he had already gone too far away for her to reach.