My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 70: Chapter 70

Chapter 70 - Hatred and Obsession

"Wow. I’ve always wanted to visit Valdrova Castle at least once, but I never thought I’d get a chance like this."

Erdes stepped forward as if dancing, making a great show of herself.

Her gait was noisy and restless, yet no one pointed it out.

That alone showed just how grave the atmosphere was.

"But why is it so quiet? It’s already suspicious enough that the Regent is personally guiding us. Don’t tell me you killed everyone because they displeased you? Or are you preparing to stab us in the back?"

She certainly had a way with words.

"Everyone working in the castle is an ordinary person. They aren’t the sort who could do something like that."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense. When even the guy who looks like a swindler and the one bawling his eyes out are Knights, what kind of pathetic spectacle could the others possibly put on?"

Erdes burst into cheerful laughter.

She behaved like a carefree child, but no one could afford to underestimate her.

This woman was the greatest Mage on the continent.

Erasing an entire family with a flick of a finger was no difficult feat for her, and even kings bowed their heads when she appeared.

She was a living catastrophe—a reckless lunatic who wielded magic.

That was why Ferda had gathered everyone in the castle together.

The castle staff lived far removed from the world of nobles and ceremony, and none of them possessed the strength to endure such overwhelming pressure.

"Anyway, coming here for real is pretty meaningful. Valdrova Castle is enormous. I even tried sneaking in once before, but I couldn’t break through the barrier at all."

"Am I supposed to be pleased by that?"

"Of course you should. That’s praise coming from the strongest Mage in humanity, you know? If even I couldn’t get through, then no other human stands a chance."

Ferda muttered inwardly.

Coming from someone I crushed so thoroughly.

It was Goz who refuted her remark.

"This castle was built for Dragons. It is only natural that no human could breach it alone."

"Are you defending your own kind just because you’re both Dragons? Honestly, Dragons are impossible to understand."

"Watch your tongue, Erdes Roton."

"Yes, yes."

Annoying as she was, Ferda found himself agreeing.

The people who hated Valdrova were the ones defending it.

Even mortal enemies had principles they refused to abandon.

While Erdes continued grumbling, they reached the end of the crimson carpet.

It felt as though they had arrived at the end of a burning fuse.

Would this bomb explode...

Or would it fail to detonate?

Carrying those thoughts, Ferda opened the door.

The guest chamber was adorned with gold and crimson marble.

A single Attendant stood ready, having prepared for every possible situation.

She lifted the wide hem of her skirt and bowed.

"Welcome. I am Luri, Lady Valdrova’s Attendant."

She stood there calmly, as though nothing were amiss.

Yet her eyes deliberately avoided meeting Goz’s.

Goz, however, paid Luri no attention.

Unlike when he had once tried to take her away, his lukewarm reaction now felt even more suspicious.

Meanwhile, Erdes laughed merrily and threw herself onto the sofa without asking.

"Oh, everyone keeps making the atmosphere so murderous. This is why men are hopeless. In a refined place like this, hmm? You’re supposed to laugh and chat. Hey, Maid, could you bring me a cup of tea?"

"I’ll prepare it immediately."

As Luri moved to comply, Ferda lightly raised a hand to stop her.

"The tea is for the greatest Mage on the continent. Shouldn’t I be the one to prepare it?"

"In that case..."

"I shall pour it myself."

The reason Ferda stepped in was because Erdes’s behavior was beginning to feel increasingly unnatural.

If he simply let her be, he would be dragged into her pace.

Ferda prepared the tea.

Yet he never rose from his seat.

The shadow beneath his feet stirred before taking shape and emerging.

It was Ferda’s Shadow Hand.

The moment Erdes saw it, her expression stiffened.

Displaying Black Magic so openly was practically the same as provoking others by saying, Go ahead and kill me.

Ferda paid no attention to her reaction as he calmly poured a cup of tea.

His etiquette was flawless.

"This is the finest tea grown in the highlands of the Western Region. Please, have a cup."

Warm steam drifted from the tea before her.

Yet her gaze never left Ferda.

Her lifeless, rotten fish-like eyes looked as though they could draw a blade at any moment.

"Unfortunately, I’m not thirsty."

"Weren’t you the one who said you wanted something to drink?"

"I did, didn’t I? Women really are impossible to understand, aren’t they?"

Murderous intent lingered behind her smiling eyes.

Yet Ferda met her gaze directly and calmly took a sip of his tea.

Now will you finally shut that mouth of yours?

"Now then, let’s talk."

Goz adjusted his posture and leaned forward.

"Tell us why you secretly trespassed into someone else’s territory."

He intended to understand the background of the incident first.

Ferda answered.

"There was a Demon Race research facility nearby."

"An imaginary research facility?"

"Wasn’t there a landslide in that area recently? One that looked as though something had exploded?"

"..."

There was no reply.

That silence was answer enough.

"I discovered the place where they were carrying out their project, and I intended to destroy everything. That’s why I had to move quickly."

"So you’re saying you crossed over first by using Bending Bridge Magic?"

The term Bending Bridge Magic came from Goz’s mouth.

Erdes must have been the one who informed him.

"Why didn’t you tell us?"

Goz asked.

"Because it had to remain secret."

"And why was that?"

"Didn’t I just say it had to remain secret?"

Goz’s face twisted into a fierce scowl.

It looked as though his claws might emerge at any moment.

"Ferda Valdrova. Not only did you enter our territory without permission, you personally killed His son. If you truly do not wish for war, then you had better explain yourself properly."

If war came, he would not avoid it.

But he had no desire to start one himself.

"As I said before, it is true that I killed that man called Abel Silverwind. And yes, I caused trouble. But none of it happened because it was what I wanted."

Ferda continued.

"He was one of the Demon Followers. He intended to seize power through rebellion with the aid of Demons."

"And how did you find that out?"

"There was no need to make things complicated. He confessed everything on his own. Whether he thought I was already a fish caught in his net or mistook me for a priest hearing confessions, I couldn’t care less. He admitted it himself."

Goz did not erupt in anger upon hearing the words Demon Followers.

That meant Sitri had properly branded Abel with the mark of the contract.

The momentum shifted slightly in Ferda’s favor.

Ferda decided to add one unnecessary remark.

"Do you know what he said? He claimed Goz Silverwind was nothing more than a usurper. That his strength didn’t suit him."

"So there are plenty of dissatisfied people within the Silverwind family too? Don’t tell me some insignificant little shrimp got greedy and started entertaining dangerous thoughts—"

"Silence."

"You do know I’m on your side, right?"

Goz cut off Erdes before she could continue picking at an old wound.

"It is only natural for people to doubt my strength. It is equally natural for Silverwind’s descendants to challenge me. But if that strength is obtained through a contract with a Demon... then it becomes a different matter."

What they sought was pure strength.

The strength inherited through the blood passed down by the Master of Steel and Wind.

"But what does that have to do with you killing him? Are you saying you actually did me a favor?"

"As if. I told him that if he wanted to overthrow you, I would even help him."

A gust of wind swept through the room.

How could Goz not be enraged when someone openly admitted they had proposed a conspiracy to kill him?

"But he refused. Not because he was noble, but because his plan to overthrow you required me."

The wind ceased.

"You? A mere human?"

"He said he’d use me as bait, then absorb my power afterward."

"Whose? Valdrova’s?"

"Luri."

The instant that name was spoken, Goz’s body froze.

Watching Goz’s reaction, Erdes cut in.

"Luri? Who’s that?"

"She exists. That’s all."

Goz tried to brush it aside vaguely, but Erdes was persistent.

She glanced toward the little silver-haired Maid before clapping her hands.

"Wait... don’t tell me it’s that little girl? Looking at her now, I think I’m right. There were traces that suggested someone with a small build, and that was her? That little girl is the one who—"

"Erdes Roton. I did not bring you here so you could chatter endlessly."

His vertically slit pupils glared at her fiercely.

His stare was even harsher than before.

Erdes gave an awkward smile and mimed sealing her lips shut.

Irritated, Goz’s gaze drifted toward Luri.

Luri stood with only her back visible, unable to turn around.

Ferda continued explaining.

"Luri came to save me. And in the end, she had no choice but to kill Abel."

"Hmm... Then shall we call our miraculously surviving Luri over here and have her testify?"

Go ahead. I have nothing to hide.

Just as Ferda was about to agree with Erdes—

"That’s enough. We’ve heard enough."

It was Goz who refused the testimony.

Displeased by Goz’s intervention, Erdes glared at him before turning her eyes back toward Ferda.

A bright smile spread across her face once more.

"Well then, I suppose the two gentlemen have had their turn. Now it’s my turn to speak."

Since when did this conversation have turns? You’ve interrupted so many times that I thought this had become nothing but a complete free-for-all.

Ferda swallowed the sarcastic remark.

Stretching lazily, Erdes smiled.

"Well, yes. It was a touching story, Regent Ferda. But I simply can’t accept it at face value."

Exactly the reaction he had expected.

"There should be evidence that he made a deal with a Demon."

"There was. I found it. Hidden in quite an interesting place too—the heel of his foot. Then again, nobody bothers checking every little corner of the body. I suppose it’s understandable that even the Silverwinds never noticed."

She acknowledged that the mark had been hidden somewhere easy to overlook.

Even so, the way she looked at Ferda made him uneasy.

"But I’m Erdes Roton."

The greatest Mage on the continent.

The model all Mages looked up to.

A witness to history.

A war hero.

A Tyrant whose words carried the weight of law, and who recognized no borders.

And at the same time...

The foremost authority on Black Magic.

Someone once said that love and hatred are separated by only the thinnest of lines.

Erdes hated Black Magic so deeply that she knew it better than anyone.

"I can spot the schemes of those filthy Demon bastards in an instant. For example... I can tell when a contract mark was branded."

A smile curled across Erdes’s lips.

She looked exactly like a spider gazing at prey trapped within its web.

"The contract mark engraved on Abel Silverwind... the ink hadn’t even dried yet."

Ferda had never known that the timing of a contract’s creation could be determined from its mark.

He had never cared about the details of Demonic contracts.

More accurately, their nature had simply never interested him.

The only things that mattered to him were how Demons ensnared humans... and how to avoid those traps.

That was where most people’s attention lay.

Erdes’s obsession, however, extended much further.

She was obsessed with everything related to Black Magic.

It had become a compulsion.

The kind of obsession that drove someone to wipe the disease called Black Magic from the continent by any means necessary.

And that very obsession was now cornering Ferda.

"Shall I tell you what I think?"

She began laying out her deduction.

"Regent Ferda, you made some kind of deal with Sitri, one of the Seven Great Demons of Hell. You said you came to destroy a Demon Race facility, didn’t you? That may well have been the bargain. Now, if that facility were to collapse not after several days, but within just a few hours... what do you think would happen? Sitri would have the perfect excuse. Ignoring the old saying never to make deals with Demons, you quietly crossed over using Bending Bridge Magic."

Her words were astonishingly accurate.

Accurate enough to make Ferda feel genuine pressure.

"But then something unexpected happened. The Bending Bridge Magic you used to get here was cut off for some reason. Regent Ferda was left stranded all alone, and then Abel appeared. Could that unexpected event have been one of Sitri’s traps?"

As she asked the question, Erdes smiled with her eyes and stared intently at Ferda.

She was trying to peer beyond the mask Ferda wore, while he struggled to keep what lay beneath it hidden.

"No. No, that wasn’t Sitri’s plan."

Had she read his expression?

She smoothly continued with another line of reasoning.

"If it had been such a shallow trick, you would have noticed it. Regent Ferda, you’re no fool. You must have checked the Bending Bridge Magic over and over to make sure there were no traps. But... even so, you couldn’t step into the return bridge. That means you brought something out of that Demon Race facility. Something important enough to risk your own life for."

His throat burned.

As though hypnotizing him, she slowly twirled a finger while continuing her explanation.

"The one who arranged for you to meet Abel Silverwind was probably Sitri—that whore. He was likely one of the traps she had prepared. Someone who would punish you if you entertained thoughts you shouldn’t. Even if he died, he would still make an excellent trump card afterward. But for some reason, she chose not to use that trap. Instead, she branded Abel Silverwind with a contract mark and helped you."

Ferda almost let out a sigh of admiration.

Even while being cornered, he couldn’t help feeling that way.

If someone could hate a single field this much... could they truly see this far?

Her understanding existed on an entirely different level from his own.

"Why would a Demon help you? If she’d simply left him alone without branding him, the Silverwinds would have come after you demanding answers, and you’d have been left sweating as you tried to persuade them. War would practically have become inevitable. Why would a Demon willingly give up the chaos they love most?"

His mouth had gone completely dry.

He consciously fought to keep himself composed, afraid even the movement of his Adam’s apple might betray his tension.

"There are three clues that led me to my conclusion."

Erdes raised her index finger.

"First—you use Black Magic."

She raised her middle finger.

"Second—a Great Demon from Hell saved you instead of luring you into a trap."

Then her ring finger.

"Third—I keep catching the faint scent of a Demon throughout this house."

She had struck straight at his blind spot.

No matter what happened, there was only one conclusion Erdes absolutely could not reach.

Penelope.

Things were already precarious enough with everyone questioning whether he had made a contract with a Demon or not.

If they discovered he was hiding an actual Demon, Erdes’s hostility would tip completely against him.

And that hostility wasn’t merely troublesome.

Erdes was someone the First Imperial Prince—whose influence ranked only below the Emperor’s—was eager to recruit.

She would undoubtedly hinder the development of the Far Eastern Region.

Everything was tangled together into one enormous headache.

But that’s not the only problem.

If, during the explanation, it became known that Penelope was the means by which they could control the life of a Great Demon, that would be an even greater disaster.

Erdes would become utterly obsessed with Penelope, no matter what it took.

That could never be allowed.

Everything within this castle existed solely for Valdrova.

Just as Ferda was about to speak, Erdes smiled with her eyes and asked,

"You’re the child of a Demon... aren’t you?"