My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 91: Chapter 91

Chapter 91 - Black Bandana

"Short and intense. To threaten us so boldly without the slightest fear."

Isabella showed her displeasure.

The way the sender bluntly said only what needed to be said before ending the letter, and even the use of red ink—

It was all too easy to interpret it that way.

Perhaps because of that, Ferda saw it differently.

"To call it a threat... doesn’t it seem a little too audacious?"

If their intention had merely been to hover around and extort a few coins, they would never have ended the letter with the words, We shall meet soon.

Especially when the other party was Black Bandana.

If they truly were the largest underground intelligence organization on the continent, they would already have a rough understanding of what kind of person Ferda was.

’Which only makes me curious.’

Whether this promise of meeting soon would ultimately benefit the Grand Duchess’s territory.

"Administrator. Does Hestia have a flagpole?"

"We are planning to install one soon."

"Then put it up today and hang this scarf halfway up the pole. That will serve as my reply."

Following Ferda’s instructions, Isabella had a flagpole erected in the center of Hestia Village and tied the scarf around its midpoint.

The only things surrounding the village were Lonely Mountain and dense forests.

She couldn’t help but wonder if hanging it halfway up the pole would really be enough for people who weren’t even nearby to notice it.

However, only a few hours later, a group of six figures dressed in black robes and riding black horses arrived at Valdrova Castle.

At first glance, they looked like secret envoys from some distant kingdom.

But those who had been informed in advance knew exactly who they were.

Luri went downstairs, confirmed their identities, and reported back.

"Lord Ferda, there are people below the castle who say they have come in response to your summons."

"Allow only their representative inside."

Since they belonged to a secret organization, they had to be treated with caution.

The representative who entered Valdrova Castle was a slender woman.

She had sky-blue eyes, ash-gray hair, and sun-kissed skin.

The woman, who appeared to have been raised in the Southern Region, politely bowed.

"It is an honor to meet you, Regent. This young lady is Garnet Swallow."

As she spoke, the slightly parted lips revealed a row of sharp fangs.

’A Dark Elf?’

She possessed extraordinary beauty, yet her fierce expression made one instinctively flinch.

Combined with her blunt ears, it was obvious she was a beauty from the Southern Region.

Ferda addressed her.

"So, would you explain why you threatened me and then boldly came here in person?"

Garnet lowered her head.

"A threat? That would be unthinkable. How could gutter dwellers like us ever dare threaten the Grand Duchess’s Regent, the Dragon’s Consort?"

"Then you will have to explain the contents of that letter."

"The red writing may have been provocative, but it is merely one of our organization’s old traditions. If it caused you concern, then I should apologize a hundred times over. However, if I had truly intended to threaten you, there would have been no reason for me to reveal myself like this."

It was a reasonable argument.

Garnet placed the bag she had carried inside onto the table.

"This is the first gift I present to you as the representative of Black Bandana."

Ferda discreetly checked whether it contained some sort of trick like an explosive Magic Circle.

There were no traces of magical tampering.

After finishing the inspection, he opened the bag she had handed him.

Inside were documents.

"Please read them. I’m certain you’ll like what you find."

Urged on by Garnet, Ferda quickly skimmed through the contents.

There was indeed a reason she had been so confident.

The documents contained exactly the information he needed at this moment.

’Everything about Tilda Pascal.’

It was a comprehensive dossier detailing every scheme she had devised in order to become the head of the Pascal Trading Company by eliminating Merchit, Stephan, and Herman.

It even included organizational charts of the agents Tilda had planted and contingency plans all the way to Plan C.

Compared to this, the information Merchit and Stephan had been desperately trying to uncover looked like nothing more than amateur theatrics.

’The accuracy will have to be verified later, but...’

Ferda did not doubt it.

This was information provided by Black Bandana—the continent’s largest intelligence organization.

They would never do something as foolish as feeding false information and tarnishing their own reputation.

Even so, there was one thing he had to ask.

"Why are you giving me this information?"

Black Bandana had rejected the Empire’s recruitment offers time and time again.

Now they were the ones extending a hand first.

Ferda needed to know why.

Garnet answered.

"We’re not simply providing it. This is closer to mediation."

"Mediation?"

"Yes. Tilda Pascal has been our target for a very long time. The original client has been tracking and investigating her for four whole years."

Only then did everything make sense.

The reason they possessed such an enormous amount of information was because they had been investigating her for years.

And the reason they had suddenly appeared with Tilda Pascal’s information as a gift...was because it was the client’s wish.

"She truly is an incredible woman. We’ve been tracking her for nearly four years. Do you know just how many astonishing things she accomplished during that time?"

Garnet spoke with obvious disbelief.

"She gradually turned almost everyone in the mansion into her own people and poisoned her father-in-law until he became a living vegetable."

"Without killing him?"

"She intends to alter his will."

"So she’s using tricks to seize his fortune."

"Exactly. I’ve never seen a woman whose conscience had been replaced so completely by greed."

To Ferda, however, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

The Tilda Pascal he remembered had become the mistress of the Dandolo Trading Company.

After the family head’s death, she quickly held a wedding.

A few months later, the next family head also died.

With no surviving relatives to inherit the Dandolo Trading Company, Tilda became its owner.

That allowed her to be recognized as the next master of the Pascal Trading Company, placing her on equal footing with Merchit.

Reading the documents made one thing perfectly clear.

Just how desperately that woman coveted the Pascal Trading Company.

"Do you know why a woman who committed such atrocities has managed to remain untouched?"

"I don’t."

To be honest, he wasn’t particularly interested.

"After putting every piece together, we’ve concluded that Phyliaz is behind it."

That changed things.

Phyliaz—the name known as the origin of all Witches.

Most Witches forcibly opened the Red Circle through overwhelming resentment, and that resentment was usually directed toward men.

But Tilda Pascal was not a Witch.

If she had been, Ferda would already have known.

"Then she must have entered into a Garden Contract."

A Garden Contract.

A pact that granted the power of a Witch to a woman who had failed to awaken as one.

A woman whose malice rivaled that of a Witch would contract with one and carry out their work.

However, such cases were extremely rare, and because no Red Circle awakened, they were difficult to detect.

"Have you identified which Witch made the contract?"

"We cannot be completely certain, but the strongest candidate is Yor Phyliaz."

Yor Phyliaz.

The Witch of Poison and Serpents.

She was also highly skilled in illusion magic, and considering Tilda Pascal’s overwhelming charisma and ability to unite people under her command, it seemed entirely plausible.

"So?"

Ferda casually tossed the documents back into the bag before asking,

"So I get the information, and your client gets revenge. A win-win arrangement?"

"As if that were all. This information is merely a gift. If you agree to proceed with this deal, you’ll gain two advantages."

Garnet raised one finger.

"The first, as I mentioned earlier, is that you’ll be able to finish everything quickly."

Then she raised a second finger.

"The second is that this incident will allow you to obtain the Dandolo Trading Company."

Ferda wondered for a moment whether he had misheard.

The second condition was simply too extraordinary.

"Obtain the Dandolo Trading Company?"

"That’s correct."

"You mean we obtain it?"

"Not we."

Garnet politely gestured toward Ferda.

"It will belong entirely to Regent Ferda Valdrova."

The largest trading company in the Empire was the Pascal Trading Company.

The second largest was the Dandolo Trading Company.

’If those two were to become one...’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they would control half the Empire.

The proposal was simply too enormous to believe.

It was so unbelievable that even Black Bandana—a group that survived on trust alone—almost sounded like liars.

"How could I possibly obtain the Dandolo Trading Company?"

"I cannot explain in detail before receiving your agreement. But everything revolves around Tilda Pascal. Henri Dandolo... and Rico Dandolo as well."

Henri Dandolo was already famous for his kindhearted nature.

Regardless of his personality, his business ability was exceptional, and he had played a major role in stabilizing his father’s aggressive expansion.

’Once Henri finishes stabilizing the company...’

Tilda would finally bare the venomous fangs she had been hiding and sink them into Henri’s throat.

’A truly pitiful man.’

Still, Ferda felt no sympathy.

If someone destined to die had their life spared, they should be grateful for that alone.

"If she falls, the Dandolo Family will inevitably lose the company’s trust. At that point, the Dandolo Trading Company will no longer wish to remain under the family’s control."

"Aren’t you underestimating your client’s greed?"

"Black Bandana guarantees it. If the client refuses to honor those terms, we ourselves will enforce the agreement."

Black Bandana was an organization with centuries of history.

No matter what happened, they upheld trust.

If someone refused to keep their promise, Black Bandana would simply take what had been promised by force.

There was no reason for Ferda to refuse an opportunity to acquire such a company.

The offer was an enormous, irresistible prize.

Precisely because it was so tempting, he thought it over several more times.

Could this truly proceed so smoothly?

Black Bandana itself was trustworthy.

But he knew absolutely nothing about the client.

Once the deal with Black Bandana was completed, wasn’t it entirely possible for the client to betray him?

To infer what sort of person the client was, Ferda decided to ask a few more questions.

"So, what do you require from me?"

"This time as well, we’d like to propose two requests."

"You certainly seem fond of things coming in pairs."

"I suppose that’s simply how the conversation unfolded."

"Go on."

"First, we’d like to borrow some personnel."

"What kind of personnel?"

"Someone capable of locating the medium of Yor Phyliaz’s contract."

For a Garden Contract to be properly established, a medium was required.

Ironically, the easier the medium was to destroy—and the more conspicuous it was—the stronger its power became.

If it was capable of filling an entire mansion with loyal followers and poisoning the master of the Dandolo Trading Company into helplessness...then it was undoubtedly something both easy to destroy and impossible to overlook.

"That woman’s medium is somewhere inside the mansion. We don’t know its exact location, but we need an expert capable of finding it."

"And it seems you’ve already found such an expert."

Garnet nodded.

"Indeed. We’d like to borrow the assistance of Zed Swallow—or rather, Sir Zed now."

At this point in time, people still believed he was nothing more than an ordinary swindler, far removed from actual thievery.

Even those who had witnessed his exploits in Halim would only have concluded that he possessed agility beyond that of an ordinary acrobat.

’But no one should know yet that Zed is also talented as a thief.’

As expected of Black Bandana.

Their intelligence network was astonishingly vast, and their powers of deduction were equally impressive.

It truly was an information organization worthy of the Empire’s desire.

Having reached his decision, Ferda answered,

"I’ll lend him to you. And the second request?"

"We’d like you to reduce Tilda Pascal to an idiot."

"An idiot?"

"We want her body to become a prison that traps her soul, while allowing her to remain alive."

"So you wish to leave her alive... yet make it impossible for her to truly live."

Without question, the client desired revenge.

Having enacted thousands of acts of vengeance himself, Ferda knew that reducing someone to such a state ranked among the cruelest punishments imaginable.

’Who could possibly desire revenge like that?’

Considering Tilda Pascal’s infamous reputation, it could have been almost anyone.

But after piecing together everything he had heard...one person stood above all others.

’Rico Dandolo.’

Overall, he was the most likely candidate.

Rather than letting the business he had built with his own hands fall into the hands of a trashy daughter-in-law, he would undoubtedly choose to hand it over to someone else.

’Still... the fact that they made such a request means...’

Black Bandana had proposed it because they believed Ferda was capable of accomplishing it.

If so, what exactly had they seen in him that convinced them?

"What method, specifically, are you expecting me to use?"

She subtly shifted her gaze toward the young girl standing diagonally behind Ferda.

"Dragon Fear."

It was Luri.

"I’ve heard that ordinary Dragon Spawn are incapable of using Dragon Fear. However, Dragon Spawn who have trained until they are nearly as powerful as Dragons can wield a portion of a Dragon’s authority."

Her eyes turned toward Luri once more.

"And we know that the maid standing there is skilled enough to use Dragon Fear. We want Dragon Fear."

Only then did it all make sense.

If they intended to place a gigantic enterprise like the Dandolo Trading Company into Ferda’s hands, they needed power worthy of that feat.

Garnet required not only the abilities of a Master Thief...but also the power of a Dragon.

"Hah."

Ferda let out an incredulous laugh.

"What an unbelievably arrogant request."

His voice sank lower.

The atmosphere itself turned ice-cold.

Garnet swallowed hard.

At that moment, she was like a tightrope walker balancing in the middle of a raging storm.

One wrong step, and she would plunge into the bottomless abyss.

She chose her words carefully.

"I already know that this request exceeds my station. That is precisely why we’re offering the Dandolo Trading Company in exchange. We believed it would be sufficient compensation for the Grand Duchess’s territory."

"How ridiculous."

Ferda’s voice grew colder.

"Do you truly believe this trade is balanced?"

He stared at her icily.

"Do you think a Dragon’s power can be purchased with human treasures? Do you believe such wealth is enough to buy it?"

"It is."

"...?"

"...?"

Luri, who had been standing quietly like a decorative screen, suddenly spoke up.

Ferda glanced sideways at her.

Their eyes met for several seconds before he turned back to Garnet.

"She says it is."

"Ah... R-Really?"

"She’s not my Attendant, after all. If she says she can do it, then she can."

The response was clearly beyond Garnet’s expectations.

She couldn’t hide her surprise.

Even so, she immediately bowed respectfully toward Luri.

"Thank you for your assistance. For the Attendant of the great House Valdrova to grant such an unreasonable request... we couldn’t ask for anything more."

"You’d better keep your promise."

"Of course. We’re not arrogant enough to toy with Immortals."

Having secured Luri’s cooperation as well, Garnet finally let out a relieved sigh.

"It seems there will be no major obstacles to our transaction, so we’ll proceed as planned. Please read the contract and approve it."

The paperwork was handled personally by Isabella, who stood beside them.

After carefully checking every clause to ensure there were no hidden traps, she handed it back to Ferda.

The contract was concluded.

Luri’s assistance could be borrowed later.

"And what about Sir Zed?"

It seemed Garnet had already anticipated that question.

According to our information, he should be arriving shortly. Since you’ve granted permission, Regent, I’ll speak with Sir Zed personally."

"I wonder whether that will go well."

"There’s no need for concern. Sir Zed and I are already acquainted."

One of Ferda’s eyebrows twitched.

"Acquainted?"

"We served together in the Swallow Mercenary Company. Three years together... I’d say that’s quite a deep connection."

"Swallow..."

Zed Swallow.

Garnet Swallow.

Only now did he notice the obvious connection.

’So that’s why she knows so much about Zed.’

They had once been close companions.

Naturally, she knew him well.

A short while later, the sound of clattering armor echoed through the corridor.

The noise drew closer and closer before finally stopping outside the audience chamber.

"Regent, I’ve returned."

Zed, who had been sent away for training, strode in confidently.

"I’ve successfully completed my field training! Zed Swallow, fully armed with the spirit of knighthood, has proudly returned!"

"Welcome back."

"Oh, we have guests."

"The guest is..."

The two stared at each other in silence.

The moment the self-proclaimed knightly Zed recognized her face...his complexion turned deathly pale.

"Gah! Pinteeth!"

As though he’d seen a ghost, he recoiled in terror and immediately hid his face behind his helmet.

Garnet rose from her seat and walked toward him.

"Zed."

"...Who are you?"

"I’m not Zed."

"I’m Malcolm from Peach Hill."

"Stop talking through your nose like an idiot. I already know you’re a knight serving here."

"...No, seriously, miss."

"I don’t know who you are."

"I’m Malcolm."

"I’m an idiot."

"I can’t count."

"I don’t even know left from right."

"...Ha..."

Garnet let out a long sigh.

Then she swung her leg with all her strength and kicked him square in the shin.

She practically shattered his joint.

BAM!

The impact echoed throughout the entire audience chamber.

Zed leaped nearly as high as the sound itself.

Even then, he never forgot to keep his helmet over his face.

"Ghk! Hng! Hng! Hng!"

"You damned coward! Come with me! You’ve been sold to me!"

"Whaaaat?! What are you talking about?! Regent?! What’s going on?! Regent?!"

Garnet dragged him away by the ear while Zed desperately demanded an explanation.

Yet the last thing Zed saw was Ferda casually waving goodbye.

Eventually, seven horses departed through the castle gates.

Six black horses.

And one brown horse.

Zed was seated atop the brown one.

Behind him sat Penelope as well.

She, too, had apparently been sold along with him, and was loudly shouting something of her own.

But as they disappeared into the forest, even her voice gradually faded away.

"Hm?"

Watching them leave, Luri suddenly spoke.

"What is it?"

"All of the horses have left..."

"...But one person is missing."

"Didn’t Zed and Penelope leave?"

"I know that."

"One of the people dressed in black is missing."

Finding it suspicious, Luri immediately began searching for the missing individual.

The search didn’t take long.

A man wearing a robe was standing motionless beneath the castle, exactly where the representative had been waiting.

Across his chest was a neatly attached note.

—Second Gift.

They removed the black robe as though unwrapping a birthday present.

Only then did they understand why the man himself was the second gift.

"Mmph! Mmmph! Mmph!"

It was Frank Fontaine.

The man who had disappeared during the attack.

And perhaps...the only man capable of testifying about what had truly happened.

The moment they removed the gag from his mouth, he shouted,

"I-I’ll tell you everything! I’ll confess everything I know! Just... please spare my life!"