My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 94: Chapter 94

Chapter 94 - Downfall

The source of her ability to act as the mistress of this house had vanished.

"What?"

"Doesn’t something feel strange?"

The voices of the men outside rang in her ears.

Instead of chasing the intruder, they began talking about something that seemed even more important.

"I feel like my head suddenly cleared."

"Yeah. It was like something just snapped."

"What was it? What exactly had we been under?"

Then one of them asked,

"Come to think of it, didn’t that phantom thief call Tilda... that woman... a Witch?"

"Did that Witch really use some kind of trick?"

"She just might have."

At the same time, she heard footsteps approaching.

No!

Instinctively, Tilda rushed to the door and locked it.

Click! Click!

"Lady Tilda, please open the door!"

"Are you alright? Please answer us!"

Bang! Bang!

They pounded on the door, but Tilda remained silent.

Confusion quickly turned into rage.

"So the phantom thief was right! She really was a Witch!"

"That Witch must have used magic on us!"

"Break the door down!"

Everyone who had once been loyal to her screamed at the top of their lungs as the backlash from the broken magic washed over them.

She was no different from a rat cornered with nowhere to run.

I have to escape.

However, Tilda had prepared even for the worst possible scenario.

She ran into the bathroom, threw the rope she had prepared out the window, and climbed down.

After retrieving the rope so no one could tell where she had fled, she escaped the mansion and began running.

The last thing she heard from the chaotic estate was—

"The Head of the House has passed away!"

"That damned Witch even killed the Head of the House!"

The death of Rico Dandolo.

Tilda had no idea how it had happened, but it no longer mattered.

She was the Witch who had cast magic over the mansion, an unforgivable existence.

She had escaped with her life, but only for the moment.

Her life was now nothing more than a candle flickering before the wind.

Where should I go?

How could she possibly survive a disaster like this?

She thought and thought, but there was no future waiting for her.

Just as Yor had said, she was incompetent.

She had wanted everything, yet she had never deserved to possess it.

She had even obtained power, but she had failed to protect it.

I’ll survive.

Even so, she struggled desperately in the ugliest way possible.

She ran through the dark forest without stopping.

I’ll survive!

But even that determination soon scattered like a midsummer night’s dream.

"Ah..."

Curtains of darkness hidden within the night stirred and revealed themselves.

Figures wearing black masks approached her.

Tilda Pascal tried to resist, but in the end, she lost consciousness.

***

On a road not far from the Dandolo estate.

Three wagons disguised as merchant caravans were waiting there.

A man with a brown ponytail climbed aboard one of the wagons and let out a long breath.

"Whew! That wasn’t nearly as easy as I’d hoped."

"Did you really have to go through all that trouble?"

Zed grinned.

"I had to. Otherwise, there was no way we could’ve finished it all in a single day."

"Didn’t you leave any traces behind?"

Garnet asked with a skeptical expression.

"Bunny Swallows?"

"Pretty funny name, isn’t it?"

Garnet shot him a fierce glare, but Zed simply smiled back.

She sighed in defeat.

"I knew you had a silver tongue, but I never imagined you were capable of something like this too."

"It’s one of my clan’s secret techniques. We disguise ourselves as a circus troupe to scout out people worth swindling."

"Isn’t that usually the clan leader’s job?"

"When your father is the clan leader, there’s no escaping it."

"I see."

Garnet nodded.

Sensing movement outside, Zed glanced through the window.

Several masked men were loading a large bundle onto one of the wagons.

"So, what about that young lady?"

"She’ll be delivered to the castle. We have to honor the contract."

"Hm. Then we’re headed the same way. There shouldn’t be any problems, right?"

"...Not exactly."

"What is it?"

"Uuuuh... Zeze?"

The instant he heard the nasal voice, he understood.

The pink-haired woman in a bunny girl outfit sitting across from Garnet was grinning from ear to ear.

She looked exactly like someone who was completely drunk.

"What is it, Pepe?"

"Hehehe, Zeze! Wasn’t I awesome? I only practiced for one day, and I totally nailed it! Right? Right?"

"...?"

"Seriously, where else are you gonna find a phantom thief like me? Even I think I looked sexy as hell. Look! Sexy~."

"...Did she hit her head?"

Garnet calmly nodded.

When Zed checked the back of her head, he found an arrowhead lodged deep inside it.

So that’s why she’s acting like this.

"Hahaha! The arrows came flying in—whoosh! I couldn’t dodge every single one! Ahhh, who would’ve thought one would stick right in my head?"

"H-Hey, don’t shake your head."

Still laughing foolishly, she grabbed onto Zed’s arm.

Garnet sighed.

"After examining her, it appears to be temporary trauma, so there’s no need to worry. We’ll rendezvous with a Healer along the way and have the arrowhead removed."

"What? Missy, you’re sexy and smart? Want to spend tonight with your big sis? I’ll treat you real nice."

Penelope growled like some sleazy old man.

Keeping a completely straight face, Garnet replied seriously,

"She suffered a severe head injury. It seems even her sexual preferences have become distorted. If we don’t treat her quickly, this could become dangerous."

She was always like that.

Neither of them had the heart to say it aloud.

***

Tilda opened her eyes in the darkness.

She had no idea where she was.

But one thing was certain.

She could never escape the consequences of her own sins.

Who was responsible for this?

Merchit?

Stephan?

Herman?

Or Rico...?

Countless thoughts raced through her mind as her breathing became increasingly frantic.

Whoever it was, surviving would be nearly impossible.

Creak—

A short while later, the door to the dark room opened.

Someone entered.

Click. Click.

Illuminated by a single candle mounted on the wall was a pair of polished black shoes.

"So we meet again, Tilda Pascal."

It was the voice of a young man, yet it carried the weight of someone far older.

Tilda knew that voice all too well.

It was the very voice that had humiliated her.

"L-Lord Regent Ferda...?"

He leaned back against the chair before slowly inclining forward.

Gray hair and blue eyes came into view.

"Tilda Pascal."

Ferda called her name once again.

"I disliked you from the very first time we met... but you’re even worse than I imagined."

There wasn’t the slightest trace of emotion in his voice.

That was precisely why it felt endlessly cold—like the edge of a frozen blade.

"You dared to harass a merchant who supported the Grand Duchess’s territory and thought you could survive?"

Tilda hurriedly spoke.

"I-I wasn’t the one responsible. Everything was my fiancé’s—"

Smack!

Ferda picked up a document and threw it onto the floor.

It contained a detailed record of Tilda Pascal’s actions.

The information had been provided by the Black Bandana.

"Go on."

Tilda could only fall silent, like someone struck dumb.

But only for a moment.

"...I had no other choice."

Her lips trembled as the words poured out.

"That man I had for a father never intended to leave anything to me in the first place. He only ever planned to pass everything on to that damned Stephan!"

All the emotions she had buried for years finally erupted.

"It doesn’t make any sense! Why can’t I have it? I’m his child too! His own flesh and blood! I contributed to the Pascal Trading Company too! So why... why am I the only one...!"

Ferda understood that emotion.

As a boy who had always failed to meet the standards expected of a proper member of a Knight Family, he had never known warmth from his own family.

He had hated that father.

"Even so, it does not change the fact that you inflicted damage upon the Grand Duchess’s territory."

"I deeply regret what I’ve done. I truly do! I’ll compensate you for everything!"

Still tied to the chair, Tilda struggled until she toppled forward.

She slammed her forehead against the floor and pleaded.

"From this day onward, I’ll live according to my station. Please take pity on this poor girl and show me mercy."

She sobbed uncontrollably.

Ferda silently looked down at her.

"There is one thing I’ve been curious about."

Ferda spoke.

"If you answer honestly, I will consider letting you go."

"W-What do you wish to know? I’ll answer anything."

"Zed told me something."

"Zed...?"

"The man who broke into your house. The one who destroyed the Garden Contract’s Catalyst."

She clenched her fists at the mention of his name, fury flashing across her face.

Ferda continued.

"He told me that the Catalyst you chose was your family portrait."

What Zed had seen was a family painting depicting everyone together.

A picture from their childhood, when they had all been smiling happily.

"Why did you choose a family portrait as your Catalyst?"

Ferda genuinely wanted to know.

Why would a woman who seemed to hate her own family choose a family portrait?

He needed the answer to that contradiction.

"Well..."

Tears streamed down her face as she answered.

"Because... they’re my beloved family."

Ferda lowered his gaze, following the trail of those tears.

"So that was it."

Ferda murmured.

"H-Has that answered your question? Will... will you spare me now?"

"I never intended to kill you in the first place. I will let you live."

The moment he emphasized live, something felt wrong.

It sounded as though he intended to take everything from her except her life.

"But... I answered your question. Why...?"

Ferda looked down at her.

"In the western part of the continent, in Mist Valley, there is a Monster known as a Flurryman. Do you know what it is?"

She did not.

There was no way she could.

"It feeds on beasts, yet it remembers the final words they utter before dying. And when it is hunted in turn, it speaks in the voice of those very beasts. Do you know why?"

Ferda answered coldly.

"Because it knows those words will spare its life. It doesn’t understand their meaning, but it knows that saying them will let it live."

Ferda knew why she had chosen the family portrait as the Garden Contract’s Catalyst.

It was because she wanted to appeal for sympathy—to survive until the very end, desperately and pathetically clinging to life.

"Your actions are no different."

Claiming she had contributed—it was a lie.

Claiming she regretted her crimes—it was a lie.

Every single word was nothing more than a lie thrown out in her desperate struggle to survive.

"Thank you."

Ferda spoke to her sincerely.

"For turning yourself into a piece of trash that isn’t even worth remembering."

Ferda rose from his seat.

He walked away from the light and disappeared into the darkness.

Creak—

Thud.

The door closed.

She was left alone once again.

The thought of whether she could survive lasted only for a moment.

She was not alone in this room.

Someone had already been here before Ferda entered.

They had simply been waiting in the darkness, hidden from sight until now.

It slowly walked forward and revealed itself.

Tilda doubted her own eyes.

What she saw was a creature with silver scales and a pair of horns that seemed capable of piercing the heavens.

Its very form inspired majesty, awe, and reverence.

It was a Dragon.

That...

Her pupils trembled.

It’s fake.

There was no way a Dragon of that size could possibly exist in such a cramped room.

Logically.

Reasonably.

It was obvious.

She desperately tried to convince herself of that.

But it was useless.

Even reason and logic were paralyzed before that immortal mystery.

With every breath it exhaled, scorching air washed over her, accompanied by a low growl that gradually grew clearer in her ears.

Dragon Fear.

No matter how desperately she hypnotized herself into believing it was false, the unknown source before her became undeniable truth.

And that truth became a terror no mere human could endure.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

Her long, agonized scream echoed endlessly through the room.

But there was no one to hear it.

***

Outside the castle gates, Garnet waited alongside the Black Bandana agents dressed in black robes.

Now that everything was nearing its conclusion, they had grown increasingly anxious.

A short while later, a man emerged through the castle gates.

Garnet stepped forward and greeted him respectfully.

"My respects, Lord Regent Valdrova."

"As requested, I have prepared her."

Soon afterward, Tilda Pascal appeared.

She was so utterly ruined that it was hard to believe she had once been a beauty pursued by countless men.

Her hair was disheveled.

Her face was haggard.

Her eyes were completely unfocused.

Drool dripped from her slack, half-open mouth.

Without offering even the slightest resistance to Luri’s guidance, she staggered down the stairs.

She was a living corpse.

An overwhelming terror had shattered her mind, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.

Garnet bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for honoring our agreement."

"It’s too early to thank me."

"Is there something else?"

"There is."

Ferda suddenly pressed a Dagger against Tilda Pascal’s throat.

Startled by the sudden hostage situation, Garnet’s eyes widened.

"What are you doing, Lord Regent?"

"Isabella explained to me how corporate acquisitions work."

Ferda continued,

"I searched through every Imperial law and legal precedent I could find. No matter how thoroughly I looked, I found that acquiring it through legitimate means would be nearly impossible—even with the Black Bandana involved."

"Are you accusing us of lying?"

"I wonder about that myself. One of you has lied to me, but I don’t know which one."

Ferda tilted his head slightly.

"So why don’t you tell me?"

"...I have not lied."

"Then you’re saying Isabella lied?"

Garnet bit her lip before answering.

"She did not lie either."

"There won’t be a second chance. Convince me."

"That is..."

Garnet found herself unable to speak.

She had a duty to keep certain secrets.

At the same time, she also had to complete her Mission.

Especially now, when they had come this far, giving up was not an easy choice.

Garnet knew that.

Ferda knew it as well.

It was an impossible situation.

Yet Ferda still needed an answer.

Who had commissioned this?

And why had they wanted Tilda driven insane?

"It is entirely possible."

Instead of Garnet, a middle-aged voice answered.

The voice continued,

"If the chief executive determines that they are no longer capable of managing the company, they may appoint a new executive at their own discretion. That is one of the rules governing the Dandolo Trading Company."

It was the voice of a middle-aged man.

It came from among the men in black robes.

The owner of the voice stepped forward and lowered his hood.

"You are..."

Ferda had never expected the client to be this person.

The man approached him and offered a respectful greeting.

"I, Henri Dandolo, heir of House Dandolo, pay my respects to the Great Consort of Fire."