I Married the Dragon I Killed

“Who did you kill, you ask?”

Lucy smiled calmly as she took a puff from her pipe.

“Hmm, it would be wonderful if I could know something that convenient, little one. That way I could help these girls whenever they come to me for advice.”

Lucy tapped the ashes into an ashtray.

“But I do know the name of the person you killed recently.”

Lucy snapped her fingers.

Snap!

Then one of the pillars covered in multiple layers of vines surrounding the garden moved toward the pavilion.

When it got close enough to Lucy, the vines slowly began to unwind.

Perda realized it was not a simple pillar.

It was a crystal.

Like a mosquito trapped in amber, a woman was sealed inside the transparent crystal.

“Little one, do you know this girl’s name?”

It was a very simple question.

“Echidna Philiaz.”

It was Echidna.

She wore an expression as peaceful as if she were lying in an open coffin before a funeral.

“The rune you created left this girl in that state.”

Lucy pointed at the crystal with a finger.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

Her tone made it clear that he should choose his words carefully.

While observing the scene, Perda asked,

“Did she pass away without suffering?”

A completely indifferent tone.

“Ha.”

Lucy’s laughter echoed throughout the pavilion.

“Hahahahaha…”

The witches seemed to tense up upon hearing it.

Demonic energy spread outward.

A pressure comparable to Dragon Fear swept through his entire body.

“Little one, you are truly… truly shameless.”

Lucy rose from her seat and descended the stairs.

“After killing a daughter of Philiaz, the only thing you ask is whether she died without suffering?”

She stopped in front of Perda.

He had not noticed it from afar, but now he was certain.

She was shorter than Ruri.

“The resentment of a witch is like a frost that lasts a hundred years. It does not simply mean that you will die suffering.”

Her voice carried mana.

And that mana stimulated Perda’s five senses.

It did not sound like a simple threat.

It was as though she were showing him the future awaiting him.

“I will slowly destroy everything around you, prevent you from even choosing to take your own life, and make you collapse completely until the very last moment of your existence.”

Many had lived and died that way.

The records proved it.

But Perda did not waver.

Because he already knew something.

She was bluffing.

“It seems we are both equally shameless, aren’t we, Mistress of the Pavilion?”

“What?”

One of Lucy’s eyebrows rose.

Perda tilted his chin toward the crystal containing Echidna.

“If it isn’t shameless to lock someone alive inside a crystal and claim that she’s dead, then I don’t know what is.”

At that moment, the situation changed.

Lucy’s oppressive aura vanished.

And the anger disappeared from her voice as though it had never existed.

“How did you know?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That a witch’s resentment lasts a hundred years and that their curses are passed down from generation to generation.”

Perda looked back toward the crystal.

He observed Echidna’s peaceful face.

“If she had truly died because of me and wanted to curse me, I don’t think you would have left her with such a calm expression for me to see.”

“Heh. It seems you know quite a bit about witches.”

Lucy slowly rose into the air, clearly pleased.

The fabric of her clothing fluttered as she flew toward the crystal containing Echidna.

“Echidna, poor child. I warned you so many times that loving a man only brings tragedy, but you always insisted on following your own path.”

“The person who expelled her is pitying her now?”

“She simply did not fit the name Philiaz. But the affection I feel for this child has never changed.”

They were not words one would expect from the leader of witches who hated all men.

Lucy gazed at the crystal for a few moments before continuing.

“Little one, since she died because of your mistake, this child will be returning with me.”

It was a unilateral declaration.

Perda responded immediately.

“I refuse.”

This time, the witches reacted.

Demonic energy overflowed.

“How amusing. Do you really think you’re in a position to refuse?”

“I think we’ve been too kind to you. Perhaps we should teach you how bitter this can be.”

Laughter echoed from all directions.

But behind it lay hatred and fury.

“Silence.”

And once again, Lucy’s two syllables were enough to extinguish everything.

Watching her restrain that mass of malice, it was easy to understand how much control Big Sister exercised over the witches.

“Don’t worry. I’m not foolish enough to confuse personal matters with official ones. If someone loses something, they should gain something as well.”

“Hmmm…”

Lucy deliberately released a long exhale as she smoked.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

“What do you think of this?”

A small spark appeared above her index finger.

A red spark.

‘Lightning Against Heaven.’

Lucy Philiaz was effortlessly manifesting that pure power which could normally only be used through a special medium.

“You’re a mage, and it seems you also have talent for lightning. If I taught you a little, I’m sure you’d quickly grasp the principles. What do you say? I’ll make an exception and teach you personally.”

What was she saying?

‘It’s a tempting offer.’

Lightning Against Heaven was still a legendary element whose secret Perda had never managed to comprehend.

He had researched it countless times using branches from the World Tree that had been struck by the Lightning Against Heaven Lucy left behind, but he had not found even a clue.

Even using the staff created from those branches, his research had failed to produce significant results across entire generations.

‘If I could master that power…’

He would become stronger.

As strong as he had been when he was an Eight-Circle Archmage.

So Perda answered,

“I refuse.”

Lucy’s hand paused for a moment.

Even she had apparently not expected him to reject the offer.

“Oh, little one. Does this child mean that much to you?”

“She is important.”

“More important than Lightning Against Heaven?”

The greatest magical element possible for Perda to increase his power.

Growing stronger had always been a necessity for him.

“It is more important.”

But now, becoming stronger was a secondary matter.

“There is someone who needs to learn what happiness is.”

For Perda, Valdrova always came first.

“And for that person to be happy, I need Echidna’s abilities.”

“Then what you’re saying is that you want to use her, little one. As Big Sister and as the owner of this pavilion, I’m not foolish enough to overlook those words.”

“Don’t humans use one another all the time? Just as she uses me, I simply use her.”

Although Perda used the naïve Echidna, that did not mean she was someone who could be easily deceived.

As proof of that, they could call Zed and Morida as witnesses.

“Yes, that is exactly how society works.”

Lucy exhaled a cloud of smoke as though sighing.

Then she snapped her fingers.

Snap!

At that moment, the transparent crystal began melting like water.

The witches watching the scene asked in surprise,

“Oh? Are you going to release her?”

“I thought it was an attractive proposal, but if he doesn’t need it, what can I do?”

It was strange for a witch to give up something so easily.

Lucy never took her eyes off Perda.

Beneath the black veil, the barely visible lower half of her face revealed an expression filled with interest.

Finally, the crystal melted completely and awakened the one inside.

She appeared to have been unconscious, but miraculously remained standing on her own feet.

The eyebrows of Echidna, who had been resting peacefully, twitched.

“Huh? What just happened…?”

She rubbed her head with both hands before looking around.

The first person she saw was Perda.

Perhaps because she was accustomed to receiving looks full of hatred and contempt, his gloomy smile seemed like that of an angel.

“My, Regent Perda. You look very handsome today as well. Hehe…”

Then she slowly looked around.

“Huh? This place feels familiar… It feels very similar to the Pavilion of Roses…”

Her sentence cut off when she saw Big Sister Lucy beside her.

“A-Aaah!!! B-b-Big Sister!?”

Echidna was so startled that she bit her tongue.

It was almost disrespectful, but Lucy did not seem bothered.

“It has been a long time, child. Have you been well?”

“Y-Yes! O-Of course! I’ve been very well!”

“I expelled you myself, but I clearly told you to keep in contact. It seems you didn’t listen.”

“I-It’s just that… inside the castle I couldn’t communicate…”

“Oh, so you’re saying it’s the Regent’s fault. Tell me, should we give him a beating?”

“Huh? N-No! Of course not!”

Echidna spun around toward Perda.

“I never meant anything like that!”

Whether it was true or not.

“Of course I understand that it might be uncomfortable for you. But we’re practically family. Shouldn’t you at least let us hear your voice from time to time?”

“U-Uncomfortable? Never, not even once, have I thought anything like that!”

She was forcing a smile.

It was not convincing at all.

The other witches began laughing and throwing out comments.

“Oh? That was a lie.”

“A lie? Sisters, I never thought anything like that…”

“Come on, be honest.”

“You’ve already been expelled. What does it matter now? Even Big Sister can’t say anything about it.”

“Besides, it’s important to hear how others see you.”

The voices chattered all around Echidna.

Perda immediately understood their intentions.

They were trying to lure her into a trap as if tempting prey.

“Umm…”

Curled up like a frightened turtle, Echidna looked at everyone’s reactions before speaking.

“Well… maybe it is a little uncomfortable…”

Lucy’s hand, which was holding the pipe, froze.

“T-To be honest, it also makes me uncomfortable every time someone older than my own grandmother calls herself a young lady…”

“Pfff…”

“Hehehe…”

The witches could barely hold back their laughter.

Lucy’s reaction was very simple.

Snap!

With a snap of her fingers, the roots that had transported the crystal immobilized Echidna’s entire body.

“Echidna. Our pitiful Echidna.”

Her voice was filled with anger.

Very different from the one she had shown in front of Perda.

“Since it’s been so long since anyone gave you a proper beating, you’ve started saying things you don’t even mean again. You mustn’t speak so carelessly in front of others.”

“Aaaah! My arm! My arm, my arm!”

“Don’t worry. If one of your arms falls off, I’ll tear off your legs as well so they won’t feel left out and use them as decorations.”

“I’m sorry! You’re not small! You’re a very petite young lady! A beautiful young ladyyyy!”

The witches burst into laughter as they watched Echidna being tortured.

Only after brutally tormenting her with thorn-covered vines did they finally release her.

With her hair completely disheveled and her eyes red, Echidna crawled over to Perda while trembling.

“Buaaa… Regent Perda. My arms and legs hurt so much. It hurts so much that I need a hug…”

Thump!

“Stay away.”

Perda pushed her head back.

The witches erupted into laughter.

With nowhere else to go, Echidna lowered her gaze to the ground and whimpered.

“Do you really intend to take her back with you?”

The question now seemed to express concern for him.

“If something like this had been a flaw, I would never have brought her with me in the first place.”

“If that is your will, then I will accept it.”

Lucy gave up far too easily.

Everything was ending suspiciously smoothly.

Was she plotting something?

Perda did not lower his guard for even a moment.

“Go back, Echidna. And make sure to contact us at least once a week.”

“Yes, I will. Regent Perda, shall we go?”

When she tried to extend her hand toward him, Lucy forced her to lower it.

“The Regent will stay with me a little longer.”

“Huh? Here by himself?”

Echidna was bewildered.

This was the headquarters of witches who treated men like toys.

Perda was little more than defenseless prey.

Lucy scolded her with an annoyed expression.

“He has already reached the very heart of this place. What difference does it make whether you’re here or not?”

“W-Well… that’s true, but…”

Like a prairie dog watching a storm approach, Echidna looked anxiously at Perda.

Perda understood the expression on her face.

“You have nothing to worry about. Go back and deliver a message to Ruri.”

“W-What message should I give her?”

“Tell her I’ll be back soon. That’s enough.”

“Y-Yes! Of course!”

With a gesture from Lucy, Echidna’s body broke apart and vanished.

She had probably returned to the library where she had originally been.

Lucy watched her disappear before turning to Perda.

“Let’s take a walk. I want to discuss this alone with you.”

Leaving behind the witches who remained quietly seated, she began to walk.

They left the Pavilion of Roses and moved through the garden.

It was a place where nature did not exist.

Everything had been created solely by Lucy’s will.

That was why the colors and shapes were completely different from anything that could be found in the natural world.

The leaves were sky blue.

The sky was purple.

“Isn’t it a beautiful garden?”

Lucy asked.

“It’s grotesque.”

“Then I’m glad to hear that.”

She brought the pipe to her lips.

“That means you haven’t gone completely insane yet.”

That sentence, spoken with a smile, put Perda on edge.

He tried to decipher the meaning behind that smile.

Then it happened.

He sensed a presence among the thorny vines.

Perda used the Shadow Hand hidden beneath his clothing to yank his own head backward.

Something passed through the exact spot where he had been standing a moment earlier.

Whoosh!

A giant cavalry lance.

No, it was a rose thorn so enormous that it could easily be compared to one.

Perda quickly retreated.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“You don’t need to think too hard. It’s exactly what it looks like.”

Lucy pointed with her pipe.

“I attacked you.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s better to get straight to the point than waste time with shallow provocations and pointless conversations.”

In other words, she wanted to force him to fight.

Just as she had said, Perda had no intention of being dragged along so easily.

Falling into her game would be madness.

He might have been an Archmage in the past, but now he was only a 4-Circle mage.

His opponent was the leader of the witches, someone even 8-Circle mages struggled against.

And on top of that, this was her territory.

‘And Lucy isn’t someone so obsessed with combat that she’d provoke a fight without reason.’

There was definitely a reason behind this provocation.

What was she trying to accomplish?

“Wondering about my intentions?”

Lucy was a mage who had lived for countless years.

Reading Perda’s thoughts was as easy as breathing.

“Rather than explain it to you, I’ll give you a reason why you won’t have any choice but to move.”

She moved the pipe as though pointing at him.

The garden’s vines began twisting like thorn-covered worms.

“If you don’t attack me, I’ll erase your existence from that unfortunate lizard girl’s life.”

A smile dripping with malice appeared on her lips.

It was such a transparent provocation that it was almost insulting.

Perda’s eyes flashed brightly.

He could not back down.