I Married the Dragon I Killed

After Perda received the witch’s invitation, all the castle workers returned to their duties.

Everyone except one person.

Ruri Silverwind.

She alone remained staring at the place where Perda had disappeared after accepting the invitation.

By now, she should have been cleaning, but at that moment she could not focus on anything.

A complicated mix of emotions kept swirling through her mind, tormenting her.

‘Why did he make that decision?’

She could not read Perda’s true intentions, and that made her constantly imagine the worst.

It was something that would have shaken even a saint.

When she remembered everything Perda had done, she could not help it.

He had allowed a witch and a demon into the castle.

He had negotiated with a Great Demon.

And now he had accepted an invitation from the leader of the witches.

He was a man who did absolutely everything he was told not to do.

‘If it were ordinary humans, what would I have done?’

What would she have done?

Any one of those things alone would have been enough for her to throw them out without hesitation.

But in Perda’s case, there was not just one reason.

There were many.

That alone was enough to justify an execution.

The reason she did not do it to Perda was simple.

‘Because I can trust him.’

Perda was someone capable of doing anything for her lady.

In fact, even when serious problems arose, he responded flexibly, and so far he had not caused a single disaster.

This invitation might also be something she could perhaps trust.

However, the situation had changed.

Ruri had seen Perda’s weakness.

Once she realized that he was also a ridiculously fragile human being, she could no longer see him the same way.

He was just like every other fragile human.

And if a human with the potential to become a threat appeared—

‘I must kill him.’

Ruri looked at her own hands.

She remembered the promise she had made to Perda.

“I will kill him with these hands.”

Ruri thought.

‘If he tries to harm my lady, will I really be able to kill him?’

She was a Dragon Spawn.

Killing humans was not something that made her hesitate.

She was the one who had killed the Third Prince’s subordinates when they tried to use Valdrova as nothing more than a stepping stone to power.

She was also the one who had tried to kill Perda during their first meeting.

But her heart was no longer the same as it had been back then.

Even if Perda were to be hated by Valdrova, even if it led to their engagement being broken and gave her more than enough justification, could she kill him?

She was not even sure of that.

‘I too…’

What those hands wanted to hold was not Perda’s neck.

‘I wish I could rely on that man without worrying about anything…’

Just as her lady, Valdrova, did.

She wanted to watch his actions without overthinking them.

She wanted to see humans gather in that barren land and make it prosper.

At first, she had reasons not to trust him.

She believed Perda was no different from the Third Prince.

Her task had been to look for any excuse in his actions to drive him away.

However, even now that all those misunderstandings had been resolved, Ruri still could not do it.

‘Perda is human.’

Humans are mortal.

They are destined to die someday.

And the closer they come to death, the more unstable they become.

Perda could not escape that.

The image of his fragility continued to linger faintly before Ruri’s eyes.

Someone had to remain vigilant.

And that someone had to be Ruri.

She had to remain cautious and search for any trace of malice in his actions.

Not only for Valdrova.

‘I must protect him.’

She had to protect the man who wanted to protect her lady.

She had to protect him from all the things that constantly tested him.

As she continued staring at that place without moving, she felt a wave of mana from within the castle.

Ruri immediately knew where it had originated.

And once she knew that, she also knew who had returned.

‘Lord Perda.’

Ruri ran there with the speed characteristic of Silverwind blood.

In the place where only Morida should have been, Echidna was standing.

She looked at Ruri with a confused expression.

“I-It seems quite a commotion broke out…”

She tried to ease the situation with an awkward smile and nervous gestures, but Ruri walked straight toward her.

The moment Echidna saw Ruri’s expression, her face turned pale.

“Chief Researcher.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Tell me the truth.”

Echidna shrank under Ruri’s pressure.

“Where did you leave Lord Perda? Why did you return alone?”

“W-Well… Big Sister wanted to see Lord Regent…”

“What did they do to Perda?”

Ruri’s pressure intensified even further when she heard Big Sister’s name.

At last, Echidna began speaking hurriedly, on the verge of tears.

“H-He’s safe! Lord Regent told me not to worry and asked me to deliver a message…!”

Boom!

A brutal force exploded right beside Echidna’s head.

Ruri’s leg had slammed violently into the library floor.

The impact caused several books to fall from the shelves.

“Can you guarantee those words?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Can you guarantee that Lord Perda is safe, just as you returned unharmed?”

“Th-That is…”

He’s fine.

He’ll return safely.

It was a situation that could have been resolved simply by saying that.

“I-I don’t really know either…”

But Echidna could not do it.

Precisely because she had once been a Philiaz witch, she knew the nature of witches well.

What she did not know were the true intentions of Big Sister Lucy Philiaz.

It was far too dangerous a place to guarantee that everything would be fine.

And she could not read Lucy’s intentions either.

When she heard that, Ruri’s expression tightened.

She looked angry, but what she actually felt was confusion.

She had not asked that question seeking simple reassurance.

But hearing that even Echidna did not know only increased her anxiety.

‘I can’t leave him there alone.’

She remembered what had happened between Perda and Abel.

If he found himself in such a helpless situation again, Ruri would not be able to help him.

“Chief Researcher. You used to be a witch as well, correct?”

“O-Of course…”

“Can you take me to the Garden of Witches?”

“T-To the Garden? Even if I wanted to go…”

“Can you or can you not?”

Ruri demanded an answer.

Echidna replied.

“I-I can’t… Even if I try to go, entering that place depends on Big Sister. If Big Sister does not allow it, reaching it is impossible. If I try to force it, I could die, or worse, become a wandering specter trapped in Limbo forever.”

Mages who misuse teleportation magic end up becoming ghosts trapped between time and space.

Perhaps it was a fate even crueler than death.

That meant she could not simply force Echidna to do the impossible.

‘And above all, if someone must do something, it has to be me.’

What could she do?

She, who only knew how to use force.

What exactly could she do…?

“Huh?”

At that moment, a sensation passed through Echidna’s mind.

As if she had been waiting for that exact moment, she looked at Ruri and spoke.

“L-Lord P-Perda has returned!”

“!!”

The moment she heard that, Ruri also withdrew the foot she had been using to pin Echidna in place.

As though afraid of missing the opportunity, she immediately ran toward the spot where he had disappeared.

Just as Echidna had said, Perda was there.

So completely unharmed that it made all her worries seem ridiculous.

Black suit.

Gray hair.

And deep blue eyes like a lake.

Ruri’s agitated heart calmed when she confirmed that figure.

Then her gaze hardened, and she walked toward him.

“Lord Perda.”

However, she could not hide the tremor in her voice.

Trying to appear calm, she asked.

“What did that witch do to you?”

Perda replied.

“Nothing happened.”

“I cannot believe you went all the way to the Garden of Witches and nothing happened. Besides, they said Big Sister spent quite a long time with you.”

Perda nodded as though he agreed and answered again.

“We only talked.”

“And what exactly did you talk about?”

“About something that you and I had not been able to solve.”

That meant the witch had seen Perda’s weakness.

The hands Ruri had politely clasped together tightened.

“Don’t tell me you made a deal with that witch…?”

“I did not make any deal.”

If he had stopped there, perhaps Ruri would have felt some relief.

“But she did help me.”

And because of that, she could not.

Big Sister, Lucy Philiaz.

She was a witch who was difficult to encounter, but Ruri had met her before.

“That woman said she wanted to help Lady Valdrova?”

“Yes.”

“Then she also talked about me.”

“Yes.”

Her expression hardened.

“Do you know why I ignored her when she said she wanted to help Lady Valdrova?”

“……”

“Because witches are a group that sees everyone who is not one of them as either enemies or toys. They are wretches who use other people’s vengeance for their own amusement. The descendants of Silverwind were also victims of that entertainment. Do you know what Lucy Philiaz said when we demanded accountability for that?”

“……”

“She said she could not control the Philiaz over something so insignificant.”

Ruri was a Dragon Spawn.

And among them, a descendant of Silverwind, the bloodline with the strongest family bonds.

It was easy to imagine how much someone who despised family ties would anger her.

“For that damned woman, you are also nothing more than a small, insignificant piece. Those things know no compassion. They will slowly ensnare you and eventually turn you into one of their toys.”

Ruri’s anger had a certain logic to it.

Talking with a witch was like carrying a bomb that could explode at any moment.

That was the common perception.

Common sense.

“Do you suspect that I might betray her?”

At Perda’s question, Ruri clenched her fists.

“Yes.”

But in truth, that was not it.

“I’m worried that you’ll end up hurting my lady.”

She simply did not want to see him turned into a witch’s toy.

Her sharp words pierced Perda once again.

“That’s a relief.”

“……What?”

Ruri raised her head.

“What do you mean? How can that possibly be a relief?”

“Because if you think that way, I won’t have to lie to myself.”

“……”

Perda looked at her with a deep gaze.

“As you said, someday I might end up hurting her. I might convince myself it’s for her own good and end up walking the wrong path. If you keep that vigilance alive, then there will be a chance to correct me if I stray.”

“That sounds like you’re leaving that responsibility to me.”

“In part, I am.”

“That’s irresponsible.”

“I can’t help it. You’re the person I trust the most.”

Trust.

“I trust you enough to show you this weakness of mine.”

Upon hearing those words, something Ruri could not control arose within her chest.

‘Again.’

Just like that day, a faint smell of ashes crossed her mind.

And Perda’s face began to overlap with someone else’s.

Silverwind.

He did not resemble the person who had taken her in when she was empty at all.

And yet, she ended up confusing them.

The cold, steel-like heart of the soldier began to soften.

Trying to hide that feeling, she moved her lips and lowered her head.

Perda had no way of understanding what she was feeling.

Instead, he placed a hand on her head.

“My judgment may become clouded someday, but for now, trust me. I won’t become that witch’s toy.”

He gently patted her head without asking permission.

Ruri’s confusion grew stronger.

And the smell drew closer as well.

That smell of ashes from that day.

Wait.

This isn’t the smell of ashes.

“……A smell.”

“Hm?”

Ruri sniffed several times before raising her head.

“It smells like tobacco…”

Her expression turned terrible.

“Why do you smell so strongly of tobacco, Lord Perda?”

“That’s…”

Perda recalled Lucy Philiaz’s actions.

How many times had she blown smoke directly into his face?

‘Don’t tell me…’

No.

It was not a guess.

He was certain.

Lucy Philiaz had smoked so excessively precisely to create a situation like this.

‘So she decided to mess with me this way.’

They said that once you got involved with a witch, you would never have another peaceful day.

“…First, you’ll need to take a bath.”

Ruri pulled out a green towel.

Perda replied with the spirit of an ox being led to slaughter.

“…Be gentle.”

But the word mercy did not exist in Ruri’s dictionary.

***

Perda recalled Big Sister Lucy’s words.

“The boundaries between emotions…”

Lucy Philiaz had told him to draw a line between his two emotions.

He did not know how to do it, but she had left him a clue.

‘The mana circulation technique, Shape of Shadow.’

The phrase said.

‘I become the shadow, and the shadow becomes me.’

According to Lucy, the key to controlling the two emotions he possessed lay there.

“If the shadow can truly become me, then wouldn’t anything be possible…?”

Muttering those words, Perda raised a Shadow Hand.

This was a hand.

‘But at the same time, it isn’t a hand.’

Since it was not a real hand, it was not strange for the fingers to bend beyond normal limits.

In fact, by deliberately breaking the orientation of the fingers, he could freely reverse the front and the back.

He could also alter its shape to imitate a foot.

Or even crudely transform it into a beast’s paw.

‘Therefore, this is a hand and at the same time not a hand.’

Alternating his gaze between the hand formed from black mana and his real hand, he pondered deeply.

Perda stopped trying to control it and allowed his thoughts to flow.

The Shadow Hand is a hand and, at the same time, not a hand.

‘Then this shadow is also my body and at the same time not my body.’

In that case—

‘Wouldn’t it be possible to create something that is my Circle and, at the same time, not a Circle?’