I Married the Dragon I Killed

He had said they could do it.

But what exactly were they supposed to do?

Even as a 9th-Circle Archmage, he was still a novice when it came to territorial administration.

And when a novice faces a situation like this, there is an obvious answer.

‘The manual.’

There had to be established procedures for responding to wartime situations like this.

Perda asked Isabella.

“First, we’ll have to gather all the forces of the Far East. What does the war manual say?”

“It stipulates that troops should concentrate in the County of Consilus. However, that protocol was established before you were born, Lord Regent, so we must also consider whether it is still appropriate to apply it.”

Perda thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“No. We must follow the manual. Send all deployed forces to the County of Consilus.”

Count Consilus’s fortress had been designed specifically with wartime conditions in mind.

Everything had been prepared according to that design.

Trying to improvise could end up becoming a fatal mistake.

While Isabella transmitted orders remotely, someone arrived at the office.

Blue hair.

Blunt-tipped horns.

Blue eyes.

It was Erika Iorga, the Tower Master of the Blue Eyes Tower.

“Lord Regent Perda, I assume you already understand the current situation.”

“That’s correct.”

“I think you need to know exactly how things are developing.”

She took a seat and was about to begin her explanation when—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Ruri personally went to open it.

It was Imperial Princess Olivia Arken.

“Greetings, Lord Regent and Lady Tower Master of the Blue Eyes. If it is not a bother, could I participate in this conversation?”

“In this conversation?”

“I believe I may be of help.”

Olivia smiled gently.

The moment she appeared, Erika also put on her own social mask.

“It is an honor to meet the Imperial Princess. You are as beautiful as the rumors say.”

“Oh, you flatter me too much. If we are speaking of beauty, I cannot compare myself to the great authority of water, Lady Iorga, nor to her descendants.”

“Thank you for the compliment. Princess, this matter concerns those responsible for the Far East. There are topics that may be uncomfortable for someone from the Empire.”

It was a polite way of asking her to leave.

But Olivia did not back down.

“I also wish for the peace and prosperity of the Far East. Is it because this matter involves the Empire?”

Neither yielded.

Seeing the stalemate, Erika sent a mental message to Perda.

— Lord Regent Perda, it would be best not to involve someone from the Empire in this matter.

She suggested with her eyes that he dismiss Olivia.

Perda replied.

— There is nothing to worry about.

— Why?

— Because that woman is desperate to kill all of her relatives.

— Her relatives…?

Erika’s eyes widened, and she looked at Olivia again.

Olivia perfectly caught that glance.

“I do not know what kind of mental conversation you just had, but I have the feeling the Lord Regent just said something rather discourteous about me.”

She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a small laugh.

However, behind those words stretched a chilling killing intent.

She looked like a ghost.

Since Perda had said there was no problem, Erika decided not to insist.

“Understood. Given the severity of the situation, I will allow Your Highness to participate.”

Erika dropped her social facade and began explaining the situation.

“The Empire is already aware of what happened. This constitutes an invasion of imperial territory, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“That is why we asked the Empire whether it was willing to cooperate in eliminating the monsters.”

Upon hearing those words, Perda realized something.

‘Blancaros has not treated this as a continental emergency.’

The Blue Eyes, as descendants of a Guardian Dragon, were obligated to respect the laws of the Grand Council.

If they intervened recklessly, they could be accused of violating territorial autonomy.

And then they would have no defense.

“The Empire responded that this is taking place within an autonomous jurisdiction and that the Grand Duchy is perfectly capable of resolving it on its own.”

Some might think the situation was not that serious.

But for Perda and the others, it meant exactly the opposite.

“I also contacted them a short while ago. It was the Crown Prince who responded.”

“And what did he say?”

“That we should wait approximately two months. That is the official position.”

Erika showed an expression of disbelief.

Even one week would already be a dangerous delay.

Two months was a ridiculously slow response.

“Very typical of my dear and twisted older brother. Taking advantage of a crisis like this to try to tame the Far East.”

“Then that means they can prepare much faster.”

“Of course. Gathering the standing army and the imperial reserves would only take two days. Even accounting for supplies and mobilization, they could begin marching in less than two weeks.”

Erika was slightly surprised.

Despite that refined and elegant tone, Olivia spoke about imperial military deployment as though she were an active commander.

Ruri frowned in disbelief.

“They intend to do something like that when the situation demands an immediate solution?”

“Precisely because the situation is urgent, it presents a perfect opportunity. Afterwards, they can claim that the desperate side was the one that refused to bow its head. At the same time, they can argue that they did everything they could. Besides, the destruction of the Far East is not nearly as important to them as you might imagine.”

Ruri’s anger began to boil.

For a moment, she felt the urge to storm the Imperial Palace and destroy everything.

Perda looked at Erika.

“As the representative of the Grand Duchess, what would happen if I requested help from the Blue Eyes?”

“As allies, of course we would help you.”

However, Erika’s confident expression contrasted with the mental message she immediately sent afterward.

— You should not expect too much. Even we lack the necessary power. We can support an imperial army, but acting on our own would be extremely difficult.

Lorga’s absence was a critical secret.

It could not be revealed under any circumstances.

Perda was about to ask whether they truly could not even do that.

But he chose to understand the situation.

If Valdrova were sick, he too would focus all his attention solely on her.

“I will also inform dragons from various regions to see whether they can provide assistance to the Grand Duchy.”

Just as Erika was about to contact the Blue Eyes—

“No.”

The objection came from Olivia.

“On the contrary. This is a problem that humans must solve.”

Erika immediately responded with an elegant smile.

A smile befitting a refined noblewoman that perfectly concealed her displeasure.

“Princess, could you explain your reasoning?”

Olivia did not back down either.

“As you yourself have said, this is happening within the Empire. And the Grand Duchy surrounded by those monsters is still imperial territory.”

“That is correct.”

“If the Grand Duchy manages to resolve this matter on its own before the Empire responds, they will be able to protest the slowness of the imperial response and gain justification for exercising their ‘autonomy.’”

“Autonomy…?”

“And that autonomy is not limited merely to legal matters. It means that, using this crisis as justification, you will be able to reject any attempt to hinder the Grand Duchy’s economic or military development.”

Olivia looked at Perda as she spoke.

“If that happens, Lord Regent, you could even claim ownership rights over magitech.”

That meant the Empire was not the only one capable of turning a crisis into an opportunity.

Perda discreetly looked at Isabella.

She nodded slightly, as though acknowledging that Olivia’s words made sense.

“And what do you intend to do if the situation truly becomes dangerous?”

Erika asked.

“If it reaches that point, then we will have to act as you suggested, Lady Tower Master. We may need to consider cooperation from the dragons. But in the current situation, that would only serve to give the Empire an excuse to take advantage of us.”

“Even so, we do not have enough soldiers to face the monsters. Hestia’s standing army cannot deploy the necessary force.”

“You do not need to worry about that. Haven’t numerous elite soldiers already gathered here?”

To escort the young nobles who had attended the Spring Commencement Festival, many elite combatants had gathered.

The officially registered attendees alone numbered nearly four thousand.

And of those, close to three thousand were soldiers.

“I will personally persuade them.”

“Persuading them is all well and good, Princess, but requesting the cooperation of those people could be interpreted as bringing in ‘outside forces.’”

“Really? After all, they have nowhere to flee either. They will be forced to join. Besides, if this is presented not as the intervention of outside forces but as an act of ‘chivalry’ unable to tolerate injustice and as the ‘duty of the nobility’ that belongs to those who walk upon the continent of Serdes, they will have no choice but to participate.”

Olivia smiled elegantly.

“And above all…”

“If the Imperial Princess of Arken calls for unity, who would refuse to answer?”

It sounded like a shameless display of self-confidence.

However, no one was able to dismiss it as foolishness.

Her beauty was a weapon.

She possessed the ability to captivate and persuade both men and women.

Even Erika, who had barely spoken to her for the first time that day, recognized Olivia’s extraordinary power of persuasion.

“Imperial Princess. I must apologize for having underestimated you until now. You are far superior to that Crown Prince and the Second Prince.”

“Hoho, calling that a compliment would be an understatement. Compared to those human wastes, I am certainly better.”

“However, deciding how to resolve this matter belongs to the Grand Duchess. And if she is absent, then the Regent must make the decision.”

Both turned their gaze toward Perda.

Perda began to reflect on the two positions.

‘Erika’s judgment aligns with mine.’

The safest course was to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

Even if it involved political losses, it was still the safest path to protect the Grand Duchy.

‘But Olivia is not wrong either.’

It was a risky gamble.

However, if they succeeded, it could become a springboard toward a new stage of development.

Safety or risk.

Faced with that crossroads, Perda made a decision.

“We will resolve this problem within the Grand Duchy itself.”

He had backed Olivia’s proposal.

Erika frowned slightly before putting her social mask back on.

“Could you reconsider once more?”

“It is true that facing the demons using only human forces involves risks. But if we are forced to give in now, it will be difficult to regain momentum later.”

“Hmm…”

Erika could not understand Perda.

And that was natural.

What was happening was human politics.

Erika was a Dragon Spawn.

However, she herself had yielded the authority to decide to him, so continuing to insist would be inelegant.

“Very well. If you consider this a human matter, then the Blue Eyes will withdraw from this conflict.”

Erika turned around and began walking away.

The force of her footsteps clearly revealed that she was annoyed.

“Then, let us hold a meeting to decide how to proceed with the humans who are still here…”

Knock, knock.

Just as Olivia was about to begin the meeting, someone knocked on the door.

Ruri opened it.

And the person who entered left everyone stunned.

It was Erika again.

Or rather, it was Erika and yet not Erika.

She had no horns.

She had no tail.

And her clothing looked nothing like that of an Iorga witch.

She was not the Tower Master.

She was an adventurer.

While everyone remained bewildered, Erika approached with her lips slightly pursed and nodded in greeting.

“Nice to meet you.”

“…Excuse me?”

Olivia’s eyes widened.

They had seen each other less than a minute ago.

How could she say this was the first time they had met?

“I am Eri, branch chief of the Far East Adventurers.”

“……”

“Originally, I was scheduled to arrive in two days, but due to unforeseen circumstances I arrived early. Given the situation, I will provide support to the Far East.”

“…What are you doing?”

Even Perda thought it was some kind of joke.

“What do you mean?”

“You just said this was a human matter and that dragons could not intervene.”

“That is correct.”

“Then the one participating is not Erika, Tower Master of the Blue Eyes, but Eri, the Platinum Adventurer. Doesn’t that mean I can intervene?”

“That is true, but…”

“Then I will participate.”

Erika replied with absolute confidence.

“As Platinum Adventurer and branch chief of the Far East Adventurers’ Guild, Eri!”

“……”

“……”

Olivia shot Perda a look, unable to believe the situation.

Perda returned that look toward Isabella.

Isabella simply covered her face.