I Married the Dragon I Killed

It all happened during the monster extermination campaign.

The young nobles had departed for the front lines, while only the young noblewomen and the knights assigned to protect them remained in Castle Valdrova.

And what could those ladies do?

Women who had never so much as gotten a single drop of water on their own hands had little else to do besides gather in their rooms.

Some, especially those skilled with their hands, embroidered the uniforms of the young noble they fancied to discreetly express their feelings.

In any case, after seeing the men off, all of them were anxious and lonely.

Although they believed in victory.

Defeat continued whispering in their ears, unsettling their hearts.

And for a certain kind of being, a vulnerable heart was the best possible environment.

By chance.

One of those beings happened to be living in that castle.

“How boring…”

Penelope muttered with an empty expression.

“I managed to fulfill the dream I’d always had in the human world… so why don’t I feel any satisfaction?”

Her greatest goal had always been to create a “garden.”

And she had accomplished it by using beautiful, innocent young noblewomen.

Even so, she didn’t feel the slightest sense of fulfillment.

It was inevitable.

All Penelope had done was cast a net into a pond full of trapped fish.

Or scoop up a spoonful of food directly into her mouth.

“Of course…”

As though she had just attained enlightenment, she thought,

“If I aspire to become a first-rate demon, then I should also be able to do it through my own efforts!”

She clenched her fist with determination.

“Next time, I’ll infiltrate the Imperial Court… and create my garden there!”

Not for a single moment did she consider the possibility of being discovered.

With that resolve in mind, she began wandering aimlessly through the castle.

“Come to think of it… where am I?”

She had wandered around like a drifter until she had completely lost her sense of direction.

Castle Valdrova was enormous.

And walking around absentmindedly was practically an invitation to get lost.

Precisely because of that.

She ended up arriving at a place she had never seen before.

“Is this the Throne Room?”

It was the place where a kingdom’s sovereign officially received their subordinates.

And since it belonged to a dragon, its magnificence rivaled even that of the Emperor’s.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen anyone use it.”

This was the throne where Valdrova was meant to sit.

Even as Regent, Perda could not occupy that seat.

He could have found a justification for doing so, but he himself had refused.

He preferred receiving people in the audience chamber or in his office.

That was why very few people knew what this place looked like.

“Mmm…”

Penelope narrowed her eyes.

A spark of curiosity gleamed within them.

“What if I take a look…?”

Without the slightest fear, she pushed open the enormous doors and stepped inside.

“Woooow!”

The first thing to escape her lips was a cry of admiration.

Since no one used the room, she had imagined furniture covered with sheets and piles of dust.

Instead, it was kept in immaculate condition.

If the enormous chandelier were lit, the entire hall would shine as though it were daytime.

Behind the throne stood a gigantic mural of a Red Dragon, painted so majestically that simply looking at it was enough to intimidate any visitor.

“As expected of a dragon! It’s so luxurious! Why doesn’t anyone make use of a place like this?”

As she looked around the room.

Her eyes settled on the throne.

And she began to imagine.

“I bet sitting there feels incredible…”

“Mmm…”

When someone wants to sit.

Next, they want to lie down.

And when they want to lie down.

They also want to sleep.

Her feet began moving on their own.

“Ah, whatever!”

In the end, she gave in to her desires.

She casually climbed onto the throne.

And sat down.

“Oooh! Woooooah!”

The instant her backside touched the throne, her entire body trembled.

“So this is what the air kings breathe feels like?!”

That feeling was incomparable even to the satisfaction she had experienced when creating her garden.

It was as if every desire that had always remained unfulfilled within her had suddenly been satisfied.

Penelope remembered the past.

Why had she fearlessly stolen her own mother Sitri’s Life Vessel?

Because she wanted to drive that Great Demon away and become the new Great Demon of Hell herself.

Although.

Since she had never thought beyond stealing the Life Vessel, she had ended up being hunted by her own mother.

But that didn’t matter.

Her ambition still burned brightly.

Completely immersed in her fantasy of being a queen, she could no longer hold herself back and exclaimed,

“Hohoho! Come! Is there no one around?”

Her voice echoed throughout the Throne Room.

“From this very moment, I proclaim the founding of Penelope’s Harem Kingdom! Which young lady wishes to become the first concubine of this Great Demon, Penelope?!”

She delighted in imagining a group of beautiful young women begging at the foot of her throne.

“You? Or perhaps you? Either one will do. Come here and—”

Her words died away.

“Huh…?”

The imaginary beautiful girls surrounding her vanished like smoke.

She had returned to reality.

But one thing still remained standing before the tip of her finger.

A woman of average build with red hair.

However, there was something that made her anything but ordinary.

Two pairs of horns.

Golden eyes.

Vertical pupils.

Penelope had never seen her before.

But even a child could tell who she was.

The owner of that Throne Room.

The very person depicted in the mural behind her.

Valdrova.

Penelope had not only entered the Throne Room without permission.

She had also sat on the throne.

And on top of that, she had just pointed her finger at its true owner.

“U-Uh… Well…”

Her finger awkwardly curled inward.

And her entire demeanor instantly shifted into a respectful posture.

“H-Hahaha!”

She let out an exaggerated laugh as though nothing had happened.

“Well! How careless of me! I didn’t know where I was, and I accidentally wandered into such an important place while talking to myself! Please forgive me!”

She tried to quietly slip past Valdrova.

“T-Then this humble servant shall take her leave!”

Just as she was about to dash out through the door.

“Wait.”

She couldn’t cross the threshold.

That single word was enough to immobilize her.

Neither the flow of her mana.

Nor her heart.

Nothing obeyed her will anymore.

It was as though everything had been caught in Valdrova’s hand.

It was then that Penelope understood for the first time.

What a dragon truly was.

Looking at Penelope, who trembled like a tiny, utterly defenseless animal, Valdrova said,

“Can we talk for a moment?”

At that instant, Penelope knew exactly what awaited her.

‘Zed… I’ll be going on ahead.’

She left behind a few final words in silence.

‘I really put your money to good use. Thanks to it, I met so many people. I won’t be able to repay you in this life… but when you come to Hell, I’ll pay you back. Although… now that I think about it, if I go to Hell, I can die there too.’

Penelope sighed bitterly.

‘Damn it… If I’d known this was going to happen, I would’ve spent every last coin.’

***

Ten minutes earlier, at Castle Valdrova.

‘It’s so quiet.’

Valdrova walked through the castle corridors.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been wearing her armor, but at that moment, she was dressed in an elegant gown.

Since the Spring Beginning Festival, she had become capable of walking around the castle without her armor.

‘Even so, it’s still difficult to run into other people…’

Ironically, the person she found the hardest to face was Perda.

She feared that the attention and consideration with which he always treated her would only make her feel even more pressured.

That was why she only walked through places where there were almost never any people.

Among them was the Throne Room.

‘This is where I was supposed to sit, wasn’t it?’

When she had first become engaged to the Third Prince, she had only ordered a single throne to be built.

From the very beginning, she had never intended to rule that place.

That seat had always been meant for the Third Prince.

Although she had obtained the title of Grand Duchess, she believed it was better for a prince to rule than someone like her, who had done nothing.

She dreamed of a future in which the Third Prince reigned.

While she simply supported him by his side.

‘But…’

Reality had never followed that path.

On the very night the Third Prince arrived at the Grand Duchy, he spoke those words.

“Love? Don’t say such ridiculous nonsense. In the end, you really are nothing more than a watchdog.”

The kindness he had shown that morning disappeared completely.

With a frown, he began hurling insults.

“I only came to use you. I planned to flatter you a little, then put a collar on you like a dog. Did you really think I would fall in love with you? You’re nothing more than the murderer of the Dragon-Demon War. A dog should behave like a dog.”

He had no hesitation in driving those words into her.

Without a doubt, he had spoken them under the influence of some kind of magic.

But that didn’t change one reality.

Those were still the Third Prince’s true thoughts.

Upon hearing them, her dragon blood began to boil.

Valdrova was unable to contain the storm of emotions that erupted within her.

And in the end.

She killed him with her own hands.

Once again, she had failed to overcome herself.

Once again, she had taken someone’s life.

She hated the version of herself that lost control.

She convinced herself that she didn’t deserve to be happy.

Even so.

Deep down.

Selfishly.

She wished for one last chance to find happiness.

If she made another mistake this time.

She swore that, for everyone’s sake, she would forever abandon the dream of being happy again.

And then that man appeared.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my heart.”

Perda was completely different from the Third Prince.

From the very first moment, his eyes looked directly at her.

He wasn’t someone who wanted to marry in order to rule.

He was someone who ruled because he wanted to marry.

Why hadn’t she met a man like him from the very beginning?

‘If I had met Perda sooner…’

She wouldn’t have to fear meeting other people so much anymore.

She could gather more courage to help him.

She could have accomplished so much more by his side.

She wanted to overcome that fear.

And become someone capable of supporting him.

That was what Valdrova wanted most.

“Hohoho!”

At that moment.

A burst of laughter suddenly echoed.

There was no mistake.

It was coming from the other side of the door.

‘What could that be?’

Valdrova carefully opened the door to the Throne Room.

And then she saw a pink-haired demon sitting comfortably on the throne, completely immersed in her role.

‘That girl… she’s the one Perda brought here, isn’t she?’

It was Penelope.

A demon.

Ruri had explained that she was carrying out an important mission, though she hadn’t said exactly what it was.

‘…Her?’

No matter how much she looked at her.

She didn’t seem like it at all.

If anything, she looked like a completely immature girl.

“You? Or maybe you? It doesn’t matter who. Come over here and let me…”

As she said that.

She pointed directly at her.

“Uh…?”

Penelope froze completely.

Then she tried to quietly sneak away.

But Valdrova didn’t allow it.

“Wait.”

Normally, she would have pretended not to notice her and let her leave.

But for some reason.

She couldn’t do it.

Not even she understood why.

She simply said,

“Can we talk for a moment?”

***

Penelope and Valdrova sat side by side on a bench bathed in the bluish moonlight.

Both remained perfectly still.

Neither said a word.

‘I want to run away…’

Penelope felt as though she were sitting on a cushion of thorns.

She always acted on impulse.

But even she couldn’t move in a situation like this.

Finally, she gathered enough courage to break the silence.

“Uh…”

“…”

“I’ve committed a crime worthy of death.”

“…”

“Although, now that I think about it, maybe it isn’t that serious. I only sat on the throne. Don’t you think?”

“…”

“No, forget it. Now that I think about it, it really is worthy of death. And I’m still talking!”

“…”

“Sigh… I think I’m saying too many stupid things. I’d better shut up.”

For Penelope, the saying that the mouth is the gateway to all misfortune fit her perfectly.

Silence settled between them once more.

And along with it.

Penelope felt as though her heart were slowly stopping.

“Excuse me…”

“Y-Yes! Please, go ahead!”

This time, it was Valdrova who spoke.

“The truth is, I didn’t ask you to come here to scold you for coming in.”

“R-Really? Whew! Of course, considering you’re the kind and merciful Lady Valdrova, I should have expected you to forgive the mistake of someone as insignificant as me.”

“Mmm… Actually… there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“So it was a question!”

At last, she had found a way out.

Penelope smiled enthusiastically and thumped her chest.

“This Penelope will answer anything within her ability!”

“Then…”

Valdrova looked at her.

“What exactly is this Harem Kingdom?”

“Huh…?”

Penelope had just slammed headfirst into the greatest obstacle imaginable.

It was a difficult question to answer in front of a woman.

Especially after trying to recruit that very woman into her harem.

“W-Well… a harem is something like polygamy.”

“Polygamy? What does that mean?”

“It means a man having several wives. Let’s just say… it’s the ideal dream of many men.”

“Huh? Weren’t you a man?”

“No, I’m a woman.”

“Then what’s the point?”

Well.

Good question.

“W-Well! What I meant was that I’d build a Harem Kingdom for Lady Valdrova!”

“But I’m a woman, aren’t I?”

“Women can have a Harem Kingdom too by surrounding themselves with other women!”

“Mmm… Surrounded by women…?”

Valdrova imagined many women gathered around her.

And thought about what they normally did when they were together.

‘Something like a tea party…?’

She imagined herself happily chatting with all of them.

For a moment, she felt as though she were living the dream of becoming a true young noblewoman.

Her heart began floating with happiness.

“So… is a Harem Kingdom something good?”

“Huh? Y-Yes! Of course!”

It was obvious that Valdrova had understood something completely different.

But Penelope decided not to make an issue of it.

“Hahaha…!”

She simply laughed it off.

“Since you’re Sitri’s daughter, I suppose you’re a lust demon.”

“W-Well… yes.”

“Then you know a lot about men too?”

“Uh…”

To Penelope, men were not much different from stones lying by the roadside.

She paid them no attention.

They only annoyed her when she tripped over one.

Except for exceptional cases like Zed, who was especially handsome.

“But I know exactly what makes a woman attractive!”

She diverted the conversation by answering something else.

“Attractive women…”

And, strangely enough, that answer seemed to satisfy Valdrova.

The part of her chin that wasn’t covered by the veil rested on her hand as she pondered.

Penelope was beginning to fear she had made a mistake.

When Valdrova spoke again.

“Do you really understand women well?”

“Of course! I know exactly what kind of beauty drives men crazy!”

“I see…”

Valdrova remained thoughtful for a few moments.

“Good.”

She nodded decisively.

Although her tone conveyed tremendous resolve.

What she did was something very simple.

She removed the veil she was wearing.

And showed her true face.

“…So, what do you think of me?”

She asked shyly.