I Married the Dragon I Killed

The moment Penelope saw her face, she froze completely.

The presence of fire and power.

When she had seen the dragoness from afar, she had seemed like a fierce, wild figure overflowing with overwhelming strength.

Even when she had approached while wearing the veil, that impression had remained the same.

But the instant she beheld her face, she had no choice but to admit that she had been completely wrong.

Her slightly drooping eyes conveyed disarming innocence and purity.

Her lips still retained the freshness of a young maiden.

Her aura was calm and tranquil.

She was a woman whose mere presence brought peace of mind.

Perhaps because of that.

Penelope’s frozen eyes naturally began to move.

And then she noticed Valdrova’s feminine figure.

If she had to compare it to something.

It was like the first snow covering the earth.

And Penelope felt the urge to leave the footprints of her muddy feet upon that immaculate snow.

‘I almost got myself into serious trouble.’

‘My mouth almost started watering.’

“D-Do I… not look good?”

“Huh? O-Oh! No! Of course not!”

Penelope immediately tore away that lustful gaze and once again adopted a flattering attitude.

“It’s just that you’re so beautiful this humble servant became completely captivated by you! Haha!”

“Beautiful?”

“Of course!”

With her eyes shining with excitement, Penelope began speaking passionately.

“When I sensed you were a dragon, I was terrified. But the moment I saw your beautiful face, all that fear vanished! I finally understood how a moth feels when it flies into the flames!”

“Don’t I… look a little… silly or absentminded?”

“Silly? Never! That purity and innocent maidenly air are exactly the kind of charm that drives men crazy!”

“I-I see…”

Although Penelope’s vocabulary was rather crude, Valdrova took her words as nothing more than a compliment.

“I see… It’s just that there’s someone who doesn’t really like it when I make this expression…”

“W-What?! What heartless viper dared to say such a thing?! If anyone dares speak that way about the one and only Red Dragon, Lady Valdrova, this Penelope won’t hesitate to deliver justice with her hammer!”

“It’s Ruri…”

“R-Ruri?! That damn…! Isn’t Ruri your maid, Lady Valdrova?”

“Yes, she is.”

“…”

The pose Penelope had struck as though she were about to swing her hammer of justice instantly became much more subdued.

Seeing that, Valdrova realized Penelope knew Ruri.

“Do you know Ruri?”

“Yes… Well… we’ve had a few unpleasant memories together.”

“Really?”

“Every time I wander around the castle on my own, she suddenly appears out of nowhere to scold me.”

“And what does she say?”

“That I should stop wandering around just because I’m a demon. That this isn’t my home, and things like that.”

“I see.”

“But honestly, don’t you think she’s overreacting? Just because I wandered around a couple of places in such a huge castle, she started saying she’d fold my spine in half.”

“That does sound a bit excessive.”

“And then she actually folds my spine!”

“…Really?”

“Three times, at that!”

“M-My… that really was too much…”

“Right, Lady Valdrova? Even I think so!”

Penelope kept chattering without stopping.

Even though she knew perfectly well that Penelope herself had been at fault, Valdrova listened to the whole story in silence.

At the same time.

She experienced a strange feeling.

‘What is this…?’

She felt incredibly comfortable.

For Valdrova, talking with other people had always been difficult.

The men she had met while disguised as the Armored Knight.

Ruri, who had remained by her side longer than anyone else.

And even Perda, the man who made her heart race so fiercely.

All of them were people she found very difficult to talk to.

But Penelope was different.

She spoke without restraint.

She never stopped talking.

And above all.

She was so absurdly insignificant that, before she realized it, Valdrova found herself amused.

Only then did Valdrova understand what she had truly wanted when she stopped her.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes!”

“Would you like to be my friend?”

“…Huh?”

Penelope blinked blankly.

What had that woman just said?

Become friends?

Could this be some kind of trap?

What if she agreed, only for her to say, “You actually believed me?” before killing her?

While she remained wearing that dazed expression, Valdrova asked timidly,

“…Don’t you want to be my friend?”

No.

This couldn’t be a test.

Just looking at that expression was enough.

She looked as shy as a young bride on her wedding night.

Thinking she was playing with her would have been disrespectful.

“F-Friends…? W-Well… yes.”

She answered somewhat awkwardly.

Valdrova’s eyes widened.

“R-Really?”

“You’re the one who suggested it…”

For a moment, Penelope thought she had said something wrong.

“O-Oh! Yes! Of course! I suggested it! Yes!”

And the very next moment.

The uncertainty vanished from Valdrova’s face.

A radiant smile blossomed across her face.

She clenched her fists tightly while slightly raising her shoulders, unable to contain her excitement.

“Then, starting today, we’re friends!”

“Y-Yes…”

Penelope couldn’t understand that reaction.

Could someone really be that happy just because they had made a friend?

And on top of that.

A third-rate demon like her?

‘A dragon being friends with someone…? No one in their right mind would agree to something like that… Wait a minute…’

Suddenly, an idea crossed Penelope’s mind.

‘What if this is much better than it looks?’

A dragon’s friend.

What demon on the entire continent of Serdes could boast of such a thing?

Not even the Seven Great Demons had managed it.

But she had.

She, who had always been treated as a third-rate demon in her homeland.

Was now friends with a dragon in a dragon’s castle.

‘Maybe…!’

Penelope’s eyes began to sparkle.

‘Maybe I really can overthrow my mother and become a Great Demon!’

They say dreaming of something beyond your reach only invites disaster.

But Penelope had no idea that the gleam in her eyes was, in truth, the light of an ominous star heralding catastrophe.

***

“And… that’s how it happened…”

“…”

“As a favor between friends, she said she wanted to help lift Lord Perda’s spirits. She couldn’t do it personally, but since people are always watching, she asked me to at least create that impression…”

Now Perda understood why he had been deceived.

The clothes were the same ones Valdrova wore.

Moreover, they had been woven with threads made from scales infused with her aura.

That was enough to completely conceal Penelope’s demonic energy and make anyone believe she truly was a dragon.

“…”

Countless thoughts swirled through Perda’s mind.

His head was in complete chaos.

It was practically a blank slate.

While he remained unable to utter a single word.

“…I see.”

Suddenly, Perda realized something.

“So it was you… who also taught her that vulgar phrase?”

“W-What? Which phrase?”

“The expression you turn me on. You’re the one who taught it to her?”

“M-Me…? That expression…”

— The best thing a woman can hear from a man is him telling her, you turn me on.

— I see. But… what does you turn me on mean?

— You don’t even know that? It’s the greatest compliment a man can give a woman!

“…Yes… it was me.”

Penelope scratched her head with an awkward smile.

The moment Perda heard that answer.

Tears began streaming down his face.

They should have been transparent tears.

Yet.

They were red.

Perda was crying tears of blood.

It was as though the Horsemen of Calamity were tearing his mind apart.

On one hand.

He was happy that Valdrova had finally found a friend she could open her heart to.

But that very happiness made it even more unbearable to discover that the friend was someone like Penelope.

The Shadow Circle began to stir violently.

Perda’s lips moved.

“You…”

“You…?”

“I’ll kill you, Penelope, daughter of Sitri!”

“Guhk!”

Unable to restrain himself, Perda grabbed her by the throat.

Penelope had no strength to resist.

“Lord Perda, stop.”

Seeing that he had lost control, Ruri intervened.

“If you’re going to kill her, respect the queue! If anyone’s going to do it first, it’ll be me!”

Those small hands also went straight for Penelope’s throat.

Ruri was crying tears of blood as well.

From the moment Penelope said she was Valdrova’s friend, Ruri had bitten her lips so hard that blood had been flowing ever since.

Penelope instinctively understood only one thing.

‘If I don’t do something… I’m really going to die!’

Somehow, she managed to break free from their hands and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“W-Wait! Time out! Stop! Lord Perda, listen to me!”

“If you offer your neck willingly, I’ll grant you a quick death.”

“N-No, wait! Think about it for a moment! Me being her friend doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, does it?”

“For saying that, I’ll make your death even more painful.”

The situation only kept getting worse.

But Penelope continued desperately.

“Lady Valdrova considers me her friend right now!”

“I’ll kill you.”

The killing intent radiating from Perda only grew stronger.

“Lady Valdrova is always thinking about how she can make you happier!”

Perda’s hand stopped for a moment.

Penelope immediately took advantage of that hesitation.

“And that’s exactly why! If I remain her friend, you’ll have one of the few opportunities to discover how Lady Valdrova truly feels… and for her to better understand your feelings as well!”

“…For example?”

“F-For example…”

Penelope leaned close to Perda’s ear and whispered.

“How about that beautiful lady with crimson hair wearing a daring outfit that shows off her entire stunning figure?”

“…”

“Or a dress made of fabric so sheer that it subtly reveals her silhouette…”

“…”

“If you keep me as her friend, you’ll be able to witness every bit of Lady Valdrova’s feminine and sensual charm without any filter.”

Perda fell completely silent.

Just before his imagination could run wild.

“And just what the hell are you thinking?”

Ruri shot Perda a murderous glare.

Perda immediately came back to his senses.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything.”

“It certainly looked like you were imagining Lady Valdrova in a rather indecent situation.”

“…That wasn’t it.”

If Ruri had taken just a little longer to speak.

He probably would have admitted it.

Even Perda himself was surprised.

Not even Sitri, a Great Demon, had managed to tempt him like that.

And yet.

That third-rate demon had succeeded.

It had to be the effect of Sitri’s Life Vessel.

What terrifying power.

“If I ever see Lady Valdrova wearing one of those disgraceful things that demon suggested, I won’t just kill that demon—I will also gouge out your eyes, Lord Perda.”

“If she decided to wear it of her own free will, you wouldn’t have the right to sto—”

“What did you just say?”

Perda immediately shut his mouth.

Ruri’s two index fingers were pointed directly at his eyes with unmistakably hostile intent.

Thus, throughout the entire carriage ride, Ruri never stopped glaring daggers at Perda.

And Penelope managed to save her life.

***

After Perda left the Imperial Capital, the Empire remained in complete turmoil.

Two followers of the demon race had already been discovered within the Empire.

And both had occupied some of the highest-ranking positions in the nation.

It was the perfect fuel for the agitators seeking to seize a place in power.

And the nobles could no longer remain comfortably seated on their sofas.

The Imperial Guard was living through days of utter chaos.

“I heard you returned from the Develung estate.”

“That’s right.”

“How was it?”

The Develung estate was famous for its immense size, extravagant even for its rank.

It was the symbol of that family’s tradition and prestige.

Many admired it.

But that had only been true until the previous day.

Now, that symbol of wealth and power had become a cursed mansion, tainted by twisted desires.

“It reeked from the entrance. Just what you’d expect from a bastard who followed the demon race. And don’t even get me started on the paintings. Every single one of them was revolting.”

“Is it true they burned the entire mansion down?”

“What other choice was there? Grand Duke Golt made the decision for the good of the Empire. They’ll burn the entire estate to the ground and build new structures in its place.”

“They say you can’t trust anyone anymore…”

“The Grand Duke must be deeply shaken.”

Valdemar Golt was the people’s hero.

His reputation was so great that insulting him as a joke in a tavern was enough to earn you a punch in the face.

Everyone pitied Valdemar.

And cursed Develung, whom they regarded as a lackey of the demon race.

“They say they rescued a girl from that demon spawn’s clutches.”

“She’s recovering in the infirmary right now. She was so saturated with drugs that it took five priests just to cure her total paralysis.”

“Really?”

“According to the report, she’d been imprisoned for three years.”

“And what’s so remarkable about that?”

“A great deal. Among the victims was even a former Imperial Guard knight. That man didn’t survive even three months. Yet that woman endured for a full three years.”

During the Imperial Guard’s selection process, every aspect of a candidate was carefully evaluated.

But they never compromised when it came to mental fortitude.

Even if someone was an exceptional swordsman, a weak mind alone was enough to disqualify them.

“Could it be that Develung treated her more leniently because she was a woman?”

“No. Quite the opposite. She endured every torture that normally no one survived for more than a month, and she still lived.”

“Three years enduring all that…?”

“It sounds like the training of some secret assassin organization. The kind that only accepts those who survive that sort of torture.”

“What nonsense are you talking about…”

The captain’s voice suddenly trailed off.

Those words had awakened a forgotten memory.

“Is there a portrait of that woman?”

“As a matter of fact, an artist made one in an attempt to identify her.”

A guard handed him the portrait.

The captain’s expression grew darker and darker.

“Wait a minute…”

He hurriedly opened a filing cabinet.

He didn’t search through the missing persons files.

He searched through the wanted criminals.

His fingers stopped on a document stored at the very back.

“…Damn it.”

His face turned pale.

“What is it, Captain?”

“That damned pig kept someone this dangerous alive!”

The guards were bewildered by such an outburst of rage.

“Bring me a pair of Level 1 magic-suppression shackles immediately! We have to arrest that woman!”

“But who is she…?”

“Stop asking questions and move!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Startled by such an uncharacteristic reaction from their captain, the guards grabbed the shackles and rushed after him.

They arrived at the recovery ward, panting.

But found only an empty room.

There was no trace of the woman.

“Activate a Level 1 Alert immediately!”

“A Level 1 Alert?”

“Mobilize every guard and the army! Seal off the entire Empire!”

“Captain, before activating that alert, we need to know the reason.”

Only then did the captain regain a measure of composure.

“…Sierra.”

“Sierra?”

Sierra.

The moment they heard that name.

Everyone understood the gravity of the situation.

“Announce that…”

The captain clenched his teeth.

“…The Wolf of Sierra has escaped.”