I Married the Dragon I Killed

Before Valdrova and Lyudmila met, Perda gave the members of House Purity a brief tour of his territory.

“This may be a somewhat delicate question…”

When they reached the town square, the head of House Purity, Valeri Purity, looked at one particular object that stood out and asked,

“Do you intend to put that fountain into operation?”

“Of course. It is a gift from Lorga, the Water Dragon, and his descendants. How could I not use it?”

“It truly is impressive.”

He wasn’t being sarcastic, but expressing genuine admiration.

The fact that such a small town could maintain a fountain meant it was prepared to achieve true prosperity.

Although Perda was remarkably young, Valeri had never considered him someone driven by vanity.

He could clearly see the prosperous future awaiting the Far East.

“I’ve also heard that you intend to use adventurers for the campaign to reclaim the Far East.”

“That’s right.”

“What is your opinion of the warriors of the North?”

The warriors of the North were far rougher and cruder than knights, and were often treated as nothing more than barbarians.

“Isn’t your greatest honor hunting Frost Giants beyond the Northern Wall?”

“Hunting Frost Giants is a thing of the past. I’ve never crossed that wall in my entire life. The truth is, even for northerners, it’s practically impossible to cross it with a human body.”

“That sounds related to the Ascension Ceremony.”

“In truth, everything is. The greatest pride of the northern clans is being chosen as descendants of Silverwind and ascending. Becoming true warriors capable of crossing the wall.”

The finest warriors from each tribe were selected and offered to the Dragonspawn.

Whenever someone was deemed worthy of becoming a warrior, their tribe received enormous amounts of money and food.

In the end, becoming a true warrior was simply another way for the tribe to survive.

‘What a cruel joke.’

Becoming a Dragonspawn meant erasing one’s past.

The memories of being human became an insignificant former life, while new bonds were formed as a member of the dragons’ lineage.

In practice, it meant abandoning your own people entirely.

And yet they called it an honor.

“In any case, Silverwind’s death must have been a heavy blow for the North.”

“It was, but we don’t cling to the past. If all we’d ever done was produce warriors, we’d still be nothing but barbarians.”

It was simply the course of history.

And they had chosen to accept it.

Valeri cleared his throat.

“We’ve strayed from the topic. In any case, what I wanted to say is that now that we no longer need to cross the Frost Wall, I’d like the warriors of the North to set foot in the Demon Lands and find a new challenge.”

Those words gave Perda a strange feeling.

They reminded him of the way that old man used to speak.

Valdemar Golt.

“Duke Purity.”

“Yes.”

“Are you speaking as a warrior or as a noble?”

It was an exceptionally direct question.

Valeri Purity slowly stroked his beard before replying.

“What if I said I was speaking as a warrior?”

“Then I would believe you without reservation.”

“And if I were speaking as a noble?”

“Then I’d like to have a more serious conversation.”

Hearing that, Valeri realized that Perda had understood his true intentions.

And that he viewed them favorably.

“They say there are demon spies within the Arken Empire.”

“That’s correct.”

“And one of them was exposed during the Golden Council. Furthermore, Duke Perry Yurei was arrested on suspicion of collaborating with the demons. You were present, so you know that part of the story.”

“I do.”

“The real problem began after his imprisonment. They stopped treating him like a noble. They tortured him over and over as though he were a commoner, until he was covered in blood.”

It was such a brutal act that even kingdoms beyond Heinkel would have reason to condemn the Empire.

“Do you understand what that means?”

Perda nodded.

“It’s a provocation for war.”

“The Kingdom of Heinkel is now in an extremely difficult position.”

And it was inevitable.

His son, Marcus Yurei, was a follower of the demons.

Who could guarantee that Perry Yurei wasn’t one as well?

If the kingdom blindly protected him and he truly turned out to be a collaborator of the demons, suspicion would also fall upon the Kingdom of Heinkel.

But they couldn’t abandon him either.

If Perry Yurei proved to be innocent, it would appear that the king had merely seized the opportunity to purge a duke.

The Arken Empire was the one benefiting from that conflict.

For the Kingdom of Heinkel, which had enjoyed a long era of peace, confronting the Empire directly was a terrifying prospect.

That entire chain of events had placed the kingdom in an extremely difficult position.

“Count Oldin Luster, the Veteran Hero, is mobilizing troops near the Kingdom of Heinkel’s border. At the same time, the Kingdom of Hudret appears ready to join in.”

“If two kingdoms attack a single one, its destruction will only be a matter of time.”

Duke Purity smiled.

“Not necessarily. In fact, the King of Hudret is intervening precisely to protect the Kingdom of Heinkel.”

“Protect it by attacking? I don’t understand.”

Perda couldn’t grasp the meaning of those words.

“If the Arken Empire were to wage a full-scale one-on-one war against the Kingdom of Heinkel, the entire kingdom would become theirs. But what would happen if Hudret also took part?”

“Then the problem would arise when dividing the spoils according to each side’s contributions.”

“Exactly. The King of Hudret will try to secure an even greater share of the gains. And if the Empire wanted to resume the conflict afterward, it would no longer have to face only Hudret, but all of Serdes.”

There had once been a time when the Arken Empire’s expansionist policies had filled countless kingdoms and territories with fear.

They could not allow the Kingdom of Heinkel to fall, because that would establish a dangerous precedent.

“If everyone deliberately chose to isolate the Arken Empire, wouldn’t that be possible?”

“I would have thought so before…”

Duke Purity let out a sigh.

“But as you know, during the extermination campaign an entire legion was annihilated, and the Empire responded by playing three extraordinary cards.”

Erdes Roton.

Silverwind.

And Storeus.

They had even influenced the dragons, and even Silverwind’s proud descendants had ultimately cooperated with the Empire.

“And then there’s Duchess Valdrova in the Duchy of Valdrova.”

“Her Highness will not act for the sake of the Empire.”

“It is better not to jump to conclusions. If Storeus and Silverwind acted to save the Empire, it means a terrifying possibility lies behind all of this.”

From those words, Perda realized something.

Duke Purity had no idea that Silverwind owed the Arken Empire a debt.

‘What kind of debt could it have been?’

He tried to imagine it, but couldn’t come up with any convincing answer.

Valdrova remained in the Far East to atone for the countless lives she had taken, but to the other dragons, humans were nothing more than simple entertainment.

He simply couldn’t imagine a dragon indebted to a human.

He saw no need to reveal that detail.

Perda was not yet experienced enough to place complete trust in Duke Purity.

In any case, the reason the duke had brought all this up was obvious.

If the Empire revealed its ambitions, he intended to be ready to respond as well.

‘Politics truly is a complicated matter.’

And at the same time, fascinating.

Helping someone wasn’t enough to ensure everything would work out.

It was a vast chessboard where you also had to anticipate every future move.

Perda decided to place another piece on that board.

“In response to what you’ve said, I cannot allow northern troops to be stationed in our territory.”

“What a pity.”

“However…”

Perda wasn’t finished yet.

“It would be a good idea to consider the Adventurers’ Guild.”

Duke Purity’s eyebrows rose.

“The Adventurers’ Guild?”

“Our city was designed for adventurers. If five hundred northern warriors entered here, it would be a cause for concern. But if they were five hundred adventurers, we would have no reason to turn them away.”

“Oh…”

“And as the number of adventurers from the North increases, establishing oversight mechanisms will become inevitable. That will also make greater interaction between our two regions unavoidable. As long as we make it seem like it’s giving us a headache, who could object?”

“That’s an argument with sufficient legitimacy.”

After hearing Perda’s answer, Duke Purity smiled faintly and extended his hand.

“This will greatly benefit both sides, Regent.”

“Let us work together for the peace of the continent of Serdes.”

Perda shook his hand.

***

The Village of Hestia, Duchy of Duchess Valdrova.

As the sun rose, the villagers on their way to work began gathering in front of the village square.

Those who didn’t understand what was happening quietly asked the curious onlookers who had arrived before them.

“What’s going to happen today? Why is the administrator over there?”

“It seems they’re going to inaugurate a… fountain?”

“A fountain? What’s that?”

“See that statue?”

“That thing?”

“They say water is going to come out of it.”

“Water?? How can water come out of that?”

“That’s exactly why we’re all here.”

“My goodness…”

Most of the villagers had spent their entire lives in small villages, so this was a truly extraordinary event for them.

Even those who boasted about having seen great cities couldn’t make fun of the others by calling them country bumpkins.

After checking the preparations one last time, Isabella spoke in a firm voice.

“As of this moment, the inauguration ceremony of the fountain and the celebration for the activation of the water supply system will begin.”

The one delivering the speech was Valdrova’s representative.

Perda.

He walked across the carpet and stepped onto the platform.

“Hestia is a village made up of people who came from every corner. All of us met in a land with no history, a place that has not even existed for a full year.”

Those were the exact scornful words spoken by some outsiders.

They claimed that Hestia’s inhabitants were nothing more than losers who had fled their homelands after suffering oppression.

Many of those present couldn’t help but feel hurt by those words.

“But those who say such things have no right to look down on us.”

Perda’s powerful voice instantly swept away the crowd’s unease.

“We are capable of defeating monsters even without mages. We survived our darkest hour, when we were completely cut off by them, and we managed to rise again. Do you know what that means?”

They remembered those days when they had been surrounded by monsters.

When nothing but death awaited them.

Then, a ray of hope had appeared.

The imposing figure of the dragon who protected the Far East.

Perda raised his fist.

“It means that we ourselves have become the new foundation of the Far East. We have taken root so deeply that no one can ignore us anymore.”

A spark of hope began to burn in the hearts of the villagers.

The rising sun behind the young Regent seemed to form a halo around him.

“This fountain will be the symbol of our foundation and the promise of the prosperity we will build from this day forward.”

The very moment he finished his declaration.

A powerful jet of water burst forth from the fountain.

The water shot high into the air before cascading in every direction, reflecting the sunlight and forming a brilliant rainbow.

At the sight of it, murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

That the Bridge of the Gods had descended upon Hestia.

***

— I hope you’ve been doing well all this time.

As soon as he returned from the ceremony, he received a magical transmission from Erika.

“Yes. How is Blue Eye doing?”

— Everything is the same as always. I heard the fountain was inaugurated today. May I ask how the people reacted?

Perda replied with an incredulous smile.

“Didn’t you see it with your own eyes?”

During his speech, he had clearly seen Erika watching him.

She had worn the same proud and arrogant expression typical of a Dragonspawn.

— I believe you’re mistaken. I was never there. Perhaps you’ve confused me with someone else. Maybe someone named Eri. I’m Erika.

Erika made that pointed remark as naturally as if it were nothing.

Perda chose to ignore it.

“The reaction was excellent. When the rainbow appeared, everyone started praying to Alte.”

— I suppose that’s what it means to work so someone else gets all the credit. Instead of praising Lorga for creating something so magnificent, they end up worshiping Alte.

Erika complained like a sulking child.

Perda looked out over Hestia through the window.

The spacious central square.

And the fountain standing proudly in its center.

Two hours had passed, yet the place was still packed with people.

Innocent children and women worn down by life gazed at the fountain with the same sense of wonder.

“Did you contact me just to ask about that?”

— Not exactly. I just received some news.

“What kind of news?”

— From the High Elves.

“The High Elves…?”

It was something he had completely forgotten about.

The characters recorded in Director Linne Laboratory’s notes were written in the language of the High Elves, and they needed their help to decipher them.

Perda shot to his feet.

“What did they say?”

— For now, they said they understand the situation and wish to meet with you.

They had reached the starting line.

It was such good news that it almost felt as though they had already traveled half the distance.

“I understand. When should I depart?”

— They’re not so idle that they’d discuss schedules. They’re ridiculously slow when it comes to work, yet capable of changing their minds every second.

“I see. Then I’ll have a carriage prepared and leave immed—”

— No. That won’t be necessary.

At that very moment, Perda noticed a strange ripple beside the window of his office.

From above, a silhouette slowly descended as though it were a curtain.

It was a carriage painted blue.

It wasn’t a vehicle powered by ordinary mana.

It was a Celestial Carriage, a means of transportation reserved exclusively for the greatest Archmages.

From inside, Erika Lorga, the leader of the Blue Eye Magic Tower, leaned out and revealed her face.

“Get in. I’ll personally take you there.”