I Married the Dragon I Killed

When Vernell arrived in Hallim, he wandered through the hallway with the organized documents in his hands.

It was the path toward the rooms.

He knew perfectly well where his room was.

He was not lost.

And yet, he remained there as though waiting for something.

“Vernell.”

A heavy voice.

And that shining head between strands of hair.

In the past, that man had been so famous that people even called him the Sunlight Mage.

Perhaps he should have smiled upon remembering those times.

But Vernell could not do so.

“A-ah, hello! Rector, it has been a long time since the academy.”

“Yes, it has been a long time.”

“I heard you granted me the main stage. I am very grateful for that consideration and—”

“What is that?”

He interrupted Vernell and looked at the document in his hands.

“It is the content I will present at this exhibition. I perfected it as much as I could, but even so it was not easy, so I wanted to ask you to review it.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“……Let me see it.”

Rector Bernard quickly began reading the presentation text.

Under that serious gaze, Vernell’s mouth became completely dry.

And finally, Bernard smiled.

Was that a good sign?

“It is worthless.”

No.

What came from his mouth was a smile close to contempt.

“Vernell Marquis, I cannot hide my disappointment in you.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Vernell asked while maintaining his composure.

“What do you intend to do with an efficiency of barely 12%?”

“The efficiency is still gradually increasing.”

“And you plan to stand on the stage just to say it has potential and end up becoming a laughingstock? Do you intend to tarnish the reputation of Regent Perda Valdrova, one of the few people who trusted you?”

Vernell looked at him in a daze.

This was not a simple adaptation of something that already existed.

It was a completely new creation.

Even 12% was already an incredible achievement.

Rector Bernard continued.

“Is there even anyone who understands the formula you discovered? Even to me this looks like meaningless chaos. You obtained the formula, yes, but the speed at which you improve the efficiency is far too slow. If I understood this, I would have increased the efficiency far faster than you. Do you know why I have that confidence?”

“……”

“Vernell, your vision is too narrow. When you obsess over one thing, you stop seeing everything else. You are so focused on that 1% that you cannot find a way to increase the other 10%.”

Bernard shoved the document against Vernell’s chest as he spoke.

“What a disappointment. An enormous disappointment. I preferred you when you chased absurd dreams. The current Vernell is nothing more than a complete disaster.”

Then Bernard turned around and left.

Vernell could not respond.

He simply remained staring at the floor.

And for a long time, he could not move from there.

***

Perda watched all of that.

From the moment Bernard humiliated Vernell until he left him crushed and walked away.

And he thought.

‘Was I wrong about Rector Bernard?’

Bernard had given Vernell a place.

And not just any place, but the main stage, something that supposedly carried enormous meaning for scholars.

Perda had thought it was an act of goodwill.

But no.

Bernard was simply a petty man incapable of acknowledging Vernell.

The higher the place from which one fell, the more painful the fall.

Then.

Was Bernard trying to destroy Vernell?

‘If so…’

What should I do here?

“Oh, Regent! What a coincidence to find you here.”

That gentle voice pulled him from his thoughts.

The man who only moments ago had worn the face of a mediocre villain now displayed a polite and cordial expression.

“Just recently a merchant named Stephan Pascal came to speak with me about how the main event will proceed and—”

“Do you really think he is an idiot?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

When Perda interrupted him with that question, Bernard showed a confused expression.

Perda answered directly.

“I overheard your conversation by accident.”

Only then did Bernard understand, and his face turned red.

“Ah… you witnessed quite an embarrassing moment.”

Yes.

He had definitely shown an unpleasant side.

One that perfectly revealed humanity’s two-faced nature.

“No matter how it may have seemed, I was not trying to harm Vernell.”

Perda was left speechless.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It is just that… Vernell Marquis was a prodigy from whom we veteran scholars had great expectations. During his time at the academy, he always ranked first, and we all agreed that his brilliance would change the century.”

But everyone knew that story had not ended well.

Bernard sighed.

“However, when he brought the content he intended to present at the conference, we were all horrified. It was full of absurd ideas. We tried to stop him and guide him toward a better path, but he would not listen. Do you know what usually happens to nine out of ten people like that? They go mad obsessing over their ideals.”

“But he did not go mad.”

“Yes. He succeeded.”

“And even so, you think you can convince me?”

If he had merely chased empty ideals, Perda would have understood.

No, he would have even approached Vernell with that same cynical attitude.

But Vernell succeeded.

Results that should have taken years appeared in only a few months, and the efficiency was still increasing.

“That is precisely why I am doing this.”

“You are saying that the Director of Knowledge knows he was right and still refuses to acknowledge him?”

“With people like Vernell, that is how it must be.”

“What kind of person is he?”

“Someone who presents innovations that we denied or could not even imagine. People like that must not be allowed to remain limited by the perspective of ordinary people like me. They should not conduct research to convince others, but continue pursuing what they believe in.”

Perda understood those words.

Bernard was a genius.

But Vernell was a genius even among geniuses.

That meant Bernard’s standards, to Vernell, were no different from those of an ordinary person.

“Vernell will try to prove me wrong with results. If he managed to make something so absurd become reality, then now he must continue advancing. And afterward he will prepare to strike back at me.”

“And what if he ends up following the wrong path?”

Just as I once did.

Perda swallowed those words.

“Vernell will not choose a cowardly path. He always insists on facing everything head-on. After all, he too is a scholar who pursues absolute truth.”

Bernard slightly lowered his head.

“Even so, if you ever believe he is taking the wrong path, tell him in front of me that I am actually a petty man incapable of recognizing him. Then I will withdraw to prepare the event.”

Bernard walked past Perda, and Perda let him go.

What would he gain by striking him or reprimanding him?

‘Though I am curious.’

He was also curious about what kind of person Vernell was according to Bernard.

Would he collapse because he had not been acknowledged?

Or would he be reborn exactly as Bernard expected?

Perda pretended to know nothing and went to Vernell’s room.

The shock had still not left him, because he had not even closed the door properly, allowing Perda to enter easily.

Vernell was sitting at the table inside the room.

His shoulders trembled and he was breathing heavily.

“Yes… damn it… then I will increase that efficiency myself!”

Tears fell one after another, but his hands and mind did not stop.

He was correcting every single point Bernard had pointed out.

“Realistic? Yes… within one month I will raise it to 20%. You will see. Everyone who mocked me… I will make every last one of them acknowledge me. Damn it…”

A thirst for revenge could clearly be felt in every word.

And he used that emotion as fuel to think.

Revenge was like that.

It made you forget exhaustion.

And it gave you obsessive concentration to devote yourself to one single thing.

‘The difference between him and me…’

Was that he, exactly as Bernard expected, chose the correct path.

That was why Perda quietly closed the door and left.

***

“Move that away from there. Compared to when you set it up, it looks awful. Handle that object carefully!”

Stephan directed the workers while reviewing the decoration blueprints.

“Boss, we brought the object. Where do you want it displayed?”

“Good work. Hang it on that wall! Did you bring the hooks?”

“Yes.”

“Check again that they are secured properly. It is important! It could even cost me my head!”

The objects they had were magic stones brought as samples and weapons that used them.

Just in case, they also prepared blueprints for future projects to show that there was already a long-term vision.

The main object was a long tube connected to complex wires and hanging glass bottles.

They called it a magitech rifle.

‘That is a weapon?’

He had heard the researchers say it was something with great performance, but he had never seen a demonstration.

Did it really work?

“Oh, brother? What a coincidence to find you here.”

A familiar voice struck Stephan’s ears.

An unexpected person.

Though thinking about it carefully, she was someone who was bound to appear.

All the important merchants participated in the exhibition, so there was no way the Pascal family would not attend.

And even knowing that, Tilda’s presence always made Stephan uncomfortable.

He disliked her.

“Did you come alone?”

“No. Of course I came with my fiancé. He is over there, right, Henri?”

A man walked toward them with a cheerful smile.

He was a fat middle-aged man in his thirties.

Henri Dandolo.

The heir of Dandolo, one of the Empire’s largest trading companies.

“Tilda, my love. I brought the cocktail you wanted.”

The fat man smiled foolishly while handing her the glass.

The beautiful black-haired woman, slender and relatively small, stared at the drink.

She puffed out her lips and slightly moistened her eyes.

“But this is Cherry Bomb, isn’t it?”

“Huh? Yes…”

“I wanted to drink Blue Sapphire…”

Tilda slightly shook her shoulders while blinking.

Seeing her like that, Henri Dandolo smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Ah, sorry. I will bring another one!”

“Thank you. I knew I could only rely on you.”

“Brother-in-law! Let us talk later!”

“A-ah, yes… of course…”

Tilda smiled.

And upon seeing that smile, Henri happily hurried away to fetch another cocktail.

Stephan frowned as he watched him.

“Why are you making your fiancé work instead of leaving it to the servants?”

“Why do you think? Because I cannot stand looking at his face.”

Tilda smiled venomously.

In front of others she pretended to be elegant, but she did not do that with Stephan.

That meant she saw him as someone beneath her.

“Does he know how horrible your true intentions are?”

“Of course not. A man who has not even managed to take off my underwear does not have that kind of perception.”

“I am sure he would love to hear this conversation.”

“If you have the guts, go ahead.”

It was always like this.

She acted as if she were above all men and tried to manipulate them.

She had been like that since childhood.

If someone displeased her, she dug traps to destroy them or leave them deeply wounded.

At first they were childish things.

But as she grew older, she became increasingly calculating.

Stephan was afraid of that Tilda.

He had seen the monster hidden behind that smile, yet he could not even comprehend what kind of monster it was.

“So these are the eastern things you support?”

With her fan covering her lips, she looked at the magitech rifle.

“Yes.”

“How cute. You brought something like this.”

“Hm…”

She let out a small sigh while pretending to examine it carefully before turning her head.

“To me, it looks more like a work of art.”

The implied question was obvious.

Does this really serve any purpose?

“Of course it does.”

“And how does it work?”

“Well… you pull here and then do this and that… and it works on its own.”

The more doubtful the explanation became, the deeper Tilda’s smile grew.

“So you have never actually seen it work.”

“……”

“Well, this is an exhibition. Even if you hang up something incomplete, nobody will notice. Ah, right.”

She placed her index finger on her chin with a carefree expression.

“Is there not also a presentation?”

Her eyes clearly said she already knew everything.

If she knew about the magic stones, then obviously she also knew about the main presentation.

“Why did you bring something you have never seen functioning? If it explodes in the middle of the demonstration, you will only end up humiliating yourself.”

“I suppose.”

“As an exhibition piece it is fine, but hm… I am not sure this will really make money. Just as father said, the east seems useless…”

A crescent-moon smile appeared on her lips.

That expression.

The same expression she had used to crush him countless times when they still lived within the Pascal family.

“Do not worry, sister.”

But today was different.

Stephan was far more confident than before.

“While you cling to a man’s crotch, I hold onto my sponsor’s shoulders.”

It was quite a vulgar provocation.

But it worked perfectly.

Tilda glared at him fiercely.

Stephan dared to answer back to her?

Her hands trembled with rage.

Normally Stephan would have backed down.

But not anymore.

Now he had the best support possible behind him.

‘Damn it, even so she is still terrifying.’

Remembering how she used to strike without caring about consequences during childhood, cold sweat ran down his back.

“Could you move aside?”

A voice sounded behind her.

The fierce expression on Tilda’s face immediately relaxed as she turned around.

A tall man with gray hair and blue eyes.

He wore a black uniform with red details.

Although he was young, he radiated an aura unfitting for his age.

‘So this is Perda Valdrova.’

His cold expression perfectly matched the nickname of ruthless killer he had earned after killing Tesalos Wolcher.

And that alone was enough to capture Tilda’s interest.

She smiled elegantly and made a refined bow.

“A pleasure to meet you, Regent Valdrova. I am Tilda Pascal and—”

“I do not care who you are, so move aside.”

“E-excuse me?”

He interrupted her greeting without hesitation.

His attitude was incredibly rude, but Tilda could not even feel angry inside.

Those blue eyes looking at her were so cold and icy that they seemed to freeze her veins.

“You do not understand when spoken to. I told you to disappear from my sight.”