I Married the Dragon I Killed

Stephan asked with an expression as if he had just been brutally struck in the back of the head.

“……What?”

Perda answered exactly the same way, without showing the slightest change.

“I said you are useless.”

“W-what do you mean by that? Now I’m suddenly useless…?”

“I spoke privately with Ahmad Hashim. He proposed an alliance to me.”

Upon hearing that, Stephan understood quite a lot.

“An alliance…? Then he truly obtained something enormous…”

It was a proposal on a scale incomparable to the simple cooperative relationship between Stephan and Perda.

The greatest city in the south, the place where money gathered, was offering an equal position to a city that had not even been built yet.

Unless they were insane, it was a proposal that completely favored Perda.

“Did you… accept the proposal?”

Stephan asked with a trembling voice, desperately trying to maintain his composure.

“If I accept that proposal, there would no longer be any need to continue maintaining a relationship with you either.”

What filled Stephan’s chest was betrayal.

It was natural.

Stephan had made aggressive investments blinded by Perda’s words.

Unable to contain himself, he responded angrily.

“Didn’t we sign a contract? I have exclusive rights over the magitechnological products, and you even signed that agreement! If this reaches court, you’ll be the one who suffers, Regent!”

“Of course. Even if you win, the only thing you’ll achieve is tearing a few coins from me as compensation. Well, that is assuming you even manage to recover them.”

“And on what basis are you saying that?”

“Because you are not fulfilling the contract either.”

Stephan flinched upon hearing that.

“When did I betray it? Are you referring to what I just explained?”

Stephan mentally reviewed everything he had said.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no clause designed solely to benefit himself.

Well, yes, there were some small advantages, but nothing that serious.

It was a fair relationship between merchant and feudal lord, and the conditions even favored the lord more.

“Do you remember what I told you when I recruited you?”

Perda spoke.

“I said I would cooperate as long as you cooperated. And I also said I would make you the owner of a trading company.”

“That’s right.”

Stephan remembered those words and nodded.

“Yes. You promised that. But it’s no longer necessary. The Pascal Company is no longer needed.”

“What value does the Pascal Trading Company have?”

“It would be an exaggeration to say that half of all goods in imperial territory pass through it but not by much.”

“Exactly. A company like that. A business with influence across the entire Empire.”

After hearing that, Perda’s expression grew even colder.

“And yet you just said with your own mouth that you intend to abandon it.”

“We can create a company like that as many times as we want! We are pioneers in magitechnology, and as long as we don’t stop researching—!”

“Stephan.”

Perda interrupted him.

“Yes, Regent.”

Perda took three grapes from a fruit basket and placed them on the table.

“How many grapes are here?”

“Three.”

“Exactly. Three. Each one represents me, Vernell, and you.”

Perda pointed at the grape representing himself.

“I promised to become your connections. And until now I have been working to build them.”

“That’s right.”

Then he pointed at Vernell’s grape.

“And Vernell is becoming a source of ideas, creating research and development so that you can produce new objects. And after today’s success, tomorrow he will work even harder.”

“Correct.”

“And finally there’s you.”

Perda rolled Stephan’s grape with his finger.

“You are the one who must provide the money and supply goods. In this system, we all have a role to fulfill, and we must move within that role.”

“That’s true…”

“And you are trying to abandon the best trading company on the continent. Do you know what that means?”

Perda’s finger crushed Stephan’s grape.

“It means you are nothing more than another common and ordinary merchant.”

The soft grape could not withstand the pressure and burst apart.

“Giving up even what you already possessed and settling for less is not the kind of merchant this Grand Duchy needs.”

Stephan silently stared at the crushed grape.

Perda’s fingers were stained with red juice.

He felt as though he himself would end up crushed just like that grape, dying like an insect.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“I am not asking for something complicated. Fulfill the contract. Become the owner of the Pascal Trading Company. That is your job.”

Stephan’s head spun.

Again.

The same pressure he had felt in his father’s mansion.

Now Perda was the one imposing it upon him.

“Does blood really… have to be spilled to achieve it?”

If Stephan wanted to become the owner of Pascal, he would have to enter the struggle directly.

His brother Merchit, who handled the mercenary business.

His sister Tilda, who sought to increase her power through political marriages with other great companies.

And his father, Herman Pascal.

To become the owner, he would have to persuade or defeat all of them.

Stephan did not want to do it.

Fight against his own family?

Would he truly also have to draw a sword in a place where everyone fought until one side died?

“To fight or not to fight is not something for me to decide.”

Perda answered coldly.

“I only expect you to prove that you are someone necessary for the Grand Duchy of Valdrova.”

***

Although there were some disturbances, the exhibition ended with enormous success and without a single fatality.

Afterward, an auction continued in Hallim, but there were no particularly interesting items.

At least until he saw a sword that seemed decent, so he decided to buy it to encourage Malcolm and handed it to him.

‘Although the moment he received it, he looked like he was about to burst into tears, so I considered taking it back.’

Despite having passed the imperial examination to become a knight, Malcolm was still far too immature for someone holding that title.

‘Though that is precisely why he remains useful.’

There was no rush to decide what to do with him until he stopped having value as a sample.

In any case, the matters in Hallim came to an end.

After the auction, the scholars began packing up and dismantling their booths as the exhibition concluded.

Some were satisfied.

Others sighed after suffering losses.

Vernell, however, was unaffected by any of it.

Inside the carriage, he reviewed the blueprints for the magitechnological rifle as though every second were precious.

He seemed to have gained many ideas after using it in real combat, and he was pushing his mind with the same intensity as during the preparations for the exhibition.

Just as they were preparing to leave Hallim, Perda noticed a glint reflected by the sunlight.

The Rector of Escolea, Bernard Wayne, was approaching.

“Did you enjoy the exhibition?”

“Yes. There was an incident, but overall I was satisfied.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I am looking for young Vernell. Do you know where he is?”

Perda discreetly pointed toward the carriage.

“If you do not mind, could I speak with him for a moment?”

Perda observed Bernard’s eyes.

There was a faint sense of guilt regarding the way he had treated Vernell.

‘Does he intend to apologize?’

Bringing him into a state of fury and turning him into someone overflowing with passion, only to pour a bucket of cold water over him afterward.

That was not something Perda wanted.

‘Besides, now he has a new motivation, doesn’t he?’

The successful presentation had become Vernell’s new driving force.

Perda decided there was no longer any need to maintain that resentment toward Rector Bernard and gave them space.

Bernard entered the carriage and called out to him.

“Vernell.”

Vernell glanced at him sideways before turning his head away again.

“You do not need to say anything.”

“I have something to tell you. I—.”

“I already know. I know what intention was behind those words.”

Bernard was left speechless.

“How did you know?”

“I am also a scholar, am I not? At one point I was your student at the academy. Everyone knows you are strict with geniuses. So you treated me that way as well.”

“…….”

Vernell raised his head and looked toward the ceiling.

He remembered the past, but it no longer hurt.

“At that time I was truly furious. I was also disappointed and felt betrayed. But now it is no longer like that. Because you were right.”

In Vernell’s voice and eyes, one could see that admiration he had once felt long ago.

“Just as you said, I was someone with narrow vision. I focused only on that 1% and failed to see the other 10%. Thanks to the opportunity you gave me, I was able to broaden my perspective.”

“…….”

“So next time I will bring something so revolutionary that you will have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

Vernell smiled as he spoke.

“The light of truth.”

Upon hearing those words, Rector Bernard was internally surprised.

It was a phrase every student of the Escolea Academy knew.

Bernard also smiled and replied.

“It shall set you free.”

There were still complicated emotions between them, but that deep abyss called hatred no longer existed.

Bernard patted Vernell on the shoulder.

“Turn the world upside down with your ideals.”

“And when that day comes, I will invite you to a cup of tea.”

Bernard never apologized.

And Vernell did not desire that apology either.

They were people who pursued ideals and advanced toward the truth.

After confirming that both of them were united by that single conviction called truth, they continued walking down their own paths.

“We depart!”

Malcolm, who was at the front, sounded the horn and the carriages began to move.

It was time to return to the castle.

It had taken them ten days to get there.

And now it would take another ten days to return.

As that boring journey continued, Perda’s heart filled more and more with thoughts of Valdrova.

‘My heart, what are you doing right now?’

Without receiving an answer to that question, the carriage continued moving endlessly onward.

***

The daily life of dragons is closely tied to their nest, in other words, their lair.

Because of that, displaying their strength and authority was something basic, and they constructed buildings suited to their own characteristics.

In that regard, Valdrova was different from other dragons.

Valdrova’s lair resembled a shelter and an underground prison more than anything else.

Originally, it had been a damp and cold cave.

But ever since she settled there, it became a place where warm and dry winds blew.

Valdrova, lying there curled up, thought.

‘I’m bored.’

Even for an immortal who had lived countless years, when she felt the slow passage of time, boredom eventually enveloped her entire body.

The only reason she had been able to endure living so long in such a dark place was thanks to Ruri.

‘And I also didn’t have time to think about other things.’

The anxiety of not knowing when she would suffer again because of her bloodlust never allowed her to become bored.

The fact that she could feel boredom now meant she no longer needed to suffer so much because of it.

Every time she felt the pain intensify even slightly, Perda would appear to help her.

And during those moments they would always exchange a few words.

— Greetings, Grand Duchess Valdrova.

— I-it pleases me to see you…

— I will begin.

— Y-yes…

‘That wasn’t even a conversation…’

It was far too one-sided to be called a conversation.

Perda was the one who spoke the entire time, while Valdrova only nodded or shook her head.

And it could not be otherwise.

She spent her days going outside to kill monsters.

What would happen if that became the topic of conversation?

— Today I went out to kill monsters.

— Is that so?

— There was one that would not die even when I tore it apart with my claws, so I ended up burning out its insides.

— Ah…

— There were also parasitic monsters hiding inside it. They writhed quite well while burning.

— I see…

‘He would surely grow tired of me.’

Valdrova could clearly imagine Perda’s expression.

A look as if saying, “This is my fiancée?”

Just imagining it made her suffer.

‘Even though I swore to change…’

She reproached herself again and again for the fact that the only words she could say were “I’m happy to see you,” “Have a safe trip,” and a few exclamations.

Now she suffered less from bloodlust, but that emptiness had been replaced by another kind of suffering.

‘Should I ask for Lord Perda to be sent here…?’

Perhaps this time they could talk about something concrete.

Of course, she had already thought that around eight times and nothing had ever changed.

The reason was simple.

‘Because I have no topics of conversation.’

Just as seeds cannot sprout in land where they were never planted, it was natural that there would be no conversation if there was no topic to begin with.

Besides, today she realized too late that it was not even necessary.

‘Lord Perda said he went to a place called Hallim…’

For some reason she sensed it was not a pleasant place.

When Ruri mentioned Hallim, her expression had been bad and she let out a sigh.

So Valdrova simply assumed it was probably something like a battlefield.

‘Lately he has also had much more work…’

She also knew they had formed an alliance with Lorga.

‘Lorga…’

Valdrova did not like hearing that name.

The Blue Dragon, Lorga.

Lorga especially disliked Valdrova.

Every time Valdrova said something, Lorga would frown, correct her, and try to crush her spirit.

Valdrova knew there was no malice in it.

But that did not make her any easier to deal with.

‘I hope Lorga is doing well.’

It had been an extremely long time since she last saw him, so his face was already blurry, though she still remembered his figure.

Intelligent and respected by many people.

No matter which village he went to, he was a man who inspired admiration before fear.

— A village…

The next thought followed the natural flow of her consciousness.

‘Now that I think about it, it has been an incredibly long time since I last saw a human village.’

And the final destination of those thoughts was curiosity.

How many centuries had passed since she last visited a human village?

What would they be like now?

Would they still resemble the ones she remembered?

Or would they have changed completely?

That curiosity moved Valdrova’s body on its own.

Her body gradually began to shrink until she became a human woman.

“I want to go…”

She murmured while nervously playing with her skirt.

If she was going outside, she absolutely had to do so in human form.

Valdrova did not want to meet other people in dragon form.

‘My dragon appearance would frighten everyone.’

But she also could not go out using her human appearance.

‘And the human appearance frightens me…’

An impossible dilemma from both sides.

Valdrova slowly turned her head.

There was a suit of armor leaning against the wall.

‘With that armor… perhaps…’

Maybe it would be fine.

She had also worn that armor when she met Perda, so she had already grown accustomed to it.

And because it made her slightly taller, she felt less rejection toward it.

“But this still looks a little frightening…”

It was enormous and muscular, so it looked intimidating.

Especially because it was armor sculpted in the image of Valdrova herself.

The head had exactly the same shape as her draconic appearance.

That threatening appearance, the same one that made everyone tremble.

“Can it not transform into something less intimidating…?”

Valdrova murmured as though lamenting.

It was then.

As if it had heard her murmur, the armor twisted.

“Huh?”

Creak—

The threatening dragon head began to deform.

And it was not only the head.

All the elements created to represent the majesty of a dragon began to disappear.

While Valdrova fidgeted in confusion without understanding what was happening, the armor took on a new form.

“Ah…”

Valdrova let out a gasp of astonishment.

The final result was something extremely familiar to her eyes.

“It’s… normal.”

A simple half plate armor, neither too luxurious nor too flashy, slightly worn.

So ordinary that anyone would think it belonged to a common knight.

“Normal…”

Valdrova’s golden eyes shone brightly.

For her, normality was a treasure more valuable than any mountain of gold.

As if hypnotized, she stepped into the armor.

The time had come to break out of the shell and step outside.