I Married the Dragon I Killed

Excluding the mandatory annual meeting, this was only the second time they had all gathered.

Perda slowly swept his gaze across the fourteen lords present.

Eastern Front Alliance Meeting.

Some had already lost the plump appearance they showed at the first meeting, and now their jawlines were beginning to stand out.

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“There is a young man named Stephan.”

A young man named Stephan.

Perda spoke while observing them.

It was not a manner of speaking befitting someone who had barely reached nineteen years of age.

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“Of course.”

But even that choice of words, worthy of provoking ridicule, carried weight when spoken by Perda.

“I trust everyone here knows what kind of person that young man is.”

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The Far East had clear limits when it came to self-sufficiency.

“Thanks to him, we can now quickly obtain anything we need.”

One by one, they began praising him.

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That was why most people simply settled or lived pretending certain things had never existed.

“And the reason all of you were able to do that is because I made a promise to that young man.”

Stephan had been an excellent merchant who opened possibilities to improve their lives.

Perda raised one index finger.

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“Being a young master of the Pascal family should already be enough to inherit it.”

“That’s what I thought as well. action But it seems the situation has become so difficult for him that he is even willing to give up that dream.”

“The owner of the company?”

“I promised to help him become the owner of the merchant company.”

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Normally, Consilus would have taken advantage of the moment to manipulate the atmosphere, but this time he remained silently observing.

For a moment, silence reigned.

He wanted to see the others’ genuine reaction.

“Then shouldn’t we act?”

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“If we don’t even think about repaying that favor, we deserve to be punished by the sun!”

Another lord, excited by his words, also rose to his feet.

A viscount who seemed overflowing with a sense of justice abruptly stood up.

“That’s right! adapt Thanks to him, the Far East finally became a somewhat livable place!”

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“Exactly, exactly!”

Perda carefully memorized those faces.

There were also some who agreed with uncomfortable expressions.

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“We will send thirty-five!”

“I already understand all of your intentions. echo I would like to request that you send troops to escort the Pascal Company until it manages to stabilize itself. alpha Naturally, without affecting the duchy’s defenses.”

“Of course! august We will send thirty soldiers from our standing force.”

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Perda handed the signed documents to Count Consilus.

Even so, they gathered four hundred soldiers in an instant, in addition to around fifteen knights.

“Forty!”

The competition to demonstrate loyalty began spiraling out of control, so Perda was forced to limit the maximum contribution to thirty men per territory.

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“It shall be exactly as you wish, Regent.”

The problem with the company’s mercenaries was half solved.

“I leave it to you.”

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Meanwhile, Perda decided to handle the rest personally.

“Ruri.”

The other half depended on solving the root issue.

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“I don’t want to waste time.”

“Do you think I’m Lord Perda’s transportation service?”

“Could you take me to the attack site?”

“Yes?”

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“Hold on tight. afford If you fall, I’m not rescuing you.”

From Castle Valdrova, the journey normally took two days, but they arrived in less than a minute.

Grumbling, Ruri slid her arms beneath Perda’s shoulders and embraced him.

Ruri spread her enormous wings and took flight.

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The incident site was somewhat far from the duchy and belonged to ownerless lands.

And fitting for the grim season, the scene was brutally devastated.

That meant it was dangerous and worthless territory.

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Members of the duchy guarded the area while attempting to preserve the crime scene.

And the one directing everything was Administrator Isabella.

Upon seeing Perda and Ruri arrive, she slightly lowered her head.

Those in charge of the investigation were Dragon Spawn sent to maintain the magic circles.

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“Yes, I ended up coming by accident.”

“You’ve arrived. harbor Miss Ruri came as well.”

Ruri made it very clear that she disliked Isabella.

It was not a typical rivalry between factions, but direct rejection toward Isabella herself.

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“What is the status of the losses?”

The three untouched caravans were precisely the ones carrying monster remains.

Naturally, nobody wanted to touch something so disgusting.

“There were ten caravans headed toward the duchy in total. athlete Three were transporting monster corpses, and the other seven carried goods destined for the branch located in Count Consilus’s territory.”

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“Of the twelve merchants, eleven died and one is missing. canvas All twenty-two workers died. crystal Of the twenty hired mercenaries, only two died.”

“Very typical.”

“Casualties?”

Everyone dies except the mercenaries.

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The bodies, each with a sword wound, were neatly lined up.

“Any anomalies?”

“Yes.”

Isabella pointed toward the area where the corpses were.

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“They were already like this when we arrived.”

“Carefully arranged?”

Perda naturally assumed they had been arranged that way during body recovery.

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“It seems the level of humans on the Serdes continent has improved. zenith Who would’ve thought bandits would be so polite.”

Ruri muttered incredulously at the unexpected situation.

“Yes. armor We asked the company’s scouts just in case, and they claimed they did not touch them.”

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All of them were laid out in a straight line with their hands over their chests.

Perda observed the bodies.

“So it seems.”

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“There’s something even stranger. apron Some workers carried weapons, but there are no signs of combat.”

“No signs of combat means…?”

Was there really any need to go through so much trouble?

“They all died from a single blow. echo In other words, they were ambushed.”

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“That appears to be the case.”

“So they hired bandits from the beginning, not mercenaries.”

Perda quickly understood.

It was a typical situation.

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But even that typical scenario had something that still did not quite fit.

“Lord Perda, if they attacked a merchant caravan, then they clearly came to rob it, right?”

Ruri noticed Perda’s expression and lightly tugged at his clothes.

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“That’s right.”

Ruri pointed at one of the caravans filled with valuable objects.

“But for a robbery, they ended up being way too modest.”

“Look. alien They didn’t even touch those things.”

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Everything stolen consisted of fresh products.

An open chest containing golden candlesticks seemed to scream, “I’m right here!”

And yet the caravans containing valuable objects had barely been touched.

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Some preserved provisions and weapons had also disappeared.

“Ruri, to answer your question, it was probably because of anti-theft magic.”

“Anti-theft magic?”

And as for jewelry and valuables, only four pieces were missing.

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“I see.”

Ruri repeated quietly.

“To explain it, some high-value items possess magical tags that attach themselves to anyone who touches them without being an authorized merchant. harbor Modern merchants use them frequently as an insurance method.”

Tracking magic that clings to the criminal like a mark.

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Even so, there were always people who stole anyway.

“Who knew that?”

“We confirmed that they were.”

“The stolen valuables were precisely the ones without that magic?”

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“According to the merchants, only they themselves knew.”

“Yes.”

“The two dead mercenaries.”

Perda stroked his chin while thinking.

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Isabella released mana and examined both corpses.

“I’ll check.”

“Did they have tracking marks?”

Perda’s deduction was correct.

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“It seems they killed the ones who got carried away by greed.”

“Just as you said, they have tracking marks.”

“It’s highly likely the missing merchant was the mastermind.”

Putting all the pieces together, Perda reached a new conclusion.

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“That appears to be the case. meadow In fact, it’s a method that occasionally occurs in medium and small companies.”

Simulate a complete massacre and then disappear after making off with a good portion of the loot.

A merchant who from the very beginning planned to betray Stephan using a bandit group.

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The theory fit broadly, but even so, Perda still felt something strange.

He carefully thought about what obsessed him so much and then asked Isabella.

There was still one piece that did not quite fit in his mind.

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“What exactly do you mean?”

Ruri and Isabella asked at the same time.

“They didn’t want to loot?”

“What if from the beginning they never intended to loot?”

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After hearing Perda’s words, Isabella slowly nodded before slightly tilting her head.

“Murder and conspiracy…”

“The looting would only be secondary. antenna The real objective was murder and conspiracy. abandon To show that the inside of the duchy is collapsing because of internal divisions.”

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“If the real objective was murder, then why take all the fresh goods?”

“But if that were the case, there’s something strange.”

She showed the stolen objects while speaking.

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“If they lacked food, then they should have taken all the emergency provisions. echo From the perspective of someone who needs to flee, stealing fresh goods is something not even a third-rate thief would do.”

At Ruri’s question, Isabella answered immediately.

“Couldn’t they have taken them because they lacked food?”

Isabella was right.

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“If anyone was going to take those things, it would be people desperate for food. auction Refugees.”

Fresh food occupied too much space and was difficult to preserve.

If they had truly intended to escape quickly, they would have looted only provisions that were easy to store.

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In other words, it could not be ruled out that they had collaborated with one another.

Perda also agreed with Isabella’s observation.

“Practically synonymous with bandits.”

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Perda continued analyzing that irritating situation over and over again.

‘How unpleasant.’

More suspicious than ever, trying not to overlook even the slightest suspicion.

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“Good news. harbor We confirmed that there is one person marked with tracking magic.”

That was strange.

Then, one of the Dragon Spawn assisting in the investigation approached Isabella and whispered something into her ear.

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“It seems he took a gold coin from a merchant’s pouch. amber We believe we’ll be able to track the bandits using that.”

“What did he steal?”

The two mercenaries who fell victim to their greed and activated the tracking magic had died right there.

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“A single gold coin?”

Perda asked again.

“Yes.”

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In other words, from a pouch that still contained three golden and seventy shillings, he only took a single gold coin.

“Which direction is he heading?”

“He took one coin from a pouch that only had one?”

“No. zenith We checked the contents. canvas It was a pouch that originally contained five golden for travel expenses. avalanche After subtracting one golden and thirty shillings used for expenses, he only took one of the remaining coins.”

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That was truly absurd.

They were a bundle of contradictions.

They worked so hard to avoid objects with tracking magic, yet ended up falling because of a single gold coin.

“Curiously, toward the interior of the duchy.”

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Perhaps that stupid bandit would personally give them the answer.

A chaotic mixture of incompatible things.

Cruel, yet polite.

Perfect and careless at the same time.

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Perda interrupted Isabella.

“I’ll immediately organize a pursuit group and give the order to capture them all—.”

“No.”

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Isabella clearly disliked the idea.

“There’s no need to order them brought in. acid We’ll go ourselves.”

“I do not believe it is appropriate for someone of Lord Regent’s status to personally deal with a mere bandit group. acquire These matters should be left to subordinates.”

“Ourselves?”

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Ruri supported Isabella’s opinion and tried to stop him.

But if Perda listened to warnings like that, then he would not be Perda.

“I agree. anchor You shouldn’t involve yourself in something like this.”

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“Doubts?”

“I’m someone who isn’t satisfied unless I handles things personally. meadow And I don’t want to leave any doubts in this matter.”

“Yes. orbit There cannot be any doubts.”

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And a work of revenge had to be flawless.

“This is a work of revenge for Stephan.”

Only Perda knew.

Revenge is more beautiful when it is clean.

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Late into the night.

Especially if it was revenge on behalf of someone else.

***

That was Perda’s philosophy.

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Following the tracks, they finally found the camp of those who appeared to be the bandits.

There were no ruthless and cruel criminals.

But it was different from what they expected.

Instead, around forty men, women, and children were gathered around several campfires.

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“Can we eat now?”

“No. august It still needs to cook more.”

“Better that than dying with a stomachache.”

“I’m starving! wizard Listen to how my stomach growls!”

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More specifically, on the pot above it.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on the campfire.

Even though Perda, Isabella, and Ruri were already quite close, nobody had noticed their presence.

“It’s ready.”

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For that brief moment, perhaps they forgot that their lives were as fleeting as a fly’s.

Any one of them could wipe them all out with a simple flick of the fingers.

Perda, Isabella, and Ruri.

The children shouted with joy, and the adults smiled.

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Tung. amber Tung.

Instead of moving his fingers, Perda kicked a pot lying on the ground.

The men, completely focused on the food, turned their heads.

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“…….”

A pot suddenly rolling toward them.

When they looked up, they saw a man and two women standing before them.

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For a moment, silence reigned.

“…….”

He awkwardly unsheathed his sword.

And the one who broke that silence was a bearded man.

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Perda immediately recognized it as a sword stolen from the merchant company.

The firelight faintly reflected off the blade.

A sword far too well-maintained for someone with that appearance.

Shing!

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Everyone froze instantly.

“W-what are you doing?! voyage Draw your weapons!”

“Stop!”

Hearing the order, the others began reacting and hurriedly pulling out their weapons.

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“Everyone lower your swords! echo Kneel and place your hands on the ground!”

Unlike the other refugees, who were completely confused, he understood the situation.

The one who spoke was the man dressed in half plate armor.

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At his words, all the men and women quickly knelt and placed their hands on the ground.

“If you want to live, do it immediately!”

“What the hell—?”

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The man stood up and knelt before Perda.

Perda had intended to use one of them as an example to begin the interrogation, so that reaction caught him off guard.

Their reaction was incredibly fast.

People accustomed to surrendering rather than resisting.

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The way he spoke did not resemble that of an ordinary bandit.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I am William, leader of this refugee group. crystal Is the distinguished visitor Perda Valdrova… Lord Regent?”

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“I assume you wish to know the entire truth behind the incident. anxiety I will explain everything, but I beg you to at least allow the children to eat first.”

“Correct.”

“And after investigating the looting… you tracked us here.”

It seemed they had already expected an investigation group to be sent.

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Perda slowly observed them.

He spoke politely.

And precisely because of that, Perda let out a mocking laugh.

“Rats that devour another’s grain and still dare act like humans while begging for compassion. alpha You have no right to eat.”

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Then he sat directly atop the pot he had kicked earlier.

“From now on, anyone who moves without my permission will die. avalanche It doesn’t matter whether it’s an adult, child, or elder.”

“Confess properly. echo Or I’ll start by killing the children first.”