I Married the Dragon I Killed

Dandolo Mansion, family meeting room.

The head seat belonged to the head of the family.

In other words, it was Rico Dandolo’s place.

But at that moment, Tilda occupied that seat as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

She used it as if it truly belonged to her.

“And Henri?”

“He said there were business matters that needed adjustments, so he will not return until tomorrow.”

“I already know that. He became unbearably clingy. What I mean is, there’s no chance he’ll suddenly appear, right?”

“There isn’t.”

“Then tonight this mansion is mine.”

Tilda smiled.

“Very soon, Dandolo Mansion will belong to Lady Tilda.”

“No longer as a daughter-in-law, but as the rightful head of the family.”

The flatterers seized the opportunity to praise her.

All of them were people cooperating with Tilda after receiving promises of rewards.

“That’s how it will be. Then shouldn’t we focus on work?”

Tilda began preparing the next phase of the conspiracies she had planted between Stephan and Merchit.

“Right now Stephan is confronting Herman. He’s trying to expel him over management-related problems, but it seems it won’t be easy.”

“And Merchit?”

“The proper way to say it would be that he’s sharpening his sword. He’s preparing to confront Stephan directly.”

“Even so, swords are always closer than money. Wouldn’t it be better to intensify the pressure on Merchit even more?”

Tilda played with her lips before replying.

“No. We only need to corner Stephan. The important thing is to remove him from this board completely.”

“Understood.”

“Besides, the other side already has their preparations completed, don’t they? If we spread proof throughout the Empire that the mercenary company is actually a bandit group, they’ll collapse instantly.”

“That’s right.”

“Then prepare everything exactly as I instructed.”

Subordinates who moved perfectly on their own initiative.

Tilda smiled in satisfaction.

Everything was progressing perfectly.

It was like watching puppets dance upon the stage of a small theater.

The ecstasy of being on the verge of having everything in her hands intoxicated her.

‘All that remains is finding the will, and everything will be resolved….’

The contents of the will stated that after Rico Dandolo’s death, everything would pass to Henri.

And until Henri’s son turned nineteen and could stand on his own, no one could become heir, while all assets would remain under the vice chairman’s control.

For Tilda, who desired to seize the Dandolo Company, it was the worst possible will.

That was why she was enduring all these inconveniences.

Everything would progress like dominoes.

The beginning was small, but in the end it would create a wave so massive that no one could stop it.

She would become the owner of everything.

It was then—

A servant hurriedly opened the door and whispered into Tilda’s ear.

“M’lady, we have good news. They say they obtained the will.”

“Is that true!?”

Could things really go this perfectly?

Tilda’s eyes shone as the servant nodded.

“The servants who brought the will are waiting in front of the entrance.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

A situation that could not have been more perfect.

Tilda walked toward the main entrance with light steps accompanied by several servants.

“What…?”

However, there was no one there.

She even stepped outside to look around, but there was not even a carriage in sight.

‘They were supposed to come deliver the will, so where the hell are they?’

Just as Tilda’s irritation was about to explode—

A violent gust suddenly burst in, flung open the windows, and extinguished every light in the chandelier.

“Huh?”

“What was that gust?”

“What are you doing? Bring a mage! Relight the chandelier!”

The servants panicked while the butlers tried to maintain order.

The mages hurriedly began chanting spells to relight the candles.

And then it happened.

The darkness covering the place vanished all at once.

No, more precisely, only one part became illuminated.

It was like a spotlight on a stage.

The light illuminated the top of the central staircase and drew everyone’s attention.

Standing there was a woman.

A pink-haired woman wearing a mask.

Upon seeing her, everyone began murmuring.

“What is that ridiculous outfit?”

“How indecent….”

She was wearing bunny girl clothes one would expect to see only in Hallim, clearly outlining the shape of her body.

Although she wore a swallowtail coat that covered part of her skin, for the conservative Empire, merely showing the curves of the body was scandalous.

The woman, also wearing a white mask worthy of a ballroom gala, opened her mouth.

“Everyone, silence!”

The woman shouted loudly like a circus showman.

“Injustice has descended and the world has fallen into chaos!”

Her voice sounded somewhat forced, but she raised the tone to conceal it.

“Therefore, I have descended from the shadows to uphold justice!”

Hypnotized by her appearance, everyone began shouting.

“Who the hell are you?! How dare you invade this place?!”

“Where do you think you are saying such nonsense?”

At a servant’s question, the mysterious masked woman burst into laughter.

“I am Pepe of Bunny Swallows! I have come here to stop the atrocities committed in this mansion and defend the justice everyone ignores!”

“What?! How dare you speak like that here?!”

“What do you mean where? Everyone knows this is the place where wealth and evil gather to plot conspiracies!”

The strange masked woman struck the floor with her cane while making exaggerated gestures.

The servants exploded in outrage.

“Lord Dandolo fed countless people! How can you say such a thing?!”

“Rico Dandolo! I never imagined there would be so many loyal to his children! But then why do you only speak of loyalty with your mouths!?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?! Do you think we’re cowards incapable of being loyal to the lord?!”

“How truly pitiful! All of you are blind with open eyes and deaf with functioning ears! You allowed a witch into this family and still pretend not to see her!”

“A witch? Who the hell is a witch?!”

At the word “witch,” everyone began looking around in confusion.

Even Tilda Pascal nervously looked around herself.

She desperately wanted that damned thief to be wrong.

“Tilda Pascal!”

The woman pronounced her exact name.

At the same time, another spotlight illuminated the place where Tilda stood.

All eyes concentrated on her.

“Filthy bitch serving a witch. Why do you pretend to be a frightened dog?”

Tilda was completely bewildered beneath all those stares.

“Evil serpent who devoured your father-in-law, who intends to devour even your husband and even your own blood. Your atrocities end today! Here and now I will show everyone the reins with which you control this mansion!”

It was just as the masked woman tried to pull something from inside her jacket.

The moment Tilda saw that object, her pupils shrank.

“She’s there! The intruder!”

At that instant, a huge number of soldiers burst through the door.

All of them carried crossbows in their hands.

“Fire!”

Fwoosh!

The crossbow bolts shot toward the pink-haired thief.

Puff—!

Just before the bolts reached her body, a thick cloud of white smoke exploded around her.

The visibility of the entire area was completely blocked.

“Kyah!”

“Cough, cough!”

“She’s an intruder! Don’t let her escape!”

The servants fled while the soldiers moved frantically.

And amid all of it, Tilda continued staring toward the place where the pink-haired thief had been.

‘Where is she?’

She tried to follow that woman’s movements within the thick white cloud.

‘Where the hell is she?’

She had to find her.

She had to find her before anyone else.

“M’lady!”

At that moment, someone pulled Tilda’s body.

“This way, evacuate!”

Thinking Tilda had been stunned by the shock, a servant grabbed her and began guiding her away.

She acted like a confused woman and allowed herself to be led by that hand.

“I’ll take you to the shelter immediately. There—.”

“No!”

Tilda interrupted him.

“There’s no need to go all the way to the shelter. I’ll hide in my room.”

“Understood. Then this way….”

The servant escorted Tilda and led her to her room.

“Do not come out! Please wait until the situation calms down!”

“All right.”

The door closed.

Tilda began pacing back and forth with a nervous expression.

She lightly tapped the door with her index finger.

At that instant, a bright red barrier expanded from her fingertip and completely covered the door.

Now no one would be able to pass through it.

“What the hell was that lunatic?”

Tilda’s face twisted viciously.

She had drawn everyone’s attention with those indecent clothes and called herself Pepe.

“Bunny Swallows? What kind of bullshit is that? Who the hell is trying to ruin me like this?”

A phantom thief from an organization she had never heard of or seen.

She also thought about who could be behind this.

Stephan? Merchit? Herman?

Or perhaps some trap Rico Dandolo had prepared long before she began poisoning him?

But that was not what mattered.

‘How did they discover I made a Garden Contract with a witch?’

The Garden Contract had the advantage of being impossible to detect unless magic was used directly in front of someone.

Tilda had always used magic with extreme caution.

With absolute prudence, she had made that mansion her own.

They should not have discovered it.

‘Even assuming they did….’

There was still something she did not understand.

How did they discover the medium?

The thing the thief called Pepe had tried to reveal.

Although she was interrupted just before showing it, Tilda vaguely caught its shape.

A small, thin object easy to hide within clothing.

And the medium Tilda had prepared also had exactly that shape.

Maybe—

‘No, impossible.’

Tilda could not be certain.

She wanted to convince herself they were only trying to intimidate her, but she could not be sure.

She had to confirm it.

Tilda moved.

Inside her enormous room, she walked toward a desk drawer.

The place where there was a painting with her own portrait.

She opened the drawer.

Inside was a frame turned face down.

She tried to flip it over to check it.

“I already imagined it would be hidden somewhere in the room. So it was there.”

A voice pierced the silence.

Tilda flinched and immediately turned around.

In a place where no one should have been, there was a man.

Brown hair tied into a ponytail.

Just like that indecent thief, he wore a mask covering his face as he looked at her.

“W-who are you? How did you get in here…?”

“How do you think? While that pink thief attracted all the attention? Or from the moment I grabbed your wrist and guided you here?”

Only then could Tilda understand that absurd situation.

The woman acting as a showman had merely been a decoy.

The real objective had been to make her approach the medium herself to check on it.

The brown-haired man pointed with his chin and asked,

“So that thing in your hand really is the true medium of the Garden Contract?”

Tilda hugged the frame against her chest by reflex and screamed.

“Die!!”

At that instant, a magic circle appeared and from it emerged the head of a serpent.

White scales and golden eyes.

It was exactly the classic form described in the records.

“Well now, so you really did make a contract with Yor Philiaz. Black Bandana’s information network truly is incredible.”

Yor’s serpents.

Venomous creatures capable of completely dissolving anyone they bit, leaving not even remains behind.

The serpents flicked their tongues and surrounded Tilda while threatening the intruder.

“How cute.”

Zed belonged to the Red Eyes Tribe.

The Red Eyes Tribe possessed the ability to disperse the mana of magic circles and nullify them.

Even so, Zed did not reveal his eyes.

The reason was simple.

There was no need to use a butcher’s knife to kill mere chickens.

He leaned his body forward and shot ahead.

“Kill him! Serpents, kill that man right now!”

Dozens of serpents violently lunged after his silhouette.

But they were incapable of catching him.

That man was an acrobat capable of easily dodging even the attacks of two wolf beasts.

Sshhk—.

A thin slash of aura left a pale trail as it advanced.

Every time the line of aura passed through one of Yor’s serpents, its head and body separated and rolled across the floor.

It did not take long before dozens of serpents became piles of shredded flesh.

“Uh…!”

Tilda’s face changed.

She intended to transform the serpent’s face and spew poison.

But by the time she finished deciding, the brown-haired man was already in front of her.

“Tsk!”

“Kyah!”

He violently struck the back of her hand with the hilt of his dagger.

Tilda’s hand holding the medium immediately opened.

The brown-haired man deftly caught it and retreated.

“Let’s see. The medium chosen by our ruthless future witch is….”

The man turned the frame over and let out an exclamation.

“Wow… this I truly didn’t expect….”

“G-give it back! Right now!”

Tilda screamed almost hysterically.

But the brown-haired man did not care.

He pulled the painting from the frame and held it with both hands.

“I have nothing personal against you. It’s just work.”

Riiip—!

He tore it apart forcefully.

The paper ripped easily like a cheap market flyer.

“Ah….”

The instant the paper split into two, a bright crimson energy began pouring out from it.

That force became increasingly intense and concentrated until it unleashed an explosion of pressure.

Booom!

“Whoa!?”

Zed’s body was pushed backward.

Tilda, who was farther away, leapt like a beast and desperately gathered the torn pieces of paper.

“No…!”

She tried to forcibly put the pieces back together.

“Aaah…! No…!! This can’t be happening!”

Spilled water cannot be recovered.

And a destroyed medium cannot be restored.

Then a sinister energy began enveloping the place.

A terrible premonition.

“I think it’s time to leave. See you around!”

The brown-haired man quickly abandoned the place to avoid getting involved.

Tilda could not move with that kind of agility.

She remained kneeling on the floor, trembling.

She’s coming.

She is coming.

Srrr—.

What echoed beside her ear was the sound of a serpent’s tongue.

Something long and wet sweetly licked the curve of her ear.

— Uhuuhu….

Then came a chilling laugh.

Tilda froze, not even daring to look behind her.

Her face turned completely pale.

— Poor Tilda. Poor and miserable Tilda. The contract has been broken.

“N-no, that’s not true.”

Tilda answered while trembling.

“I can fix it, Lady Yor! Please…!”

— No. You have failed. Did I not tell you that you had to protect the contract medium no matter what? But you did not.

The voice laughed cheerfully.

Tilda pleaded again.

“I’ll kill that man! I’ll prove my worth to you!”

— There is no need, child. From the moment you desired something that did not belong to your station, your destruction was already predetermined.

A long patch of skin brushed against her cheek.

Then came a mocking laugh.

Tilda cried bitterly while begging.

“Please, don’t abandon me. I’ll become your loyal dog. Please, just one more chance….”

She begged again and again.

The answer she received was this.

— Serpents do not shed tears, useless girl.

At the exact moment that presence disappeared, Tilda felt the change.

Something covering the entire mansion vanished all at once.

The spell composing Tilda Pascal unraveled.