Chapter 17
Peering into God’s Shame
The attendant flinched in surprise and asked again.
“Pardon? Are you saying you intend to take her in, my lord?”
“Think about it. According to you, this child cannot even properly carry out the tasks she is given and will continue acting like this. Then you will have to clean up after her again, won’t you?”
“……”
The attendant’s lips jutted out in a pout.
That was already what she had been doing, and the thought of having to continue doing so made irritation surge within her.
“You have the authority to give that child orders, do you not?”
“Yes, I do.”
“And with authority of that nature, you should be able to order her to leave this household.”
“Hmm… But she is still a child the master treasures.”
“He only treasures her in words. Think about it.”
Ferda began coaxing the attendant.
“The brighter a jewel shines, the easier it is to notice its flaws. In the long run, who do you think will suffer? Your master has now earned the title of Sage and is finally enjoying a life of prosperity. Would it not be the duty of a loyal attendant to correct and conceal such a distinguished person’s flaws?”
“……”
The look in the attendant’s eyes changed.
Ferda’s argument was beginning to sound strangely convincing.
The fact that she was already considering it meant she had practically fallen for his persuasion.
Ferda decided to deliver the finishing blow.
“I will help make that decision easier for you.”
Ferda took out three gold coins and placed them in the attendant’s hand.
“O-Oh my! Oh my goodness…!”
The attendant’s eyes widened.
Three whole gold coins.
Most commoners could work the fields their entire lives without ever holding even a single gold coin.
Having received three at once, it was only natural that greed would overwhelm her.
‘Yes. If it is to conceal the master’s flaw, then someone like that girl can be discarded…!’
The attendant cleared her throat and soon began rubbing her hands together obsequiously.
“Oh, my lord. What should I do?”
“It is simple. Every language possesses power. You only need to give her an order. Tell her to abandon her name from this moment onward.”
“Of course, my lord. Hey, brat! Put that down and come here!”
The girl rose from her seat and walked over to stand beside the attendant.
“Now then, you damned little brat. Listen very carefully.”
The girl nodded at the attendant’s words.
“From now on, you are to abandon your name. And this gentleman will be your master from this moment forward. You are to follow him from now on. Understood?”
The girl’s eyes slowly lifted toward Ferda.
Her empty, unfocused gaze seemed to silently question him.
Ferda looked directly into those eyes and asked,
“Will you acknowledge me as your master?”
In response to Ferda’s question, the girl answered.
Nod, nod.
“Good. That confirms it.”
Ferda raised his head and looked toward the middle-aged attendant.
The woman was completely preoccupied with touching the gold coins.
“Now that our transaction is complete, I shall tell you an interesting fact.”
“An interesting… fact?”
He had obtained what he wanted.
It was now time to reveal the truth.
“I shall tell you why your master treasured the girl you so readily cast aside, despite her seeming hopelessly foolish.”
“Well… I thought it was because she was pretty…”
“No. Your master, Helus Phobidas, prefers women with large breasts. He also likes empty-headed women who laugh uncontrollably at his worthless jokes and act as though they cannot get enough of him. He is a man plagued by a terrible inferiority complex. Since he lacks the confidence to surpass intelligent women, he prefers women with nothing in their heads. Even if this girl is attractive, he has no reason whatsoever to favor a young attendant as wooden and unresponsive as she is.”
The middle-aged attendant’s face gradually stiffened.
She did not understand why Ferda was suddenly telling her this, but the implication behind his words seemed to scream that she had made a terrible mistake.
“Would you believe me if I told you that this girl is the source of the profound insight your master possesses?”
“What are you talking about? How could someone this foolish possibly…”
Confusion filled her eyes.
Only then did the attendant realize it.
She had been blinded by greed and had failed to notice what was happening.
And she had walked straight into a trap.
With trembling hands, she held the three gold coins back out to Ferda.
“I-I take it back. I will return the money, so please give that child back—”
“No. There is no need. And even if I returned her, you would not make it back alive.”
“W-Why not?”
“Because you understood what I just told you, did you not? What you have heard is akin to peering into God’s shameful secret. I hope you understand that as well.”
She had no choice but to understand.
Those who peered into God’s shame were destined to die.
The attendant’s face went deathly pale.
“The reason I told you this was an act of what little kindness I possess. Take that money and flee while you still can.”
Ferda gave his advice in the same cold manner as always.
“The moment your master catches you, you will disappear without leaving so much as a trace.”
***
“Do you believe that humans can suddenly attain enlightenment?”
Ferda asked Luri.
Luri gave him her answer.
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Humans believe they survive through knowledge accumulated over the years, but accumulated knowledge alone is not enough to sustain them. I believe humanity survived because there are flashes of inspiration that cannot be reached through accumulation alone.”
It was an opinion befitting the attendant of an immortal.
“You are correct to an extent. But part of what you said is also wrong.”
“Which part?”
“They say that no matter how long you dig where there is no underground water, you will never create a well. No matter how profound one’s enlightenment may be, wisdom that never existed cannot suddenly spring forth.”
Ferda looked down at the name on the list.
Helus Phobidas.
“The same applies to this man.”
“Then what you are saying is that the Sage of Water is merely a figurehead…”
Luri turned her gaze.
A blond girl roughly the same height as her stood quietly nearby.
Her eyes were completely unfocused, making it impossible to tell where she was looking. She had precisely the sort of face that would make others call her slow-witted.
“You mean this vacant little girl is the true source of his wisdom?”
Ferda made a gesture as though pulling a cord.
“Have you ever heard of a Slave Sage?”
Humanity stores and compresses knowledge, learning from the past to pioneer the future.
That was how people described it in Ferda’s world, where one did not have to confront everything with one’s own body.
They predicted the unpredictable and controlled the uncontrollable.
That was the essence of those who pursued knowledge, and each of them advanced toward that goal through their own methods.
Some combined knowledge with knowledge to derive new conclusions.
Some excavated lost technologies through exploration and investigation.
Others beseeched gods to obtain the answers they desired.
And some stepped into forbidden domains that should never be entered.
‘Of all those methods, the forbidden domain is naturally the most effective.’
It meant peering not at a god’s smile or kiss, but at the god’s most shameful secrets.
The girl Ferda had taken in was also someone who had stepped into that forbidden domain.
Gaining enough wisdom to shake the world required an enormous price.
And that price was exceedingly simple.
‘Who am I?’
One lost the ability to ask oneself that question.
It was an absurdly simple question, yet it was also everything.
Who one was connected to what one lived for, and what one lived for determined one’s actions.
Yet the inability to contemplate that question was also what allowed such a person to survive.
The ultimate knowledge and wisdom, incapable of moving or thinking independently.
The ultimate tool.
“That is how a Slave Sage is born.”
“To lose oneself in exchange for power… What an incredibly foolish choice.”
“Yes. It truly is a foolish choice.”
Ferda muttered bitterly.
Luri could not understand why he wore such an expression.
“Then what forbidden power did she obtain to end up like this?”
“It is simple.”
Ferda lightly tapped the girl on the head.
“The Library of All Things.”
“The Library of All Things?”
“Would you believe me if I told you that this tiny head contains more books than all the books of Escholeia?”
“……”
Luri discreetly glanced at the girl.
She was an ordinary girl with neither the slightest trace of mana nor any ominous aura.
Had Luri passed her on the street, she would have dismissed her as a simpleton without giving her another thought.
Yet Ferda claimed that the girl possessed more books than the Library of All Things, which was called the culmination of humanity’s intellect.
It was difficult to believe, but Luri did not object.
Ferda had been the one to choose her, so she was Ferda’s responsibility.
“Look at me.”
Ferda instructed the girl.
The girl’s eyes fixed upon him.
“Before I give you a name, I shall issue you a command of the highest priority.”
Ferda spoke clearly, enunciating each syllable.
“This command shall be remembered as naturally as your breathing and the beating of your heart. It shall become an absolute and immutable truth.”
She nodded.
As though reciting an incantation, Ferda gave her the command.
“The ruler of great power, the Red Dragon, Dread Queen Valdrova, shall be the beginning and end of your existence. You shall devote your entire life to him.”
She nodded.
“I, Ferda Valdrova, shall possess the authority to command you as the representative of Dread Queen Valdrova.”
She nodded again.
“However, should I act against Dread Queen Valdrova’s beliefs or behave in a manner that defies them, you may raise an objection. Should I ultimately refuse to understand…”
After a very brief silence, he continued.
“As a final resort, you are permitted to rebel against me. Have you remembered everything?”
She nodded.
“Good. From this moment onward, your name is Mori.”
The girl was given the name Mori.
A strange spark of life began to appear in her eyes.
***
“With the exception of Marquis Burnell, you have successfully recruited all of them.”
They were in the office of Valdrova Castle.
“He will come soon enough.”
“Are you certain?”
“If he still refuses to come after everything I told him, then I will have no choice but to give up.”
Ferda displayed none of the obsession or passion of someone determined to possess something at all costs.
It was as though he were allowing a connection that had naturally drifted apart over time to continue on its way.
‘He acts no differently from an immortal.’
Even Luri, who could clearly distinguish between the two, found herself confused.
Luri looked down at a sheet of paper bearing four names and four accompanying explanations.
“So, are these four the last of them for now?”
Ferda shook his head.
“Actually, there is one more.”
“Who is it?”
Ferda wrote down the name of the person he had in mind.
—Luri Valdrova.
“It is you.”
Ferda said it plainly.
Luri responded with genuine disgust.
“I have no intention whatsoever of taking your side. Do not misunderstand merely because we have grown slightly closer.”
Ferda had not overlooked her loyalty.
“That is fine. That is not what I want from you. In fact, what I desire is for you to remain wary of me and hate me exactly as you did before.”
“…What do you mean?”
“If Mori ever leads a rebellion, you must stand at its forefront.”
“……”
Luri’s expression stiffened.
She was even more shaken than when he had called her an ally.
“Are you saying… that I must kill you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Ferda answered.
“Unlike immortal beings such as dragons, humans are destined to die one day.”
Luri unconsciously clenched her fists.
Those were words she herself had once spoken to Valdrova.
“Because humans eventually die, they change, and their vision becomes clouded. When that happens to me, I may claim that I am acting for the Dread Queen while merely seeking to satisfy my own greed.”
A peculiar sadness distorted his eyes.
They slowly rose to meet Luri’s gaze.
His blue eyes looked at her with deep emotion.
Luri could sense it clearly.
“Therefore, as his attendant, you must watch over me.”
This man was prepared to sacrifice even his own life.
“So that my king—my betrothed—will never be hurt.”
Luri struggled to speak through her trembling lips.
“…You sound like one of those humans who does not know his place.”
The cutting remark escaped her without thought.
Nevertheless, Luri nodded in acceptance of his proposal.
“Very well. After hearing your explanation, I believe that much is within my abilities.”
“You have my gratitude. As expected of a loyal dragon spawn.”
“However, you appear to be mistaken about one thing, so allow me to correct you.”
Luri erased the surname attached to her name.
That meant she was not Valdrova’s spawn.
“This is my true name.”
—Luri Silverwind.
“Then I shall take my leave…”
Luri walked out of the office, while Ferda quietly stared down at the name she had written.
‘That was unexpected.’
The surname Luri had written came as quite a shock to Ferda.
Once a dragon spawn completed the Ascension Ceremony, they received the name of that dragon as their surname.
Just as Ferda had gone from Rosnova to Valdrova, Luri should also have borne the surname of the one whose power she had inherited.
Yet she was not a Valdrova.
She was a Silverwind.
‘That means she is a Silver Dragon spawn.’
In hindsight, the signs had been obvious.
Her mobility allowed her to move in the blink of an eye.
She wielded wind-attribute magic.
All of it was possible for someone who had inherited the blood of the Silver Dragon.
However, Ferda could not readily accept that conclusion because it did not fit with what he knew.
After all—
‘Silverwind was killed by Valdrova.’
After killing the Black Dragon Godwon, Valdrova had gone berserk.
Someone had sacrificed his own life to stop him.
That someone had been Silverwind, the Silver Dragon.
‘That is why their factions are practically sworn enemies.’
The influence of Silverwind’s faction had played a major role in Valdrova being branded an evil dragon.
Silverwind had commanded many spawns and possessed an excellent reputation.
‘A Silver Dragon spawn swore allegiance to a Red Dragon…’
Ferda rested his hand on the armrest and lightly tapped his chin.
‘Does that mean she is merely pretending to be loyal?’
Ferda immediately rejected the thought.
‘Luri is more loyal than anyone.’
There was no room for doubt.
She handled everything on behalf of her isolated master. Such devotion could never have arisen from a mere sense of duty.
‘Then does that mean she has rejected her blood as a Silver Dragon spawn?’
He rejected that possibility as well.
Blood was thicker than water.
That saying held even more absolute significance in dragon society than it did among humans.
‘I cannot understand it.’
Ferda retraced the events of his future.
Looking back, several things bothered him.
It had been when he went to kill Valdrova.
‘Luri was not there.’
The castle that had been built was half-destroyed, and the only person within the lair had been Valdrova, seemingly waiting for death.
Even as Valdrova lay dying, Luri had never appeared.
‘I would like to know the reason, but…’
It had been completely outside the former Ferda’s interests, so there was no way for him to know.
For now, he knew only that the woman who appeared unwaveringly loyal would one day turn her back on Valdrova.
‘Perhaps this is something I need to discover.’
Whether he liked it or not, it was certain to bring sorrow to his mate.
Ferda therefore did not hesitate.
The following day, a carriage arrived before Valdrova Castle.
Marquis Burnell had arrived.