Chapter 34
Tea Party
Ferda was a nobleman.
He had been born into the knightly House of Rosnova.
The family held the rank of viscount and served as vassals to the Duke of Houston.
As befitted an honorable house of knights, Ferda had been subjected to strict instruction in basic etiquette.
Although he had been cast out of his family under the title of the Dread Queen ’s fiancé, he had clawed his way up to becoming a Great Mage and attained a status comparable to that of the highest nobility.
Even so, Ferda had little connection to high society.
As an illegitimate child of House Rosnova, he had never been given the opportunity, and once he became a Great Mage, he refused to associate with others.
I would not even touch anything prepared by someone else.
After narrowly escaping poisoning several times, he stopped eating food prepared by others.
That remained true even after his body became one that poison could no longer kill.
Rather than strengthening relationships, his strategy had been to drive people with hatred and discard them once they were no longer useful.
Thus, this was the first tea party of Ferda’s life.
One hour before the tea party—
“This is the recreation room where you and Master will be able to enjoy various forms of leisure after your marriage. The tea party will be held here.”
Luri had guided Ferda to the appointed place ahead of time and explained everything one by one.
Since it was Ferda’s responsibility to escort Valdrova, she wanted him to familiarize himself with the surroundings beforehand.
Ferda turned his gaze toward the terrace.
“It overlooks the west.”
“This room was designed so that you could focus entirely on leisure.”
The atmosphere certainly felt different.
The Demonic Lands remained gloomy even under the sun, naturally drawing one into deep thought, but this place felt nothing but peaceful.
It was the perfect spot to relax while watching the setting sun.
“And the tea party will be held here.”
Two chairs and a single table had been arranged so that they could enjoy the view from the terrace.
Two teacups had been placed on the table, along with tiered trays enchanted with temperature-preservation magic and an assortment of decorated desserts.
They were all extravagant and unfamiliar.
“What are these sweets?”
“Macarons, Mont Blancs, pastries… They have many different names. I selected twenty from among roughly one hundred and fifty desserts that can be prepared by pastry chefs recruited from the imperial palace.”
“I see.”
Ferda was about to let the matter pass, thinking she must have worked quite hard, when he suddenly reconsidered what she had said.
If she had personally selected them—
“Does that mean you tasted them yourself?”
“Is that not obvious?”
“All one hundred and fifty?”
When he emphasized the number, Luri’s expression turned displeased.
“I know what you are thinking. You believe I stuffed myself merely to satisfy my own cravings, do you not?”
“Is that not obvious?”
Ferda answered honestly.
He had seen Luri happily eating honey preserves in Escoleia, so he could hardly deny it.
Luri scowled.
“What an insulting thought. I put a great deal of effort into preparing this tea party. Worried that I might have overlooked something, I tasted them again, carefully considered each one, and selected only the finest. Few tasks could have demanded more effort, yet you fail to understand my dedication?”
All Ferda heard was that she had eaten three hundred desserts.
Her face remained so impassive that an ordinary person would have been completely fooled.
Even the suspicious Ferda might have fallen for that ironclad expression—
had she not made one crucial mistake.
“There is powdered sugar on your mouth.”
At Ferda’s words, Luri wiped her lips with a finger.
A trace of pure-white powder came away.
She glanced at it, then naturally slipped the finger into her mouth.
“I merely needed to determine whether they contained poison. Master would not succumb to some pathetic toxin, but you are human, Lord Ferda.”
“I see.”
“You do not believe me. Surely you are not treating me like a pig?”
“You could hardly be a pig. Your loyalty is like that of a dog… If I had to be precise…”
Ferda gave a small nod.
“I suppose that makes you a dog-pig.”
“Please ask me to strike you just once. I am begging you.”
Luri’s face twisted with barely contained fury.
Ferda disliked pain, so he had no intention of granting such a request.
Luri then glanced toward the sun and took a step back.
It was almost time for the appointment.
“I shall bring Master here. In the meantime…”
Luri fixed him with a fierce glare.
“Do not touch the trays.”
“Do not worry.”
I am not you.
Luri left the recreation room to bring Valdrova.
Ferda obediently waited for her.
This will be our second meeting.
The only encounter Ferda could properly remember was the time he had seen her face.
At their first engagement ceremony, all he had managed to see was her chin, and when she had lost control of her bloodlust, Ferda had been too disoriented to think clearly.
This would be the first time they held a proper conversation.
The first time…
A sense of helplessness suddenly washed over him.
What should I say first?
Ferda rubbed his lips with one hand.
Had this been an ordinary meeting, he could simply have adapted naturally to the mood.
But this meeting had been arranged because of Valdrova’s anxiety.
And Ferda still had no answer for it.
That was why he had summoned a man with considerable expertise in this field—Zed Swallow.
—That? It would be best to pretend you know nothing.
Zed Swallow.
He was a notorious womanizer who had seduced countless women.
—There is no need to explain yourself. Just show her through your actions. Why lower the mood by bringing up something gloomy and unnecessary? Pretend you know nothing and try to brighten the atmosphere.
Ferda thought the advice made sense.
It might have been appropriate to apologize for making her think he had grown tired of her, but she probably did not want such a depressing atmosphere at a tea party.
Perhaps pretending not to know really is the best approach.
Keeping the problem beneath the surface was also a valid option.
What mattered most was ensuring that Dread Queen Valdrova no longer felt anxious.
Ferda steeled himself and waited for her.
“Master is entering.”
Luri’s voice came from beyond the door.
At the same time, the door opened.
Ferda greeted her with the words he had prepared.
“Welco—”
His voice caught in his throat.
Even Ferda could not help being bewildered by what he saw.
Red hair and golden eyes.
A face so beautiful that attempting to capture it in a painting would itself have been an insult.
None of it was there.
A Dragon Knight?
The one entering through the door was a Dragon Knight.
The helmet and armor had been designed to stir humanity’s most primal fears.
Ferda, of course, felt only confusion rather than fear.
At the same time, the armor seemed strangely familiar.
I was wondering where I had seen it before. It was at the engagement ceremony.
It was the armor he had seen after overturning the engagement wine and being reprimanded.
That meant the person inside had to be Valdrova.
Why had she come wearing that armor?
Ferda discreetly looked toward Luri, who stood behind her.
Their eyes met.
Luri stared at him for a moment, then quietly shook her head.
It was a gesture pleading with him not to ask.
After a moment’s thought, Ferda once again offered a courteous greeting.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, my king.”
At that, her hands came together neatly in front of her, and the dragon-headed helmet dipped slightly.
Her mannerisms resembled those of an awkward young noblewoman making her social debut.
Clank, clank.
She stepped stiffly across the carpet, entered the room, and sat in the chair opposite Ferda.
Creeeeak—
The chair screamed beneath her.
Despite the considerable weight of the armor, it somehow endured without breaking.
As though nothing unusual has happened…
Ferda recalled Zed’s advice and opened his mouth.
“I am deeply pleased that you were the first to propose this meeting.”
Nod.
The only response was a single dip of the helmet.
An awkward silence settled over them.
Everything seemed to stop around that silence.
Sweat formed on Ferda’s back, and even breathing became difficult.
With great effort, he opened his mouth again and attempted to carry the conversation.
“That armor is most befitting the majesty of a dragon.”
Nod.
She answered by nodding once more.
“How have you been?”
He raised a topic that made it impossible for her not to respond.
Valdrova formed a circle with her thumb and index finger.
“You have been well, then. I am glad.”
Nod.
Ferda felt as though he were going to die.
He wanted to release his tension with a sigh, but he did not dare.
His nervous heart boiled within his chest, yet the pressure only left him feeling as stifled as a tightly sealed cauldron.
Meanwhile, Luri poured the brewed tea into their cups and thoroughly fulfilled her role as part of the scenery.
Ferda decided to at least moisten his parched throat and picked up his cup.
Come to think of it, does that helmet have an opening for drinking?
He suddenly looked over to see what she would do.
She remained seated in silence, her gaze lowered to the floor.
“Are you able to drink while wearing that armor?”
She rubbed her helmet for a moment, then tapped the area around its mouth.
Suddenly, she raised her head as though she had just realized something.
Her behavior suggested that the thought had never occurred to her.
“Why not remove it?”
Shake, shake!
She vehemently refused.
Her determination not to show him her face was unmistakable.
Even Ferda, who had been trying to continue the conversation as though nothing were amiss, was beginning to find the awkward atmosphere unbearable.
She proposed a tea party, yet she will neither eat nor drink…
Had she at least spoken to him, it would have been less awkward.
But she was refusing even to converse.
She must be angry after all.
Ferda had caused Valdrova to believe he had grown tired of her.
And now, after making her anxious, he was sitting here pretending everything was fine.
He was truly pathetic.
Ferda decided to apologize.
“I am sorry.”
Clatter!
Valdrova’s armor jolted violently.
“I dared to cause the Dread Queen distress, yet I have been sitting here making idle conversation. It was a foolish decision. I should have apologized before anything else…”
“You may condemn me if you wish. I was the one at fault, so no matter what you say—”
“N-No, that is not true!”
Ferda flinched in surprise.
Her voice reverberated loudly inside the helmet.
The contrast in her manner of speaking was striking, but that was not what surprised him most.
It was the voice itself.
What emerged from the helmet was the deep, weighty voice of a seasoned warrior.
“That…”
Valdrova appeared startled by her own voice and covered the mouth of her helmet.
“The reason… I was not speaking… is not because I am angry, and it is not because you did anything wrong, Mr. Ferda.”
The fearsome head of the Dragon Knight fidgeted bashfully with its fingers.
“I-I simply could not… speak to you, Mr. Ferda… so I could not answer. Th-That is all.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Ferda remember something.
Luri had told him about it during the engagement ceremony.
Her fear of people.
She found humans difficult.
Of course.
He had known that, so why had he assumed she was angry?
He had been so consumed by his own concerns that he had forgotten about hers.
“I am sorry. I was thoughtless. Please forgive me.”
“No. I am the one who should apologize. I invited you here, only to sit in silence…”
“No, I…”
They continued apologizing to each other until the conversation abruptly collapsed.
In the subdued atmosphere, Ferda did not dare speak again.
He secretly searched his mind, wondering whether there was some spell capable of breaking this silence.
Now that she had finally begun speaking, Valdrova struggled to introduce another topic.
“The reason I am wearing this armor…”
Ferda waited for her to finish.
“Luri said… all my expressions show on my face.”
Ferda tilted his head at the answer.
“What do you mean by all your expressions showing?”
“When I take human form… I do not have any confidence…”
She hesitated for a long time before finally completing her sentence.
“So I wore it…”
The final word escaped in a high, airy squeak, and Valdrova covered the mouth of her helmet with both hands.
“Truly…”
She struggled onward.
“She says every emotion shows on my face. So… when I look at you, Mr. Ferda, I do not know what expression I might be making…”
Her heavy warrior’s voice trembled delicately.
“Does that… seem foolish?”
Her mannerisms made it obvious.
Concealing her emotions was extraordinarily difficult for her.
How truly…
To be unable to hide oneself was a form of purity.
She was so pure that no shell she wore and no deep voice she produced could conceal the essence Ferda had felt through her heart.
“Beautiful.”
That was precisely why she was beautiful.
Ferda answered her question.
“Not at all. Even now, at this very moment, I am trembling as well.”
Valdrova raised her head and looked at Ferda.
He could feel her gaze studying him from within the helmet.
“That is a lie.”
Valdrova said it plainly.
“Pardon?”
“You say that, but you are barely trembling at all… I stammer and stumble over my words, but you look perfectly calm, Mr. Ferda.”
“That is because I want to make a good impression. I am forcing myself to pretend I am not nervous.”
“Is that so?”
She reacted as though she could not understand it.
Valdrova had confessed her embarrassment.
Now it was Ferda’s turn.
“The reason I have not come to see you recently is because I was frightened as well.”
“Frightened of what?”
“Darkness resides within my mana.”
“Darkness…?”
“Yes. Darkness dwells within my mana. I was worried that it might harm Your Highness. That is why…”
Ferda’s eyes returned to her.
His blue irises shone like sapphires.
“I did not have the confidence to face you.”
“…”
There was no answer.
After hearing his words, Valdrova fidgeted with her fingers, repeatedly clenching and opening her fists.
It looked as though she were trying to suppress a rising emotion.
“Mr. Ferda…”
Her voice was strained with restraint.
“You were… worried about me?”
“Yes. It was presumptuous of me, was it not?”
“No. It is just… I am a little happy.”
Only then could he see it.
All those gestures were those of a delicate young woman.
“That makes you happy?”
The threatening helmet dipped lightly.
“Until now, I never imagined anyone besides Luri might worry about me… Everyone thinks I am strong. And I truly am. But… you were afraid I might be hurt, Mr. Ferda. So… strangely enough, that makes me happy.”
She placed a hand against her chest and tried to calm herself.
“What you gave me that day…”
On the day she had been suffering from uncontrollable bloodlust—
“What I felt… was a sensation I had never experienced even once before.”
Valdrova revisited the memory in a voice filled with emotion.
“That soft, warm feeling moving through my body… I thought perhaps that was what it would feel like if someone embraced me. Something like that could never harm me, could it?”
“Is… that so?”
“Yes.”
Her hands began fidgeting once again.
Her legs twisted around each other.
Despite her solemn voice, her girlish movements were impossible to overlook.
“I am already so happy simply being here. This very moment, sitting across from you, Mr. Ferda, makes me so happy… I am so happy that…”
Valdrova’s voice abruptly stopped.
“Ah.”
It was as though she had suddenly become conscious of something she had not noticed before.
“Are you all right?”
“I-I am sorry, but… may I s-stand up…?”
“Pardon?”
“I-It is just that if I stay any longer, I think I might… sh-shout, and that would cause trouble, so I-I am sor—”
Valdrova trembled violently, unsure what to do.
“I am sorryyy!”
With that apology, she hurled herself straight off the terrace.
Ferda and Luri silently looked down after her.
Even at a glance, the ground was unimaginably far below.
Yet neither of them believed Valdrova would be injured.
Luri, who had done nothing but stand in the background, finally spoke.
“Well, I believe we can consider the tea party a success.”
She popped one of the desserts from the tiered tray into her mouth.
Ferda continued staring at the place where Valdrova had disappeared and reflected on Luri’s words.
“Yes.”
Then realization struck him.
Valdrova was such an ordinary woman.
A pure woman who could not even properly look at her fiancé’s face.
And yet she had been forced to play the role of a king beneath the crushing weight she carried.
But the world is not kind.
He knew that as well.
As though even that small measure of ordinary happiness were more than she deserved, the world constantly sought to crush her.
The swarming monsters.
The corruption of the Empire.
Her past.
All of it endlessly tested and oppressed her.
I made an oath.
He had sworn to protect what she loved and fulfill everything she had ever wished for.
He would ensure that the name Valdrova ceased to be synonymous with terror and instead became a name of joy.
To accomplish that, Ferda needed resolve.
At times, I must be bold.
And ruthless, when necessary.
The fear that he might harm Valdrova could no longer shake him.
A sense of purpose became fuel, reigniting the flame that had been fading within his heart.
***
The following day, Ferda summoned Zed and explained his plan.
After listening, Zed asked,
“Have you lost your mind?”
It was an extraordinarily rude remark, but surprisingly, it was the result of careful consideration.
That was how absurd Ferda’s plan was.
“You intend to rob the imperial storehouse?”