Chapter 47
The Dragon’s Face
The Dragon Dragoon armor emerged into the moonlight.
It stood two meters tall and was adorned with intimidating ornaments designed to overwhelm anyone who faced it.
Yet Ferda had seen that armor far more often than he had seen her bare appearance. To him, it felt like a part of Valdrova, and because it was part of her, he could love it as well.
He had often wished he could suddenly encounter Valdrova even in that form, but reality felt different from what he had imagined.
He felt more bewildered than delighted.
Had his desire already driven him mad enough to see hallucinations?
While he was thinking that, she stopped directly before him.
They stared at each other in silence.
The stillness continued for a long time before Valdrova finally forced herself to speak.
“So, well… Um, you see…”
She struggled to draw out each word as though searching for a pearl buried beneath the sand.
“I wanted to… take a walk… so I came outside.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, of course!”
Ferda knew it was a lie.
However, that was not particularly important to him.
After answering, Valdrova fidgeted with her hands, which she had neatly clasped together.
Clank, clank.
The steel of her gauntlets scraped against itself, producing an awkward noise.
She seemed restless.
Was she uncomfortable because she had unexpectedly encountered Ferda?
Eventually, she spoke again.
“A-Actually, that is not true!”
“Pardon?”
“I knew… that you were coming out, Mr. Ferda… so that is why I came!”
“I… see.”
“Yes.”
She stroked her chest and released a sigh of relief.
It was as though she had confessed a grave sin that had been weighing on her heart.
Ferda did not care.
She had known he was alone in the corridor and had come to find him.
That was the only part that mattered.
It meant she had come here because she wanted to see him.
She wanted to see me.
Once he became conscious of that fact, he inexplicably began to feel nervous.
Had he brushed his teeth?
Did his clothes smell?
He had been shut inside a small room with only a candle for light. Perhaps the smell of smoke had seeped into him.
Those concerns lasted only briefly.
Ferda belatedly remembered the most important matter and bowed his head.
“I greet the Dread Queen, Valdrova.”
“Ah, yes. Welcome, um… Ferda… Ferda…”
She called his name, but her voice trailed off before she could finish.
Perhaps because of the voice-modifying apparatus installed within her helmet, the unfinished words echoed like a mournful cry.
“Were you trying to call me Regent?”
“Ah, yes, that! Regent!”
She clapped her hands, and delight entered her voice.
“Yes. Regent Ferda. I have always wanted to use that title. That is what a king’s fiancé is called, is it not?”
“Technically, that is not… No. Yes, that is correct.”
Ferda stopped himself from correcting her.
If he kept touching something so pure and radiant simply because he found it beautiful, he would eventually tarnish it.
“Then may I call you Regent from now on?”
“There is no need. It is a term used only in public settings, so when the two of us are alone, please feel free to call me Ferda.”
“Ah, then I shall do so, Ferda… Mr. Ferda.”
Ferda, Ferda…
Valdrova repeated his name several times inside her helmet, practicing it over and over.
It sounded as though she were whispering directly into his ear, making it inexplicably itch.
“I tried to meet you again, Mr. Ferda, but for some reason… I could not gather the courage.”
“I understand.”
Ferda quietly sympathized with her.
Had her feelings also grown that strong?
“Um… I came here because of Luri.”
Apparently not.
“Luri?”
Valdrova nodded.
“Luri seems to have been going through a difficult time recently.”
Ferda recalled refusing Luri’s request to attend the Grand Council.
The last expression he had seen on her face had been one of anger.
“I do not believe I am particularly skilled at understanding emotions, but I know what that child looks like when she is sad. She is… undoubtedly sad right now.”
Her helmet turned toward Ferda.
“If you happen to know why she is suffering… I thought perhaps you would know, Mr. Ferda…”
Ferda’s lips parted, but no words came out.
It was difficult to speak.
How could he explain it when he knew he was the cause?
What if telling her the truth made her hate him?
Even so, he eventually told her.
“That change is probably my fault.”
“Your fault, Mr. Ferda?”
“Luri asked me to allow her to attend the Grand Council, but I refused. That is the only possible reason I know of.”
“Why does that child wish to go there?”
“She said she wanted to speak with Silverwind’s side.”
Valdrova’s body flinched.
However, she soon nodded lightly, as though she finally understood.
“If she only wishes to speak with them… could you not take her?”
“Because it is false hope.”
“False hope?”
“What that maid intends to do is no different from picking at a scab. If she scratches a wound that has not yet healed, the flesh will tear away again and the injury will reopen. That is exactly what will happen.”
“Ah, yes… That hurts a great deal.”
“Yes. It hurts terribly.”
Valdrova nodded slightly in sympathy.
She wrapped one hand around her forearm.
“But perhaps that false hope… might not truly be false?”
Valdrova ended the sentence with an uncertain question.
“Silverwind still bears a grudge.”
“I know that as well. But… perhaps they do not bear one against Luri?”
“Do you believe everything will be resolved if she speaks with them?”
“At the very least, she would have somewhere to return to.”
“Return?”
Realizing what she had said, Valdrova began speaking with solemn determination.
“Ah, you must not know, Mr. Ferda. That child is not my Spawn. She is a Silver Dragon’s Spawn.”
“Ah…”
“She has always been loyal to me, so I understand why others might misunderstand.”
“Yes…”
Ferda had known that from the beginning.
The only thing that had surprised him was her use of the word return.
“Dragon Spawn are families connected by blood. Luri’s family consists of Silverwind’s Spawn.”
“Are you saying Luri should return to her family?”
“Is there anything more precious than family?”
A precious family.
It was a subject far removed from Ferda’s life.
His family had tormented him before ultimately abandoning him.
The source of Ferda’s desire for revenge had been his family, and in the end, he had returned everything they had done to him.
Now that all those emotions had been settled, he no longer cared about them in the slightest.
But what about Luri?
Ferda did not know how Luri felt.
Luri cherished Valdrova.
However, that bond might be insignificant compared to the blood connecting her to Silverwind.
Perhaps she intended to use this opportunity to sever her ties with Valdrova.
That might explain why she had never appeared, even up to the moment when Ferda of the future tore out Valdrova’s heart.
“Luri may want that, but…”
Ferda looked up at Valdrova and asked,
“Is that what you want?”
Instead of answering immediately, she turned her head toward the sky.
The hand resting on the railing slowly curled into a fist.
It was not an easy decision.
“I was the one who kept that child bound to this place. If there is a path for her to return… then I should let her go.”
“…”
“And…”
Valdrova looked down at Ferda.
“Do I not have a proper fiancé now?”
An indescribable tightness wrapped around Ferda’s chest.
It made him question a matter he had already decided.
Was it truly right to take Luri to the Grand Council?
In the end, Ferda made his decision.
“Understood.”
“You will take Luri with you?”
“Yes. How could I refuse after hearing you say that?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
She nodded, looking somewhat bewildered.
Now that one subject had ended, another heavy silence tried to settle itself between them.
“The Grand Council…”
Valdrova cautiously kicked that silence aside.
“I have always heard that it is held regularly, but I never even knew what happened there.”
“Are you curious?”
“I am extremely curious. It is a place where all the races gather to discuss the peace of the continent, is it not? Of course I would want to know what kinds of conversations take place there!”
Valdrova’s helmet suddenly turned toward Ferda.
“When you return, Mr. Ferda, could you tell me what happened there?”
Although her face was hidden behind the helmet, Ferda could tell what she was hoping for.
She was like a child listening to a tale of heroes gathering beneath the light to drive back the darkness.
Like an untouched field of snow in the middle of winter.
Her purity was dazzling.
“The story may not be pleasant to hear.”
“W-Why not?”
Disappointment seeped into her voice.
Ferda realized he had made a mistake.
But the words had already been spoken.
It was too late to remain silent or make excuses.
So he told her the truth as he knew it.
“They are not the sort of people who discuss such convenient ideals. They are far too busy pursuing their own interests.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So please do not expect too much.”
He struggled to finish.
Valdrova silently looked down at him.
What expression was she making?
Was she staring blankly with her mouth open in shock?
Or was she unable to contain her emotions and beginning to cry?
“Mr. Ferda…”
Her response came in the calm voice of a woman, entirely devoid of tears.
“Do you know what happened when Godwin rose to destroy this world?”
Of course he did not.
The event had occurred one hundred and fifty years ago, in an age even Ferda’s grandfather had not experienced.
“When Godwin plunged the world into chaos, we were the first to give up.”
“The dragons?”
Valdrova nodded.
The revelation did not particularly move Ferda.
However, had a scholar from Escholeia heard it, the entire academic world would have been turned upside down.
Valdrova seemed to realize belatedly what she had revealed and covered her mouth.
She glanced needlessly around before whispering cautiously,
“Everything I am telling you now is a secret, all right?”
“I will take it to my grave.”
“In any case… back then, everyone concluded that compromising with Chaos was the most reasonable solution. Even the long-lived races, such as dwarves and elves, were inclined to accept that compromise.”
But they clearly had not.
Had such a compromise been reached, the demons would not have been driven into the Far East, turning it into a land that constantly spewed forth corruption.
“But there was one race that refused.”
This was a part of the story Ferda knew.
“The humans were the first to rise.”
Valdrova gently folded her hands together and held them against her chest.
“Because they refused to compromise, because their swords refused to forgive the demons, we realized that hope still remained on this continent. And because of that, peace eventually returned.”
Ferda understood with his heart what Valdrova was feeling as she immersed herself in those memories.
It was admiration.
Dragons and humans.
The long-lived and the short-lived.
The immortal and the mortal.
Humans might admire and revere dragons, but it was considered impossible for a dragon to respect humans.
Valdrova, however, was different.
“Even if their eyes are clouded by greed now, they will still fight against the demons when the most important moment comes. So…”
Valdrova gently lowered her head toward Ferda.
Beneath the moonlight, her crimson armor shone with profound nobility.
“I will love them.”
At that moment, a chemical reaction within Ferda’s mind led him into unknown territory.
The helmet fashioned in the shape of a dragon’s head—
He began to see the delicate woman hidden inside it.
Hope dwelled within her eyes.
And that hope was smiling.
“Ah.”
Ferda let out a foolish sound of wonder.
It felt as though he had been soaring high in the sky before suddenly plummeting downward.
Having fallen from an endless height, the impact was beyond measure.
“Mr. Ferda?”
“Are you all right? You are not saying anything…”
Valdrova anxiously examined his complexion.
After staring silently at her, Ferda opened his mouth.
“Just once.”
“Pardon?”
“Could you show me your dragon face just one more time?”
“D-Dragon face? Do you mean… my face?”
“Yes. Your face.”
Ferda’s hand unconsciously reached toward Valdrova’s helmet.
Valdrova recoiled in alarm and clutched the helmet protectively.
“N-No! I-I cannot show you my face yet!”
“Please. Just once more, allow me to see your dragon face…”
“I-I said I cannot! Please stop coming closer!”
Whenever Ferda took one step forward, she retreated one step.
The pursuit seemed as though it might continue forever, until Valdrova finally broke the cycle.
“I am sorrrry!”
With her apology echoing behind her, Valdrova vanished into the darkness.
All that remained was the warmth lingering where she had stood.
Intoxicated by that warmth, Ferda stared blankly at the last place he had seen her, his face flushed as though consumed by fever.
Wind entered through the open window.
It was nowhere near enough to cool Ferda’s burning body.
He looked up at the moon again.
The full moon.
Yet there was no room whatsoever in his heated heart for thoughts of his mother to enter.
Unlike before, however, there was no reason to worry.
The emotion dwelling within Ferda’s chest was revolving in a brilliant red.