Chapter 71
Change Must Be Bold
Ferda was momentarily dumbfounded by her words.
After laying out such an impressive chain of deductions, her conclusion had come completely out of nowhere.
A demon’s child?
Had this woman gone through that entire speech just to make some absurd joke?
That was what Ferda thought, but Erdes’s expression was serious.
No—she wore a mischievous smile, yet her face showed absolute certainty that what she had said was no joke.
Ferda considered how he should respond.
Should he leap to his feet in outrage, or continue looking at her with weary disbelief?
While he hesitated, Erdes spoke again.
“I visited Erembalt Rosnova.”
It did not sound like a simple visit.
She had undoubtedly turned the place upside down.
The Rosnova family.
Ferda had assumed that Erdes would naturally investigate his background the moment she became involved.
Erdes blinked at his reaction.
“Oh? That’s not quite the response I expected. Most people get worked up when someone meddles with their family.”
“That man wanted to deny my very existence.”
After Ferda’s mother died, Erembalt Rosnova had stopped treating him as his son.
He had ignored the abuse Ferda suffered at the hands of his siblings and the servants. If anything, the atmosphere suggested that he encouraged it.
His father had effectively been at the center of the persecution.
“What a heartwarming father-and-son relationship. Still, he didn’t deny your existence. Perhaps because you’ve been living so comfortably under Valdrova.”
Erdes continued as if immediately playing her next card.
“But that wasn’t true of your mother.”
His mother.
“Oh? You must have loved your mommy dearly. Your expression changed.”
Having found a weakness, Erdes grinned like a mischievous child.
“He said she bewitched him and made him live through a dreamlike decade, and that he only came to his senses after she died.”
Her childish gestures were beginning to grate on Ferda.
“It was fascinating. Do you know what he said? He spent ten whole years believing he loved a woman he had never loved at all. He claimed she had hypnotized him for an entire decade. I suppose magical talent really does run in the family. Or should I say demonic talent?”
Her intent was obvious without any need for deep thought.
That damned woman was insulting his mother.
“Anna Rosnova was an excellent mother.”
“Even a hedgehog finds its own offspring adorable. All the more so when the child carries the blood of the demon she loved so dearly.”
“I don’t care whether she was a hedgehog or a goblin. Keep running your mouth, and I will not remain idle.”
“And what will you do if you don’t?”
Light blazed from Erdes’s eyes.
“Do you think your pathetic devotion to your mother will change my conclusion?”
Erdes was deliberately shaking Ferda’s emotions.
She hated dark magic.
She hated demons.
She hated those who possessed Red Circles.
Ferda understood her intention.
She wanted to provoke him into losing control.
Then she would be able to point and say, Look. This is the true face of those who follow dark magic.
Yes, her intention was obvious.
Yet even knowing that, Ferda could not stop himself.
Even Alte, whose doctrine preached mercy, mercilessly killed those who trespassed upon his sacred domain.
His mother was sacred territory.
Ferda had killed every person who dared violate it.
‘Erdes Roton.’
‘It seems you are destined to die by my hand in this life as well.’
“Do you not think you have strayed rather far from the subject, Erdes Roton?”
A voice with the refined tone of a noble lady rang out.
Ferda remembered that voice.
Ferda remembered those he hated more vividly than those he loved, and she was someone he could never forget.
He turned his head and saw her.
A woman with blue hair dressed in a formal uniform.
Erika Iorga.
The leader of the Blue Dragon Spawns.
Why was she here?
Ferda glanced toward Luri.
As though answering his question, Luri subtly raised a thumb.
Apparently, Erika was an ally for the moment.
“Strayed from the subject? Whatever do you mean?”
“We are discussing Abel Silverwind’s death, are we not? Your intention is painfully obvious. You casually declared that his mother was a demon in order to shake his emotions.”
“If he is a demon’s child, then it would only be natural for Sitri to favor him.”
“Demons do not help other demons. And the idea that a great demon like Sitri would help him merely because they belong to the same race is absurd.”
Erika used the nature of demons themselves to defend Ferda.
Erdes smiled as she twirled a strand of her golden hair around her index finger.
It was a sign that she was irritated.
“It’s been a while, Erika. Have you been well?”
“Yes, it has been a long time, Erdes Roton.”
Erdes addressed her casually, while Erika maintained her formal smile.
Yet a battle of nerves no less intense than the one between Goz and Ferda passed between them.
“Lord Iorga is still in good health, isn’t he? Hmm? I’ve been hearing quite a few unpleasant rumors about the Magic Tower lately.”
“There is no need for concern. Compared to the criticism directed at you, it amounts to no more than a bird’s tear—or dust on a fly’s foreleg. It remains well within our ability to handle.”
“Oh, is that so? Still, even the smallest blemish should never be allowed on a jewel meant to shine brilliantly. At the very least, its leader should not tolerate such a thing.”
“It is quite all right. We are in an entirely different class from those who call themselves jewels without realizing they are merely shattered glass.”
The two women maintained their smiles while trading words that would have been fatal with even the slightest contact.
Unlike Ferda and Erdes, there seemed to be a deep history between them.
As he watched their exchange, Ferda felt his anger over the insult slowly subside.
“To continue my defense, what Lord Ferda uses is shadow magic. It has little in common with Sitri, who governs illusions and lust. Claiming that he made a deal with her is therefore inconsistent.”
“Amon could unravel one of Marbas’s grimoires. Something like that would not be impossible.”
Amon was a demon of fire, while Marbas was a demon of ice, and the two were bitter enemies.
“That would only happen if it benefited him. Otherwise, it would be meaningless, and demons do not perform meaningless acts. What kind of authority on dark magic fails to understand something so basic?”
Erika was correct.
It would be like expending effort solely to benefit someone else.
Demons would never tolerate such a thing.
Erdes knew that as well.
She knew she was being unreasonable.
She had merely wanted to force the issue and deliberately shake Ferda.
Erika’s sudden appearance and interference irritated her immensely.
“So you think it is acceptable for the man destined to become a dragon’s consort to use dark magic? Or is your insistence on branding Valdrova as a vile evil dragon merely a ploy to drive her into taking her own life? Our dear Erika wears such pure white clothes, yet she’s pitch-black inside.”
“The fact that Regent Ferda uses dark magic does not prove that his nature is evil.”
Erika stated it firmly.
Erdes let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Erika, how many times have I told you? That damned dark magic is filth that corrupts Cerdes. I want to wipe every last one of its practitioners from existence.”
That was the particular obsession Erika carried.
“Human Red Circles are born from emotion. And the easiest emotions to draw upon are negative ones. Those negative emotions summon darkness. Anyone who uses dark magic is a threat.”
“One of the virtues taught to knights is to make use of anger. If negative emotions can be properly controlled, they are not inherently evil.”
“It is the magic of demon bastards trying to devour the continent.”
“The intentions of demons themselves may be impure, but you cannot claim something is unconditionally evil merely because it originated from them.”
“Ha. You’re still trapped by that damned Dragon-Demon War. So what? You participated in it too, and because you used dark magic to help turn the tide, you think that gives you the right to speak?”
That was another surprising revelation.
Erika Iorga.
Unlike other Spawns, she was an Elemental Master capable of wielding every element, as well as a Meister.
Today was the first time Ferda had learned that she could also use dark magic.
“Erika, that isn’t magic. It is a tool that grants humans a sense of omnipotence, draws out the evil already inside them, and brings misery not only upon themselves but everyone around them.”
“No. You are wrong.”
Erika made her position equally clear.
“Magic is a tool. How it is used depends upon the person wielding it. Even if it is magic from Hell, if it possesses value worthy of study and development, then it must be used.”
“And you believe this brat will use it properly?”
Erdes gestured toward Ferda with her chin.
Erika also turned her gaze toward him.
Her eyes carried the look of someone who had reached a decision.
“When the time comes for change, one must act boldly.”
Erika enunciated every syllable clearly.
“I, Erika Iorga, as the representative of all Blue Dragon Spawns, hereby propose an alliance with the Principality of Valdrova.”
She used the shock of the sudden declaration to pressure the opposing side.
“Should Silverwind declare total war, Iorga will fight to defend the Principality of Valdrova.”
Her compelling voice met the pressure of the others head-on.
Erdes, who had been twisting her hair around one finger, looked utterly fed up.
“You’re making a huge mistake. You’re throwing yourself straight into a fire.”
“You have always been too extreme, both then and now. I know perfectly well how you would torment Regent Ferda if he were left alone with you. How could I simply stand by?”
“You could just stay out of it. Who asked you to interfere? What does any of this have to do with you?”
“He is the first man in a hundred years to declare that he will reclaim the Far East. As someone charged with defending the continent, I have no choice but to support such a declaration.”
“Hmmm. So you intend to side with that little brat?”
Her eyes grew even more venomous.
She looked as though she wanted to discard the entire conversation and begin fighting immediately.
Goz, who had remained seated and silently watched the situation, finally spoke.
“Erdes.”
“Yes, you should say something too! There are two of them and two of us, so now we might actually have something worthwhile!”
“We should leave.”
“I’ll take that woman, and you can—what?”
Erdes’s eyes widened as she glared at Goz.
“What are you talking about? I haven’t even finished speaking yet!”
“All I wanted was the full account. I only needed to know what Abel, that vermin, had done.”
“I already told you! That could have been a trap prepared by Regent Ferda—”
“Did he not make the contract before he died?”
“Well, yes, but—!”
“Then it is over. That vermin made a deal, and the regent executed him. That fact does not change.”
“Then ask why he carried out the execution without permission! Why are you ice-brained bastards suddenly trying to think for yourselves?”
“A man who made a deal with a demon and still could not defeat a single human deserved such a fate.”
As though he had nothing more to say, Goz rose from his seat and walked toward the door.
“We will take our leave.”
His eyes briefly settled on Luri one final time before he disappeared into the corridor.
Erdes watched his back with a dissatisfied expression, then glared at Ferda.
“It seems the discussion is over. Regent Ferda, shall we really end it like this?”
Her eyebrows twitched three times in a single second.
It was both a question asking whether he had anything left to explain and a provocation inviting him to continue fighting.
Now that his head had cooled, Ferda answered,
“I will see you out.”
“No. I don’t think that will be necessary. Whenever I stand near dark mages, I start wanting to die. Or perhaps I want to kill them? I’m not sure. Either way, that’s how it is.”
She no longer made any attempt to conceal her disgust.
Then she spun around, dashed down the corridor, and shouted,
“Damn it! Wait for me! Seriously! Is abandoning a lady instead of escorting her some kind of racial trait among you people?”
Abel Silverwind’s death.
Ferda’s dealings with a demon.
Contrary to his expectation that those two storms would arrive and sweep everything away, the matter had reached a relatively peaceful conclusion.
He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he could not do so yet.
Ferda looked toward the opposite side of the room.
Erika now occupied the seat where Goz and Erdes had been sitting.
Ferda asked her,
“Why did you help me?”
One of Erika’s eyebrows rose.
Her voice was filled with the pride of a Dragon Spawn.
“Shouldn’t you be thanking me? I did help you.”
“It was something I could have handled perfectly well on my own.”
“You say that after being completely dragged into Erdes’s rhythm. That woman possesses an extraordinary talent for getting under people’s skin. I have fought with her so often that I can brush it aside, but it is not easy for others.”
She was right.
Even Ferda had allowed himself to be drawn in.
“And you proposed an alliance without permission.”
“Then you should have thrown water at me if you disliked it. You even provoked those fools whose heads are filled with nothing but ice.”
Ferda had never asked for her assistance, but claiming that it had not helped would have been nothing more than wounded pride.
“Of course, I am grateful that you resolved the situation peacefully.”
“I gladly accept your gratitude.”
“However, the alliance is something that requires further consideration.”
“It appears my sincerity failed to reach you during that defense.”
“I do not believe in such things.”
“Yes, I know. People like you require evidence.”
As though she had been waiting for those words, she swept a finger through the air.
A clipboard materialized in empty space and settled before him on the refreshment table.
“What is this?”
“You see the date here, do you not? One hundred and fifty years ago.”
“Yes.”
“It was the day the Grand Council convened under the leadership of the first Lord Blancaros after the First Dragon-Demon War. The day before Lady Valdrova was officially designated an evil dragon on the grounds that her nature was inherently wicked. This proposal was submitted by Lord Iorga the very next day.”
The heading at the beginning of the document read:
-Project: Hestia
Hestia was the name of an obscure goddess from ancient mythology, known as the woman who guarded the flame.
The document further stated that its secrecy classification was the highest level and that its implementation priority was absolute.
Ferda examined its contents.
The outline stated that Iorga would conduct research aimed at removing Godwin’s madness from Valdrova’s body.
The project was still ongoing even now.
Ferda skimmed the dates afterward, then closed the document.
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“Simply that Lord Iorga never intended to use Lady Valdrova as a shield.”
“And why should we interpret it that way? We could just as easily conclude that Lord Iorga began the project because he had sensed the threat posed by Godwin even then.”
“I knew you might think that, so I brought something else.”
She pushed the documents aside and produced a heavy object.
It was a crystal orb.
“This contains a recording of the proposal. I will prove that Lord Iorga intended to protect Lady Valdrova.”
A voice recording was different.
More importantly, these internal records had never been created with the intention of showing them to outsiders.
Their true intentions would likely be far clearer.
Ferda nodded.
Erika infused mana into the crystal orb, and it began reproducing the scene from that time.
-Lord Iorga, is this proposal what I believe it to be?
It was Erika’s voice.
Someone responded.
-Yes.
The reply was extremely brief, but Ferda immediately recognized it as the voice of the Blue Dragon Iorga.
Even through a mere recording, the depth of mana contained within the reverberation was palpable.
-I oppose it.
The voice of opposition was Erika’s again.
She protested more fiercely than anyone else present.
-We have absolutely no reason to help that damned lizard!
“Ahem!”
Erika cleared her throat and temporarily stopped the recording.
She tried to explain calmly, but embarrassment slipped into her voice.
“Many of our Spawns had died at the time, so I was emotional. Please take that into consideration.”
“I will.”
Ferda did not particularly like what she had said, but one thing was certain.
The contents of the crystal orb were completely raw and unedited.
-No. We must help her. That child does not deserve to be called an evil dragon. She only behaved that way because of Godwin’s influence.
-Then should we not kill her? If she has become unstable, is that not what must be done?
-We cannot kill her. Godwin is already dead, and Silverwind is dead as well. There must be no more sacrifices.
-I do not understand, Lord Iorga. You hate Valdrova more than anyone. Why would you help your enemy?
-I do hate her. But I only hate her because she is an idiot. It is not because her nature is evil or anything of that sort. I cannot kill that child.
Ferda could feel it.
Iorga understood Valdrova.
And she worried about her.
-What if this results in the birth of a second Godwin? What if that is the future awaiting us?
-It will not. That child will continue resisting her unstable state and endure it.
The research had been initiated purely to help Valdrova.
-She is stupid enough to accomplish at least that much.
And then the insults began.
-She is only good at fighting. She is foolish, not particularly intelligent, and knows so little that her head may as well contain nothing but a flower garden—
“Ahem!”
-And despite all that, she is cowardly, easily hurt, and cannot even properly assert herself—
“Ahem, ahem!”
-She calls herself an Aspect of Power, yet she does not command a single Spawn and tries to shoulder everything alone. She refuses to use her head, so she is no different from a red lizard with wings stuck onto it, flailing about in the air—
“Cough! Cough, cough! Ahem!”
Erika coughed as though something had gone down the wrong pipe, then finally stopped the recording altogether.
Cold sweat covered her forehead.
Only then did Erika remember what the conversation had turned into after that point.
She therefore made a polite request of Ferda.
“Would it be all right if we skipped ahead by approximately ten minutes?”