Chapter 178 - It May Not Be Purely a Good Thing

Valdrova Castle, underground.

“How about trying to build a friendship with the young lady?”

“With the young lady?”

Valdrova, who had been practicing her letters, turned her head.

Luri did not like the way her golden eyes were shining.

“Wh-what kind of person is she?”

Valdrova asked carefully, suppressing her rising excitement.

Feeling pathetic at the sight of her, which was so far removed from that of a sovereign, Luri answered calmly.

“From what I hear, she is similar to you, my lady.”

“If she’s someone similar to me... do you think we’ll get along?”

That is exactly what I wonder.

The words rose all the way to Luri’s throat.

“There is no need to worry. I am told she is witty and lively, so she should be able to converse well with you, my lady.”

“Then isn’t she not like me?”

“That is exactly what I wonder.”

Who would speak to a dragon first and try to engage in idle chatter?

A dragon was one who reigned above all creation, the crystallization of wisdom and experience gained over hundreds of times a human lifespan.

Human politics were child’s play, and to a dragon, even important affairs amounted to trivial gossip.

But that was only the judgment of humans, and Valdrova preferred the trivial stories exchanged by women.

‘Chatting with a human young lady.’

Why was something like this making her so nervous?

Fear came first, and the urge to refuse surged up.

But if not now, she did not know when another chance would come.

“I-I’ll do it.”

Suppressing her pounding heart, she asked.

“When should I do it?”

“She says she will come right away, so I believe you need only prepare.”

“R-right away?”

“If that is too much of a burden, I will reschedule.”

“N-no! Let’s try! They say you should strike while the bun is hot!”

“Then I shall make preparations.”

Luri lowered her head and withdrew.

Watching her leave the room, Valdrova remembered something she had not thought of before.

‘Come to think of it, I never expected Luri to suddenly suggest something like this.’

Luri did not like Valdrova mingling with humans.

Even if a dragon grew close to humans, it would only benefit the humans, and they might even try to use the dragon.

In particular, the innocent Valdrova had often suffered such things, so from Luri’s position, she did not welcome Valdrova directly interacting with humans.

How long had it taken even her fiancé Ferda to propose their first tea party?

‘Is Luri trusting humans a little more now?’

That serious, expressionless, doll-like little girl becoming more human.

That change made Valdrova happy.

But Luri had not changed.

‘A tea party with humans...’

She still found the idea displeasing.

But Luri had no choice.

When Ferda had contacted her suddenly and said he would bring Lyudmila Purity, Luri had said this.

[“Are you out of your mind?”]

Luri had genuinely stiffened.

[“Lady Valdrova is a dragon. That young lady is a worthless human, so do you think I will allow her such a casual audience?”]

[“I understand.”]

[“If you understand that, why are you saying something so absurd?”]

[“Of course, I also know she must act with proper courtesy. Even so, we have to do this.”]

Pain seeped into Ferda’s voice.

He swallowed his agony several times before saying this.

[“Penelope.”]

[“...”]

[“That damned demon bitch... is Her Highness the Grand Duchess’s first friend.”]

Penelope.

A pink-haired demon whose behavior was extremely frivolous.

A worthless creature whose neck Luri would have twisted long ago if Ferda had not repeatedly begged her, saying she was an important person.

[“She’s my friend...”]

When Valdrova had shyly introduced her that way, Luri had felt as though she had been struck hard.

It was the feeling of looking at a daughter she had raised prettily and properly, only for her to declare she would marry some delinquent picked up off the street.

She had bitten her lip so hard that blood streamed down.

[“And you expect me to watch that bitch, who targets women rather than men, clinging to her?”]

[“...”]

[“If you remember the tears of blood we shed that day, then we must find her a new friend even a day sooner.”]

Only then did Luri understand.

This was not the time to be making comfortable complaints.

[“I will proceed.”]

They had to tear that demon away from her.

No matter what.

“Lord Ferda has arrived. He seems to be coming with the young lady, so I shall go guide them.”

“Y-yes!”

Valdrova wore a dress, and the table was piled high with sweets.

It was not a tea party with her fiancé, so it was held not in the game room, but in the garden filled with spring.

The strong fragrance of flowers made it feel strangely new.

She was really going to have time with other women.

“My lady. The young lady of House Purity is entering.”

The main door opened, and a woman came inside.

She was a cute person with a smile on her lips.

“It is an honor to meet Your Highness the Grand Duchess. I am Lyudmila Purity.”

Valdrova could not bring herself to answer properly and nodded.

Lyudmila carefully came in and sat across from her.

For the first time, someone other than Ferda had sat opposite her at this table in this space.

“This is the first time I have had the chance to greet you. I should have greeted you when I first saw you.”

Valdrova tilted her head.

“You have... seen me before...?”

“I saw you at the Start of Spring Festival. You danced with the Regent, did you not?”

“Ah...”

Valdrova’s face reddened.

Whether or not others saw it that way, to her, that moment was dark history when she had barged in out of a feeling called jealousy.

Thank goodness she had worn a mask.

This time, Valdrova tried to make conversation.

“I heard... you became engaged.”

“Yes, I have now decided to become the lady of House Concillus.”

“Congratu...lations.”

“It is only an honor to receive your blessing, Your Highness. And please, speak comfortably to me.”

“Speak comfortably...?”

“Yes! Just call me Lyudmila comfortably, and treat me comfortably, as you would a friend!”

“A f-friend...”

Her endlessly lively air pushed Valdrova’s back hard.

If Valdrova used polite speech one more time here, it would feel as if she were drawing a line, so she had no choice but to speak casually.

“Ly-Lyudmila...?”

“Yes, Grand Duchess!”

Lyudmila clapped her hands together and rejoiced.

Seeing that bright smile, Valdrova’s heart relaxed along with it.

She felt as though she understood why Luri had permitted it, unusually unlike herself.

“May I ask you one question?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you wear a mask?”

It was an endlessly bold question.

“Does this look strange?”

“No. Rather than strange, I was curious whether there was some story behind it. I apologize if it was a sensitive question.”

“No, it isn’t sensitive...”

She was surprised, but she did not think Lyudmila was rude.

If anything, was she not the rude one?

Lyudmila was showing her face like that, while Valdrova was not showing hers...

“Lyudmila, do you want to see what my face looks like...?”

“Gasp, may I see your face too, Grand Duchess?”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to.”

“No, no, no! I absolutely want to see it.”

Seeing her deny it so actively, Valdrova thought there was no taking it back now.

Valdrova carefully removed her mask and revealed her face.

Lyudmila, who had been holding a hand to her pounding heart, opened her mouth wide.

“This may be a rude question, but... are you wearing makeup or anything?”

“Hm? No.”

“My goodness. To think you are this beautiful without even wearing makeup...”

Valdrova finally grew embarrassed.

Thoughts of putting her mask back on surged wildly.

“I am not just flattering you. You are more beautiful than Princess Olivia.”

“I do not think it is to that extent...”

“If you dressed up just a little more, you would definitely be there. If you wore a few accessories and put on just a light dusting of powder, you would be muuuuch more beautiful than Princess Olivia.”

Luri had always handled adornment for her.

But Luri, who had been raised as a born warrior, could not possibly have any connection to such feminine skills, and adding anything to a perfect dragon itself was an irreverent act.

Unlike Luri, Valdrova was interested in such adornment.

“Are you good at things like that?”

“Of course! I was always the one who braided my sisters’ hair! My sisters are very picky, but after I touched their hair once, they always made me do it!”

“Mm... that must have been hard.”

“No! I like things like that, so it was fine. I also like making packed lunches for my oppas!”

“You know how to cook too?”

Valdrova’s eyes changed.

Lyudmila read that look.

“Are you perhaps interested in cooking?”

“That is...”

After hesitating, she answered shyly.

“A little.”

Valdrova had wondered what she could do for Ferda.

What was something that could tell him she loved him deeply, even if she did not show him her face?

One of the answers she had come up with that way was cooking.

“I once thought that it would be nice if Mr. Ferda ate food I made...”

“I know! That feeling...!”

Lyudmila swept both hands up to her chest, and at last tears appeared in her eyes.

Valdrova was flustered.

“Why, why, why are you crying?”

“No. I just think it was truly a good thing that I said I really wanted to talk with Lady Valdrova. There really aren’t any people I can talk to about things like this.”

“What are other young ladies like?”

“They are completely different from Lady Valdrova! Do you know what other young ladies say if I tell them I like cooking? They speak with a tone that looks down on it, saying it is something only commoner maids would do! They say I must be preparing to marry into some shabby household without even a cook, things like that, you know?”

“That is too much.”

“I’m doing it for the people I love, so I don’t understand what they’re so unhappy about! They say those who only know how to receive and don’t know how to be grateful are beasts, and that’s exactly what beasts do, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And besides, property and family and all that are not everything. Even if you were pushed into it by your household, if you have the heart to understand each other, that can become love too, can’t it?”

Valdrova felt Lyudmila’s words strike her heart.

They were exactly the feelings she had toward Ferda.

With this child, she felt as though she could share those feelings a little more.

“Lyudmila...”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

“W-well, you see... this may be a little strange to say...”

“It absolutely will not be strange! You can tell me anything!”

“Then, will you be my friend?”

Valdrova wondered if she would be stunned, but Lyudmila’s eyes sparkled like the sun in the sky.

“Of course! That was what I wanted to say! I kept thinking it would be nice if I could be friends with you, Grand Duchess!”

Lyudmila rose from her seat and clasped Valdrova’s hands tightly.

“I am so happy I can become friends with you, Grand Duchess.”

Valdrova was flustered by her active behavior, but only for a moment.

Unlike other young ladies, Lyudmila’s hands were a little rough.

“I am also very happy I can become friends with you, Lyudmila.”

Valdrova liked those rough hands so much that she kept caressing them as though they were silk.

Around the time the women were having their time in the garden,

Ferda was in his office, meeting with Arwen and Zed, the three of them face-to-face.

“Puhahahaha!! This is really insane!”

Zed laughed loudly enough to shake the castle.

Arwen frowned and asked.

“What is funny about this?”

“No, of course it’s funny. How could I not laugh when I hear your brothers-in-law persistently aimed for your groin, the one place you should never target in sparring?”

They say life is a comedy from far away, and a tragedy up close.

To Zed, it was a comedy; to Arwen, it had almost become an absurd tragedy; and to Ferda, it was a story he did not care about either way.

“Still, considering they came at you quite fiercely, you look intact.”

“I may look intact, but I fainted three times. They did not hit my face, but they persistently aimed at my groin, so guarding was a little awkward...”

“Wow, Young Master Purity is quite the capable man, creating disqualifying flaws himself when there are none.”

Zed burst into laughter.

“What kind of disgrace is it to get captured by a woman? Honestly... and you call yourself a man.”

Zed kept needling Arwen without pause.

Ferda looked at Zed with pathetic eyes.

“I do not think you are in any position to talk about others.”

“What did I do?”

“Are you not completely under the thumb of the merchants’ guild leader?”

Zed flinched and trembled.

“What are you talking about? When did I ever do that? I still go around seducing women. Just like before...”

“When I saw you last time, it looked as though you were asking permission. Was that my imagination?”

“Oops, I just remembered something I haven’t finished, so I should be going! It was fun today!”

“Yes, your wife is calling, so you should go.”

Deciding he was at a disadvantage, Zed quickly ran away.

Ferda watched his back with a look of pity.

“... Regent.”

The man with his head lowered, Arwen, called Ferda.

“What is it?”

“Could you perhaps... keep a secret for me? You seem tight-lipped, and I have nowhere I can bring myself to say this...”

“Tell me.”

“Well... I am telling only you, Regent, but...”

Arwen stammered, unlike a knight.

“What happened back then... was not something that occurred... under mutual consent.”

“... What are you saying? Are you saying you really assaulted her?”

“... Yes.”

He continued with difficulty.

“Only... I was not the one who assaulted her.”

“...”

Ferda understood what he meant and glanced over Arwen’s body.

It was sturdy enough to easily subdue ten full-grown men if they charged at him all at once.

It was hard to believe a man like that had been assaulted by a woman.

“Was she that strong?”

“No. She was delicate. So it was a little...”

“You could not use your strength, then. Even so, you should have been able to subdue her, no?”

“Lyudmila said this... That chivalry or whatever could go to hell, and if I did not embrace her right then, she would take it as proof that I did not love her and go get engaged to someone else...”

“... That was a threat.”

“So... yes...”

“...”

When Arwen said that, Ferda could picture something.

‘No way...’

What if, within the innocence he had felt from Lyudmila, there was the calculation of a young lady?

A duke’s daughter and a knight from the border.

What if Lyudmila had already known there was an impossible gap between them?

If she had simply introduced him as a man she had feelings for, not only the two of them, but even the head of the house, Valery Purity, would have opposed it.

Other young ladies would have chosen an immature protest, such as running away from their family.

Lyudmila had instead chosen to cause an incident.

She already knew it was easier to receive forgiveness than to ask permission.

Ferda thought.

If the fact that everything up to this engagement had proceeded in one smooth flow was part of her design...

No sooner had the story ended than the garden door, where the young ladies’ talk had been taking place, opened.

Valdrova and Lyudmila came out side by side, and even as they did, their friendly conversation did not stop.

They continued talking without pause, but when they found Ferda, they closed their mouths.

Valdrova needlessly swept her hair back, her movements shrinking in on themselves.

Lyudmila, delighted by that fresh reaction, fidgeted with her hands before clearing her throat.

“Today was very enjoyable. I hope to make another occasion like this with Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

“Anytime is fin...e...”

Valdrova answered in an awkward royal tone.

Since other people were present, she kept glancing around for no reason.

“When would be good? No, it would be rude for me to decide, would it not? Whenever Your Highness the Grand Duchess! Without any burden! Sends me a letter, I shall come running like an arrow!”

“Y-yes...”

At that lively and bold appearance, Valdrova let out a laugh.

Even as Lyudmila climbed into the carriage, she waved until the very end.

Valdrova waved back and saw her off.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

Valdrova nodded.

“Yes, very much. Lyudmila seems to be good at everything I am interested in.”

“I am glad you enjoyed yourself.”

It felt similar to when Valdrova had brought up Penelope.

Ferda felt relieved inside.

He felt that she had finally made something like a real friend.

“Lyudmila says she will get married within this year.”