Chapter 27 - Because It’s Embarrassing

Count Concillus asked back in surprise.

“Regent? You mean... Valdrova’s fiancé, correct?”

“We do not know the details ourselves, but... he is certainly capable, considering he won over Stephan Pascal, our branch manager. He is not the sort of person who can be swayed by something like status.”

“Ah...”

A hollow exclamation slipped from Count Concillus’s mouth.

Ferda Valdrova.

What sort of image did he have now?

The worst imaginable.

All he had done so far was keep the local lords in check and threaten them.

Because of that, the local lords’ dissatisfaction had been piling up.

‘That little brat... was making inroads with the Pascal trading company?’

It was surprising that he had joined hands with the Pascal trading company without them knowing.

And the second thing that surprised him was this.

‘And it was not done out of personal greed, either.’

If he had been trying to satisfy his personal greed, he would only have needed to focus on Valdrova Castle.

An effort to stimulate trade meant he was working for the development of each stagnant, isolated territory, and it was far removed from selfish motives.

‘Just what conditions did he offer?’

The territories belonging to Grand Duchess Valdrova’s domain had no value.

To block the monsters, the land before the front was thick with forests, and even if the trees were cut down and farmland was made, the most they could harvest now and then were emergency crops.

On top of that, the front was being pushed back every year, and the land was becoming barren.

Even if someone offered it for free, the image of the far east was a place that would make people back away, saying, “This is a bit...”

That meant Ferda had presented terms that outweighed all those unfavorable conditions.

‘That is something... no lord can do.’

Whether what he had shown was false or absurd, the important thing was that he had succeeded.

Concillus decided to do what he had to do first.

“Come inside. And have the carriages organized, then spend the day catching up. I will hear about the plan later.”

“Thank you, Count.”

The man blew a whistle, and the carriages of the Pascal trading company entered one by one.

Concillus looked up through the gloomy forest at the mountain standing tall in the sky.

“Regent...”

His voice swelled with emotion.

Today, Count Concillus spoke that name as if he had witnessed a superhuman emerge from the darkness.

Concillus knelt in that direction and paid his respects.

“My lord?”

Arwen was flustered by the sudden action.

But soon he realized its meaning, knelt after him, and offered his respects in that direction.

And so, one by one.

They knelt and paid their respects toward the lonely mountain.

* * *

Luri, who was in the banquet hall, raised her hand high.

“Tormenta!”

It was the name of a high-ranking wind spirit.

At that moment, a white wind swirled in front of Luri, and its shape appeared.

It was a human shape that looked as if it might scatter at any moment, yet it held firm.

It bowed politely toward Luri.

-Have you called, Master? You look displeased today as well.

“We begin the grand cleaning again today. Summon every last low-ranking spirit. Open all the windows wide and annihilate every bit of air in this room!”

-I shall obey your command.

“Puente!”

What she called next was the name of another low-ranking water spirit.

Mana dripped down from midair and formed into the shape of a sticky liquid.

SQUELCH.

“Absorb and wipe away every bit of sweat and filth those damned things spilled. Do not leave even a stain behind. I cannot allow something like dog piss to be marked in the abode of the great ruler. Do you understand?”

SQUELCH!

The sound of water churning violently.

Reading that Luri was in a worse mood than usual, they moved briskly.

The water spirit continued dividing, scattering its body and beginning to absorb the grime on the castle floor and walls.

“Haa...”

Luri’s small chest heaved deeply.

The lingering smell of sweat mixed with perfume still seemed to prick the tip of her nose.

This smell that seemed impossible to erase no matter how many times she tried.

‘I’m irritated.’

Luri did not like knights.

She disliked wandering knights especially.

Because not only did they lie to inflate their achievements, they did not hesitate to commit blasphemy either.

The blasphemy Luri referred to was the stock tale of the brave knight who faced an evil dragon.

It made up seventy percent of all knights’ heroic tales, and it was one of the stories people enjoyed most.

And though the story was always the same, the name changed every time in that strange tale.

Because if wandering knights paid minstrels, the minstrels changed the protagonist of the story to that knight’s name and spread it around.

As a result, half of the average wandering knights were known as dragon slayers.

Dragon slayers who ran out into the corridor while pissing themselves.

They were truly an abominable breed.

‘He did achieve his intended goal, at least.’

More than fifty wandering knights had come, and even a rough total of what they brought exceeded 1,500 corpses.

When she saw the mountain of corpses, she had even said something stupid like, “Is this not too many?” and dealing with them afterward had also been a problem.

‘That part was solved by the second son from the Pascal trading company whom he brought in this time.’

Verified laborers and assistant researchers came swarming in and dealt with it quickly.

Still, traces of monster corpses remained at the entrance and where the carriages had stopped, and a faint corpse smell lingered.

‘I never thought I would consider the smell of those disgusting things preferable.’

It was better than the smell of knights’ sweat and perfume.

The smell of monster corpses would disappear eventually, but this unpleasant smell showed no intention of leaving.

A cleaning that would normally take ten minutes took two hours a day, and she cleaned the banquet hall over and over again for ten days.

She liked things clean, but she was not a mysophobe.

That was how much of an impact the knights had left on her.

Only when not a single strand of hair remained on the floor and the floor looked completely new could she finally feel at ease.

-Master, it is about time for you to attend to other duties. What will you do?

“Ah, right. You worked hard, Tormenta, Puente.”

-Then I shall return.

SQUELCH!

The wind spirit and water spirits reverted into mana and scattered as they were.

‘I should stop cleaning here for today... and go give the weekly report.’

Luri left the banquet hall behind and rummaged through the inner pocket of her skirt.

She took out a paper summarizing information obtained through the imperial intelligence office and went down to the lair.

As always, one dragon with red scales lay coiled there.

-Have you come?

“Yes. Have you been well?”

-Hmm... Yes, I have been well. What have you come to discuss?

“It is the weekly report. Today is the day I come to give it, is it not?”

-Ah. That is right.

Luri was used to her often forgetting things, but today’s reaction was different from usual.

‘She seems to be floating.’

She looked as if she were living with her mind elsewhere.

It was obvious without even looking what that something else was.

Ferda, that man, no doubt.

Since it was obvious, Luri did not bother bringing it up and moved on to the main point.

“They say the recent situation concerning the Empire has become unstable.”

She began with the most important topic, the Empire.

“They say laws are being enacted around concentrated privileges for the vested interests, and the lower classes are resisting. Perhaps because of that, they are only barely appeasing the citizens with entertainment and food distribution.”

-Hmm... Is that so?

Valdrova gave a reflexive response.

Luri knew well enough that she had no interest, but she simply read down the contents of the paper mechanically.

This had happened there.

That had happened here.

When the news covering the entire continent came to an end, she moved on to the next topic.

“And as for the current Grand Duchy’s territory...”

Valdrova’s body stirred.

She adjusted her position, raised her head, and perked up her ears.

-Speak.

Her voice became clear.

And Luri could feel that her eyes had grown brighter than usual.

This, too, was displeasing, but Luri maintained neutrality as she spoke.

“Thessalos Vulture’s position remains vacant, but by signing a contract with the successor of a large merchant group, we have secured great stability for the Grand Duchy’s territory itself.”

-Is that so?

Unlike usual, her voice sounded wistful.

Just one line of news saying he was doing well had lifted her spirits.

‘She has been even more like this since that day.’

Luri could not hold back any longer.

“Do you like him that much?”

-What do you mean?

GRRR.

Steam puffed from Valdrova’s nostrils.

To someone seeing it for the first time, it might look like she was angry, but Luri knew.

Valdrova was shaken like a young girl.

-Like him? What do you mean by that? I do not like my fiancé.

“You do not like him?”

-Of course not.

Valdrova put on a serious face and added.

-I simply sometimes remember when he suddenly barged in, and I am only briefly concerned for his safety. Is he not a weak human?

Valdrova defended herself passionately, as though she cared only because he was weak.

But Luri, hearing those words, thought differently.

‘Lady Valdrova’s words have grown longer.’

When it came to matters related to humans, she would start by getting nervous, but when it involved Ferda, the feeling was quite different.

If her mood being sunk was the default for other things, then right now she was floating.

To relieve that emotion even a little, Luri suggested something.

“In that case, how about holding a tea party?”

-A tea party?

GRRR!

Steam burst out of her nose once more, even more strongly.

-You mean the sort where one drinks tea, eats sweets, and talks?

“Yes. It is common for human fiancés to meet in advance and talk. They confirm their feelings before the wedding.”

-A tea party... Such a thing does not suit me. Is that not something suited to young, lovely maidens?

“Grand Duchess Valdrova, who possesses the greatest beauty on the continent, would suit anything she did.”

-Hmm...

She rested her chin on a claw and breathed out.

She did not seem entirely opposed.

But perhaps there was still something bothering her, because she found it difficult to accept readily.

-A meeting... Then I would have to face him in human form, would I not?

“Yes.”

-Mm... Then I cannot go.

Valdrova was like someone who, when hungry, kicked away the meal set before her.

“What is the reason?”

-I cannot do it because it is embarrassing.

It was a reason unbecoming of a sovereign.

Luri took one deep breath and asked her.

“... Did you not already meet him once? I understand you faced each other in human form...”

-Yes, I faced him once.

“And you held his hand.”

-I held his hand.

Valdrova had seen Ferda, and Ferda had seen Valdrova.

How could she forget the memory of that day?

Just as vividly as Ferda remembered it, it remained vivid in Valdrova’s mind.

-That is why I cannot do it.

Valdrova recalled the emotions of that time.

That man, suffering yet not stopping.

When he was bleeding from the nose, he looked as if he might collapse at any moment.

She had no choice but to polymorph into human form and hold him.

While she was grieving at the sight of him in pain and shedding tears, Ferda clasped her hand, wrapped his arm around Valdrova’s waist, and pulled her close.

A dragon who had flown through countless battlefields, burning and tearing apart the things that defiled the earth.

An absolute being before whom all held their breath and bowed their heads.

An Aspect, the very concept of the absolute, possessing such overwhelming might that no one could dare speak of the word power before her.

The moment an arm wrapped around her waist, all the renown that had formed her became a mirage, and powerlessness settled into her body.

Guided by the touch of a man thousands of times weaker than herself, her face came within inches of his.

That day, for the first time, Valdrova became a princess, a woman from a novel.

["It is a pleasure to meet you, my heart."]

The touch of a man she had felt for the first time in her life, a warm greeting, and even a handsome smile.

For her, who had not interacted with humans for several hundred years, it was too much information to handle.

And so Valdrova could do nothing.

She froze on the spot.

Her mind went blank, and even the tears that had been about to fall disappeared.

Even when he fell helplessly against her chest, she remained frozen for a long while.

Those actions from that time remained intact in Valdrova’s mind.

‘Heart...’

GRRR!!

Valdrova covered her own face.

She remembered Ferda’s actions, and at the same time, she remembered her own disgrace.

Thinking of it again made her begin to react once more.

Her heart burned hot like a furnace of lava.

Something seemed to tickle her body, making her want to move for no reason.

As she fidgeted like that, her chest filled with air as if she had forgotten to breathe out.

Valdrova slowly let out that breath.

WHOOOOOO...

A sound like a long whistle echoed through the cave.

‘That sound again...’

It was the sound Luri hated most.

Whenever Valdrova soaked herself in more happiness than she deserved, she always made that sound.

It was a hundred times better than her being unhappy, but that did not mean Luri liked it.

“I think holding a tea party would be a good method. What will you do?”

Valdrova glanced at Luri through the gap in the wings hiding her face and asked.

-What would you have me do?

“Master, you are the Aspect of Power. The Aspect of Power must know how to express her own will decisively.”

In other words, do not dump it on me.

-True. I must...

Valdrova scratched her own chin with a claw.

Her head tilted this way and that.

She flipped her enormous body around and thought, and thought again.

‘She is dying to go.’

Luri had already grasped the answer from Valdrova’s movements.

Her desire was also directed toward Ferda.

But just because she had desire did not mean everything would go her way.

Because she, who burned and tore monsters apart without hesitation, was more cowardly than anyone.

-I think I would like to remain here for the time being... I am not yet confident enough to face my fiancé.

“Understood. Then we will postpone the tea party, and I shall take my leave.”

Even if someone pushed her from behind, Valdrova would ultimately overturn the meal.

Luri bowed politely and turned around.

-Luri.

“Yes.”

-Have you had many difficult things to deal with recently?

Luri could not grasp the intent behind the question.

“No. Nothing in particular.”

-Ah, is that so. You smelled strongly of sweat, so I thought you might not even have been able to wash.

“... Of sweat, you say?”

Luri’s sense of smell was excellent.

But Valdrova, being a dragon, had an even better one.

And there was no way Luri would sweat merely from managing the castle.

-Do not push yourself too hard. I do not wish for you to overexert yourself.

“... Do not worry. My Master.”

After returning to her room, Luri tore off her clothes as they were and burned them.

And she resolved to make a full-body wash mandatory before any knight set foot inside the castle.

* * *

Ferda was in the office with Mori.

Recently, after joining hands with Stephan Pascal, he had solved the supply problem the Empire had failed to resolve.

Ferda intended to quantify what had been gained through that.

“What is the progress on the items in the supply plan?”

Mori answered in writing.

-32%. The important supplies have been concentrated on Count Concillus’s territory and completed there. We will gradually continue supplying the other territories as well.

“What are the prospects from the supply?”

-If it proceeds according to the supply plan, it will contribute 30% to stabilizing the people’s livelihoods, and we will see an effect of increasing the individual combat ability of the troops by 45% and morale by 30%.

“It seems the potential is at its highest.”

Mori nodded.

It should have been something worth liking for Ferda, who had moved for the development of the territory, but...

“Something big is going to happen soon.”

Ferda was not simply pleased.

Mori tilted her head.

Ferda answered that silent question.

“There are people in this world who cannot stand to see others do well.”

The ones who always throw cold water on things whenever something seems to be going well.

And those bastards were the people currently in the leadership of the Arken Empire.

People who, even though they themselves were worthless, could not stand to see others succeed.

Without even waiting a few days, those steeped in greed came rushing toward Ferda.