Chapter 43 - I'm Angry

Luri's act of invading the imperial palace might have seemed impulsive.

But in reality, it was closer to a rational action based on reason.

Breaking the magic circle and forcing all the mages and knights to assemble was to make them recognize the severity of the situation and raise their vigilance.

It was a very small warning showing what could happen if the dragon's Consort was injured.

That was why Luri had brought out everything she usually kept hidden.

Her tail, her horns, and even her sanpaku eyes.

Once they realized she was someone they could converse with, the enemy commander would ask for Luri's affiliation.

Luri simply had to answer that she was the servant of Grand Duchess Valdrova and then talk to them.

'Sir Ferda will be safe anyway.'

Even if he was injured inside the imperial palace, there should be resident priests.

Every single one of them possessed divine power on the level of a bishop, so healing the injured Ferda would be no problem at all.

'And yet...'

It kept lingering in Luri's mind.

She couldn't feel at ease.

Just as immortals and mortals were different, there was a difference between a dragon spawn and a human.

What if the injury was so severe that he couldn't wake up even after the wound was healed?

What if some demon inside the sealed warehouse had placed a curse on him?

What if he couldn't resist its temptation and ended up making a ridiculous contract?

Such worries, which would lead to Valdrova's sorrow, were tangling up her mind.

The master's worry is soon the servant's worry as well.

Luri did not let herself be swayed by that anxiety and maintained her reason to the end.

Luri knew perfectly well that emotions wouldn't help in this situation.

Thus, Luri cleared a path by completely slashing away the imperial palace gardens blocking her way.

Once she broke through even the wall of rose vines, she saw the knights who had been moving noisily waiting to confront her.

Among them, Luri was also able to spot a familiar man.

'Ferda.'

Gray hair and blue eyes.

Tall in stature, but with a slender build.

But even down to the serious expression that did not suit his age.

Ferda Valdrova.

Everything that entered her eyes was the exact Ferda she knew.

Contrary to the information that he had been injured, he looked perfectly fine.

'You're safe.'

For a moment, she felt the anxiety that had settled in her heart draining away.

Since the anxiety had drained away, she ought to have felt relieved.

But it was slightly different from the usual sense of relief she felt.

The satisfaction of watching stubborn grime wash away.

The relief of resolving a maddening sense of anxiety.

What was in Luri's heart was neither of those two things.

'... I'm angry.'

She was angry.

The empty space left by the massive worry and anxiety was filled by the emotion of anger.

'The one called Regent, the one who's Valdrova's fiancé, goes to a useless place, causes trouble, and gets himself hurt?'

As the taut string of reason snapped, Luri released dragon fear.

Directed right at Ferda.

The innocent knights were taking the brunt of it, caught in the crossfire without even knowing why.

"C-Commander! Please give us orders...!"

If they just stood off like this, they would collapse before even fighting.

The knight order guarding the imperial palace had to make a decision to either fight or retreat.

"A-Att..."

The moment the commander tried to signal an attack, someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on, wait."

Unlike the trembling commander, the man's voice was calm.

"I will handle this."

"Pardon? Excuse me, but who are you, my lord...?"

"I am Regent Ferda. I am the one invited today."

Ferda gestured to Luri with his chin and said.

"And that maid girl over there is the servant of Grand Duchess Valdrova."

"Ah, is that so?"

The Knight Captain's tension eased, if only a little.

Since the Regent of Valdrova was here right now, it meant that they could be reasoned with.

"So, will you give us a moment?"

Naturally, he had no choice but to oblige.

Why she had broken through the magic circles to come down here and unleash dragon fear.

He was curious about the full details, but getting the situation under control came first.

The knight orders maintained their formation as they stepped back, and Ferda walked forward.

Every time he took a step, the dragon fear grew denser.

Wrinkles gradually formed on his expressionless face, and the veins on his neck bulged.

'It really feels like walking into the jaws of a dragon.'

He stopped with five steps remaining between them.

When Luri made a motion of drawing a circle on the ground with her index finger, pure white wind began to swirl, centering on the floor where Luri and Ferda stood.

The wind rose upwards, covering Ferda and Luri in the shape of a hemisphere.

Luri, who had kept her mouth shut tight, let out a deep sigh through her nose.

It was as if she were letting out the pressure that had built up as her temper rose.

"It is cut off from the outside in here. No matter what we say, it will not leak out."

"I see."

"Therefore... I will just come out and say it."

Luri spewed out her surging emotions just as they were.

"Are you crazy?"

Much too honestly.

"Is the one who calls himself the Grand Duchess's fiancé going around doing nonsense without even knowing what his position means?"

"It was necessary."

"That is not an answer. Even if it was necessary, if this news had reached my master, everything would have become a mess. Are you even aware of that?"

"I know. And I also knew you wouldn't tell her."

"Why is that?"

"Because you care for your master. You wouldn't want her making a move."

He also fully knew that if anyone came from Valdrova Castle, Luri would be the first to arrive.

"Yes. Because I have a duty to serve my master. But it seems you do not love my master as much as I thought, Sir Ferda."

"I cherish her as well."

"And yet you make news of your injury in the sealed warehouse reach us? Well, let us assume I concede on that point."

Luri had gotten even angrier as Ferda approached, but there was a separate reason for that.

Even he had overlooked one thing.

Luri grabbed Ferda's wrist and brought her nose to it.

"So someone who cherishes her goes around reeking of a woman's perfume from his hands?"

"..."

She shook Ferda's wrist and asked.

"Which bitch is it?"

"... Olivia Arken."

"Do you mean that Imperial Flower with her vulgar body?"

An even deeper venom entered Luri's expression.

In turn, strength poured into the hand gripping his wrist.

It felt as if it might break.

"... She does have that moniker."

Ferda treated the first part as if he hadn't heard it.

As if getting hurt wasn't enough, the fiancé had held hands with the greatest beauty of the Empire.

Luri's entire body trembled.

Her gaze, which had been looking up at Ferda, dropped to the floor as if she couldn't bear it.

"Are you the type of man who will just hold any woman's hand? Was approaching my master also just to try and hold her hand once?"

"Don't jump to conclusions. That woman grabbed it as she pleased. To talk to her, I had no choice but to play along. It wasn't because I liked it either."

"... I don't believe you."

Luri's left hand curled tightly into a fist.

Looking at the angry girl, Ferda asked her with a resigned face.

"Do you want to hit me?"

"..."

"You may strike me once. If that's what you want."

Only then did Luri's eyes, which had dropped to the floor, glance up at Ferda.

She saw Ferda's angular jaw and cheek.

That face she had thought she'd give anything just to hit once, because the words he casually tossed out were so detestable.

Her emotions did not subside; they kept welling up.

Eventually, Luri reached out her hand.

Ferda gently closed his eyes like a condemned man.

Even after a few seconds passed, he didn't feel a stinging sensation on his cheek.

Instead, Ferda's collar rustled and moved as it was smoothed down.

"So... did you get what you wanted?"

Ferda nodded his head.

"There was a harvest."

"Is that so?"

Having finished straightening his clothes, Luri pulled her hand away.

The spot her hand had passed over was neatly straightened.

"Please do not disappoint my master."

"Understood."

As she said that, Luri observed Ferda's expression.

She felt relieved only after seeing his face, which looked as though its dead emotions were coming back to life.

"Then."

As Luri gestured again, the hemispherical space unwound and returned to normal.

Luri glanced at the knight order, then flapped her wings and flew right out of the imperial palace.

The knights and mages, who had been watching with bated breath, merely looked up at the spot where she had vanished.

"... Situation over."

"Hwaaaah!"

"Huff, huff..."

It was like just letting an intruder who barged in as she pleased walk away, but no one dared point that out.

"But is it really okay to just let her go? She's an intruder, you know?"

Except for one tactless person.

* * *

After the 1st-class alarm was lifted, the commander walked over to Ferda and bowed his back politely.

"Thank you for getting the situation under control."

"Not at all. If anything, I am sorry. It was something that happened due to my carelessness, yet it turned this place upside down."

"No. We should just be satisfied that we could move past an incident that could have incurred a dragon's wrath without any bloodshed. How would you like us to handle this matter, Regent?"

If he raised an issue, they would refute it as it was raised, which could lead to a messy fight.

But that was not what Ferda wanted.

Now that he had gained a collaborator in Olivia Arken, it was not good to make useless enemies within the Empire's imperial family.

"As you said, we'll sweep it under the rug. Let's not argue about whose fault it was. Thanks to this, haven't you found out that a single dragon spawn can smash through your magic circles and enter?"

"That is true. I was just thinking that the Department of Magic bastards were only protecting their own turf, but now I have an excuse."

The commander nodded with a face that seemed to say things had turned out well.

He didn't know how the court's political arena operated, but it was certain that its interior was a formidable battlefield.

"It seems our conversation is settled, so may I take my leave now?"

"If your business is finished... of course, but how about resting for a night at the imperial palace before you go? You were injured today, and I think it would be better for you to take a good rest for a couple of days while monitoring your condition..."

The sun was still up, but dusk would fall soon.

Just as the commander said, it would be better to rest for at least today.

"I'm sorry. I'm a busy man."

"Ah, you have a schedule? I understand."

He didn't really have one, but Ferda just wanted to escape this uncomfortable place and head back quickly.

"Ah, and by the way."

Ferda said to the commander, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"Yes."

"I'd like to take one of the knights here with me, would that be alright?"

"A knight... you say?"

It was an overly sudden request, and an unacceptable proposition.

Every knight of the imperial palace was an outstanding talent, and even the very last one at the end of the line was someone who could serve as an excellent knight if they went to another kingdom.

However, the other party was the Grand Duchess's fiancé.

Refusing him outright went against etiquette.

"Which one has caught your eye, Regent?"

"He's a guy I saw earlier... but I can't remember his name."

Ferda slowly looked around to find the man.

Before long, he was able to spot him.

He was in a push-up position, getting chewed out by his seniors.

"Malcolm, you bastard! You stepped out when we were making the square formation, didn't you?"

"Hey, you piece of shit! What were you doing while we were busting our asses? Were you sleeping?"

"A-Ah, I-I'm sorry! At the time, I was trying to stop the Regent..."

"Stop the Regent? And did you stop him, you punk!?"

"When I saw him, he was definitely just walking through the garden, though?"

"I couldn't stop him! Because they say you shouldn't lay hands on a noble's body...!"

"In a 1st-class alarm situation, don't you know we come right after the imperial family?!"

"Ah, I didn't know!"

"If you don't know, is your military life over!? Do you really want to be finished!?"

Ferda pointed at the sweating man who was receiving disciplinary action.

"It's that guy."

"... Do you mean that dead weight?"

The commander gave him a look asking if he was being serious.

"Is he famous?"

"In a bad way, he's unmatched. I don't know how he made it into the imperial knight order, but he's a useless bastard. He sucks at swordsmanship, and rides a horse that looks like a donkey... Other than that, I really don't know how he got in."

"Is that so?"

"I was actually thinking of kicking him out anyway... but do you still want him?"

The commander asked with concern.

He wasn't worried about losing talent, but worried because it felt like passing off a live bomb.

However, Ferda firmly nodded his head.

"He's perfect. Wrap him up for me."

"Understood."

Every individual knight of the imperial palace was precious.

However, Malcolm was the exception among them.

* * *

Around dusk, as the sun dipped behind the hazy western mountains,

Valdrova Castle's official carriage left the imperial capital.

At the same time, a man who had been holding his breath and hiding underneath the carriage revealed himself.

"Hoooo!! It's really over."

It was Zed.

Having come out of the sealed warehouse, he somehow managed to escape and successfully climbed aboard the carriage.

"You've worked hard. The item?"

"I've kept it safe right here. And I haven't opened it."

Zed pulled out the golden cloth wrapper he had been keeping tucked away inside his clothes.

A black cover bound in silver chains wrapped in golden silk.

With normal methods, Ferda could not break these chains and open it.

Since he had no intention of looking at it right away, Ferda wrapped it back in the cloth and placed it beside him.

"But by the way. We won't get in trouble, right? Even so, we took a book out of the sealed warehouse, so there's no way things will just stay quiet..."

"It's fine. It's actually become easier since we got a helper."

"Who's that?"

"Olivia Arken."

Zed's eyes widened roundly.

"Oh. So you went and talked with the Imperial Flower? I heard she's incredibly pretty and pure, what's she like?"

"She's devious on the inside."

"She is a noble lady, after all... There are secretly a lot of people like that."

Although Zed had dealt with many nobles, he still couldn't hide his envious look.

It was fitting for a woman possessing a devilish charm.

NEIGH!

Just as they were leisurely slipping away, a horse's cry was heard from where the knights were.

"Hey, hey! Mister! I told you to move in a straight line! How many times do I have to say that if the horses get too close to each other, it'll turn into a mess!"

"A-Ah, I'm sorry! Rosi, you rascal! I said stop pestering them!"

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Zed stuck his head out the window.

There, he saw a man who had hastily packed his luggage and loaded it fully onto his saddle.

"That's a face I haven't seen before. Who is that?"

What he was wearing was a wandering knight's outfit, but he gave off too much of a clumsy vibe.

Not just in his attire, but also...

"And why is he riding a donkey...?"

He was riding a donkey, not a horse.

"It's a guy named Malcolm. He's an imperial palace knight, and an apprentice knight at the same time. I'm planning to use him as a specimen."

"A specimen?"

Zed tilted his head at Ferda's words.

"Yes, a specimen."