Chapter 126 - Ten Thousand Years Together

Ferda took Valdrova's hand and moved.

For now, the only words that came to his mind were a quiet place.

Ferda was heading toward that quiet place.

The place they arrived at was the castle garden.

Under the beautiful moonlit night, it was a fitting place for a secret meeting.

Perhaps because the ball was just heating up, there was no one in the garden.

A dry spring breeze touched his skin.

His forehead was cold.

Cold sweat had beaded across it.

Valdrova carefully let go of Ferda's hand and walked forward.

After walking about four steps ahead like that, she crouched down where she was and buried her face in her knees.

Like a young noble lady sobbing in sorrow.

"... Sniff."

The sound of her swallowing back her runny nose dampened the silence.

The Shadow Circle was moving at that sound.

The regret that had been separated away was stirring in Ferda's chest.

Ferda wanted to avert his eyes from that sorrowful sight, but forced himself to look.

Just as this woman had faced her own situation, he could not avoid it either.

'I am sorry.'

'I am sorry for making you sad.'

Those words strangely would not come out.

Only the sound of her sniffing and swallowing past her throat tightened around his own neck.

"Mr. Ferda..."

The first to speak was Valdrova.

"Please speak."

"... Did you hear it?"

"What do you mean?"

"The voices."

She rubbed her eyes with both wrists.

"The voices whispering about me."

Whispering voices?

Ferda had not heard them.

"Did you not hear those voices cursing me as a murderer and whispering about me...?"

Ferda clenched his fist.

Valdrova's hearing was far superior to a human's.

If she could hear even the faint wingbeats of a tiny gnat vividly, then murmurs like that would be audible to her.

Rage wrapped around his entire body.

How dare they set foot on the Grand Duchess's land and speak?

Who the hell was it?

I do not care what family you are from.

If I find out, I will kill you with my own hands.

-Do not hesitate.

-They insulted your woman.

A voice rang in Ferda's ear.

The Shadow Circle did not move, but it was urging Ferda on.

That meant it was something that would lead to regret.

'Is this a dangerous thought?'

Ferda forced himself to cool his head.

If he was seized by emotion, it would lead to a mistake, and mistakes would swell like a snowball rolling down from the peak.

Like that, if only for a moment, he observed himself from a distance and regained his reason.

'Even if those bastards are immature, they cannot be fools.'

If gossiping about the host ended with nothing more than a head being cut off, they would be lucky, but it could even lead to the destruction of their territory.

If they were young noble ladies and lords who could not even tell shit from piss, they would not have been brought before a gathering of all the nobles.

And moreover, she was a dragon.

A dragon they would never have the chance to see even once in their lives, and an Evil Dragon known for her ferocity.

There was no way they would have the nerve to say such a thing.

So he answered like this.

"I did not hear them."

Valdrova was stroking her chest in relief.

"Thank goodness. I suppose I heard things again after all."

"When you say again...?"

"Well... whenever I go somewhere with people, I always hear voices. They curse me as a murderer, a slaughterer... and they scream."

She took a deep breath.

"Still... I thought it would be a little better than before."

Ferda did not know this, but Valdrova had been helping with the village's construction.

At that time, no problems had arisen.

Because then, she had not been Valdrova, but a single armor knight wearing ordinary armor and wielding monstrous strength.

They had respected and admired the armor knight like a knight from a story.

"But it wasn't."

The armor knight and Valdrova could not be the same.

She could feel the labels of the past clinging to her in others' gazes.

Murderer, slaughterer, the flame that burns everything.

Evil Dragon, Evil Dragon, Evil Dragon...

"That is not true. People do not curse Your Highness. That incident is far too old for humans."

It was an incident from a full 150 years ago.

Unless one was a high-ranking mage like Erdes, extremely few people who lived in that era remained.

"I know. I know those people cannot say such things in front of me. But... if..."

Her voice shook with dampness and emotion.

"If someone really did say that to me, I would..."

She swallowed the surge of emotion, unable to finish her words as she hesitated.

Swallowing and swallowing the choked sounds in her throat, she said,

"That is why I meant to only watch from far away."

Ferda could clearly picture it before his eyes.

Her figure watching from outside the window, and from far away so she would not be caught.

The image of her becoming a stranger in the very place he had wanted to make for her.

"I only meant... to watch Mr. Ferda standing at the banquet... but then... I suddenly saw it. You asking that person... Olivia... to dance."

As expected.

That had been what set it off.

"Princess Arken means nothing to me. Asking her for that dance was merely my duty as host."

Ferda spoke firmly.

He hoped this sincerity would reach her, but it was not enough to soothe her sorrow.

"But you looked so good together with her, Mr. Ferda."

"Olivia Arken is nothing to me compared to you."

"No!"

Valdrova flared up and raised her voice.

"The Princess of the Empire is smart, elegant, refined, smiles well, and is the kind of woman everyone admires!"

"..."

"Look! Look at this fool who says she barely managed to muster her courage! Wearing a mask like this... unable to even show her face to people... unable to show even her own fiancé... and being vulgar enough to get jealous... and..."

Valdrova covered her eyes with her hands.

"Crying like this..."

"..."

"And dancing like a fool, stepping all over you again and again, Mr. Ferda..."

The reason she was this sad was not because of something like Ferda betraying her.

It was self-loathing that came from blaming everything on herself.

The scandal between Ferda and Olivia was the fault of her wretched self.

Her inability to dance was also her own fault.

Her self-esteem, which had hit rock bottom as she was isolated in a severed world, grew worse every time her mistakes piled up.

Ferda knew that she had pain.

It was Ferda's task to embrace that pain.

'Into a place where even taking one step must have been hard...'

Ferda had dragged her out.

Saying he would stop a pointless rumor, he had placed a cruel burden on this woman who knew nothing.

'I am the worst fiancé.'

"Iorga was right. I am a child who ruins everything no matter what I do."

"That is not true. It is not true that Your Highness ruins everything."

"You do not have to say things you do not mean."

"I say this with all sincerity."

Ferda took one step forward.

"Your Highness said it, did you not? You said you did not know what would happen if I let go of this hand."

"..."

"I did not let go. Your Highness did not let go either. And what happened?"

"..."

"Your Highness did not run away, nor did you scream disgracefully."

"..."

"You ruined nothing. As a great dragon and as the Grand Duchess, you preserved your dignity."

Those words seemed to console her.

Her sniffling gradually subsided.

"Still, the dancing truly may have looked foolish."

"Uu..."

"But at least no one would have thought you were a fool, Your Highness."

"... Why?"

Ferda answered calmly.

"Because I was flapping around like a chicken in a henhouse on fire."

"Pfft...!"

A laugh burst from her tearful voice.

It fell quiet as though her breath had stopped, and then Valdrova turned her head.

All he could see was the white mask, but he knew there was no longer sorrow behind it.

"We must both have looked foolish."

"That is true."

"A fool and a fool."

"Yes."

The sobbing disappeared, and before long, laughter flowed out.

The gloomy atmosphere vanished.

Valdrova rose from her place, and Ferda gently approached her side.

"Mr. Ferda..."

Ferda turned his head.

She was looking up at him with her small frame.

"Do you... want to see my face?"

Very much.

"There is only the two of us here... and you always want to see my face, Mr. Ferda... so I think it might be all right... to show you today..."

With shy fingers, she tried to remove her mask.

Beyond it was the face of Valdrova that Ferda had only ever drawn in his mind.

The sight of her, not imagined, but seen with his own eyes.

"No."

Ferda reflexively grabbed that hand as she tried to remove the mask.

Valdrova was flustered.

"Why?"

Why?

Ferda's body had moved first, so he did not know the reason properly himself.

At that question, Ferda thought about it too.

Then the answer came to him.

"There are still tears left, are there not?"

"Probably...?"

"Then you must not."

Their first meeting had been the sight of her in tears.

Ferda did not want to fill that face he would see again with the sight of her crying.

"I suppose I must look unsightly when I cry."

The mood wilted.

That was not it.

If the reason had been that her crying looked unsightly or anything of the sort, he would have beaten himself to death.

Ferda wracked his brain.

He wondered if there was some suitable excuse, and then he suddenly recalled something Zed had said.

"My knight said that if the first sight you see is someone crying, then the second must be the sight of them smiling. Were you not crying when we first met?"

"Uh... yes, I was?"

"Then this time, it must be your smiling face."

"I-I see."

After hearing that, Valdrova also stopped removing her mask.

Perhaps it was because Ferda looked so desperately earnest.

Even so, she was far too curious about the reason.

"Then what happens if you see my smiling face?"

Ferda answered.

"They say we will share a hundred years together."

He thought she might be pleased or embarrassed, but what came from her lips was disappointment.

"Only a hundred years...?"

"Pardon?"

"If love only lasts a hundred years... I think that would be too sad..."

'What kind of foolish nonsense is that...'

That was what he almost thought, but he had briefly forgotten that Valdrova's sense of time was different.

To a human, a hundred years was practically a whole lifetime, but to her, it must be similar to a single year.

So to Valdrova, it seemed to have sounded like asking her to be with him for only one year.

As if deciding that this would not do, she asked in a voice that had turned serious all on its own.

"Then, you see."

"Yes."

"If I smile more brightly, could it last longer than a hundred years?"

Ferda lost his words for a moment.

Valdrova continued asking in an innocent voice.

"Would a thousand years be possible?"

She shook her head vigorously.

"No, even a thousand years is too little. I think it would have to be about ten thousand years."

"... It should be possible."

Ferda answered in a daze.

But Valdrova seemed to brighten.

"Then I will try to prepare myself so I can smile truly brightly. I... want to share ten thousand years with you, Mr. Ferda."

A woman who would stare only at the finger if you pointed at the moon.

Even with that utterly foolish side of hers, Ferda found her impossibly lovely.

The Shadow Circle no longer moved.

Instead, the Red Circle was spinning wildly on its own.

Ferda had to suppress this feeling as much as he could, so it would not run wild and ruin the mood.

It hurt.

He was so happy it hurt.

Ferda had never imagined he would feel such a thing.

Perhaps that feeling reached her, because the smiling Valdrova suddenly turned her head and looked up at the sky.

"The moon... is beautiful."

"They say the moon is largest tonight."

"I-Is that so?"

For no reason, things became awkward.

That did not seem to be what she had meant to talk about.

It was clear that he had caught her fool disease somehow.

"The Moonlight Step..."

"Yes."

"I heard it is most beautiful... when danced on a moonlit night..."

"Is... that so?"

These were words even a fool could understand.

Valdrova's hands fidgeted.

Ferda's hand, resting at his side, also kept moving.

Neither of them found it easy to abruptly speak up.

Naturally, asking her to dance was Ferda's role.

However, there was a reason he could not hastily ask her to dance.

Ferda was poor at dancing.

Olivia was skilled enough to dance while humming the song under her breath, but he was not.

For Ferda to dance beneath this moonlit night, he needed music at the very least.

Just as she wished for another chance,

Ferda likewise did not want to make a mistake with the chance he had seized.

It was then.

The fine tone of a violin drifted in on the night breeze.

Ferda turned his head slightly toward the source of the sound.

There stood a tall figure playing the violin.

It was Zed.

He was playing the violin with great skill.

However, that alone was not enough to follow the melody.

Soon, the sound of a flute filled what was lacking, joining in as a duet.

A woman seated beside Zed was playing the instrument.

'It is Garnet.'

The music they created in harmony was a waltz called "Moonlight."

The dance derived from that song was none other than the Moonlight Step.

The timing was astonishing.

They had been talking about the Moonlight Step just moments ago, and then he suddenly played "Moonlight."

'So they are listening to everything.'

Come to think of it, had this not been the place where he had hidden them to threaten the young noble ladies and lords?

It was only natural that they had heard Ferda and Valdrova's conversation.

'Well, does it matter?'

Rather than feeling displeased, he focused on the message Zed was giving him.

As one knight, he had given him a push from behind.

Ferda had to seize that chance.

"Your Highness, Grand Duchess Valdrova."

A chance to make up for the mistakes they had both committed.

"Would you please dance with me?"

And a chance for the two of them to be together.

Valdrova answered as brightly as the morning sun.

"Yes...!"

Their hands overlapped once more.

Excitement settled in.

The pounding of their hearts merrily stirred the mood, and his fingers savored the feel of her skin.

The man and woman beneath the moonlit night entrusted their bodies to the beautiful melody and danced.

Even if the socializing at the Start of Spring Festival had been a mess,

Even if their clumsy dance had been exposed to the whole world,

In a place no one would know, they were perfect for one another,

And for the two of them, that was enough.

As the melody of "Moonlight" came to an end, they finished by bowing to one another.

They let go of each other's hands, but their gazes stared wistfully at each other.

"Mr. Ferda."

"Yes."

"I would like to... go now..."

"Is that so?"

Her two lowered hands fidgeted together.

"It is not that I do not want to see you, Mr. Ferda... but right now, I once again cannot control myself..."

Ferda was the same, unable to endure it.

He wanted only to catch his breath alone and savor the lingering feeling.

Unlike that desire, his body would not move easily.

Their hands moved awkwardly, and much effort and time were needed before even the tips of their fingers fully parted.

"Please return safely."

"Yes."

She went to the edge of the garden, toward the cliff.

Ferda felt it would not be proper to watch Valdrova fall, so he turned away.

Now, he had to return to the ballroom.

"Mr. Ferda!"

Valdrova's voice, filled with courage, stopped him.

Ferda turned around.

She stood on the railing, the moon above her head.

Ready to fall at any moment, she reached toward her own face.

Then she removed her mask.

In that instant, the black and blue background was filled with color in the blink of an eye.

Ferda was overwhelmed by that unreal, supernatural moment.

Ferda tried to choose the proper word to fit what he was seeing before his eyes.

Yes.

It was the sun.

Warm light and heat that melted frozen earth and made new sprouts rise.

What had been hidden behind that mask was a broad smile like the warm sun.

"With this... can we share ten thousand years together?"

"..."

"I-I asked something foolish. Then I will be going now!"

Holding her embarrassment, she threw herself down below.

Ferda's departed soul showed no intention of returning.

He stared blankly at the place she had left, and then his legs gave out.

Ferda lay down where he was.

"Is it heatstroke...?"

Considering his face was burning bright red and his mind was growing faint, it was certain.

Ferda chuckled.

In the empty space, he stared blankly up at the stars.

"... Did you see?"

A question thrown into the air.

Its target was the voice within himself.

The voice he had ignored for so long.

For the first time, Ferda spoke to that voice first.

The voice clamped its mouth shut.

It did not matter.

That silence was no different from a sweet victory to Ferda.

The victor mocked the defeated.

"No matter how much you thrash about, you will never be able to defeat that woman."