Chapter 127 - Points of Doubt

When Ferda and Valdrova left the banquet hall, it came back to life again.

It took some time before people were laughing and chatting, but all of them were talking about Valdrova.

"To think I would see a dragon today, something most people might never see in a lifetime..."

"She was not as frightening as I expected."

"They called her an Evil Dragon, so I thought I would tense up the moment I saw her..."

"We did tense up terribly. I thought my heart was going to stop."

Red hair, and a build close to that of an ordinary woman.

But two pairs of horns that clearly declared she was different from them.

They made everyone realize they had seen a dragon, something difficult to witness even over an entire lifetime, and overwhelmed them.

Olivia had thought the social hall, where people were supposed to laugh and relax, would grow stiff.

Until she saw that.

"She was terribly bad at dancing."

"She was. The Regent too."

The sight of the two showing the worst possible rhythm as they stepped on each other's feet remained vivid in their memories.

One might think she had shown a blemish an immortal should never leave behind, but to Olivia, that was not the case.

'She left behind a point of doubt.'

With that single clumsy dance, she had instead left behind a point of doubt regarding the infamy she had spread.

Whether a dragon who made such human mistakes was truly more wicked than Godwin.

'It makes no sense to say she calculated this...'

Everything had happened impulsively.

From the moment Valdrova suddenly appeared, Olivia could feel it.

That an immortal was jealous of her, a mere mortal.

Olivia had felt jealousy directed at her from young ladies countless times.

But Valdrova's jealousy felt quite different.

'Admiration.'

As if a little country girl wanted to become the princess in a fairy tale.

Valdrova held an admiration that made her want to be like Olivia.

It was an intent far too pure.

["I like them. Pure people."]

Suddenly, Ferda's words came to mind.

Was that the sort of purity he had meant?

A foolish woman who forced herself to come out because she was jealous of a mere human Princess, then forced herself to dance a dance she could not even properly perform.

A purity so overwhelming that Olivia could not think she had calculated any of it herself.

'I was wrong.'

Because of his smile, she had suspected him of being cheap, no different from any other man.

As if that had not been enough, she had nearly tried to bring both Ferda and herself to ruin.

Like a devout believer who lost their faith and became a vile heretic.

"Hmm..."

Olivia could not lower the fan covering her mouth.

Now that her judgment had been wrong, she had to clean up the current mess.

As a result, Ferda might be safe, but Olivia was still a problem.

By accepting that invitation to dance, she had all but publicly declared she had feelings for him.

Olivia put her mind to work.

'... Good.'

She devised a scenario in an instant.

That scenario required someone easy, someone disposable.

A stupid man who knew his place.

The sort of man who was unlikely to cause trouble afterward, no matter what she did.

As she searched, one man caught her eye.

"P-Princess?"

Olivia stepped out of the flower garden of the Golden Rose.

She crossed the banquet hall and moved toward the place she had set her eyes on.

The man was a knight wearing a vest, and he was the most peculiar even among the knights.

Not in a good way, either.

His clothes were refined, but they could not possibly hide the rustic air that seeped from his body.

"Sir Knight?"

"Y-Yes!?"

"Your name."

"My name?"

"Introduce yourself. I already know who you are, but please tell me."

The man introduced himself in a trembling voice.

"Uh, I-I am Malcolm of Peach Hill."

Malcolm's face went pale, as if he had choked.

"H-Have I perhaps done s-s-something wrong to you, Princess...?"

"You have done nothing wrong. I came to ask whether you would please dance with me."

"D-D-D-Dance?! You mean?"

Because he made such a fuss, eyes began gathering on them.

"It seems the Princess asked him to dance?"

"What is happening?"

"The Princess asked that knight to dance..."

Young ladies and young lords watched the scene with disbelief on their faces.

She had thought he would be flustered and act foolishly, but he surpassed her imagination.

Olivia covered her mouth with her fan and spoke to him.

"You are a knight, yes?"

"Th-That is correct."

"There is something you must do as a knight's duty."

"Something I must do..."

He was still flustered, but at least there seemed to be a sign that words could get through.

Olivia continued.

"The story I had with the Regent became tangled. So now, someone needs to take the abuse. You must be that person."

"T-Take the a-abuse... you mean? Me?"

"For the Regent's sake. If you are a knight, surely you can do at least that much?"

Olivia asked him with a pitiful gaze.

Malcolm's attitude changed quite noticeably from the moment he heard it was for the Regent's sake.

"M-Malcolm of Peach Hill! Of course, for the Regent's sake, I would do anything, but... this humble one is not good at dancing. Is that all right?"

That was better, if anything.

"It is all right. Just move exactly as I tell you."

"U-Uh, y-yes!"

"Then, escort me."

And so Malcolm escorted Olivia.

From the very moment she took his hand, everyone began murmuring.

"My word..."

"Lady Olivia is dancing..."

The audience chattered, even forgetting the dances they had been doing.

The idol adored by every man had broken her own rule.

Even so, they had all faintly known that one day, she too would hold another man's hand and dance with him.

But what was most shocking was that the partner was a person no one could accept.

"Why the hell someone like him..."

"Even I could dance dozens of times better than that..."

All attention focused on Olivia and Malcolm, and it would not let go.

Everything went according to Olivia's calculations.

'More importantly, he really is terrible at dancing.'

As befitted a naive man with no connection to women, Malcolm was fucking awful at dancing.

His timing was always about half a beat late or ahead.

Only because Olivia forced him to move and kept moving herself did it take the shape of a dance at all.

'The Regent was like this too.'

Suddenly, the memory of that day surfaced in her mind.

Remembering how he had looked then, Olivia abruptly felt amused.

She took off her mask and laughed happily.

After all, in this moment alone, no matter what she did, it would seem no different from an unreal fantasy scene.

They would wander without knowing whose smile this was.

The answer to the question of whom Princess Olivia would share her first dance with became Malcolm, a knight of Valdrova Castle.

And so the scandal between Ferda and Olivia would fade away into nothing.

However, Malcolm later received a barrage of countless threatening letters from unknown senders, but that was merely another story.

Meanwhile, Valdrova Castle was bustling with the Start of Spring Festival.

As befitted a castle built for a dragon, the vast interior had countless blind spots.

Men and women were uncannily good at finding such places, and they whispered love to each other.

-Ah, you must not do this. This maiden already belongs to another...

-Forget that old man. Even if only for now.

-If we do this, we will be committing a sin. I will have no excuse to face Lord Altes.

-I will bear your sin. So please, entrust your body to me.

-Ah, my Marquis!!

It was a shameless conversation between two people in a place where no one would hear.

They acted that way because they never imagined anyone would dare to eavesdrop.

"Sin, my ass. Your head is going to fly off."

Zed Swallow.

He was eating peanuts while surrounded by several crystal balls.

They were communication crystal balls installed in locations Penelope and Zed had selected as places for secret trysts.

Every conversation held there was delivered to Zed's ears and recorded.

"I thought this would be fun, but it got old fast."

The repertoire of those enjoying secret trysts was similar.

It was all nothing but conflicting interests or gaps between families, or the bluffs of men and women desperate to sleep together somehow.

To Zed, all of it was nothing more than a farce.

Not even just a farce, but a third-rate play.

It was the kind of cheap farce whose lines village women would watch for a moment after gathering in the morning, then gossip about while beating laundry with paddles.

Watching the scene of self-justification as a third party made a nauseating feeling rise in Zed.

At the same time, as he looked at those pathetic sights, he muttered.

"I am still better than those bastards."

"You are the same as them, so what the hell are you talking about?"

"Gah!"

A familiar voice that should not have been heard came from behind his head.

When he turned his head, a woman with dark skin was standing there, and Zed reflexively called her name.

"Findteeth..."

SMACK!

"Ow! Why?"

"I warned you not to use that. If you used it anyway, was that not a signal asking me to hit you?"

"Well, it has a nice ring to it, does it not? Something that shows just how well the relationship between you and me comes across, I would say?"

"Seeing you act so glib, you have no remorse. May I beat you until you come to your senses?"

"Anywhere but the face."

His obnoxious behavior seemed like teasing, so instead, she lost steam.

Garnet sat down beside him.

Seeing that she showed no sign of surprise and took her seat calmly, Zed was certain.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

"What was?"

"Our dear Regent suddenly told me to catch the bastards having secret trysts, so I was wondering whose idea it was. You told him to do it, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Good grief. If he is of a status like Grand Duchess's Consort, there are plenty of better options than making trashy weaknesses like this, so why did you make him bother with this?"

"Because nothing is as well balanced as holding children hostage. If he wants to lengthen his political life, this kind of thing is necessary."

"Good grief, why am I suffering through this crap because of you? Normally, I would be having fun with other women, but you made me do this kind of work..."

As he poured out complaints so smoothly, she hardened her face and uttered two syllables.

"Upset?"

"Goodness, of course not. Haha. Is this not why an office job is nice? I can just suck up all the easy benefits."

When Garnet put on a fierce expression, Zed tucked his tail between his legs.

"Where is your contractor? Working somewhere else?"

"She should be inside the banquet hall."

"Eavesdropping on other people's conversations like you?"

"Her role is a bit different. By now, she is probably chatting with young ladies in the form of a 'Zed Swallow Victims' Association.'"

Garnet tilted her head.

"What is she doing with that?"

"She said that after they get drunk, she will make a 'garden.'"

She did not ask separately what that word meant.

Garnet had already figured out that Penelope was Sitri's daughter.

The word garden was surely a vulgar euphemism.

"But what did you do for a victims' association to form?"

"Nothing much. I just left them in the banquet hall, that's all."

SMACK!

"Ow! Why!?"

"On behalf of all the women of Serdes, I hit you in the head. Got a problem?"

"No. Next time, please at least tell me before you hit me, representative."

Showing the attitude of someone thoroughly in the weaker position, Zed focused on his work again.

Then the crystal ball connected to the garden lit up.

"Holy shit."

"Hm?"

"It seems the Regent and that Grand Duchess, who hadn't shown even the tip of her nose, have appeared at the tryst location?"

That Grand Duchess was the Red Dragon, Valdrova.

As befitted the head of an intelligence organization, Garnet's eyes flashed brightly.

"Do not turn it off. Let us record it and listen."

"Of course. What kind of idiot, moron, and sucker would miss such a good situation?"

The two pressed their ears close to the crystal ball.

The conversation they were having came through plainly.

Valdrova sniffling through tears and Ferda being at a loss came through without any filtering.

"It is as I expected."

"What is as you expected?"

"The Red Dragon has very low self-esteem."

Hearing that, Zed was startled.

"I really wish you would say that in front of our Regent too."

"I do not think so. From the personality I have grasped, he would like that information."

"Anyway, do not even think of calling my name before your head falls off."

Zed mischievously pretended to back away.

Garnet sighed as if he were being childish.

"You fool. Do you think I would sell information like this to anyone?"

"Then you wouldn't?"

"Are you insane?"

Garnet spoke with a serious expression.

"If I released that information, every dragon would be hell-bent on wiping out Black Bandana."

"Why?"

"Because I would be selling a method and means to bring disaster to the continent."

"Huh? Isn't it just the sort of thing that makes her a bit of a laughingstock?"

"Think of her not as a dragon, but as a woman with low self-esteem. Similar to a person, in other words. What do you think will happen if someone who has been pushed and pushed and pushed finally snaps?"

Because Zed had met many women, he could see it clearly from those words alone.

"... There would be no disaster like it."

If her self-esteem were shattered and she snapped just like that, nothing would be left in sight.

And there was no being capable of stopping the Red Dragon.

She had accomplished in only a few hours half the damage Godwin had inflicted over several years, and even then, she had only come to her senses and stopped because of Silverwind's death.

Zed did not forget to praise her judgment.

"As expected of our esteemed head of Black Bandana. I always thought your analytical ability was outstanding, and sure enough."

"I am an information broker. If information comes in, processing that information is my job."

Garnet replied as if it were only natural.

"Which is why I ask."

When Zed thought the conversation was over, Garnet casually threw out a question.

"Do you have any thought of working with me?"

"What, what kind of joke are you trying to make..."

At Garnet's proposal, Zed gave a small laugh.

But after seeing her eyes, Zed realized.

It was an offer without a single joke mixed in.

"You want me to throw away my knighthood and go to you?"

"I can give you as much money as you want. I can even make you a true noble, not merely a knight."

"Everyone there is determined to kill me. How am I supposed to go?"

"I can shut their mouths. They annoyed me from the moment they made a fuss, so it will be easy."

Zed implicitly expressed his refusal, but Garnet's eyes remained unchanged.

As if she did not want to let him go.

"We will do it like we did when we were in the Swallows. You and me. As a pair."

Garnet lightly hooked a finger over Zed's hand.

"You are the only one I can entrust my life to. And I am the only one you can entrust your life to as well."

The mercenary band, Swallows.

Just as Garnet did, Zed also still remembered those days vividly.

"I do miss those days. But I cannot do that."

"Why?"

"Because I have already sworn an oath as a knight."

"Since when did you believe in that sort of thing?"

"I did not."

Zed laughed as if he found even himself ridiculous.

"But they say a position makes the person, and it turned out to be true."

Zed had always wanted only a foothold that would let him become a noble.

He had met many nobles, so he had thought he could act like one as much as he wanted.

But after becoming a knight, he felt a sense of duty he had never felt when he had been going around acting like a womanizer.

Zed did not want to take that duty lightly.

Seeing that side of Zed, Garnet put on a grave face.

"Come to your senses, Zed Swallow."

Garnet thought.

This man did not truly know the person called Ferda yet.

"I am telling only you this. That man is far too dangerous to keep close."