Chapter 135 - Hold Me

"Me?"

"... Who else would she summon besides you, Lord Ferda? It is not as if she knows anyone else."

Luri answered bluntly.

It was such a stupid question that Ferda could understand why she was annoyed.

"Understood."

Ferda changed faster than usual and headed to the lair.

An iron door far too massive for a human body.

It was the first time he had come here since the time she had first suffered from the heat in her blood.

Ferda carefully knocked on the iron door.

Then, as if someone had been waiting, the door opened.

"Mr. Ferda."

Valdrova, who opened the door and came to greet him, was wearing a dress instead of armor.

Ferda nearly lost his words at the sensation that his soul was leaving his body, but he pulled himself together and offered his greeting.

"I greet Your Grace. Thank you for inviting me to the nest of a great dragon."

"No. I wanted you to come here at least once, Mr. Ferda..."

Shyness seeped from her delicate voice.

That tender voice struck Ferda's heart.

Ferda turned his eyes and observed the place.

This place was large, dark, and dry.

But it was Valdrova's room.

His fiancée's room.

In other words, a woman's room.

Though it was far from the room an ordinary woman would live in, it still made him nervous.

"M-May I ask for what reason you called me?"

He was so nervous that he ended up stammering.

Valdrova answered without minding it.

"It's just... I heard you were going out to war. That you were going to a place with huge demonic creatures..."

"That is correct."

Ferda felt as if she might be anxious, so he added more.

"But there is no need for you to worry. Their numbers have been greatly reduced, so it is entirely possible with human strength alone."

"Yes, I trust you, Mr. Ferda. That is why I called you."

Valdrova fidgeted with her fingers.

"I wanted to help you... so I could be of strength to you, Mr. Ferda."

Help, how?

When Ferda asked that question with his expression, Valdrova cleared her throat.

Then, as if acting in a play, she stretched both hands forward.

"Ferda!"

She cried.

"If you safely complete your conquest and return, We shall bestow upon you the treasure We cherish most from Our hoard...!"

Ferda quietly looked at her.

Valdrova faltered, then stretched her hands out again and said,

"Bestow... u-upon youuu..."

Realizing that she was expecting some sort of reaction, Ferda bowed his head.

"I am deeply moved that you would value my merits so highly and grant me a reward."

Only then did the awkward atmosphere loosen.

"However, there is no need for you to give me your treasure."

"But I heard other dragons do it this way. That if someone does their work for them, they give that person a nice thing..."

"That is someone else's story, and I am Your Grace's fiancé, am I not?"

At that, she made a gesture as if the world had collapsed.

Had he said something wrong?

"If you are my fiancé, does that mean you do not need my treasure?"

"I meant that I would do it even if you did not give me anything."

"Ah."

Only then did Valdrova understand what he meant.

She covered her face with her hands.

The shame of having misunderstood his words and the embarrassment from hearing that he would devote himself to her mixed together, making her face grow hot.

"But I still want to give you something. You worked very hard even when I was not there, Mr. Ferda... May I?"

"Yes. To refuse any further would not be proper conduct toward my fiancée."

"Y-Yes..."

The conversation broke off.

It was an awkward situation where neither of them knew what words to choose.

"Master."

Luri cut in.

"How about deciding on the gift you will give Lord Ferda?"

"Hm? Ah, yes! That's right!"

Valdrova nodded her head rapidly and cleared her throat.

"W-Would you like to... look at my storeroom?"

Was some lewd devil possessing him?

His mind was trying to interpret those words in another direction.

"If you permit it, I would gladly accompany you."

"Yes, then come with me."

Valdrova led the way toward the treasure vault.

When they reached the entrance, Luri stopped following and bowed.

"I hope the two of you enjoy yourselves at leisure."

The two of them entered the vault.

Unlike the cave-like lair it was connected to, the treasure vault was properly decorated.

"Wow..."

Valdrova was actually more excited than Ferda, who was visiting for the first time.

"Coming here in human form, there really is a lot. I always saw it as a dragon, so I thought there wasn't that much..."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, yes. There is so much, right?"

"Yes."

To be honest, Ferda wondered if it was really that much.

For a human, it would count as a lot, but for a dragon, it was very little.

The treasures ordinary dragons possessed were dozens of times greater than the treasures piled up here.

For Evil Dragons, openly plundering was part of daily life.

Even those so-called Guardian Dragons took enormous amounts of gold and relics under the pretext of funds for protection or development.

But the infamous Valdrova had only lived in seclusion without doing such thug shit, so there was no way treasure would have gathered here.

Valdrova fiddled with a gold coin and said,

"I heard this money was being used to build your village, Mr. Ferda."

"That is why I always feel sorry toward Your Grace."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because we are using Your Grace's belongings..."

"Why would that matter? I only like it."

An aura as bright and beaming as morning sunlight.

He could feel that she was smiling happily.

This woman was happy simply because he had used her things.

Ferda simply found that pure side of her lovely.

"Please say such things only to me."

"Why?"

"Because if you said that to that tiny attendant, it would be obvious she would come running with murder in her eyes."

"Ah, I-I will!"

Valdrova nodded repeatedly while showing fear.

And so they continued exploring the treasure vault again.

Ferda looked around while following behind Valdrova.

'There is not a single useful thing here.'

Dragons had a desire to collect, and most collected things related to their Aspect.

Iorga collected objects and magical tools related to water, and Silverwind collected objects related to wind and steel products.

If that pattern were followed, then naturally, Valdrova would collect objects or weapons related to fire.

And yet there was nothing in Valdrova's hoard that suited the Aspect of Power.

He had thought there would be at least one magic sword that had been lost or sealed.

As he looked around wondering if there really was nothing, he finally discovered one weapon.

"That is..."

No, it was certainly a weapon, but he wondered whether it should really be called one.

It was an ordinary, extremely old spear.

Its gray color contrasted with the room shining brilliantly with gold, and its material was unclear as well.

"Do you want it?"

When he stared at it, Valdrova asked.

"May I ask what that is?"

"It is something I used a very long time ago."

"How long ago?"

"Mm... Well... Around the beginning of time?"

It was an ancient relic on a completely different scale.

"It is the weapon I used when I fought the chaos covering the world. It is something that has been with me my whole life."

It was literally an object that had been with her since the history of her birth.

Since the conversation had turned toward the subject of weapons, Ferda went with the flow and asked her,

"Are there no other weapons besides that spear?"

"There probably... are not? After that, I never used anything called a weapon in my life... Even if I did use one, they all broke after a single swing, so I never touched them."

"I see."

Those words sounded less as if weapons were useless and more as if she was afraid of weapons breaking.

"If you want it, I will give it to you."

"No. It is something that has been with Your Grace your whole life. How could I accept it?"

It was an object with many stories, so he could not ask for such a thing.

Above all, it was useless.

"Do you want to receive something like a weapon, Mr. Ferda?"

"I did have some expectation."

"I do not think there are any weapons... Hm, then shall I give you the material instead?"

"The material, you say?"

"Then... shall I even remove my reverse scale and give it to you?"

A dragon's scale was, of course, an incredible material.

Though it was difficult to handle, that one thing alone could be used to make a historic relic.

Some dragon spawn were bestowed scales and used them to make weapons or armor.

The effectiveness of a dragon's scale was proportional to its size, and that was precisely the reverse scale.

The reverse scale behind the ear, which covered a weak point, was the largest.

Saying she would give that meant she trusted him enough to lay her life in his hands.

"If you want it, Mr. Ferda, I can give it to you."

"... I will accept only the thought. Please take good care of Your Grace's body."

Ferda naturally refused the offer.

The exploration began again.

Valdrova barely guided him at all, and whenever something seemed interesting, curiosity quickly took hold of her and she trotted over.

Ferda tried to find magical artifacts as he passed through the gold that was only good to look at.

"... Hm?"

He saw an object in a shape he was seeing for the first time in this room, much like the spear.

It was a large frame.

A painting of the size one would place in the most conspicuous spot upon entering a castle.

'I doubt she has a hobby of collecting artwork...'

Wondering what kind of painting it could be, Ferda turned the painting around.

"Ah, that is...!"

Valdrova tried to stop him too late, but Ferda had already turned the frame over.

"Ah."

He could understand why she had overreacted.

Because what was painted in that frame was Valdrova herself.

A painting of her wearing a dress, letting her long red hair fall, and smiling toward the painter.

Her mouth was undoubtedly smiling.

Her eyes could not be seen, because they had been torn away by something large and sharp.

As Ferda quietly looked down at the painting, half of her face blown away, Valdrova said,

"That... I received it a long time ago... but I accidentally slashed... it."

"..."

"And I... did not really like the painting either. So I just left it in the vault."

She tried to smooth over the situation with a smile while explaining in a flustered voice.

But Ferda knew.

He knew that her lies were terribly clumsy.

If she had not liked the painting, there was no way she would have been unable to throw it away and kept it like this.

"It is ugly to look at, and it is the kind of scary painting that looks like a ghost will come out of it, so stop looking and let us find something else."

Valdrova grabbed Ferda's sleeve and tugged on it slightly, urging him on.

Ferda neither answered nor reacted.

That painting was whispering something to Ferda.

The life she had lived and her desires.

And even her emotions trapped within endless contradictions.

As he kept looking at the painting, the dantian below his chest was moving strangely.

Was this regret, or was it affection?

"... I have found it."

"Yes?"

"I have found something I want."

Ferda looked down at Valdrova and asked,

"If I return safely, could you give this to me?"

"Y-Yes?"

Valdrova was flustered.

"W-Why? The painting is torn, and even if you keep something this hideous, Mr. Ferda..."

Valdrova's words gradually trailed off.

Ferda's eyes were gazing at her.

Though he said nothing and merely gazed, she hesitated as if she were gradually being pushed back by it.

"All right."

Valdrova finally accepted.

"If you return safely, Mr. Ferda, I will give you this painting."

People's hearts were sly things, and after hearing her accept, he felt a strange guilt.

Because saying he wanted this torn painting might have sounded to her like he was asking her to show him something shameful.

So Ferda tried taking one step back.

"If Your Grace does not want to, I will give up on it."

"No. It is what you want, is it not, Mr. Ferda? I cannot give something you do not want as a gift."

Ferda could tell from those words what she was feeling.

That was why he asked.

"Are you afraid that I am leaving?"

"..."

Valdrova could not easily open her mouth.

There was a saying that silence was affirmation.

She was afraid.

Calling him here late at night had been to soothe her own anxiety.

Saying she would give him treasure was also because she wished for him to return alive.

All of it stemmed from her fear of Ferda's death.

With that pity in his heart, Ferda carefully took her hand.

"I am Your Grace's fiancé."

He comforted her in order to lessen her anxiety, even if only a little.

"Half of my life is already Your Grace's. As long as I live as Your Grace's fiancé, I will think only of Your Grace and live for Your Grace."

"..."

"So I will surely return alive for you."

Valdrova's hand fidgeted inside Ferda's palm.

What expression she was wearing behind that white mask was something Ferda's imagination could not measure.

"Mr. Ferda. May I ask one thing of you?"

"Please speak."

Ferda prayed inwardly.

Please, do not ask me not to go.

"Would you... hold me?"

"... Pardon?"

Ferda asked again, wondering if he had misheard.

But Valdrova answered clearly.

"Well, they say if a man and woman embrace, good energy comes out. Bad thoughts disappear too, and I want to give you good energy, Mr. Ferda."

"Good energy... you say."

Ferda unconsciously placed a hand on his own face.

The heat of the skin touching his fingers was as hot as the flame in a fireplace.

Why the hell was he getting embarrassed over something like this?

Even when they danced, he had held her body once.

"Understood."

"Yes, sir...!"

Valdrova also composed herself and spread her arms with a grave expression.

Ferda carefully slipped his arms around her neck.

Ferda wrapped his arms around her body first. When he pressed close, only then did Valdrova's hands move as well, wrapping around Ferda.

Her hands passed his waist and moved to his back.

'Warm.'

The sensation felt through a single thin layer of fabric was as soft and warm as a baby.

A cozy, faint scent like sunlight drifted from her red hair, making him feel at ease.

That was why he became a little worried.

She was so warm that he wondered if she might dislike him because he was far too cold.

'Warm.'

But Valdrova felt the same.

It was her first time knowing that holding someone could be this warm.

'It is similar to receiving mana, but different.'

When she received mana, it felt as if something was settling down.

But this embrace made something boil up inside Valdrova's chest.

'More...'

A sprout of greed grew in Valdrova, who was like a timid girl.

'I wish this warmth would seep deeper...'

She tilted her face against his chest and pulled him tightly.

SHNK.

'... Shnk?'

A sound and sensation that ruined the pleasant atmosphere.

Feeling something strange, as if it had been dragged in near her horns, she lifted her head.

"Huh?"

Valdrova blinked.

What came into Valdrova's sight were two holes in Ferda's chest.

Those holes were exactly in the part of his chest where she had wanted to lean.

How on earth had those holes been made?

"Huhh??"

Even if she was a fool, she was not so foolish that she could not understand how this situation had happened.

This situation was now organized and completed into a sentence,

"Huuuh?!??"

Valdrova panicked and jumped in fright.

"Huuuuuuuuuh!?!??!?"

"Master, what on earth are you doing to make such a fuss...?"

Luri's eyes, which had thought it would surely be another fuss over nothing, went wide.

There were two holes in Ferda's chest, were there not?

Luri also shrieked in horror and shouted.

"What is this!? What on earth...?!"

"I-I do not know!"

For a moment, she wondered if some cursed weapon had been mixed in and he had touched it by mistake, but that was not it.

There were exactly two holes in Ferda's chest.

And there were exactly two weapons with the very same width attached to Valdrova's head.

A vein bulged on Luri's face.

"Master!!"

Luri shrieked.

"How many times have I told you!? I told you that your horns are sharp, so you have to be careful! How could you think of hugging someone in that state!?"

"I-I'm sorry..."

"Do not apologize to me, apologize to Lord Ferda! What is this, seriously!? Can you not see that Lord Ferda has gone completely out of it right now?"

"Waaaaah! I am sorry I am stupid! Mr. Ferdaaa!"

"No, I am..."

"Stay still! Keep your mouth shut! Ah, honestly!! Do you know how many things I have seen while serving you, Master? Why do you always, every single time, do this to me...!!"

Luri huffed and scolded Valdrova,

and Valdrova kept apologizing, saying she was sorry she was stupid.

And Ferda, the victim, was truly all right.

Though he had been stabbed by two horns and they had gone a little deep, they had avoided his blood vessels, so there was little bleeding and no pain.

However, he himself admitted the "gone completely out of it" state Luri had mentioned.

Right now, he was thinking this.

That he could die now with no regrets.