Chapter 56 - This Isn't Right

Ferda stared at Goz with his eyes wide open.

Silver hair and silver eyes exactly like Luri's.

He wore the same expression as when they first made eye contact at the Grand Council.

"Welcome, Regent of Valdrova."

"Leader Goz."

They observed formal etiquette by calling each other's titles.

However, there was not an ounce of respect in their eyes.

"I didn't even know such a precious person was coming in. Normally, my subordinates would open the door for you."

He was asking why he had barged in as he pleased.

"I said there was no particular need for that."

Ferda answered that it was his choice.

Goz's eyes rolled toward the entrance.

Even if he looked that way, there was nothing his subordinates could do but bow their heads.

"This is our bloodline's affair. Meaning it is a family matter. Outsiders shouldn't meddle in family matters."

"I also decline to get involved in family fights."

Even while saying that, he took another step forward.

And Luri felt a light weight on her shoulder.

It was Ferda's hand.

"But this one is a child favored by the person I love. Must I watch a favored child get hurt just because of a family fight?"

Ferda didn't back down an inch.

That was also a challenge to Goz's authority.

Goz despised such challenges.

"I felt this when I first saw you, but you've got some good nerve."

Goz stood up from his seat.

At that moment, the spirit he exuded became even stronger.

Luri remained kneeling and bowed her head.

All the other Silver Dragon spawns also submitted in turn.

Goz gestured at Luri with his chin and asked.

"So, Regent of Valdrova. How well do you know Luri Silverwind, the attendant of the one you love?"

"My one and only fiancée's attendant."

"And?"

"That is enough."

"Right, that is merely all you are seeing. It seems this wench hasn't told you everything."

Rough hands hardened by martial arts and fighting.

His finger pointed at Luri.

"This wench is a spy sent by Lord Silverwind."

He exposed Luri's identity.

"She was planted by Lord Silverwind to monitor Valdrova and figure out when she becomes weak. Until he passed away, she was ordered to report back regularly."

"Is that so?"

"You seem entirely unconvinced. Does it look like I'm lying?"

"Do I look like a fool who would believe the words of someone showing hostility?"

"Right, I agree. Then wouldn't it be fine to ask her directly? Luri Silverwind."

At that call, Luri felt her head become even heavier.

"Tell the truth. Was anything I said wrong?"

"I am not something like..."

"Answer properly. Did I say anything wrong?"

Goz didn't allow an inch of an excuse. Luri eventually told the truth.

"I received Lord Silverwind's orders... and was monitoring Lady Valdrova."

"What was the content?"

"... As Lord Goz said, it was to monitor Lady Valdrova and figure out her weaknesses."

Silence fell.

Luri was in so much agony that she couldn't breathe properly.

But what was even more agonizing was,

the fact that she couldn't even know what expression Ferda was making in a situation where she couldn't lift her head.

Finally, Ferda broke the silence.

"I'm not surprised."

A cynical tone.

Luri's toes turned cold.

She felt as if the floor had vanished and she was being thrown off a cliff.

"When a spawn bearing Silverwind's name pledged loyalty to Valdrova, I figured there naturally had to be a reason."

Contempt.

A sense of betrayal.

The negative emotions seemed to become a thick swamp that swallowed Luri up.

But that was only for a moment.

"So?"

At that question, the pressure enveloping Luri scattered like a mirage.

Goz frowned.

"What do you mean, 'so'?"

"So what is the problem with that?"

Luri raised her head and looked at Ferda.

He wore the same stubborn-looking face as always.

Goz had an annoyed look at the unexpected response.

"She is a spy planted by Lord Silverwind. There's no way you didn't understand that."

"Right, a spy. But even so, she is my fiancée's favorite attendant."

Ferda put his hands behind his back and puffed out his chest.

"Even at that moment when everyone turned their backs, this child was the loyal attendant who stood by my fiancée's side. She is a spawn who has devoted herself to Valdrova more than anyone else. That is the value she currently holds. Do you think that value would be shaken by the words of someone I just met today?"

Power unconsciously entered the hands of the kneeling Luri.

At those words, her emotions almost burst out.

"Right, whether you believe it or not is your freedom. I can't force that upon a human who wasn't even born with Silverwind's bloodline, however..."

Goz's eyes glinted even more fiercely.

"You've been quite arrogant for a while now."

The air violently churned.

The fuse of a bomb that could blow away a country had already caught fire and was burning down.

Goz's face, having reached the limit of his patience.

Dragon spawns are not dragons, but neither are they humans.

All of them are draconian supremacists who believe they are superior to humans.

There was no way he would look kindly upon a mere human talking back to him.

If it were an ordinary human, they would have yielded, and if it were a wise human, they would have taken a step back to control the situation.

"Aren't you the one who should be showing respect, not me?"

However, Ferda neither backed down nor yielded.

A strange blue light swirled in Ferda's eyes.

As the Regent of Valdrova, he proudly stood on equal footing and faced him.

"Are you trying to teach me what to do when you're the one threatening someone else's attendant and trying to drive a wedge between us?"

He spoke clearly, as if to say Goz wasn't the only one offended by this conversation.

Veins bulged on Goz's neck.

Luri knew.

He was someone more suited to being a hot-blooded warrior than a cold-headed leader.

"The reason I am not snapping your neck right now is because of Lord Blancaros's mercy and my patience."

"Do Silverwinds call fear patience? To think you're throwing your weight around in front of an attendant and a fiancé because you're too scared to face my fiancée directly..."

Deep contempt lingered in Ferda's narrowed eyes.

"Aren't you ashamed?"

It was the moment the battle of nerves came to an end.

A fierce gust of wind battered the windows in response to Ferda's provocation.

Goz, who had been sitting heavily, stood up from his seat.

"Right, I am truly ashamed. To think I have to just stand by and watch a mere human act so high and mighty..."

Goz took a step forward.

His viciously veined hands cracked.

"I shall wash away that shame right here with your blood."

The moment he was about to enter the striking range of those hands,

"Do not move any further."

Someone stood in front of Goz.

Luri, who was supposed to be kneeling, was at some point standing and blocking Goz's way.

"Luri, you wench..."

"He is Lady Valdrova's... Consort."

She was still suffering from her submission to her instincts.

Yet the reason she could stand up was,

"I consider this threat a challenge to Lady Valdrova, and I too will respond accordingly."

Resolve.

It was a resolve to stop him even if it meant her death.

Goz made a fed-up expression.

"From a warrior of the North to a loyal dog. To think you're now serving even a human as your master."

Goz, who had been extremely heated, actually ended up calming down.

The wind that had been battering the windows ceased.

Goz sat back down and released his oppressive aura.

"As the representative of Silverwind, I have nothing more to say to a dog. You may take her, Regent of Valdrova. I hope we never cross paths again."

Ferda also replied nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.

"Then, excuse us."

Ferda also stopped the battle of nerves.

"Luri."

"Yes."

"Let us leave."

"... Yes."

He brought the trembling Luri out, bringing the incident to a close.

* * *

Goz was lost in thought, his eyes fixed on the spot where Ferda and Luri had left.

Contrary to what was reflected in his vision, the image of Luri standing against him felt vivid before his eyes.

'Luri of the Bladed Wind.'

The Silverwind spawns who fought against the beings of extreme cold beyond the northern Frost Wall.

Among them, the most vicious and threatening beings were the Frost Giants.

Like the monsters of the far east, no one knew where they came from, but they emerged endlessly, coming out to scatter frost over the human realm.

They were such difficult beings that it took five well-trained dragon spawns working together to barely take one down.

But Luri was different.

With her small stature, she had simultaneously faced three giants and defeated them.

She suffered severe injuries, but as long as she was alive, she could recover again.

As someone who protected the Serdes Continent, she was a source of pride and a paragon.

There had been more than one or two times when Goz too had felt intimidated by her.

'Such a person...'

His reunion with her had been the worst.

An unsightly maid outfit and the demeanor of a young servant girl.

On top of that, a stupid question.

The question she threw out while captivated by a thread of hope was far removed from the bladed wind.

Everything annoyed him.

'To think that such a thing was the wench I once felt threatened by...'

But naturally, what annoyed him more than anything else was,

'Ferda Valdrova...'

That human who had stood against him.

There were always annoying humans.

Those kinds who believed they could order dragons around as they pleased.

Those who only trusted their authority and treated them like ordinary humans.

He left no room for such people and beheaded them to make an example of them.

That was a common occurrence in dragon society.

'He's different from those humans.'

He didn't want to admit it, but he felt it clearly when he met those eyes.

He wore a face closer to an immortal than anyone else.

Because of that, Goz could intuitively realize it.

'If that arrogant bastard is around... this revenge will not be achieved.'

He clenched his fists tight.

Since Silverwind's death, he had not forgotten him for even a single moment.

And he had not skipped a single day in his thirst for revenge.

He couldn't let him ruin everything now.

'I must... absolutely get my revenge.'

By any means necessary, absolutely.

* * *

Luri silently followed behind Ferda.

The surroundings were so quiet that the sound of footsteps echoed down the long hallway.

"Did the talk go well?"

"..."

Luri kept her mouth shut.

"Won't you try saying something at least?"

"... I do not wish to speak."

"Is that what you say to the person who helped you?"

The footsteps of Luri's shoes stopped in place.

Luri stood still right there.

She opened her mouth with her head deeply bowed.

"... Who."

Her damp voice squeezed out the sound.

"Who... asked you to help me?"

"..."

Sheer audacity.

It was a situation where those words truly fit.

However, Ferda didn't say anything.

It was exactly as she said.

She hadn't asked him to help.

This might have been something she could have resolved on her own.

He might have been the one who jumped ahead out of hasty greed.

"Right."

Ferda calmly acknowledged it.

"I did something foolish."

He turned his feet around just like that.

Ferda shifted his steps to leave that place alone.

"I am sorry for interfering."

Ferda walked away again.

Luri stared blankly at his back.

* * *

After leaving Silverwind's private room, Luri silently followed behind Ferda.

She didn't know what words to choose.

Her emotions felt like they were swirling.

His back, which she secretly glanced up at.

It was huge.

It felt like a sturdy support pillar that wouldn't collapse even if she leaned her body against it.

Just like her father,

Silverwind.

However, the emotions she felt from that back were entirely different from Silverwind.

Her insides boiled.

I've lived longer,

I've survived death a few more times than him,

so why am I lesser than that back?

"Did the talk go well?"

Ferda asked.

When there was no answer for a long while, he glanced over his shoulder and asked again.

His blue eyes gleamed through his gray hair.

"Won't you try saying something at least?"

Luri forced her mouth open.

"... I do not wish to speak."

A complaint popping out instead of a mature response.

"Is that what you say to the person who helped you?"

Helped me?

If Luri hadn't stepped up back then, Ferda's neck would have been snapped, and a wind of disaster would have blown across the continent.

He was calling himself the person who helped her despite having done something so foolish?

She internally criticized Ferda like that, but Luri also knew.

That this wouldn't have happened if she hadn't leaned on such a small hope in the first place.

That she should be saying thank you because Ferda stepped up for her.

That it would all be over if she just said that one phrase.

But.

She didn't even want to give that small acknowledgment right now.

Because she was afraid her disheveled voice would be exposed if she spoke now.

Because she was afraid of showing incompetence as the attendant who had been assisting Valdrova.

Because she was afraid of showing her weakness to him once again.

She clenched her fists tight and raised her head.

"Who..."

She suppressed her frustration and let out her voice.

"Who asked you to help me?"

She realized she had made a mistake only after the words left her mouth.

That was not a mature response.

A pathetic display of being unable to admit her own weakness.

The display of a child with nothing to show off but her pride.

She felt pathetic herself, but her throat choked up and she couldn't speak any further.

Ferda, looking down at such a child.

Those eyes that looked as if they had dropped his emotions at the very edge of a deep lake.

Those eyes seemed to plunge Luri's heart into an even deeper place.

He eventually nodded.

Luri ruminated on her regret.

"Right."

'This isn't right.'

"I did something foolish."

'This isn't what I meant.'

"I am sorry for interfering."

Ferda walked away again.

In her vision, she saw Ferda's figure walking down the hallway.

Her hand absentmindedly reached out to try and catch him.

However, he had already gotten much too far away to catch him again.