Chapter 65 - Salt and Sand

THUD!

A deep explosive sound echoed from within Abel's body.

At the same time, Abel's body went limp.

His groans of pain and his trembling all vanished.

"Ah..."

A gasp burst from Luri's mouth.

She thought to herself.

That all of this was a dream.

That she was actually in her bed, and this was a nightmare shown to her by a demon sneaking into her bedroom.

But she didn't wake up.

The more she focused on waking up, the closer the cold reality drew near.

"Aah..."

Luri staggered toward where Abel lay.

She turned over his collapsed body.

His pupils had no focus.

His pulse was gone.

His body temperature was turning cold.

She tried to use healing magic.

But she knew it was impossible.

Because his heart was shattered.

No dragon spawn could survive with a shattered heart.

Ferda must have known this as well.

Ferda had no intention of leaving him any room to live.

The sensation of this tragedy, unfolding in a cold, dark place battered by a blizzard, pierced her mind.

A Silver Dragon spawn had died.

Another child of her father died today.

What that other child had seen was now visible to her as well.

And that man was standing right in front of her.

"Just now..."

A voice forced its way out of her blocked throat.

"Do you realize... what you have done, Ferda?"

"I do."

Ferda answered calmly.

"It's murder."

He was as cold as the northern air.

"It is not just murder... Ferda."

Luri's hands trembled.

"A child of Silverwind has died. You killed someone who inherited his blood. Do you know what that means?"

"I know."

"No. You do not know."

Luri raised her head.

She walked toward Ferda.

"You killed someone with the blood of a dragon. They will never stop seeking revenge."

"I know."

"Until you die... they will absolutely never stop."

"I know."

"If you knew that!!"

Luri grabbed Ferda by the collar.

"You could not possibly have made this choice!"

Everything she had built up.

"Because of your actions!"

Due to Ferda's actions.

"The peace I protected for Valdrova has been shattered!"

It crumbled away in vain.

"You... because of you..."

Luri dropped her head.

The hands gripping his collar trembled violently.

Her legs shook, barely supporting her body.

She thought to herself.

Could this be fixed?

Could they just gloss over this matter as if nothing happened?

What in the world would happen?

She tried to gauge what would unfold, but she couldn't.

This was completely out of her hands.

There was no way it could be resolved peacefully.

"Haa, haa..."

Tension constricted her throat.

She let out short, ragged breaths.

She felt faint.

"It is because... of you."

What burst from her mouth was resentment.

"Valdrova was... perfectly happy without you."

Spiteful words she didn't even mean poured out.

"You...! Because you tried to enter her life...!"

But Ferda didn't budge.

Ferda was looking down at her.

With eyes that seemed to be looking at a pitiful child.

"Luri."

"Do not say my name with that mouth! With that mouth...!"

"Luri."

His cold voice seized her chaotic mind.

"Look at me."

Luri raised her head.

Her aimless silver eyes looked up at Ferda.

"Abel had to die. This choice was inevitable."

"There was a choice. And I made that choice."

"That choice of giving up on yourself was the absolute worst."

"Does it not matter whether I am here or not? Do you not only need Valdrova? Could we not have just kept the peace like that?"

"There was no peace to begin with."

"There was! Clearly right there! There was a peace that I had created!"

Luri snapped at him.

The doubt that she might be wrong swelled in her chest, but she refused to admit it.

She didn't want to render everything she had done useless.

"Luri."

Ferda asked.

"Did I break the peace you created?"

"Yes."

That was the truth.

"Did I put my fiancée in danger?"

"Yes."

That was also the truth.

"Then am I wrong?"

"..."

Luri couldn't answer.

She didn't understand why she hesitated to answer.

He had definitely killed Abel.

Because of that, the peace was shattered.

Valdrova was in danger.

So did that make it wrong?

It didn't.

A corner of her heart felt otherwise.

"You... are wrong."

She lacked the courage to admit it.

She threw a tantrum once again.

"Is that so."

Ferda detached her hands from him.

Luri's hands followed his movement.

Luri's eyes widened.

Moving a little higher than his collar, he placed her hands around his neck.

"Then kill me right here."

Luri asked with a trembling voice.

"Are you... serious?"

"That was what I asked of you."

Luri recalled something she had placed in the back of her mind.

Around the time Ferda had finished recruiting his talents,

the last name he wrote down was her own.

And he had asked this of her:

["If I put my fiancée in danger and commit a wrongful act, kill me without hesitation."]

Naturally, Luri hadn't believed him.

There was no living creature in the world that wanted to die.

Not humans, nor dragon spawns.

Not even dragons.

"If I die, the peace you protected will return."

Ferda was different.

There was no wavering in his eyes.

From the moment he killed Abel until now.

The resolve resting there hadn't faltered even once.

Luri spat out a question she kept in her heart, something she couldn't understand.

"Ferda... do you not regret that action?"

"I do not regret it."

Ferda had thought about it time and time again.

He thought about it before taking action, he thought about it while taking action, and he was thinking about it right at this very moment.

The conclusion was always the same.

"Even if time were turned back a thousand times, I would still save you."

"Why is that?"

Unlike her, whose pupils were shaking, he shone clearly.

It was a light that Luri did not have.

"Because I have no doubt that this is for my fiancée, Valdrova."

That light caressed Luri's cheek.

"She needs you more than she needs me."

The moment she heard those words, everything that made up Luri crumbled away.

"Why... in the world?"

The hands gripping Ferda's neck loosened and fell to her sides.

"Why... I have lived longer... I have served Valdrova longer..."

Her voice was thick with moisture.

"Why does a human like you..."

Luri hated humans.

Human greed had always only caused Valdrova pain.

Ferda was different from those humans.

And yet.

She hated Ferda more than any of those humans.

Why was that?

He was doing this for Valdrova's sake.

He actually had the power to do so.

She found herself hating him to death.

"Why am I... not like you..."

Luri's body collapsed forward.

She didn't want to lean against the body of a man she hated.

But she hated showing him her crying even more than that.

"Hic, sob..."

Luri desperately tried to swallow her sobs.

But knowing she couldn't, she buried her face in his clothes and forced the sounds down.

As Luri frantically shed tears, she caught a faint scent.

A village from long ago that had burned to the ground in a great fire.

The man who had taken in the lone surviving girl from that place.

He smelled like that man.

Ferda returned to Count Concillus's castle with Luri.

"Thank you."

"..."

Luri didn't answer.

She hadn't spoken a word since she finished crying.

"You may head back now."

She gave no affirmation or denial.

Instead, her hands answered for her.

She couldn't let go of his hem.

The anxiety remaining in her heart seeped out through her hands.

"Luri."

"..."

"Are you afraid a war will break out?"

She gave a small nod.

It meant she was worried, but that wasn't all.

"You have no need to worry. If I am right, there will be no war."

"..."

"Return to my fiancée's side. Go back as if nothing happened and prepare a tea party."

"..."

"Can you do that for your master?"

Only then did Luri let go of his collar.

Without saying a single word to the end, she darted away into the sky.

Ferda straightened his clothes and opened the balcony door.

The inside of the castle was already a complete mess.

"Kill that demon bitch right now!"

"Don't just kill her—burn her to death with holy light!"

The furious knights.

"Waaah!! I don't wanna dieee!!"

A pink-haired demon crying loud enough to bring down the castle.

"No, just calm down and listen to me!"

And Zed, sweating profusely as he tried to mediate between them.

"Step aside, Sir Zed!"

"Were you bewitched by that demon bitch!?"

"You damn nepotism knight bastard! Hand her over right now!?"

"Wow, you guys really have no filter! I'm not protecting this bitch, I'm under orders too!?"

"Waaaah, Sir Kniiiight! Please save meee!"

"Hey, you crazy bitch! Stop clinging to my leg and get off! Ugh, seriously, the absolute hell I go through because of that guy!!"

They say there's no noble or lowly work, but accepting this job was a mistake.

Zed regretted it over and over again.

"Hurry up and kill her!"

"Waaaaah!!"

"What in the world is going on?"

"This demon bitch who's worse than a dog hijacked the gate the Regent was supposed to take, causing this whole mess... huh?"

"R-Regent?"

The room instantly went quiet as the Regent, the center of the topic, made his appearance.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"I am fine. My ribs and finger are broken, but otherwise there is no issue."

"That demon was lying, saying you let her in..."

"Waaaah! I told you it wasn't a lie!!"

"It's not a lie. I did let her in. So put away your bloodlust and head back."

"Ah, yes. If you say so..."

"See! I was right! Why did you try to make me out to be a liar! My demon life is seriously so sad, I swear—mph!"

"You've been seriously annoying since earlier, seriously!"

Penelope was practically pouring oil on a burning house.

Zed sealed her mouth shut with a piece of rag.

"I am glad everyone returned safely from the sudden operation. I am fine, so go and rest."

With that, the commotion was brought to a close.

Ferda turned his gaze.

He saw two people.

Zed, who was sweating profusely.

And Penelope, who was dripping with tears and snot.

"You two have something else to do."

* * *

Early dawn at Count Concillus's castle.

The black sky was slowly starting to regain its color.

It was the twilight just before the break of dawn.

Ferda waited without falling asleep.

His ribs were broken and his finger had been snapped.

He had restored his body using healing magic, but the aftereffects left him more fatigued than ever before.

Even so, he fought off his sleepiness and waited.

A moment later, Ferda felt an intruding presence nearby.

"My darling, you're back?"

The Great Demon, Sitri, crept out from the darkness.

"I was so worried that things had gotten tangled up, but it looks like it worked out somehow?"

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I did anything wrong, right?"

"Right, it's not your fault."

Ferda leaned against the backrest and crossed his arms.

"But it seems you were hoping I wouldn't return safely."

"Of course not. I can't do business with a dead man, can I? I waited for your safe return more than anyone else, you know?"

Sitri flashed a seductive smile.

However, her expression was quite different from the one he had seen a few hours ago.

It was impatience.

"Your dog is dead, Sitri."

"My dog? Who are you talking about?"

"Do not play dumb. I know Abel Silverwind is one of your dogs."

"Oh my, that's just too much. Anyone who hates my darling is automatically on the demons' side, is that it? I hate that kind of prejudice, you know..."

She slyly feigned ignorance.

Her eyes curved like waning crescents.

"Even if that Abel were my dog, there's no proof, is there?"

Sitri smiled deeply.

She was right.

There was no proof.

If one made a deal with a demon, a seal or traces of magic power would inevitably be left behind.

Abel had nothing like that.

"If you try to falsely accuse an innocent demon without evidence, do you think that'll work? If you deny it that much, they'll try to put me on the stand as a witness. And then I'll deny it."

"Then I'll be in a tight spot."

"It'll paint a picture that Regent Ferda, who trespassed as he pleased and even committed murder, is dodging responsibility by blaming it all on a demon... And..."

Sitri stealthily crept closer.

"It'll just look like my darling is desperately thrashing around to survive. Even if it doesn't look like that, there's no way the humans will leave you be."

She whispered into Ferda's ear.

"And the one who actually joined hands with a demon was my darling, wasn't it?"

Sitri revealed her true colors.

"You borrowed a demon's magic to sneak into the territory, and you rescued a demon."

Sitri must have already secured that evidence.

From the moment she offered to provide the Bending Bridge, she had laid multiple layers of traps to ensure Ferda had no choice but to get caught in them.

"Our poor, cute Regent."

Sitri caressed Ferda's face.

"Isn't it strange? Why does the saying 'never make a deal with a demon' never change even as the years pass? Because even with so much emphasis, people make the exact same mistake every time."

"..."

"The moment you used my Bending Bridge, you had already crossed a point of no return. If you had asked someone else quicker instead of me, wouldn't this have been avoided?"

She mocked him, claiming all of Ferda's decisions were mistakes.

The momentum was shifting.

A demon always aimed for that opening.

Sitri opened her mouth to make a proposal.

"If, huh..."

Ferda spoke first.

"The word 'if' is a refuge for those who regret their actions."

Ferda raised his head.

"If you do not regret them, there is no need for the word 'if'."

The atmosphere, which seemed to belong to Sitri, changed in an instant.

Sitri felt a sense of alienation from his eyes.

He was so calm that it was impossible to think of him as someone driven into a corner.

She wondered if he was just an idiot who couldn't grasp the situation, but that wasn't it either.

It was undoubtedly a conviction forged from decisiveness.

"Are you planning to go to war or something? Or break off your engagement with Valdrova? Either way, it won't do you any good, will it?"

"There will be no war, and no broken engagement."

Ferda said leisurely.

"Because Abel was a Demon Follower, and the fact that you collaborated remains unchanged."

"Were you even listening to a word I said?"

Sitri was dumbfounded.

"I told you, didn't I? There's no proof. How can they believe my darling when there's no proof? Are they idiots?"

The board was overwhelmingly in Sitri's favor.

She had been holding onto many cards for this very moment.

No matter how he came at her, she was fully prepared to counterattack.

Ferda wasn't an idiot either.

To prevent the fallout that came from making a deal with a demon, Ferda had also made full preparations.

"Right, there is no proof."

But the moment he killed Abel, all those cards had slipped out of his hands.

He had no cards to counter Sitri's cards.

"So."

Instead, what he held in his hand was...

"From now on, you are going to make it."

A dog leash to bind the demon.