Chapter 126 - Growing Old Together

Ferda took Valdrova’s hand and led her away.

The only thing that came to mind was the phrase a quiet place.

So Ferda headed toward somewhere quiet.

They arrived at the castle garden.

Bathed in the beautiful moonlight, it was the perfect place for a secret rendezvous.

Perhaps because everyone was engrossed in the ball, not a single person was in the garden.

A dry spring breeze brushed against his skin.

His forehead felt cold.

Cold sweat had gathered across it in tiny beads.

Valdrova gently released Ferda’s hand and walked ahead.

After taking about four steps forward, she slowly crouched down and buried her face in her knees.

Like a young noble lady weeping in sorrow.

"...Haa..."

The sound of her sniffling filled the silence.

The Shadow Circle stirred at that sound.

The regret that had been separated began to move within Ferda’s heart.

Ferda wanted to look away from her sorrowful figure, but he forced himself to keep watching.

Just as this woman had faced her own circumstances, he too could not run from them.

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry for making you so sad.

Strangely, those words would not come out.

The sound of her sniffling, the sound of her swallowing back her tears, tightened around his throat instead.

"Ferda..."

It was Valdrova who spoke first.

"Please, go ahead."

"...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 heard nothing.

"They were calling me a murderer... whispering behind my back... Didn’t you hear them?"

Ferda clenched his fist.

Valdrova’s hearing far surpassed that of humans.

She could clearly hear even the fluttering wings of a tiny gnat.

If so, whispers like those would certainly have reached her ears.

Rage enveloped his entire body.

They dared to speak like that after setting foot in the land of the Grand Duchess?

Who the hell were they?

I don’t care what family you belong to.

If I find out who you are, I’ll kill you with my own hands.

-Don’t hesitate.

-Those things insulted your woman.

A voice echoed beside Ferda’s ear.

Although the Shadow Circle itself was not moving, it was urging him toward action.

Which meant such actions would only lead to more regret.

’Is this dangerous thinking?’

Ferda forcibly calmed himself.

If he let his emotions control him, they would lead to mistakes, and those mistakes would snowball like a snowball rolling down from a mountaintop.

Watching himself from a distance, if only briefly, he regained his reason.

’Even if they were immature, they couldn’t possibly be fools.’

If gossiping about the host merely ended with their heads rolling, that would be fortunate.

It could just as easily lead to the destruction of their entire territory.

If they were noble sons and daughters so foolish they couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, they would never have been allowed into a gathering attended by every noble.

And this was a Dragon.

A Dragon that most people would never have the chance to see even once in their lifetime.

An Evil Red Dragon renowned for its ferocity.

No one would have the courage to utter such words.

So he answered,

"I didn’t hear anything."

Valdrova let out a relieved sigh.

"That’s a relief. I guess I imagined it again."

"What do you mean by again...?"

"Well... Whenever I go somewhere with lots of people, I always hear voices. They call me a murderer... a butcher... They scream at me..."

She took a deep breath.

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

Ferda didn’t know it, but Valdrova had been helping build villages.

Back then, there had been no problems.

Because she hadn’t been Valdrova.

She had simply been an ordinary Armored Knight clad in armor and possessing overwhelming strength.

The people respected and admired that Armored Knight as though she were a legendary hero.

"But it wasn’t."

The Armored Knight and Valdrova could never be the same.

The labels attached to her past remained visible in the eyes of others.

Murderer.

Butcher.

The flames that burn everything.

Evil Red Dragon... Evil Red Dragon... Evil Red Dragon...

"That isn’t true. No one is cursing Your Highness. Those events are simply too far in the past for humans."

They had happened a full one hundred and fifty years ago.

Unless they were a high-ranking mage like Erdes Roton, almost no one who had lived through that era was still alive.

"I know. I know people wouldn’t dare say those things to my face. But... if..."

Her voice trembled with emotion.

"If someone really said those words to me... then I..."

She swallowed the lump rising in her throat, unable to finish her sentence.

Again and again she forced back the choking sobs before continuing.

"So... I thought I’d just watch from far away."

Ferda could picture it vividly.

Her watching him through the window...

Making sure she stayed far enough away not to be noticed.

The place he had wanted to create for her...

Yet she had become nothing more than an outsider looking in.

"I only wanted... to watch Ferda standing at the banquet... But then... I suddenly saw it. You... asking Olivia... to dance."

Just as he thought.

That had been the breaking point.

"The Imperial Princess of Arken means nothing to me. Asking her to dance was simply my duty as the host."

Ferda answered firmly.

He hoped his sincerity would reach her, but it wasn’t enough to soothe her grief.

"But... the two of you looked so perfect together."

"Olivia Arken is nothing compared to you."

"No!"

Valdrova suddenly raised her voice.

"The Imperial Princess is intelligent, elegant, graceful, always smiling... She’s the kind of woman everyone admires, isn’t she!?"

"..."

"Look at me! This fool who barely managed to gather her courage! Hiding behind a mask... Unable to even show her face to anyone... Not even to her own fiancé... Pathetically getting jealous... And then..."

Valdrova covered her eyes with her hand.

"...Crying like this..."

"..."

"And then I danced so terribly that I stepped on your feet over and over..."

The reason she was suffering so much wasn’t because she thought Ferda had betrayed her.

It was self-loathing.

She blamed every single thing on herself.

The rumors connecting Ferda and Olivia...

Her own fault.

Being unable to dance...

Also her own fault.

After living isolated from the world for so long, her shattered self-esteem only grew worse with every mistake she made.

Ferda knew she carried deep pain.

And embracing that pain was his responsibility.

’In a place where even taking a single step forward was difficult...’

Ferda had dragged her out.

Simply to stop useless rumors, he had placed an unbearable burden on the heart of a woman who knew nothing.

I’m the worst fiancé.

"Iorga was right. I’m a girl who ruins everything she touches."

"That isn’t true. It’s simply not true that Your Highness ruins everything."

"You don’t have to say things you don’t mean."

"I mean every word sincerely."

Ferda stepped forward.

"Your Highness, do you remember what you told me? That you didn’t know what would happen if you let go of this hand."

"..."

"I didn’t let go. And neither did Your Highness. So what happened?"

"..."

"You didn’t run away. You didn’t scream pathetically, either."

"..."

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

Those words seemed to comfort her.

Her sobbing gradually subsided.

"Though... perhaps the dancing really was rather foolish."

"Ugh..."

"But at the very least, no one thought Your Highness was the fool."

"...Why?"

Ferda answered calmly.

"Because I was the one flapping around like a chicken in a burning henhouse."

"Pfft...!"

A laugh escaped through her tearful voice.

For a moment, everything became quiet, as though her breathing had stopped, before Valdrova turned toward him.

All he could see was her white mask.

But he knew that behind it, the sadness was gone.

"We probably both looked ridiculous."

"That’s right."

"Two fools."

"Yes."

Her crying had disappeared, replaced by laughter.

The gloomy atmosphere had completely vanished.

Valdrova stood up, and Ferda quietly walked over to her side.

"Ferda..."

Ferda turned his head.

With her small frame, she was looking up at him.

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

Very much.

"There’s only the two of us here... And you’ve always wanted to see my face... So... I think... it would be alright if I showed you today..."

With a shy gesture, she reached up to remove her mask.

Beyond it was the face Ferda had only ever imagined.

Not a vision born of fantasy, but the real her before his eyes.

"No."

Almost instinctively, Ferda reached out and caught the hand trying to remove the mask.

Valdrova looked startled.

"Why?"

Why indeed?

Even Ferda didn’t know.

His body had moved before he could think.

So he thought about the answer himself.

Then it came to him.

"There are still tears left in your eyes, aren’t there?"

"I... suppose there are...?"

"Then you mustn’t."

The first time they met, her face had been stained with tears.

He didn’t want the next time he saw that face to be filled with tears again.

"I knew it... I must look pathetic when I cry."

Her spirits sank again.

That wasn’t it.

If he truly thought her crying looked pathetic...

He would have beaten himself to death for thinking such a thing.

Ferda desperately searched for the right words.

There didn’t seem to be any excuse he could make.

Then, suddenly, he remembered something Zed had once said.

"My knight told me that if your first impression of someone is seeing them cry, then the second time, you should see them smiling. Weren’t you crying when we first met?"

"Uh... Y-Yes, I was."

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

"I-I see."

After hearing that, Valdrova stopped trying to remove her mask.

Ferda looked so desperately serious that she accepted his explanation.

Even so, she was incredibly curious about the reason.

"Then what happens if you see me smiling?"

Ferda answered,

"They say you’ll grow old together."

He expected her to be happy or perhaps embarrassed.

Instead, disappointment appeared in her voice.

"Only a hundred years...?"

"...What?"

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

What kind of silly thing is that to say...?

Then he realized he had forgotten that Valdrova’s sense of time was different.

To humans, a hundred years was essentially an entire lifetime.

To her, it was little different from a single year.

So to Valdrova, it must have sounded like he was saying they would only stay together for one year.

Apparently finding that unacceptable, she asked in an unusually serious voice,

"Then..."

"Yes?"

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

For a moment, Ferda was left speechless.

Valdrova continued asking in her innocent voice.

"Could it last a thousand years?"

She shook her head.

"No, a thousand years is still too short. I think it should be at least ten thousand years."

"...I’m sure it could."

Ferda answered absentmindedly.

But Valdrova’s mood visibly brightened.

"Then I’ll do my best to smile as brightly as I can. Because... I want to spend ten thousand years together with you, Ferda."

She was the kind of woman who, if you pointed at the moon, would only stare at your finger.

Yet even in such hopelessly simple-minded innocence, Ferda found her unbearably lovable.

The Shadow Circle no longer stirred.

Instead, the Red Circle spun wildly on its own.

Ferda had to suppress his feelings with everything he had, lest they overflow and ruin the moment.

It was unbearable.

He was unbearably happy.

Ferda had never imagined he would one day experience emotions like these.

Perhaps his feelings had somehow reached her.

Still smiling, she quietly turned her head and looked up at the sky.

"The moon... is beautiful."

"They say tonight is the night when the moon is at its largest."

"I-Is that so?"

An awkward silence followed.

It didn’t seem like that was what she had intended to talk about.

He must have caught her foolishness somehow.

"Moonlight Step..."

"Yes."

"They say it’s most beautiful when danced beneath the moon..."

"I-Is... that so?"

Even a fool could understand what she was trying to say.

Valdrova’s fingers fidgeted nervously.

Ferda’s hand hanging at his side wouldn’t stay still either.

Neither of them could bring themselves to say the words outright.

It was naturally Ferda’s role to invite her to dance.

But there was a reason he couldn’t ask so casually.

Ferda wasn’t good at dancing.

Olivia was so skilled she could dance while humming the melody to herself.

He wasn’t.

If Ferda was going to dance beneath this moonlit sky, he needed music.

Just as she hoped for another chance...

He also didn’t want to waste the opportunity now that it had come.

Then—

The elegant sound of a violin drifted through the night breeze.

Ferda quietly turned his head toward its source.

There stood a tall figure playing the violin.

It was Zed.

He played with remarkable skill.

But a violin alone wasn’t enough.

Soon, the clear sound of a flute joined in, blending together in perfect harmony.

A woman seated beside Zed was playing it.

Garnet.

The music they created together was a waltz called "Moonlight."

The dance born from that piece was the Moonlight Step.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

They had just been talking about the Moonlight Step, and suddenly Moonlight itself began playing.

So they’ve been listening the whole time.

Come to think of it, this was the very place where Zed had hidden while intimidating those young nobles.

Of course they had overheard Ferda and Valdrova’s conversation.

Well... I suppose it doesn’t matter.

Instead of feeling annoyed, Ferda focused on the message Zed was sending him.

As his knight, Zed was giving him the push he needed.

Ferda had to seize the opportunity.

"Your Highness Grand Duchess Valdrova."

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

"Would you honor me with this dance?"

And a chance to move forward together.

Valdrova answered as brightly as the morning sun.

"Yes...!"

Their hands overlapped once more.

Excitement settled between them.

The beating of their hearts became a joyful rhythm, while his fingers savored the warmth of her skin.

Beneath the moonlit sky, the two danced together to the beautiful melody.

Even if the social gathering at the Festival of the Beginning of Spring had been a complete disaster...

Even if their clumsy dancing had been exposed for all to see...

Here, in a place where no one could find them, they were perfect for one another.

That alone was enough.

As the final notes of Moonlight faded away, they bowed politely to each other, bringing the dance to its end.

Though they released each other’s hands, their eyes lingered on one another.

"Ferda..."

"Yes?"

"I think... I should be going now..."

"Is that so?"

Her clasped hands fidgeted shyly.

"It’s not because I don’t want to see you... It’s just... I can’t quite keep myself under control right now..."

Ferda felt exactly the same.

He wanted nothing more than to be alone for a while and quietly savor the lingering emotions.

Yet, contrary to what his heart desired, his body refused to move.

Their hands shifted ever so slightly, their fingertips reluctant to part.

It took considerable effort—and time—before they finally separated completely.

"Please return safely."

"Yes."

She walked toward the edge of the garden, where the cliff overlooked the darkness below.

Feeling that it wasn’t right to watch Valdrova leap from the cliff, Ferda turned away.

It was time to return to the ballroom.

"Ferda!"

Valdrova’s voice, filled with newfound courage, stopped him in his tracks.

Ferda turned around.

She stood atop the railing, with the moon hanging above her head.

Ready to leap at any moment, she slowly reached up to her face.

Then she removed her mask.

At that instant, the dark blue night was suddenly filled with brilliant color.

Ferda was overwhelmed by the surreal, almost supernatural sight before him.

He searched desperately for the one word that could describe what he was seeing.

Yes.

It was the sun.

The warm light and gentle heat that melts frozen earth and coaxes new buds into bloom.

Hidden behind that mask had been a radiant smile, as warm as the sun itself.

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

"..."

"Th-That was a silly question. Then... I’ll be going now!"

Flushed with embarrassment, she threw herself off the cliff.

Ferda’s soul, which had practically left his body, showed no intention of returning.

He stared blankly at the place where she had disappeared.

Then his legs gave out beneath him.

He collapsed onto the ground.

"...Heatstroke, perhaps..."

His face was burning red, and his mind felt dizzy.

There could be no doubt.

A small laugh escaped Ferda’s lips.

Lying there alone, he gazed absentmindedly at the stars above.

"...Did you see that?"

It was a question cast into empty space.

The one he addressed was the voice dwelling deep within him.

The voice he had ignored for so long.

For the very first time, Ferda spoke to it before it spoke to him.

The voice remained completely silent.

That was fine.

To Ferda, that silence was no different from a sweet victory.

The victor mocked the defeated.

"No matter how wildly you struggle... you’ll never be able to defeat that woman."