Chapter 127 - Questions

As Ferda and Valdrova left the banquet hall, the atmosphere gradually came back to life.

It took some time before people began laughing and chatting again, but every conversation revolved around Valdrova.

"I never thought I’d actually see a Dragon in my lifetime..."

"She wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I expected."

"I heard she was an Evil Red Dragon, so I thought I’d freeze the moment I saw her..."

"Oh, I was definitely terrified. I thought my heart was going to stop."

She had crimson hair and a figure not much different from that of an ordinary woman.

Yet the two pairs of horns that clearly distinguished her from everyone else overwhelmed them, making them realize they had witnessed a Dragon—a being most people would never see even once in their lives.

Everyone had expected the ballroom, a place meant for laughter and merriment, to become stiff and lifeless.

At least, that was what they had thought before seeing that.

"She was incredibly bad at dancing."

"Seriously. The Regent wasn’t any better."

The image of the two of them stepping on each other’s feet and displaying the worst possible coordination remained vividly etched into everyone’s memory.

One could argue that such a clumsy display was a blemish an immortal should never leave behind.

But Olivia did not see it that way.

’It left behind a question.’

That one awkward dance had instead cast doubt upon Valdrova’s fearsome reputation.

Could a Dragon capable of making such painfully human mistakes truly be more evil than Godwin?

’There’s no way she calculated all of this...’

Everything had happened on impulse.

Olivia had sensed it from the moment Valdrova suddenly appeared.

That an immortal was jealous of someone as insignificant as a mere mortal like herself.

Olivia had spent her entire life receiving the jealousy of noble ladies.

But Valdrova’s jealousy felt completely different.

’Admiration.’

Like a young country girl dreaming of becoming the princess from a fairy tale.

Valdrova genuinely wished to become someone like Olivia.

It was an incredibly pure feeling.

"I like pure people."

Ferda’s words suddenly resurfaced in her mind.

Was this what he had meant by purity?

A foolish woman who became jealous of nothing more than a human princess, barged into the ballroom, and forced herself to dance despite barely knowing how.

The entire situation was so overwhelmingly sincere that Olivia could not believe any of it had been calculated.

’I was wrong.’

She had mistaken his smile for the cheap smile of every other man.

Worse still, she had nearly destroyed both herself and Ferda together.

Like a devout believer losing their faith and becoming a fanatical heretic.

"Hmm..."

Olivia could not bring herself to lower the fan covering her lips.

Now that she realized her judgment had been mistaken, she needed to salvage the mess she had created.

In the end, Ferda would probably remain unharmed.

But Olivia herself was still in trouble.

By accepting his invitation to dance, she had practically announced to everyone that she had feelings for him.

Olivia began thinking rapidly.

’...Good.’

A scenario instantly formed in her mind.

That scenario required someone expendable.

Someone easy to use and easy to discard.

A man who knew his place.

A foolish man.

Someone who could be used without causing any future trouble.

As she searched the crowd, one particular man caught her eye.

"Y-Your Highness?"

Leaving the circle of admirers surrounding the Golden Rose, Olivia walked across the ballroom toward him.

He was a knight dressed in a vest, yet even among the knights he stood out.

Unfortunately, not in a good way.

His clothes were stylish, but the rustic aura surrounding him simply could not be hidden.

"Sir Knight?"

"Y-Yes, Y-Your Highness?!"

"Your name."

"My... name?"

"Introduce yourself. I already know who you are, but I’d like to hear you say it."

The man introduced himself in a trembling voice.

"I-I am Malcolm of Peach Hill."

Malcolm’s face turned as pale as though he had choked on something.

"H-Have I... d-done something wrong, Your Highness...?"

"You haven’t done anything wrong."

"I simply came to ask whether you would honor me with a dance."

"A-a-a-a dance?!"

His loud outburst immediately drew everyone’s attention.

"It looks like Her Highness invited him to dance."

"What’s going on?"

"The Princess invited that knight..."

The young nobles watched the scene with expressions of utter disbelief.

They had expected him to panic and embarrass himself.

The reality far exceeded their expectations.

Covering her mouth with her fan, Olivia spoke to him.

"You’re a knight, aren’t you?"

"Y-Yes."

"Then there is a duty you must fulfill."

"A duty...?"

He was still bewildered, but at least it seemed they could have a conversation.

Olivia continued.

"My conversation with the Regent became rather complicated."

"So now someone has to take the blame."

"And that someone is you."

"M-Me... t-take the blame?"

"For the Regent."

"If you’re truly a knight, surely you can do at least that?"

Looking at him with pleading eyes, Olivia made her request.

The moment Malcolm heard the words for the Regent, his attitude changed completely.

"I-I am Malcolm of Peach Hill!"

"For the Regent, I’d gladly do anything."

"But... I-I’m terrible at dancing."

"Would that be acceptable?"

It was actually the ideal situation.

"That’s perfectly fine."

"Just move exactly as I tell you."

"U-Understood!"

"Then escort me."

And so Malcolm escorted Olivia.

The moment he took her hand, the entire ballroom erupted into murmurs.

"My goodness..."

"Lady Olivia is dancing..."

People even forgot the dances they had been performing as they stared.

The woman every man admired had broken her own rule.

Everyone had always known that someday she would eventually dance with another man.

But what shocked them most was that the man was someone no one could possibly accept.

"Why the hell is it that guy...?"

"I could dance dozens of times better than him..."

Every eye remained fixed on Olivia and Malcolm.

Everything unfolded exactly according to Olivia’s calculations.

’He’s even worse at dancing than I expected.’

True to a man with absolutely no experience around women, Malcolm danced atrociously.

He was constantly either half a beat behind or ahead of the music.

Olivia had to force every movement just to make it resemble a dance.

’The Regent was like this too.’

The memory of that day suddenly resurfaced.

Thinking back to it, Olivia unexpectedly found herself enjoying the moment.

She removed her mask and smiled sincerely.

After all, this moment itself was nothing less than an unreal fantasy.

No one would even know whose smile it truly was.

They would simply wander, unable to understand it.

Thus, the answer to the question of who would share Princess Olivia’s first dance became Malcolm, a knight of Valdrova Castle.

And with that, the rumors surrounding Ferda and Olivia would quietly fade away.

Though Malcolm would later receive countless anonymous threatening letters, that was a story for another time.

***

Meanwhile, Valdrova Castle was bustling with excitement during the Festival of the Beginning of Spring.

Built for a Dragon, the enormous castle contained countless hidden corners beyond anyone’s notice.

Those secluded places were now filled with men and women whispering sweet words of love.

"Oh... we mustn’t do this."

"This maiden already belongs to another..."

"Forget that old man."

"At least for tonight."

"If we continue, I’ll be committing a terrible sin."

"I’ll have no face to meet Lady Alte again."

"I’ll bear your sins for you."

"So please... entrust yourself to me."

"Ah... Marquis!"

A shameless exchange between two lovers in a place where they believed no one could hear them.

Never once imagining that someone was secretly listening.

"What sin? You’re going to lose your head."

Zed Swallow.

Surrounded by numerous Communication Crystals, he casually cracked open peanuts.

These were the Communication Crystals Penelope and Zed had secretly installed in every location chosen for romantic rendezvous.

Every conversation that took place there reached Zed’s ears and was automatically recorded.

"I thought this would be entertaining."

"But I’m already getting bored."

The couples’ conversations were always the same.

Family conflicts.

Differences in social status.

Or the empty boasting of men and women desperately trying to sleep together.

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

Not just any farce.

A third-rate play.

The kind of cheap melodrama village women would gossip about while beating laundry by the river.

Watching people justify themselves from the perspective of a third party made him feel sick.

As he looked at their pathetic behavior, he muttered,

"Still... I’m better than those idiots."

"You’re exactly the same. What kind of bullshit are you talking about?"

"Gah!"

A familiar voice that absolutely should not have been there sounded from behind him.

Turning around, he saw a dark-skinned woman standing there.

Reflexively, he blurted out her name.

"Pindteeth..."

Smack!

"Ow! Why?!"

"I warned you not to use that name."

"If you still used it, wasn’t that basically asking to be hit?"

"But it has such a nice ring to it."

"It perfectly expresses the relationship between you and me."

Seeing him grin shamelessly, Garnet sighed.

"I see you still haven’t learned your lesson."

"Should I keep hitting you until you come to your senses?"

"Anywhere but the face."

His cheeky attitude was so irritating that it actually took the wind out of her sails.

Garnet sat down beside him.

Seeing her act completely calm without the slightest hint of surprise, Zed became certain.

"So it was you."

"What was?"

"When the Regent suddenly ordered us to catch everyone having secret rendezvous, I wondered whose idea it was."

"It was yours, wasn’t it?"

"Yes."

"Sigh..."

"When you’re a Grand Duchess, there have to be better things to do than gathering trash like this."

"So why make us do something like this?"

"Because nothing maintains balance better than holding someone’s children as collateral."

"If you want to extend your political lifespan, you need leverage like this."

"Sigh..."

"Because of you, I’m stuck doing all this hard work."

"I could’ve been off having fun with other women."

"But instead I’m doing this..."

As he continued complaining, Garnet stared at him expressionlessly and spoke a single word.

"Bitter?"

"Oh, come on, as if."

"Haha."

"Isn’t this exactly why office work is so great?"

"I just sit here enjoying the easy life."

The moment Garnet’s expression turned dangerous, Zed immediately backed down.

"What about your contractor?"

"Is he working somewhere else?"

"That guy should still be inside the ballroom."

"Listening in on other people’s conversations like you?"

"He has a different role."

"By now he’s probably gathered all the noble ladies into something called the ’Victims of Zed Swallow Association’."

Garnet tilted her head.

"And what exactly is that supposed to accomplish?"

"Once everyone’s drunk, they’re apparently going to create a ’Garden’."

She didn’t bother asking what that meant.

Garnet already knew that Penelope was Sitri’s daughter.

The term "Garden" was undoubtedly some kind of vulgar euphemism.

"So, what exactly did you do for them to form a victims’ association?"

"Nothing much. I just dumped them in the banquet hall."

Smack!

"Ow! Why?!"

"I just hit you on behalf of every woman on the Cerdes Continent. Got a problem with that?"

"N-No. Next time, at least give me some warning before you hit me, Representative."

Displaying the attitude of someone completely at the bottom of the hierarchy, Zed returned to his work.

Just then, one of the crystals connected to the garden lit up.

"Holy shit."

"Hm?"

"I think the Grand Duchess, who was nowhere to be seen with the Regent, just showed up at one of the rendezvous spots."

The Grand Duchess.

The Red Dragon, Valdrova.

True to the leader of an intelligence organization, Garnet’s eyes sparkled.

"Don’t turn it off."

"Record everything. Let’s hear it."

"Obviously."

"What kind of idiot would pass up an opportunity this good?"

The two of them pressed their ears close to the Communication Crystal.

The conversation coming through was crystal clear.

Valdrova’s sniffling and Ferda’s flustered attempts to comfort her reached them without any filtering.

"Just as I expected."

"What do you mean, ’as expected’?"

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

Hearing those words, Zed nearly jumped.

"Please, say that right in front of our Regent someday."

"I doubt he’d mind."

"From what I’ve learned about his personality, he’d probably appreciate information like this."

"Whatever you do, don’t mention my name before I lose my head."

Zed jokingly pretended to back away.

Garnet sighed as though dealing with a child.

"You idiot."

"Do you really think I’d sell information like this to someone?"

"Wouldn’t you?"

"Have you lost your mind?"

Garnet answered with a serious expression.

"If I leaked this information, every Dragon would become obsessed with wiping out the Black Bandana."

"Why?"

"Because I’d be selling the means to bring disaster upon the continent."

"Huh?"

"Wouldn’t it just become something people make fun of?"

"Stop thinking of her as a Dragon."

"Think of her as a woman with very low self-esteem."

"Someone just like any other person."

"If someone keeps getting ridiculed, over and over, until they’re finally cornered..."

"What do you think happens when they finally snap?"

Having known countless women, Zed could vividly picture exactly what she meant.

"...That would be a disaster."

When someone’s self-esteem is utterly destroyed and they lose their mind, they stop caring about everything else.

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

She had caused, in only a few hours, nearly half the destruction that Godwin had inflicted over several years.

The only reason she had stopped was because Silverwind’s death brought her back to her senses.

Zed didn’t forget to praise Garnet’s judgment.

"As expected of the leader of the Black Bandana."

"I always thought your analytical skills were incredible."

"I knew it."

"I’m an information broker."

"When information reaches me, it’s my job to process it."

Garnet replied as though it were only natural.

"By the way."

Just when Zed thought the conversation had ended, Garnet casually asked,

"Have you ever thought about working with me?"

"W-What kind of joke is that...?"

Zed chuckled at her proposal.

But the moment he looked into her eyes, he realized something.

There wasn’t a trace of humor in them.

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

"I can pay you as much as you want."

"I could even make you a genuine noble, not just a knight."

"Everyone over there is trying to kill me."

"How could I possibly join?"

"I can shut all of them up."

"They’ve been getting on my nerves ever since they started making such a fuss."

"It won’t be difficult."

Although Zed subtly expressed his refusal, Garnet’s gaze never wavered.

It was obvious she truly didn’t want to let him go.

"Just like when we were with the Swallows."

"You and me."

"As partners."

Garnet gently hooked one finger around his hand.

"You’re the only person I can entrust my life to."

"And you’re probably the only person who can entrust your life to me."

The mercenary group, the Swallows.

Just as Garnet remembered those days vividly, so did Zed.

"I do miss those days."

"But I can’t."

"Why not?"

"Because I’ve already sworn my oath as a knight."

"Since when did you ever believe in things like that?"

"I didn’t."

Zed laughed as though even he found himself ridiculous.

"But people say a position changes a person."

"And... it really does."

Zed had always wanted nothing more than a stepping stone into the nobility.

Having dealt with countless nobles, he believed he could imitate them perfectly.

But after becoming a knight, he discovered a sense of duty he had never felt during his days as a swindler.

And he didn’t want to treat that duty lightly.

Seeing that expression on his face, Garnet grew serious.

"Get a grip, Zed Swallow."

Garnet thought to herself,

This man still doesn’t truly understand who Ferda really is.

"I’m only telling you this."

"That man..."

"...Is far too dangerous for anyone to remain by his side."