Chapter 128 - A Dangerous Person

Garnet, the leader of the Black Bandana, had lived her life keeping one thing firmly in mind.

As long as one set foot on this land, not even saints could avoid getting stained with filth.

From a young age, she had witnessed the ugliest side of humanity.

As the next leader destined to inherit the Black Bandana, she had been forced to grow accustomed to stories far too cruel for a child.

There had even been a time when she lived consumed by hatred and distrust toward humanity.

Yet because she had overcome such harsh circumstances, she had developed an exceptionally calm judgment.

She evaluated everything objectively, predicted what lay ahead, proved her abilities time and again, and ultimately became the finest information broker.

And this was the conclusion Garnet had reached about Ferda.

The instant his younger sister was mentioned, the smile vanished from Zed’s face.

"That’s undoubtedly a lie. He’s simply using knowledge that only you possess to create that necklace and manipulate you."

He is dangerous.

Valdrova’s fiancé.

The lord of Hestia Village.

A great ruler worthy of sheltering an Evil Red Dragon.

People could praise him with titles like those all they wanted, but from everything she had witnessed, she knew exactly what kind of man he truly was.

"That man will use you until you’ve outlived your usefulness... and then he’ll throw you away."

"..."

Like a hunting dog abandoned after catching the rabbit.

"He must have lured you in by promising to help you find your younger sister."

"..."

"Emilia. How do you think he learned that name? If someone wasn’t involved, they could spend their entire life without ever connecting that name to you."

Emilia.

Zed had spent countless days searching for his younger sister, whose fate remained unknown.

He seduced women because he needed money.

He needed money to become a noble.

He wanted to become a noble so he could uncover Emilia’s whereabouts.

’Now that I think about it... it is strange.’

Ferda had known that name.

How was that even possible?

The question spread through his mind like a spark igniting a fresh fuse.

Had Ferda truly known there was a clue about his sister hidden within the Imperial Nation’s vault?

Or had it merely been a trick to draw him in?

More fundamentally, how had he known that Emilia was connected to him in the first place?

’Could it be...’

Was he somehow involved in the massacre of the Red-Eyed Clan?

Was that why Garnet called him dangerous?

Had he been wearing a mask this whole time while manipulating him?

Pfft.

At that moment, Valdrova’s laughter echoed through the air.

The sound pulled Zed out of the swamp of suspicion threatening to swallow him.

"He’s not that kind of person."

"That’s exactly what people who’ve been conned always say."

"I know. That’s how people who get scammed always end up."

Garnet was the leader of the Black Bandana.

The Black Bandana’s intelligence network was so exceptional that it was said to rival the gift of prophecy.

But Zed had remained by Ferda’s side.

Whatever kind of man Garnet believed Ferda to be...

It was unquestionably nothing like the man Zed knew.

"The moon is beautiful."

"I hear tonight is when the moon is at its largest."

The moment Zed heard those words, he instinctively turned his head and clicked his tongue.

"Good grief... what am I supposed to do with that kid..."

"What?"

"Hang on a second. I’m going somewhere. Just wait here."

Zed sprinted off somewhere.

Meanwhile, the conversation continued.

Garnet realized that Ferda and Valdrova both wanted to dance together.

A short while later, Zed returned carrying something in both hands.

"A violin?"

"I asked the orchestra, and they said they had a spare. Here."

He handed something to Garnet.

It was a flute.

"What’s this?"

"A flute. You know how to play, don’t you? We used to perform together."

"So?"

"Let’s head to the garden and play together."

"...You’re telling me to join in as well?"

"Moonlight doesn’t feel right as a solo. It has to be a duet."

"..."

Garnet was genuinely taken aback.

Zed had stepped away midway through the conversation, so he shouldn’t have known.

Valdrova herself had explained the Moonlight Step.

Yet from nothing more than those few words about the beautiful moon...

Had he really figured everything out?

"Didn’t we say we’d be like the Swallows? Let’s see if our performance can prove the harmony we had back then. What do you think?"

"...Haa."

To think he’d use those words at a time like this.

Garnet shot him a resentful glare, but Zed merely answered with his usual sly grin.

Unable to resist his smile, Garnet accepted the flute.

Together, they headed toward the garden, going along with Zed’s plan.

They performed the Moonlight duet, filling the garden with its atmosphere.

Ferda’s eyes met hers.

Then, as though finally making up his mind, he directly invited Valdrova to dance.

The two of them danced.

Beneath the moonlight, the beautiful pair glowed with quiet elegance.

Even Garnet, who always sought information through cold reason, could see nothing but beauty in that scene.

’So this is it...’

Watching them dance, she finally began to understand what had convinced Zed.

Ferda was a cold man.

A man who would never hesitate to kill.

Yet what stood before her now...

Was simply a young man desperately wanting to look good in front of the woman he loved.

The performance came to an end.

Ferda and Valdrova separated and each went their own way.

Watching them with a satisfied smile, Zed quietly muttered,

"If I don’t give that kid a push, then who will? Right?"

Zed let out a sigh, as though it couldn’t be helped.

Still gazing at the pair, Garnet finally spoke.

"Zed."

"Yeah?"

"You certainly understand women."

"Well, it’s the kind of thing where one wrong move can get your head chopped off. I had no choice but to take it seriously."

"Even so, there’s something you don’t understand."

"And what’s that?"

Still grinning, Zed turned his head—

Only to be completely caught off guard.

Beneath the moonlight, Garnet was looking at him with deep, lingering eyes.

Her golden eyes stared directly into his.

For a moment, they seemed as though they wished to tell him something.

Then she abruptly turned her head away.

Zed had no idea what those eyes were trying to say.

***

After savoring the lingering emotions of the moment, Ferda decided to return to the banquet hall.

Even if he planned to retire to his room afterward, he thought it best to show his face for a little while longer.

As he walked down the corridor, he unexpectedly ran into someone he knew.

"Oh! Sir! Where have you been?"

It was Malcolm.

"I took a walk through the garden. What about you?"

"I just went to the restroom. It looked like you were with a lady. How did it go?"

"She went back."

"Huh? But it’s already so late... Isn’t that dangerous?"

Seeing Malcolm’s concern, Ferda blinked.

"You didn’t know? That was Grand Duchess Valdrova—the very person to whom you owe your loyalty."

"What? Th-That was the Red Dragon, Lady Valdrova?! Now that you mention it... the horns on her head...!"

Everyone else had already figured it out.

Only Malcolm was realizing it now.

Ferda let out a sigh.

I should never bring this fool along again.

"Did you complete your assignment?"

"It was a mission given by Your Excellency the Regent, so I gave it everything I had... but I couldn’t finish it."

"Why not?"

"I had to dance with that Arken princess..."

Hearing that, Ferda genuinely became worried.

"Did you eat something strange?"

"No. Everything I ate was delicious..."

Malcolm scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

There was no reason for him to lie, yet it was still difficult to believe him outright.

Ferda looked at Malcolm with pity.

’It seems he’s been under far more stress than I thought.’

When people overworked themselves, they sometimes began hearing voices and seeing things that weren’t there.

Even Malcolm himself seemed aware that what he was saying sounded ridiculous, so he awkwardly brushed it aside.

"A-Anyway... do you have any more orders for me?"

"Hmm..."

Since Ferda had never expected much from Malcolm in the first place, he would have been perfectly satisfied if things simply ended here without incident.

"I do."

But Malcolm clearly wanted to be useful, so Ferda handed him another mission.

"Just give the order!"

"When Her Highness the Grand Duchess was dancing, I heard someone calling her a murderer... and a butcher."

Recalling his earlier conversation with Valdrova, Ferda asked,

"I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but do you have any idea who that person might be?"

"Someone like that...?"

Realistically, it was a question that should have been impossible to answer.

After all, Ferda himself had assumed it might simply have been auditory hallucinations.

He had even been about to tell Malcolm that it had probably been nothing more than a joke, lest the fool start grabbing random people and asking whether they had insulted her.

"I know who that person is."

"...I do."

"Yes. Since Your Excellency the Regent had assigned me that mission, I was keeping an eye on everyone. It was very quiet, but just as I walked past, they muttered it. They laughed as though it were ridiculous, saying, ’Why is a murderer here?’ "

"..."

"It sounded like they were talking to themselves, so I just assumed they were some important noble. I had no idea they were talking about Grand Duchess Valdrova..."

The moment Ferda heard those words, his mind went blank.

Valdrova had told him that she heard voices whenever she was surrounded by people.

He had assumed it was merely psychological pressure.

She herself had believed the same and struggled to overcome it.

’If that’s true... then they weren’t hallucinations after all.’

That meant someone truly existed who was deliberately trying to torment a woman who could no longer distinguish illusion from reality.

"If I were to hear words like that from someone..."

"Malcolm."

Ferda quietly spoke his name.

Even the dim-witted Malcolm recognized the gravity of the situation.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"I know you’re an exceptionally foolish man. But your loyalty is something I value more highly than anyone else’s."

"Th-Thank you...?"

"So answer me honestly. Can you swear there isn’t even the slightest lie in what you just told me?"

"How could I ever lie to Your Excellency the Regent?"

"I don’t believe you’re lying. But if what you’ve just told me is true..."

"...Then I can no longer stand by and do nothing."

Ferda’s thread of reason was hanging by the tip of his little finger.

He wanted to savor the lingering memory of the dance they had shared.

He did not want to stain this night with blood.

"So even now, I am prepared to ask the name of that blasphemous wretch and tear off his head. In other words, that man’s life depends entirely on your answer. So I ask you once more."

Ferda’s voice grew even deeper as he spoke.

"Did you truly hear those words with your own ears?"

His gloomy voice was so oppressive that it could have made someone deny even the truth itself.

But Malcolm did not.

Foolish though he might be, he was still a knight who stood by his convictions.

A knight must give his utmost in carrying out the mission entrusted to him.

And Malcolm had done everything within his power.

"I-I certainly did! I heard it with my own ears!!"

"Then tell me. Who was it?"

"Well... the person was..."

Malcolm clearly spoke the name.

***

The Festival of the Beginning of Spring officially ended before midnight, yet music and laughter continued long past the stroke of twelve.

The fiery passion of youth burned beneath the chandeliers, oblivious to the moon sinking lower into the sky.

Those who had foolishly overestimated their tolerance naturally ended up completely drunk, sprawled all over the castle.

Whenever that happened, the servants who had been watching closely swiftly carried them away and handed them over to the attendants waiting outside.

Of course, not everyone chose to remain for the late-night festivities.

Even as the banquet reached its liveliest point, carriages could occasionally be seen leaving through the Deep Forest.

Some young lords had schedules packed with responsibilities as part of their heir training.

Others belonged to conservative families that did not even permit them to spend the night in another noble’s castle.

The night belonged to monsters.

But that posed no problem for them.

Their escorts were the elite warriors representing each noble house.

Protecting everything on the ground was their duty.

Boom!

But not everything could be stopped.

Something descended from the sky toward one of the carriages.

"Cough! Cough...!"

"I-It’s an ambush!"

"Young Master!"

Despite the tremendous force with which it had crashed down, the carriage was only half destroyed.

At that speed, not only the carriage but everyone inside should have been reduced to pulp.

Yet the wooden wheels remained intact.

Only the roof had been torn away.

There was no time to admire such exquisite precision.

The only thing that mattered was the information before them.

Whatever it was...

The attack had deliberately targeted the carriage carrying the young noble.

And whatever had fallen from the sky...

It was not a cannonball.

It was a living creature.

"Crossbowmen! Fire!"

The elite crossbowmen, who had been ready to fire at a moment’s notice, simultaneously aimed their crossbows at the intruder.

Fwoosh!

Bolts were launched from bowstrings so powerful that each crossbow normally required both hands just to draw.

They moved faster than sound...

Yet slower than light.

A single blue flash streaked across the moonlit night.

Every bolt was sliced cleanly in half before falling harmlessly to the ground.

They had expected as much.

Their opponent was no ordinary being.

The captain of the guard drew his sword, Aura erupting around him.

"You filthy monster! I’ll stain my blade with your blood—gh!"

His sword was drawn.

But that was all.

The captain could not move.

Even he found it strange.

He was a knight of a ducal house.

He had graduated first in his class at the Knight Academy, surpassing over a hundred gifted cadets.

He had fought through countless battlefields, proving his courage and earning the title Lightning Tiger.

His fighting spirit was unwavering.

His martial skill was exceptional.

Yet he soon understood.

Compared to the being standing before him...

None of that mattered.

No matter how extraordinary he might be...

He was still merely exceptional among ordinary humans.

He remained bound by the limits of mankind.

There existed beings that humans could never oppose...

No matter how much courage they summoned.

And the being before his eyes was one of them.

The forest was dark.

Beneath the leaves lay darkness as black as the abyss itself.

Within that darkness stood the silhouette of a young girl.

Behind her loomed the outline of enormous wings several times larger than her body.

Glittering gray eyes.

Strange pupils split vertically.

"Ah..."

Even in the uncertainty of the night, where the senses were dulled...

They recognized her existence with perfect clarity.

And the word escaped their lips.

"A... A Dragon!"

The knights, who had bravely formed their battle formation only moments before, lost all will to fight.

Several of them wet themselves.

Even the captain of the guard could barely remain standing.

’If I swing my sword...No...If I show even the slightest Killing Intent...’

That girl would sever his head without the slightest hesitation.

The girl said nothing.

She simply reached into the shattered carriage.

Then she hoisted something onto her shoulder as casually as if it were baggage.

It was the young noble they had been sworn to protect.

Whoosh!

Then, just as swiftly as she had descended...

She vanished into the night.

The entire sequence of events had taken less than a minute.

The escort had failed.

And the young lord had been kidnapped.