Chapter 392: Nidavellir (3)
Chapter 392: Nidavellir (3)
Fay had apparently used up every ounce of her strength, as she melted into a puddle the moment we reached the room.
Elisha, standing in for the exhausted Fay, vented her fury.
“I mean, what kind of family is this?! I get that Fay is an illegitimate child, and I get that they might dislike her because she’s the only one ‘gloomily’ stirring an alchemy cauldron while everyone else is obsessed with hammers. But this is too much!”
“Ugh…”
Fay, who had been knocked back by the shield earlier, squirmed at the words. However, since it was all true, she had no rebuttal and simply slumped back down.
Regardless of whether the person in question was whimpering or not, Elisha pounded on the bed she was sitting on, unable to contain her indignation.
She did scowl at the cloud of dust that billowed up and cast Clean on the entire room, though.
“In any case, it’s absurd enough that a mere resident of the territory would glare at her, but for the Head Attendant—someone who directly serves the Yarl—to look down on Miss Fay like that? How dare he!”
“Mm-hmm. Elisha is right. Regardless of the circumstances, Lady Yarnshard carries the blood of the Yarl. Their current treatment of her is no different from spitting in their master’s face. What on earth is Lokan Yarl doing?”
Iris nodded in agreement, her aura quite menacing. She looked ready to hunt him down if she knew where he was.
The others had similar reactions, though their ways of expressing it differed.
Iona’s fangs glinted behind a meaningful smile; Helena was fiddling with her mace while reciting a prayer; and Carla was stroking the slave imprint on her neck, muttering that insulting Fay—her man’s woman—was the same as insulting me.
They were so enraged that I suspected a violent confrontation would have broken out if I hadn't stepped in first.
…Well, Dragon Fear is more of a show of force than a confrontation, so that’s fine, right?
As I nodded to myself, Fay—who was slightly intimidated by the murderous atmosphere despite knowing they were angry on her behalf—spoke up with a tremble.
“E-everyone, calm down! It wasn’t this bad in the past…”
“It wasn’t this bad? Then what was it like back then, Senior Fay?”
“Well…”
Fay crawled across the bed and rested her head on my lap before continuing.
“Before I left this house, it was more like… they just wouldn’t meet my eyes. They wouldn’t talk to me. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they acted like they couldn’t hear me no matter what I said. There was never this kind of blatant mockery.”
In other words, the treatment had worsened.
“…That’s strange.”
“You’re right, Master. Senior Fay proved her abilities at the Academy, and even putting that aside, she is your exclusive artisan.”
“And it’s well-known that Fay and I are in a relationship. After all, I publicly exposed the Spy of the Boiling Silence while helping her.”
God Killer, Half-Dragon, Saint of the Church of Righteous Light, Son of Cyclic Life, Hero of the Empire, Duke of Lindelheit, and so on.
Since I spent most of my time holed up in dungeons, training rooms, or the bedroom, I didn't often feel the weight of it… but all those flashy titles pointed to me.
Having recently shown my face at various social gatherings, I had realized that the weight of those titles was by no means light.
And Fay was my lover. I had personally demonstrated that I was willing to become an enemy of the Evil God for her sake.
Unless they were insane, would they really take indirect jabs at Fay right in front of me?
“I thought they were just slipping back into old habits unconsciously, even though they were trying to restrain themselves because Master was there.”
“I thought the same. I wondered how they must treat Senior Fay when she’s alone if they act like this even in front of me.”
As I frowned at the rising unpleasantness, Fay let out her signature gloomy giggle, looking strangely pleased.
“Hehehe…”
“What are you so happy about?”
“Just… because Junior looked a little cool when he got angry earlier?”
“Geez, you find the strangest things cool. I was genuinely pissed off.”
“Well, you always smirk at my bouncing chest whenever I’m rolling around complaining about how hard things are.”
“Ahem. That’s because your body is just too lewd, Senior.”
“It’s the same for you. I’m still half-dwarf, you know? But you protected me with Dragon Fear? I can’t help but be impressed.”
“Right. Speaking of which… it seems like Dwarves are particularly weak to Dragon Fear. That’s not just my imagination, is it?”
At my question, Fay, who had been rolling around on the bed, slowly sat up. It seemed she had recovered enough to stop being a puddle.
“Yeah. Dwarves actually react very sensitively to Dragon Fear.”
“That’s interesting… Don’t they usually resist the fear of other monsters?”
“You know your stuff! A seasoned warrior won’t flinch even in front of giant monsters like Cyclopes, Ogres, or Behemoths. Dragons are the only exception.”
Come to think of it, when Fay entered Paracelsus’s dungeon before, she moved perfectly fine even when facing powerful monsters.
In fact, she had been gleeful about the prospect of obtaining good materials.
It might not have been just because Fay had the temperament of a mad scientist, but a trait inherent to Dwarves.
Just as I was nodding at this new piece of knowledge, Fay’s next words made my jaw drop.
“Because every Dwarf who resisted Dragon Fear ended up dead!”
“Ah.”
Usually, only those who resist fear and win survive to pass on their genes. If they can’t resist, they become a monster’s meal—that’s only natural.
But Dragons are the exception. Even if one could overcome the fear, they were far too overwhelming an opponent to defeat.
If all the Dwarves who resisted died, and only those who were terrified and prostrated themselves survived, it made sense.
Unlike other monsters, Dragons didn't typically eat Dwarves.
The grim truth seemed to stun everyone, but Solari, the oldest member of our group, was different.
“How nostalgic~ Dragons used to use Dwarves as slaves in the old days. That must have had a big impact!”
“…Just in case, how long ago are we talking about?”
“Around the time the First King of Nidavellir rebelled against the Dragons?”
“That was almost a thousand years ago!”
I never imagined it would be something from that far back!
“For the record, the one who shook them down the most was Fafnir. Before the Great War, he was just a total thug. If you reacted that sensitively to my husband’s fear—which is still lacking compared to a real Dragon—then maybe…”
“It’s you again, Fafnir?!”
I shuddered at the name that kept popping up whenever I least expected it, but I soon realized the heavy atmosphere caused by Fay’s situation had lightened.
Fay herself had relaxed and was laughing along. That was a relief. Even though she had acted confident, it felt like she had been pushing herself.
Thanks to that, we were having a pleasant conversation, pushing our worries aside for a moment.
Knock, knock, knock.
“I have brought the bedding, My Lady.”
It was the young maid, here to fulfill the task Fay had given her before coming up.
Since there were many of us, the blankets were stacked higher than her own height, yet she carried them with ease as if it were nothing.
She hadn't even learned to use Mana or Aura, yet she had this much strength. I knew Dwarves were strong, but it was impressive every time I saw it.
Even as a half-blood, Fay had good strength for her size, but not to that extent. …Maybe she spent all her energy maintaining the elasticity of her chest. Those looked pretty heavy, too.
Thinking idle thoughts, I took the bedding using Telekinesis.
As I spread them out on the bed, the maid didn't leave. Even though she had finished her task, she stood there with her head bowed.
I started to say something but stopped and looked at Fay. It would look much better for the daughter of the house to handle this than for me to step in.
As I gave her a silent nod of respect for her authority, Fay finally snapped out of it and straightened her posture.
“What is it? If you’re done, you may leave.”
“Um, well…”
The maid bit her lip for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut as if making a big decision.
“The Yarl did not summon you with ill intent, My Lady. Please, do not misunderstand his wishes.”
“What?”
When Fay voiced her slight displeasure, the maid immediately prostrated herself on the floor and continued.
“I know it is hard for you to believe, having been humiliated the moment you arrived. But… most of the servants, including the Head Attendant, are the Madam’s people, not the Yarl’s.”
“What does that…”
“It has been nearly a year since the Yarl fell ill with a mysterious sickness. During that time, the Madam has handled all the affairs of the Yarnshard family in his stead.”
Wait. I feel like I know what’s coming next.
“She surely tried to drive you away, thinking of what will happen after the Yarl passes.”
“Gasp.”
“There are even rumors that you, Lady Fay, being an alchemist, poisoned the Yarl’s food. Of course, there is no evidence, but…”
“But… to the residents who don’t know the situation, it sounds plausible?”
“Yes.”
Fay stammered slightly, clearly feeling the injustice. Thinking Fay didn't believe her, the maid added more.
“My father is Sir Baru, who escorted you here. My father and I are loyal only to the Yarl. We do not care about succession battles or power struggles. We only earnestly hope that the Yarl’s intentions are not distorted.”
Come to think of it, although Baru had been awkward around Fay, he had been respectful throughout.
Fay seemed to recall this and hesitated for a moment, but soon spoke with a firm expression.
“…I understand this situation. But that doesn't mean the past never happened.”
She was right. This specific incident might have been the work of Lokan’s wife and son.
However, the one who had treated Fay like a non-entity since she was a child was none other than Lokan himself.
The young maid didn't say anything more, simply bowing her head even deeper in apology.
“I am sorry for upsetting you. I spoke out of turn because I feared you might leave just like this.”
“It’s fine. I came here intending to see my father’s face anyway. Is that all? Then you may go.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
With those final words, the maid closed the door and left.
Fay, who had been laughing mindlessly just moments ago, began to ponder something with a deep frown.
And she stayed that way. Until the news arrived that Lokan had finally woken up.