Chapter 127: A Seed of Doubt
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: A Seed of Doubt
The moment Ferda and Valdrova stepped out of the banquet hall, the room surged back to life.
It took a few moments for the laughter and chatter to return to their full volume, but when they did, every conversation revolved around Valdrova.
"To think I’d see a dragon today... a sight most don't witness once in a lifetime."
"She wasn't nearly as terrifying as I expected."
"They called her an Evil Dragon, so I thought I’d be paralyzed with fear the second she walked in..."
"Oh, I was plenty terrified. I thought my heart was going to stop."
With her crimson hair and a physique no different from an ordinary woman's, she didn't look the part of a monster. However, the two pairs of horns crowning her head clearly declared her nature. The sheer realization that they were looking at a dragon—a creature of legend—was enough to overwhelm them.
One might have expected the social gathering, which should have been relaxed and filled with laughter, to remain stiff and formal after such an encounter.
That is, until they remembered it.
"Her dancing was... remarkably clumsy."
"Tell me about it. The Regent was just as bad."
The image of the two of them stepping on each other's feet, displaying the worst possible chemistry, was burned into everyone's memories.
One might think showing such a flaw was a disgrace for an immortal, but Olivia saw it differently.
‘She left behind a seed of doubt.’
With that one clumsy dance, Valdrova had cast doubt on her own infamy. People were beginning to wonder if a dragon capable of such human mistakes could truly be a being more wicked than Godwin.
‘To say she calculated this... no, that’s impossible.’
Everything had happened on impulse.
Olivia had felt it from the moment Valdrova made her sudden entrance. The immortal was jealous of her—a mere mortal.
Olivia had been the target of jealousy from noble ladies countless times. However, Valdrova’s jealousy felt fundamentally different.
‘Longing.’
It was like a young country girl dreaming of becoming a princess in a fairy tale. Valdrova harbored a raw, untainted longing to be like Olivia.
It was an intention of utter innocence.
— I like pure people.
Suddenly, Ferda’s words echoed in her mind.
Was that the "purity" he had been talking about?
A foolish woman who, out of jealousy for a human princess, forced herself onto the floor and stumbled through a dance she couldn't even perform. It was a level of overwhelming purity that made it impossible to believe the situation had been orchestrated.
‘I was wrong.’
She had suspected his smile was as cheap as any other man's. Not stopping there, she had even tried to drag both Ferda and herself down together. She had acted like a devout believer who, having lost their faith, turned into a vicious heretic.
"Hmm..."
Olivia couldn't bring herself to lower the fan covering her mouth.
Now that her judgment had been proven wrong, she had to clean up the mess she had made. Ferda might be safe, but Olivia was still in a predicament. By accepting that dance proposal, she had essentially announced to the world that she had feelings for him.
Olivia racked her brain.
‘...Fine.’
She drafted a scenario in an instant.
For this to work, she needed someone easy to handle—someone she could discard without a second thought. A man who knew his place and was, frankly, a bit dim-witted. The kind of man who wouldn't cause trouble no matter how she used him.
As she scanned the room, one man caught her eye.
"P-Princess?"
Olivia stepped out from her "garden"—the circle of the Golden Rose.
She moved across the banquet hall toward her target. The man was a knight wearing a vest, and even among the knights, he stood out as the most peculiar.
And not in a good way.
His clothes were sophisticated, but he couldn't hide the rustic, unrefined air that clung to him.
"Sir Knight?"
"Y-Yes!?"
"Your name."
"My name?"
"Introduce yourself. I already know who you are, but I want to hear it from you."
The man introduced himself in a trembling voice.
"U-Uh, I am Malcolm of Peach Hill."
Malcolm’s face went pale, as if he were choking on his own breath.
"H-Have I... d-done something wrong, Princess...?"
"You've done nothing wrong. I simply came to ask if you would care to dance with me."
"A d-d-d-dance?! With me?"
Because he made such a scene, every eye in the room began to gravitate toward them.
"Did the Princess just ask for a dance?"
"What's going on?"
"The Princess is dancing with that knight..."
The young lords and ladies watched with expressions of pure disbelief. Olivia had expected him to be flustered, but this was beyond her imagination.
Olivia spoke to him, hiding her face behind her fan.
"You are a knight, are you not?"
"T-That is correct."
"As a knight, there is a duty you must perform."
"A duty I must perform..."
He was still panicked, but at least he was listening. Olivia continued.
"The situation regarding my conversation with the Regent has become... complicated. Therefore, I need someone to act as a lightning rod for the criticism. You must be that person."
"A-A l-lightning rod...? Me?"
"For the sake of the Regent. Surely a knight can do at least that much?"
Olivia pleaded with him, her eyes shimmering with a sorrowful light. At the mention of doing it for the Regent, Malcolm’s attitude shifted instantly.
"M-Malcolm of Peach Hill! Of course, I would do anything for the Regent... but I am not a good dancer. Is that alright?"
It was actually better that way.
"It’s fine. Just move exactly as I tell you."
"U-Uh, understood!"
"Then, your escort, please."
With that, Malcolm escorted Olivia to the floor.
The moment she took his hand, the room erupted in whispers.
"My goodness..."
"To think Lady Olivia is dancing..."
The spectators even forgot their own steps as they gossiped. The idol whom every man adored had broken her own rule. They had all known she would eventually hold a man's hand and dance, but the fact that her partner was someone so... incomprehensible was the real shock.
"Why on earth with a guy like that...?"
"I could dance ten times better than him..."
All eyes were fixed on Olivia and Malcolm. Everything was going according to Olivia’s plan.
‘Though he really is a terrible dancer.’
True to his status as a naive man with no experience with women, Malcolm was a wretched dancer. He was constantly half a beat behind or ahead. Only because Olivia forced him to move this way and that did it even resemble a dance.
‘The Regent was like this, too.’
Suddenly, a memory of that day surfaced. Recalling how he had looked back then, Olivia found herself genuinely amused. She lowered her mask and laughed joyfully.
In this moment, everything felt like a dreamscape where anything could happen. People would wonder whose laughter that truly was.
The answer to the question of who Princess Olivia would share her first dance with became Malcolm, a knight of Valdrova Castle.
In this way, the scandal between Ferda and Olivia would fizzle out. However, Malcolm would soon be bombarded with countless anonymous threatening letters—but that was a story for another time.
* * *
Meanwhile, Valdrova Castle was bustling with the Start of Spring Festival.
As a castle built for a dragon, it was vast and filled with numerous blind spots. Men and women were remarkably good at finding such places to whisper sweet nothings to one another.
— Ah, you mustn't. I already have a partner...
— Forget that old man. Just for now.
— This is a sin. I won't be able to face Lord Alte.
— I will take your sins upon myself. So please, entrust your body to me.
— Oh, Marquis!!
The two spoke without shame in a place where they thought no one was listening. They never imagined someone would dare to eavesdrop.
"Sin, my ass. You're gonna lose your heads."
Jed Swallow sat surrounded by several crystal balls, snacking on peanuts.
These were communication crystal balls installed in the secret meeting spots selected by Penelope and Jed. Every conversation taking place there was being heard and recorded.
"I thought this would be fun, but I'm getting bored already."
The repertoire of those enjoying secret trysts was always the same. It was either about conflicting interests, status gaps between families, or the bluster of men and women desperate to get into each other's beds.
To Jed, it was all just a farce. And not even a good one—a third-rate play. It was the kind of cheap dialogue from a trashy drama that village women would gossip about while doing laundry.
Watching the scene of self-justification as a third party made Jed feel nauseous. He muttered as he watched their pathetic displays.
"At least I'm better than those idiots."
"You're exactly the same, so what the hell are you talking about?"
"Gah!"
A familiar voice sounded right behind his head. When he turned around, a woman with dark skin was standing there. Jed reflexively called out her name.
"Fiendteeth..."
Whack!
"Ow! What was that for?"
"I warned you not to use that name. Using it is a signal for me to hit you, isn't it?"
"Well, it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? It shows how... intimate our relationship is."
"Seeing how sly you're being, you clearly haven't reflected at all. Should I keep hitting you until you come to your senses?"
"Anywhere but the face."
Her annoying behavior felt like she was teasing him, which actually drained his momentum. Garnet sat down next to him. Seeing her settle in so naturally, Jed felt certain.
"It was you, wasn't it?"
"What was?"
"Our Regent suddenly told me to catch the people having secret affairs, and I wondered whose idea it was. You told him to do it, right?"
"Yeah."
"Geez, for someone with such high status, there are plenty of better things to do than creating trashy weaknesses like this. Why make me do this?"
"Because nothing provides better leverage than holding someone's children hostage. If you want to extend your political life, you need things like this."
"Ugh, look at the trouble you're putting me through. Normally, I'd be having fun with other women, but you had to give me this kind of work..."
As he grumbled away, she turned serious and uttered a single word.
"Salty?"
"Oh, of course not. Haha. Isn't this why office jobs are great? Just sitting back and reaping the rewards."
When Garnet’s expression turned fierce, Jed tucked his tail.
"What about your contractor? Is she working somewhere else?"
"She should be in the banquet hall."
"Is she eavesdropping on people's conversations like you?"
"Her role is a bit different. By now, she’s probably chatting with the young ladies in the form of a 'Jed Swallow Victims Association.'"
Garnet tilted her head.
"What is she planning to do with that?"
"She said once they get drunk, she’s going to make a 'Garden.'"
Garnet didn't ask for the specific meaning of that word. She already knew that Penelope was Sitri’s daughter. The word "Garden" was undoubtedly a vulgar euphemism.
"But what did you even do to have a victims' association formed?"
"Nothing much. I just dumped them at the banquet hall."
Whack!
"Ow! Why now!?"
"I hit your head on behalf of every woman in Serdes. Got a problem?"
"No. Next time, please just give me a heads-up before you hit me, Boss."
Adopting a thoroughly submissive attitude, Jed focused back on his work. Then, a crystal ball connected to the garden lit up.
"Holy crap."
"Hmm?"
"It looks like the Archduchess, who was nowhere to be seen with the Regent, has appeared at the trysting spot."
The Archduchess was the Red Dragon, Valdrova. As the head of an intelligence organization, Garnet’s eyes sparkled.
"Don't turn it off. Let's record it and listen."
"Obviously. Who would be such a moron to miss a golden opportunity like this?"
The two leaned in close to the crystal ball. The conversation between the two was heard vividly. The dialogue between a sobbing Valdrova and a flustered Ferda came through without any filtering.
"Just as I expected."
"What's as you expected?"
"The Red Dragon has very low self-esteem."
Jed was startled by those words.
"I really wish you'd say that in front of our Regent."
"He probably wouldn't mind. Based on the personality I've analyzed, he’d appreciate that kind of information."
"Anyway, don't even think about calling my name before your head rolls."
Jed made a playful gesture of backing away. Garnet let out a sigh as if he were being childish.
"You idiot. Do you think I’d sell this kind of information to just anyone?"
"Well, wouldn't you?"
"Are you crazy?"
Garnet spoke with a serious expression.
"If I leaked that information, every dragon would be hell-bent on wiping out the Black Bandana."
"Why?"
"Because it’s selling the method and means to bring calamity to the continent."
"Huh? Wouldn't it just make her a bit of a laughingstock?"
"Think of her not as a dragon, but as a woman with low self-esteem. Think of her as being similar to a human. If someone who has been rejected and pushed to the brink finally snaps, what do you think happens?"
Since Jed had met many women, those words allowed him to see the picture clearly.
"...It would be nothing short of a disaster."
If her self-esteem was shattered and she truly lost it, she would see nothing but red. And there was no one who could stop the Red Dragon. She had caused half the damage Godwin had inflicted over years in just a few hours, and she had only stopped because she regained her senses after Silverwind’s death.
Jed didn't forget to compliment her judgment.
"As expected of our Black Bandana leader. I’ve always thought your analytical skills were top-notch, and I was right."
"I'm an information broker. If information comes in, it's my job to process it."
Garnet replied as if it were obvious.
"So, about that."
Garnet casually tossed out a question just when he thought the conversation was over.
"Any interest in working with me?"
"What, what kind of joke is..."
Jed chuckled at Garnet’s proposal. But when he saw the look in her eyes, he realized it wasn't a joke at all.
"You want me to throw away my knighthood and go to you?"
"I can give you as much money as you want. I can make you an actual noble, not just a knight."
"Everyone there is determined to kill me. How could I go?"
"I can shut them up. They’ve been annoying me with their fuss anyway, so it’ll be easy."
Jed implicitly signaled his refusal, but Garnet’s eyes remained unchanged. It was as if she didn't want to let him go.
"We’ll do it like we did in the Swallows. You and me. As a duo."
Garnet lightly hooked her finger over Jed’s hand.
"You are the only person I can entrust my life to. And I’m the only one you can entrust yours to."
The mercenary group, the Swallows.
Just like Garnet, Jed’s memories of those days were still vivid.
"I do miss those times. But I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I’ve already sworn an oath as a knight."
"Since when did you start believing in things like that?"
"I didn't."
Jed laughed as if he found himself ridiculous.
"But they say the position makes the man, and it turns out it's true."
Jed had always only wanted a stepping stone to become a noble. Since he had met many nobles, he thought he could play the part whenever he wanted. But as he became a knight, he felt a sense of duty he hadn't felt back when he was just acting like a gigolo.
Jed didn't want to take that duty lightly.
Seeing Jed like that, Garnet’s face turned grave.
"Wake up, Jed Swallow."
Garnet thought to herself: This man doesn't truly know the man named Ferda yet.
"I'm only telling this to you. That man is far too dangerous to stand beside."