Chapter 70: Hatred and Obsession
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: Hatred and Obsession
“Wow. I’ve always wanted to step inside Valdrova Castle at least once, but I never imagined I’d get an opportunity like this.”
Erdes made a spectacle of herself, her steps almost like a dance as she moved forward. Her gait was distracting, yet no one dared to point it out. That alone spoke volumes about the oppressive weight of the current atmosphere.
“But why is it so quiet? It’s a bit suspicious that the Regent himself is acting as our guide. Did you kill everyone because they got on your nerves? Or are you preparing to stab us in the back?”
She certainly had a sharp tongue.
“Everyone working in the castle is a commoner. They aren't the type of people capable of such schemes.”
“Ah, I suppose so. When your knights consist of a pretty boy and another one blubbering like a baby, I can only imagine what kind of pathetic display the rest would put on.”
Erdes let out a peal of laughter.
She was acting like a flighty child, but she was not to be underestimated. This woman was the greatest mage on the continent. It would be nothing for her to annihilate an entire clan with a snap of her fingers; even kings bowed their heads in her presence.
She was a living disaster, a magic-wielding tyrant.
That was why Ferda had sent everyone else away. The castle staff were far from formal and lacked the strength to endure the sheer pressure she exuded.
“Anyway, being here really feels significant. Valdrova Castle is quite spacious. I actually tried to break in once, but the barrier wouldn't budge at all.”
“Am I supposed to be happy about that?”
“You should be. This is praise coming from the strongest mage in human history, isn't it? If I couldn't break through, it means it’s absolutely impossible for any other human.”
Ferda muttered inwardly. Even though I crushed you completely.
It was Goz who countered her claim.
“This building was constructed for a dragon. It is only natural that a human cannot breach it alone.”
“Are you defending him just because he’s a fellow dragon? Honestly, you dragons are so hard to figure out.”
“Watch your tongue, Erdes Roton.”
“Yes, yes.”
It was annoying, but Ferda agreed. To think the very people who hated Valdrova were now defending her. Was this a case of even sworn enemies maintaining certain standards?
While Erdes grumbled, they reached the end of the red carpet. Ferda felt as if he were standing at the very end of a fuse. Would this bomb explode, or would it be a dud?
With that thought, he opened the door.
The guest reception room was adorned with gold and red marble. A single attendant stood there, prepared for any eventuality. She lifted the hem of her wide skirt and bowed.
“Welcome. I am Ruri, an attendant serving Lady Valdrova.”
She stood demurely as if nothing were wrong. However, her eyes carefully avoided meeting Goz’s.
Goz, for his part, paid Ruri no mind. His lukewarm reaction—so different from when he had tried to seize her—felt strangely suspicious.
Meanwhile, Erdes laughed and threw herself onto the sofa.
“Ugh, you guys keep making the atmosphere so grim. This is why men are hopeless. In a sophisticated place like this, shouldn't we be laughing and chatting? You, maid, could I get a cup of tea?”
“I will prepare it immediately.”
As Ruri moved to comply, Ferda lightly raised his hand to stop her.
“This is tea for the greatest mage on the continent. Do you think a mere attendant should be the one to prepare it?”
“In that case…”
“I will pour it myself.”
Ferda stepped in because he was beginning to feel a sense of dissonance in Erdes’s behavior. If he left her to her own devices, they would all be swept up in her pace.
Ferda intended to serve the tea, but he did not rise from his seat. Shadows moved beneath his feet, taking shape as they rose.
It was Ferda’s Shadow Hand.
Watching this, Erdes’s expression hardened. Openly using black magic was practically a provocation—a way of asking to be killed.
Ferda ignored her reaction and poured a cup of tea. His etiquette was flawless.
“This is top-grade tea from the highlands of the Western Region. Please, have a drink.”
Despite the steaming tea before her, her gaze remained fixed solely on Ferda. Her dull, lifeless eyes looked as though they might draw a blade at any moment.
“Unfortunately, I’m not thirsty.”
“Didn't you say you needed something to quench your thirst?”
“That’s how it goes. Women are hard to figure out, aren't they?”
There was murderous intent behind her smiling eyes. However, Ferda met her gaze directly and took a sip of his tea. That should shut her up for a moment.
“Let us begin the discussion.”
Goz adjusted his posture and leaned forward.
“Tell me why you secretly set foot in another’s territory.”
He was trying to grasp the background of the incident first. Ferda answered.
“There was a demon research facility nearby.”
“An imaginary research facility?”
“Wasn't there a landslide in that area recently? As if something had exploded?”
“…”
Goz didn't answer. That was an affirmation.
“I discovered the location where they were conducting their project and intended to destroy everything. That is why I had to move quickly.”
“So you’re saying you used the Bending Bridge to cross over and strike first?”
The term 'Bending Bridge' came from Goz’s mouth. That was likely information provided by Erdes.
“Why didn't you inform us?” Goz asked.
“Because it had to be handled covertly.”
“And what was the reason for that?”
“Didn't I just say it was covert?”
Goz’s face twisted into a grimace. He looked ready to bare his claws at any second.
“Ferda Valdrova, not only did you trespass into our territory, but you also killed my son with your own hands. If you truly do not wish for war, you had better speak plainly.”
Ferda wouldn't flee from an inevitable war, but he had no intention of starting one unnecessarily.
“As I said before, it is true that I killed Abel Silverwind. And it is true that I caused trouble. However, the outcome was not something I desired.”
Ferda added more.
“The boy was a Demon Follower. He sought to gain power through treason by conspiring with demons.”
“How did you find that out?”
“It wasn't complicated. He confessed everything himself. Whether he saw me as a fish already caught in his net or mistook me for a priest in a confessional, I don't know, but he spoke of his own accord.”
Goz didn't fly into a rage at the mention of him being a Demon Follower. This meant Sitri had properly applied the seal of the contract. The momentum shifted slightly.
Ferda decided to add a few unnecessary words.
“Do you know what he said? That Goz Silverwind was nothing more than a usurper. That you were unworthy of your power.”
“It seems there’s quite a bit of discontent on the Silverwind side? To think a mere minnow would get greedy and harbor such thoughts—”
“Shut up.”
“You know I’m on your side, right?”
Ferda silenced Erdes, who was busy poking at sore wounds.
“Doubting my strength is something that can happen. Challenging it is something a descendant of Silverwind should naturally do. However, it is a different story if that power is obtained through a contract with a demon.”
What they desired was pure strength—the power forged from the blood passed down by the masters of steel and wind.
“But what does that have to do with you killing him? Are you suggesting you did me a favor?”
“How could that be? I told him that if he wanted to overthrow you, I would help him.”
The wind began to stir. How could Goz not be furious when someone openly admitted to proposing a conspiracy to kill him?
“But he did not accept. Not because he was noble, but because I was a necessary component of his plan for the coup.”
The wind died down.
“You? A mere human?”
“He said he would lure me in and then absorb that power.”
“Whose power? Valdrova’s?”
“Ruri’s.”
Goz flinched at that name. Seeing his reaction, Erdes chimed in.
“Ruri? Who’s that?”
“Just someone,” Goz tried to brush it off, but Erdes was persistent.
She glanced at the silver-haired young maid and clapped her hands.
“Wait, is it that little lady? It looks like it. There were traces of a small frame left behind, and it was her? That girl is the—”
“Erdes Roton. I didn't bring you here to chatter.”
Goz’s slit pupils glared at her menacingly. His gaze was even more irritated than before. Erdes gave a sheepish smile and mimed locking her lips.
Goz’s annoyed gaze inadvertently drifted toward Ruri. Ruri kept her back turned, unable to look at him.
Ferda continued his explanation.
“Ruri came to save me, and in the process, Abel had to be killed.”
“Hmm, then shall we call our Ruri, who miraculously survived, to testify?”
Do as you wish. I have nothing to hide.
Just as Ferda was about to agree to Erdes’s question—
“Enough. That is sufficient explanation.”
It was Goz who refused the testimony. Erdes glared at Goz, displeased by his interference, before turning her gaze back to Ferda. She smiled brightly again.
“Well, since the two gentlemen have finished their talk, I suppose it’s my turn.”
Was there even an order to this conversation? I thought it was just a chaotic mess of you barging in and saying whatever you wanted.
Ferda suppressed the urge to retort sarcastically. Erdes stretched lazily and gave a languid smile.
“Right, well, that was a touching story, Regent Ferda. But I’m afraid I can't take that story at face value.”
It was the reaction he had expected.
“There should be traces of his deal with a demon, shouldn't there?”
“Yes, I found them. He hid it in quite a peculiar place. His heel. Well, I suppose no one would check there so thoroughly. It’s no wonder the Silverwinds didn't know.”
She admitted it was in a place easily overlooked. However, the look she gave Ferda was unsettling.
“But you see, I am Erdes Roton.”
The greatest mage on the continent. A paragon for all mages, a witness to history, a war hero. A law unto herself, a borderless, rampaging tyrant.
And at the same time, an authority on black magic.
Someone once said that love and hatred are two sides of the same coin. Erdes knew black magic as well as she hated it.
“I can spot the schemes of those pathetic demon bastards in an instant. For example, the timing of when that seal was applied.”
A smile played on Erdes’s lips. She looked like a spider watching prey caught in its web.
“The ink on the contract seal carved into Abel Silverwind hadn't even dried yet.”
Ferda hadn't known that the timing of the seal could be verified. He had no interest in the specifics of demon contracts. Or rather, the nature of such things was outside his concern. Only the methods demons used to ensnare humans and how to avoid them mattered to him. That was where most people focused.
On the other hand, Erdes’s obsession was far more extensive. She was obsessed with everything related to black magic. It was a form of mysophobia—the kind of obsession that drove her to do anything to cleanse the continent of the disease known as black magic.
And now, her obsession was cornering Ferda.
“Shall I tell you what I think?”
She began to lay out her deduction.
“Regent Ferda, you made a ‘certain deal’ with Sitri, a Great Demon of Hell. You said you came to destroy a demon facility? Perhaps that was the deal. What if it collapsed not in days, but in hours? It would give Sitri a very good excuse. You probably ignored the proverb about not dealing with demons and quietly crossed over via the Bending Bridge.”
Her words were startlingly accurate. It was enough to make Ferda feel the pressure.
“But an unexpected event occurred. The Bending Bridge you used closed for some reason. Regent Ferda, you were left all alone like a stranded duckling, and then Abel appeared. Was that unexpected event a trap set by Sitri?”
As she posed the question, Erdes smiled and looked intently at Ferda. She was trying to see past the mask he wore, and Ferda struggled to keep it in place.
“No. No, it wasn't. That wasn't Sitri’s plan.”
Had she read his expression? She moved on to a different point.
“If it were such a shallow trick, you would have noticed. You aren't a fool, Regent Ferda. You would have checked the Bending Bridge for traps multiple times. And yet… you couldn't step into the Bending Bridge on your way back. That means you brought something out of that demon dwelling. Something important enough to risk your own life for.”
Ferda’s throat felt parched. She continued, twirling her finger as if casting a hypnotic spell.
“Making you run into Abel Silverwind was likely one of the traps set by that whore, Sitri. He was meant to be the one to execute punishment if you harbored other thoughts, ensuring you couldn't stray. Even if he died, he was a good card to play to cause trouble later. But for some reason, she didn't use that trap. Instead, she helped you by carving the contract seal into Abel Silverwind.”
Ferda was almost moved to admiration. Even as he was being cornered, he felt that way. Could hating a single field so much allow someone to see this far? This was a depth of insight on a completely different level from what Ferda felt.
“Why would a demon help you? If she had just left him without the seal, the Silverwinds would have come to interrogate you, and you would have been sweating bullets trying to persuade them. War would have been a foregone conclusion. Why would she give up the chaotic situation that demons love most?”
Ferda’s mouth was bone-dry. He consciously maintained his composure, making sure his Adam’s apple didn't bob with nervousness.
“The three clues that lead me to my conclusion are these.”
Erdes held up her index finger.
“First, the fact that you use black magic.”
Middle finger.
“Second, the fact that a Great Demon of Hell saved you instead of trapping you.”
Ring finger.
“Third, the faint scent of a demon that keeps wafting through this house.”
She struck right at his weak point. Whatever the case, there was one conclusion Erdes must not reach.
Penelope.
He was already walking a tightrope regarding whether he had contracted with a demon or not. If she discovered he was hiding a demon, Erdes’s hostility would boil over completely.
That hostility wasn't just a matter of being a nuisance. Erdes was someone the 1st Imperial Prince—the most influential person after the Emperor—was trying to win over. She would undoubtedly put a stop to the development of the Far East. Everything was tangled in a headache-inducing web.
But that’s not the only problem.
If it were revealed during the explanation that he had a way to hold a Great Demon’s life in his hands, that would be even worse. She would surely become obsessed with Penelope.
He couldn't allow that. Everything in this castle existed solely for Valdrova.
Just as Ferda was about to open his mouth, Erdes asked with a smile.
“You’re a demon's spawn, aren't you?”