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Chapter 56
This Isn't It
Ferda stared at Goz with eyes wide open.
The same silver hair as Ruri, the same silver eyes.
He wore the exact same face as when their gazes first met at the Grand Council.
"Welcome, Valdrova Regent."
"Goz Chief."
Ӗ ǹ ú m̀a_
They exchanged names and observed formal courtesy.
But not a shred of respect dwelled in their gazes.
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"I had no idea a precious body was entering. Normally, subordinates would open the door themselves."
He asked what gave him the right to barge in uninvited.
"I saw no particular need for that."
Ferda answered: because I felt like it.
W̊e̊b ń o v̈ е̃ l Е̄_n üm̌а
Goz's eyes rolled toward the entrance.
One look at that and there was nothing to do but bow his head.
"This is our clan's business. A family matter. Don't let an outsider meddle in family affairs."
"I, too, decline to be dragged into a family squabble."
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He spoke those words, yet took another step forward.
And he felt a light weight on Ruri's shoulder.
Е̄ṅûm̆ a.і̄d̀
It was Ferda's hand.
"But this child is the one my beloved fiancée cherishes. Must I stand by and watch a cherished child get hurt over a mere family squabble?"
Ferda did not yield a single inch.
That was a direct challenge to Goz's authority.
Goz loathed such challenges.
"Even at first glance, I thought so—you've got some nerve."
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Goz rose from his seat.
In that instant, the spirit he exuded intensified another notch.
Ruri dropped to her knees on the spot, bowing her head.
Every other Silver Dragon Spawn followed suit, submitting.
Goz pointed his chin at Ruri and asked,
"So, Valdrova Regent. Just how well do you know Ruri Silverwind, the attendant of the one you love?"
Ē nu ḿа́. і d
"The attendant of my one-and-only fiancée."
"And?"
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"That's enough."
"Right. That's all you see. Seems this bitch hasn't told you everything."
Rough hands forged by martial arts and battle.
Those fingers pointed at Ruri.
Ӗ ń u ma
"This bitch is a spy sent by Lord Silverwind."
He exposed Ruri's identity.
"Lord Silverwind planted her to monitor Valdrova and ascertain when she weakens. Until his passing, she was ordered to make regular contact."
"Is that so?"
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"You look unconvinced. Do I look like I'm lying?"
"Do I look like an idiot who'd believe the words of someone showing me hostility?"
W̊ е̃.ḃ n̄ оv̈ еl̈ Е num а̂
"Agreed. Then why not ask the person herself? Ruri Silverwind."
At that summons, Ruri felt her head grow heavier.
"Speak the truth. Was anything I said wrong?"
"I... that kind of thing..."
"Answer properly. Did I say something false?"
Goz allowed not an inch of excuse. In the end, Ruri told the truth.
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"I... under Lord Silverwind's orders... monitored Lady Valdrova."
"What was the content?"
"...As Goz-nim said, to monitor Lady Valdrova and identify her weaknesses."
Silence fell.
Ruri couldn't breathe properly, it was that painful.
But even more painful than that,
Е ń um а . і̀ḋ
Was the fact that, unable to lift her head, she couldn't even see what expression Ferda was making.
Finally, Ferda broke the silence.
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"Not surprising."
A cynical tone.
Ruri's toes went cold.
She felt as if the floor had vanished and she'd been thrown into a cliff.
Е́ ñum̊ а .і d̂
"Figured a Spawn bearing Silverwind's name would have a reason for pledging loyalty to Valdrova."
Contempt.
Betrayal.
Negative emotions became a sticky swamp, seemingly swallowing Ruri whole.
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But only for a moment.
"So?"
Е̊ n̆ u m а̌.іd
At that question, the pressure crushing Ruri scattered like a mirage.
Goz frowned.
"What do you mean, 'so'?"
"What's the problem?"
Ruri lifted her head to look at Ferda.
He wore the same stubborn face as always.
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Goz wore a face irritated by the unexpected reaction.
"She's a spy planted by Lord Silverwind. There's no way you didn't understand that?"
"Yeah, a spy. But even so, she's the attendant my fiancée loves most."
Ferda clasped his hands behind his back and puffed out his chest.
"When everyone else turned their backs, this child stood by my fiancée's side—a loyal attendant. A Spawn who devoted herself to Valdrova more than anyone. That is the value she holds right now. You think that value will waver because of words from someone I'm meeting for the first time today?"
Strength unwittingly entered the hands of kneeling Ruri.
Е̂ǹ ŭ m̈a
She almost burst into tears at those words.
"Fine. Believe it or not, that's your freedom. Can't force a human who doesn't even carry Silverwind's bloodline to believe it. But..."
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Goz's eyes gleamed sharply.
"You've been pretty damn cheeky since a while ago."
The air shook violently.
The fuse of a bomb that could blow away a nation was already lit and burning.
Е n u m̃ а
Goz's face, patience at its limit.
Dragon Spawn aren't dragons, but they aren't human either.
They're all dragon-human supremacists who believe they're superior to humans.
There's no way a mere human talking back would sit well with them.
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An ordinary human would've submitted; a wise human would've stepped back to manage the situation.
"Shouldn't it be you, not me, who needs to show courtesy?"
Ӗñů m а̌. і̇d
But Ferda neither retreated nor yielded.
A blue glint flashed in Ferda's eyes.
Standing tall as Valdrova's Regent, he faced him as an equal.
"You're the one who tried to intimidate and sow discord in someone else's attendant, so what's with the lecturing?"
He spoke clearly, as if to say he wasn't the only one displeased in this conversation.
Veins bulged on Goz's neck.
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Ruri knew.
He was a man better suited to a hot-blooded warrior than a cool-headed leader.
"The only reason I'm not snapping your neck right now is Blancaros-nim's mercy and my patience."
"Does Silverwind call fear 'patience'? Too scared to face my fiancée directly, so you flex against her attendant and fiancée..."
Deep contempt pooled in Ferda's narrowed eyes.
"Aren't you ashamed?"
Ӗ ñüm̄ à
It was the moment the staring contest ended.
A fierce gust rattled the windows at Ferda's provocation.
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Goz, who'd been sitting heavily, rose from his seat.
"Right. Truly shameful. To think I have to watch a mere human strut like this..."
Goz took a step forward.
Veins stood grotesquely on his hand, knuckles cracking.
W е̄b̂ n̈ o v̇ e l Еñ ūm̆_а
"I'll wash that shame away with your blood right here."
The moment his hand tried to enter striking range,
"Do not move another inch."
Someone stepped in front of Goz.
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Ruri, who should've been kneeling, was somehow already standing before Goz, blocking him.
"Ruri, you bitch..."
Ẃ е̄b̈nо̇ v_е̄ l Е̃n̄u m á
"He is Lady Valdrova's... consort."
She still suffered from instinctive submission.
Yet the reason she could stand was,
"This threat is a challenge to Lady Valdrova. I, too, will respond accordingly."
Resolve.
Resolve to stop him even if it meant her death.
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Goz made a disgusted face.
"From a Northern warrior to a loyal dog. Now you even serve a human as master."
Goz, who'd been boiling with rage, instead grew calm.
The wind rattling the window ceased.
Goz sat back down and released his pressure.
"As Silverwind's representative, I've no more business with a dog. Take her and go, Valdrova Regent. Hope we never cross paths again."
Е́nú mа . іd̀
Ferda replied nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.
"Then, excuse us."
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Ferda didn't continue the staring contest either.
"Ruri."
"Yes."
"Let's go."
Еnům а́
"...Yes."
He led the trembling Ruri out, settling the matter for now.
* * *
Goz sank into thought, eyes fixed on where Ferda and Ruri had left.
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Different from what reflected on his retina, Ruri's figure—who had opposed him—felt vividly alive in his mind's eye.
'Ruri of the Blade Wind.'
Е̃ ńû ṁ а̊
Silverwind's Spawns fighting frigid entities beyond the Northern Ice Wall.
Among them, the most vicious and threatening were the Frost Giants.
Like the Far East's monsters, unknown where they come from, but endlessly emerging to spread frost over the human realm.
Tricky existences that took five well-trained Dragon Spawn just to catch one.
But Ruri was different.
With her small frame, she took on three giants simultaneously and defeated them.
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She sustained grave injuries, but as long as she lived, she could recover.
She was the pride and exemplar of those protecting the Serdes Continent.
Goz had felt something off about her more than once or twice.
'That guy...'
Their reunion was the worst.
Shabby maid outfit, conduct like a young maidservant.
Ẇ е ḃ ňо vẽ l Е̃nǔm̈ ӓ
On top of that, a foolish question.
A question thrown while clinging to a sliver of hope—worlds apart from the Blade Wind.
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Everything irritated him.
To think that trash was once someone I felt threatened by...
But what irritated him more than anything,
'Ferda Valdrova...'
Web̀ n оṽë l̃ Е̇ n̊ ŭm̆ а
Was that human he'd faced.
Irritating humans were a dime a dozen.
Those who believe they can command dragons at will.
Those who treat dragons like mere humans, trusting only in authority.
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He'd beheaded such types without leaving room, making examples of them.
That was standard practice in dragon society.
Е̂n u m а̇
'Different from those humans.'
Reluctantly, he admitted it—but meeting those eyes, he knew for certain.
He wore a face closer to an immortal than anyone.
That's why Goz could sense it instinctively.
'As long as that cheeky bastard exists... this revenge won't be fulfilled.'
He clenched his fist tight.
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Not a single day had passed since Silverwind's death that he'd forgotten him.
And not a single day had passed without the craving for revenge.
He couldn't let it all be ruined now.
'Revenge... I absolutely must achieve it.'
By any means necessary. Absolutely.
* * *
Ẁ е̊_b̃n̈о̊v̀ е l̆ Е n̆ u m̌ а̊
Ruri silently followed behind Ferda.
The surroundings were so quiet, only footsteps echoed down the long corridor.
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"Did things go well?"
"..."
Ruri kept her mouth shut.
"Won't you say anything?"
W е́ b ǹ о̄ vè l̀ Е̇ ñ u mа
"...I don't want to talk."
"Is that how you speak to someone who helped you?"
Ruri's shoes stopped in place.
Ruri stopped there.
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Head bowed deeply, she opened her mouth.
"...Go."
Wе̄b̌ n оv́ е.l̄ E ǹům̄ а
A moisture-choked voice squeezed out the words.
"Who... asked you to help?"
"..."
Ungrateful.
Truly a fitting situation for those words.
But Ferda said nothing.
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She was right.
She hadn't asked for help.
Maybe this was something she could've resolved herself.
Rushing ahead with premature greed might've been him.
"Right."
Ferda acknowledged it calmly.
Enùm̄ а̂ . і d
"I did something unnecessary."
He turned on his heel.
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Ferda walked away, leaving alone.
"Sorry for the interference."
Ferda walked on.
Ruri blankly stared at his back.
Ѐ n ûṁ а́ .і ḋ
* * *
Leaving Silverwind's separate room, Ruri silently followed behind Ferda.
She didn't know what words to choose.
Her emotions seemed to swirl.
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She glanced up at his back.
Big.
Е̊ n̄.û m̃ а
Felt like a sturdy support that wouldn't topple even if she leaned her whole body on it.
Like her own father,
Like Silverwind.
But the emotion felt from that back was starkly different from Silverwind.
Her insides boiled.
I've lived longer,
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I've overcome death's door more times,
So why am I less than that back?
"Did things go well?"
Ferda asked.
When no answer came for a long while, he glanced over his shoulder and asked again.
Blue eyes shone through gray hair.
Е́ n ū mӑ
"Won't you say anything?"
Ruri forced her mouth open.
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"...I don't want to talk."
Childish petulance instead of mature handling.
"Is that how you speak to someone who helped you?"
Helped, my ass.
Еn̄ů m̈ а̄. і̆d_
If Ruri hadn't stepped up then, Ferda's neck would've been snapped, and a wind of calamity would've blown across the continent.
And he calls himself the one who helped after pulling that stupid stunt?
She badmouthed Ferda inwardly, but Ruri also knew.
That none of this would've happened if she hadn't clung to such a small hope in the first place.
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That she should be grateful Ferda stepped up.
That it would all end with just that one word.
Ê ñ ú m̃.а̌.i̊d̄
But.
Even that small acknowledgment—she didn't want to give it right now.
If she spoke now, her shaken voice would be exposed.
She'd look incompetent as an attendant who'd served Valdrova.
She'd show her weakness to him once more.
She clenched her fists tight and lifted her head.
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"Who..."
She suppressed her resentment and let the words out.
"Who asked you to help?"
Only after the words left her mouth did she realize the mistake.
That wasn't an adult's response.
A pathetic sight unable to admit her own weakness.
Ẁ è_bn̊о̃_v̊ е l̄ Еn u m a
A child's face with nothing but pride to show.
She despised herself, but her throat closed up and she couldn't speak further.
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Ferda, looking down at that child.
Eyes like they'd dropped emotions into a deep lake's edge.
Those eyes seemed to drag Ruri's heart even deeper.
He eventually nodded.
Е ñ ū m̂ а
Ruri relived the regret.
"Right."
This isn't it.
"I did something unnecessary."
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That's not what I meant.
"Sorry for the interference."
Ẁ е̄b̀n о v̈ е̌ l̂ Ѐn̆ um̊ а̌
Ferda walks away again.
In her vision, Ferda's figure walking down the corridor appeared.
Her own hand unconsciously reached out to catch him.
But he'd grown too far to reach again.
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