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Chapter 70
Hatred and Obsession
"Wow. I've always wanted to set foot in Valdrova Castle at least once, never thought I'd get the chance?"
Erdes prattled on, stepping forward as if dancing.
It was a distracting gait, yet no one pointed it out or said a word.
That alone showed just how serious the atmosphere was right now.
"But why's it so quiet? The Regent personally guiding us is suspicious enough? Did you kill everyone 'cause they displeased you? Or are you preparing to stab us in the back?"
Е̇ǹ u ḿ а̊.і̊d̈
She sure knows how to talk pretty.
"Everyone working inside the castle are ordinary people. They're not the type who could pull off something like this."
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"Ah, seems that way. When a guy who looks like a swallow and a guy leaking tears and snot are knights, what kind of disgraceful behavior would the others show?"
Erdes cackling away.
She acts like a thoughtless child, but she must never be overlooked.
This woman is the continent's greatest mage.
W еb ǹ ŏv̌ ĕl̈ _Еn̆u ḿä
Exterminating a family with a single finger is no difficulty, and even kings bow their heads at her appearance.
She is a living calamity, a magic-using ruffian.
That's why Ferda had driven everyone in the castle out.
The people working in the castle were far from high formalities, and they had no ability to withstand that pressure.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Anyway, actually coming here seems pretty significant. Valdrova Castle sure is vast. I tried sneaking in once before, but the barrier wouldn't budge at all."
"Am I supposed to be happy about that?"
È n ǔṁа̂ . іď
"You should be. A compliment from humanity's strongest mage? Since I couldn't break through, it means no other human can possibly do it, right?"
Ferda muttered inwardly muttered.
Coming from someone who got crushed by me.
The one who rebutted that was Goz.
"It's a building built for a dragon. It's only natural that humans alone can't touch it."
"Defending her just because she's the same dragon? Geez, dragons are something else, you think you know them but you don't."
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"Watch your mouth, Erdes Roton."
"Yeah, yeah."
Annoying, but I agreed.
Guys who hate Valdrova are defending her?
Even mortal enemies have lines they keep, is that it?
While Erdes grumbled, they reached the end of the red carpet.
E n̊ ũm̄ а. і̀d̀
It felt like standing at the end of a fuse.
Would this bomb explode, or be a dud.
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Holding that thought, he opened the door.
A VIP room made of gold and red marble.
One attendant who had finished preparations for every contingency.
She lifted her wide skirt and bowed.
Ӗṅu.mа
"Welcome. I am Ruri, Valdrova-nim's attendant."
She stood demurely as if nothing was wrong.
But her eyes were deliberately avoiding meeting Goz's gaze.
Goz himself wasn't paying Ruri any mind.
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Unlike when he tried to seize her, his lukewarm reaction felt suspicious instead.
Meanwhile, Erdes cackled and threw herself onto the sofa as she pleased.
Ёṅ û m̂ а̀ .і d
"Ugh, you keep making the atmosphere bloody. This is why men are no good, you know? In a classy place, hm? You should laugh and chat. Hey maid, I'll have a cup of tea."
"I'll prepare it right away."
As Ruri moved to act, Ferda lightly raised his hand, stopping her.
"It's tea for the continent's greatest mage. Should you be the one preparing it?"
"If that's the case......."
"I'll pour it myself."
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The reason Ferda did this was because he'd started feeling a sense of incongruity at Erdes's behavior.
If he left her be, he'd get swept up in her my-pace.
Ferda tried to serve tea.
But he didn't rise from his seat.
At his feet, shadows moved, shaping themselves and springing forth.
It was Ferda's Shadow Hand.
E n̄ u m а
Erdes's face hardened as she watched.
Openly saying "I use black magic" was the same as provoking "kill me."
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Ferda didn't care about that reaction and poured a cup of tea.
It was perfect in etiquette.
"It's top-grade tea from the western region's highlands. Please have a cup."
Steam rose from the warm tea, but her gaze was fixed solely on Ferda.
W̆ѐ b̌ńо̊v́ e l Е̃ ṅu m̃.а́
Her dead, rotten pollack eyes looked ready to draw a knife any second.
"Unfortunately, I'm not thirsty?"
"Didn't you say you needed to wet your throat?"
"Right. Women, you really can't figure them out, can you?"
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Killing intent felt in her smiling eyes.
But Ferda faced those eyes straight on and sipped his tea.
Ẃе̄ b́ ń о̀ v̆е l Еn̈ û ṁа̂
She'll shut that mouth now.
"Let's talk now."
Goz readjusted his seat and leaned forward.
"Why you secretly set foot in someone else's territory."
He tries to grasp the background of the incident first.
Ferda answered.
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"There was a demon research facility nearby."
"An imaginary research facility?"
"Didn't a landslide happen around there recently? As if something exploded."
"......."
No answer.
Means it's correct.
Еnû m ӑ .і d
"I figured out the location where they were running their project and tried to smash everything. That's why I had to move fast."
"So you used the Bending Bridge to cross over and preempt them?"
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The words Bending Bridge came from Goz's mouth.
That must be info Erdes gave.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
Goz asked.
Е_n̈ u̇ m а̌.іd
"Because it had to be done secretly."
"What's the reason?"
"Didn't I say secretly?"
Goz's face twisted viciously.
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He looked ready to unsheathe his claws any moment.
"Ferda Valdrova, not only did you barge into our territory as you pleased, you killed that person's son with your own hands. If you don't truly want war, you'd better speak straight."
Ê n̊ ů_m̃ а̇
I won't avoid a coming war.
But I have no intention of starting one unnecessarily.
"As I said, I did kill that Abel Silverwind bastard. And he did cause trouble. But not all of that happened because I wanted it to."
Ferda added.
"He was a demon follower. He tried to seize power through rebellion via a demon."
"How did you find that out?"
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"No need to go about it in a complicated way. He spilled it all himself. Whether he saw me as a fish already caught, or mistook me for a priest in a confessional, I don't know, but he confessed on his own."
Goz didn't flare up at the words 'demon follower'.
Meant Sitri had definitely stamped the contract seal.
The momentum tilted a little.
Ferda decided to say something a bit useless.
"Know what that bastard said? That Goz Silverwind is nothing but a usurper. Said you don't suit that power."
W̃ ѐ bn̄ ӧ v̆еl̆. Ẽ ń u m а
"Seems Silverwind's got lots of complaints too? Don't tell me small fry like that got greedy and started thinking funny—."
"Shut it."
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"You know I'm an ally, right?"
He shut Erdes's mouth as she scratched at a sore spot.
"Doubting my power can happen anytime. Challenging it is something Silverwind's descendants naturally must do. But if it's power gained through a demon contract, that's a different story."
What they want is pure power.
W е̊b̆ n о́v̆ е̃ l̀ Е n û ṁа
Power achieved through the blood passed down by the Lord of Steel and Wind.
"But what's that got to do with you killing him? You mean you did me a favor?"
"As if. I said I'd help if he wanted to overthrow."
Wind rises.
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Openly proposing a plot to kill you, who wouldn't be pissed?
"But he didn't accept. Not because he was noble, but because his overthrow plan itself needed me."
Е̇ n̂ ŭ mà
The wind stopped.
"A mere human like you?"
"He said he'd use me, string me along, then absorb that power."
"Who? Valdrova?"
"Ruri."
Goz's body flinched at those words.
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Erdes, watching Goz's reaction, cut in.
"Ruri? Who's that?"
"There is. A kid like that."
Goz tried to gloss over it, but Erdes was persistent.
She glanced at the silver-haired little maid and clapped her hands.
"Don't tell me, it's that little lady? Looking at her, seems right. There were traces of a small build, that was this little lady? That little girl is the—."
Еn ŭm̊.a
"Erdes Roton. I didn't bring you here to chatter."
Vertically slit pupils glared fiercely.
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Even more irritated than before.
Erdes smiled awkwardly and mimed zipping her mouth.
Goz's gaze, annoyed, inadvertently turned to Ruri.
Ruri showed only her back, unable to look back.
E_numа . i d̃
Ferda continued explaining the situation.
"Ruri came to save me, and in the end, she had no choice but to kill Abel."
"Hmm, then shall we call our Ruri who miraculously survived there and have her testify?"
Do as you please. I've got nothing to hide.
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Just as Ferda was about to agree to Erdes's question.
"Enough. That's sufficient talk."
Е̂n̈ u m̀а̀ . ïd̆
The one who refused that testimony was Goz.
At Goz putting on the brakes, Erdes glared displeased, then turned her gaze to Ferda.
She smiled brightly again.
"Then since the two gentlemen's talk is more or less done, it's my turn to speak."
Was there a turn in this conversation? With you barging in and running your mouth, I thought it was just a free-for-all.
He almost sneered but held back.
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Erdes stretched grandly and wore a languid smile.
"Well, whatever. It was a touching story, Ferda Regent. But I can't just accept that story at face value, you know?"
Expected reaction.
"There should be traces of a demon deal on that bastard, right?"
"Yeah, found it. Hidden in a real subtle spot? The heel. Well, no one checks that thoroughly, so Silverwind wouldn't know either."
Admits it was in a spot that could be overlooked.
Ẅе bǹо̆vë l̇ E n ūmа
But Ferda, the gaze looking at him felt ominous.
"But me, I'm Erdes Roton."
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The continent's greatest mage.
The model for mages, a witness of history, a war hero.
Her word becomes law, kings bow to her, a ruffian tyrant without borders.
At the same time, an authority on black magic.
Wе̃ b́ň оv̆ е̊ l̈ Е́nũm а̊
They say love and hate are a paper's thickness apart.
Erdes knows black magic as well as she hates it.
"A shitty demon bastard's scheme, I can spot it right away. For example, the timing the seal was stamped."
A smile hung on Erdes's lips.
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Like a spider looking at prey caught in its web.
"The contract seal carved into Abel Silverwind, the ink hadn't even dried yet?"
W е b̌ n о̇ v̇ е l Ě ǹu mа̀.
Checking the timing of the seal stamping - Ferda didn't know that either.
Wasn't interested in demon contracts.
No, precisely, the nature of such things was outside Ferda's interest.
Only how demons entangle humans and how to avoid it mattered.
That's what most people focus on.
But Erdes's obsession was broader.
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She obsessed over everything entangled with black magic.
It's a cleanliness obsession.
The type who does every kind of obsession to scrub the disease of black magic from the continent.
That obsession was now cornering Ferda.
"Shall I say what I think?"
She started laying out her deductions.
W ӗ b̈ n о v̇ е̌l̄ Еň um а̄
"Ferda Regent, you made 'some kind of deal' with Sitri, the Great Demon of Hell. You said you came to destroy a demon facility? That might be the deal. If it collapses in not days but hours, what then? Sitri gets a damn good pretext. Ignoring the adage not to deal with demons, you'd have quietly rode the Bending Bridge over."
Her words were frighteningly accurate.
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Enough for Ferda to feel pressure.
"But an unexpected event occurred. The Bending Bridge you rode closed for some reason. Ferda Regent was left alone like a stranded duck egg, and Abel appeared. Was that unexpected thing Sitri's trap?"
As she threw that question, Erdes smiled with her eyes and stared at Ferda.
Trying to check what's beyond the mask Ferda wears, and Ferda desperately hides it.
Ŵѐb̃ n.о̃ v е̌ l̃ Еn ü m̃а̂
"No. It's not. That wasn't Sitri's plan."
Did she read his expression?
She moved on to a different story.
"If it was that shallow a trick, you'd have noticed. Ferda Regent, you're no fool. You'd have checked the Bending Bridge for traps over and over. But...... even so, you couldn't put your body into the return Bending Bridge. That means you brought something out of that demon dwelling. Something important enough to stake your own life on."
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Throat burns dry.
As if hypnotizing, she twirled her finger round and round and continued.
E n̂ u m̊ а́
"Making Abel Silverwind run into you was probably one of the traps that bitch Sitri set up. Someone to execute punishment if you had other thoughts while preventing them. Even if he died, a good card that wouldn't become a loose end. But for some reason, she didn't use that trap. Instead, by stamping the contract seal on Abel Silverwind, she helped you."
Admiration almost came out.
Even while being cornered, she was this good.
If one can hate a field this much, can they see this far?
It was a depth on a different dimension from what Ferda felt.
"Why would a demon help you? If she just left the seal unstamped, Silverwind would've come questioning you, and you'd have broken a cold sweat trying to persuade them? War would've been a foregone conclusion? Why would she give up the chaotic situation demons love most?"
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Mouth parched dry.
Consciously keeping tension so his Adam's apple wouldn't bob.
"Three clues lead me to my conclusion."
Erdes extended her index finger.
"First, that you use black magic."
Middle finger.
Е ńu mа̄ . ïd́
"Second, that a Great Demon of Hell didn't trap you but saved you."
Ring finger.
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"Third, that a faint demon smell keeps wafting in this house."
Stabs right into the blind spot.
Whatever it is, there's one conclusion Erdes must not reach.
'Penelope.'
Е̊ṅ ü m̈ a
Already walking a tightrope over whether he made a demon contract or not.
If it's revealed he's hiding a demon, Erdes's hostility will completely tilt.
That hostility isn't just a nuisance.
Erdes is the person the First Prince, second only to the Emperor in influence, tries to curry favor with.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
She'll definitely put the brakes on the Far East's development.
Everything's tangled up in a headache.
Ёn ŭm̌ а . і d
'That's a problem too, but.'"
If in the process of explaining, it's revealed as a means to hold a Great Demon's lifeline, that was the bigger problem.
She'll definitely obsess over Penelope with everything she has.
That couldn't be allowed.
Everything in this castle exists only for Valdrova.
Just as Ferda was about to open his mouth, Erdes smiled with her eyes and asked.
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"You're a demon's child, aren't you?"
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