Chapter 101
A Home
Boom!
With a sound that shook the village of Hestia, the situation came to an end.
Those who had gathered to eliminate the remaining monsters now found themselves surrounding Valdrova.
Every gaze was fixed on her.
“What in the world is this…?”
“Ugh…”
Those with weak stomachs retched at the sight.
Some recognized what she was.
A berserker.
People who destroyed everything after being consumed by rage.
That fury could not be controlled. Unless a mage capable of casting calming magic was present, they were treated as little more than small ogres.
The villagers could guess why a woman capable of displaying such absurd strength was here.
Their assumptions were far from certain, but fear spread quickly nonetheless.
Everyone was afraid of Valdrova.
Valdrova did nothing.
She merely lifted her head slightly, glanced around, and remained seated where she was.
Everyone exchanged wary looks and hesitated.
No one dared approach the crater where the ground had caved in from a single blow.
“Are you all right, Sir Knight?”
A man wearing the epaulets of the captain of the guard approached her.
He had been braver than anyone else when standing against the monsters.
Valdrova could not answer.
“Can you stand? Would you like some help?”
William held out his hand, but Valdrova did not even look at it.
She remained motionless, as though she had died where she sat.
Only one voice managed to stir her mind.
“Sir William.”
It was Ferda.
Valdrova raised her head and looked up at him.
“Yes, Regent.”
“I heard an enormous explosion just now. This appears to have been the source…”
Ferda looked at her.
Those cold eyes.
They were not the same eyes that had once looked upon her with warmth.
“You…”
Ferda could not continue.
Valdrova knew why.
Because I am…
A monster.
Ferda walked toward her.
Unable to bear looking at his expression, Valdrova lowered her head.
With her vision obscured, the sound of his footsteps became even clearer.
Once he had drawn near, Ferda spoke.
“Come to the castle. I have something to discuss with you.”
There was none of his usual gentleness toward her.
She had seen this room several times before, yet it felt very different now.
Before, she had looked around it as its owner.
Now, she had come as a guest.
It was a ridiculous situation.
The owner of the castle had arrived as a guest.
Ferda knew nothing of that fact.
He personally prepared the tea in the reception room and poured it.
“Normally, a maid would handle this, but everyone is busy dealing with the situation outside, so I have no choice but to do it myself. Forgive me if it tastes bad.”
“…”
“Still, consider yourself fortunate. I made it a rule that every knight entering the castle must wash first, so having someone else do it would only have wasted time.”
Ferda pushed a teacup toward Valdrova.
She did not care whether it tasted good or bad.
Tea made for me by Mr. Ferda…
That alone made it seem extraordinarily precious.
She wanted to drink it.
But if she removed her helmet, he would see her face.
Ferda would be shocked.
Then she would have to explain what she had been doing all this time, and everything would become complicated.
He would be disgusted with her.
She did not want to face such a tragedy.
Let’s just stay still.
Without saying a word, Valdrova set the teacup down.
Ferda watched her quietly before beginning another conversation.
“I heard you claimed to have taken a vow of silence.”
Valdrova nodded.
“It is a convenient excuse. Claim that you have taken a vow of silence, and you only need to answer the questions asked of you. You never have to say anything unnecessary. Isn’t that right?”
Ferda’s cold gaze seemed to pierce through her.
“It may work on ignorant commoners, but I was raised in a family of knights. Vows of silence are usually taken only by paladins. And if you truly served someone, there would have been some sign of it upon your person.”
“…”
“But you serve no one. All you possess is strength and combat ability surpassing that of ordinary knights. So why did you tell such a lie?”
He spoke cynically.
“The answer is obvious. You must have concealed your identity in an attempt to escape your past.”
Valdrova clenched her fists.
Although Ferda had gotten some details wrong, he had grasped the essence of the matter.
Valdrova hated herself.
She hated herself even more than the demons who had driven so many people to their deaths, because her very existence made others tremble in fear.
“Tell me.”
Ferda lifted his teacup and asked,
“Have you ever killed someone while consumed by that rage?”
Valdrova nodded.
“Is that why you fled and came here?”
She nodded again.
“I see.”
A brief silence followed.
After thinking for a moment, Ferda asked her another question.
“Do you regret what happened that day?”
Regret.
How could she possibly not regret it?
For decades, she had drowned in grief, hated herself, and suffered from nightmares.
She had prayed for divine mercy and salvation, but no one had answered her.
Instead of moving forward, she had remained frozen in place, despising herself.
Whenever she thought of those who had died in the Dragon-Demon War, only one thought came to mind.
If the people she had killed could only return to life, she would not care if she became an evil dragon with the entire world as her enemy.
Valdrova nodded.
“I see.”
That calm acknowledgment felt like the silence before a storm.
She expected him to curse her at any moment.
To tell her that a monster like her had no place in this city.
To order her to leave immediately.
“You…”
But the storm never came.
“Do you like this village?”
It was an incredibly easy question.
Valdrova nodded.
“Do you also wish to protect it?”
She nodded repeatedly.
“Then… would you also be willing to accept the knighthood I intend to offer you?”
Valdrova raised her head.
A knight…
A position dedicated to protecting the people and guarding one’s sovereign.
The chivalric ideal was something every village boy dreamed of.
Valdrova, who cherished the very concept of protection, had also felt drawn to such a position.
But why?
She could not understand.
The people saw her as a monster.
Even those girls had trembled in fear.
She was an evil dragon.
No, an evil person.
Someone like her should never become a knight.
“Do you believe you are unworthy?”
Valdrova nodded.
“What a worthless notion.”
It was a merciless insult.
The tenderhearted Valdrova felt wounded.
“Do you know how many adventurers in Hestia Village took part in the battle?”
She shook her head.
“Twenty-three teams entered the village. Seventy-three people in total. Every one of them possessed strength, knowledge, or both.”
“…”
“And yet only four teams participated in the defense. Do you understand what that means? It means the other nineteen teams did not care whether people died or whether the village was destroyed.”
Ferda leaned forward as he spoke.
“But you did not do that. You could have hidden away with those fools, yet you chose to act in order to protect this village.”
“…”
“That is because you understand that the people before you now matter more than what happened in the past.”
At those words, something inside Valdrova’s chest disappeared.
She had thought he was looking at her as though she were an endlessly cold monster.
But he was not.
That had been Valdrova’s misunderstanding from the very beginning.
Though his gaze was not gentle, it held respect.
“If you truly wish to protect this place, then your past means nothing to me.”
You did nothing wrong.
You need only continue moving forward.
What is this…?
She felt something strange.
She had shared conversations like this with Ferda several times before, back when she had received his mana.
Ferda had always been kind then.
But it never put me at ease.
Whenever Ferda dealt with her, he treated her like a delicate flower that might shatter at any moment.
His careful, gentle hands merely brushed against her skin before withdrawing.
Valdrova had been unable to believe his words.
That was why even his comfort had faded as quickly as any other fleeting emotion.
This is different from then.
His tone and gaze held no tenderness.
Everything about him was the attitude of someone speaking to a stranger.
It feels as though I’m meeting him for the first time.
He did not hesitate to touch what lay within her, drawing out a profound sense of empathy from deep inside.
It felt as though she were seeing another side of Ferda.
Her heart pounded.
This feeling, deeper than what she had experienced when she first saw him, could only be called love.
“Do you think I am an understanding man?”
Valdrova nodded at his question.
“Unfortunately, I am not that kind of person. I am only pretending to be understanding because you resemble someone I have already met once before.”
Who could that possibly be?
As she wondered silently, he continued.
“She is truly a beautiful woman.”
Beautiful.
Ferda smiled as he said the word.
At the sight of that smile, Valdrova felt a tightness in her chest.
They said Mr. Ferda has never smiled at anyone other than me…
That was what Luri had told her.
That he was gentle because it was Valdrova.
That he smiled because it was Valdrova.
Who could this woman possibly be to make him act that way?
“I have only seen her face once, and I cannot even say I saw it properly.”
He only saw her face once, yet he already thought so highly of her?
“And the first face I saw was soaked in tears.”
Was she so beautiful even while crying…?
“I always want to see her face, but I cannot bring myself to ask.”
What a terrible woman. She will not even show him her face once…
“Still, the thought that she is resting peacefully beneath this castle is enough to comfort me.”
Beneath this castle…
Wait.
That woman—
“Is it me?”
Valdrova realized it only belatedly.
When she reconsidered everything he had said, did it not perfectly match her own circumstances?
“Ah…”
Valdrova’s face turned bright red.
Now that she had realized it, she wanted to bolt out of the room immediately.
She wanted to return to her lair, roll across the floor as usual, and whine to herself.
But she used every ounce of strength she had to suppress her trembling and continued pretending to be a stranger.
Now I absolutely cannot let him find out.
For Ferda’s sake—and for her own!
“I have rambled for too long. So, would you reconsider accepting the knighthood?”
Ferda returned to the main subject.
Valdrova decided to think it over again.
If I become a knight… then I could protect Mr. Ferda.
Her heart raced.
Had she been here as a dragon—as Valdrova herself—she would never have dared to listen to such words.
Hearing them like this filled her with an excitement she could not conceal.
I want to protect the village.
But even greater than that—
I want to protect Mr. Ferda.
And greater still—
I want to hear more about what he thinks of me!
A woman who lacked the courage to ask him face-to-face.
A man who could not speak his true feelings in front of her.
This was the perfect opportunity for her to hear what lay in his heart directly.
That reason alone was almost enough to decide everything.
Just as Valdrova was about to give him her answer—
“Lord Ferda.”
Luri entered the room.
“How is the situation in the village?”
“The recovery is proceeding smoothly.”
“Was there any bad news?”
“Nothing in particular. The number of deaths was minimal. There were many critically wounded, but emergency treatment was administered quickly, so none of their lives are in danger.”
“That is fortunate.”
“Allow me to serve you.”
She quickly and skillfully took her place and began pouring tea.
Luri’s gaze briefly shifted toward the suit of armor.
“Hmm?”
Though normally indifferent toward humans, she continued staring at it for some reason.
Luri studied the armor intently.
Her expression suggested that something was hovering at the edge of her memory, as though she were on the verge of realizing it but could not quite grasp it.
A moment later—
“…Huh?”
Luri’s expression abruptly twisted.
Valdrova knew that look.
She noticed!
Her face went pale inside the armor.
Luri stared at her with an expression of utter disbelief, then kept her mouth shut in accordance with the supposed vow of silence.
Ferda, who had noticed nothing, merely found Luri’s behavior strange.
“What is it?”
“…It is nothing. I was merely reminded of some filth left behind in the village.”
Luri calmly finished serving the tea and moved behind Ferda.
“Then, let us continue—”
“My apologies.”
Luri interrupted him.
“What were you discussing, if I may ask?”
“…This is the first time you have ever asked such a question.”
She had always remained faithful to her role.
She stood behind him like part of the furniture and never interfered.
“It appeared to be an important discussion. I felt that I might need to know as well.”
Ferda answered without resistance.
“I asked whether she would swear herself to me as a knight.”
“A knightly… oath…?”
Her face went blank with disbelief.
“And did she accept?”
“I was just about to hear her answer.”
“Oh…”
Luri narrowed her eyes and slowly looked over the knight.
“Is that so?”
Valdrova’s body shrank instinctively.
Was she planning to expose her identity?
Denying the possibility desperately in her mind, she sent Luri a telepathic plea.
Please pretend you do not know!
Luri had no intention of exposing her.
Instead, she responded far more spitefully than Valdrova had expected.
“Lord Ferda, what do you think of this?”
“Of what?”
“A situation in which a knight of high status swears loyalty to a commoner.”
Ferda answered.
“A knight cannot swear loyalty to a commoner, but one can remain loyal to one’s own convictions. If those convictions lead one to protect the people, it may appear as though the knight serves commoners. That would be a noble thing.”
That was precisely why Ferda had made William captain of the guard.
If the village grew larger, he had even considered granting William a knighthood.
“That was merely an example. Allow me to phrase it differently. Suppose…”
She pretended to search for the right words before continuing.
“What if Lady Valdrova were to swear loyalty to you, Lord Ferda?”
Ferda frowned.
He glared at Luri as though asking whether she had lost her mind.
“Absurd. Such a thing could never happen. I am the one who should swear loyalty to her, while she is the one who must place her trust in me. Saying that she should serve me would be little different from insulting her.”
“My point exactly.”
“If you already knew that, then do not speak so carelessly. I cannot tolerate such a suggestion, even as a hypothetical example.”
“My apologies. I was merely curious.”
Luri folded her arms and glared at Valdrova.
Her expression seemed to ask whether Valdrova now understood just how ridiculous this entire situation was.
“So, what is your answer?”
Ferda asked.
There could only be one answer.