LIGHTNOVELONLINE Ch 03 (part 2)
Chapter 3 (PART 2)
“…Sigh.”
Just as if she was about to take a step back, Ruri sighed, then slammed the door shut with a loud **bang**.
Her usually emotionless, businesslike face remained unchanged.
But Ferda, who had harbored hatred and a thirst for revenge for so long, could tell.
He could read the emotion buried in her eyes.
Disgust.
“I’ll keep it brief. Turn around and leave right now.”
It was a command filled with emotion.
But Ferda wasn’t scared
.
“For a message from the Void King, that’s awfully short.”
“No, this isn’t a message from my master. This is my own will as her servant.”
Ruri began walking slowly toward him.
With each step she took, her appearance changed.
A pair of horns sharp enough to pierce the heavens sprouted from her head, and her skirt, which fell gracefully to her ankles, flared outward in an imposing manner.
She revealed her dragon spawn form, clearly trying to intimidate him.
**”Dragon Fear?”**
He had expected her to be exceptional, but this was beyond even his expectations.
The fact that a dragonspawn servant could wield Dragon Fear was remarkable.
Ferda felt his throat tighten, cold sweat running down his back.
But mentally, he was calm.
For someone who had seen far worse, this was nothing but a little performance.
“I know all about people like you.”
“Oh? And what kind of person am I?”
“Foolish mortals, blinded by greed, who believe they can bend the heavens to their will with their own hands.”
Her words carried a deep-seated disgust grounded in experience.
“Trash that cares nothing for my master, seeking only the power and ambition they can gain.”
Ferda felt a strange sense of familiarity at her words.
Where had he heard something like this before?
It clicked—her words mirrored what he himself had said during his conversation with Huren just a few hours earlier.
“So that’s why the Third Prince was killed?”
Ruri nodded.
“Yes. That man intended to marry my master and treat her like a mere servant. He was utterly revolting. I don’t know how he thought he wouldn’t be caught.”
Ferda murmured under his breath.
“Was that really the reason?”
He recalled what he had learned after consuming Baldrova’s heart and understanding her emotions.
He knew at least this much: she wasn’t the kind of tyrant who would kill the Third Prince simply because he was “unworthy.”
The Third Prince had overreached, attempting to seize power far beyond his grasp.
Even stepping down from his claim to the throne had been part of his larger scheme to gain greater power and eventually usurp it.
**”In the end, he was just too arrogant.”**
“So now, while my master is giving you money to leave, take it and go. If you want, I’ll even carry your weak body back to the Empire myself.”
It was hatred with a reason behind it.
But it was also hatred that Ferda had no reason to accept.
Still, Ferda didn’t get angry.
He had long since learned enough to remain unfazed by petty hostility.
“I, Ferda Rosnova, will speak truthfully and without a single lie here and now.”
Ferda spoke with a serious gaze as he looked down at her.
“I, Ferda Rosnova, did not come here under anyone’s pressure.”
He recalled the emotions he had learned through Baldrova’s heart.
She had dreamed countless dreams, only to have every one of them crushed.
She had endured endless malice and scorn from others while battling her own murderous instincts within.
Even she wasn’t her own ally.
And yet, she had continued to fight, endlessly.
That was something Ferda himself could never have done.
“I, Ferda Rosnova, seek neither power nor treasures.”
Baldrova might not remember, but Ferda did.
He remembered the moment she sacrificed herself and her own life in the hope that someone else could find happiness.
He remembered how she had given even her heart to selfish Ferda.
And so, even if she didn’t remember him now—
“I, Ferda Rosnova, have come here solely as Baldrova’s fiancé.”
As long as I remember,
I will stand by your side.
“Tell her this: Since we are to be husband and wife, let us resolve any misunderstandings not through the words of a servant but through our own mouths and ears.”
Ruri’s patience finally snapped.
“You insolent fool! Do you even know who my master is, to speak such nonsense—!”
Her small, delicate hand shot toward Ferda’s neck.
If she grabbed him, his neck would snap like a reed in autumn.
**Thunk.**
The sound of the iron door being struck echoed.
Ruri instantly regained her composure.
At the same time, the oppressive dragon fear she had been emitting dissipated.
The girl, who just moments ago had been ready to kill him, lowered her head to Ferda.
“Excuse me.”
“Go ahead.”
Ferda remained calm to the end.
Ruri, having heard Baldrova’s response, returned once more.
Her doll-like face held a faintly dissatisfied expression.
Ferda immediately sensed that it was good news.
“She said she understands your words and has agreed to proceed with the engagement.”
As expected.
No matter how brazen a servant might be, they couldn’t go against their master’s will.
“Is that so? Understood.”
“This way…”
The murderous tension from earlier vanished without a trace, replaced by her usual detached, businesslike tone.
Ferda followed her as she led the way again.
—
Late at night, beneath Baldrova’s mountain fortress,
Ruri, the servant of Baldrova, returned to the dragon’s lair.
Crossing through the tightly shut iron doors, she stepped inside.
There, a massive dragon with crimson scales lay coiled gracefully.
**”You’re back.”**
Golden eyes pierced through the darkness, glowing faintly.
Ruri bowed with poise and precision.
“To behold the presence of one of the Twelve Sovereigns, the pinnacle of absolute power… truly, it is a sight worthy of your title as the ruler of this world.”
**”Is that so? All I’m doing is lying here.”**
“True elegance, master, is something that looks crude when imitated. Only what is so natural that one isn’t even aware of it can be considered true elegance.”
**”Is that so…?”**
Ruri’s eyes gleamed with sincerity, though Baldrova seemed puzzled.
“Are you really planning to marry a mortal?”
**”Wasn’t this what I desired? You, too, respected my wishes.”**
“That was only because you insisted back then. It’s not too late to change your mind. A ruler’s virtue includes having the courage to take back their word.”
Ruri stubbornly pushed for her to reconsider, but Baldrova shook her head.
**”I will not take it back. My thoughts remain unchanged.”**
“Tch…”
Clicking her tongue in frustration, Ruri’s face showed nothing but dissatisfaction.
Baldrova, unbothered by her disrespect, asked calmly.
“Tell me, what kind of man is the one who will become my mate?”
Ruri shook her head.
“Don’t even get me started. He’s just a weak human.”
“How weak?”
“I thought he’d be strong since he’s from a knightly family, but he was practically dying just from the walk here. A frail, pathetic body.”
“And?”
“He’s also hideous. I thought he was eighteen, but his face looks so old and unkempt.”
“Ruri.”
“…Apologies. He’s rather good-looking. Like the type who’s probably made a lot of women cry.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Ruri knew exactly what Baldrova wanted to hear.
Reluctantly, she spoke.
“He’s… unusual.”
“Unusual?”
“I am a dragon spawn, one who carries the blood of dragons. Instilling fear in mortals is child’s play for me. But…”
She recalled her memories of Ferda.
“He didn’t fear me. Not even once. So… I believe he will be able to face you directly.”
“Is that so?”
Ruri frowned.
For a human to face a dragon head-on was unthinkable.
“That’s good.”
On the other hand, Baldrova smiled.
“To think he’s someone who can meet me on equal terms.”
“Equal… terms?”
“Yes. Equal terms.”
It was a far cry from Ruri’s understanding of the word “equal.”
For humans to meet other humans as equals, sure—that was normal.
But for a human to face a dragon as an equal? That was unheard of.
Dragons were meant to rule, and humans were meant to submit.
That was the natural order.
Ruri had plenty she wanted to say, but she held her tongue.
In the end, if her master was satisfied, that was all that mattered.