Dragon's Breath

One month into the promise.

With three days remaining until the engagement ceremony with the Grand Duke, Ruri pointed at the paper and pen, her face thick with dissatisfaction.

"Please write a single vow for use in the engagement ceremony."

"Isn't there a formal version already in use?"

"There is, of course, but..."

Ruri's throat bobbed. She forced the sigh that had risen in place of a breath back down her throat.

"Since this is an unofficial engagement, she says she wants it conducted without empty formalities."

"And so?"

"She wishes to replace them by each of you reading vows you have written yourselves."

Ferda listened and simply nodded, unperturbed.

"A romantic, then."

"'Romantic' is far too kind a word. This is worse than getting married in a stable. Writing your own vows... what is this, some childish game of house?"

Ruri grumbled on. In the end she could no longer keep what she had been swallowing inside her small chest.

"Haaaaah..."

A breath. A desolate breath that slammed down as if it meant to punch a hole through the floor.

An engagement to a human, yet a private ceremony, and now they even have to write each other's vows...

Even a spawn bound to obey a dragon could not help but accumulate feelings. That sigh of hers was understandable.

Still, her loyalty is to Baldrova herself more than to the position of master.

Had the reverse been true, Ferda would never have been able to remain here. If she had truly wished it, Ruri could have tried to kill him or set some trap to create a blemish against him. Yet she had never resorted to such base methods.

If anything, she has helped.

He could sense the tangled state of Ruri's heart. She hoped this engagement would fail even as she simultaneously wished for Baldrova's happiness.

Trapped inside that contradiction, of course she is irritated.

A truly pitiable thing. Ferda decided to spare her a brief look of genuine sympathy.

"What is that look for?"

"I was thinking how truly pitiful you are."

At the sincere pity, Ruri's face crumpled.

"I do not wish to hear such words from a human like you."

"For now I am still a guest, so I will let that pass. But three days from now I will be her husband. What becomes of our relationship then?"

"It will be little different from now. I would prefer you not fall under the delusion that you will be able to give me orders."

"Of course not. That was not my intent in asking."

"Still, if you ever ask me to hit you, I will do so without the slightest hesitation."

"I will decline on my end."

"No need to worry. I am quite confident in my strength. And I control it well."

"? Unnecessary."

Ruri raised a dainty little fist. That same dainty fist had once smashed a bed and the floor beneath it. Even in jest, he had no desire to invite such a thing.

"In any case, once the engagement proceeds you will have to begin bringing servants into the castle. You will also need to select ministers to help govern the territory."

"Servants and ministers? Am I the one who must do that?"

"Yes. As husband to Grand Duke Baldrova, you will be responsible for the territories under her and all the miscellaneous affairs that come with them."

Ferda looked puzzled at that.

"You never seemed the type who likes seizing power. Are you telling me to seize it?"

"It is not humans who seize power that I dislike. It is humans who become blinded by it."

The third prince of the Arken Empire had grown so blinded by power that he could not escape death.

"Power is something that should be grasped by those who have no interest in it to begin with. Because they do not desire even greater power, they actually look after the lives of the people. That is the sort of human we need right now."

Ferda tilted his head.

"Are the people's lives not good?"

"As you saw with the current lords, it is an absolute mess."

Ferda recalled the lords who had gathered in the assembly. Bloated, sluggish bodies. The way they had trembled in terror that their own necks might be next—exactly like pigs locked inside a slaughterhouse.

"Those who should stand as pillars are all busy fattening their own bellies. Stationed on the front lines, they claim they never know when they might die, so they spend their time frequenting brothels and eating expensive food without a second thought. Even now their discontent is being hushed up by the military strength of the front. One day it may explode into a major uprising."

"I had no idea. That things were like that."

The people's lives. Hearing the words, Ferda felt a new question rise.

"Does Grand Duke Baldrova not wish for humans to be happy?"

"She does."

"If she simply stepped forward and spoke a single word, would almost everything not be resolved?"

"It would."

"Then why does she not?"

"..."

Ruri closed her mouth. Her face had gone cold, and she was radiating Dragon Fear she could no longer fully suppress—exactly as if someone had touched a dragon's reverse scale.

"On that matter I will remain silent for now. You will learn of it thoroughly enough in due time."

Hearing that, Ferda decided to take a step back.

"Very well. So I am simply to write the vow, then?"

"Yes. I will take my leave."

Ruri bowed and stepped out the door.

Haaaaaah.

The sound of a sigh traveled along the floor and reached Ferda's ears. Recalling everything Ruri had said, he picked up the pen.

A vow, is it...

They said the first half was the hardest. Ferda found himself stuck on the very first line. Should he have asked for more specific instructions on how to write it? It would have gone more smoothly if he had.

Shall I put it off for later?

Instead of the vow, Ferda decided to write a few letters. He had once said this to the lords:

But now the time had come to take an interest beyond "the slightest." That was the problem.

I told the lords I had no interest in them. If I suddenly start interfering, there will be pushback.

Ferda was well aware that his first impression had not been good. And now he would be going back on his word, making that impression even worse. Still, he had no choice but to send each of them a letter stating that he might, just possibly, interfere in internal affairs. At the end he added this line:

And that very day, replies from every single lord arrived.

The day of the engagement.

Ferda had displayed his abilities and, at the same time, proven that there was not a single falsehood in his words. With no further grounds for protest, Ruri quietly accepted the ceremony.

"Your epaulette is crooked. And after I went to the trouble of starching them, how could you wrinkle the trousers like this?"

Instead she began the day by finding fault with every little thing.

"I would be truly glad if I had hands and eyes in your position."

"Why not simply acquire a pair?"

"I believe you could do it yourself."

Ruri took a step back. Both her hands slipped behind her back.

"I refuse to touch you. I am merely the maid of the master I serve. Do not expect too much of me."

"Mm. Truly dog-like loyalty."

"Do you wish to fight me? Just say the word. I will gladly fight you in complete earnest at any time."

"No. I only meant that you are faithful."

Ruri growled, but Ferda accepted her nitpicking and dealt with each of her corrections one by one.

An engagement, is it...

Somehow it did not feel real. When a man takes a wife, he normally feels one of two things: the joy of marriage, or the sorrow of being sold off. Ferda felt neither.

It has been like this ever since the day I returned.

A mind far too tranquil for the owner of a Red Circle.

Am I only going through with this engagement because I believe it is something I must do?

He suspected it might be nothing more than mechanical action, dutiful and empty. With the overwhelming rage and hatred gone, even his other emotions had grown faint.

Is it right to face Baldrova with a heart like this?

A vague unease lingered in one corner of his chest.

Vague unease, is it...

Ferda allowed himself a faint smile. Vagueness is a human weakness.

For all my talk, I am still human after all.

For now, that was the only thing that mattered. Ferda decided to hold on to that single fact.

The engagement ceremony was held before Baldrova's lair.

Inside the lair, lit by hundreds of candle clusters, they planned to conduct the rite with Baldrova remaining only about twenty paces from the great iron door at the rear.

Preparations complete, Ruri knocked on the door.

"Master, we will begin the ceremony."

The massive iron door opened with careful slowness. Air escaped through the gap, diluted with the air outside, and flowed into Ferda's nose and mouth.

"Ugh."

His breath constricted. Though there was none of the killing intent he felt when fighting monsters, the mere presence carried a thick residue of fear. Had Ferda been even a little weaker, he would have collapsed on the spot.

Ruri scanned his condition and said,

"You must endure it."

"I... know."

"Then we will proceed with the engagement."

Ignoring his state, Ruri began the rites. He had already been told it would be like this, so Ferda sat upright and focused on steadying his breathing.

"Mortal and immortal shall this day become one, binding a golden thread that neither the authority of heaven nor the storms of time may sever."

Ruri set the prepared cup and wine stand before Ferda. Taking the bottle with care, she poured clear liquor while reciting the words.

"The mortal shall cast off the unknown, wash away fear, and thus become one."

As he had been instructed beforehand, Ferda accepted the cup and drank. The taste was as clean and lucid as its transparency.

I really cannot handle liquor.

Even as the years had passed he had never once enjoyed drinking, so this was the first alcohol of his life. After Ferda finished the first cup, Ruri poured the remaining half and carried it to the iron door.

"The immortal shall erase the emptiness of the infinite flow and thus become one."

Now it was Baldrova's turn to drink.

Srrr...

What emerged between the great iron doors was a claw larger than Ferda's entire body—the same terrifying weapon that had once torn monsters to shreds. The claw descended carefully toward the cup of engagement wine—

Clatter—!

—and knocked it over completely.

"..."

"..."

An awkward silence fell. With another clatter the claw withdrew back inside the iron door. Wondering if this was how it was supposed to go, Ferda glanced sideways at Ruri.

"...We will begin the ceremony again."

And so they did, exactly as she said. They read the engagement text, Ferda drank first, and then it was Baldrova's turn once more.

Clatter—!

In that fashion the claw overturned the tiny cup of engagement wine some three times. A crisis was slowly approaching for Ferda.

A few cups and I am already getting drunk...

His head throbbed; the strings of his five senses were growing slack. He had the distinct intuition that the next round would be the last.

Crack—.

Somewhere, something large shattered. To worry that the cave itself might be collapsing would have been foolish. Unless Ferda had misheard, the sound had definitely come from Ruri's body.

"Please excuse me for a moment."

Ruri squeezed her body through the slightly opened gap. Just as Ferda was preparing to wait, thinking she must be making some separate arrangement—

"Just what do you think you are doing, Master!"

Ruri's scolding voice came flying out of nowhere. Ferda's drunken haze vanished in an instant.

"The one who made a fuss about marrying a mortal was you, Master! The one who said you would get engaged was also you! And so what has this loyal servant Ruri done?"

The breath she had swallowed and reswallowed for the past three days—

"I endured it!"

—she began to pour out in full force.

"As Grand Duke you ought to have held a public engagement, yet you made it private and I endured it! And I endured and endured again this ceremony without even facing each other!"

Her voice grew steadily louder. The fury in it was greater than he had ever heard.

"And yet you are afraid to face your fiancé! Hiding like that! Sabotaging the engagement! Then what—exactly—is that fiancé standing out there supposed to become?!"

Rough breathing, and Baldrova unable even to squeak. From beyond came a deep sigh, then Ruri's voice again.

"Come out properly and greet your fiancé! If you tip over the engagement wine one more time, I will not stand by quietly either!"

After roaring her piece, Ruri emerged once more. Her face was businesslike and expressionless. Ferda found himself staring at her without meaning to. Through that gaze Ruri could guess exactly what he was thinking.

"...Did you hear that, by any chance?"

"I imagine even the distant lords heard it."

"...Hah. What can one do?"

Ruri heaved a heavy sigh as if her head ached, then said,

"As you can sufficiently infer by now, my master suffers from anthropophobia."

"Anthropophobia meaning..."

"She is terrified of dealing with humans."

"..."

"Anyone who heard would find it ridiculous. The savior of the world, hiding because she is afraid of mortals."

"You are giving me rather important information."

"It is something you would have to know eventually. Even if you disliked it, this fact could never be hidden forever."

Her silver eyes slid downward as she continued.

"You are about to become her companion. That means her weaknesses are your weaknesses as well."

"Joint responsibility, is it?"

"Is that not what marriage is?"

Ferda quietly nodded at her words. Marriage as joint responsibility. For some reason the idea was not entirely welcome. Never once in his life had he found the phrase "joint responsibility" pleasant.

A short while later the closed door opened again. He thought the great claw would emerge once more, yet what met his two eyes was a human form. Ferda turned his gaze upon the person who would become his companion.

"...Hm?"

He was so startled the sound escaped him.

...Armor?

And not just any armor—full plate. The helm was shaped like a dragon's head. Though wrought of metal, it was so finely detailed and imposing that for an instant one might truly mistake it for a dragon. It looked exactly as one might imagine a dragon would appear if it walked about on two legs.

The detailing of the armor was astonishing, but more than that—

She is enormous.

—was her height. Ferda himself stood 180 centimeters, tall for a man, yet he had to look far above his own head. By height alone she was 240 centimeters; without the armor she would still be around 220.

I had heard that a dragon's polymorph is wondrously beautiful.

If that standard of beauty applied to humans, then there existed 220-centimeter beauties... Was the one inside actually a man?

"We will proceed with the final engagement ceremony."

Before the ominous speculation could take root, Ruri resumed the rite. Ferda drank the engagement wine he had already downed three times before. Under the alcohol his eyelids felt as heavy as lead. He half expected the cup to be tipped again, but that seemed unlikely. Ruri had simply taken hold of the helmet itself so that nothing could be spilled or overturned.

And so, within that cold, hard shell, Ferda saw her face for the first time—the face of the Red Dragon, Baldrova—

"Ah."

—and a sound of pure admiration left him unbidden.