My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 274. Vessel

Demon.

Demons ensnare people with lies and bewitch them.

But that saying only applies to low-ranking demons who are capable of pulling such cheap tricks.

The more powerful the demons of Hell became, and the greater their authority, the more impossible it was for them to lie. Mana was imbued into their words, and that mana carried an element of coercion, giving their words an effect similar to a contract. Because of this, mid-ranking demons generally used written contracts rather than verbal agreements, inserting clever clauses to confuse or deceive their opponents and lure them into traps.

If even mid-ranking demons used contracts, then the Great Demons were even more obvious about it.

In particular, for Sitri to verbally say that she had staked her name on Ferda was essentially the same as declaring that she was willing to fall to the very bottom of Hell.

There is no way Sitri doesn’t know that.

That meant the question she had given Ferda was worth that much.

Ferda could not help but think carefully. He was making a deal with a demon, after all. He had to be cautious.

Perhaps she had sensed that something was strange after thinking it over carefully?

It was not impossible for someone to arrive at a sudden realization after a long period of deliberation.

Still, it was an extremely unlikely possibility.

One could not apply a demon’s way of thinking to a human being.

And so Ferda changed his line of thought.

Why now, of all times?

If this was a question Sitri had been holding onto for a long time and had merely assumed she would eventually ask, then why ask it now?

Sitri had noticed something about Olivia.

And she had also discovered that she could use that knowledge to create room for negotiation.

Normally, if someone offered something as a condition for a deal, one could assume it was because that thing was worth the price.

But Ferda was different.

The reason she offered it as a bargaining chip is because she’s uncertain.

That was why she was indirectly helping Ferda hide Olivia while simultaneously trying to leak information to him.

Like an explorer responsible for disarming a trap in a dungeon, she intended to push something uncertain onto Ferda.

She wanted to lead him toward a certain situation by feeding him information.

He had to resist the demon’s temptation.

But...

Ferda needed information.

It was like reaching his hand into a dark box without being able to see what was inside.

He simply wanted to know exactly what he was about to grasp.

"Fine."

That was why Ferda agreed to make a deal with the demon.

Sitri had staked her name.

Information that a Great Demon was willing to wager her very name for was worth hearing.

Sitri smiled with Olivia’s face.

—Since I’ve staked my name, you go first, Oppa.

"The reason I was able to figure it out is simple."

There was another reason Ferda had readily agreed.

He had not sworn an oath to tell the absolute truth.

He only had to state a single fact.

"The reason I knew that Penelope herself was the vessel is because I am Sierra’s child."

Sitri’s expression subtly changed.

She had clearly been shaken, but Ferda could not tell what emotion had caused it.

Because she was wearing Olivia’s appearance, it was even harder to tell.

As befitted a Great Demon, she was skilled at concealing her emotions.

"Hmm... So that’s how it is?"

She soon smiled.

Ferda could not tell whether she was simply smiling or plotting some sinister scheme.

"All right. I’ll tell you."

Sitri once again wrapped her words around Ferda with her sticky, seductive tone.

—I’ll tell you slowly, so listen carefully. You saw clearly how Ureas died, didn’t you, Oppa?

"Yes."

—Why do you think that happened? Could Ureas have made a contract with a demon right before his death?

Normally, that would have been the obvious conclusion.

But Ferda was the person who had survived despite being closest to Ureas.

When it came to King Heinkel, who had been possessed by Gamigin, the stench of sulfur had been overwhelming.

But Ureas, who had taken on Amon’s form, had not smelled of sulfur at all.

Considering that Amon, who symbolized the flames of Hell, should have carried an even stronger scent of sulfur, it made no sense that there had been none.

—That’s not it. It’s because they were fundamentally beings of that nature.

"What do you mean?"

—The Arken family. I’m talking about the characteristics of those people who possess what is commonly called the Golden Bloodline. The blood of demons.

She whispered directly into his ear.

—The blood of those we call Great Demons flows through them as well.

Ferda had suspected that they were connected to demons.

He had even vaguely speculated that they might be connected to demonic blood.

But he could hardly believe that Sitri, a Great Demon herself, had revealed it so openly.

Could she be joking?

Even as he considered that possibility, he could not dismiss what she had said.

—Isn’t it a fascinating family? They have plenty of siblings and descendants, yet there are no collateral branches, are there? Even if there are, they can’t even have children, so their bloodline doesn’t continue.

"....."

—People in noble society say it’s a conspiracy to prevent their wealth from being dispersed. But once you place a crown upon your head, you realize one thing.

Sitri exhaled as though she were experiencing ecstasy.

—Those who possess the qualities of rulers actually have the blood of demons flowing through their veins. They wanted to prevent that demonic blood from spreading in every direction at all costs.

"If you turned them into your puppets, why would you need to be so selective?"

If humans were created from demonic blood, the demons would have focused on spreading them.

The demons were targeting the Cerdes Continent, and the more vessels they had, the greater their advantage would be.

—If we had created them, that’s what we would have done. But we didn’t create them.

"You clearly said they were made with the blood of the Great Demons."

—Unfortunately, that was merely the material. We weren’t the ones who conceived or created them. Nor were the other Great Demons.

"How can you be so certain?"

—I wish we could have, but unfortunately, there is an absolute rule in Hell. A rule that prevents us from directly interfering with this world. As long as that rule remains engraved at the bottom of Hell, we cannot intervene.

Ferda frowned.

"How can you prove that you didn’t break that rule?"

—Think about it. The Great Demons are still fighting among themselves in Hell, each trying to expand their own territory. The moment they see a weakness, they prepare to sink their teeth into it. If there were a vast piece of land that they could devour without invading one another’s territories, what do you think would happen?

They might have devoured it first and thought about the consequences afterward.

The demons had employed all sorts of methods to consume this land, but in the end, all of them had come to nothing.

"Wait..."

After listening to Sitri, Ferda belatedly realized something.

"If the blood of the Arken family is made from the blood of the Great Demons... then does that mean Olivia is the same?"

—That’s right. And do you know what else that means?

Sitri smiled with her eyes at Ferda’s question.

Ferda flinched in surprise.

At that moment, Sitri, disguised as Olivia, looked exactly like Olivia herself.

—That girl Olivia has an incredibly strong concentration of my blood flowing through her. That’s why I’ve come to crave her so desperately.

It made no sense.

Light and divinity were what killed demons.

Olivia used the magic of the Alte Religion and had been chosen as a Saintess.

Although some said her selection was politically motivated, it had only been possible because her abilities had been recognized.

For someone who was the complete opposite of a demon to possess such a strong concentration of demonic blood—and Sitri’s blood at that—was completely contradictory.

Wasn’t Sitri herself also aware of that contradiction?

"So that’s why you simply want Olivia to remain beyond easy rescue."

—That’s right.

Sitri spoke.

—Whether that girl becomes a Saintess or breaks down completely because she can’t accept her circumstances, either way, I think she’d become something worth experimenting with.

"I can understand the latter, but what use would the former be?"

Becoming a Saintess should have been a disadvantage for Sitri.

But Sitri thought differently.

—Think about it. She has my blood running through her veins, and she reeks of my scent, yet she has a body capable of wielding divine power. What do you think would happen if I could take possession of that body?

She would be able to wield the power of a Great Demon of Hell while simultaneously using divine magic.

It meant she could become a catastrophic existence capable of wielding two fundamentally incompatible powers at the same time.

Sitri wanted Olivia to become her vessel.

"What if I kill Olivia before that happens?"

Ferda glared at her fiercely.

—Why do you think I’d tell you this if I thought you could?

Sitri scoffed and rubbed her cheek.

—I don’t think you’ll be able to kill Olivia, Oppa.

"Why not?"

—Because you’re a weak human who can’t help yourself.

Sitri, wearing Olivia’s appearance, moved farther away behind him.

—A weak human who believes he can save everything, only to be shattered miserably in the end.

The serpentine body that had been wrapped around Ferda slowly unwound, and all his senses returned to normal.

I can’t kill Olivia?

What an absurd thing to say.

Ferda wanted to dismiss it immediately, but he could not easily do so.

If such a day really came, what would he do?

He asked himself the question, but the answer merely echoed through the empty passage like an empty reverberation.

***

A place whose location was unknown.

Light slanting down from the east passed through the walls and bars, gently tickling a woman’s eyes and waking her.

Sensing the morning, the woman slowly rose.

Blue eyes and bright blonde hair.

Even her face upon waking possessed a beauty capable of leaving one speechless.

She was Olivia Arken, the Flower of the Arken Empire.

"Yo..."

Look.

Olivia reflexively tried to call someone before closing her mouth.

Only then did she realize that she was not in the Imperial Palace.

She was in a huge cage-like prison made of iron bars.

Perhaps it had been abandoned for a long time. The stone floor had been pierced by tree roots and tangled with vines.

Everything was much smaller than the room she had occupied as a princess.

The bed was barely large enough for her body to lie down on, while the uneven floor was treacherous enough that she would certainly fall if she misplaced her footing.

If other nobles had been imprisoned here, they would probably have felt humiliated.

But Olivia did not care.

Despite having lived as a princess, she quickly adapted to this place.

Knock, knock.

A polite knocking sound came from outside.

"Come in."

With her permission, a man quietly entered.

"Are you awake?"

The man had skin so white that it almost seemed to reflect the morning sunlight.

But the crimson eyes floating against his black sclera made it unmistakably clear that he was a member of the Demon Race.

"How are you finding your life here, Princess?"

His manner of speaking was extremely polite.

Strangely, the fact that he treated her simply as a human being, without even the slightest trace of ulterior motive in his eyes, made her feel at ease.

"I’m fine."

"I sincerely apologize for having to imprison you in a place like this despite your status as a princess, but I want you to understand that it could not be helped."

"It’s all right. It’s a little uncomfortable, but once you get used to it, it’s fine, isn’t it? And actually..."

Olivia smiled bitterly.

"I feel more at ease here than I did in the Imperial Palace."

"Is that so?"

"It’s an unpleasant place beyond your imagination. People who used the excuse of attending to me to monitor my every move. The worst of them pretended to assist me while bathing, only to try to sell songs about my body."

"You must have been extremely displeased."

"I managed to prevent anything from getting out by cutting off all their heads before they could spread anything, but... ever since that day, I haven’t even been able to hum while bathing. But things are different here. I can have time entirely to myself."

Sweet fruits grew every day on the vines wrapped around the tree trunks, and a clear spring flowed nearby without ever drying up.

Without servants, Olivia harvested the fruit herself and drew water from the spring, satisfying her hunger and thirst.

She had to do everything herself because there was no one to attend to her, but after adapting to it, she found it more comfortable than anything.

If she had not been a prisoner of the Demon Race, it would have been perfect.

"I believe your people call you ’Curved Demon.’ Is that correct?"

"Yes. You may call me Curved Demon."

"Your messenger abducting me was one thing, but... what do you intend to do with me now?"

"Didn’t I already tell you what I intend to do?"

"You did. That’s why I came along willingly."

Olivia’s eyes grew fierce.

Her expression clearly asked what had happened to that promise.

Curved Demon understood immediately and smiled.

"You may be pleased to hear that it has been fulfilled. The Emperor you hated so much is dead."

The Emperor.

Her father, whom Olivia had never once seen.

His death was something she had always wished for.

"Who did it?"

"Grand Duke Golt."

Valdemar Golt.

Upon hearing the name, Olivia’s expression remained cold, even though this should have been the moment when her revenge was finally accomplished.

"Why did you tempt that man?"

"Because he was the person who could approach the Emperor most closely and was trusted by him more than anyone else."

There was no way to refute that fact.

"That man made things very easy for us. Thanks to him, half the people were killed at your Ascension Ceremony, and everyone who attended became witnesses."

"......"

"You don’t look particularly happy. Does that mean you still have some affection for him as a blood relative?"

"Of course not."

Olivia had more than enough reason to feel that way.

"He called himself a patriot. He even carried out massacres in order to become one. And someone like that would kill the Emperor over a mere girl?"

"He definitely would have."

Curved Demon was certain.

"Do you know when human beings become the ugliest?"

"....."

"When their own death draws very near."

"....."

"When you’re young and full of life, you can afford to act recklessly. But what do you think happens when that recklessness has a blade pressed against your throat?"

"I suppose I’d beg until my hands and feet wore away."

"Humans are that ugly. The desire not to lose what they want, combined with the fear of their own death, drives them to pursue everything as an end in itself. Why else would he kill the Emperor, destroy the country, and gather an army?"

"......"

"Admit it, Princess. That man is obsessed with you. And the fall of the Empire that you desire is proceeding as well."

Olivia could not hide her bitterness.

She had always acted while prepared for a storm of bloodshed to follow.

But what if, even after piling mountains of corpses, the Empire remained standing defiantly for all to see?

That was what Olivia feared the most.

That fear had now taken root in Olivia’s heart, showing no sign of leaving.

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