Chapter 17: Spying on a god’s shame

The maid flinched and asked again.

“Eh? Are you saying you will take her, sir?”

“Think about it carefully. According to your own words, this girl will continue being unable to properly do what she is ordered, and everything will remain the same. Then, in the end, who will have to take care of it again? You, isn’t that right?”

“……”

The maid’s lips tightened.

Indeed, that was already happening, and thinking that it would continue happening made irritation rise to her head.

“You have the authority to give orders to this girl, do you not?”

“Yes… that is true.”

“If you have similar authority, then you could also order her to get out of this house.”

“Hmm… even so, she is a girl my master appreciates.”

“That is what you say with words. But think carefully.”

Perda began to coax the maid calmly.

“The brighter jewels shine, the more their flaws become visible. In the long term, who do you think will suffer more? Your master now enjoys the good life with the title of Sage. Is it not the decision of a loyal servant to correct and conceal the flaws of someone like that?”

“……”

The maid’s gaze changed.

Perda’s words began to seem strangely reasonable to her.

The very fact that she hesitated meant she was already falling.

Perda decided to deliver the final blow.

“I will help you make that decision more easily.”

He took out three gold coins and placed them in the maid’s hand.

“A-ah! G-good heavens…!”

The woman’s eyes widened.

Three gold coins.

For a commoner, even seeing a single gold coin in an entire lifetime of work was difficult.

Receiving three at once was enough to cloud any judgment.

‘Yes… to conceal my master’s flaws, trash like this…’

The maid cleared her throat and immediately began rubbing her hands with a servile smile.

“Then, sir… what must I do?”

“It is simple. All words have power. You only need to give her an order. Tell her to abandon her name from now on.”

“Ah, understood. Brat, leave that and come here.”

The girl stood up and walked to the maid’s side.

“Listen carefully, you damned brat.”

At those words, the girl nodded.

“From now on, you are going to abandon your name. And from this moment, your master will be this gentleman. So follow him from now on. Understood?”

The girl’s eyes slowly lifted toward Perda.

Empty pupils, unfocused, as if asking a silent question.

Perda looked directly into those eyes and asked,

“Will you acknowledge me as your master?”

At the question, the girl responded by nodding.

She nodded again and again.

“Good. Confirmed.”

Perda looked up at the middle-aged maid.

She was too busy caressing the gold coins.

“Since the deal has been closed, I will tell you an interesting fact.”

“An… interesting fact?”

Now that he had obtained what he wanted, it was time to reveal the truth.

“Why your master appreciates a girl as incredibly clumsy as this one, whom you yourself despised.”

“Well… because she is somewhat pretty and that is all…”

“No. Helus Povidas, your master, prefers women with large breasts. And he likes women who laugh loudly at unfunny jokes as if they adore them. He is a man with an enormous inferiority complex. He lacks the confidence to face intelligent women, so he prefers empty ones. And even if she is somewhat pretty, there is no reason for him to like such a young and expressionless servant like this.”

The maid’s face began to stiffen.

She did not understand why she was suddenly being told all that, but the undertone of the speech seemed to scream that she had made a mistake.

“Would you believe me if I told you that this girl is, in fact, the source of the clairvoyance your master possesses?”

“What are you saying? How could someone as stupid as this…?”

Confusion was reflected in her eyes.

At that moment, the maid realized.

She realized that she had been the truly foolish one, blinded by her desires.

And also that she had fallen into a trap.

With trembling hands, she extended the three gold coins again.

“I-I… I will can-cancel this. I will return the money, so give me back the girl—”

“No. That is not necessary. And even if you returned it, you would not be able to leave alive.”

“W-why?”

“Because you already understood what I told you, did you not? What you just heard is like spying on a god’s shame. I hope you understand that as well.”

There was no alternative.

Whoever spies on a god’s shame must die.

The maid’s face turned pale.

“The reason I told you is because, at least, I am showing you some goodwill. It means you should take that money and flee immediately.”

Perda gave the advice with the same coldness as always.

“The moment your master catches you, you will disappear without a trace.”

***

“Do you think a human can suddenly attain enlightenment?”

Perda asked Ruri.

She answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Humans believe they live by accumulating knowledge over time, but they cannot live only on that accumulation. I think they have survived because there exists a spark that cannot be reached through accumulated knowledge alone.”

It was a perspective befitting a servant of an immortal.

“You are partly right. But you are also wrong.”

“In what part?”

“They say that no matter how much you dig in a place without a vein, you will never find water. Even if someone awakens, wisdom that never existed cannot suddenly spring forth.”

Perda looked at the name on the list.

Helus Povidas.

“This man is the same.”

“Then, what you are saying is that the Sage of Water is only a scarecrow…”

Ruri looked away.

Beside her, a blonde girl of similar height stood with a docile posture.

Her unfocused eyes gave the perfect impression for her to be called stupid.

“Are you saying that this clumsy girl is the source?”

Perda made a gesture as if pulling an invisible leash.

“Have you heard of the slave sage?”

Humanity stores and compresses knowledge, learns from the past, and opens a path toward the future.

In Perda’s world, where one does not advance by colliding with the body, that was what they called it.

To predict the unpredictable.

To control the uncontrollable.

That is the core of those who seek knowledge, and each advances toward it in their own way.

To connect knowledge with knowledge to obtain new conclusions.

To explore and dig to unearth lost techniques.

Or to pray to the gods to obtain the desired answers.

Or even to set foot in forbidden domains that should never be stepped upon.

‘Of all that, the most effective is still the forbidden territory.’

Not to kiss a god, nor to see him smile.

But to spy on his shame.

The girl Perda had obtained had also set foot in that forbidden territory.

To acquire wisdom capable of shaking the world, it was necessary to pay an enormous price.

And that price was surprisingly simple.

‘Who am I?’

One loses the ability to ask that question.

A question so simple, and at the same time, absolutely fundamental.

Knowing who you are is tied to why you live.

And why you live leads to your actions.

But, at the same time, the fact of not being able to think about it is what allows survival.

The ultimate wisdom and knowledge, incapable of moving or thinking on their own.

The ultimate tool.

“That is how a slave sage is born.”

“To lose oneself in exchange for power truly is a stupid choice.”

“Yes. It is a truly stupid choice.”

Perda murmured bitterly.

Ruri could not understand why he made that expression.

“Then… what kind of forbidden knowledge did she obtain to end up like this?”

“It is simple.”

Perda tapped her lightly on the head.

“Manseosseo.”

“Manseosseo?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that inside that small head there are more books than in the entire library of Escolea?”

“……”

Ruri glanced sideways at the girl.

There was not a trace of magical power, nor an ominous aura. A completely ordinary girl.

If she had passed her on the street, she would have taken her for a random fool and walked past.

To say that she had more books than the Manseosseo, considered the compendium of human intelligence?

It was not easy to believe, but she did not refute it.

After all, the choice had been Perda’s, and the responsibility was his as well.

“Look at me.”

Perda gave the order to the girl.

Her eyes fixed on him.

“Before giving you a name, I will impose a highest-priority order on you.”

Perda spoke clearly, syllable by syllable.

“This order will be engraved like your breathing and the beating of your heart, and it will become an absolute and unchangeable truth.”

She nodded.

Perda, as if reciting a spell, continued.

“The sovereign of great power, the Dragon Queen, the Grand Duchess Valdrova, will be the beginning of your existence and also your end. You will devote your entire life to serving her.”

She nodded.

“I, Perda Valdrova, as her representative, will possess command authority and give you orders.”

She nodded.

“However, if any order contradicts the convictions of the Grand Duchess Valdrova or goes against her, you may object to it. And if you still cannot understand…”

After a very brief silence, he spoke again.

“As a last resort, you will be permitted to rebel. Do you remember everything?”

She nodded.

“Good. From now on, your name will be Morida.”

The girl received the name Morida.

In her eyes, a strange vitality began to shine.

***

“Except for Vernell Marquis, you have managed to recruit them all.”

In the office of Valdrova Castle.

“That man will come soon as well.”

“Are you sure?”

“If after telling him all that he does not come, then I will have to give up.”

There was no obsession nor attachment of the kind I must obtain him at any cost.

It was rather like letting bonds flow, just as time flows.

‘It is almost like the behavior of immortals.’

Even Ruri, who clearly distinguished between those two things, felt confused.

Ruri looked at the paper with four names and four lines written.

“Then, are these four the end for now?”

Perda shook his head.

“In truth, one more is missing.”

“Who?”

Perda wrote the name of the person he had in mind.

– Ruri Valdrova.

“It is you.”

Ruri showed sincere rejection.

“I have not the slightest intention of taking your side. Do not misunderstand just because we have dealt with each other a little.”

Perda did not overlook her loyalty.

“That is fine. That is not what I desire either. Rather, I prefer that you continue distrusting and hating me as before.”

“……What do you mean?”

“If Morida were ever to lead a rebellion, you should stand at the front.”

“…….”

Ruri’s expression hardened.

She looked more shaken than when she had heard the word assistant.

“That means… I must kill you?”

“That is right.”

“Why?”

Perda answered calmly.

“Unlike immortal beings such as dragons, humans are destined to die someday.”

“……!”

Ruri unconsciously clenched her fist.

It was something she herself had once said to Valdrova.

“Since we are going to die someday, we change and our vision becomes clouded. When that moment comes for me, I might use the excuse of doing it for the Grand Duchess and only seek to satisfy my own desires.”

His eyes, twisted by a strange sadness, slowly lifted toward Ruri.

The blue pupils looked at her, laden with deep feeling.

Ruri could feel it clearly.

“That is why you, as her servant, must watch over me.”

This man was willing to sacrifice even his own life.

“So that my queen, my fiancée, will not be hurt.”

With trembling lips, Ruri spoke with difficulty.

“…You speak like a human who does not know his place.”

A venomous remark that slipped out without thinking.

Even so, Ruri nodded and replied.

“Very well. After hearing you, I think that is something I can do.”

“I appreciate it. As expected of a loyal dragonspawn.”

“However, there is something you seem not to know, so allow me to correct you.”

Ruri crossed out the part of her surname.

That meant she was not a spawn of Valdrova.

“My true name is this.”

– Ruri Silverwind.

“With that, I take my leave…”

Ruri left the office, and Perda remained silently looking at the name she had written.

‘This I truly did not expect.’

The surname Ruri had written was a considerable shock to Perda.

When a dragonspawn completes the ascension ritual, she receives as her surname the name of the dragon she serves.

Just as Perda went from Rosnova to Valdrova, Ruri should also have inherited the surname of her dragon.

But she was not Valdrova, but Silverwind.

‘That means spawn of the silver dragon.’

If he thought about it calmly, it was something he could have noticed before.

The mobility capable of moving in an instant.

Wind-attribute magic.

Everything matched the blood of a silver dragon.

And yet, in Perda’s mind, something did not add up.

Because.

‘Silverwind died at the hands of Valdrova.’

After killing the black dragon Godwin, Valdrova lost control.

To stop her, someone sacrificed his life—the silver dragon Silverwind.

‘From then on, they were little less than mortal enemies.’

The reason why Valdrova was considered an evil dragon was also largely due to the influence of Silverwind’s faction.

He had many spawn under his command and enjoyed great prestige.

‘For a spawn of the silver dragon to swear loyalty to the Dragon Queen…’

Perda rested his arm on the armrest and tapped his chin lightly.

‘Does that mean she is only pretending loyalty?’

He immediately denied it.

‘Ruri is more loyal than anyone.’

There was no doubt.

She, who took care of everything for a solitary mistress, could not be doing it only out of a sense of duty.

‘Then is she rejecting her blood as a spawn of the silver dragon?’

He denied that as well.

Blood is thicker than water.

And in dragon society, that principle was even more absolute than among humans.

‘I do not know.’

Perda reviewed his own future.

Thinking about it carefully, there were several points that seemed strange to him.

When he went to kill Valdrova.

‘Ruri was not there.’

The castle she had built was half destroyed, and inside the lair only Valdrova remained, as if waiting for death.

Not even at the moment of her agony did Ruri appear.

‘If only I could know the reason…’

For the Perda of the past, that had been something outside his interest, so he had no way of knowing.

For now, the only thing he knew was that this Ruri, so loyal, would one day turn her back on Valdrova.

‘Perhaps it is something I should find out.’

Whether he liked it or not, it was undoubtedly something that would bring sorrow to his companion.

And Perda did not hesitate.

***

The next day, a carriage arrived in front of Valdrova Castle.

Vernell Marquis had arrived.