Then, the Dragon Duke had done something unexpected—he’d used his mana and Charlotte’s remaining life force to cast a taboo spell. It was a spell to allow someone to retain their memories upon reincarnation. Normally, when someone died, their memories would be wiped clean before they were reborn. He must have figured that there was no way to save her then, so he had offered up the remaining embers of her life so that she’d be reincarnated.
That had been when he’d screamed in lamentation.
“No matter where you’re reborn, I promise that I’ll find you!”
Pain, loss, lamentation, anger—all of these feelings upon having lost the love of his life had driven his transformation into a berserk state.
“I was right in killing that witch,” Duchesse said. “The berserk Dragon Duke burned down every last trace of that upstart Kingdom of Sacristain! All of those who ridiculed us as cowards were completely annihilated!!!”
And thus, the Kingdom of Sacristain’s army had been crushed, and the honor of the dragonkin that Duchesse so desired had been restored.
“The only thing that was not part of my calculations was how long the Dragon Duke’s berserk state would last. He had already crushed that loathsome Sacristain army, and yet his rampage hadn’t stopped.”
And that had been why he’d used such a valuable stone tablet to seal the Dragon Duke away.
“I thought that his feelings would fade away after a hundred years, and yet...”
The Dragon Duke would never forget his feelings for Charlotte. He wanted to find the reincarnated Charlotte—me—and had tried to fly out to find me.
“Back then, Roche even suggested sealing the Dragon Duke away with the tablet again, so I became desperate to find a way to stop him. That stone tablet is a very valuable item. Besides, what would the Four Great Nobles say if we sealed him again? They were very much against the idea of me acting as regent for the hundred years that the Dragon Duke was sealed away, so it took quite the effort to placate them.”
“You’re not trying to take over the duchy?” I asked.
“I have no such desire. The Dragon Duchy of Éclair must remain with the Dragon Duke at its apex and continue to be the strongest among all nations,” Duchesse replied.
“I...see...” I’d thought that his plan was to kill the Dragon Duke and rule the country in his place, but he had no such ambitions. Regardless, his actions until now were nothing short of despicable.
“No one will let you get away with such despicable crimes!” I then cried. “The Four Great Nobles won’t keep quiet when they hear about this!”
“I’m not concerned. From here on, our race of dragonkin will take a new step in our evolution!”
“A new step? Evolution? What are you talking about?”
“We will gain the power to maintain our dragon states and live life spans close to eternity!” he cried out.
“That’s impossible!”
“Oh, it’s very possible once we consume all you dragonkin women.”
“C-Consume?!” I stammered.
Duchesse had made a momentous discovery while researching Suppression Magic. Dragonkin women apparently possessed a great inner power which was hidden deep within each one.
“Once we consume your flesh and blood, dragonkin men will become unstoppable! We will no longer be beholden to your Suppression Magic!”
“And that’s why you were feeding the Lord Dragon Duke false reports about your research?!”
“Indeed,” Duchesse replied. His plan was to use the festivities of the Founding Anniversary to unleash a large-scale ritual forcing all dragonkin men into a berserk state. And once they had consumed all the dragonkin women, they would gain immeasurable power.
It was beyond cruel and despicable.
“Oh, but there is no need for you to worry about us,” he added. “I’ll be using magic to remove weak emotions such as love and sadness from all dragonkin men. From now on, the dragonkin will seek nothing but power. We shall become the most powerful race in the world.”
“You’re insane!”
“I am quite sane, and I believe that strength is the one true path!” Duchesse yelled. He took out a sheet of paper from his pocket—on it was a magic circle inscribed with red letters.
“What are you holding?” I asked.
“It’s a spell connected to the dress I sent you, under the Dragon Duke’s name,” Duchesse explained.
“Y-You mean that was from you?!”
“Indeed. And I see you wore it, thinking that it was proof of the Dragon Duke’s proposal!”
I gritted my teeth and glared right at Duchesse, but he stood there, unflinching.
“Once I tear up this sheet of paper, the spell will take effect. You will be unable to move your body at all.”
“How could you!” I cried.
“And then, I will eat you. With your magical talents—talents strong enough to stop the Dragon Duke’s rampage—and all your mana, I’m sure to gain a tremendous amount of power. Enough to surpass the Four Great Nobles—nay, perhaps even more power than the Dragon Duke himself!”
Duchesse cackled as he tore up the sheet of paper. “Now, kneel!!!”
A strong wind blew past me, and I braced myself so I wouldn’t get blown away.
Once the wind settled down, Duchesse tilted his head in confusion. “How are you still standing...?”
“Because I’m not wearing your stupid dress!” I removed my white mantle and revealed the dress underneath—one with a design close to the one Duchesse had sent me.
“How?! Do you mean to reject the Dragon Duke’s proposal?!” Duchesse cried out.
“Of course not. Right, Van?”
“Van?”
I pointed behind Duchesse, and there was Van in his dragon form, beating his wings. The gust of wind earlier had been from Van’s approach. Duchesse’d been so focused on his monologue that he hadn’t noticed.
Duchesse began to plead with him. “Lord Dragon Duke! Th-This is not what it looks like! Th-That woman is the root of all evil! I have done nothing wrong!” He was desperately shambling about. “Th-The Dragon Duke will regain his sanity once that woman is gone!”
He took out another sheet of paper and ripped it up. A magic circle appeared—a summoning circle!
And from that summoning circle came a Corrupt Dragon, its body covered in black thorns.
“Wha...?!”
“O Corrupt Dragon, eliminate that witch!” he yelled.
The dragon bellowed deeply in reply.
Corrupt Dragons were dragons said to be the core of magic itself—the most evil and powerful creatures to exist. Their thoughts had been corrupted, and they were said to be the remnants of dragonkin who had become monsters. And one such creature was now flying right toward me.
“Aaah!!!” I gritted my teeth and braced for impact, but none came. I opened my eyes and witnessed Van biting into the neck of the Corrupt Dragon. However, its body was covered in poisonous thorns, and not even Van would remain unscathed from that.
“Van!” I shouted.
As if answering my cries, Van swished his tail. Then, he threw back his head and launched the Corrupt Dragon into the sky. He followed that up with his breath attack. A magic circle appeared in his mouth and a beam of light fired from it. The light pierced the Corrupt Dragon’s heart and it died in an instant. Its gigantic body soon burned into ashes and faded away completely.
Duchesse stood in shock at the loss of the Corrupt Dragon—his trump card.
A cold gust of wind blew past us again.
“It would seem that this is the end of the line for me. At the very least, I will...” Duchesse took out a knife, unsheathed it, and pointed it at me. And then, he rushed straight toward me.
“Nngh!”
Another gust of wind blasted us as Van descended right between me and Duchesse. He flapped his wings again and blew Duchesse away.