Chapter 17
I returned to the mansion on the wyvern’s back, carrying Lionel, who had fainted, and the knights injured by the wyvern’s tail attack. The knights who arrived on the wyvern had dazed expressions, as if they didn’t understand what had just happened to them. I deliberately returned to the mansion on the wyvern to show them that I had perfect control over the wyverns.
‘Then the subjugation force that came to Erel to kill the wyverns should leave.’
Due to its geographical characteristics, Erel was a city with very little interaction with the royal capital. If the subjugation force left, as long as I didn’t return to the royal capital, I wouldn’t have to deal with Catherine’s annoying lackeys anymore.
‘But come to think of it, wyverns are quite useful as a means of transportation, aren’t they?’
Since they were man-eating magical beasts, I hadn’t considered this aspect at all. But after riding on its large back once, I found it was quite a stable way to travel. Not to mention the speed.
The means of transportation in this era were hopeless, to put it mildly. Basically, it was horses and carriages. There were just beginning to be railways, but they were very slow and had only a handful of stops.
‘In a world like this, wyverns would be equivalent to airplanes.’
Airplanes. A memory I had tried hard to forget resurfaced in my naturally flowing thoughts. The explosion sound, the vibration that started with it, the uncontrollably shaking aircraft, people’s screams, and the repeatedly blaring warning siren.
A plane crash. The last memory of my previous life.
Before becoming Ibrea, I worked for a trading company. Because I majored in Spanish, I was in charge of the South American market and frequently took long flights for business trips. I never imagined that the plane I routinely boarded would crash.
‘They say the probability of a plane crashing is lower than being struck by lightning on the street. Why did I have to be that unlucky probability?’
If I were to be the protagonist of such a slim probability, winning the lottery would have been much better. But my luck worked in the bad direction, leading me to a tragic accident. Thinking about it, the fact that I happened to open my eyes in Ibrea’s body is also proof that I have bad luck.
‘Did I end up here because the book I was reading before the crash was <Lady Catherine>?’
If I knew I would fall into the last book I read, I should have read a fairy tale.
‘You know, those books that end with “and they all lived happily ever after.”‘
If I had fallen into a book like that, even someone like me, who seems to carry misfortune, could have lived a smooth life.
While I was petting the wyvern and lamenting my misfortune, a rather unwelcome voice called out to me.
“Lady Oberon, may I have a word?”
It was Lidon, the most tiresome of Catherine’s lackeys. In this situation, there was only one topic we could possibly discuss.
‘Probably about the wyvern.’
As expected, Lidon couldn’t take his eyes off the wyvern sitting quietly. It was understandable, seeing a magical beast the size of a house curled up like a neighborhood cat.
“It’s my first time seeing such a tame wyvern.”
Lidon muttered softly as if to himself, then asked me warily.
“According to the Frost Knight Order’s report, you tamed the wyvern. Is that true?”
He pointed to where Lionel, who had just regained consciousness, and the knights receiving first aid were. It seemed he had heard the general situation from them before coming to me.
“Is that a question that needs confirmation? You’re already seeing it.”
I shrugged my shoulders and ostentatiously petted the wyvern. Lidon flinched and drew the sword at his waist, but despite his wariness, the wyvern remained docile. When Lidon made eye contact with the wyvern, which was blinking its large eyes as it observed him, he put his sword away with an embarrassed expression.
“Wyverns are magical beasts that are impossible to tame. The Royal Knight Order tried to tame the wyverns they captured with great difficulty, but they all failed. So, how did a single noble lady manage to do it?”
The truth was simple.
‘I met the wyvern leader who can speak human language and made a deal.’
But to tell Lidon this truth, I would have to explain how I could meet the wyvern leader in the first place. And I couldn’t leave Harry out of that explanation, since Harry is the start of this whole story.
But I can’t tell anyone about Harry. Ultimately, that creates a gap in the truth.
‘And Lidon Jeraint isn’t the type to believe a truth with gaps.’
Then, the only action I could take was to act brazenly. I was more confident than anyone in acting nonchalant and brazenly insisting.
Probably most people who worked in trade like me were like that. The basis of trade is negotiation. To conduct negotiations smoothly? You need analytical skills to understand the other party’s needs and smooth eloquence to package your opinions well. The acting skills to hide your weaknesses as much as possible, and the confidence not to be intimidated in any situation were also important.
‘In short, I’m good at talking.’
Moreover, I experienced this entire world through books.
‘I also know exactly what the other party needs.’
This was an absolutely advantageous fight for me.
“That’s a secret.”
“What?”
“I said it’s a secret. This is my asset.”
“You mean the wyvern is your asset?”
Lidon immediately furrowed his brow and looked at me with a crooked gaze.
“That’s quite an impious remark. All magical beasts are managed by the royal family.”
“I know. Wyverns can’t be my asset. They belong to the royal family, right?”
As Lidon said, magical beasts, including wyverns, were all property of the royal family. To be precise, the royal family monopolized all resources obtained from killing magical beasts. They strictly managed the wyvern’s bones and claws, which could be used to make powerful weapons, and the troll’s blood, needed for making recovery potions. Severe punishment was imposed on those who violated this and secretly siphoned them off.
“But what about the ability to tame wyverns?”
“The ability to tame wyverns?”
“Yes. The ability. Surely you aren’t going to say that my talent is also the property of the royal family, Your Highness?”
At my words, Lidon made a dazed expression as if he had been hit on the head. I smiled triumphantly and shrugged my shoulders.
“Some people are good at painting, and some are good at wielding swords. Such talents are all ‘someone’s’ assets.”
“What are you saying…?”
“I mean the ability to tame wyverns is my asset. Since there’s no one else in the kingdom with this ability, it’s the most valuable and precious asset, isn’t it? Why should I share this precious asset with others?”
“Who said to share the ability? I have a duty to understand everything related to this wyvern subjugation. Your taming of the wyvern is one of those things.”
“Well, I fully understand Your Highness’s position. But you must also understand my position a little.”
I exhaled exaggeratedly and appealed my unfairness.
“The method of taming wyverns is my secret. But the moment I tell Your Highness, it’s no longer just my secret. Then the value of my asset plummets.”
“Are you saying I have to pay to hear the story?”
“Are you joking? Would I sell this precious ability for money?”
The Oberon family’s wealth was as famous as the honor and history they had built up. Didn’t the shrewd queen even arrange the engagement between Ibrea and Cassian to get that wealth? Not only Lidon but everyone in the kingdom knew of Oberon’s wealth well.
“I just don’t want to tell my secret, Your Highness.”
At the conclusion delivered quite politely, Lidon pressed his lips tightly together. His eyes looking at me were filled with wariness, just like when he looked at the wyvern.
“…What scheme are you plotting this time?”
“Scheme?”
“What else would Ibrea Oberon be conspiring? It must be something harmful to good people.”
Lidon sneered and pointed his sword at me. As the sharp blade gleamed threateningly, the Frost Knight Order members watching us from a short distance away gasped in surprise. They seemed to be debating whether to draw their swords to protect me or just watch the situation since the other party was a prince.
[Should I subdue him?]
Instead of the hesitating knights, Harry wagged his tail and asked. A low, threatening growl came from his mouth as he glared at Lidon.
“I don’t know what trick you used to tame the wyvern, but if your actions threaten people’s safety, I won’t stand by. You’d better not have any useless thoughts.”
Lidon, undaunted by Harry’s threat, gripped his sword even tighter.
“Tell me. What are you plotting…”
“Hyahhhhh!”
Lidon’s cold voice was drowned out by an awkward and strange shout. It came from Lionel, who was running from afar while holding his sword.
Lidon looked at Lionel, who was running slowly—but clearly doing his best—with his mouth agape. His expression plainly showed, ‘What is this clumsy knight?’
Having reached Lidon, Lionel swung his sword with an unnecessarily large motion. Lidon lightly twisted his body to easily avoid the attack, and Lionel, unable to control his momentum, noisily tumbled across the ground.
“Lionel!”
His fellow Frost Knight Order members who witnessed the scene called out his name in astonishment. Naturally, not because they were worried about him tumbling on the ground.
“Wa, wa, wa, pointing a sword at His Highness the Prince! This madman!”
Attacking a member of the royal family was an act that could be punished as treason. If the person who swung the sword was a member of the Oberon family’s Frost Knight Order, it could be considered not just an individual problem but the Oberon family’s treason. But who would dare label the Oberon family as traitors?
In the sudden situation, both the Frost and Royal Knight Orders drew their swords and were in confusion. Whether he was aware of the surrounding shock or not, Lionel, who had tumbled on the ground, stood up abruptly, covered in dust.
“The young lady is not a bad person!”
Lionel said with a tearful face, holding up his sword warily towards Lidon. His voice was shaking pitifully. His sword-holding arm and the legs firmly planted in front of me to protect me were also trembling.
But despite that, Lionel stood firm and unyielding, protecting me. It was a rather pathetic sight, but his trembling back somehow felt reliable.
And that thought completely shattered in less than a minute.
“She secretly goes for walks at dawn to avoid people’s eyes, or threatens to cut off fingers if orders aren’t followed, or does other suspicious and vicious things… but she’s actually a really good person!”
Lionel’s cry echoed emptily in the sky. Even I had to admit it sounded suspicious and vicious when I heard it. Harry seemed to think similarly.
[…Is that guy doing this on purpose?]
But his firmly pressed lips and determined expression showed no malice to anyone. If he were doing this intentionally to trouble me, I could at least try to persuade him to keep quiet.
‘It’s scarier that he’s doing this with pure intentions.’
There was no way to control someone acting with pure intent. As I held my head, feeling a headache coming on, gazes demanding an explanation poured down on me.
‘Where do I even start cleaning up this mess?’
There wasn’t just one or two things to handle immediately. Lionel’s statement that painted me as a suspicious, gloomy person who collects fingers? Or the fact that Lionel swung a sword at the prince, potentially making Oberon look treasonous? Or maybe…
While my thoughts were spiraling, Harry’s voice echoed in my head.
[Contractor, let’s get rid of the main culprit first. Who knows what else he might say.]
It was a welcome suggestion after so long. I actively agreed.
[That sounds good. How should we get rid of him?]
[Simple.]
Harry gave a short answer and signaled to the wyvern with his eyes. The wyvern began moving, flapping its wings roughly. It wrapped its flexible tail around Lionel’s body and flew up into the sky.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Lionel’s pitiful scream faded as the wyvern flew higher, completely disappearing only when their figures became like dots in the sky.
‘This isn’t exactly how I meant “get rid of him.”‘
[…What exactly did you tell the wyvern?]
[You saw I didn’t say anything. I just gave a look. Probably the wyvern didn’t like him either.]
[He will return safely, right?]
[Well, after a couple laps around the Black Forest, he should come back, right?]
Harry yawned lengthily with a nonchalant face. But I couldn’t be as calm as Harry.
[The atmosphere just got worse, you know?]
Even the Frost Knight Order, which had maintained a neutral stance, now had hostile eyes directed at me. It was a natural reaction, seeing their colleague essentially kidnapped by a wyvern right before their eyes.
‘Who can I blame?’
It was all my fault for trusting Harry.
‘It’s like trying to remove a wart only to get another.’
I sighed and called out to Lidon, who was looking at the sky where the wyvern had disappeared.
“Your Highness, let’s talk. Somewhere without prying eyes. Quietly.”
Lidon’s blue eyes, which had been looking at the sky, turned towards me. They were similar to Cassian’s but felt a bit sharper.
“Will that knight return safely?”
“Probably. He might vomit from severe motion sickness, though.”
After a few laps around that vast forest, he’d probably throw up everything he ate today.
“Let that serve as the punishment for pointing a sword at you. After all, you probably don’t want to make an enemy of Oberon either.”
“I accept that proposal.”
Lidon sheathed the sword that had been unwaveringly pointed at me even amidst the commotion and put it back at his waist.
“Follow me. I wanted to get away from this chaotic atmosphere too.”
