chapter 80
Even after Hilbert Kreuz—the grandfather of Ferdinand and the founding head of House Kreuz—had departed, Ferdinand continued to roam from battlefield to battlefield for a long time.
Until the dozens of kingdoms that once shattered the continent of Wygdnia were reduced to only five.
The blood on his sword never had time to dry.
It was because of the Emperor of Wygdnia, who remained unsatisfied even after subjugating ninety percent of the continent.
“After all, the only one I can trust is you, Duke Kreuz.”
“As if.”
“Since we’ve already begun, wouldn’t it be best to see it through? What do you think, Duke?”
The Emperor, who held not only my life but the lives of my family in his hands, demanded that I lay the entire continent at his feet.
All because of a single oath my grandfather, the founding head of our house, had once sworn to Wygdnia.
‘The Kreuz shall never bring harm to Wygdnia.’
Saying that he had no interest in the throne, he had urged Wygdnia to take that position in his stead—and that decision became the root of everything.
After the War of the Gods, the continent of Wygdnia was said to have been born from the seed of the World Tree.
—So the legend went, at least.
In truth, Wygdnia was a continent where many races coexisted.
Naturally, war never ceased, and the beastfolk eventually founded a kingdom to unite themselves.
The family chosen to rule was the Black Dragon clan, the bearers of the greatest power.
“I already have more than enough trouble of my own.”
For he never knew when he might succumb to madness.
Of course, Hilbert Kreuz, the founding head of House Kreuz, also loathed inconvenience above all else.
Throughout the war, he entrusted his back to a comrade and asked that person to take the throne in his place.
That comrade’s family became what is now the imperial house—the Nameless Falcon clan.
After a brief moment of deliberation, the head of the Nameless Falcon clan accepted the offer.
He declared that he would take the name of the continent—Wygdnia—as his own, and in return asked one promise of Hilbert, the hero of the continent.
“I trust you, my friend. But I cannot trust your descendants. If House Kreuz, with its overwhelming power, were ever to covet the throne, this continent would once again fall into chaos.”
It was a blood oath: the bloodline of Kreuz would never be able to harm Wygdnia.
Unfair as the contract was, Hilbert accepted it without hesitation.
After all, wars and coups were often instigated not by the strongest themselves, but by schemers lurking at their sides.
If Kreuz could not harm Wygdnia, then his descendants would be spared such burdens.
And above all—
No matter how hard they tried, the Nameless Falcon clan could never even step on Kreuz’s shadow.
He did not think it much of a restriction.
At least, not in the beginning.
During the reign of the first emperor, the two houses maintained an equal relationship.
But in only a few generations, that oath became a leash around Kreuz’s neck.
When House Kreuz declared that they would no longer participate in war, the imperial family began taking the children of other dragon clans as hostages instead.
Their excuse was the creation of a powerful army composed solely of dragon beastfolk.
Kreuz was furious.
But Wygdnia’s reply was even more brazen.
If they did not wish to see children sent to the battlefield, then Kreuz should fight in their stead.
That shameless response ignited widespread resentment among the dragon clans.
“This was madness from the start! A nameless falcon takes the continent’s name and loses its mind!”
“We must restore order—now!”
Dragon beastfolk poured into Castle Kreuz day after day.
They came in droves under the guise of ‘meetings,’ only to leave in droves again.
It was during that time that Ferdinand spotted a woman walking through the gardens of Black Dragon Castle.
Snow-white hair and mysterious violet eyes.
She reminded him of a snow lotus blooming amid a raging blizzard.
It did not take long for him to learn her name.
Among dragon beastfolk, the White Dragon clans were few in number—and weak in power.
Solania Lilywhite?
For days, Ferdinand found himself repeating that name alone.
Though known as a murderous fiend and avoided by all, finding a way to meet her was surprisingly easy.
“I despise marriage. I’ll keep wandering battlefields until I die. If the Black Dragon line ends because of me? Why should I care?”
As he muttered as usual, the elders of his clan swarmed him like dogs.
“Six hundred years old is the prime of life! Shouldn’t you marry soon and show us a precious little Black Dragon?”
Dragon beastfolk—and especially Ferdinand, who carried the Black Dragon blood most strongly—lived by a different measure of time than other races.
Even now, at over six hundred years old, he still appeared to be in his early twenties.
Perhaps because of that, the elders were obsessed with his marriage—particularly with producing an heir.
“Well, if you’re that worried, why don’t you set something up?”
“Y-you mean it?! I’ll immediately see if there’s a young lady of marriageable age among the dragon clans!”
“Well… I think I’d prefer a White Dragon clan.”
“Wouldn’t a Red Dragon clan be better?”
“Sure, go with Red Dragons—if you want to see the Black Dragon bloodline dry up.”
Fortunately, the elders had enough sense to arrange a meeting with a daughter of the Lilywhite family.
But then—
“What? Two daughters? Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“Well, you didn’t ask….”
An unexpected obstacle grabbed Ferdinand by the ankle.
The tactless elders had arranged the meeting with the eldest daughter of House Lilywhite.
Worse still, the meeting was scheduled for the very next day.
With less than a day left, he couldn’t cancel—and he couldn’t bear to lose Solania either.
True to his nature as a mad dragon, Ferdinand decided to charge straight ahead.
How?
By being honest—and asking her to step aside for her younger sister.
Thus, for the first time in his life, he prepared a bribe.
A treasure he had obtained after conquering a kingdom just days earlier.
Was it called the Light of Dawn? Or the Royal Blood’s Tears?
Exaggeration aside, it was a pink diamond as large as a fist.
“Please… look kindly upon me. No—look kindly upon me, ma’am? Damn it. I’d rather go to war.”
Muttering words that refused to settle on his tongue, Ferdinand entered the meeting place.
His heart dropped with a heavy thud.
He rubbed his eyes again and again.
“Moon Goddess…”
When he met the woman smiling as she tucked her white hair behind her ear, the words escaped him.
She was surely the Moon Goddess descended to save this rotting world.
“L-let’s get married!”
The words leapt from his heart without passing through his brain.
Blurting out something so idiotic before even exchanging greetings.
He was just about ready to walk out and die when—
“I thought you’d be frightening, but you’re rather amusing.”
Solania laughed.
Could a human’s laughter be this ticklish?
His heart itched so badly he could barely breathe.
If he could, he wanted to pull it out and scratch it.
Unlike their first meeting, which had raced forward without brakes, reaching marriage took quite some time.
“I thought you’d be frightening…”
Solania’s words lingered.
Worries crept in uninvited.
She might have agreed to marriage out of fear—fear of his reputation as a killer.
Or perhaps, like him, she had been forced into an unwanted marriage by the pressure of elders.
That…
The thought of anyone else standing beside Solania made him want to die—but the thought of making her unhappy was even worse.
He would sooner drown himself in a dish of water.
Above all—
The biggest problem is me, damn it.
The curse of House Kreuz.
The mana he possessed was far too great for a mere beastfolk body—no different from a ticking time bomb.
For now, he suppressed it by roaming the battlefield, but even that was becoming difficult.
The war was nearing its end.
In Ferdinand’s mind appeared the image of someone’s back, fading into the twilight.
Hilbert—the first Black Dragon and Ferdinand’s great-grandfather.
Before leaving Black Dragon Castle for the last time, he had visited Ferdinand’s room.
He had said nothing, but Ferdinand understood.
That would be the last time he saw him.
“I’ll protect you and your children—no matter what.”
“How?”
You can’t even save yourself, so how will you protect me or my children?
Ferdinand had asked sharply.
“Well… I suppose I could send you a little angel to watch over you.”
“As if. If you’re sending one, make it a big angel.”
That was their final conversation.
Ferdinand regretted that moment for a very long time.
Instead of such meaningless words, he should have at least held his hand one last time.
A few months later, his great-grandfather entered eternal rest.
Ferdinand did not witness his death firsthand, but he knew instantly.
A thunderous roar that shook heaven and earth echoed from the mountain between Black Dragon Castle and the capital.
Jet-black flames—so dark no ordinary beastfolk could even approach—burned for an entire month.
When they finally died out, all that remained was a mound of pitch-black earth, like a colossal dragon curled in sleep.
That mountain would later be named
