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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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How did Ludmilla know about the wedding ring?
It was only temporarily entrusted to me by Father…
Could she have thought I had prepared it for a proposal?
Ludmilla, transformed into the embodiment of jealousy, radiated anticipation.
Edanant, his mind racing with countless thoughts, calculated what Ludmilla desired.
Hmm.
It’s definitely the wedding ring.
She had been eagerly awaiting a proposal, but the misunderstanding about him eloping with Zebeline had led to this disaster.
What a dramatic turn of events.
A series of misunderstandings culminating in a catastrophic outcome.
Edanant froze, the ring box still in his hand.
Ludmilla’s obsession and desire for the wedding ring were too blatant.
He felt as if he would be slain by the Red Dragon if he didn’t present the ring with a heartfelt confession, as she had threatened.
“…Lu-Ludmilla.”
“Ahem.”
He took a step forward.
Ludmilla reflexively removed her glove and extended her left hand.
It was a gesture requesting him to put the ring on her finger.
A faint blush appeared on the face of the white-haired witch, who had been consumed by hatred and jealousy.
“You might not believe me now… but I apologize for my tardiness. I should have given you the wedding ring sooner.”
“….”
“I swear on the Earth Mother’s divinity that you are the first person I have ever truly loved. This is my first experience with love, so I’ve been clumsy and frustrating.”
“….”
The desolate ruins, ravaged by a barrage of artillery fire.
Smoke obscuring his vision.
Flames roaring, spewing intense heat.
It was the worst possible location for a romantic proposal.
Yet, Ludmilla, slowly approaching, listened intently to Edanant’s confession.
“Ludmilla, I’m truly sorry.”
“…I-I understand.”
Her anger subsided.
The flames of Tyranny, which had been greedily consuming everything around them, lost their power.
The flames would soon be extinguished.
Flames deprived of their fuel could only fade away.
-Lies! It’s a cunning ploy to escape the current crisis!
Kill him.
Kill him now.
Sensing the resurgence of Ludmilla’s reason, Tyranny, feeling threatened, cried out in a frantic voice.
It fueled her anger.
It sowed seeds of distrust and urged her to kill.
For Ludmilla, Edanant was both the object of her affection and her hatred.
Therefore, the Red Dragon, seeking complete resurrection, attempted to manipulate Ludmilla into eliminating Edanant, the greatest obstacle to its revival.
“A-Am I truly your first love? You’ve always been so smooth with other women… I thought you were experienced in love.”
“As I said, I swear on the Earth Mother’s divinity that it’s true. You are the first person I have ever loved this deeply.”
Under normal circumstances, Ludmilla wouldn’t have been swayed by the lie of “swearing on the Earth Mother’s divinity.”
However, she was currently in an unstable state, eroded by the divinity of Tyranny.
Her reason, her ability to discern truth from falsehood, was compromised.
Therefore, she couldn’t help but be swept away by Edanant’s skillful confession, like a naive country girl.
-Kheuk! It’s not working at all… What kind of mental fortitude does she possess?!
Ludmilla’s mental strength was so resilient that it even resisted the erosion of Tyranny.
If it hadn’t been for the misunderstandings triggered by Edanant, the calamity of Tyranny would never have gained control over her mind.
Its attempts to incite murder had failed.
Its efforts to ignite anger and hatred had backfired.
Unfortunately for Tyranny, Ludmilla was the strongest among the successors of the Red Dragon.
Thus, a reversal occurred, with the vessel containing the Harmless Calamity suppressing the calamity itself.
“I love you, Ludmilla.”
“Ugh…!”
Edanant, closing the distance between them, finally reached Ludmilla.
He retrieved the wedding ring from the box.
Ludmilla, gazing at the dazzling ring, unconsciously swallowed.
Finally.
This moment has finally arrived-
The silver band slid onto her slender ring finger.
The moment she officially became Edanant’s fiance.
“Cut the crap!”
Just as she was overwhelmed by a surge of emotion and elation, pushing away the calamity of Tyranny,
A sharp cry pierced the air.
It was Zebeline.
The girl clad in pure white robes interjected, her voice filled with indignation.
“H-How dare you take the wedding ring… by force? And you call yourself the protector of the Valtarian Empire!”
“Anyone would misunderstand if they heard you say that. It’s a rightfully earned trophy.”
The saintess, condemning the blatant act of violence she had witnessed.
The princess, claiming the wedding ring as a “rightful trophy.”
How petty.
The White Dragon and the Red Dragon clashed once more, this time over the wedding ring.
A catfight.
No,
The protagonist, caught in the middle of a dragon fight, froze, the wedding ring still in his hand.
Ludmilla, having regained her senses with great effort, unleashed her murky divinity once more.
Simultaneously, Zebeline’s blue eyes, fixated on her rival, gleamed ominously.
This is dangerous.
If this continues, it will lead to irreversible consequences.
His instincts, honed from countless encounters with Ludmilla and Zebeline’s clashes, screamed danger.
Edanant extended both hands, attempting to prevent the “collision of calamities.”
“L-Later… I’ll give you the wedding ring later… Just bear with me for now. I’ll do anything you ask.”
“….”
He pleaded desperately.
Zebeline’s hardened expression softened slightly, replaced by surprise.
“Really? You’ll do anything I ask… You promise?”
“I swear on the Earth Mother’s divinity.”
“Don’t try to fool me with that nonsense. You don’t believe in the Earth Mother.”
“…Alright, I swear on the Hohenberc family name.”
Unlike the naive Ludmilla, Zebeline was sharp and perceptive.
And she knew Edanant better than anyone.
As expected of the heroine who had waited for him for three long years.
Cheap tricks wouldn’t work on her.
Edanant sighed in defeat at Zebeline’s sharp retort.
“To grant the First Saintess any wish she desires! What are you saying?!”
“Ludmilla, you’ve already received the wedding ring. Please be magnanimous just this once.”
Ludmilla narrowed her eyes at Edanant’s plea for generosity.
But she eventually relented, glancing at the symbol of betrothal adorning her left ring finger.
She had received the wedding ring she had yearned for.
She had even secured a promise of a heartfelt proposal from Edanant.
The First Saintess was no longer a rival, but a mere nuisance.
After all, she will be marrying Edanant next spring.
Ludmilla, confident in her victory, secured through the spoils of war (the wedding ring) and a declaration of surrender (the proposal), smirked at Zebeline.
Zebeline gritted her teeth in frustration.
“Let’s return to the Imperial Capital.”
Edanant extended both hands, taking hold of Ludmilla and Zebeline’s hands as they glared at each other.
“Princess Elizaveta must be worried.”
“…Indeed.”
She had flown to the Hohenberc marquisate at full speed without any notice.
Ludmilla, remembering her younger sister who must be anxious about her sudden outburst, hung her head.
She felt as if she had been possessed.
She had lost control in an instant.
Normally, even if she had heard that Edanant had eloped with the First Saintess, she would have maintained a semblance of reason.
But for some reason, ever since the incident at the banquet after the Alliance Council meeting, she had become impulsive, unable to control her anger.
The monstrous reflection in the mirror.
It must be related to that.
‘To think that the Red Dragon, the guardian dragon of the Valtarian Empire, was the calamity of Tyranny. That means…’
Edanant, his gaze filled with concern, shifted his attention from Ludmilla to Zebeline.
The Red Dragon was the calamity of Tyranny.
That meant the Holy Kingdom’s White Dragon must also be connected to a Harmless Calamity.
Zebeline, understanding the unspoken message in his eyes, smiled bitterly and nodded.
She seemed to have grasped the hidden truth after witnessing Ludmilla’s rampage.
‘The White Dragon of the Gael Holy Kingdom must be the calamity of Famine.’
The calamities of Tyranny and Famine, which the Earth Mother Gael had turned into puppets, had been revealed as the Empire’s Red Dragon and the Holy Kingdom’s White Dragon.
Was it a mere coincidence?
No,
That couldn’t be it.
The fate that had begun with meeting Zebeline and then Ludmilla was no coincidence.
-Calamities are drawn to each other. They will meet soon. Perhaps they already have.
He recalled the prophecy delivered by the calamity of War, which had descended upon the cursed battlefield.
They already have.
Just as the War God had foretold.
He had met Zebeline on the battlefield of the Third Racial War, the starting point of the grand narrative.
And meeting Ludmilla after the Saintess Party’s defection had marked the beginning of another chapter.
‘But Zebeline wasn’t the saintess blessed by the White Dragon back then… Could it be that the War God orchestrated our meeting, knowing that Zebeline was destined to become the saintess?’
There was no point in dwelling on it now.
Edanant, his gaze fixed on Ludmilla and Zebeline, smiled awkwardly.
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