Chapter 73
“Murder and attempted murder carry distinctly different sentences. Since the dragon of the daughter Count Chandler claimed to have killed is alive and causing chaos in the capital, doesn’t this mean the Count’s attempt failed?”
“That is why I gathered the courage to stand here directly, Sir Antonio Carter.”
Count Chandler, who had been hanging his head under the weight of his crimes, suddenly changed his gaze as he looked at Antonio. He seemed like someone who had been waiting for those words.
“Knowing it was filicide, I tried to kill my own child with my own hands to prevent the black dragon from emerging into the world by any means necessary. Now, years later, I could not stand by as rumors about the black dragon spread even to Vicrea.”
Count Chandler straightened from his kneeling position before the Crown Prince and glared directly at the Marquis and Antonio.
“My daughter is dead. I killed her with my own hands because she was chosen by the black dragon that might bring calamity to the world again. If only the black dragon has returned now, for what purpose have I lived these past 17 years in hell?”
He cried out in an almost grief-stricken voice toward the Marquis and Antonio who had requested him to appear as a witness.
“The reason I willingly took this stand upon receiving your message, even if it means confessing my crimes and paying the price, is to prove that the black dragon that chose my daughter as its master no longer exists.”
The assembly was enveloped in a moment of heavy silence at Count Chandler’s unexpected statement.
The Marquis and Antonio, who had never doubted that he stood as a witness to prove the black dragon’s existence, were dumbfounded by Count Chandler’s completely opposite claim.
“…But, that…”
All eyes in the solemn assembly turned toward the Marquis who had requested the witness. The same was true for Antonio, who had supported him by suggesting the black dragon’s master was alive.
“Even if you poisoned her and abandoned her in wolf territory, she was still unmistakably a dragon’s master. Don’t you know how much magical power a dragon’s master possesses? It wouldn’t be strange at all if she were alive…”
The Marquis quickly found words to excuse himself. Carl barely suppressed a sneer as he watched the Marquis and Antonio, whose arrow had returned like a boomerang.
“Come to think of it.”
Carl spoke up.
“Even the Dragon Temple has never disclosed the existence of a black dragon, so how did you, Uncle, know that Count Chandler’s daughter was chosen by the black dragon?”
“That is…”
The Marquis stumbled over his words. Swallowing dryly as if his throat were constricted, he narrowed his eyes at Carl.
“Didn’t Your Grace just mention seeing Aira Chandler’s records?”
Carl smiled.
“I merely happened to come across them while searching for something else. I only mentioned the record of Count Chandler’s daughter dying along with strange phenomena—I never said it was related to a black dragon.”
The Marquis bit his lip at Carl’s words.
“Wasn’t it you, Uncle, who requested Count Chandler as a witness? As if you were certain that record was related to the black dragon’s selection, and that Count Chandler’s daughter was still alive.”
“Do not distort and mislead the facts, Your Grace Prince Carlston.”
Antonio stepped in for the Marquis, who had lost his words while turning red and blue. Unlike the Marquis, he maintained a calm demeanor.
“What’s most important now is that Count Chandler’s daughter, the black dragon’s master, is alive. Isn’t the purpose of this meeting to confirm the identity of the black dragon that attacked Brita and establish countermeasures?”
‘That’s right,’ ‘Indeed,’ voices agreeing with Antonio erupted from various places.
“And if Count Chandler’s words are true and his daughter is alive, it makes some sense that she would assassinate the Dragon King and attack Brita. Surely she, chosen as the black dragon’s master and abandoned alone, must have lived until now consumed by evil, harboring malice toward this Empire born from the destruction of the evil black dragon.”
“Aira cannot be alive, Sir Antonio!”
“That is merely the wish of Count Chandler, who tried to conceal the black dragon even by killing his daughter.”
Antonio spoke without wavering, in a whispering tone. His calm voice, completely lacking any sign of excitement, was all the more cruel. Count Chandler pressed his lips together, looking like someone driven into a corner.
“Now, now, everyone calm down.”
Hendrick, who had been quietly observing the situation, tapped the table.
“Let’s calmly organize the situation. First, Count Chandler. You stood there to confess your transgression of killing your daughter 17 years ago and to prove the black dragon doesn’t exist. What we need to confirm first is the existence of the black dragon that attacked Brita.”
In the silence, Hendrick raised an eyebrow at Count Chandler, who had come forward to become a criminal of his own accord.
“We will hold a separate interrogation later to pass judgment on your crimes. As a witness regarding the existence of the black dragon, which is today’s agenda, you have fulfilled your duty.”
“…”
“Even in my opinion as Crown Prince and dragon master, I don’t expect your daughter, the black dragon’s master, would have died merely from poison and being abandoned to wolves.”
Sian, who had been watching the situation, lowered her eyes. Hendrick was thoroughly keeping to his word—that he would help as much as he could, but only within possible limits.
Now that he clearly knew Sian was the black dragon’s master, he was firmly affirming the black dragon’s existence.
“A dragon master’s vitality is extremely powerful. While we cannot know whether she survived and harbors malice toward the Empire, it seems reasonable to conclude that the black dragon that attacked Brita definitely exists now.”
“We must find it. The black dragon attacked Brita but only inflicted minor wounds without causing harm—it will surely come looking for Brita again.”
Antonio maintained his calm tone as he argued.
“However, there’s one more thing to confirm first. Count Chandler, about this terrifying black dragon you say resembled Pegadrasil so much that you thought to kill your daughter.”
Count Chandler frowned as he looked at Hendrick.
“…What did this dragon do?”
Count Chandler’s eyebrows trembled greatly.
“I understand that the black dragon chose your daughter. But what wrong did this dragon do for you to judge it would bring calamity to the Empire?”
“…What do you mean, Your Highness? The black dragon, as Yggdrasil’s mortal enemy…”
The Count’s voice wavered as he answered. Hendrick smiled slightly.
“Leave aside the thousand-year-old musty tales—tell me about the day this enormous black dragon blocked the moon. Did the dragon itself claim to be Pegadrasil’s successor? Did it say it came to destroy the Empire?”
“…”
“Did it at least turn your domain into a wasteland?”
Count Chandler maintained his silence with an utterly devastated expression.
