Chapter 51: Damn Grand Council
The Grand Council of Serdes gathered all the representatives of intelligent beings across the continent. The hall was wide, and many people were present, but there were no fixed seats. However, different factions sat together, showing off their power and alliances.
‘It was really tense back then.’ To Ferda, it looked like a giant map of power struggles. The strongest nation on the continent was the Arken Empire. In response, the kingdoms had formed an alliance to match its strength. For now, the balance of the continent was still maintained. Since Ferda belonged to the Arken Empire, he sat with his people.
The Grand Council Hall was not as extravagant as a banquet hall. The design was simple and restrained, like other council chambers. The semi-circular seating arrangement focused everyone’s attention on the center, where the master of the Grand Council sat.
‘White Dragon, Blancaros.’ White hair, pale eyes, and a youthful face untouched by time. His whiteness was so unnatural that it almost seemed to glow. That was the immortal beauty of dragons.
‘Truly a dragon.’ As Ferda observed him, Blancaros’ eyes moved. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but he soon realized it was real. Blancaros was looking directly at Ferda. His pale eyes were cold yet pure. The moment their eyes met, Ferda felt the magic circles in his body tremble. It was an instinctive warning—something only absolute power could cause. Yet strangely, the warning did not feel unpleasant. It was the same feeling he had when he entered Blancaros’ territory.
Behind Blancaros stood three people with white hair, just like him. They were the three chosen by Blancaros during his ascension ceremony: the Tongue, the Scale, and the Hand.
Blancaros moved his hand. As he flicked his finger, a woman standing beside him cleared her throat and began speaking. She was Blancaros’ Tongue—the one who spoke on behalf of the White Dragon and conducted the council’s procedures. Her voice echoed through the hall.
“I sincerely thank all of you for coming for the peace of the continent.”
She began reading from the prepared script. After a bit of formal speech, she moved on to the main agenda.
“We will now begin the mediation of the conflict between King Hudret and Duke Yurei.”
The first case was a simple dispute. But in reality, it was a war. A man stood up with a scowl.
“I sincerely thank the great lord of order’s representative for arranging this meeting. However, I must correct something before we proceed. This entire situation is a war caused by King Hudret’s invasion and a massacre.”
Another man stood up. It was King Hudret himself.
“Our people were the ones killed first! How could I stop my people from taking revenge?”
“You were the one who sent in your army!”
“Silence. This is a place for mediation. Compensation will be decided based on the evidence provided.”
Blancaros’ Tongue interrupted, stopping the argument before it got out of hand.
“Both sides, please submit your evidence.”
Documents collected by both Hudret and Yurei’s sides were presented. The purpose of this mediation was to determine compensation for war damages. The documents floated through the air and spread out before Blancaros. It had taken the representatives two months to gather and write them. Blancaros read everything in just one minute. Then, he signaled to a young boy. The boy held a scale. He was Blancaros’ Scales. The scale in his hands tilted to one side.
Blancaros made a document appear, and the Tongue announced the verdict.
“Verdict! Duke Yurei will compensate King Hudret with 60,000 gold.”
The decision brought mixed reactions. Duke Yurei, the losing party, exploded in anger.
“This is absurd! They were the ones who invaded, so why do I have to pay?!”
“You violated the war laws by taking no prisoners and preventing priests from healing the wounded. Based on these factors, your responsibility in this conflict was deemed greater.”
Duke Yurei protested.
“Other nations do the same! King Hudret’s knights must have done it too! So why only punish me?”
“As stated before, if you have evidence, present it.”
Blancaros’ Tongue spoke in a calm and professional tone.
“This is a neutral zone that follows the laws and order of the Serdes continent. If you requested mediation here, you must abide by the laws. Evidence takes priority over customs. If both sides committed the same acts, both need proof.”
In other words, even if the other side started it, without evidence, Yurei was the only guilty party. Depending on the evidence, the roles of victim and perpetrator could switch completely.
Duke Yurei’s face was twisted with frustration. Blancaros’ Tongue pointed at the document in front of him.
“Duke Yurei, the mediation is complete. Please sign the confirmation document.”
Yurei stared at the paper, filled with rage and bitterness. The moment he signed, there would be no turning back. No matter how unfair it felt, he would officially be the perpetrator.
‘The decision is absolute.’ Once a verdict was made, it could not be overturned.
‘And he cannot refuse either.’ Everyone in this room was both a witness and a judge—and could become predators at any moment. Defying a Grand Council ruling would give others an excuse to attack. Yesterday’s allies could become today’s enemies.
“…I accept the ruling.”
Yurei signed the document with a shaking hand.
‘The moment the roles of victim and perpetrator changed’
Ferda, who had no prior knowledge of the situation, could only guess.
“If he wanted justice, he should’ve ended it himself.” Someone muttered. Ferda silently agreed. If Yurei truly wanted revenge, he should have fought to the death. A half-hearted battle only invited retaliation.
Blancaros’ Tongue moved on to the next case. Several more disputes followed, but they were minor. Conflicts between dwarves and elves. Internal disputes among dwarven royal families. Endless arguments with no real resolution. For two hours, they debated and postponed conflicts that would never be settled.
“There are no more mediation cases. Moving on to the agenda. The next topic was proposed by the Grand Chancellor of Escorleia…”
The Tongue paused briefly before continuing.
“The topic is the increase in monsters and the possibility of the Demon Race’s return.”
Escorleia was a great city of scholars, ruled not by a mayor but by a chancellor. A bald chancellor stepped forward. Years of study had burned away even his hair.
“It has been 138 years since Goodwin, the master of deep darkness, who plunged the continent into chaos, was defeated. However, if you look at this graph…”
He used magic to project an image in the air. Pointing at the graph, he explained.
“Despite his death, the number of monsters has been increasing.”
The graph showed an upward trend. But the rise was not drastic. Seeing this, people reacted differently.
“It hasn’t risen much.”
“The problem isn’t the amount—it’s that it’s increasing at all!”
“This is just an estimate. The numbers could go down. You’re overreacting.”
Opinions were split. Some thought it was an unnecessary worry. Others believed it was a serious issue. The debate turned into an argument. But listening closely, Ferda realized no one actually cared about the continent’s safety.
‘They just want an excuse to arm themselves.’
The debate continued, but it was clear that their concerns weren’t truly for the continent’s well-being. They were merely looking for excuses—some to justify arming themselves, others to prevent unnecessary expenditures. Those raising the alarm wanted justification for military expansion. Those downplaying the issue wanted to prevent unnecessary spending. The fate of the continent was irrelevant. They only cared about their own interests.
Then—
“Watch your mouths!” A loud bang echoed as someone slammed the table. But the voice sounded young. Ferda turned to look. It was Erdeas Roton.
“Don’t forget, the fiancée of King Valdrova is here! Can you take responsibility for your words?”
Everyone in the room searched for Ferda. When they found him, their eyes locked onto him. Ferda muttered to himself.
‘Damn it.’
“The proxy of Valdrova?”
“That dormant evil dragon has sent a proxy?”
Whispers about Ferda and Valdrova spread through the crowd. The chancellor already looked like someone walking barefoot on a path full of thorns. Now, he looked even more troubled, as if a fire had suddenly started on his feet.
Ferda glanced at Erdes, the one who had caused this situation. She looked happy. Like an arsonist watching a fire from across the river. Ferda had come because it was necessary, but he wanted to observe the situation a little longer. However, since all eyes were on him, he decided to speak.
“It is true that monsters keep appearing in the Far East. But this discussion seems to be about something different, so I will not comment further.”
“Thank you, Regent. Right now, we are discussing the increasing monster incidents across the continent, excluding the Far East.”
The chancellor looked relieved, as if he had grabbed a helping hand. But his weak position in this discussion was obvious.
“So, based on the current situation… there is a possibility that someone is deliberately summoning monsters. In other words, more people might be following the Demon Clan.”
“Followers of the Demon Clan…”
“Aren’t they much crazier than demon worshippers?”
Both demon worshippers and followers of the Demon Clan were despised in society. But they were very different. Demons wanted to rule the world. But the Demon Clan wanted to destroy it. Demon worshippers hoped to gain something. But those who followed the Demon Clan had nothing to gain. They were pure evil.
“What do they hope to achieve?”
“If the Demon Clan has a goal… it must be the return of the Black Dragon, Godwin.”
The return of the Black Dragon! This was much more serious than just an increase in monsters. Even those who had dismissed the matter as an overreaction fell silent. Everyone’s attention turned to the Dragon Spawns sitting at the front.
“The return of the Black Dragon…”
For the first time, Speaker Blancaros spoke. As soon as the ruler of order spoke, the entire room fell under his control.
“What do you think?” Blancaros asked the Dragon Spawns.
The first to answer was a member of Silverwind. They had silver hair and scars all over their bodies—marks of honor earned from defending the North.
“We are still hunting down the remaining enemies, and the rate of monster attacks does not seem unusual. I swear, no one hates the Black Dragon more than us.”
“I have always valued Silverwind’s loyalty. And what about Iorga?”
The representative of Iorga was a young woman with an elegant presence. Her face was fresh and lively, like someone in her early twenties. But she carried the grace of someone who had lived through many years.
“We have not detected any major shifts in magical energy across the Serdes continent. Any hidden disturbances have been reported by adventurers. If something as big as the return of the Black Dragon had happened, we would have been the first to know.”
A priest from Odograsado spoke next.
“Our Golden Scale Church has been monitoring the Demon Clan, and we see no serious threats at the moment.”
All three dragon representatives had the same conclusion. They were not ordinary people involved in politics. They were the voices of the continent’s guardian dragons, those who truly cared about its safety.
After hearing them, Blancaros fell silent again. Then, he finally spoke.
“For now, this issue is not urgent. However, since there is a growing trend, we must remain cautious. Do you have any objections, Chancellor Escolia?”
“N-none at all.”
The chancellor, sweating profusely, quickly shook his head and stepped down from the podium. It was too unclear to dismiss, but also not alarming enough to be a crisis. A report was enough for now.
“The next proposer is Ferda Valdrova…”
Blancaros’s Tongue paused, unlike the hesitation when reading the chancellor’s proposal. This was a moment of doubt—whether this should even be announced. The hesitation drew everyone’s gaze toward Blancaros, who answered with a look.
The Tongue, having received his instruction, continued.
“The agenda is to recognize the Red Dragon Valdrova’s status as a guardian dragon…”
Silence fell over the Grand Council. In this room sat dukes—rulers of vast lands, people with power equivalent to nations. Yet, even they held their breath. This was an extremely sensitive issue.
Ferda had already drawn attention once, so there was no need to look around. Ordinary people would not even dare to bring up such a topic. It was political suicide. No sane person would do this.
But Ferda stood up confidently. His movements were like watching a tightrope walker. The spectators were nervous, but the one walking the rope was calm.
He climbed the podium and looked up at the council members. There was only one thing to do.
“My name is Ferda Valdrova, Regent. Even though this is my first time attending this council, I am making a bold proposal.”
He looked around the room before speaking again.
“As you can see from this agenda, I came here fully prepared to make enemies.”
If he had thrown the proposal, then he had to defend it.
