I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 654

Clack, clack-

Day-Bringer’s military boots echoed crisply as she walked along the palace corridor.

Behind her, Soot, the girl, tried to follow as quietly as possible. However, the difference in stride was so great that she ended up closing her eyes tightly and running to catch up.

Day-Bringer smiled and then stopped walking. Soot, panting, stood beside Day-Bringer and looked up at what the queen was looking at.

It was a wall with several portraits hanging on it. Day-Bringer pointed to it and explained.

“These are portraits of the previous Bringer Grand Duchesses.”

“Ah… !”

Flustered, Soot hurriedly bowed deeply towards the portraits. Day-Bringer covered her mouth and laughed.

“You don’t have to bow next time.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Now, first, this is the founder of the Bringer family.”

Day-Bringer pointed to the oldest portrait, hung the highest.

“The last Red Dragon, the Fire Dragon Dusk Bringer.”

The portrait depicted a tall woman with fiery hair and a confident smile on her face.

As if in a trance, Soot listened to Day-Bringer’s soft explanation.

“She defeated the World Serpent Jörmungandr [a mythical serpent of Norse mythology], who was heading towards the Everblack Empire, and married the human emperor of the Everblack Empire, having children. She is, in fact, the one who created our Bringer Duchy.”

“Wow… It’s amazing that a child was born between a dragon and a human.”

“Hahahaha.”

Day-Bringer burst into hearty laughter at Soot’s innocent (and perhaps rude) remark.

‘She laughs so well,’ Soot thought to herself.

“And this is her descendant.”

Day-Bringer pointed to the portrait next to it.

“The first half-dragon, the first Dragon Blood Duchess. Dawn-Bringer.”

There, a tall woman with short red hair was depicted. She had cold eyes and pale skin, wearing a full suit of armor. Soot shrank her shoulders, feeling intimidated.

‘Huh?’

Soot then thought.

The founder Dusk Bringer and her descendant Dawn-Bringer… they were strangely dissimilar.

‘Did she take after the emperor she married?’

Day-Bringer then pointed to the portrait next to it.

“And the current Bringer Grand Duchess, Day-Bringer, who inherited the title from Dawn-Bringer… that’s me. What do you think? Is the real me better?”

“Both the real you and the portrait are wonderful!”

In the portrait, which was clearly recently painted, Day-Bringer was smiling her characteristic bright smile.

With her dark skin and braided hair tied in several sections, she looked very dignified and cool in her white uniform.

…Yes, dignified and cool, but.

“We don’t look alike, do we?”

Day-Bringer suddenly hit the nail on the head.

Soot, who was flustered, slowly nodded.

“Yes…”

The founder dragon Dusk Bringer, her descendant Dawn-Bringer, and Day-Bringer, who was alive and breathing next to her.

They were all so different. They had almost nothing in common. If one had to find something, it would be the reddish hair, the vertically elongated pupils like those of a reptile, and the sharp teeth…

They were too different to be considered a parent-child relationship.

“Because we are not related by blood.”

“Pardon?”

“The Bringer Duchy is a family connected by will, not by blood.”

Day-Bringer slowly explained to the surprised Soot.

“It is said that the founder Dusk Bringer and the Emperor of Everblack loved each other, but they could not have children.”

“…”

“Instead, she adopted one of the dragon knights who were loyal to Dusk Bringer and passed on the dragon blood and dragon heart. That person, who became her nominal descendant, is Dawn-Bringer.”

A person who had the qualifications of a dragon but also the fundamental limitations of a human. A half-dragon, half-human.

Therefore, they find a suitable person to inherit the dragon heart, dragon blood, and will, carrying on the will of their predecessors and the family.

That was the Bringer Duchy.

“Dawn-Bringer also chose one of the dragon knights who followed her and passed on the title of Duchess. That was me.”

“Ah…”

“I’m the same. When I find the right person, I will give them my heart and blood… and pass on this country and family.”

Day-Bringer stared at the empty space next to her portrait.

“The Duchess of my successor will again inherit the name of the great ancestral dragon… and be called Dusk Bringer.”

“Is the name repeated?”

“Yes. It’s the Red Dragon naming method. Words meaning the daytime are repeated. Dusk, Dawn, Day, and then Dusk again… like that. Continuously.”

Soot idly murmured the name of the next Bringer Duchess.

‘Dusk Bringer…’

She wondered how burdened the person who would inherit the same name as the great founder would be.

“Well, now that you’ve seen the faces of the previous Duchesses.”

Day-Bringer smiled at Soot and held out her hand.

“You must train hard to become a dragon knight worthy of the name, right?”

Soot hesitated, but Day-Bringer reached out and took the girl’s hand first. Then, she strode forward, leading the girl.

The Duchess’s large hand was so warm that Soot couldn’t breathe.

It felt like the first time she had ever felt the warmth of a human.

***

Day-Bringer did not have many retainers.

She had only two dragon knights under her command.

Sir Layton, the queen’s right-hand woman, who was her adjutant and took care of the country’s internal and external affairs.

And the newly adopted orphan girl – Soot.

“Originally, there were more. But they all got old, and one by one, they retired or died…”

Day-Bringer smiled nonchalantly and pointed to the side.

“Only Layton and I are left, feeling lonely. Even when I try to adopt someone new, Layton always opposes it.”

“That’s because Your Majesty only brings in people with unclear backgrounds or those who cannot be trusted.”

Layton, who was standing next to Day-Bringer, sent a stern look towards Soot. Soot flinched and shrank her body.

“The two of us will teach you the qualities you need as a dragon knight. Layton will teach you combat, and I will teach you…”

Day-Bringer slammed the books she had personally selected from the library onto the table.

“Culture, manners, etiquette. Things like that… not necessarily essential, but really important for living.”

Soot swallowed hard and bowed deeply to the two of them.

“Y-yes, I will do my best… !”

Soot was a bright and quick-witted child.

However, her body, which had never been properly fed, was weak and lacked strength. Even after receiving dragon blood, there were clear limits.

On the first day, sword training.

“Kyaaak!”

“…”

Soot, who had lost her balance, rolled on the floor. The girl could not control the great power that resided in her small and weak body.

Layton was strict and cold, but an excellent instructor. She calmly assessed the situation without changing her expression.

“First, you need to eat and gain some weight.”

“…I’m sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Layton, with her arms crossed, sighed.

“Listen, Soot. I’ll tell you in advance. I don’t like you.”

“…”

“If you want to keep the dragon knight position you got by luck, do it right. To not bring shame to Her Majesty. To not tarnish the name of the glorious Bringer Duchy’s dragon knight. And, for your own life.”

Soot swallowed hard at Layton’s words.

“If you don’t do it right, I will kill you and recover the dragon blood that was injected into you. Because that is the way for the Bringer Duchy.”

“…”

“If you understand, go and eat something more. Until the next lesson, repeat only basic physical training. Then.”

Layton left the training ground.

And in the empty training ground, with no one around, Soot gritted her teeth and started the training again from the beginning.

Combat training did not show immediate results, but Soot quickly excelled in other studies.

The girl was smart, she just hadn’t had the opportunity. Like a sponge absorbing water, she absorbed what Day-Bringer taught her.

The girl, who was almost illiterate, quickly learned to read books, and with a thirst for knowledge as great as her hunger, she learned quickly.

It was very enjoyable to educate a child who accepted everything she was taught. Day-Bringer became increasingly sincere in Soot’s education.

In the library, in the office, in the bedroom before going to sleep… Day-Bringer taught Soot many things as if reading a fairy tale, and Soot diligently read, wrote, and learned.

“Our Soot is so smart~”

When the queen praised her like that with a smile, and on days when she would pat her head and praise her for doing well.

She couldn’t be happier. She wanted to do better and be more loved by the queen.

She didn’t want to be abandoned.

So, Soot desperately tried. She reduced her sleeping hours to study and trained every day until her mouth tasted metallic.

And a year later.

“…You passed.”

Soot barely passed Layton’s test with the lowest score in the combat test she received as a dragon knight.

“There’s nothing more I can teach you!”

Day-Bringer said this to her.

“From next week, I will call in tutors for various subjects. Let’s start more in-depth studies.”

At breakfast.

Soot, who had gained weight nicely in a year, and Day-Bringer ate breakfast together.

Chewing on the food she had greedily shoved into her mouth, Soot blinked.

“Why from next week? What about this week?”

Day-Bringer chuckled, wiped Soot’s mouth with a napkin, and answered kindly.

“This week is the festival, isn’t it?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s already the autumn festival, Soot. You should have fun during the festival.”

Soot’s eyes widened in surprise.

She had been taken in by the queen during the autumn festival, and a year had already passed.

“And…”

Day-Bringer, who had hesitated for a moment, spoke carefully.

“During this festival… I will also announce that you have been chosen as my successor.”

“Pardon?!”

Soot was so surprised that she coughed, and Layton, who was serving the meal, also looked at Day-Bringer in surprise.

Soot, who had barely swallowed the water and calmed down, stammered.

“M-me? Me, Your Majesty’s successor?”

“Yes.”

“T-then, does that mean I will become the next Bringer Duchess…?”

“I will keep this position until you come of age. After that, it will be so.”

Soot, who always ate heartily, couldn’t even think of eating more in the face of the queen’s bombshell announcement and put down her utensils.

“H-but what qualifications do I have… to dare to be Your Majesty’s successor…”

“We’ve been together for the past year. You may not have known, but besides martial arts and academics… there were several tests. You passed them all.”

Day-Bringer reached out and took Soot’s hand.

“Soot. No, I should call you Dusk now.”

Day-Bringer smiled gently, looking into the trembling girl’s eyes.

“Will you officially become my daughter?”

***

On the day of the autumn festival.

Now, alone, the girl thought as she fastened the collar of her dress and tied the ribbon.

‘Dusk, Dusk… My name will be Dusk Bringer…’

Like the formal dress that was uncomfortable every time she wore it, the new name Dusk was also unfamiliar and awkward to the girl.

But she would endure it. If she could become her daughter…

As she recalled the word daughter again, her heart pounded fiercely.

“Hoo!”

The girl, Dusk, lightly tapped her own cheeks to regain her senses.

Today was the first time she would appear before the citizens as Day-Bringer’s daughter and the successor of the Bringer Duchy. She had to keep her wits about her.

After adjusting her low-heeled shoes several times, Dusk headed to the office where the queen was with a nervous step.

Knock-knock- After knocking, she carefully opened the door.

“Your Majesty, ah, no…”

She took a breath for a moment, gathered her strength, and then.

Still uttering that dreamlike word, Dusk looked ahead.

“Mother! I’m ready-”

And the scene in the office that entered Dusk’s eyes was,

Layton’s sword piercing Day-Bringer’s back and coming out through her chest.